One More Birthday Present

Yesterday was a busy day.  The ladies gathered at my house at 11:00 a.m. for Bible study. Between the chapters of Genesis 18-23 are several women to study - Sarah, Hagar, Lot's wife and his two daughters.  At the conclusion of Bible study I always serve a light lunch of soup, tea, and dessert.  

When Hagar gave birth to her son, Ishmael, she became the mother of the Arab nations, so I thought it would be a fun twist to serve a Middle-Eastern soup. It was the first time I've ever prepared lentils [and only the second time I've eaten them - the first time was in Washington, D.C. at Teaism], but the ladies all said they enjoyed it. [Sorry no pictures, I forgot.]  Had I known rice pudding is a Middle-Eastern dessert I would have made that [and maybe I will for our next Bible study]. Instead I made a very easy Crock-Pot dessert that only requires three ingredients.

Crock-Pot Apple Cobbler

2 cans Apple Pie Filling

1 Spice Cake Mix [I used Betty Crocker]

2 sticks butter

Spread the pie filling on bottom of crock-pot.  Sprinkle cake mix over the top of the apple pie filling but do not mix.  Cut butter into tablespoons and place on top of cake mix.  Cover and cook on high for 2 1/2 hours.  Serve with a dollop of vanilla ice cream.  [If that much butter is an issue, you could use margarine or a butter substitute.] 

One of the ladies brought homemade hummus and pita bread to go with the soup, and we spent a lovely afternoon together.  Our tea was "Ginger, Ginger" - a black tea blended with dried Ginger, Calendula and Sunflower Petals, and natural flavors, by Intutea based here in Michigan.

Later last night when I was in my office, I heard a knock at the front door. When I opened the door nobody was there, but a package was sitting on the porch.  Once inside, I noticed it was from my tea friend, Angela McRae, who writes Tea With Friends blog.   She had given me a heads-up in an e-mail that a package was coming.

I eagerly opened the package marked fragile.  She had mentioned in her e-mail that it was something I said I wanted a while back, and she hoped I hadn't acquired it since. Inside the mailing box was another pretty pink box with a silver crown imprinted in the middle and the word Althorp [the Spencer family home where Lady Diana, Princess of Wales grew up].

Oh! My! Goodness!  It couldn't be the commemorative English Rose teacup, could it?  Yes, it was! I could barely contain my excitement.  I immediately rushed to show my hubby who was in another room.

It's gorgeous!

Talk about a good memory... On September 5, 2012 [five years ago, mind you - sometimes I can't remember yesterday!] I blogged about attending the "DIANA -A Celebration" exhibit in Feb. 2011, when it was in Grand Rapids, MI with my girlfriend. You can read that post here, but in it I said, "I drooled over the commemorative bone china teacup but at $59 I settled for a tin of Althorp English Breakfast tea instead - a decision I've regretted ever since."  Angela wrote a comment that she had purchased the teacup when the exhibit was in Atlanta and thought afterwards that she needed to have her head examined for paying that much!  ;-)

When I e-mailed her last night to tell her the package arrived safely and to THANK her for the much desired teacup, she responded, "I had a feeling you would enjoy it more than me, so it was time it became a part of your collection!"  I'm still pinching myself to make sure I'm not dreaming. There are no adequate words to express my gratitude to you, Angela, not only for the beautiful teacup, but for your willingness to give up a teacup that you treasured.  God bless YOU! 

~ Now, thanks to Angela, I have two Princess Diana commemorative teacups.  ~

I just read recently that Princes William and Harry have commissioned a statue to be sculpted in honor of their mother, which will be erected in Kensington Palace Gardens by the end of this year. It hardly seems possible that 20 years will have lapsed this August since the tragic, fatal car crash of their mother, Diana, The People's Princess.  Farewell English Rose!

