Tea Time in the Country

 

Impromptu tea parties in the country are a delight.
On occasion I pack up a picnic tea and off on country roads I go.
When I found these vintage pickups full of flowers I knew it was tea time.
Hot water in my grandpa's thermos, my cup and saucer, a teapot, and tea to brew.
My tea party was for me, myself, and I.
In the basket was a cookie treat to go with the tea.
What a wonderful time I had sitting on the running board of the yellow pickup sipping tea
and nibbling on a favorite cookie.

If you took yourself to tea what would be in your basket?
What tea would you take?

Happy weekend, dear friends!
May you find country roads and delights to sing in your heart.

Shine

 

Light can shine with an intensity that almost blinds.
It can sing to your heart.
It can focus on one thing such as this teapot up above sitting in the light.
It can shine in the night from the moon and the stars.
Or it can shine in the faces of a fresh blossomed flower.

This morning I sit in the quiet of the early hours while
flashes of light surround me.
A thunder storm, so rare and yet so amazing, is sprinkling from above.
Ahhhhhh................
The coolness of the morning hour delights my heart.
The light will come again and SHINE.

What is shining for you today?

Tasha Tudor's Birthday

 

Today is the day many bloggers honor Tasha Tudor's memory.
It is a birthday celebration.
Visit:  http://www.rookeryramblings.com/2013/08/tasha-tudor-day-giveaway.html
There is a giveaway there.

I was so honored to have met Tasha right before her 90th birthday.
It was a thrill for me as I had long appreciated her
lifestyle and her handiwork as a children's book illustrator,
a cook, a gardener, and talent for making beautiful things.
In my mind I can picture her writing the small notes to her children, the wren posts,
the puppet shows, walking through forget-me-knots, and painting at her
kitchen table with models of small animals and birds.
If you don't know about Tasha Tudor for sure explore and you will be captivated.
She was definitely a "Strong Woman" and one I admired.

The photo was taken from a book and not my own.

Tea and Cheese Pairing

 

 

 

Saturday I attended a tea and cheese pairing given by Steven Smith (in the plaid shirt) of Steven SmithTeamaker and Steve from the Cheese Bar (www.CHEESE-BAR.com).
Fascinating because I had never thought about pairing tea and cheese,
but I thoroughly enjoyed it.
We tasted 5 different teas paired with 5 different cheese.
#1 A cold White Petal tea with osmanthus, chamomile, apple, and pear,
paired with a goat gouda, handmade by a company in Paso Robles, California.
#2 Lord Bergomot, which is the #1 selling tea from Steven Smith Teamaker,
paired with English Montgomary Cheddar.
Montgomary, England is where cheddar was born and very different
than the yellow cheddar we are familiar with in the U.S.
#3 Red Nectar (herbal), a fully fermented in the sun rooibos with honeybush and a touch of peach skin,
paired with Gruyere de Saveur, a French creamy cheese.
#4 Big Hibiscus (herbal), hibiscus with Indian sarsaparilla, ginger, pink rose petals, and
elderflowers from Europe, paired with an aged cow's milk gouda from Holland.
#5 Brahmin, a black tea blend of Assam, Ceylon Dimbulla, and a touch of China Keemun (similar to an
English Breakfast, paired with a Spanish cheese (I believe it was Larunga Gores, but may not
be accurate).

Normally I am not an herbal tea lover, so it was a surprise to taste the herbals which I felt in
both cases brought out the creaminess of the cheese they were each paired with.

It was a fun time of sipping and tasting.

Do you ever think about pairing foods or sweets with drinks?
I have heard of pairing wine and have had chocolate paired with tea,
but this was a first for me.
A very pleasant event shared with a friend.
Isn't it fun to do something out of the ordinary?

Monday's Quotes

 

The teapot is on; the cups are waiting;
favorite chairs anticipating; no matter
what I have to do; my friend there's
always time for you.

~Anonymous

Nine Lives

Recently I shared my story with a reader here.
Yes, I am a wife, a mom of 2 grown children, and grammie to one little guy.
                     After helping my husband finish school and having my children in school                    I returned to school at 40, receiving my degree at 42 in apparel design. 
At 60 I started Marmalady's and retired at 65 from the apparel world.
But do I rest now?  I don't think it is in me to rest.
I often think I would like to be a "cat" with 9 lives.
My list is long of the things yet to come.
Oh the places I would like to go and things I would like to do.

