Thanksgiving Eve

Today was a work day for me, and it was a challenge getting into The Whitney parking lot.  The restaurant faces Woodward Avenuue and Detroit's 99th Thanksgiving Day Parade route is a 3-mile stretch on Woodward Avenue.  It goes right past The Whitney.  Crews were setting up road blocks all along the Woodward Avene parade route, so it took a little ingenuity to get into the parking lot. 

We're still featuring Apple Cinnamon Black tea at Mansion Tea but on Friday we'll switch over to Mistletoe Kiss Black Tea.  A yummy spicy Christmassy tea.  The Whitney was having their outdoor tree lighting tonight and the interior is beautifully decorated for Christmas.

On the way to an appointment after work, I was pleasantly surprised to see pick-up trucks pulling over 30 floats on Warren Avenue in preparation for tomorrow's parade.  My hubby was driving so it gave me the opportunity to take several photos through the car's windshield and his driver's window.  I'll share just a few photos but you can be sure I'll be watching the parade on TV when coverage begins at 8:45 tomorrow morning.

We had high winds and light snow flurries today, and light snow is also predicted for tomorrow.  Those watching the parade in person will have to bundle up.

I was so happy to see the Hudson's float.

The Jazz float paying tribute to the Detroit Jazz Queens.

The Oz float

And part of the very last float - Santa's float

After dinner tonight I made a 9-inch pumpkin swirl cheesecake with a gingersnap crust for one of tomorrow's desserts.  It's been several years since I made one and The Whitney inspired me with their pumpkin cheesecakes made in the pastry kitchen and sold thru tonight for $59.  

I wish you all a very Happy Thanksgiving.  🎜 Count your blessings, name them one by one... and it will surprise what the Lord has done. 🎝 That line comes from great hymn Count Your Blessings that was published in 1897 and it's still true in 2025!

I loved how one of the officiating clergymen began his prayer at former Vice President Dick Cheney's funeral service at Washington National Cathedral last week:  "Oh God, whose mercies can not be measured..."  I jotted it down and tucked it in my Bible.

Celebrations and Preparations

My hubby's 'biological odometer' recently rolled over another year and my daughter had us over for a lovely celebration dinner.  

Thanksgiving is a time of being grateful for our blessings and giving to those less fortunate.  I usually send checks to Salvation Army, Gleaners, and/or Detroit Rescue Mission to help feed the hungry [that's the easy way], but this year I took a Thanksgiving box to fill from my local church and put a little of myself into it.  I shopped for the list of grocery items on Monday [minus the perishables which I'll purchase this Saturday] and will return it Sunday morning. Tea wasn't on the list, but you can be sure a box will be in there!  So grateful for the opportunity to brighten a family's Thanksgiving.  50 boxes were distributed and my box was #44.  It's very organized by a couple in our church.

Aside from focusing on Thanksgiving Day food preparations [I'm making the turkey, dressing, sweet potatoes, rolls, and pumpkin pie] and transporting it to my son's house, and daughter-in-law, Sharon, will fill in with other sides, I'm also VERY busy with the preparations for the December 6th ladies' Christmas tea at church.  

I bought the Christmas silk flowers to decorate the tiered servers.  61 ladies have signed up to attend so far with two Sundays remaining for sign-up.   Six ladies volunteered to hostess a table and three of us are doing two tables, and it's starting to look like some may be doing three.

I already posted that one of my tables will be a Nutcracker theme, and I decided my second table will be a snowy/icy theme using my Petals vintage dishes.  I bought the placemats and chargers on Monday.  I haven't decided what theme the third table will be yet.

This will be the favor for that table.  I copied the picture frame idea from what I'm doing at The Whitney.  The photo is our church on the first snowfall a couple of winters ago.

I would LOVE to order these dishes from Overstock.com for my third table because I already have the truck centerpiece, but I keep telling myself, No!  No!  No!  But the grandkids would love them.  No!  No!  No!

As previously mentioned, the theme of the tea is "A Cup of Christmas Tea" and I received the most lovely surprise in yesterday's mail from a dear friend in California.

