The G-Kid's Health Care Re-Certification was due so after spending SEVEN grueling Hours at the DES Office this Morning/Afternoon amid irate people needing Services and a host of crying babies and bored out of their mind kids... and having Princess T Home sick from School as well & The Man still at Home Recovering from his Back Surgery... I was certainly ready for a Zen Experience! *LOL*
Some Tea Staining Zen... since I had piles of Vintage Quaker and Irish Lace Linen Tablecloths and Doilies that I wanted Tea Stained for use to decorate the walls and shelves of my new Showroom next Month.
Just being around piles of Lacey Vintage Fabrics makes me Happy and Calm...
And call me Crazy but Tea Staining or Dying Fabrics and hanging them on the lines to dry outside the Old Fashioned way is something I thoroughly Enjoy.
Mixing up big vats of Fragrant Teas permeates the air with the most Amazing Aromas... which the Fabrics will take on along with the Tea Stained Hues... each distinctive, depending upon the type of Tea and the type of Lace... so it's always a pleasant Surprise to behold the finished results!
It was a typical Hot Arizona Day so they dry quite quickly, and you can get an assembly line of Tea Stained Lace going... and today there was a Lovely Breeze that made them all sway in the Wind.
And walking between the rows of drying Linens with their Beautiful Crocheted Lace Patterns was like being in my own Wonderland of Lacey Fabulousness!!!
I had a steady rotation of them going on and coming off the clotheslines...
And there's just something about doing Laundry of any kind that I find to be particularly Peaceful and Relaxing even though it is Work... being Present in the Moment is so much easier when you're doing something that you don't have to put a lot of thought into... just the Doing of it.
Being amid Clean Beautiful Aromas and Lovely Designs... now tinged with the most Gorgeous Sepia Tea Stained Hues was Pure Bliss!!!
And I felt very productive getting it all done in one late Afternoon after having such a wasted start of the Day waiting and waiting for Hours for my turn to see a Caseworker. Sure I had gotten the Health Care Re-Certification Approved and that is certainly very Important since the G-Kid Force have a myriad of Health Issues and Medical Expenses... so I'm Grateful. On a fixed Disability Income we could never afford their Medications or necessary Treatments and Therapies otherwise.
But it was all that waiting and never knowing when they'd ever get to you since they no longer make Appointments. Its a inefficient show up and wait in no particular order for random choosing of which Client will be called next... since it's not 1st come 1st Served & that is frustrating... they prioritize in a very odd fashion & Client's nerves & Patience get frayed! So it is being amid such an oppressive, disheartening and undignified Atmosphere that I found to be particularly draining and a downer. You have to put Pride & Dignity aside and I don't think anyone is comfortable with that position of vulnerability & powerlessness.
Seeing so many people of all ages and walks of Life having to swallow their Pride and put aside their Dignity I find to be such a negative energy that it is stifling and I Hate having to be a part of it myself out of necessity. And it was obvious I was not alone in my sentiments.
So I do take the time to hear the Stories... always unfortunate ones... and know that just in the Telling and having someone Hear their Plight, take the Time to Listen, Care & Empathize with them can mean so very much.
From the Relatives raising Children not their own, which we can certainly relate to on a personal level... to those that have gotten very Sick, become Disabled, lost their Jobs, been Abandoned by Spouses, find barriers to gainful Employment again, or are underemployed & not making enough to support their Families... the list goes on and on, each Person's Story slightly different, but the end result being much the same as to the impact it makes on a changed Life. And unfortunately the numbers are swelling and so the Process is becoming more strained, lengthy and complex each year to receive any Services or Help for those that need it. Pray that you never do... and try never to stand in judgement for those that do... because there but for the Grace of God... anyone could be just one unfortunate or catastrophic Event away from having a Life changing circumstance.
And so I found Solace in the Tea Staining Process... in my big vats of Fragrant Teas with batches of Linens soaking in them and absorbing the Tea's Hues.
In them wafting in the Breeze upon the Clotheslines...
In beholding the Patterns and Designs on the Old Lace and knowing there would be a distinct and exciting Purpose for them all now.
And as they dried the end result was Excellent... I have such a Passion for Sepia... the Bright Whites are just too perfect for me... I like my Linens to seem Aged and Time Worn... Perfectly Imperfect is Just Right for me!
And Tea Staining also hides a multitude of sins and flaws... so if your Old Linens weren't perfect to begin with and had some stains or imperfections you couldn't fix even if you wanted to... this is an Ideal Solution my Friends!
It makes it all look Intentional the way it now is... Perfectly Imperfect!
And I so Enjoy not knowing what Hue it will actually be when all is finished... so the Surprise of what Linens take on what gradients of Hues is Delightful!
And Today's Batches had an assortment of Teas used for Staining... from Green Teas... to Jasmine Teas... to Black Teas. I Love to Experiment and see what happens! And you can buy inexpensive boxes of 50-100 Teabags for Tea Staining Projects at your local Dollar Stores so it needn't be an Expensive Project! The Quality of the Tea doesn't seem to hinder how well anything dyes... cheap Tea dyes just fine! So don't think you have to go Gourmet to get good results! *Winks*
But I must admit, I've never been disappointed and had to do a re-do... though you could if you wanted or needed to. In fact, if you find the Tea Stain to be too Light, just dip it again or brew the Tea longer... too Dark, just rinse some of the Color out.
If you've never done Tea Staining let me warn you that the only thing I find to be a potential problem is how ADDICTIVE it is! *Winks* You'll want to seek out just about anything you can Tea Stain and go into a Tea Staining Frenzy!!! *LOL*
This is certainly something I could do over and over again and never tire of... because it's such Fun!
And since I'd had to get quite a few Old Linens out of my Storage Stash of Lace for the Project at hand I was having a blast!!! With lines and lines of them... and the more I hung out, the more Beautiful the back Acreage began to look... with rows and rows of Tea Stained Lace wafting in the Breeze!
Which is a nice Novelty since the back Acreage is our most neglected piece of the Property right now... with lots of Future Projects and Restoration presently on an indefinite "Hold" due to Health and Budget Restraints.
But having something Exciting to look forward to that I've waited, Hoped and longed for so long has Energized me, boosted my Enthusiasm and Tenacity, Inspired me to keep Creating, keep Dreaming Big, keep Enlarging the Vision and continue being 100% Committed by giving all of myself and throwing all of myself into whatever it is that I'm doing. Because true Greatness and Quality costs what it costs... and you should never Settle for anything less...
May Blessings and Abundance be yours too my Friends... Dawn... The Bohemian