Hoffman Media's Newest Book and Magazine

I've been anxiously waiting for Hoffman Media's newest book, Teatime Parties, to arrive in my mailbox, and it finally came.  I pre-ordered it weeks ago.  The subtitle is Afternoon Tea to Commemorate the Milestones of Life.  

I also recently purchased the Special Collector's Issue of Teatime Celebrations.  It will be on display at grocery and craft stores until October 16th.  Its subtitle is Tea Parties for all Seasons.

I'm not sure when I'll get to sit down and go through both of these publications.  It won't be until after my presentation is over at the assisted living facility this Sunday, but they're here whenever I'm ready.

In late morning I took Ellie over to the Warren pool to go swimming.  We were disappointed to learn she has to be six years old to go in the pool by herself.  Under six, an adult has to be in the water with her.  I don't own a bathing suit [and at my age and weight I'm not going to purchase one!], so I had to come up with plan B. Since it was raining, the park was out, so we ended up going to Burger King Playland [nicer than McDonald's].  Ellie had fun playing with two sets of twins [not related], a year younger than her.

While she played for a couple of hours, I attempted worked on my Eleanor Roosevelt presentation. Experience has taught me I need 10-pages of typed notes to fill a one-hour program, and I have well beyond that so a lot of eliminating is going to be necessary.  

When we came home Ellie played in the bathtub in her bathing suit, surrounded by toys, as a compensation for not being able to swim.  It's easy to improvise with a five-year-old.  ;-)

Later tonight we will watch a Shirley Temple movie, and maybe even have a tea party with a Shirley Temple porcelain tea set.

Tomorrow will be another day.   I haven't decided yet what the agenda will be.

Ellie's Visit

This morning I picked up Ellie - my youngest granddaughter - shortly after 10:00 a.m.  It's her turn to stay for a few days before school starts, when she'll be a kindergartner. Our first activity was a stop at Royal Treat tearoom in Roseville, MI.  It's really not a little girl's tearoom like Tea Party Castle, but we decided to make it work until a group tea party is scheduled at the castle.  The tearoom was packed when we arrived, and since I didn't have a reservation I wasn't sure if we could get in. Fortunately, we did.

~ Ellie's first tearoom visit.  ~

They only have two menu options - Quiche and Chicken Salad.  Neither sounded appealing to Ellie, and she informed me she didn't like tea either. [I have to work on that! ;-)] I ordered lemonade for her, and she found a Chocolate-toffee Scone on the tray looked good to her.  

Lemonade tastes good in a china teacup!

She enjoyed every bite of her Chocolate-toffee Scone, and half of a Strawberry Scone!

I ordered the Chicken Salad.  Ellie liked the strawberries and blueberries on the salad, so I gave them to her.  My tea was Lady Grey Black Tea and I chose a Raspberry thumb-print Scone.  I brought the remaining uneaten scones home for Jerry to enjoy.

Jennifer, the owner, brought a miniature teapot and teacup to the table for Ellie to play with while we were there.

And a 'diamond' necklace for the little princess to wear!  ;-)

While it wasn't as grand an experience as Tea Party Castle would have been, I think she had fun, and I was pleased to give provide her first tearoom experience.

It was a delightful surprise to see Laura Lee at the tearoom.  She's a server at some of the teas I attend, so it was nice that she could enjoy being served for a change.

When we got home, a package was on my front porch.  When I opened it I found a First Ladies book authored by Margaret Truman - President and Bess Truman's daughter.  I can hardly to wait to read it - especially the chapters pertaining to Eleanor Roosevelt. 

Thanks for the book, Louise.  It was an unexpected and nice surprise!

Weekend Happenings

Last Saturday our daughter met us for breakfast, and afterwards we went to her storage unit to get the dress I wore for my Christening from her hope/cedar chest for great-granddaughter Evie to wear on September 10th.  It was like a mini walk down memory lane as Jerry pulled items out of the hope chest.

The Lane oak chest was a high school graduation gift to Lori from us.  Female high school graduates these days have probably never heard of them, but amazingly Lane still makes them.

