In the interest of time, I decided to microwave the bacon, something I never do. And judging from the result, I won't be doing it again.

So, what are you planning to do with your extra hour of daylight today?

This afternoon, just as I put the tea kettle on to boil, the postman delivered my order of tea from Halcyon Tea in San Diego. You may be wondering, don't they have tea in Chicago? Halcyon is special. Not only is it an inviting storefront filled floor to ceiling with aromatic, delicious teas from around the world, they are independently owned (always a plus in my book) and in this case, one of those entrepreneurs just happens to be my step-brother. Double reason I'm happy to support them.

Up until about four months ago, I wasn't much of a tea drinker. It all tasted like hot water to me, which figured since most tea I'd had came from grocery store tea bags. Weak at best. Brewing and enjoying fresh tea is flavorful and enjoyable and I actually look forward to the ritual of preparing a cup or pot of tea each day.

Now, thanks to my most recent shipment of tea, I've got a whole new array of flavors to choose from. This should keep me in tea until warmer weather comes along and I'll be ready to experiment with some tea on ice.

BTW--My tea collection includes peppermint, rooibos chai, restful calm, ginger peach, organic earl grey, organic vanilla orange rooibos, and aged yunnan. As you can see, I'm not yet quite brave enough to venture too far into the black or green teas. Fruity and herbal are, ahem, my cup of tea.