This week I took my 93 year old aunt to see her new apartment.
She loved seeing it so she could dream of how she would decorate it.
Still she has things to do and dreams to come true.

Do you dream of places to go and things to do?
Happy weekend, dear friends!
May your dreams all come true..................

The photo is of Joey laying next to the metal box I recently found at a junk sale.

Laugh and Play

 

When I was a child this would have been me, rolling down a hill
 and running barefoot through the apple orchard.
Last week I visited the historic orchard on Sauvie Island,
the one I shared with you in the Spring.
Now it was heavy with apples and pears to pick.
There were children playing there.
There were those grown-ups playing too with their buckets for picking.
I played by walking through the orchard and admiring the fruit with my camera.
It does my heart good to get out and play in the orchard.
It returns my heart to that of my childhood.

I do hope you find time to laugh and play.
What would it be?

Open House

 

 

Open house for a new hotel in my neighborhood.
Now it isn't an ordinary hotel, as you can see.
It is a cluster of tiny houses, Caravan, the tiny house hotel.
www.tinyhousehotel.com
It's the first of it's kind and so far people are loving it.
There are only three in the cluster with a fourth on it's way.
If anyone was interested in living in a tiny house,
this would be the way to test it out.
Could you live in a tiny house?
Though the concept is intriguing to me,
I am not sure I could live this way on a regular bases.
They were fun to see.

Love Vintage Apparel

 

 

 

 

As a little girl I loved, loved, loved dressing up in my mother's wedding dress.
I loved the bias cut, the little tiny buttons, and the cut of the neck.
I think I must have always had a fascination with vintage apparel.
Then when I was 40 I went back to school and received a degree in fashion design.
One of my school projects was historic fashion and I chose my favorite era, the 1920's children's.
My mother was a child in the 1920's and I looked at pictures of her as a child and just
fell more and more in love with the relaxed fit, the bias cuts, and the small details of the 1920's.

The pictures are my children's vintage collection hanging on the vintage rounder in my living room.
Some of the clothes are from the 1920's and some are from the 1930's and 1940's, which
I also enjoy.

Do you love apparel?
Is there a particular era that touches your heart?

Monday's Quotes

 

 

 

 

Nobody sees a flower,
really it is so small we haven't time,
and to see takes time,
like to have a friend takes time

~Georgia O'Keefe

This is one of my favorite quotes.

A Fine Romance and Tea

I was so excited recently to receive Susan Branch's book,

A Fine Romance.

Now I would be remiss if I didn't tell you about it.

I immediately sat down (curled up in bed) and read it.

I loved it.

So yesterday I ventured to the countryside for a little teaparty

and Susan's book came along.

It was a fun get-away with tea and a good book.

Do you travel with a good book and tea?

Note: Please do not pin my photo's without asking permission.  Thanks!

Tasting Tea

Tasting Tea

Fetch my own spring water,
Fragrant with fallen flowers,
Set up a fire in a marble stove
Try out my new tea,
Lying under the green shades in a tranquil garden,
Listening to the bees
Reporting their latest harvest.
~Sung Dynasty poet Tai Bing,translated by Martin Tai (1998)

 Last week I received a small package of tea from Darjeeling, India. 
 I am thoroughly enjoying Puttabong Moon Drops, First Flush 2013.  
Don't you just love the idea of drinking moon drops?
I couldn't resist that name and I am glad I didn't.
Delicious! from Thunderbolt Tea, which can be found here.


Are you drinking a tea that makes your heart happy? 
Does it have a name that makes you smile? 

Savor

Savor
 I am asked why do I use this word, SAVOR.
What does it mean?
Is it something good to know and use?
Yes, those questions sit unsaid,
but I see them in your eyes.

Savor is a word so dear.

It tells me exactly how the warmth feels in my hands holding
a cup of warm tea in a fine china cup.
It tells me of the joys of God's creation as I sit in the
early morning hour and watch the sun rise.
It tells me of the feelings I have when I wrap
myself in mother's warm embrace,
or feel the sticky juice from a freshly picked peach as it runs down my chin,
or walk hand in hand slowly through a snowy day.

Savor is a good word, a word that creates
so many images of JOY.

~m.miller

Tea Gathering Sunday

Once a month or more the Wu-Wo Tea Ceremony group meets for tea.

