Remembering 9/11

It's hard to realize that this is the tenth anniversary of the 9/11 attack on America. We will never forget where we were that beautiful early fall morning. I've decided to remember it in silent prayer today
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May God Bless America!

The Victorian Kitchen Garden

I came across this one day on the internet and would love to track down the video collection. My library did have the book, but not the videos. You can view introductions of these on YouTube. They go month by month and are just delightful! I'm fascinated with Victorian times and have often wondered how on earth they handled their food supplies. Have you ever read the menus for those huge and elegant dinner parties? My goodness. I just picked one of the choices to include with this post. There's several to watch and give you a little look at what this series is all about. Such a wealth of information. I love to watch Upstairs Downstairs....Mrs. Bridges was a wonder in the kitchen. So enjoy and see how things were done in Victorian times~quite amazing! The life of the head gardener must have been something.

I

Teacup Thursday #25

I thought I'd be featuring a fall teacup today for Miss Spenser's Teacup Thursday, but our summer has come on full blast and it's hard to be thinking of autumn when the temperature is 90 some outside!
So, I decided to show you a wonderful sweet "pink" Paragon cup and saucer that I found at an estate sale a few weeks ago for $3 .50. It's a very soft and pale pink and I love the shape of the cup.

I was sorting through some magazines and I found this quilting book~Tea Pary Time by Nancy Martin. A perfect name! I had forgotten how wonderful this little book is and I think I need to make something from it!

I received a package the other day from my very dear friend LaVonne in Montana. She sent this most wonderful plate as a belated anniversary gift. She found it at a sale while we were on our trip. It's German and just what I have gotten into lately. It's just so pretty and don't you just love the handles? Thanks again LaVonne.

I also wanted to congratulate Donna and Spenser on the wonderful article about their tea room in Tea Time magazine. I know some of our group mentioned it last week, but I finally got a copy and it is such a nice story. I love the recipes in the magazine-the issue has some lovely fall tea ideas. I'll be keeping this copy. Donna and Spenser have been working so hard and need a big pat on the back! Keep up the good work my friends.

Doll Show Treasures

The Crossroads Doll and Teddy Bear Show was help on Saturday here in Portland. I really enjoy this one and this September show was the best one I have ever attended. More older dolls and collectibles made it all the better for me! Jim went along, such a good sport,and was also impressed. We've had so many stores and now doing the antique shows through out the year, I think it's fun for him to see how the vendors display their wares!
I got to pick out my Christmas present, but it has to be a secret! It will be very fun to share this again in December.

A darling wooden peg doll stole my heart. She's not old, but she sure is a sweetie and I love her. I haven't named her yet...maybe Helga...as she reminds me of a sweet little lady who used to bake us coffee brownies with mocha frosting that was to die for!!!! I think she looks kind of OLD WORLD. What do you think? I think she was a good buy at $8. 50. Anyway, she's very happy to be living with the other dollies now in my tearoom.

I found this little flyer and loved the graphics. When I got home I was so delighted to find out that it has pages of valuable information about caring for old doll clothes~how to wash them and mend them. A real treasure.

These are a few wonderful paper items that came out of an old scrapbook. I spent about a half hour sorting through a tin of these. I wanted them all, but......at 25¢ each I had was so excited.

We found some other great finds, but will share them as I go into fall.

It's Labor Day today and our weatherman has promised us some very HOT days ahead...ugh. I thought fall was on the way, but alas, we are getting the summer now that we didn't get in July or August.

Welcome September....

                                              

Teacup Thursday #24

I so enjoyed this past week with all the posts about Tasha Tudor. I hope you take a peek at my Tasha Tudor Day post. Before I packed everything up from the tea, I decided to use on of the blue and white Calico teacups for Miss Spenser's Teacup Thursday. I still love my set, even though I have it packed away only to be used for special occasions.

My blog comments will be late on Thursday as I'm babysitting my niece Ms Maria again. FUN!

One of my favorite teapots!

I love to use this teapot with my Calico set!

