The Stillroom

It’s pricey and I took a risk on this product! From the maker of the popular tea drops, if you like matcha, you will love this all inclusive kit!

Why does The Stillroom Tea shop have a strong arm and a hammer for a logo? Because I strongly believe there is a place in the world for a tiny tea shop.

Stillroom…still around😊

Here are rando outtakes if the shop. Not a lot of vintage anymore but always a tidy little selection of the most popular things in that spot!

Wedding Tea tag along for the June brides!

The usual sweets for the sweet.

Blooming tea pods are so perfect for a fine summer beverage! Perfect on ice.

Floral flavors abound at The Stillroom Tea Shop!

The raised herb bed has been awesome this year! The drying rack is really old and this is the first time I’m using it. I think it’s going to be a bumper crop of tasty deliciousness! The dill and oregano are hung and the basil will be used fresh today along with my first harvest of cherry tomotoes!

I’ve had to say good bye more times than I would have liked, but everyone can say that. And no matter how many times we do it, even when it is for the greater good, it still stings. And though we never forget what we have given up, we owe it to ourselves to keep moving forward. What we can’t do, is live our lives always afraid of the next goodbye, because chances are, they are not going to stop.

The shop has changed, and morphed and so it goes. I’ve got nuthin’ new to post. The Stillroom sells tea. It’s inside of a Diamond Antiques and Gifts.

As a mom, we raise our kids and off they go. I usually write my little blog posts about tea, observations and sometimes just life in general.

I knew in January, that 2022 was going to bring about many life changes. As many of you are aware, the matriarch of our family passed away at the ripe age of 93 1/2. Our dad has been ill but seems to be on the mend as he is now out of the hospital.

The picture of the little guy is one of my favorite photos of our son, Anthony. That little guy is now a grown man and is leaving Pittsburgh to start a new life in Houston. Yes. As in “Houston, we have a problem”.

A graduate of Knoch High school and the University of Pittsburgh with a fine arts degree, as parents we thought “what on earth will he do with a fine arts degree?”

But Anthony , as an only child was given the opportunity to figure things out. His dad and I always just let him go, figure out his passion and go for it. He was in the tech industry while he was learning what his true passion would be.

About eight years ago Anthony asked if he could borrow my sewing machine because he had come across some interesting fabric and wanted to make eye glass cases. Naturally, I said no problem.

He started to hone his sewing skills over the years and in the process he developed a keen interest in NASA, space flight and its history.

Very serendipitously on a trip to California, Anthony became friends with a prop and replica space suit maker, Ryan Nagata. Over time, Anthony reached out to Ryan with a proposal to make for him a space suit inspired back pack to which Ryan happily accepted. This budding friendship lead to an introduction to Adam Savage, host of the show Myth Busters. After seeing Anthony’s meticulous work and eye for details, Adam commissioned Anthony for several Apollo replicas.

This introduction led Anthony to be featured in a show with host Adam Savage showcasing Anthony’s talents as a maker.

Some of Anthony’s work is now in a space exhibit in the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art.

This brings me to his current situation. Anthony is leaving Pittsburgh and his family behind to start his new career as a soft goods designer and maker at the Johnson Space Center in Houston and he is leaving tomorrow.

I’m more happy than I am sad and I’ll try not to cry.

My dad calls him “my astronaut .”

I will miss him terribly, my astronaut.

Fly, son, fly. 🚀

This pensive little fellow is one of a set of three vintage elves that I bought at Diamond Antiques & Gifts at 311 E. Sixth Avenue in Tarentum. Other pics to follow when I get a minute to post. He is my favorite. Probably in deep thought about how to live in such crazy times.

It’s blooming tea! Originating in the Fujian and Yunnan Province, these flowering tea pods are so pretty as they begin to unfold in layers exposing a royal red flower surrounded by a ring of jasmine. This tea is very subtle in flavor and is perfect hot or iced! You don’t need a fancy schmancy glass tea pot to appreciate the magic of a flowering tea pod!

Find these in the shop after Memorial Day. I’m packaging and pricing and looking for a nice display piece💐🌸🌺

42 years ago today, we sat on our front porch and watched Mount Saint Helen’s blow up.

My beautiful Goddaughter Melissa on her wedding day. After a two year postponement, the passing of her father and grandmother, our family finally had a reason to celebrate and prove that life does indeed, go on and good things do happen.

That is my handsome son Anthony hanging with his cuz on her big day.

Anthony will soon be leaving for his new job at Johnson Space Center doing space stuff. Lol

After tragedy and loss, life does offer good times too.

I will miss my “only” very much but it’s time to fly away.🚀