Jerry climbed to the back corner of the storage unit where the hope chest was located. Miraculously, the 70 year old satin dress is still very white and in great condition.  I'm so grateful my mom saved it.  Evie will make four generations of baby girls who have worn the dress, and you can be sure I'll take lots of pictures on September 10th.

It was packed away [in a J.L. Hudson's box] since granddaughter Tiffany wore it in 1991.  

Below is a recent photo of sweet little Evie, who looks very much like her daddy.

Also in the hope chest were Lori's first pair of baby shoes.  On the sole of one was her birth date and on the other her name.  The shoes - along with the sweet baby who wore them - will soon be 50 years old!  The years pass so swiftly!

And Lori's very first doll, Susie.  She was 26 months old when our son Steve was born.  I bought her Susie, so she could "mother" her while I was mothering my new baby.  

After Sunday worship service, a group of us went downtown Detroit to Comerica Park to a Minnesota Twins and Detroit Tigers baseball game.  I hadn't been there since 2012 with my mother who loved baseball.  The photo below was from our car as we drove down Woodward Avenue, approaching Comerica Park.

It was a warm 79 degree day.  

Inside the stadium I took a picture of Jerry standing by Detroit Tiger sportscaster, Ernie Harwell.

I loved the topiary of a ball player up to bat.

When we got seated Jerry took a selfie of us.  Our tickets included a value meal which consisted of a Ball Park hot dog, glass of pop, and a bag of potato chips.  It was the first hot dog I've eaten in years.

We left during the 7th inning stretch, but not before "Take Me Out to the Ball Game" was sung.  The score was tied 4-4, but unfortunately the final score was Minnesota Twins 6 to Detroit Tigers 4.  In spite of the loss, it was a fun outing.

Once home, I hit the books again for my presentation this coming Sunday at Shore Pointe Assisted Living on the subject of Eleanor Roosevelt. I've never studied her life before, and she's very interesting. She was born during the Gilded Age, and the Roosevelt family had the Knickerbocker pedigree. Eleanor was one of the few brides who didn't have to change her name when she married, since Franklin was her fifth cousin, once removed.

Since I spent $100 on books at Amazon last month [for the Gilded Age presentation] I decided to go to the library for this month's books.  The only drawback to library books is that I can't highlight interesting parts for my presentation.  I don't know how many books have been written about Eleanor Roosevelt, but a quick Google search reveals a lot.

I found lots of Internet photos of Eleanor pertaining to tea.  She lived when tea time was a social ritual.  In the book Franklin and Eleanor, tea was mentioned several times.

So now you know how I spent my weekend.  How did you spend yours?

Two Heroic Women

Today was Bible study at my house.  We studied Deborah and Jael in the 4th and 5th Chapters of Judges.  

Deborah was a prophetess of God [one who discerns His will and declares it to others]. She was also a wife and judge over the tribe of Ephraim.  Female leaders were rare during that period of Israelite history, but strong male leadership was lacking due to oppression by a foreign king.  Deborah stepped up to arouse them from their lethargy and despair. God used her as a key figure in restoring their confidence and determination to be victorious in battle and overcoming their enemies.

Sisera was the commander of the Canaanite army of King Jabin [who oppressed the Israelites]. While his army was perishing in battle, Sisera escaped on foot and came to the tent of Jael seeking a place to hide. Huge mistake on his part! While he was sleeping she courageously killed him, and changed the course of history for the Israelites. The mightiest general in the region [at that time] was defeated by an ordinary housewife!  Yay for God, Deborah, Jael, and womanhood!  We learned that with God's help we can live victoriously, and be vessels of deliverance for others.

V is for Victory!

Many years ago I learned a little chorus with the same title as the slogan.  It came to my mind as I wrote this post:  "V" is for victory!  Sing it out, 'tis a glorious word; "V" is for victory!  It is ours through Christ our Lord.  Some days may be dark and drear, in Christ the way's "all clear," for we have victory, victory in Christ our Lord!

