The Queen of Heart's Garden

When I look out my kitchen window and see this sight I am reminded of 

the Queen of Hearts from Alice in Wonderland.

These are not roses, but camellia's.

Having about 35 camellia plants we have a large variety of colors and styles.

The leaves may look a bit choppy because this is a hedge and it does get trimmed

a few times each year.

Camellia's is one flower I prefer not picking because they turn brown when touched

and just smile for so much longer when left in the garden.

Don't you just think the Queen of Hearts would like some camellia's in her garden to enjoy?

Remember the give-away on last Friday's post.

Tea Time with my Sister

My sister and I have tea each March to celebrate our birthday month.

This year we had tea at Gerry Frank's Konditorei in Salem, Oregon.

Gerry Frank is part of the department store Meier and Frank, which

was bought out by Macy's some years ago.  He is well known in Oregon

for many things from the department store, associations with politics, wine expertise,

and judging chocolate cakes at the state fair.

It was fun when we walked in the door and he greeted us.

Coming by our table I told him we were there celebrating our birthdays.

His reply, "Life is short, eat dessert first".

Now my sandwich might look like dessert, but it was one of the signature

recipes from Meier and Frank's lunch room, a ribbon sandwich.

I must say what was indeed their specialty was the cakes with at least 20 different cakes on the menu.

The cake was so good, I forgot to photograph it.

We shared a pot of loose leaf earl grey tea, so definitely there was tea.

Now what is special about my sister and I having tea is that we have different mothers

and my sister didn't know she had any sisters until about 20 years ago.

Our father was good at keeping secrets.

So once we found each other and realized we both had birthdays in March,

this has become an annual gathering of two sisters.

A very special way to celebrate.

Don't forget the give-away on Friday's post.

Monday's Quotes

I Get Up

I Walk

I Fall Down

Meanwhile, I keep Dancing.

Author Unknown

PS - Don't forget the give-away on Friday's post.

Sending Springtime Love

Neighbors smile when they walk by our home in February and March.

Can you tell why?

The heart starts out yellow and white , then the purple crocus make their appearance.

It always appears by Valentine's, but is often fuller in March.

I can see on the right we need to add more bulbs.

Sending love from my home to your home as Springtime begins to appear.

More Love:
I just realized I haven't had a give away for a long time and I am well over 1400 posts;
so thought it was about time.
Cleaning off my book shelf this week I see I have two copies of Celtic Teas with Friends
by Elizabeth Knight.  March seems like the perfect time to give this book away.
Leave a message on this post, that's all you need to do.
I will draw a name and announce it on March 17th.
If you don't have a blog, please leave some way to notify you if you win.

Happy Weekend, dear friends

What's Happening

 Crocus to delight the eyes.

 My Aunt Arlene's delphiniums are coming up.

 Daffodils galore!

 Just a glimpse at what is happening in my garden this week.

Really what's happening here is just smiling at Spring's first peeks.

Oh and cleaning the book shelf.

The books were tucked in every nook and cranny.

Did you know I have a book addiction?

Some books I have a hard time passing on for they remind

me of losing myself for a little while in mystery, romance,

tea, how-to's, spiritual journeys, and children's delights.

But passing on I must do for the shelves just overflow.

I found two of one book and will announce a give-away tomorrow.

Stay tuned!  In the meantime pick up a book or go searching for Spring.

Are you reading a good book you can recommend?

Yerba Mate tasting

Yerba mate is a species of the Holly plant.

The largest production is in Brazil, then Argentina, followed by Paraguay.

It is often drank as a ritual "usually sucked out of a horn cup (or gourd) called guampa with a bombilla".

Though it would be considered a herbal drink it does have a stimulant to it, which is similar to caffeine.

Last week a tea friend invited me to sip yerba mate as a ritual from her country of Argentina.

She was born in Argentina, but grew up in Spain and her family drank yerba mate often.

I have never had the opportunity to sip and enjoy yerba mate, so was very much looking forward to it.

There were wonderful nibbles and lovely quince tart to go along with sipping.

The host fills the cup half full of the yerba mate, then adds hot water.

The host then sips from the bombilla until the cup is emptied as we visit.

The host then fills the same cup with hot water and passes it to a guest,

then they sip the full cup as we visited.  This is repeated until we go all around

the circle.  There were five of us on this particular afternoon of sipping.

Once it has gone around the circle this can be repeated for as long as desired.

It is definitely a communal experience.

For me the first tastes were so hot drinking through a metal "straw" I wasn't sure I would adjust.

Also I am not an herbal tea lover.  I do believe this is an acquired taste.

When the second round came by I did enjoy it quite alot.

Though I didn't drink more than two rounds it was very good and I would for sure drink it again.

My concern was staying awake that night with the stimulant involved;  however with

the two cups of yerba mate I had no problem sleeping.

Have you tried yerba mate?

Did you like it?

Do you encourage yourself to try new things?

I hope so, as it expands our world.

Eye Candy

Ahh,ha!  What did you think when I said eye candy?

Oh I can just imagine!

 Do you notice when you see it?

 Do you savor the sweetness of the moment?

Sending you a bit of sweetness in your day.

Take time to notice, no harm in that.

I certainly do.

Smiling!