National Cream Tea Day

Somewhere in the world it is National Cream Tea Day.

Can you guess where it is?

Of course! England!

I am celebrating it this very morning.

Cream tea is a cup or pot of tea

and

a scone or two or three.
Top the scone with jam and cream.
Do you put the cream or the jam on first?
The Devon way: cream then jam
The Cornish way: jam then cream
Which is best?
You choose, whatever works for you.
Just enjoy!

Happy weekend, dear friends!
Go out and enjoy summer.

Lan Su Chinese Gardens

Yes, I know! I have shared this garden many times,

but I love going here.

It is most often peaceful and sometimes entertaining.

There were quite a few people at the garden on this day.

There was entertainment.

Dancing!

I loved their peacock costumes.

An exhibit of peonies was throughout the garden too.

Peony's and peacock dancing, what more could a girl want?

So beautifully displayed.

Tucked in many corners of the garden.

Even beautiful in their last stages.

With more dancing, I was delighted.

Come to Portland, Oregon and I will take you there.

A favorite place of mine, a respite from the day.

Garden Quotes 2019

 

"What is one to say about June.

the time of perfect young summer,

the fulfillment of the promise of the earlier months,

and with as yet no sign to remind one that its fresh young beauty will ever fade."

~Gertrude Jekyll, On Gardening

Daisies have always been a favorite of mine,

so happy just to shine in my garden right now.

Minto Island Farm

One day each year Minto Island Farm opens for a tour.

Now I have been to their farm stand before and walked around the farm by the stand,

I had never been where the tea grew.

The tea above was planted in the late 1980's,

but just in the past 5 years have they begun to produce and sell tea.

They are the first to admit they are still learning,

but they are making nice strides in becoming tea growers in Oregon.

We were greeted with a tasting of the 4 teas they are now selling.

They have one black, one oolong, and two green teas.

The oolong was my favorite of the group.

In the green house we could see the progression of new starts.

I learned that they were having more success starting from seed than from twigs from plants.

In the fall the plants form seed pods that hold three separate seeds.

The one issue with starting from seeds is you don't get a true variety,

so then they are not able to determine what variety they have. 

You can still make tea from whatever variety,

but there is a bit more control in what you get if you know the variety.

After touring the farm a group of us sat under a lovely oak tree

in the field and had lunch.

Just sitting there listening to the birds and seeing butterflies flit by

was pure delight.

After lunch 13 of us gathered for meditation led by my friend, David.

We sipped an old puerh tea, which just felt ancient as I savored it.

How lovely to take an hour just to sit in silence.

After touring, sitting under the oak, and then meditation

I was so relaxed.

What a special time with friends.

As a final touch we visited the you pick flower garden.

I can only tell you, it was a very special day.

Minto Island Farm is located just off River Rd. in Salem, Oregon.

Thanks Minto Island Farm!!!

Happy weekend, dear friends!

Also Happy Summer Soltice!

Now go out and enjoy the day!

Cannon Beach, Oregon

Cannon Beach, Oregon is one of the closest beaches on the Pacific Ocean to

travel to from Portland, Oregon.

It takes about 1 1/2 hours to drive there.

When I would drive to my last job before retiring I would dream of driving there each morning.

There is a sand castle contest here each June 

and I hadn't been there for many years;

so off my "live-in gardener" went.

I was also inspired to take the drive 

because Victoria Magazine's most recent issue featured Cannon Beach.

Even  the children had fun making their own sand castles.

And of course you know me, I had to bring a cup of tea along.

Oh it tasted so good on that cool, sandy beach.

There was a stroll along main street.

And always salt water taffy.

I still have a few pieces here on my desk, yummmm!

The candy shop is painted like a candy box.

There are little nooks and crannies along the way

with places to sit and watch the people walking by.

Beach communities are fun to visit,

take a pause,

soak in the the sun,

walk barefoot on the sand,

visit a candy store or art gallery,

and just play.

One of my favorite escapes.

Garden Quotes 2019

Even if she forgets the whole thing in her teens,

later still, when she is grown up and a first garden of her own,

some misty memory of the pleasure of growing things will give her

a headstart over the gardener without any background,

just as children who have spoken a second language,

and forgotten it, can pick it up again in later years.

~Anne Scott-James

from Time Began in a Garden by Emilie Barnes

 Did you garden as a child?

Was it even in your thoughts.

I think I have always loved and admired gardens.

When I was in high school I decided to plant a garden.

I cleaned an area, sectioned into four sections,

lined each section with rocks found in the yard,

and planted seeds.

Now because I did it on my own I didn't know

the ground had to be tilled; so the ground was

hard clay. There was little success and

I went on my way disappointed by my results.

It was a pretty rock garden, but no plants.

Now I know after many years the soil must be prepared

to receive the seeds and water must be done regularly.

Oh the rewards when we learn the lessons in life.

An Adventure to Mt. Hood, Oregon

 Yesterday was my "live-in gardener" and my anniversary;

so we decided to take a day time adventure.

Off to Mt. Hood we went, about an 1 1/2 hour drive from Portland.

Our goal was to have lunch at Timberline Lodge.

Now if you ever go there it is a gorgeous mountain lodge

built by the WPA to give people work back in the 1940's.

Notice the details in some of the pictures.

The dining room serves a lunch time buffet.

When our children were young we would take them here

for Christmas Eve and have the buffet, plus a visit with Santa.

 This was the view from our window.

I didn't get a picture of the salads and meat buffet,

but the dessert was fun to see.

 There was alot of raspberry desserts to choose from and

quite delicious. The cookie I saved for the road.

 Even the drapes were hand woven and

much of the furniture was hand made.

 I loved the base of this table.

 Of course I brought along some tea for after lunch;

so we stepped out on the patio for a sip of tea.

In the gaiwan was jin jun mei from China.

It really hit the spot for an after large lunch while sitting in the sun.

The view of Mt. Hood from the lodge.

It looks like you could just walk right up to the top,

but it isn't that simple.

It can be treacherous at times.

There still was some skiers, but the snow was melting fast.

 This year I am trying to notice wild flowers.

It was fun to see what was on the mountain.

There were rhododendrons blooming too, but I didn't get a picture.

Along the road were several falls of melting snow.

This is always beautiful.

Come and visit and we can take a drive here.

It is stunning any time of the year.