Tea. Toast. & Trivia.

Season 2. Episode 14: Another Day in Paradise with Sylvia Welcome to Tea, Toast and Trivia. Thank you for listening in. Today, I am delighted that Sylvia, a remarkable blogger and dear friend, has joined Tea Toast & Trivia to bridge the 4,245 kilometers, as the crow flies, between Florida and British Columbia . If you consider travel time, a road journey between us would take 3 Days, 5 Hours, 9 Minutes. I often wonder how a Google search can produce those exact time measurements.  And here we are connected within minutes as if we are in the same room. I have followed Sylvia’s blog, Another Day In Paradise, for many years.  And the name says it all. Sylvia has created a place that welcomes and encourages life-affirming conversations.   When you visit Sylvia, you enter a place of sunshine, warmth, blue skies, and lush vegetation. It is truly Paradise. Put the kettle on and add to this exciting conversation on TeaToastTrivia.com Safe travels wherever your adventures take you.  And re

Season 2. Episode 13: The Trio On 25 in 2020 Challenge “It is what you read when you don't have to that determines what you will be when you can't help it.”Oscar Wilde Welcome to Tea, Toast and Trivia. Thank you for listening in. Books book and more books. This year Frances, my mother, Sarah, my sister and I have embarked on a challenge to read 25 books in 2020.  This is our first installment, the beginning.  More to come. So put the kettle on and add to the conversation. We would love to hear your thoughts on TeaToastTrivia.com I am your host Rebecca Budd and I’m looking forward to sharing this moment with you. Music by Ennio Mano "Birds of Paradise" Epidemic Sound

Season 2. Episode 12: Jean-Jacques Fournier on Poetry Welcome to Tea. Toast. & Trivia.Thank you for listening in. I’m your host, Rebecca Budd, and I am looking forward to sharing this moment with you.  I am delighted and thrilled that my dear friend and poet; Jean-Jacques Fournier is with me today to share insights on poetry. Jean-Jacques Fournier is a native of Montreal and has been living  in the Eastern Townships (QC) since 2010 with his French wife Marianne. Before returning to Canada, he lived eight years in the South of France, first in Vence, which is situated in the hills of the Alpes Maritime overlooking the Mediterranean Sea. Then in Grasse, considered the world’s capital of perfume. It sounds marvelous, does it not? Jean-Jacques’s poetry expresses the emotional depth and breadth of the human experience.  I am pleased to announce his sixteenth book of poetry has just been published, entitled. LOVE  – by any definition – A collection of Love Poems He shared a poem from this collection in a recent

Season 2. Episode 11: Frances on a Farmer’s Day in the 1930’s Welcome to Tea, Toast and Trivia. Thank you for listening in. All of us have a story to tell.  Our lives are full of drama, celebrations, joys, sorrows – even a little mystery, intrigue, and magic are sprinkled on some of the more mundane moments My mother, Frances was my first storyteller.  Over the years we have shared many stories. So put the kettle on and listen in as mom and I look back on what it was like to be a farmer in the 1930’s. I am your host Rebecca Budd and I’m looking forward to sharing this moment with you. Music by Gabriel Lucas "Moonlight Night" Epidemic Sound

Season 2. Episode 10: Brian on The Navigating Transitions Welcome to Tea, Toast and Trivia.  Thank you for listening in.  Today, we are linking British Columbia and Alberta. Brian, my brother, came back to continue the discussion on embracing a greater journey. Today, we are looking at transitions and life cycles. How navigate the stages of life. Do we recognize that we have stages in life? How do we live the fullest in the stage of life that we find ourselves in? How do we embrace the twists and turns that life gives us? How do we gracefully give up the things of youth and embrace the age of wisdom? How do we applaud the next generation? So put the kettle on and add to the conversation on TeaToastTrivia.com. I am your host and I am looking forward to sharing this moment with you. Music by Eric Williams “When I’m Out With You” Epidemic Sound

Season 2. Episode 9: The Trio on What Happened to the Spoons? Welcome to Tea, Toast and Trivia. Thank you for listening in.   I am joined by my mother, Frances, and my sister, Sarah to solve the mystery of the missing spoons and discuss the importance of storyteller. So put the kettle on and add to the conversation. We would love to hear your thoughts on TeaToastTrivia.com I am your host Rebecca Budd and I’m looking forward to sharing this moment with you.

