100

Last night I sent my neighbours a note asked them to tone it down with exercising—running, jumping, doing weights, and so on— on wooden floors. It took me a year and a half of it driving me crazy to mention it to them because I didn’t want to be the crazy lady next door. So I sucked it up. 7 am, 10 am, 3 pm, 4 pm, 5pm. And this week, I lost my ^%&t.

My note was polite. I have no problem with their newborn—sometimes it feels like I have a newborn alongside—and their six-year-old. Or their extended family and large friend network. But for the love of God, with the running and the kettlebells and motivation soundtrack against our adjoining wall and repeated thuds and thuds and thuds and boom and boom and boom and who knows what all else that makes the floors jump and the walls vibrate and me want to crawl out of my skin. And why do all this when you have perfectly good concrete floors too that will muffle the sound and not make your neighbours want to kill themselves? So I hated having to send the note, but nope, couldn’t take it any. more. I so much hope that they will understand instead of thinking that I am a lunatic.

ok ok, I may be a lunatic, but in a good way.

I have often thought about this tea. When it is good, it is really really good. I misplaced it. It wasn’t in the place where I usually store it because I had included it in a swap with a tea friend and it got buried among other teas I had put aside to create swap samples. So, now, yay! Such bitter coffee and burnt caramel deliciousness. It is super lovely with milk, but I am drinking it straight up. And deliriously happy. Until I begin thinking about my neighbours.

Indigobloom

Was this from the amoda box? sounds amazing!
Ugh noisy neighbours are the WORST. Our former neighbours had six kids. When they played outside? each invited a friend over, and there was chaos. I swear they were opera divas in training. Working from home or studying was literally not possible. I feel your pain. Here’s hoping they respond with a compromise that works!!

Evol Ving Ness

Initially it was and then I ordered it.

Ah, so you know the pain. I have a set of truly despicable neighbours on the other side who have six kids with the same situation. Years and years of them outside. all. the. time with friends, of course, with no supervision. So yeah, I was not able to do any of my studying or work at home. Thankfully, most of that set are teenagers now.

I am certainly not prepared to go through that situation again. Nope. But I also want to be fair and understanding, which I think I am being with these new neighbours.

Indigobloom

Unsupervised, yup!! they had an inground pool, which means summer was absolute torture. So glad they moved away. I’m glad you’re neighbours kiddos are grown now!
It sounds totally reasonable to me. I’d bet it hasn’t even occurred to them and they will be horrified. Kudos to them for being healthy though. Do they know about tea? it might be a nice olive branch :P

Evol Ving Ness

No pool, but I raise you two pit bulls and an antique car, truck, and Harley collection in addition to the other vehicles. And only three are teenagers. And they are all still here. However, after I began researching and reporting various bylaws they were breaking on a daily basis, they learned how to play nice. For now.

I don’t know. Nice idea though. Let’s see how things go. I think this is a period of reflection, hopefully. My mistake is that they don’t hear me, but in my note, I illustrated the reasons why that is.

Thank you for being supportive. It helps.

Sil

thankfully our neighbours toned it down before i had to write a note explaining that if you’re going to be uh…enthusiastic…for over an hour…ONE of you is probably faking it..so could that be done before midnight instead of at 2am. heh

Sil

also i’m with IB – this sounds good

Evol Ving Ness

hhahahaaha! It’s always something.

The tea or the note, Sil?

Indigobloom

@Sil Oh dear! hah.

@Evol You win on that one. Not sure if that is good…
We have other neighbours with a pool. Two kids with autism and a teenager who loves having friends over. And a hottub. They try to keep it down unless it is a special occasion, but sometimes the kids have tantrums. Oh and the adults go into their hottub topless sometimes. Not sure about the bottom bits, I try not to stare.

Indigobloom

We’ve bumped heads with those neighbours before, but I can’t complain much now. They are much nicer now. Long story :P

Evol Ving Ness

Anything that keeps people outside and making noise of any kind is potentially troublesome, if the people are neanderthals to begin with. Topless and bottomless bits don’t faze me. Lack of respect for others makes me go ballistic, however.

Indigobloom

I don’t care if they do go topless but my neighbour on the other side squawks and causes more drama haha. Desperate housewives, I know.

