Our weather has been very hot here lately. I knew the roses would wilt in the heat. I had not visited Peninsula Park nearby this summer to visit the roses; so I told my "live-in gardener" that before sunset we needed to walk in the garden. His response was that was a great idea and there wouldn't be many there at that time of the evening. Little did we know, others would have the same idea. There were several photographers snapping pictures, but what touched my heart were the children and a dog or two frolicking in the fountain.
I always thought I would have been a skater girl when I was young, if that was something then.
So it was fun for me to see this skater girl and skater boy having their pictures taken.
But I did say I had come for the roses.
Roses is what I photographed.
But I couldn't resist the fountain at sunset too.
Do you see him? There is a bumble bee sprawled out for a nap inside the rose.
Did you know bees had to rest once in the while too?
It was a lovely, peaceful evening to just smell the roses and enjoy the mellow pleasure of others.
What do you do to stay cool on a very hot summer day?
Sending best wishes for cool breezes and delights of mid-summer time.
More pictures than I usually share, but thought you might enjoy!
If you have followed me for awhile you will know I drink tea; but you might not know just how involved I am in the world of tea. One of the things I do is organize the British Tea Tent each year for TeaFestPDX (Portland, Oregon's Tea Festival). The tea festival began in 2016 and met in person for 4 years, then the next year we met on zoom due to the pandemic. We skipped last year, but were thrilled to pick it up again this year. Last Saturday was our event and we greeted around 1200 attendees.
My role each year has been to solely organize and execute the British Tea Tent. You can tell it is my tent by the flags draped around the tent.
Here are my morning volunteers. They were great at making tea, serving it to our guests, and wiping down the tables with disinfectant after each session.
In the afternoon my husband and a good friend volunteered. I will say my husband ("live-in gardener") also did the lion share of hauling everything to the tent and back to the car at the end of the event, plus running a couple other errands too. Needless to say, we were both exhausted when we returned home that night. I couldn't have done it without my great volunteers.
There were 6 events throughout the day. The one right above and below is Jennifer Petersen sharing the story of Blue Willow China. She has written several books related to tea and also mentors new tea entrepreneurs.
I love posting the sessions on my blackboard. My son helped by writing the schedule of the day for everyone to see.
I was thrilled to have Lorna Reeves join us this year. She is the editor of Tea Time Magazine and flew in from Birmingham, Alabama. What a treat to have her sharing about what her role is with the magazine. Tea Time Magazine has always donated magazines for us to hand out to attendees, but this year they shared their editor too.
Andy Hayes, owner of Plum Deluxe tea company, shared about making blended/flavored teas. When he started his business about 9 years ago he contacted me to do some taste testing for him. I don't normally drink blended/flavored teas, but enjoyed doing it for him. We had never met face to face; so it was fun to finally meet.
Lisa Hand comes every year and her presentations are always filled. She and her two assistants come in costume and share something that fits with tea in England. This year it was Tea with Jane Austen. The attendees love her presentations.
There were two other events in my tent. Sadly I didn't get pictures. At noon Lovejoy's Tearoom delivered afternoon tea to the tent and Susan Patterson did a poetry reading as attendees enjoyed teatime.
We finished the afternoon with Anne Johnson of Mamancy tearoom sharing her story of coming from Kenya and starting two tearooms during the pandemic. She also shared her story of making gorgeous chocolates that she sells in her shops.
The Seasoned Teaware tent was next to my tent. Many of us in the WuWo Tea Ceremony group donate used teaware to this tent. Attendees can be found making a quick trip here first thing in the morning to get first pick at great deals and it raises money for the tea festival for next year.
One of my friends, Dana, set up a cozy spot to read tea leaves. It was quite popular and she was busy all day.
I took a quick peek through the vendor tent wishing I had a moment to sit and sip tea with these "porers" of tea.
The slogan for the year was "Make Friends, Drink Tea". Definitely this was happening all over the grounds at Lewis and Clark College. It was a beautiful day and the weather totally cooperated. When Jenn, the head dreamer of a Portland tea festival, started this festival she envisioned a party where we drank tea together. I do believe the goal was achieved. It was one day of joy, friends, and drinking tea.
Have a great weekend, dear friends!
Thanks for stopping by and definitely have a cup of tea.
Susan was one of my presenters, reading her poetry, at the TeaFestPDX event this past weekend. Soon I will share more about the tea festival. I was both exhausted and elated over the response and the beautiful day.
Picture taken at Lan Su Chinese Gardens, just because I don't have pictures representing the settings in the books.
I always love other blogs that review books, but I don't usually stop to share books I have been reading recently. Here are two that would indeed delight, at least they delighted me.
