More Highs and Lows

My new computer and monitor was installed yesterday and this in my first post written with it. It's so much faster than my old computer and I haven't found Windows 11 too challenging, but there are a few differences from Windows 10.

It was a busy day at The Whitney yesterday with two Weddings and a Baby Shower in addition to Mansion Tea.  All three floors were in full swing.  A lovely lady that I met thru tea acquaintances and is co-moderator of the Facebook group, Christian Tea Time & Hospitality, came to tea yesterday with her sister, niece and great-niece.  I didn't have a lot of time to visit, but we did get a couple of pictures and Edwina took some outside when they arrived.

No, I'm not wearing excessive rouge, sunburned or blushing in the photo below. ;-) When I'm busy working I get so warm and my face gets very red.  I always tell everyone, all's well and no worries because my blood pressure's normal.  My Dr. says my red face is no cause for alarm.  

According to my new scale, I've lost almost 15 lbs. since July 8th.  I see my Dr. this Wednesday and always like to get weighed on their scale because I think it's more accurate than home scales.

Now for the low...  I received a phone as I was getting ready for church today telling me my brother passed away this morning.  He's older than me [84] and has had frail health since May when he was diagnosed with advanced prostate cancer.  He's been in and out of the hospital [for long stays] three times since his diagnosis so his passing shouldn't have come as a shock, but it did.  The last text I received from his daughter she said he was doing much better and looked the best he's looked in years.  

His wife passed away in 2014 so he moved to Atlanta, Georgia area in 2017 to be near his daughter and her family.  Below is a photo taken in 2017 just before he moved [and recovering from a stroke], and was the last time I saw him.  There's no details yet, but his body will be brought back to Michigan for burial next to his wife.  I pray he made his peace with Jesus so he was ready to go into eternity.  It's the most important decision any of us will ever make.

These are probably the last pictures we have of Dan.  The two at Dollywood were taken this past May when his daughter took him to Dollywood because it was on his bucket list.  She was so good to him, and right after that he became very ill.

After prayer time at church this morning, a sweet lady brought this hankie to me.  It's lovely and so true.  

I recently posted that sunflowers are my favorite flower and when I went into my local supermarket on Friday I saw a huge sunflower display that bought a smile to my face and I couldn't resist taking a picture.

When I looked at the photo today of the sunny, cheerful flowers, it reminded me of a line in an old hymn we used to sing [back in the days of hymnals before screens with contemporary songs replaced them] 'When Jesus shows His smiling face, there is sunshine in the soul'.

And then another song came to mind:   "You can have a melody down in your heart when it’s aching, almost breaking. Even tho’ the sorrow makes the teardrop start. You can have a melody down in your heart.

Chorus:  You can have a song in your heart in the night.  After every trial, after every mile. Anyone can sing when the sun's shining bright, but you need a song in your heart at night."

I'm so thankful for God's sunshine in my soul and the song He's put in my heart during this 'nighttime' of grief.  

Highs and Lows

My hubby and I went computer shopping today with our very knowledgeable tech guy, and I am now the proud owner of a new computer.  He's got the new tower at his house building the system as I type this post.  In the meantime, I figured out a way to access the old classic Windows photo viewer so I could transfer a few photos from my iPhone to my computer and write one last post on my old faithful, 14-year-old computer. 

The first high came last Sunday when we went out to dinner after church with our daughter and son-in-law, and afterwards went to see their new house.  They're still in the process of unpacking and settling in, but our daughter is so happy decorating her new nest, and we're thrilled for them!

Tuesday held both high and low points.  In the morning hubby and I went to the funeral of The Whitney's General Manager who lost his year long battle with cancer.  He was just 61 [that's young to me!].  Over half of Whitney employees - from office and management staff to serving and kitchen staff, to maintenance workers were there to honor him.  Nothing is more sobering and reflective than a funeral.  

Tuesday night was a high to make up for Tuesday morning's low.  Our church had an outdoor potluck dinner followed by the baptism of 17 individuals who made a public declaration of their faith in Jesus Christ.  Each gave heartwarming testimonies before being baptized. Mother Nature let us get through the meal, music and testimonies, but just as it was time for the Pastor & Youth Pastor to start baptizing, the skies opened up with a downpour of rain.  It didn't matter for those being baptized because they were going to get wet anyway, but it sent everyone sitting by the water's edge scrambling for cover.   It was a great evening in spite of the rain.

Today was a high as it's our granddaughter Tiffany's 10th Wedding Anniversary.  It hardly seems possible that 10 years have passed at lightening speed!

And it's a high that I bought my new computer today and can cross that off my 'to do' list.  I just hope I can navigate the new Windows 11!  My long-time computer signs off for the last time and says goodbye.

Technology Woes

I'm shopping for a new computer.  My faithful Hewlett Packard, purchased purchased in 2014, is still alive but she's old and Microsoft won't continue updates on Windows 10 after October so it's time. With the last update [since my post of August 3rd] Microsoft decided to update pictures and I can't make heads or tails how to download pictures from my phone to my computer picture files.   All my 'at a glance' photo albums have been replaced by a new sidebar system.  Ugghh!  I'm not alone in my frustration as others have asked how they can delete the new system and return to the old one.  How are you coping with the change?