Sil

I don’t care what ppl do as long as it’s quiet. heh

Evol Ving Ness

Me too. However, I’d object to a meth lab next door though. So, quiet and something that doesn’t infringe on any of my senses, health, and sanity. Otherwise, absolutely cool.

Indigobloom

Totally agreed on that front! and I don’t want my property damaged either (neighbours emptied their pool and it went through part of our yard. eroded the soil)

Evol Ving Ness

People sometimes, ugh.

Indigobloom

grumbles People.
I hope they’ve come back with an apology. Or something.

Evol Ving Ness

Apology, yes! And a whole lot of ideas on how we can compromise in this situation.

Indigobloom

oh wow yay!! faith in humanity revived*

Evol Ving Ness

Well, not so fast. I’ve been woken up by the exercise and their infant four times in the last five days.

Evol Ving Ness

So clearly we are not there yet.

Indigobloom

Oh dear. Can you record it for them? Or maybe the decibels, so you can show them comparable noises? http://www.wikihow.com/Measure-Decibels

Evol Ving Ness

Thank you for this, Indigobloom. I will take a look when I have some brain cells to work with.

Indigobloom

I hope it works. Good luck!

Evol Ving Ness

Thanks. Currently, making an effort to write a note in response to them in a polite reasonable way without sounding like a crazy lady. They have taken steps, but I don’t think they understand the impact of the kids, and the tv, and the exercise thuds and thumps on top of all the rest of life noises.

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Indigobloom

Was this from the amoda box? sounds amazing!
Ugh noisy neighbours are the WORST. Our former neighbours had six kids. When they played outside? each invited a friend over, and there was chaos. I swear they were opera divas in training. Working from home or studying was literally not possible. I feel your pain. Here’s hoping they respond with a compromise that works!!

Evol Ving Ness

Initially it was and then I ordered it.

Ah, so you know the pain. I have a set of truly despicable neighbours on the other side who have six kids with the same situation. Years and years of them outside. all. the. time with friends, of course, with no supervision. So yeah, I was not able to do any of my studying or work at home. Thankfully, most of that set are teenagers now.

I am certainly not prepared to go through that situation again. Nope. But I also want to be fair and understanding, which I think I am being with these new neighbours.

Indigobloom

Unsupervised, yup!! they had an inground pool, which means summer was absolute torture. So glad they moved away. I’m glad you’re neighbours kiddos are grown now!
It sounds totally reasonable to me. I’d bet it hasn’t even occurred to them and they will be horrified. Kudos to them for being healthy though. Do they know about tea? it might be a nice olive branch :P

Evol Ving Ness

No pool, but I raise you two pit bulls and an antique car, truck, and Harley collection in addition to the other vehicles. And only three are teenagers. And they are all still here. However, after I began researching and reporting various bylaws they were breaking on a daily basis, they learned how to play nice. For now.

I don’t know. Nice idea though. Let’s see how things go. I think this is a period of reflection, hopefully. My mistake is that they don’t hear me, but in my note, I illustrated the reasons why that is.

Thank you for being supportive. It helps.

Sil

thankfully our neighbours toned it down before i had to write a note explaining that if you’re going to be uh…enthusiastic…for over an hour…ONE of you is probably faking it..so could that be done before midnight instead of at 2am. heh

Sil

also i’m with IB – this sounds good

Evol Ving Ness

hhahahaaha! It’s always something.

The tea or the note, Sil?

Indigobloom

@Sil Oh dear! hah.

@Evol You win on that one. Not sure if that is good…
We have other neighbours with a pool. Two kids with autism and a teenager who loves having friends over. And a hottub. They try to keep it down unless it is a special occasion, but sometimes the kids have tantrums. Oh and the adults go into their hottub topless sometimes. Not sure about the bottom bits, I try not to stare.

Indigobloom

We’ve bumped heads with those neighbours before, but I can’t complain much now. They are much nicer now. Long story :P

Evol Ving Ness

Anything that keeps people outside and making noise of any kind is potentially troublesome, if the people are neanderthals to begin with. Topless and bottomless bits don’t faze me. Lack of respect for others makes me go ballistic, however.

Indigobloom

I don’t care if they do go topless but my neighbour on the other side squawks and causes more drama haha. Desperate housewives, I know.