Another picture of tea time at Lan Su Chinese Gardens.
Roselle Lim:
Vanessa Yu’s Magical Paris Tea Shop and Natalie Tan’s Book of Luck & Fortune
I picked up the first book just because of course you would know, the name captured my heart. Paris Tea Shop! I thought it would be a good summer read. Yes, there was a lot of tea drinking in both books and food too, but the relationships and women struggling to succeed touched my heart. They brought memories of the struggles to survive growing up with a single mother. The second book took place in San Francisco's Chinatown, which is dear to my heart. When I celebrated my thirteenth birthday my grandmother invited me and one of my friends to come for a weekend in San Francisco. The birthday dinner took place in this very Chinatown. It was such a highlight and still a vivid memory.
Quote from Natalie Tan's Book of Luck & Fortune, "The universe unfurled in such unpredictable ways. We all moved in a constant celestial dance. The song ends and the music and our partner may change, but in order to survive we must continue dancing. I would prevail, and I would succeed." I actually would suggest starting with this book, as it is the first one Roselle wrote. I started with the second one first, which was OK too.
The images Roselle Lim creates with her words are enchanting and a bit magical too.
I loved these two books so much I kept wishing there were more; so I visited Amazon one more time just to check. Sure enough, there is a new one coming in mid-August. Of course I pre-ordered it. After all, these are my summer reads and I always need a bit of magic and enchantment.
Whatever you are reading this summer I hope it delights you.
Now isn't this the way to start a summer adventure?
It was all about spending time with grandson, D, and his mom, Jill.
So we started with a bang and a raft trip on the Deschutes River near Bend, Oregon.
Yes, that is me in that raft, along with my "live-in gardener", daughter, and grandson. Oh yes, there was a river guide behind us probably doing most of the work. My grandson had no idea what we were about to do and in the end he loved it and loved our guide so much he wants to go back for more.
Now something most people don't know about me is that I have always been a bit of a thrill seeker. I used to dream of driving race cars. Some ask, would I do this raft trip again and of course I would. It is scary and exhilarating all at the same time.
Now isn't that the way to start a small summer adventure?
“And then there is the most dangerous risk of all
– the risk of spending your life not doing what you want, on the bet
you can buy yourself the freedom to do it later.” – Randy Komisar
“The biggest adventure you can take is to live the life of your dreams.” – Oprah Winfrey
Well after that we needed a quiet walk; so ventured to Petersen Rock Garden. It was very "kitchy" and my daughter particularly loves "kitch". We all enjoyed it. D loved all the cats and peacock strolling around the gardens.
Here is my D on the rock bridge leading to a little island with a rock castle.
I thought it would be fun to have tea in this little rock cove, but no tea was with me at the time.
We were in the high desert about 3 hour drive from Portland. In the early evening we took a picnic to Smith Rock State Park, which is a well known rock climbing location. While there I slipped on loose gravel and fell and broke my left thumb. Ugh! It could have been worse. I think it hurt more that I also broke my phone in my back pocket. Now I am trying to adjust to a new phone.
On the second day we headed to the High Desert Museum where we could watch the antics of the river otter at play.
Just a few glimpses from the museum.
And yes, we had the granddog along on this adventure.
She was quite well behaved.
In the afternoon of our second day Jill and D went swimming
and the grandparents walked the dog.
It was fun to peek through the fence and see this amazing swimming adventure. What you see here is a float pool. There were other pools for other events including a huge slide. Jill and D definitely enjoyed cooling off here.
“If it scares you, it might be a good thing to try.” – Seth Godin
The final day was driving home through the high desert and over Mt. Hood.
Oregon is a beautiful state with so much diversity to see.
Just this little adventure told me I really must get out more and see the world right in my own back door.
This little summer adventure was most precious by just getting to spend time with precious family.
Sing me The Song of Songs.
Don’t know the words.
Then sing the notes.
Don’t know the notes.
Then simply hum.
Forgot the tune.
Then press my ear
to your ear
and sing what you hear.
Isn't that the truth in a song?
The melody is inside of us just waiting to get out;
but the words sometimes are not there.
Yet we sing!
Keep singing, dear friends!
I am back from my adventure and will share more soon.
In the meantime hold that song close to your heart.
Note: both flowers are from my garden. The first is Solomon Seal and the bottom one is Dogwood.
Many things bring great delight to me: tea, gardens, flowers, outdoors, food, and friends that cross my path. These all make my heart sing with small chuckles, giggles, laughter, and tears. It is my desire to seek beauty all around me, have the heart of a wanderer, a storyteller.
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