All that to say, until my tech guy gets my old photo system back in place [if it's possible] and my new computer installed, I won't be writing any blog posts.  Hopefully it won't take too much time.  In the meantime, enjoy August!

National Sunflower Day!

I hope you're enjoying the beginning days of August.  I discovered today is National Sunflower Day.   That's my favorite flower.  It's normally the first Saturday of August, but it's on a Sunday this year.

Sunflowers are such a happy flower.  Their bright golden faces evoke feelings of warmth and joy. They symbolize happiness, positivity, and adoration, and represent loyalty, vitality and longevity.

North and South Dakota are the top sunflower producing states in the world, and August is their peak season.  I remember seeing fields and fields of them on our 2020 vacation out west with our son Jeremy and family.

Before I became smitten with tea, I had a sunflower themed kitchen, which I loved.  It was so cheerful especially during our long winter months. Below is the only photo I could find quickly.  It was many moons ago on my 54th birthday with four of my grandchildren [there are now eight and these four have since grown into adulthood].

A local orchard has a sunflower festival every year. The photo below was taken in 2021 when my hubby and I went.

One year [2007], I did an informal tea for the ladies of our church district at our campgrounds and used sunflowers as the decorating theme.   

I've had fun using sunflowers as a centerpiece at teas and luncheons in my home.  They're perfect with a Mexican fiesta theme.

 I received a sunflower floral arrangement for my birthday one year.

My granddaughter, Brianna [fourth in birth order], loves sunflowers too and I love this photo of her.

I almost forgot about the sunflower tablescape I did for the ladies of my church back in 2001 when I used to coordinate monthly theme dinners for them.  I had to search through my photos to find this picture.  This particular March dinner had the theme "Who Wants to be a Millionaire?"  Remember that TV show?   Our dinner had a spiritual emphasis though and we didn't play the TV game.  Sunflowers make you feel like a million dollars, right?!  ;-)  Each table had their own sunflower cake to cut and eat for dessert  [Cake is nine o'clock position in the photo].  It's somewhat washed out in the photo but it was vibrant in person.  The top of the single layer cake was decorated with yellow candy coating disks to represent the outer petals and the center was miniature chocolate chips.  They were easy to make and decorate for feeding several tables of ladies and they looked cute.

And last, but certainly not least, there are sunflower teas - some herbal and some made with green tea leaves as well as black tea leaves.

Sunflower kernels are very healthy too.  I like to toss them in garden salads.

And I can't end this post without saying it's also National Watermelon Day.   I've been buying a lot of 'personal size' watermelons while I've been weight watching.  They're very healthy and one cup of cubed watermelon is only 46 calories.  Since they have a natural sweetness they satisfy cravings for something sweet, and they're good at breakfast, lunch or dinner.  I posted the photo below recently of one of my breakfasts while trying to shed some pounds.  I'm going to try a watermelon smoothie this week and will report back.  

 Are you enjoying watermelon this summer?

A Brief Visit and Breakfast

Our youngest son, Jeremy, his wife, Samantha, and their youngest daughter, Ellie, came to the eastern side of the state this weekend for a wedding and birthday party with Sam's family. Jeremy had a speaking engagement this afternoon with some high school football coaches, so he called and wanted us to go to breakfast with them before his commitment.

We went to a restaurant none of us had been to before on the way to where Jeremy had to speak.  House of Pancakes didn't disappoint.

~ Jeremy, Samantha & Ellie ~

Since I'm trying to eat healthy and shed some pounds I ordered a vegetable omelet with a small bowl of fruit and one piece of sourdough toast.  It was yummy.  I had my tea when we got back home.

My seat was facing the window, so I couldn't help noticing a very elderly man who pulled up close to the front door.   When he got out of his car, he was bent over with age and required a walker, so my hubby held the door open for him.  He told us he was 99 years old.  When we got outside the restaurant Ellie noticed his license plate had World War II Veteran printed on it.  Not many of those men are still alive.  God bless him for still having a healthy mind and keeping active even if his body is wearing out, but maybe it's time for someone to start chauffeuring him around.  ;-)  

Our granddaughter, Brooke, has had aspirations of becoming a beautician even before she went off to college to get her degree in early childhood development.  So a few months ago she enrolled at a Cosmetology school and is thoroughly enjoying it.  Today while Jeremy was at his speaking engagement, Samantha took Ellie over to the school so Brooke could give her a haircut.  She did a great job and Ellie loved it.  Sam took some pictures to share with me and I'm sharing them on the blog.  

 

~ Two of six beautiful granddaughters ~

Hmmm, my beautician is having knee replacement surgery soon and won't be doing hair for awhile, maybe I'll go to Brooke for my hair too.   

We had torrential rain and thunder storms in my area today with lots of flooding.  Such catastrophic weather patterns all across our country these days.  Hope you're safe where you live.

All In a Day

Most people stay home in their air conditioned house on a day when it's 96 degrees and feels like 103 degrees outside, but I had things to do and places to go!