Sil

I don’t care what ppl do as long as it’s quiet. heh

Evol Ving Ness

Me too. However, I’d object to a meth lab next door though. So, quiet and something that doesn’t infringe on any of my senses, health, and sanity. Otherwise, absolutely cool.

Indigobloom

Totally agreed on that front! and I don’t want my property damaged either (neighbours emptied their pool and it went through part of our yard. eroded the soil)

Evol Ving Ness

People sometimes, ugh.

Indigobloom

grumbles People.
I hope they’ve come back with an apology. Or something.

Evol Ving Ness

Apology, yes! And a whole lot of ideas on how we can compromise in this situation.

Indigobloom

oh wow yay!! faith in humanity revived*

Evol Ving Ness

Well, not so fast. I’ve been woken up by the exercise and their infant four times in the last five days.

Evol Ving Ness

So clearly we are not there yet.

Indigobloom

Oh dear. Can you record it for them? Or maybe the decibels, so you can show them comparable noises? http://www.wikihow.com/Measure-Decibels

Evol Ving Ness

Thank you for this, Indigobloom. I will take a look when I have some brain cells to work with.

Indigobloom

I hope it works. Good luck!

Evol Ving Ness

Thanks. Currently, making an effort to write a note in response to them in a polite reasonable way without sounding like a crazy lady. They have taken steps, but I don’t think they understand the impact of the kids, and the tv, and the exercise thuds and thumps on top of all the rest of life noises.

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A monk sips morning tea

A monk sips morning tea,
it’s quiet,
the chrysanthemum’s flowering.

- Basho

(1644-1694)

Note to self—-you do not actually need any more tea.

My real tea obsession began in February 2015.

Not, sadly, when I had been living and working in China, though I very much enjoyed sampling a variety of teas during my travels there as well. No, no, that would have been far too sensible.

I am a reformed coffee drinker. I still enjoy a long double espresso with a good quantity or milk or cream from time to time, but for now, tea is my thing. All day.

*note—this is way out of date, so if we are doing a swap and you are checking to see what I like and dislike, mostly never mind what you find below. One of these days, I will update this. In the meantime, check what I’ve been drinking and use your own judgement. I like all the teas. Well, I am open to trying all the teas.

I tend to drink black, green, or oolong tea in the morning to early afternoon. Rooibos or
Honeybush or herbal in the evening. And perhaps some sort of sleepy-type tea in the wee hours.

This year, I’ve been discovering flavoured teas, so it may look like that is all I drink although that would provide a false impression.

Not a big fan of chocolate or mint in teas, but I will try them and, from time to time, have been pleasantly surprised. Also, usually I dislike a prominent cinnamon flavour, if untempered with other things, in teas. Again, I say usually, because there are exceptions.

Also, please note that haven’t quite gotten into the habit of updating my tea cupboard on Steepster, and it is unlikely that I will do this on any kind of regular basis.

I drink my tea black and unsweetened. If there comes a rare moment that I add something to it, I will mention it.

Finally, while I thank large and successful tea companies for tantalizing and beckoning me to the world of tea, I prefer to support independent ventures with real people, real enthusiasm and commitment, and real dreams.

Currently, I am researching monthly tea subscriptions. Perhaps it will keep me out of tea shops.

And here is Shae’s rating scale— which I am using with permission, of course— which more or less describes the way I have been rating teas. I am going to make more of an effort to stay very close to these parameters now.

Rating Scale

1-20: By far, one of the worst teas I’ve tasted. I most certainly will not finish my cup and will likely “gift” the rest to my sweet husband who almost always enjoys the teas I dislike (and vice versa).

21-40: This tea is not good but if I mix it with another tea or find another steeping method I might be able to finish it.

41-60: This one is just okay. I might drink it again if someone were to give it to me, but I probably won’t be buying more for myself.

61-75: This is a consistently good tea. It’s reliable but not necessarily special.

76-90: This one is a notch above the rest and I would gladly enjoy a cup of it any day of the week. I’ll likely be keeping this in my cupboard, but it isn’t one of my all-time favorites.

91-95: One small change and this tea would be perfect. I’ll definitely have a stash of this in my kitchen if you come over for tea.

96-100: No words can describe this tea. It’s an experience, an aha moment. Closed eyes, wide smile, encompassing warmth. Absolutely incredible. Perfect.

Location

Mostly, but not always, Toronto, Canada.

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