Down a Country Lane

This picture was taken just a few days ago.

It is behind my house, down the alley.

Each block in my neighborhood has a hidden alley separating

the house backs.

For some reason the pink roses on our pergola love

facing west; so I must walk down the alley to enjoy them.

What beauties they are right now.

When walking down the alley, which is indeed in the city,

it feels for a few moments like I am down a country lane.

I love walking the alleys of my neighborhood.

With a Hedgerow or a Fence

Inclose a garden if you will

With a fence or hedgerow-still

Roses' vagrant scents go roaming;

Dandelion seeds come homing;

Creeping in and under, tansy

Greets a sly out-faring pansy.

Shut the gate, bar it, lock it-

Thistles laugh, cornflowers mock it;

Honeysuckle vines climb over;

Through the interstices, clover.

And no berries ever grew

Robins didn't steal a few.

Some troubles end and some commence

With a hedgerow or a fence. 

~A Kitchen Sonnet, by Ethel Romig Fuller

I am so happy I found A Kitchen Sonnet at an antique mall

some years ago. I do quote from her from time and this

out of print book delights me.  Hope you enjoy it too.

I thought this particular poem describes what I see when I walk our alleys.

There are indeed vagrant roses, dandelions, and escaping vines of many kinds.

Even our fig tree hangs into the alley.

Happy Weekend, dear friends! 

Bonsai Museum

Do you like little bonsai trees?

My "live-in gardener" does!

He has been taking classes for a few years

and gradually our garden house is becoming full of little trees.

He had been wanting to visit the Weyerhauser Bonsai Museum

for awhile; so on the road trip we recently took we stopped by there

on the last day of our adventure. It is just south of Seattle.

Some of the little trees were in bloom.

Some were trained to hang in new ways.

Some just stood up straight and well I was going to say

tall, but tall for a bonsai I guess.

The exhibit was done quite nicely outdoors.

Oh I had to include this just for fun.

It was a full blown tree that I could stand under.

It was so full of blooms it took my breathe away.

Well those little trees were fun to see, but this delighted me.

OK, back to the little trees.

I loved the way they were displayed.

Oh the patience and attention to detail one little tree can take.

This group had about 50 little trees gathered together,

wondering if they were having a party.

Some the trees had little friends sitting nearby.

All in all it was a fun exhibit to see.

My "live-in gardener" loved it immensely.

I think what fascinated me was in amongst the forest of big trees

there was this beautifully curated museum of little trees.

Now I didn't hug any tree, but I do love both big trees and small ones too.

Tea Time in Bed

 No special afternoon teas right now,

but tea time in bed or just the idea of tea time in bed

does capture my thinking.

 Do you ever have tea time in the early morning hour in bed?

 What tea would you put in the teapot and sip with delight?

My final find at The Farm Chicks show was the cotton

crochet tablecloth. There were mounds of quilts, tablecloths,

and all sorts of linens and fabric things and you just had to dive in.

I was not going to do it, but it looked so fun I couldn't resist looking a bit.

And before you knew it I had a purpose.

I was going to find a crochet tablecloth,

but something that would fit on top of my bed.

I am in love with what I found.

Do you see it on my bed?

It was a bit dingy and stained, but I tossed it into

a delicate wash then spread it out on my lawn to dry.

I am a happy girl with this find.
So just the beauty of my bed beckons me this morning.
A good cup of tea tucked up in bed would be a delight.

Linking to Bernideen at http://blog.bernideens.com/

Monday's Tea Quotes

"Tea is the gateway to biscuits"  

~found on Pinterest

Not sure who said it, but I liked it.

 The other day I said I brought home two things from

The Farm Chick show; actually there were three things.

Here I am showing you two of them.

A new teacup.

I can't resist chintz cups.

And one rusty ceiling tin.

I thought it would make a nice backdrop for pictures,

but also hoping I find the right place in my cottage to display it too.

So why are there no biscuits in these pictures?

I need a biscuit with my tea, please!

Another Day on the Road

Road trips are so much fun!

Just seeing the country side as you drive by delights me.

You probably can't see them, but there were ripe cherries in these trees.

I couldn't wait to find a farm stand and finally did enjoy freshly picked

fruit! Oh my, but the cherries were amazing and even had one delicious apricot too.
 I think if I had to choose one food group to eat it would

be fresh fruit from the tree.

Finally making it to Cashmere, Washington

we stopped at the Aplet's and Cotlet's factory for a tour.

Do you know them?

I love these Turkish Delights.

There were slabs of this delightful candy.

Then they were covered in baking powder, so they didn't stick together.

Cut into bite sized candies and the powder shook off,

then sprinkled with sugar.

Then sorted and packaged up.

Yes, there were samples too.

It is hard to tell, but the main street of Cashmere was lined with flags.

It was a sweet downtown and we were glad we stopped for awhile.

Small town America, how it touches my heart.

Then along the road one of our planned stops was Leavenworth, Wa.

It is like an alpine village from Switzerland.

Tucked among the mountains.

A sweet oasis of food and delights.

The town square on a beautiful, sunny day.

A lunch which involved German food and a stroll through shops

was the plan. It didn't disappoint.

We picked up sausages, cheese, bread for a later picnic down the road.

Now isn't that what a road trip is all about?

Seeing the sights, being surprised by new things,

and enjoying the local food.

Happy weekend, dear friends!

Hope you find opportunity to get out there and explore.

Spokane, All in a Day on the Road

Old historic Davenport Hotel in Spokane, Washington.

The first full day of the little road trip was to get acquainted with Spokane.

That included walking through this old hotel in downtown.

Would this be a wonderful place to have afternoon tea?

Then upon winding through Spokane we searched high and low 

and finally found Manito Park.

It was quite beautiful with a botanical garden,

rose garden, Japanese garden, and conservatory.

School children were out in droves enjoying a beautiful day in the garden.

An end of the school adventure with notebooks and inquisitive minds

were present. The boy in the picture was rolling down the hill.

Have you ever done that? I loved doing that as a child.

I had never heard of a lollipop plant,

have you?

My "live-in gardener" and I were quite impressed

with the collection of plants in the conservatory.

Then a brief walk in the Japanese Gardens

before we headed to tea time at Brambleberry Cottage.

After tea we were amazed that we could drive in one hour

to Priest River, Idaho, for a little visit with friends in the evening.

It might seem rather packed, but really was a day of delight;

which also included a morning walk by the river and falls in Spokane.

There again our day was framed by rivers rushing by.

Springtime and melting snow seems to do that as it 

rushes by and delights us.

Then again tea flowed in the afternoon in the tearoom too.

How wonderful to have the opportunity for a short get-away.