On the past Sunday afternoon we met on the lawn at the Hillsboro Public Library.

Normally I take a book of readings to share at the end of tea time.

This time the book was forgotten at home.

So............

While I waited for the group to arrive I wrote my first haiku.

Thanks, David for the inspiration.

Thanks, Stephanie for the photo.

Thanks, group for listening to my first attempt.

Good library tea time

Cloudy skies do belie us

Today friends do share.

It was a lovely afternoon of tea.

Monday's Quotes

 

Praying
I doesn't have to be the blue iris,
it could be weeds in a vacant lot,
or a few small stones;
just pay attention, 
then patch a few words together
and don't try to make them elaborate,
this isn't a contest but the doorway into thanks,
and a silence in which another voice may speak.
~Mary Oliver

A "Me" Day

Do you ever take a "Me" day?
Plucky Maidens Junk Fest at McMenamins in Troutdale was just that sort of day.

I arrived early and watched the vendors busily setting up there wares.

I strolled through the grounds just taking in the perfect weather sort of summer day.

Don't you just love the yellow pom-poms hanging in the trees?
Oh dear, I am laughing at this photo now.
See the woman leaning over checking out the wares and the smiling
one in the black dress?  Too funny!  I think I had better make
this picture larger, so you can see.
Just others out enjoying the day, chatting with friends, playing, and smiling.

It seemed like I was most taken by the apparel I saw.

But found a few other things appealing to the eyes.

 

This was a gorgeous child's dress of silk from I.Magnin's.

The softness of the colors here delighted the eyes.

A creative artist making beauty out of vintage fabrics.
I will visit her store sometime.

It was fun just to watch women trying on hats.
I stood there for awhile and watched.

 

This is a place one can dream, finding just the thing you know you can't live without.
What I came home with was a green metal tool box, just what I was looking for.
One day I will share it with you, as it will hold tools of art not hammers and nails.

Yes, yesterday I played.
I hope very soon you find time to play.
It is good for the soul.
Happy Weekend, dear friends!

Good Morning New Day

Where do you love to sip your tea on a summer morning?

What delights you?

The view is priceless.
The tea soothes my soul.

Breakfast of fruit and tea bread make me happy.

Join me from your part of the world this morning
and we will sip in quietness, just enjoying the view.

Passion

Passion
A glimmer only do I see
A spark takes hold and begins to shine.
Only a spark at first.
It grows
It ignites
It envelops
and consumes.
The fire has been created
and soon it dances with exuberance.
It is said a fire becomes
the color of the heart.
Yes, reds and gold
and heat do sing in my chest.
In this my singing heart
I find passion.
Passion is of the heart
A Joy not to be contained
a fire burns there
I know it does
I will dance and embrace this heart full of Passion,
this heart of God.

~m.miller

Keep the Spark Alive

At the park recently I found art by young children on the fence.
Oh yes, it is art from the heart and tells the story true.

Relyn, my blogging friend from Come Sit by My Fire, recently asked me
how did I find time to be creative when my children were young and I worked full time?
What a good question.  I have always had a creative heart and a burning
passion to create; so how did I do it?

For a young mom with a busy schedule maybe something on this list
will help you find a way to fulfill your creative spark.

1. Set aside a couple hours either one evening or on the weekend just for you and making something.
Keep it simple, so you can see results quickly.

2. Have art supplies and make time for creative projects with your children.  I also did art projects
with neighbor children and on Wednesday evenings with the children at church.
Most often I avoided paper because those got destroyed before they got home.
It could be something with clay (I found someplace to have things fired), painted rocks, yarn ropes,
a little paper such as paper bag puppets, and built simple bird houses.

3. Planned and had creative birthday parties for my children. 

4. From time to time I would take a creative class just to have a set time and learn something I didn't know.  One time I signed up for a class and didn't even know what it was, I just knew it was something creative and I needed a time out place to go and play.  One time my family camped in a sheep pasture for a week, so I could take a week long course on learning to spin and make natural dyes.  Now this was when I had a new baby, so I hadn't gone back to work yet.   Having a supportive husband helped with this excursion into creativity.

It is so important for a creative soul to keep the spark alive.
I know many of my readers don't have young children and work, but may be able to add to the list.

What have you done to find creative pursuits while raising young children and working full time?

Monday's Quotes

 

I will not cut my conscience to fit this year's fashions.
~Lillian Hellman