There and Back Again…

Yesterday I put a dress on (gasp!) and grabbed my passport and headed to Chilliwack B.C. to attend a tea planned in honor of our own dear Kathy of the Mennonite Girls Can Cook. Kathy’s Mother-in-law Eileen invited us all to her lovely home and treated us to a very special time. What a wonderful example to all of us girls Eileen is as she chose to bless her daughter-in-law in this special way!

We missed our Manitoba girls, Betty and Charlotte!

Every detail was well thought out and chosen. Beautiful china, silver and 100 year old crystal goblets graced the beautiful table.

After we gathered Eileen shared some thoughts about Kathy using the letters of her name to describe some of Kathy’s attributes. Kind, active, thoughtful, honest, and youthful were just some of the words to describe Kathy. We raised our beautiful glasses to toast our dear friend.

Have you ever seen or enjoyed one of these sandwich loaves? This was my first and I was in awe!

I set aside my de-fluffing regiment on this day because it truly was a day for feasting not fasting!

We found our spots at the table and Eileen offered a blessing on our food and time together. Before we filled our plates for our main course Kathy’s father-in-law, who was our gracious butler for the afternoon, served us our soup course which was a lovely cold Raspberry soup…delicious and refreshing. After we filled our plates and enjoyed our main course there was a light and fluffy Pavlova with strawberries for dessert. Did I mention feasting not fasting?

Kathy is in the center of the collage and her mother-in-law Eileen is above her. Lovella, Eileen, Anneliese, Judy, Kathy, Bev, Marg, Ellen and Julie.

We all reflected on how nice it was to be served in such a special way. It was a wonderful time of catching up with each other. A great time of witnessing Bill and Eileen working together as a couple to help and honor each other and to be a great example of hospitality in action. We were all blessed and our cups were filled to overflowing.

I wanted to share this post before I’m in full swing wedding mode! Prayers appreciated for the blessed event coming up!

Tea Table Inspiration…

Here are more of the tables that were decorated for our Friendship tea last Saturday. Lots of photos and few words. Enjoy…

One of the tables had food art. I really enjoyed looking at all the details.

I didn’t get a photo of the croissant sandwiches that we were served.

All the tables on the main floor. There were 8 half tables in the balcony, too.

The view of the room from my table.

Do you have a favorite color combination or centerpiece or theme from these tables? Also which piece of food art did you enjoy the most?

I’ve been getting busy around here preparing to be gone from this old house. We took Katie and Andrew’s car in to be checked over before we take it on the road across the country. Have any of you driven across country through Washington, Idaho, Montana, South Dakota, Iowa, Illinois, Missouri, Tennessee and North Carolina? Any recommendations on cities to spend the night in or attractions to see along the way? Any tips on cities to avoid like the plague?

Birds, Nests, Eggs!

It’s time for Cuisine Kathleen’s Let’s Dish challenge and her theme is Birds~ Nests~ Eggs.

We just had our Women’s Friendship Tea at our church this past Saturday and I happened to have a sweet bird on a nest in a cage as my centerpiece. So timely!

My guests…Susan, Shavonne, Laura, Wilma, Pat, Andra, Judy, Katy, and Katie.

There were a total of 36 tables at our Friendship Tea. It was organized so well with hand made food in our church kitchen. Many of the men and boys in our church volunteered to serve the tables and they poured our tea and made sure we had what we needed throughout the program. There were take home gifts for each of our guests and door prizes, too.

The theme this year was Snapshots: Behind every snapshot there is a story. I will have a few more posts showing the rest of the creative tables and the photo booth opportunities before and after the tea in our church lobby. Here’s a panorama photo of several of the tables in our worship center.

This was the first year since Dear and I have been attending Northshore Baptist Church that I was able to participate in the Friendship Tea. What a wonderful well run event it is.

Katie and my snapshot at one of the photo booth backdrops in the lobby. Stay tuned for many more snapshots from this event.

I’m looking forward to visiting all the posts linked at Kathleen’s Birds~Nests~Eggs challenge.

The Tea Drinkers…

A tea table would not be fun without guests sitting around it so I’m showing you my guests before I show all the tables. On Wednesday I’ll be posting all about my table for Kathleen’s Let’s Dish Challenge.

The theme for our Friendship Tea this year was Snapshots. The church lobby had some great backdrops for photo opportunities.

Behind every snapshot there’s a story.

Our daughter Katie came early and was able to take some snapshots before the crowds came.

