Merry Christmas!

Wishing each of you a very Blessed Christmas!
I'm sharing some photos from around my house.
First a beautiful floral arrangement from a dear friend in Alabama.



The central ornament has a family of Christmas carolers.
I'll be saving that treasure to reuse again & again.



This little pink feather angel is almost 50 years old!!!
I bought it at a school bazaar for my Mother.  
She always had it on the top of her piano, flanking the nativity set.



My daughter brought me this DARLING little tree for my kitchen this year!!



It is filled with some of the cutest kitchen utensils I have ever seen!
A copper sauce pan...



An ornament depicting a package of spaghetti...Ms. C's favorite!



A red glitter handled whisk...



A beautiful copper collander...



There are several red glittered rolling pins throughout the tree.




A precious potato masher!!



What a fun focal point it has added to my festive kitchen!



The fireplace mantel is always done in gold, with angels...gifts from my sweet husband
when we lived in FL.  There was a local store that featured a different one each year.





I pray the Spirit of Christmas will light up your life & burn brightly for you all year long!



Don't eat too many Christmas cookies!!!

Tea in the Library

The title of this post "Tea in the Library", sounds like a hint from the game of "Clue" doesn't it?

Last week, I went to my local libray... 



and I had the most delightful time,
learning about tea & taste testing several different types.

We were asked to bring our own special teacup from which to sip & sample the tea.

I brought my pretty teacup with matching infuser & lid from TEAVANA
It was one of my birthday gifts a few years ago.

I just LOVE how it makes having a single cup of tea such a special experience.

It says the Ume blossom on the cup is the beloved symbol of hope in Asian art.



There was a beautiful array of GORGEOUS Hall teapots, (highly collectable)

each with its own special clear glass warmer stand with a little candle inside.

The individual teabags had been filled by hand with various flavors of widely different teas.

There were also bowls of spices, like star anise to examine, smell & savor.
We learned how Jasmine tea made by allowing the tea leaves to lay in racks with another rack of jasmine flowers in between each layer.  There is a fan moving the air about in the room until the tea master decides that the tea leaves have gotten enough aroma infused into them.  Amazing!



This event was put on by Angela Strach-Gotthardt, creator & owner of *The Secret Tea Society*.

She is extremely knowledgable & was a delightful hostess, sharing tips on herbal & botantical teas as well as secrets to making a really good cup of tea.

She frequently holds a tea tasting "Salon" in her own lovely historic home in Hudson, OH, which once hid runaway slaves beneath its floor boards!

A description of a salon from her website:

"A Secret Tea Society salon is a special gathering for tea and conversation. We seek out and create sometimes minimal and sometimes highly embellished venues for the gathering of interesting and interested individuals to share tea and conversation about virtually any given topic. A historic home, a public venue, a private room, any beautiful space can serve as the backdrop for a morning, an afternoon or an evening of curated teas, delectable treats, and conversations that foster learning and understanding of the world and of each other. Those conversations may leave one with, perhaps, more questions than answers–and that is a wondrous thing."



I was totally in love with her wonderful collection of teapots!

I collected them myself for many years, until I ran out of room, but none of mine are as special as the ones she shared!



She & her assistants passed around little bowls, filled with loose tea, for us to smell & observe.




Some were delightful...others, not so much. ;-p  Many smelled like perfume!  Not what I thought I would care to drink.


 


There were glass pedistals filled with nuts & unusual teas...I wish I could remember the name of this one with the little white tips....perhaps it might have been "white tea"!
I wish I had thought to take notes.

These are just some of the DARLING teapots Angela brought to share.
I was PEA-GREEN with envy over her collection.




I was also tickled PINK to receive a little brown envelope, tied with a PINK ribbon, 
filled with one of her special blends...Citrus Almond Herbal...DELISH!



The library had put out a cart with a selection of books on the topic of tea.  

I wanted to check out each one!



Angela also talked about chilled tea, often infused with fruits & how refreshing it could be during the warmer months. 





Angela is holding what she calls a "pop-up" store within the historic Brewster Mansion right on the square in Hudson, OH both this weekend & next.

Secret Tea Society Holiday Pop-Up

Friday, December 2nd - Thursday, December 22nd

10am-5pm Wednesdays, Fridays, Saturdays | 10am-8pm Thursdays

Brewster Mansion — 9 Aurora Street, Hudson, OH 44236

Our Secret Tea Society Holiday Pop-Up

 Shop is the place to shop your tea, tea

 equipage, candles and correspondence

 paper for holiday gift giving. 

Tea tastings are gratis all day, everyday.

 Enjoy relaxing on the leopard settee or on

 the porch overlooking Hudson's town

 green to sip, chat, taste, relax and shop.

Don't you just ADORE the little wooden teapots she uses to denote her location?  

All the more noticable with their trailing ribbons blowing in the wind.  So creative!



She suggested we put a slice of orange rind (without any of the white pith) into the cup, to make your tea even more special.

My sewing/smocking/quilting friend, Nicole visited shortly after the event & we tried it & it tastes divine!  I'm going to save the peel from all my oranges & freeze the bits of rind for future use.

I wish each of you could stop by to share a cup of tea during this holiday season!



I am joining Bernideen's Tea Time Link Party
"Friends Sharing Tea" for the first time!
She has such a delightful collection of tea items!

Time Spent by the Water

I've neglected my blog drastically... mostly because I haven't had a great deal of things to share. 

These photos were taken this past summer, at a sewing friend's cottage on Lake Erie...seems so very long ago! 

As a child, my family used to spend a day on the shores of Lake Erie at least once a summer.

I have fond memories of walking along the water's edge, hunting for pretty seashells.

This relaxing day was a wonderful trip down memory lane for me.

 I am SEW very grateful that I was included.

  My sore hip (bursitis) prevented me from some of the activity in the water but it was still a very fun day.
I sat in the shade on the deck & worked on some hand stitching.

Those warm summer days seem so far away now.

This morning, I awoke to SNOW on the pumpkins....

as well as my geraniums!

 It was 73º just a day ago!

I'm going to spend my Sunday afternoon, stitching some binding & catching up on the "Poldark" series on PBS.

Talk about being at the water's edge....this takes place in Wales, from whence my father's ancestors hail.
 I love the scenes of them walking & riding along these rocky cliffs, with the water crashing below.

If you're not watching this series, I urge you to start at the beginning, from the library or On Demand TV.
Like Downton Abbey, you'll need to know the history of all the characters in order to fully enjoy the stories.

I'm especially enamoured with this red headed damsel, Demelza, wife of Poldark.

Lots of scenes with her standing by the water's edge, her gorgeous naturally curly red hair blowing in the wind. 

Perfect program for a snowy Sunday, especially if you're not into sports on TV.

I'll be able to show you a few sewing projects soon but for now they have to remain a secret.
Here is just a sneak peek though:

May you be surrounded by family & friends this Thanksgiving!