She read on my blog the tea's theme and sent Tom Hegg's book.  What makes this book so special is she acquired it at an estate sale 20 years ago and inside the book was a handwritten note a mother wrote to her grown son, David, in 2000 saying she found the message of the book so profound and beautiful.  David and his family were joining her that year for Christmas and she wanted to start a tradition of sharing 'A Cup of Christmas Tea' around their Christmas tree - something they would always treasure and remember.  

My friend thought it would be honoring to this dear mother to share her story at the tea, which I will definitely do.  

If I don't get a chance to post again before Thanksgiving, I wish you and yours a very Blessed Thanksgiving!

The Christmas Season is Approaching

I am definitely not trying to rush the season, but I've got two upcoming Christmas teas in December and the clock is ticking.

Our Ladies' Christmas Tea at church is Saturday, December 6th and the theme is "A Cup of Christmas Tea".   The ladies are setting and hostessing tables this year and the sign-up to attend has begun.

I'm hoping I only have to set one table which will be a Nutcracker theme, but I'm mulling around a second theme just in case.  I was able to get Gracie China dinner and luncheon plates with matching mugs at HomeGoods, but had to order the matching teapot directly from Gracie China at almost 3 x's what I would've paid had I been lucky enough to find one at a HomeGoods near me.  It makes me wonder, are the dishes at HomeGoods seconds [slightly imperfect]?

I prefer cups and saucers to mugs, but Gracie only made mugs in this pattern.  I only needed 8 plates, but I got enough to use for my family on Christmas Eve.  I ordered Nutcracker glasses from Kirkland and will pick them up tomorrow.

December 13th is the Christmas Tea at The Whitney.  I'm responsible for ordering the gifts/favors for each guest.  We've given Christmas teacups for a couple of years so I wanted something different this year.

I found Christmas ornament picture frames at Michael's and will put a picture of The Whitney inside it.  The General Manager liked the ornament and picture, and I'll also assemble a 1/2 oz. package of our signature Mistletoe black tea to go with the ornament [the package makes 7-8 cups of tea].  They told me to plan for 160, so I'm going to be busy for awhile!

It's a cold, wintry day in Southeastern Michigan - 34 degrees [feels like 25] with a snow/rain mixture.  My hubby put our first fire of the season in the fireplace when we got home from church today for a warm cozy feeling.

We're awaiting our youngest son's arrival as he'll be on our side of town for a meeting tomorrow, so I'll sign-off for now.  

Happy November!

The calendar has turned the page to a new month, but before I delve into November I have to ask how you celebrated Halloween [if you celebrate it].  For many years [20 at least] we've gone to our son Steve's house.  He no longer hosts the 'open garage' with cider, coffee, hot chocolate and Krispy Kreme donuts for all the kids and their parents, but he still fills a big basket with good candy for the trick or treaters to choose from.  

Attendance was down this year [less than 100 trick or treaters] and I've heard several others say it was down in their neighborhoods too.  The local high school had a football game which accounted for the absence of a lot of older kids, but it was fun to see the younger children.  This little guy chose a bag of peanut M & M's but we noticed chocolate isn't the favorite candy with most kids anymore. 

This cute little girl had a hard time deciding which candy she wanted.

At first glance I thought these girls were pieces of candy corn, but they said no they were road construction cones that can be found on practically every street in Michigan!

Steve, Sharon and Jerry.  Steve's costume was an Oakland A's #9 Reggie Jackson jersey dating back to 1973.  Any trick or treater who guessed who he was got 3 pieces of candy!

~ Sharon, Me and Brooke ~

A few cities away, granddaughter, Ellie, was trick or treating with three of her maternal cousins.  She's the one wearing blue.  They're teenage mutant Ninja Turtles.

Lastly, in California, great-granddaughters Evie and Jules were trick or treating as Belle and Glinda.

When I went to work on Saturday, I was pleasantly surprised to see family friends at Mansion Tea who go way back.  Their parents and my hubby's parents were close friends so their kids grew up together.  It's been several years since I've seen them.

~ Cheri & Valerie ~

~ Valerie and her daughter ~

Valerie's two granddaughter's.  She's teaching them young about the pleasures of tea!

So far, our weather has been mild [in the high 50's, low 60's] and I'm very grateful because our furnace went out Sunday.  The repairman came yesterday and said it's time for a new one, so it will be installed this Thursday.

My December issue of Tea Time Magazine arrived just in time to provide inspiration for the upcoming Christmas holidays, my next post...