To fortify myself before leaving home, I had a yummy breakfast that was both healthy and calorie conservative.   Of course, it included a cup of green tea.

I had seen in an e-mail last night that there was an estate sale nearby with teacups, so I decided to go.  I wasn't there when the sale opened at 10:00 a.m. so someone else beat me to some of them, but five of the 14 pictured were still there, and the price was an amazing $2 each!  I couldn't believe it since it was the first day of the sale and they were bone china.

  I will take them to The Whitney tomorrow.

I had $30 Kohl's Cash that needed to be spent before expiration, so my next stop was Kohl's. New bath towels was on my list, but I got sidelined by a Napier jewelry display before I made it to linens.  I'm not trying to rush summer, but I couldn't help purchasing a cute fall pumpkin brooch.  It was 20% off so only cost me $15.25.

Eventually I purchased the bath towels, then went to Bath & Body Works [in the same mall] and got fragrance refills on sale 5 for $28.  

It was a productive afternoon, then I made my way back home to my air conditioned house.  I poured myself a cup of refreshing Gazpacho [also calorie conservative].  Can you tell I'm trying to shed some pounds?  ;-)  Fish Tacos are on the menu for dinner.

How was your day?

Summertime in July

Summer didn't officially begin until June 20th so a full month hasn't lapsed yet, and it won't end until September 22nd, which means we have two months left but you wouldn't know it if you walked into stores.  Yesterday I went to two stores - Hobby Lobby and At Home.   Hobby Lobby was all decorated for fall...

 

...and At Home was a Halloween Lovers paradise.   Halloween is now ranked the second-largest commercial holiday in the United States after Christmas - higher than Easter, Valentine's Day, 4th of July, and Mother's and Father's Day.  Apparently I'm outnumbered, because as an adult, it's my least favorite holiday even though I do have some Halloween dishware.

Our summers are so short, I hate to start thinking about fall even though it's a beautiful season.

The City of Detroit will celebrate its 324th birthday on July 24th with several festivities planned.  The Whitney will be featuring a Detroit Classics menu July 7-25 and a Birthday Party in the garden on July 23rd co-sponsored by Detroit's iconic American Coney Island.  Detroit's Greatest Hits will be played and there'll be dancing under the stars.

We celebrated three family birthdays in July - granddaughters Ellie and Tiffany and daughter-in-law, Samantha.  Jeremy took the lovely photo of Sam [below] when he took her out to dinner for her birthday.

Tea times have slowed down at The Whitney during July.  Guests are enjoying summer vacations, beaches, and boating.  The guest count for tomorrow is only 47.  I can't remember when it was that low on a Saturday, but my knees aren't complaining.  

Almost all of the teas at The Whitney are custom blended for us by a lady at Eastern Market but she doesn't package the tea.  It comes in half lb. bags and I package it for our urns and 6 cup teapots.  Recently, however, we've started purchasing individual teabags from Bigelow Tea for guests who only want a cup instead of a teapot.  They've been very well received. A case arrived today and I'll take them to work tomorrow.

Hubby took this impromptu picture of me about a week ago when I was mating and organizing the teacups in the Music Room at The Whitney.  The shelves were once used to hold music when the Whitney's lived in the mansion, and we use them for teacups now. The pic is awful of me but it's a  glimpse of how beautiful the Music Room is.

Not much else has been happening with me which is why my blog has been rather quiet lately.  I hope you've been enjoying your summer.

July 4th Birthday Celebrations

I hope you had an enjoyable 4th of July.  As I mentioned a few posts back, our youngest granddaughter, Ellie, was born on the 4th of July and she became a teenager this year.  In the blink of an eye 13 years have passed.

Her aunt and uncle hosted the birthday celebration because Ellie's twin cousins turned 13 on July 5th.  The weather was nice until around 4:00 o'clock, then it rained for a half hour or so and cleared up again.  

Below is our birthday girl...

With 22 first cousins [ranging from 22 years old to 7 mos. old], plus all the adults, there was lots of activity - pool fun, trampoline fun [for the younger kids], cornhole fun [two sets of cornhole boards], basketball, and for those of us who were less energetic, we sat and visited or watched the Detroit Tiger ballgame on the patio TV until it was time to eat, and what a huge array of food there was.   My contribution was a pan of macaroni and cheese.

~ Landon and Izzy ~

~ Izzy with the youngest cousin, Baker ~

But the most exciting activity - at least for the three birthday girls - was opening presents.

The birthday girls - Ellie, CeCe and Carmela

They made a wish and blew out the candles!

~ Daughter-in-law, Samantha, and Izzy ~

There were fireworks later that night, but since I had to get up for work on Saturday morning, we left around 8:00 o'clock.  It was a great family fun day, but sadly, following all the 4th celebrations, tragedy struck Kerrville, Texas when the Guadalupe River rose 26 feet in 45 minutes and took the lives of many and destroyed homes. Our prayers are with all those who lost children and loved ones.  I can't begin to imagine their grief and the anxiety for those who are still missing relatives.