Japanese Tea ~ Matcha and Katie’s Yukata

Here is the second guest post from my daughter Katie. She has included photos of her Yukata and a little description of the type of tea used in her Art of Japanese Tea classes.

“I finally received my yukata! Here are some pictures of me wearing it down at the arboretum. Don’t judge my obi tying too harshly, this was the first week that I dressed myself without help from my friend Mika or my teacher.

In the class we have now done the full procedure for taking a sweet from a bowl with chopsticks several times, have begun doing the full procedure for taking tea, and just started practicing the procedures for purifying all the implements before whisking tea. I got complimented by some of my peers and by my teacher for my tea-whisking skill. 🙂 The tea we use is matcha, which is powdered green tea. It’s…an acquired taste, but I think I’m starting to like it. Mika insists that it is addictive. I guess I just don’t have an addictive personality, haha.”

Thank you so much Katie!

For more posts on Favorite Teas click over to Gracious Hospitality.

 

WFW ~ II Corinthians 2: 14-15

 

II Corinthians 2: 14-15 ~

“But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumphal procession in Christ and through us spreads everywhere the fragrance of the knowledge of him. For we are to God the aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing.”

For more Word Filled Wednesday click over to The 160 Acre Woods

ABC Wednesday ~ O is for…

O is for Oban, Scotland ~

Oban is the gateway to the Isles.

Oban is on the west coast of Scotland.

Oban is the frontier between the West Highlands and the Islands; the meeting place between land and sea. A perfect, sheltered harbour makes it the principal seaport for the Isles and the capital of the West Highlands. It has a mild, temperate climate, warmed by the Gulf Stream and washed (too often, some might say) by the soft rain that often falls hereabouts. This misty, briny character, with a background of heather and peat, is perfectly echoed in the malt whisky produced at Oban.

We travelled to Oban in May of 2006 and enjoyed a couple nights here. Our favorite part of this stay was our day trip to the Isle of Iona via the Isle of Mull. Our tour of the Oban Distillery was an extra treat for Dear…

For more O posts visit Mrs. Nesbitt

ht: Dave for Oban photos…

Hospital-i-Tea Blogathon ~ Favorite Tea

April 27 – May 3
Tell about your favorite tea. How do you prepare it and serve it? Milk and sugar? Plain? What are some of your best memories of serving or sipping on this tea.

Truth be told I generally enjoy tea steeped with a tea bag. If I am going to steep loose tea I enjoy a good Earl Grey or English Breakfast Tea. I always have to make sure I have good ole Lipton tea bags around for my family especially my brother Leonard. Some of my sisters have moved on to herbal teas. When I was younger I put lots of sugar and milk in my tea. These days I drink most of my hot beverages black with no sweeteners. In honor of this weeks assignment Dear and I went to Cost Plus bought a tin of Twinings Earl Grey Loose Tea and steeped ourselves a cuppa this afternoon. Lovely…

My best memories of tea are from my childhood when I’d have tea with my maternal grandmother. Also whenever we get together with my side of the family we enjoy tea at the end of our meals together. Sometimes I’ll have it black, sometimes with lemon, and sometimes with milk. Then the next best memory of tea is when I travelled to England for the first time in 1973. We were part of a Christian Rock band singing at local schools and churches. We would be housed by local families who were interested in our ministry. How very special it was to have a knock on the bedroom door in the morning, open the door and see a tray with a teapot steeping and tea cups and milk to get us started in the morning. What a wonderful treat and memory. I also love how when staying at Bed and Breakfasts in England we’ve been greeted with tea upon our arrival. This next photo is of our daughter enjoying a cup of welcome tea in our flat in Edinburgh.

I’d love that beautiful blue and white tea set! Tea is always a welcome refreshment when I am tired and after travelling a long way.

For more Tea Posts visit LaTeDah at Gracious Hospitality.

 

Fun Monday ~ Favorite Walk

Here’s our assignment from Angela at the Lurchers for this week.

