All In A Day's Work!

Today is a day for taking it easy.  I don't normally work on Sundays but they were expecting close to 200 guests for tea yesterday [two bridal teas and two Mansion Tea seatings], so I told them I'd come in.  As a result I'm sporting a black right eye [my first ever], two goose eggs on the left side of my head and bruised arms, but all is well and I'm feeling VERY fortunate.

Here's what happened...  When I got to The Whitney only three other people were there - Chef Eric [the pastry chef], his assistant, and the cleaning lady.  I got the water going in one of the 100 cup urns and went up to a second floor dining room [Mrs. Whitney's bedroom] to get the other large urn out of the closet.  The room was all set up for a 12:00 o'clock bridal tea.  In that room is a large, heavy antique china cabinet.  I noticed the hutch was leaning and would topple at some point and the china teacups needed to be removed so they wouldn't break, but I didn't realize how imminent the topple was and before I could report it to management. I got one shelf of teacups removed and was ready to begin removing the china on the top shelf when the hutch tumbled over knocking me to the floor underneath it. Fortunately, an arm chair was sitting at the end of a nearby table which broke the fall of the hutch allowing the corner to rest on the chair so I could crawl out.  If that chair hadn't been there I would have been hurt a lot worse.

It didn't knock me unconscious, nor leave me dizzy or disoriented, so I went and got Chef Eric.  He and his assistant immediately went upstairs with me, and the cleaning lady who heard the crash came too.  Knowing guests were due to arrive in an hour, the three of them began gathering up the broken china from the floor and putting the hutch back in an upright position so it could be carried out, along with the broken chair.  Despite their wishes for me to go to the hospital, I assured them I was okay, and got busy preparing the second urn of tea. Below is what the hutch looked like after the mess was cleaned up.  One of the doors broke off, and the glass panels broke too.  None of us thought to get a picture when the area was a shambles.

The hutch hadn't been anchored to the wall nor fastened to the cabinet below it, so it was an accident waiting to happen.  I thanked the Lord over and over for His care and protection.  If the hutch had toppled during the shower, it would have hit the guest sitting in that end chair which could have been catastrophic.

I got the tea made for all the events and went home around 3:30 p.m.  To put everyone's mind at ease I went to the ER near my house.  They took a CAT scan of my head and shoulders and said there were no fractures, but I'd be sore for a few days.  I'm thankful for strong bones and stamina at my age.

While I was sitting in the emergency room my son, Jeremy, sent this picture via Facebook.  It brought a smile to my face, but I think I'll pass on getting one.  I love tea-themed items, but there's a limit.  ;-)

On Saturday, a sweet lady who follows my blog came to Mansion Tea with her husband and mother-in-law.  Her hubby took our picture and Kim sent it to me.  Tea introduces you to the nicest people!

When I was reading estate sale notifications last Thursday, I saw one scheduled for Friday on my street, five doors down.  Not having to drive to an estate sale was a first.  I knew who the lady was but had never been in her home.  After viewing the pictures I thought it would be a good sale to attend, so my hubby walked down to the house at 7:30 a.m. on Friday to get an admittance number and ours were 5 & 6 - which meant we'd be admitted in the first group of people when the door opened at 9:00 a.m.

I was interested in a framed Victorian antique shoe horn, shoe hook and curling iron in a matching silver pattern.  The price was $125.  I didn't really want to pay that much since I don't do shoe presentations that often, but my hubby got it as a Christmas present.   How would you like to curl your hair with that curling iron heated on a stove?  

The deceased lady [younger than me] collected beautiful beaded antique purses and had several.  They were quite pricey [starting at $95] so I passed, but I did purchase two more reasonable fabric purses, and a vintage compact for my presentations.  Research revealed the black velvet drawstring purse on the left is a Dorothy bag - a type of Edwardian reticule.

Do you need an easy, but nice homemade hostess gift to give during the upcoming holidays? My cousin brought it to me when she came to lunch recently.  She said everything was from the $ store.  A pot holder folded into a cone shape and fastened closed and decorated with a silk flower.  A magnet glued on the back for attaching to a refrigerator, and a pair of kitchen sheers to go inside the holder.