Pretty Fall Days

It has been just a beautiful fall here in Oregon! The days have been warm and sunny and windy!

After days of strong east winds, the trees are getting a little more sparse.  Oh, but there are lots of leaves left to fall!

The wind piles the leaves up against Jim's cottage...they are piling up.!

I decided to do a bit of baking to enjoy a bit of tea today. Something for me and something for Jimmy.

I've been experimenting with almond flour. The tea bread is a pumpkin spice almond flour bread.
It's very moist and has a lot of flavor. It only has 2-3 T of honey, no sugar. I had a 1/2 can of pumpkin, so made Jim some soft drop pumpkin cookies with an old fashion butter cream frosting. YUMMY.

I have had these pumpkin mugs for over 40 years. I got them at the Oregon State fair when we were first married. I have used them every year.

My friend LaVonne gifted me with this darling acorn teapot. I brewed a chai tea by Stash-mild and delightful.

Our weatherman says we will have about 5 more days of this lovely weather. 

Pear Time!

It's almost fall and it's pear time!!! I am putting together Tea Time Tuesday with Dolly Time Thursday. It's actually Friday, but I had my little tea yesterday.

I adore this beautiful new teacup. It's a Royal Albert called Pear Harvest from the Orchard Collection. A great Etsy find.

It's so pretty with my tea! Why does tea taste better in a bone china cup and saucer????

This is a new tea for me and I really like it. It's a white tea, so it has flavor yet it has a delicate taste.

It's a pretty mix too! I am not a tea snob, but I do enjoy loose tea.

I found this set of pressed glass cream and sugar a few weeks ago at a flea market. Can you see the pears? No one wants these treasures anymore...only $5 for the set.

The fresh pears are so yummy now! Enjoying a couple different types.

 Isn't this dolly cute! I love these fruit and veggie dolls. They are from the 1950's and were made in Italy. I recently found one at a flea market and was so delighted to add one to my collection. She is charming.

She still has her tags...Made in Italy!

Fall is on it's way! It will be here officially next week....yeah! Enjoy. 

How the Dolls Celebrated Tasha's Birthday!

The dolls also wanted to celebrate Tasha's Birthday on August 28th, so they planned quite a birthday tea! They showered Tasha with treats and gifts too. She looks so happy, doesn't she?

The dolls chose an antique China tea set for the occasion. It is a favorite of Tasha's.

Cakes and pies and yummy things!

The dolls were delighted when Linda found a box of tiny English crackers for the party. They are perfect for the dolls.

A whole box to enjoy...but who could actually use one? They do pop and most likely have something inside, but....

Quite the gathering of good friends came to celebrate!!

Love this little miss!

Ladye Lydia Rose was invited, of course!

This is Melanie....she is Daphne's cousin, who came for a visit. She came with her little floral suitcase.

Isn't she a pretty one? She was so nervous to meet Tasha.

She was holding on to her suitcase....I think she was afraid she might have to leave quickly!.

Daphne calmed her down and told her not to be afraid. They are good friends and enjoy each other's company.

See...there was nothing to be concerned about! Tasha was very welcoming and was happy to meet the new little lady.

Melanie's dress is quite lovely. So she is going to live at Harlow House and all the other dolls are quite pleased about it.

So Happy Birthday Tasha! It was a wonderful day for the dolls and their owners. Let's do this again next year! 

Tasha Tudor's Birthday Celebration

Today, August 28th, was the birth date of the illustrator Tasha Tudor. She would have been 103 years old today. As big fans and members of the Tasha Tudor Museum Society, we love to celebrate on this day. Our Take Peace group had a gift exchange, however, I didn't participate this time. My surgeries just fell at the wrong time for me to join in the fun. Today is Tea With Tasha Tuesday, so several of us had a special tea today too.

My Jimmy has been such a great caregiver, so I thought I would put together a tea for him today too.
He drove me to the grocery store yesterday after we attended my sister in law's dad's funeral. Yes, I am still not driving...sigh. I had planned my menu so I was able to pick up my goodies.

I planned to have a lighter summer tea time using fruits and vegetables. I was happy with the results. I used my red transfer ware dishes and used lots of pink. I love setting a tea time table.

The blackberries area almost done and the peaches are really good right now.

A few yummy brownies, some pink chocolate chip cookies and a little coconut creme pie...YUM.