Tasha Tudor Day~The Year of the Garden

The day is almost gone and I hope to post this before the clock chimes twelve midnight! Jim and I had a wonderful day together celebrating Tasha Tudor Day. We just watched both Take Joy and Take Peace to end the day with a heartful of lovely thoughts and bittersweet memories. I enjoy both programs so much yet it is a bit sad to watch and listen to Tasha now that she is no longer with us. But the reason we remember her on her birthday is to celebrate her life and to thank her for what she has given to us!
As this is the Year of the Garden, I decided to have a garden tea for Jim. I always do a tea for my girlfriends and he seems to get the leftovers, so I wanted to give him a "full presentation" as he calls it!

I like this picture of Tasha in her garden. What a lovely garden she had and how she enjoyed her time working away in that wonderful magical place. It's from an engagement calendar I recently acquired.

I decide to carry on my blue and white theme as I featured on Teacup Thursday. Here's a picture of the offering. It was really a fun menu to offer using fruits and vegetables as summer provides an abundance of each.

Tasha had a pet crow and I always think of Tasha every time I hear a crow caw. I like to collect crows as
they remind me of her.

I began the tea with a borrowed Strawberry Champagne Chiller from Trish at Sweetology. Her blog is wonderful and so was the drink! Nice on a hot summer afternoon.

I used as many herbs, vegetables and fruits as I could to stay with the garden theme. Everything turned out delicious and we couldn't choose which sandwich we liked the best.  So here's the menu:

Blueberry Scones*Fresh Fruit Cup with Blackberries, Raspberries and Blueberries*Cucumber/Mint Rounds*Italian Tempters (tomato, basil and mozzarella cheese)*
Curry Chicken*Egg Salad with Marigolds*Walla Walla Onion Tarts*Goat Cheese and Herbs with Crackers* and a Lima Bean Dip and Crackers*Turkey with Spinach, Cream Cheese and Cranberry*
Moonstruck Chocolates*Applets and Cottlets Candies* Mini Chocolate Cake* Chocolate Covered Strawberries*Variety of Tea Cakes* Black Vanilla and Almond Tea

Here we are enjoying our backyard and our Tasha Tudor Day tea on a lovely summer day. While we were eating, a humming bird kept coming by and our little squirrel buddy came begging for his treats.

I had asked the members of our Tasha Tudor group to share today how they came to be a Tasha fan, so I think I should add that to my post.
When our girls were young and we had our pharmacy, we could never get away for long vacations, but we did take many long weekend trips around Oregon. We loved to go to the Oregon coast and there was a book store at Newport, OR that we all really enjoyed. I was waiting for the girls as they were enjoying the children's books and I found Bethany Tudor's book DRAWN FROM NEW ENGLAND which was about her mother Tasha Tudor. I bought the book and fell in love with her work. There was a great little book store in Portland-The Skidmore Fountain Books and I became a very good customer...buying every Tasha book I could! She would call me when she received a new shipment. So I became a fan through her art and her children's books.

Down the road, I found the internet site and I was so very excited! I now belong to another site TAKE PEACE and four years ago we had a Kindred Spirits Gathering in Vermont. How fun it was to finally meet all those I had been emailing for years! Since then I have had the pleasure of meeting more members out here on the west side of the US. LaVonne from Montana has become a very dear friend who has come to visit me several times and I'm hoping she will be back soon! Kristen has family in Oregon and has been to visit my home twice. LaVonne and I have traveled North to meet Clarice, Angie, Linda Fox, Jane, and Robin. Oh the laughs and the fun times we have had! I did meet Christine thanks to Clarice last fall too. The friendships that Tasha has given me are one of my most favorite things about finding Tasha! I so hope to meet more Tashettes in the future.

So, as I say good night on this Tasha Tudor Day, I say thank you Tasha for giving me the gift of friendship with so many dear friends. You have inspired me to try new things, have given me the OK to play with dolls, and to realize that I am never too old to follow my dreams!

Thanks to my Jimmy who shares his time with me to have so much fun with Tasha and all that it means to me in my life. I love you big guy!