Linen Monday

There are many small tablecloths in my cupboard.

This small white tablecloth is just perfect for serving tea.

It was a gift from a friend.

The cutwork and tatted edge are so special.

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Until Wednesday I am a tour guide for friends

visiting from out of state. I love showing people around our

beautiful state of Oregon. Yesterday was Mt. Hood, what a beautiful view.

Today is the Pacific Ocean, which is one of my favorite places to visit.

If you ever come to Oregon, let me know and we can visit an Oregon sight.

Crave for Beauty

Mountain flowers are bringing out their beauty

while tea sprouts their fragrance.

~Chen Chong Ping

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Tea is quiet and our thirst for tea

is never far from our craving for beauty.

~James Norwood Pratt

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Enjoy the beauty of the day.

Lavender Touch

It must be summer, the lavender is beginning to bloom.

Brushing my hand along their blooms as I walk through the garden releases their fragrance and connects me to the essence.

When we walk by a friend, do we brush our hand along their arm and touch, releasing their fragrance? Do we feel more connected?

What do we touch as we move through life that releases a fragrance such as the touch of lavender or herb? Touching can bring such sensual feelings of happiness and joy. Touch something or someone today and release your inner feelings. Notice what you notice as you touch today.

Cherry Clafouti

Having so many cherries I have been looking for new recipes. I found this recipe online, but don't remember where. It was so good and easy to make, except for pitting all the cherries. I understand it is a traditional french recipe and can be made with other fruit.

Cherry Clafouti

1 tablespoon unsalted butter at room temperature

1/3 cup plus 1 tablespoon granulated sugar

3 extra large eggs at room temperature

6 tablespoons all purpose flour

1-1/2 cups heavy cream

2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

1 teaspoon grated lemon zest

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons Brandy or Kirsch

1 1/2 lbs. fresh cherries, washed and dried

Confectioner's sugar

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Butter a 10 x 1 1/2 round baking dish and sprinkle the bottom and sides with 1 tablespoon of the granulated sugar. (Note: I used two pie plates for this recipe)

Beat the eggs and the 1/3 cup granulated sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. On low speed mix in the flour, crea, vanilla extract, lemon zest, salt, and Brandy. Set aside for 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, pit the cherries. Arrange in a single layer, packed together, in the baking dish. Pour the batter over the cherries and bake until the top is golden brown and the custard is firm, 35-40 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature, sprinkled with confectioner's sugar.

I was given one tip from a friend: Don't make the custard too deep and it will come out the best.

Enjoy!

Barefoot on the Beach

A barefoot walk on the beach.

Reviving the soul.

A warm cup of tea held between cold hands.

Reviving the spirit and warming the hands.

Rejoice and Soar, let my heart expand with joy.

Tea Towels - Monday Linens

Excuse me for being slow today. I have been dealing with ripe cherries, drying them and making cherry clafautis. The cherry clafautis was a new recipe for me, but I think it turned out very yummy. Of course I had a little sample. I can't give company tonight bad clafautis. Now I must find some other things to do with more cherries.

Today is Monday Linens day and I am sharing tea towels.

This is most of my small collection hanging on our outdoors trellis. You can click on the picture to enlarge and see more detail. The tea towel with the pink trim has two kitties and a dog in the middle. It was made as a baby gift for me by my mother's favorite Aunt Eva. The two towels with yellow flowers were found and given to me by my friend, Caryl. She always finds wonderful treasures with yellow on them for me.

This is a sweet Time for Tea towel given to me by another friend.

When I first met Elizabeth Knight, a tea book writer, she was selling some tea accessories and this tea towel came home with me. I love the crocheted edge on this towel. I think of Elizabeth each time I see the towel.

The other towels I am not sure where they came from, but I love them just the same. Tea towels are fun to hang in the kitchen or for that matter other rooms for decoration. I do have a difficult time thinking of using them.

A Rose is a Rose

A Rose is a Rose is a shared delight in the roses in my garden.

Click on the speaker to hear the music and enjoy time in my garden.

Happy Summer Solstice!

Tea at the Mansion

The Pittock Mansion was built on the hill looking out over Portland. It is possible to go inside, but for this cloudy Sunday afternoon the WuWo Tea Ceremony group chose to have tea on the lawn.

visit www.pittockmansion.org to read more of the history and see more pictures.

From the lawn you can peek through the trees to see downtown Portland.

