An Invitation to Tea

It’s a lovely day for a tea party. We’ll invite all our friends. Invitations will be sent out.
We’ll use Grandmother’s China-oh do be careful!

Who will wear the most outrageous hat?

The prettiest dress?

Who will bring flowers for the hostess?

Shall we plan the menu?

Tea-of course! English Breakfast, Darjeeling, Earl Grey…
Scones with clotted cream…
Little finger sandwiches with the crusts cut off…
Shortbread cookies shaped like hearts...

The table in the morning room is set for a ladies tea. Everyone will choose their cup and a fancy lace napkin. I’ll use mum-in-law’s china-it has a lovely rose in the center. The tablecloth is Grandma’s wedding ring quilt. It is in all the right pastel shades. The early afternoon sun coming through the window throws a rainbow of light on our festivities.
Everyone will leave with a box of treats tied up with a pretty ribbon to remember this day.

One lump or two?

Oh it has been a pleasant day!

"For every happy smile, the world

Whirls on its way with less of care".

I'm glad you could join us for tea on Tablescape Thursday.

I must say the afternoon slipped by rather quickly.

I'll just relax in my favorite chair after bidding goodbye to my friends.

The Making of A Garden

The Making of A Garden

When we first saw our home it was a day much like today. The day was cold with snow flurries off & on-also mid-March. I fell in love with the house at first sight-although it was defiantly a diamond in the rough. We moved in mid-May. The “garden” was a tangle of ivy & weeds, but we had lovely old trees-the property had nice “bones”. We did inherit some lovely old roses, a few lavender lilacs & peonies. Except for the lilacs we have probably moved everything else several times over with every renovation. We lost some trees due to old age or wind storms-that changed the type of plants that would do well in the garden. The spot that used to be for shade-lovers was now out in the sunshine. When we added the addition, sunny spots now became shady ones.

These photos of spring plantings from last year still seem in the far, distant future. The landscape is still brown & green-a very neutral palate. Still Rosalie & the cherub greet me smiling every morning. As I rake away the winter twigs & fall leaves, brave green tips of bulbs appear; crepe leaf buds cling to the bare hydrangea stems & tight spring-green buds cover the lilacs. Spring readies herself for her debut!

These photos show the house in 1892, 1917, 1986, & 2008.

Take time to smell the flowers!

The iris garden.

My little garden helper.

The garden angel nested in white lilacs & azaeleas.

Lilacs original to the house.

Thanks for visiting my nest!

Join our hostess Susan at A Southern Daydreamer for Outdoor Wednesday!

Have a lovely Wenesday & try to spend a little bit of it outdoors!

Doing a little spring daydreaming!

Almost Spring

As I sit here sipping a cup of tea, I can hear a bird singing outside. His song is sweet & clear & another will join in with an answering refrain. It is quiet other than the little bird’s duet. If I don’t look out the window and ignore the turtleneck I’m wearing I can imagine I’ll walk out into lovely, warm sunshine. Alas, that is not the case. We were given a small taste of spring over the weekend. Friday & Saturday were sunny and warm. We had a case of “garden fever” & to our delight; the garden centers were ready with a cure. The cool-weather annuals were out with all their bright crayon box colors. We chose a flat of yellow pansies for the urns by our front door. Finally a bit of color instead of the winter drab browns & greens. Even though it is chilly today with the scent of rain in the air, I can look out at that bright slash of yellow & know Spring is just hiding behind the clouds.

I love to grow Pansies not just because they make their debut in early spring, but because I can enjoy them into early summer. If they are kept in a spot that gets morning sunshine and afternoon shade, they will survive until scorching summer heat. I use them for garnish on appetizer trays & salads. I like to dust them with sugar to decorate cakes.

Sugar Frosted Flowers

1 egg white, beat until smooth but not stiff or use powdered egg white or meringue powder-(prepared according to package directions).
Super-fined granulated sugar-free of lumps-(I put a half-cup in the food processor for about 30 seconds)
Small un-used, clean paintbrush

I like to use pansies, violets, scented geraniums & roses. You can also use mint leaves & scented geranium leaves. Remember, not all flowers are edible. Choose, clean, perfect pesticide-free blooms. If needed gently wash and let them air-dry on a paper towel. Gently brush all petals with egg white. Gently sprinkle under-side then top with sugar. Gently shake off excess sugar. Place on wax paper lined tray to dry. Embellish!

From the Herb Garden-Tablescape Thursday

From The Herb Garden Tablescape Thursday..