S2.E8: Celebrating Robert Burns Address to a Haggis Welcome to a special episode of Tea Toast and Trivia. I am you host, Rebecca Budd and I’m looking forward to sharing this moment with you.  Tonight, we celebrate Robert Burns, affectionately known as Rabbie Burns, the great Scottish poet and lyricist.  He has been given the honoured titles of National Bard, Bard of Ayrshire and the Ploughman Poet. He penned in the language of the Scots, even though much of his writing is in light Scots dialect and in English. January 25, 2020, Rabbie Buns will be celebrated with the traditional Address to a Haggis accompanied by the rousing sound of bagpipes.  For those of you who have not tried Haggis, please do – you may be surprised by how much you enjoy the “Trenching your gushing entrails bright.”  Never fear, there is vegetarian Haggis so all can join in the merriment. For those who have never heard the Address to a Haggis, I have asked Thomas,  my son, to recite these famous words. Truthfully,

S2. E7. Fashion, Closets & Organization Welcome to Tea, Toast and Trivia. Thank you for listening in. I am joined by my sister, Sarah and my mother Frances as we consider the idea of fashion, closets and organization. There are many ideas on how to arrange our clothes and declutter our closets. Join us for a candid discussion on how this trend plays out in real life. So put the kettle on and add to this conversation on TeaToastTrivia.com I am your host Rebecca Budd and I’m looking forward to sharing this moment with you. Music by Stonekeepers “A Faded Photograph (Instrumental Version) Epidemic Sound

S2 E6 Dave Astor on Connecting via Books Welcome to Tea, Toast and Trivia. Thank you for listening in. Today, Dave Astor and I are bridging the 3,923 kilometers between New Jersey to Vancouver. Winter is a time for books, tea, great conversations and more books. Dave will be sharing his thoughts on how to decide what to read next, how to write a book review and should you read a book you don’t like? Put the kettle on and add to this exciting conversation on TeaToastTrivia.com I am your host Rebecca Budd and I’m looking forward to sharing this moment with you. Thank you for joining Dave and me on Tea Toast & Trivia. And a very special thank you and shout out to Dave from the blog, Dave Astor on Literature.  In closing, I wanted to share a quote from Dave’s book, Fascinating Facts: “Literature can send our minds to another time and place, allowing us to forget our lives and troubles for a few precious hours. It can educate us about history, open our minds, increase our empathy, make us think, give us t

S2.E5 The Cake that Travelled Welcome to Tea, Toast and Trivia. Thank you for listening in.   This is a Christmas retrospective conversation that occurred during the December holiday season. Frances, Sarah and I never had time to make this cake, but the story is a profound reminder that traditions keep our families and communities focused on the things that matter and make for unforgettable memories. So put the kettle on and add to the conversation. We would love to hear your thoughts on TeaToastTrivia.com I am your host Rebecca Budd and I’m looking forward to sharing this moment with you.

S1.E3: Elisabeth on Ivan Turgenev Welcome to Tea, Toast and Trivia. Thank you for listening in. Elisabeth van der Meer from the extraordinary blog, A Russian Affair, has joined me from the far distance of 7,514 km or 4,669 miles. Yes, I am thrilled to report that once again, we are connecting Finland and Canada via Russian Literature. Elisabeth has come back to discuss the life and work of the brilliant writer, Ivan Turgenev, and the complicated relationships that existed between the great Russian writers. So, put the kettle on and add to this exciting conversation.  I am your host Rebecca Budd and I’m looking forward to sharing this moment with you. Thank you for joining Elisabeth and me on Tea Toast & Trivia.  And a special thank you to Elisabeth for sharing your love of Russian literature.  I am truly grateful for your willingness to come back and speak about Ivan Turgenev. I would heartily recommend Elisabeth’s blog “A Russian Affair” which is highly entertaining and an invaluable resou