The mansion was built to be enjoyed for it's outdoors beauty with gardens and hiking trails by Henry and Georgiana Pittock. They lived only 5 years in the mansion from 1914 to 1919. Henry had been an early owner of the Oregonian newspaper. Georgiana loved the outdoors and flowers and was one of the originators of the Portland Rose Festival. We were having tea on their lawn during Rose Festival time. The roses were in bloom.

Some of us bring trays and simple seats for tea.

This is the more tradition way to share in the WuWo tea ceremony with a mat and small cushion to sit on the ground. But since it is a fairly casual tea ceremony, either way will work.

Sharing tea in the out of doors is always a pleasant afternoon event, especially when you can have it on the lawn of a mansion.

Fragrance of Tea

Whenever friends and family sit around a table,

a cup of fragrant tea will lend its rich aroma

and warm presence to any occasion.

~Ling Wang

***

Enjoy a fragrant cup of tea today.

The tea today will be Le France, a black tea flavored

with vanilla, red fruit, and mallow flowers.

A bowl full of fresh strawberries will add

that special touch to the fragrance of the day.

Time in a Bottle

Pictures are of my husband's bottle collection sitting on our mantle right now.

Looking at the bottles I am drawn to think about what they represent.

Looking at Wikipedia I find the words vessel as an open bowl, it is wide open.

A bottle is a container with a narrow opening.

A container is packaging to protect and transport.

What other containers are there? Our bodies are containers.

Our skin protects what is inside. It transports us to different places.

Yesterday someone wrote on another blog how there just was

not enough time and my mind was brought back to these

bottles. If only we could capture time in a bottle and use it to preserve

a time of joy and laughter. Time is precious and must be treasured.

Each moment counts as we create memories. Our memories are to be treasured

in our containers of the mind.

What would you like to capture and hold in your bottle?

What delights you today?

*****

Just a note:

Thinking about the 4th of July coming next week, I have been reminded of the colors Red, White, and Blue. In approaching the 4th I will feature the color Red on July 1st, White on July 2nd, and Blue on July 3rd. If you would like to join me, let me know and I will post your link here at Delights of the Heart.

Monday Linen Days

It is amazing what you can find at the thrift store. My daughter found this cute little tablecloth, which she gave to me for Christmas. Each corner is hand stitched with a teapot, tea cup, and sugar bowl.

The center has a girl and boy in a small row boat.

Vintage table cloths can be so festive and colorful. I love the colors in this one. So many of them from the 1930's and 1940's had fruit in them.

The blue trimmed tablecloth is the first one that I couldn't resist about 30 years ago. It is linen, the colors so vibrant. It has been a real joy to use, eventhough it now has a couple small holes in it. I always think I will cut them up when they get holes or have holes, but I just can't bring myself to do it yet. If they have holes I sometimes just layer the table cloths on the table with like colors. I have a few linen, plaid tablecloths that are beautiful layered with the flowered or fruited cloths. It is fun to play with combinations for a party, for company, or just for everyday use.

Happy Anniversary!

Happy Anniversary Dear Husband!

I can't believe it has been 45 years.

How time does fly.

We were so young.

Wasn't I just a babe of 10 or so?

And you were only one year older.

I use to think people that had been married this

long as old. Hummm? I don't think we are

old yet. How the perspective changes.

Room with a View

So often I enjoy my view from my window. This is what I see as I am writing to you this morning. The grass is speckled with the sun. The teapot and cup are waiting. It is a place of serenity as the squirrels scamper by. I was thinking about the movie, Room with a View, and found the YouTube song. I hope you enjoy it on this late spring day.

Thank God for my room with a view.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=ov4_L2G0qWE

Simple Things

Roses from my garden.

Listening to a friends jazz combo in a wine shop.

A bicycle covered with flowers sitting on a street corner.

Having a cup of my favorite tea while sitting in my yard.

Watching the cherries ripen on my trees.

Enjoying good company.

Apricot pie.

Copper River Wild Salmon.

Watching the clouds go by.

Laughing!

Family

Books

***

These are a few of my favorite things this week.

Thanks to Relyn sharing on Come Sit by my Fire

and

Christina of Soul Aperature for starting this.

It is a good thing to notice what simple things bring us delight each day.

J-Jill

This is not an advertisement, just a satisfied customer.