Another Year Older

My "odometer" officially rolled over another year yesterday.  On Sunday my hubby gathered most of the family at Olive Garden after church to celebrate.  Our youngest son, Jeremy, and his family are coming to our house on Wednesday, so I'll see them then.

[Mother and Daughter]

"The Gang"

L-R Sitting:  Lori, Me, Jerry, Steve [Middle Son]

Standing:  Daughter-in-law, Sharon and Granddaughter, Brooke

Our family isn't Italian, but we love cannolis, so in lieu of a birthday cake Lori got cannolis from our favorite bakery, Tringali's.  There were enough to eat at the restaurant, and some to bring home to enjoy later.   Do you like cannolis?

I was truly spoiled after celebrating for three days, and gifted with many surprises - gift cards from Amazon, Kohl's Department Store, and Dress Barn, money to buy a gift of my choice, earrings and an elegant black and white sheer top [pictured below], which I'm sure will be worn to a tea event.

Yesterday a beautiful bouquet of flowers was delivered from a good friend. 

Thank you to all my family and friends for making my birthday so special.  Your beautiful cards, phone calls, e-mails and texts have been greatly appreciated and make me realize how blessed I am.   If you sent a card it's pictured below.

Here's to the beginning of another  year!

Celebrating Another Birthday

Another birthday has come and gone, and the celebrating was fun.  On Friday night [the evening before my birthday] my hubby took me to Andiamo's Italian Restaurant - a place we reserve for special occasions.  It is pictured below on the cover of their dinner menu.

Once I find something I really like at a restaurant I rarely order anything else.  At Andiamo's we love their grilled portobello mushrooms with zip sauce for an appetizer.  I always say I'm going to try making them at home, but as yet I haven't done it.

And their yummy bread basket.

Chicken Marsala is my favorite and comes with soup or salad.  I chose Manhatten Clam Chowder. 

[Jerry and Me]

On Saturday morning I was out the door by 10:00 a.m. headed to Northville, for the Historical Society's Mad Hatter Tea Party.  [Tomorrow's Post]

When I arrived, Vicky, the caterer and coordinator of the teas greeted me with a cute birthday gift bag from World Market.

Inside was a tin of Harney's Birthday Tea that was created in honor of John Harney's 80th birthday in August 2010.  It's a blend of hibiscus, rosehips, decaf Ceylon black tea, raspberry, blueberry, pomegranate, and vanilla flavors, spearmint, peppermint, marigold petals, cornflowers and natural and artificial  flavors.  The aroma of the dry leaf [in sachets] is a delightful fruity scent.

And a floral handkerchief with the Language of the Handkerchief during Victorian Times. I'm sure it will come in handy for a future presentation, although I don't collect hankies - yet!  

Laura Lee, a friend who works for Vicky and member of Greenfield Village Herb Associates, also gave me a gift bag filled with lavender products - soap, sachet, and dryer bag.

When I returned home, two beautiful floral arrangements awaited me.

In the above arrangement were two beautiful flowers I have never seen before.  If you know the name, please tell.

Pictured below is the second floral arrangement, and a birthday cake from my son and daughter-in-law, Steve and Sharon.

I changed from dressy clothes into casual ones, and hurried off to my daughter Lori's for a delicious chicken and dressing dinner.

Dessert was a Sander's Hot Fudge Butter Pecan Ice Cream Puff.  Sander's was the name of a well-known Detroit bakery and confectionery that was sold to another candy company, but they still sell Sander's hot fudge and cream puffs.  Lots of fond memories taking the kids to Sander's for these treats when they were young.

I received several birthday cards - some tea themed, and some not, but all beautiful.  

The inside of Steve and Sharon's card revealed my gift from them - Afternoon Tea at the Plaza Hotel in New York City this spring.

Lori found a card with blue and white china on it and said, "Yep, that's Mom!"   

With the two Amazon gift cards I received I'll be ordering books. Thanks to everyone who made my birthday so special.  I am blessed to have such loving and wonderful people in my life!