“I’m going to make it a nice and easy Fun Monday this week. All I want you to do is take me on your favourite walk. In words or pictures. Or both of course! Tell me why it’s your favourite and point out things of interest on the way.”

My husband and I have two wonderful walks that we do early on Saturday mornings. Our walk along the beach at Emma Wood State Beach in Ventura, California.

The beauty of the Pacific Ocean, the fresh salt air, all of God’s beautiful splendor, what a wonderful stimulation for all our senses.

Then we have another choice close by. Our second favorite is in the Santa Monica Mountains that are in our backyard. In Sycamore Canyon we have several hiking trails with different elevations to choose from. On the Scenic Trail we again are able to see the Pacific Ocean when we reach the top…

We enjoy both of these walks/hikes because we are generally all alone going as early as we do. It’s quiet except for the birds and the crashing of the waves. We see different and interesting plants and wildlife.

It’s great to get away from the neighborhood and into the “wild”.

For more Fun Monday visit Angela at the Lurchers.

And look what Anni gave me today. I love her graphics and this one is so darn cute! Thanks Hootin Anni!

Brown Plate Special ~ Week 11

Well I’m happy to say that I was able to increase my activitiy this past week as my back got better day by day. When I stepped on the scale this morning I was down 1.4 pounds. Yippee! Overall for the 11 weeks I am down 6.2 pounds. I’m hoping to get my steps over 10,000 a day this week, Lord willing. I’m going to say again that for me besides the walking, not eating after 6:00 in the evening is key in this sensible plan. Have a wonderful week.

Mad Hatter Tea Bridal Shower…

On Saturday I drove 90 miles from Camarillo to Newport Beach to attend a shower for our future niece, Jessica, who is marrying my brother Steve’s son Timothy. Timothy’s lovely mother is my SIL Kelly.

This is a fun photo of 3 of my brother Steve’s sons. (Joe is missing) Timothy is the one in the middle flanked by his brothers Caleb and Levi.

Oh the destination and the setting and the beautiful ladies that we got to spend the afternoon with made the 180 mile round-trip so worth it.

The table was set perfectly for our Mad Hatter Tea. We gave thanks to the Lord for this wonderful occasion and began the festivities.

Michelle, the maid of honor,  was our hostess and the setting was in her parents gated community in Newport Beach. I can’t even begin to guess what the HOA fees are in this wonderful setting. Did I just say that out loud?

It was a Mad Hatter Tea which meant we were all required to wear hats. My SIL Letty and me.  Jessica, the Guest of Honor. Jessica opening her Samovar from my mother and a tablecloth that my mother made when she was 12 years old (that would have been in Tehran, Iran) The last photo is of the daughters and daughter in laws with my mom. Letty, Vera, My Mom, Kathy, Ellen b, and Kelly.

Jessica with her friends and most of these ladies will be her bridesmaids. Our hostess, Michelle, to the left of Jessica.

After we had our Tea/Lunch we walked over to the Rose Garden in the Community.

Some of my lovely nieces, Melissa, Debbee, and Michelle.

Ellen b. in a hat! You won’t see that everyday.

Well that hat won me a prize along with the great hat on the right that the mother of the hostess wore! I won a wonderful lavender scented candle.

We are having a very hot weekend in Southern California. See that 100 degrees for the outside temperature next to my odometer. That registered when I was driving home and reached the San Fernando Valley. Hot, hot, hot for Spring around here! (Looks like I need to dust off my dash!)

Made it home in good time praising our God for the blessing of family and friends to enjoy life with on this earth.

“May our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father, who loved us and by his grace gave us eternal encouragement and good hope, encourage your hearts and strengthen you in every good deed and word.”
~2 Thessalonians 2: 16,17

In the Cross of Christ I Glory ~ Hymn

In the Cross of Christ I Glory

In the cross of Christ I glory,
Towering o’er the wrecks of time;
All the light of sacred story
Gathers round its head sublime.