For the first time since I've been hosting the Bible studies I didn't serve lunch.  Instead we had chocolate raspberry [black] tea and coconut scones at the conclusion of the lesson.  

At 1:30 I had to leave with Landon to meet his mother so he could be home in time for sport tryouts later in the afternoon.  We enjoyed his visit, and next week Ellie comes for a few days.  I'll be taking her for her first tearoom visit.

Below are a couple of pictures of Landon at the Warren pool yesterday.  Like his sister, he enjoyed the big water slide.

Hope he likes the emoji I used in my blog post today.  ;-)

Landon's Turn

Grandson Landon came to stay with us Friday afternoon for a few days.  He's having fun [loves not having to compete for attention with his sisters] and has kept busy.

Saturday mornings always find Jerry and me at the local Country Oven restaurant for breakfast, so Landon joined us last Saturday.

Pancakes, hash browns and chocolate milk was his order.

Jerry had to build a ramp for Pershing High School [his summer G.M. retirees mentoring job], so Landon got to paint with Papa.  He enjoyed his hands-on learning activity.

He brought his bike which kept him occupied later in the afternoon.

Yesterday was the first session of Vacation Bible School at church, and Landon won a prize. He had so much fun he wants to go back again tonight.  Granddaughter, Brooke is standing next to him in the photo below.  She was his age group's teacher.

After dinner Papa took him to see the new movie, Emoji, that just came out on July 28th. Landon gave it a good rating if you know any 8 year olds.

Today, swimming at the Warren Pool is first thing on the agenda... whenever he wakes up! ;-)  

Thursday with Izzy

Granddaughter, Isabella [Izzy] goes back home tomorrow, so today was filled with fun activities before her departure.  

I saw a commercial on T.V. awhile back about Doc Sweets' Candy Company in Clawson, MI so that was our first stop today.  It's advertised as Michigan's largest retail candy store, and their slogan is "Like being a kid again only sweeter!"

The store was not a disappointment.  Izzy strolled each aisle trying to decide which candies she wanted the most [about a half hour process].  There's so much candy it's almost overwhelming.  She was so happy with her choices that she made a youtube video about them when we got home.  ;-)

I couldn't resist taking a picture of the cute pink teapot pinata.  It would be perfect for a little girl's tea party.

Since we were in Clawson we went to two other stores in the city that I had heard were fun visits - Leon and Lulu [in Clawson's former roller rink] and right next door "The Show" -  a cafe and Michigan products [in Clawson's former movie theater].  Both stores have the same owner, and are extensions of each other.

Leon and Lulu's is a variety store that sells clothing, soaps, lotions, home goods, books, and novelty items.  It was a lot of fun to browse.   There were some selections for Jane Austen fans - an 'action figure' Jane Austen... really?  ;-)

~  Some Jane Austen books.  ~

A Jane Austen Air Freshener [which I bought on clearance for $1].  It appropriately smells like lavender.

This book looked interesting.

Then it was next door to "The Show."  

The cafe closed at 3:00 p.m., but Izzy and I were each able to get a cookie.  Her choice was chocolate chip, and mine was white chocolate lemon.  It was SO good!

Once inside you could tell it was a former movie theater.

There were many nostalgic items inside such as a Michigan Bell phone booth with a real dial tone.  I explained to Izzy that when her papa and I dated there was no such things as cell phones and we often talked to each other on pay phones - a foreign concept to her! ;-) Jerry thought the truck Izzy stood by was either a 1949 or 1950 Chevrolet.

There were two J.L. Hudson department store pictures for sale.  [I resisted!]

Hudson's first location was in the Detroit Opera House.

We concluded The Show and Leon & Lulu were both fun stores to browse, and worthy of a return visit.  I recommend them to local readers.

On our drive back home Izzy asked if we could have Chinese food for dinner, so we went to our favorite local restaurant - Ruby's - where Papa joined us.

Tomorrow afternoon her brother, Landon, comes for a few days.  We've enjoyed her visit very much!