S2.E3: Frances on The Art of Sewing Welcome to Tea, Toast and Trivia.  Thank you for listening in. Frances and I are in the sewing room, with the material stacked on one side of the room and on the other, the finished costumes for an upcoming dance performance.  It’s exciting to see the progress, week to week on the colourful tutus and jazz outfits. Sitting in this vivid assortment of cloth and glitter is a reminder of Frances and my many sewing projects of past years. Sewing has an ancient history and has been around since the Paleolithic age aka, the “Old Stone Age.” After all, those caves were rather cold in the wintertime, even with the discovery of fire.  And well, necessity has always been a motivation for progress.  Archaeologists have been busy in their digs finding bone, antler or ivory needles and thread  of sinew, catgut and veins.  These were the beginnings of today’s enormous fashion industries. Thousands of years passed before the sewing machine came into being in t

S2.E2 Martha on Librarians Are Awesome Welcome to Tea Toast & Trivia.  Thank you for listening in. Neil Gaiman said “Librarians are the coolest people out there doing the hardest job out there on the frontlines. And every time I get to encounter or work with librarians, I'm always impressed by their sheer awesomeness.” Librarians have awesome, even magical powers.  They are the champions of literacy; they safeguard our stories and keep record of our ideas.  Above all, they are the wizards that facilitate learning.  We owe an enormous debt of gratitude to their determination to preserve and protect our civilization. We live in a world where technology and connectivity are growing exponentially.  Now, more than ever, we need librarians to be our guides.  How to annotate texts?  Ask a librarian.  What is copyright and fair use?  Ask a librarian.  How to determine whether the information is honest?  Ask a librarian. Librarians keep us grounded and create spaces that encourage and support exploration. I am ple

Season 2, Episode 1 Happy New Year with Frances & Eleanor Welcome to Tea Toast and Trivia. Happy New Year! Thank you for listening in and celebrating January 1, 2020, the beginning of a new decade. Today, I am joined by my mother Frances to go back in time to another New Year’s Day. January 1, 1936,  with Eleanor Roosevelt and her column “My Day.” Eleanor Roosevelt would have thrived in our social media milieu of 2020. She was blogging before blogging was invented, which incidentally happened in 1997 and became a household name within a few short years. According Merriam-Webster dictionary "blog" headed the list of most looked-up terms on its site during 2004. Eleanor Roosevelt’s newspaper column made its debut on December 30, 1935. From that day until to 1960, My Day was published, without fail, six days a week. When Eleanor Roosevelt was too ill to work, the columns appeared every other day until September 26, 1962. Readers across the country, indeed the world, benefited from Eleanor’s fearless det

Episode 49: Stephanie on the Holidays Welcome to Tea, Toast and Trivia. Thank you for listening in. It is December 27th and within a few short days we will welcome 2020, a new year and a new decade.  Have you made your resolutions yet?  Every year, the top resolutions are always about taking care of ourselves.  Whether it is losing weight, getting in shape, learning something new, traveling to new places, or spending more time with family – it is about wellness and reducing stress. We live in a world that demands our time and energy.  These are precious and scarce resources.  There is only so much time and we have only so much energy. Time to check in with my wellness coach, Stephanie from Bold Moves, for an energy boost and a great conversation on what’s next in 2020. So put the kettle on and add to our discussion on TeaToastTrivia.com.  I am your host Rebecca Budd and I’m looking forward to sharing this moment with you. Thank you for joining Stephanie and me on Tea Toast &