Our daughter in law, her mom and grandmother were able to come and share a place at my table, too.

Sisters by marriage and Laura’s dear friend, Shavonne.

Pat, Wilma, Laura, Katie, Susan (Shavonne’s mom), and Shavonne.

Me and Katie

All my guests at my table Susan, Shavonne, Laura, Wilma, Pat, Andra, Judy, Katy and Katie.

More to come from the tea…

Today we had a glorious sunny day and Katie and I took the opportunity to head north to the tulip fields in Mt. Vernon and then to have lunch in LaConner. We even got a little sunburned. Soon I’ll be sharing my photos from the fields, too. Here’s a little tease…

That wasn’t nice was it? Here’s a different view…

Hope your week is starting well…

Tea for Two…

…or a few hundred!

Tomorrow is our Friendship Tea at church. Today was table setting time and it was so much fun to see all the creativity being pulled together under one roof. There will be 36 tables all set and ready to go by 10:45 tomorrow morning. I got some shots of some of the tables in progress.

I will walk about tomorrow morning before our guests arrive to take more photos of the tables all set and ready to go.

I was exhausted by the time I was done and Dear, Katie and I went out to dinner which I was thankful for. Do you have any plans for the weekend?

Escaping the Chaos…

All is good at this old house in the midst of the chaos. Dear had a minor injury during the work over the weekend so he’s taking the next couple days off to recuperate which means happily for me he’ll be here to supervise the work as the new floors go in on Tuesday. Josh and Laura rescued us and especially Dear bringing food and helping put the new patio door in. I washed all the window inside and out in the family room and washed the mini blinds. Now I really understand people having them professionally cleaned. What a job!

On Saturday I had another escape to a fun tea sponsored by a Girl Scout friend’s troop to raise money. She and her troop did a wonderful job of serving all of us and also making conversation as we sipped our tea. The 3 girls who were on the Tea Committee earned their Social Butterfly badges. How cute is that!

Here’s my DIL Laura with our little friend Sarah. Sarah was on the Tea Committee so she earned her badge. Sarah’s older sister Anna is in the top right photo. This last photo is of the views from the home where the tea was held. Such a beautiful day in the Puget Sound area of Washington.

I zoomed in on the Ferry doing the Edmonds/Kingston voyage.

Hope you all had a nice weekend.

She Scores…

My trips to my favorite Goodwill store in the area have been very infrequent the last couple of years. Lately I need to have something specific that I’m looking for to hit the thrifts or be right in the neighborhood doing something else. This last week I was looking for a book by a certain author and saw this in the collectibles section.

This is Lomonosov Golden Garden china made in Russia.

I bought these pieces for $29.95. When I looked online for prices just the cup and saucer was going for $75.00.

I need another tea set like a hole in the head but since this was a Russian set I wanted it. I am going to release one of my other sets for this one. I figure that’s a good trade off.

We had a productive weekend at this old house. I’m looking forward to a week where I’ll not be confused on what day it is. Holidays in the middle of the week throw my day compass off.

I’m joining in with Mary at Little Red House for her weekly meme, Mosaic Monday.

A Lovely Day…

…that zapped me of all my creative abilities. I will leave you with a tease for more to come of the wonderful George Washington Inn and the tea we enjoyed.

Blessings!

Happy Birthday President Washington!

These were taken inside the Washington National Cathedral. Beautiful rays of light were cast on this statue of George Washington.

Katie and I are leaving on any early ferry to cross the Puget Sound to the Kitsap Peninsula. After we pick up our good friend Beth we’ll cross the Hood Canal and keep going West to the George Washington Inn for High Tea. Stay tuned for photos of our time…

Have a great Wednesday….

Friday Was…

…a great day to brew a pot of tea and read a Tea Shop Murder Mystery. See my great old Tea Cozy from the early 70’s? A friend of ours in England made that for us as a wedding gift. It really does keep my tea pot nice and cozy. Today was not a hot day in the Northwest so Katie and I enjoyed our nice hot tea and sitting in a comfy chair with our throws and reading the day away…

I also managed to cook up a pot of Polenta Sausage Soup which I’ll post in the future on MGCC. The weather has never been a factor in when I enjoy soup. I like soup on a hot summer day as well as a brisk Fall day. How about you?

Speaking of Mennonite Girls Can Cook head over and get the 2 ingredient recipe I posted for a nice fruit dip to have with all that wonderful fresh fruit this time of year!

The Happy Wonderer ~ ellen b.

To honor and encourage

Category Archives: Tea