I used some of Tasha's books, her silhouette (a gift from LaVonne), some candles and a sweet African Violet plant.

I just made two sandwiches...egg salad and cucumber/strawberry open faced little hearts. The combo was really refreshing with a bit of cream cheese. I can now eat more tea goodies after the surgery, so it was quite a treat!

My friend sent me a box of goodies the other day. She made this wild violet jelly and oh, it is wonderful! I thought Jimmy was going to eat the whole jar. It was just delicious on the drop scones I made.

The little tomatoes are still producing , but I think we may only have fresh tomatoes for a few more weeks.

I adore little salts. These little birds and bird nests are some of my favorites. The pink salt was perfect.

So here is my very happy and very pleased Jimmy. He does love food and a good tea. We enjoyed tea chatting about Tasha friends and Tasha events. I am blessed to have such a sweet hubby who enjoys my love of Tasha Tudor. It was a very fun day. 

45 Years of Marriage

45 years ago, on August 4th, Jimmy and I were married in the St Rose church where I was a primary school teacher. It has been quite the journey. It is hard to believe....45 years.
As I was thinking I would get back into blogging...I was wrong again. I ended up with two emergency surgeries the end of July and I am still recovering.
A few weeks ago, a friend of mine brought up the topic of marriage vows. She said her husband would never do anything against the vows he took when they married. It seems so old fashioned now, as I don't think people even think about vows. My Jimmy has always kept his vows to God and to me. He certainly learned the part about in sickness and in health this past month. How do you thank your partner for sitting the ER and holding your hand and never leaving as you wait to find out what is really wrong with you? He was always there, right there. It is so scary to be in a hospital all alone. It does force you to come to grips with things in your life, your relationship with God, your relationships with your family and friends and your faith. In the quiet, you have to face many things. I am thankful for good doctors and very kind nurses.
So now, I am recovering. That's not easy for me  either....I am not very patient. Rest rest rest.....
Yesterday, we actually went on a little outing to get me out of the house. It felt good. I did get tired and had to rest along the way, but it was grand to just be out of the house.
So thank you dear Jimmy for taking care of me all these years. I am blessed with a good husband.
Happy Anniversary Jimmy. 

The Mary Engelbreit House

It's been so long since I have blogged. In April, my dad had some terrible falls that resulted in a 3 month ordeal for him. This included 3 hospital trips, time back and forth to rehab, moving him out of independent living to assisted living and lots of changes. A great deal of the coordination and planning fell on me. We did it and survived and it really drew our family together. As you can imagine, it was really exhausting and did not allow for anything! The end of April, I was able to sneak away for a day to the Portland Dollshow. We had only arrived when my Jimmy spotted this charming Mary Engelbreit dollhouse that someone had almost finished. She sold it to him for $35. I still can't believe it, but oh, how I love it. As I have shared many times, my sewing and crafting cottage is decorated with ME things, so this was so exciting to find. I have never had a dollhouse like this. All the work was done and it does have lights. I had to furnish part of the bedroom and most of the living room. I was so lucky to find a couch and chair for the living room done in ME fabric. I do think the kitchen is my favorite room in the whole house. I made a place for it in my large wall shelves. Thanks to my Jimmy for spotting it and buying it for me. I will treasure it always.
I keep saying that I am trying to get back to blogging..it's been almost 2 years since my health issues were discovered. I had a new scare this week and am waiting for test results. It just seems to go on and on. I was always so healthy with NO problems most of my life, so this has been difficult. I am thankful for good doctors and good care. I should get some test results back on Tuesday, so we shall see. Meanwhile, I get great happiness from my doll world. Enjoy.

A look into the furnished house!

The kitchen has to be my favorite room. The first owner put so much detail into this sweet kitchen.

Everyone needs a bathroom!.

The bedroom was fun to finish. I added the dresser , the little doll and doll bed plus some smalls and accessories. I like all the pink and green in this room...a nice little change up from the ME bright primary colors.

This was the room that needed the most additions. I added the couch, chair, lamps, table, little shelf, rug and basket. I had some of the minis and ordered a few items to complete the room.

I wanted to show the outside of the cute window in the kitchen. All so cute.
So hello to all my old blogger friends...not sure you even remember me! Sending lots of love out there to you all. I do miss you.