Afternoon Tea at Butchart Garden

Tea at Butchart Garden was by far the most wonderful tea experience I have ever had.
After walking through the gardens and celebrating the beauty of the day, we had tea in The Dining Room Restaurant.  The surroundings felt like we were sitting in a historic green house full of orchids.  The service was impeccable.  The food was delicious.  I loved every moment of this wonderful afternoon tea.
The entry to the restaurant took us by Mrs. Butchart own private gardens.  Another day I will show more in the garden, but of course there was tea set even on the garden table.

The menu for this tea included:

Seasonal berry trifle

Savory house made sausage roll with imported mustard
Roasted vegetable and cheese quiche
Smoked wild salmon with maple and whole grain mustard cream cheese
Egg salad and watercress
Mango-curry chicken salad with toasted cashews
Smoked honey ham on a rosemary and aged cheddar biscuit
Cucumber with fresh ginger cream cheese

Lemon tartlet with fresh fruit
Raspberry marzipan Napoleon
Lemon and poppy seed load
Coconut chocolate macaroon
Their own chocolate Grand Marnier truffle

Candied ginger scone with strawberry jam and whipped vanilla Devon-style cream

There were seven tea choices, I enjoyed a lovely blended black tea.
If you ever travel to Victoria, BC, Canada, I wholeheartedly recommend tea at Butchart Garden.

Walk through Butchart Gardens

A walk through Butchart Gardens near Victoria, BC, Canada on a beautiful Spring day was totally delightful.
 I felt like the pictures would speak today for me.
The gardens just took my breathe away.

Tea at the Empress

Double click on the collage to see pictures in more detail.

Twenty years ago we visited Victoria, BC, Canada
and I wanted to have tea at The Empress.
The proprietor of the B&B where we stayed at the time said
it wasn't worth it and to have tea somewhere else.
We listened to him and I have always wished I had tea at The Empress.
As part of extending my birthday celebrating throughout the month, my husband and I visited Victoria last week and had tea at The Empress.
It was a delightful three days filled with tea and sunshine.
Just beautiful!
Tea at The Empress was one of the highlights.
Sitting by the window was fun as we could see people outside taking pictures in front of The Empress, but we could also see people inside enjoying tea.  There were friends sharing tea, mothers and daughters sharing tea, and business men sharing tea and discussing business.  The service was impeccable and the surroundings were beautiful.

Our menu:
Fruit cup
Savories:
Mushroom pate on a baguette
Rolled salmon and herb cream cheese
Cucumber sandwich
Chicken curry sandwich
Carrot sandwich
Scones with strawberry jam and cream
Sweets:
Lemon tart
Chocolate cake with marshmallow
Vanilla crisp
Checkerboard Chocolate/Vanilla cake
Chocolate Truffle

The tea I enjoyed was their 100th Anniversary Blend, which they gave us each a box of at the end of the tea.
Now I can say "I had tea at The Empress".  What fun!

Gift of Tea

Sharon is a friend I have never met, yet we started communicating

about 6 years ago for work and have continued the friendship after I retired.  She lives in Taiwan and I would love to visit her there someday.  Recently another friend was traveling to Taiwan for

business and I sent a small gift along for Sharon.

To my surprise, Sharon sent me some tea.

The bag and container are so beautiful.

But even more beautiful is the tea.

It is Osmanthus Oolong.  A lovely floral tea with small pieces of the osmanthus blossom in it.

This morning I will be enjoying a teapot of this beautiful tea.

You can see in the two small dishes the before and after of steeping.

It always amazes me to see the leaves unfurl and release the sweetness of the tea.

What is in your cup today?

Dreams Come True

 Two and a half years ago I bought my Canon Rebel.
A friend asked me at that time, "What pictures do you want to take?"
I said, "I want to travel the world taking pictures of Adirondack chairs overlooking water."
On Monday I found that chair.
A blue Adirondack chair sitting on a rocky shore in Victoria, BC, Canada.
It was just as I imagined it to be.
A dream come true.
Do you have dreams?
Are you watching for them to come true?

Hide under the covers

Do you sometimes want to hide under the covers?

Stay in bed all day?

Not face the world for a day?

Sometimes days are just like that.

What would you do if you stayed in bed all day and hid away?

Sometimes we just need to take a day away and do something special for our selves.

What would you do?  

Would you stay in bed all day, go for a walk, escape into a good book?

I think I would make a special breakfast of delicious scones and jam, a small pot of my favorite tea, a journal to write my thoughts in, and a good book; then hop back in bed with lots of pillow and just treasure the day.

Housekeeping

Walking in my yard this week I noticed one of our bird houses.

The nest inside has been pulled on and tugged at.

It is looking rather messy.

Squirrels had been nesting in it and had made the opening

large enough to enter.

Now the bird's are taking it back and cleaning house.

They have been pulling and tugging the old nest

and using the old nest to make a new nest in a nearby tree.

Isn't it interesting how nature recyles, makes something new,

and takes the time in Spring for a spring cleaning.

I think I could learn something from those birds nearby,

it's time for a spring cleaning and making something new from the old.

So this week I will be cleaning and making my nest refreshed.

I can't wait.

Do you set aside time for refreshing and a spring cleaning each year?