Ode to Spring

I was watching the weather carefully because I knew it was time to have tea under the apple blossoms out on a little island called Sauvie Island, not far from Portland. The island is situated where the Willamette and Columbia Rivers come together. It is an island of farms and a bird sanctuary. On the island is a historic house with a historic apple orchard. It is open to the public, yet very few people know of it or visit. Each year I go to have tea under the blossoms and again under the apples in the fall. My tea friend that often went with me has moved to Hawaii; thus my recent trip was to have tea with her in her new surroundings. 

Jim went with me this past Friday because it was the day we could determine there would be no rain. The lawn was covered with little daisies as we walked to the orchard. I was so glad they hadn't mowed it, as it was beautiful. The apple blossoms probably will be at their most beautiful in about another week, but there were plenty in bloom. There are only three picnic tables under the trees, but we could choose which one we wanted. We chose the one in the sun because it was still a bit cool. We sipped Secret Garden Oolong from Floating Leaves, which I thought was most appropriate. I also pack some nibbles of salami, cheese, crackers, olives, and dried apricots. It was a lovely adventure to the countryside and sitting under the apple blossoms.

The house is called the Bybee-Howell House. When my children were young they had events here with old time games such a gunny sack races and live "down home" music. The location was taken over by another organization and they no longer have events, but still open to the public. It is my own "secret garden" and I love, love having tea under the apple tree branches. It is indeed my "ode to spring".

Bluebells blooming under this tree. Lilacs were in bloom next to the house. All the glory of new blooming flowers makes my heart sing.

Happy Springtime!

Sending love,

Marilyn

Queen for a Day!

 When I was in high school there was a show on TV called Queen for a Day. During that time I traveled with my aunt, uncle, and cousins to Southern California where my aunt went on the show to tell her hard luck story and why she should be Queen for a Day. She didn't win, but it was a real eye opener for me. I learned that everyone has a hard luck story, life can be hard at times! It's how we learn to live with it, how we tell our story, and how we carry ourselves. Do we walk with our head down, defeated? Or do we hold our head up high and rejoice at the little things?

When I saw this sign at the antique mall this past week I just started thinking we all deserve to be treated like a Queen for the Day, each and every day.

These dresses at the antique mall reminded me of my mom. It was the era of the "house dress". She wasn't treated like a Queen, but she still knew how to laugh, smile, and love her neighbor or friend. We each deserve to dance.

What she and all of us deserve to wear and dance in is the following.

We are the Queen of Dreams and Reality too.

The yellow dress above doesn't show up well in the picture, but when I saw it I thought I would feel like a princess or a queen if I wore this. I would dance the night away, just floating on a cloud.

 I might not tell you my hard luck story because I know that is just the way life goes, but I can dream of being that Queen for a Day any day. I buy myself flowers because I deserve them. I take myself on adventures because I am my own Queen for the Day.

Remember to treat yourself with love and be your own Queen for the Day. And if we are very lucky, we will be treated by others like a queen or at the very least a princess. We deserve it!

Sending Love,

Marilyn

Easter week

 “Tea to the English is really a picnic indoors."  Alice Walker

A dear friend that also has a March birthday decided we needed to celebrate March birthdays with a bit of tea and cake, plus a yummy sandwich and crepes too.

Looking back at my pictures for the week I realize it was mostly about teatimes indoors; though there was one venture to the tulip fields and one yellow chair. I can never resist taking a picture of flowers and Adirondack chairs, especially a yellow one (my favorite color). If you have followed me for a long time I once told a friend that the reason I wanted a good camera was to take pictures of Adirondack chairs by water; but an ocean of tulips will do just fine too.

And then I met two friends at a teashop to sip tea and gather information for the British tea tent coming up on June 27th for TeaFestPDX. I have been organizing that tent for 10 years and will be stepping down this year. I have an amazing team taking over; so this was a good transition meeting. Wasn't that a cute tea set?

But the highlight of the week was Easter teatime. Even though it is a lot of work to prepare, I love this gathering of dear ones. One friend always brings the most gorgeous salads and I make everything else. This is when I miss my dining room and table; but this year I reserved the clubhouse at our apartment. Other than a few broken saucers (sniff) it worked out quite well. 

Isn't this a beautiful salad?

There was also deviled eggs, asparagus wrapped in ham, radish sandwiches with goat cheese, smoked trout sandwiches with a touch of a lovely lemon chutney made by a dear friend, small slices of lamb/pork meatloaf wrapped in puff pastry, chocolate eggs, chocolate olive oil cake with strawberries, and macarons. Before the gathering at the table there were two cheeses with gluten free crackers.

It was an extra special week of tea times gatherings, plus flowers to fill my head and soul with beauty. The colors of Easter and Springtime enchant me.

Hoping your Springtime is extra special!

Sending love,

Marilyn

And the Adventure Continues

Day 4

It was a drive on the wild side, so to speak.