Spring is in the air…well at least on the way. My Tablescape Thursday is From the Herb Garden. I have been collecting bits & pieces of Fitz & Floyd for a long time. They drift my way as gifts, as great buys at Flea markets, yard sales or TJ Maxx. I love their whimsical animals-especially the rabbits-did I mention I love rabbits. So here is my breakfast room table set for a leisurely lunch. With bread & brioche with chocolate & strawberry butters followed by a plate of home made chocolate chip scones. Fresh fruit & turkey tea sandwiches with cranberry chutney.

The woven chargers are Pier 1, but I got them at a yard sale for $8.00 for a set of 10. The original price tag of $15.00 each was still on the bottom! The tablecloth is a Raymond Waites fabric remnant I bought at a local co-op. I got the lovely green woven placemats at Target marked down to $2.47 for a set of 4. The butter-yellow napkins were a steal at $1.74 for a four-pack & the fruit plates were under $5.00. The nifty butterfly plates I bought at a church thrift sale for $2.00 & then found a second set of four at Goodwill for $6.00. The ceramic fruit & vegetable boxes I collected years ago. They just tickled my fancy at the time & usually parade across the bottom of my Irish dresser in the kitchen.
The flatware is an old Rogers pattern in silver plate called “Vintage”. I picked it up as a service for six at a flea market years ago.

Don’t the flowers look real? The centerpiece is one of my latest arrangements. Too soon for the real thing from my garden. The roses are silk in faux water. The yellow rose napkin rings are a package clip-on I bought at a local dollar store. The petals look & feel real. I tied the napkin with a plaid, wired ribbon bow & just clipped them on. The candlesticks are Victorian spatter glass-another co-op find.

Try some flavored butters for your next brunch or tea. My favorite is the chocolate!

Tea Butters

For chocolate butter-melt ½ cup chocolate on low in microwave-I like to use Wilbur buds in dark chocolate. Allow to cool, but still workable. Have about ½ cup butter at room temp. Slowly with a hand mixer, blend chocolate into butter. If it is too runny refrigerate till easier to spread.

Fruit butters-For each fruit butter you will need ½ cup whipped butter at room temp & ¼ cup of your favorite flavor of jam-strawberry, raspberry, orange marmalade, blueberry….the combinations are endless.

With a hand mixer, blend jam into butter. Transfer to a pretty serving dish. Try the orange on a cranberry scone. Mmmm…

Here is a close-up of the napkin ring.

Thoughts of Spring

For the past several days temperatures here have been in the 20's. It snowed Monday & even though the sun has been shining, with the cold temps, the snow has lingered. The pond is frozen over completely, when only last week you could see down to the bottom.

For my first Outdoor Wednesday, I profile my garden instead of bleak & snow-covered but as it will be with the first kiss of Spring.

Be sure to visit our hostess for this lovely event at A Southern Daydreamer & join in the fun!

Chicken Soup

On Thursday I woke up with a good dose of the common cold. I was still able to function through a normal day but by evening I was pretty beat. My husband came home from work with all the appropriate cold remedies & a bouquet of flowers to brighten my spirits. On Friday morning he woke up with the flu, so we spent the weekend into Monday in turn playing nursemaid to one another. I spent my day Friday running up & down the stirs with Jell-O, water, & chicken soup. Monday it snowed all morning & we spent our day wrapped up in quilts by the fireplace. I made the best of things by flipping though magazines & reading a book I have had for some time, but had not yet read. If you like historical fiction, you may enjoy this one-Thirteen Moons by Charles Frasier. I read Cold Mountain when it first came out. I found it a good read, but a bit grisly at times. Thirteen Moons was excellent & I’d love to see another book from Charles Frasier. Here is one of our favorite “comfort” foods.

Mom’s Chicken Soup

12 cups chicken broth or 2 large cans 49-1/2 oz each
Hand full of baby carrots cut on the diagonal- about 1 cup chopped
1 stalk celery-cut on the diagonal plus leaves finely chopped
Freshly ground sea salt & pepper to taste
¼ teaspoon marjoram – (dried)
1 teaspoon dried or 1 TB fresh-(chopped) parsley
1/8 teaspoon celery salt
1/8 teaspoon garlic granulated
¼ teaspoon granulated onion
1/3 bag of egg noodles

I usually fly-by-the-seat-of my-pants when I am making this recipe, but have tried to measure for once instead of a pinch of this…a dash of that…
I always find it is good for “what ails you”, and if you use a thicker egg noodle, it re-heats well again & again. You can add shredded chicken if you are making your broth from “scratch”

Bring broth or stock to the boil. Add chopped carrots, celery & seasonings. Reduce heat to low, maintain a gentle boil until carrots & celery are fork tender. Sample a spoonful of broth & add more salt/pepper to taste. Add noodles & simmer till noodles are al dente, about ten minutes. You can adjust the amount of noodles to your liking. Remember as they cook, they absorb the broth.