When I was working in the world of apparel for a company that will remain nameless, we often referred to J-Jill for the fit the company wanted to emulate. When I moved on to another company to work, I started buying my clothes at J-Jill. What is great about J-Jill is indeed the fit, but also some of my favorite fabrics. They have nice classic, but fun designs that I think alot of women would love to wear. I know that I can order pants from them and they will fit the same each time I order. Mostly I order online at JJill.com or I call with catalog in hand to 1-800-642-9989. Online you can also look for stores in your area. They almost always have a great sale rack in the stores. I have recommended them to friends, who have also enjoyed J-Jill. So if you are looking for something that fits well, check out J-Jill.

This is not my normal blog, but I do love J-Jill and thought I would share.

Cherries

Growing up in a family of fruit growers I was thrilled when we bought our house. There are two very large cherry trees in our backyard. Beside giving us shade on a hot summer day, they sometimes give us fruit. Now if we can just get to the fruit before the birds and squirrels eat all of them. I tell the birds and squirrels that they can have the top half, but just leave the bottom half for me. Even the bottom half is difficult to reach, as the trees are so large. Some years we have wonderful full trees full of cherries and some years there is very little. One tree is a Royal Anne cherry, which is now considered heirloom. They are yellow with a blush of red and very good. What a treat when we get some of them. The other is a dark cherry, maybe a Lambert or Bing, and produces more cherries. There is nothing more special in the summer sunshine than to eat fresh cherries right from the tree.

On the years when we have an excess of fruit, I have canned cherries and made pies. If you have an excess of fruit, what do you do with them?

A Peek

When I started Delights of the Heart a year ago my goal was to remind me and share the things that delight my heart and make me happy. So often I would find myself or others around me dwelling on the negatives of life and I wanted to have this blog as a journal that delighted me, sort of like a gratitude journal. Fabric delights me. When I walk through a store I love to touch anything that is fabric. The textures, colors, and construction all entertain and bring me joy. This love of fabrics brought me to collecting and loving quilts and vintage children's clothes, which I have shared with you here at Delights of the Heart. It is also why I ended up in a career as an apparel patternmaker for 25years.

Throughout the summer, on Monday's, I will be sharing other fabric delights in my fabric collection. They might be tablecloths, pillowcases, aprons, tea towels, or tea cozies. Come along and take a peek into my linen cupboard. Though it looks messy, there are some fun delights. Just peeking into the cupboard, what do you see? Is there something that is teasing you to see more?

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I can't believe I have been sharing here at Delights of the Heart for 1 year. I love sharing with you and visiting your blog homes, if I have the link.

Have a great week~

June Garden

My June garden is full of color right now. The roses and daisies are in full bloom. It is a joy to put the laundry out to dry surrounded in the beauty of the day. A cup of tea in the garden is a perfect morning treat.

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Tea is best when enjoyed in pleasant surrounding,

whether indoors or out,

where the atmosphere is tranquil,

the setting harmonious.

~John Blofeld

*

Many of my tea quotes are found in a new book, Tea Wisdom, by Aaron Fisher

Sparkling Tea

Golden Star White Jasmine Sparkling Tea.

I enjoyed this tea at the Crown and Crumpet in San Francisco and finally

found out what they served. Whole Foods is where I found it.

It is quite spendy, but if you don't drink wine this is a perfect replacement.

Very yummy and so pretty in a champagne or wine glass.

It is definitely a special treat tea.

Now I have a bottle saved for a special occasion.

Come, let us have some tea

Come, let us have some tea and continue to talk about happy things.

~Chaim Potok

**

Tea beckons us to enjoy quality time with friends and loved ones, and especially to rediscover the art of relaxed conversation.

~Dorothea Johnson

Doors and Windows

When my son was a young child he called eyelids doors. The more I have thought about that concept over the years I have realized he was so right. Eyelids do act as doors, opening to amazing sights and taking in the world around us, both the beautiful and the ugly. Can we filter what comes in? Guide our children to see the beauty? Close the eyelids when necessary? Or do we leave them wide open?

What is behind closed doors?

Their are doors of perception. Do we unlock our doors or keep them locked?

Doors come in many colors and shapes.

Windows can act as a door. Sometimes they are open and sometimes they are closed. It has been said in songs and poetry that we have windows of the mind. Opening our mind, we learn more about the world around us. Some people choose to keep their minds closed, while others choose to open themselves up and to learn. Sometimes we put filters or shades on the mind. Growing and learning by opening our eyes can be delightful. Notice what you notice today.