When the woes of life o’ertake me,
Hopes deceive, and fears annoy,
Never shall the cross forsake me,
Lo! it glows with peace and joy.

When the sun of bliss is beaming
Light and love upon my way,
From the cross the radiance streaming
Adds more luster to the day.

Bane and blessing, pain and pleasure,
By the cross are sanctified;
Peace is there that knows no measure,
Joys that through all time abide.

In the cross of Christ I glory,
Towering o’er the wrecks of time;
All the light of sacred story
Gathers round its head sublime.

Words: John Bowring, Hymns by John Bow­ring, 1825. There is a sto­ry (prob­ab­ly apo­cryph­al) about the in­spir­a­tion for these words. The tra­di­tion is that Bow­ring was sail­ing past the coast of Ma­cao, Chi­na. On the shore were the re­mains of an old, fire gut­ted church. Above the ru­ins, he saw the church’s cross still stand­ing. The ti­tle of this hymn was carved on Bow­ring’s tomb­stone.

ht: cyberhymnal

Pleasant Valley Historical Society Museum~Botanical Garden

In the City of Camarillo there is a small Museum and Botanical Garden that is only open on Saturdays and Sundays for 4 hours. The facility is staffed by volunteers who are knowledgeable about the history of the area and the artifacts on hand.

The museum is housed in the old water district building and the small garden is behind the building.

There are several glass cases of some of the local Chumash Indian artifacts and other memorabilia from the early days in the Pleasant Valley Area. After a look at all the cases I headed out to the Garden with a challenge from one of the volunteers to try to guess what a green object in the garden was. Well I like a challenge so I was off to have a look.

On the way to find this mysterious green object I stopped to smell the roses…

More pretty flowers along the walkway still looking for the Green mystery item.

This must be the mystery item. I look at it and chuckle because this is not a mystery to me. This is a Still! I’m married to Dear and he has educated me about the Art of Stills. I went back into the museum to let them know I was familiar with the Green Mystery Item. I earned some brownie points for not being stumped! I was then told the history of this Still and how it was donated to the museum by one of the farmers in the area.

“Well, between Scotch and nothin’, I suppose I’d take Scotch. It’s the nearest thing to good moonshine I can find.”
William Faulkner

***I’m headed to a Mad Hatter Tea Shower today instead of a walk so I’m posting my average steps for the week here. I am quite pleased that I’m finally able to walk a little further and that my back is getting better and better everyday. My average steps this week were 7663. Next week I hope to be able to get closer to 10,000 again. We’ll see what my back allows. Have a wonderful Saturday and keep on walking.

Oh and if I’m brave enough I’ll post a photo of myself in my hat!

Monkey Bread? ~ Recipe

Easy Monkey Bread

I saw this recipe recently and forgot to write down where I borrowed it from. So sorry to whoever posted it. Let me know and I’ll give you credit. I don’t even know what it’s called but it really is similar to Monkey Bread so that’s what I’ll call it. Here’s the easy “how to” better known as a recipe.

Ingredients:

2 tubes (12 oz. ea.) refrigerated flaky buttermilk biscuits
1 Cup Brown Sugar
1/2 Cup Heavy Whipping Cream
1 tsp. good cinnamon (this is different from that bad cinnamon)

Preheat Oven to 350 degrees. Cut each biscuits into 4 pieces, arrange evenly in a 10″ fluted pan coated with cooking spray. (I used the new Pam baking spray with flour) Combine sugar, cream, and cinnamon, the good cinnamon not the bad cinnamon 🙂 Pour over the biscuits then bake for 25-30 minutes.  Note: I added chopped walnuts because I love nuts. I also layered one tube then added nuts and some of the blended goo then layered the second tube of biscuits added more nuts and poured the rest of the goo on top.

Assemble and put into the oven then enjoy the heavenly smells wafting through the house.

The result will look like this. You can gently flip it over onto a serving platter of some kind.

Enjoy! This is great for a Saturday Morning instead of a donut!