On the edge of vegetation sat lava.

What looks like a trail was actually the road through the jungle growth and beauty.

Not sure you can see the steam coming up from the ground?

But it must have been hot under the road.

 

The fields of lava were both black and red, very desolate.

But vegetation is attempting to return.

Then on the way back home we stopped for a snack at a roadside stand. They seemed to pop up in the most surprising places. This one had baked goods, like Rice Krispie treats filled with marshmallow and crumbled cookies.

Day 5

This is Rainbow Falls, not far from Hilo. It was the first place I saw many tourists. If you notice, the water coming over the falls was a bit brown from the mud created from the rain. Still quite beautiful. The tree in the foreground reminded me of the big tree I used to have in my house yard.

We decided to take a picnic and tea to sit by the sea. The view was wonderful and the spot delightful. Tea by the sea with a dear friend, the best!

As we were about to pack up it started to sprinkle. By the time we got to the car it was pouring buckets of rain. We viewed beautiful sights from the car as we drove to find shaved ice, which was promised to me when I arrived. I do love shaved ice; but I never imagined eating it in the car in a torrential rain and thunder storm. We laughed and ran through deep puddles of rain and wind. No pictures were taken; so you will just have to imagine. So glad we enjoyed tea by the sea and shaved ice in the car.

Day 6

Another tourist adventure was to visit the orchard, garden, and store of Mauna Loa macadamia plant. Yes, I did come home with some macadamias, which I have been nibbling since returning.

The garden had many beautiful plants. Not sure many of the tourists walked in the garden, as they were there for the macadamias.

The island had wild chickens and pigs here and there. The houses needed fences to keep the pigs out, as they like to dig in the yards and make quite a mess. I did see one pig family along the road, just digging away.

A walk through the zoo was fun to see, again with amazing vegetation.

Did I say I loved the tropical fruit. This evening there was a Thai dinner out and for the end of the meal it was black rice and mango. Half was gone by the time I snapped a picture, but it was all very delicious. No, I didn't eat the half all by myself. It was shared with the table. The food throughout the week was all amazing. 

Day 7

Sniff, my last day and time to say goodbye.

The sunrise from my bedroom window.

And a drive by the sea once more. Oh, I do love the sea.

The beaches are lava, not sand. If you find a sandy beach, the sand has been brought in.

And Home Again

I flew through the night with a layover in Honolulu and then San Francisco. What an adventure!

And home again now, hoping and dreaming of sunshine and tea on my patio.

Though I will say the humidity was a bit hard for me to handle; bare feet, sandals, and sunshine was wonderful for a few days.

Sending love,

Marilyn

Home Again, Adventure Taken

 My adventure took me to the Big Island, Hawaii to visit a friend. Each morning we started with a visit and tea. Then an adventure!

Day One

The beaches are volcanic, but I wanted to see the beach. Off we went down the road to the nearest beach to my friends house. Though it wasn't the type of beach to lay out in the sun it was beautiful to listen to the waves touch the ground at the shoreline.

Then because we were sitting on a volcano on the Big Island there was a hike to see the caldron steam.

A stop at a local fruit stand intrigued me with varieties I had never heard of.

A walk in my friend's garden and we spotted passion fruit hanging from the vine. One ripe one was enjoyed by me. Oh, I do love passion fruit (lilikoi). I enjoyed it fresh from the vine, but also in a jelly and shaved ice. 

The fruit from the palm trees in my friend's garden were not edible, but looked beautiful hanging from the tree.

Day Two 

 A friend of my friend invited us to come for lunch and a walk in her garden.

From the time I stepped off the plane the vegetation of the island amazed me. It was like a tropical paradise or maybe Jurassic Park live and in person.

I almost forgot to tell you about stopping at a garden nursery.

OK, I was besot/enamored by the flowers.

Day Three

We visited a chocolate farm where the owner/farmer gave us a tour. Beside growing and producing chocolate, the family has a farm to table restaurant in town where the food comes from this 3 acres farm. I was amazed at the variety of fruits and vegetables grown here. There were even beehives with busy bees producing honey, a pond for the frogs and dragonflies, and a small rice bog.

The farmer said there were wild pigs hiding in the vegetation. The island has quite a population of wild pigs and some wild chickens. I did see one family of pigs along the road.

Here is the rows of chocolate plants. Can you see the pods?

The farmer sharing his stories that were fascinating to hear. The farm is organic. They have a program where they bring in high school age kids to work on the farm and learn about bio-diversity.

Even vanilla grew here. It wound it's vines through the trees. All very lush.

Again it felt like walking into the jungle. I did bring home a few chocolate bars and mosquito bites.

Since I took so many pictures to share, I will continue on another day this week. For now all I can say is my adventure was about spending time with a friend and amazing vegetation, plus good food coming from my friend's kitchen.

Sending love,

Marilyn