Episode 48: Merry Christmas from Tea Toast & Trivia Thank you for listening in... December 25, 2019. Christmas has arrived.  With the last-minute shopping completed, we ready our hearts for this special day anticipated since the beginning of December.  All the plans have been made, the gifts have been wrapped and the baking completed. Merry Merry Christmas! This is the time to feel the magic of the holiday season. Thank you for listening in to a special Tea Toast & Trivia podcast. I am grateful for all your encouragement and support of this podcast.  Soon we will be entering a second season and I am looking forward to all the conversations that are awaiting our arrival in 2020, a new year, a new decade. As I look back to Christmases of the past, what I remember most is the time spent with family and friends. Christmas is the quintessential time when we want to embrace the best of life, whatever that may means to us at this moment. In our modern age, we measure our lives by benchmarks t

Episode 47: The Gift December 19, 1843 Welcome to Tea, Toast and Trivia. Good morning, Good Afternoon, Good Evening, - wherever you are, thank you for listening in. The tradition of gifts at Christmas has been with us for a very long time. Tonight, I am going back a couple of centuries to discuss a gift that returns to us every Christmas to remind us of the true spirit of the holiday season. So put the kettle on and add to the discussion on TeaToastTrivia.com I am your host Rebecca Budd and I’m looking forward to sharing this moment with you.

Episode 46: Dave Astor on Literature Welcome to Tea, Toast and Trivia. Thank you for listening in. Winter is a time for books, tea, great conversations and more books. Yes, books. I have a stack ready for January 2020 along with a stash of tea: English Breakfast and Irish Breakfast, each with a subtle nuance. Chai, Green, Oolong, and White. I am looking forward to a long winter. The book on top of my stack is Dave Astor’s Fascinating Facts About Famous Fiction Authors and the Greatest Novels of All Time: The Book Lover’s Guide to Literary Trivia Dave has a marvelous way of going deep to find the story that is hidden in the folds of history. He leads you on a treasure hunt that ends with golden informational nuggets that will entice you to read further.  From Ray Bradbury and Emily Bronte to Nikolai Gogol and Daphne du Maurier, the lives of writers may even be more exciting than the narratives they write. Today, Dave Astor and I are bridging the 3,923 kilometers between New Jersey to Vancouver Put the ket

Episode 45: Frances on Milking the Cows Welcome to Tea, Toast and Trivia. Good morning, Good Afternoon, Good Evening, – wherever you are, thank you for listening in. Today, I am joined by my mother Frances to look back to farming in the 1930’s and 1940’s. The United Nations designated the year 2014 as the International Year of Family Farming (IYFF).  This year, on May 29, 2019, the United Nations launched  the Decade of Family Farming from 2019 – 2028.  My mother, Frances was a farmer’s daughter.  She knows first-hand the importance of family farming to provide food. Today we are milking the cows. So put the kettle on and join in the discussion. Frances and I look forward to your insights on TeaToastTrivia.com. I am your host Rebecca Budd and I’m looking forward to sharing this moment with you. Thank you for joining Frances and me as we looked back at farming in the past.  Technology has transformed the Dairy Industry, but one thing remains the same for farmers throughout the years –

Episode 44, Rituals & Traditions with Liz Welcome to Tea, Toast and Trivia. Thank you for listening in. December is the season for traditions and gatherings of family and friends. Hanukkah, Winter Solstice, St. Lucia Day, St. Nicholas Day, Christmas and New Year. It is a busy and joyful time of the year. Celebrations embrace rich traditions and rituals that connect our lives by associations with activities and memories. My dear blogger friend, Liz from the blog Leaping Life and I have once again bridged the 7,059 kilometers between Edinburgh and Vancouver to consider how we create new traditions over the years. Put the kettle on and join in the conversation. We would love to hear your thoughts on TeaToastTrivia.com I am your host Rebecca Budd and I’m looking forward to sharing this moment with you. Thank you for joining Liz and me on Tea Toast & Trivia. And a very special thank you and shout out to Liz from the blog, Leaping Life! The hashtag Liz mentioned for people feeling lonely on Christmas day is