60th Anniversary

My hubby and I celebrated 60 years of marriage on Thursday, June 11th.  Our youngest son, Jeremy, made a quick trip from Zeeland to spend Wednesday night with us and take us to breakfast on Thursday morning before my hubby headed off to his summer G.M. Student Corps job. 

Sixty years have passed so quickly.  So thankful for God's blessings throughout our marriage and the wonderful children He has given us.

~ Then [1966]

~ Now ~

In the evening, after Jerry returned from work, we met Steve and his family for an Anniversary dinner at Da Francesco's Italian restaurant.

L-R: Dominic, Granddaughter Brooke, Sharon, Steve, Me & Jerry 

We had to wait until August to find a date that worked for everyone to celebrate with all the family on a Detroit Princess Riverboat Dinner Cruise.  We're all looking forward to that.

Praying that God grants us several more anniversaries to celebrate.  

New Dishes & National Iced Tea Day

My name is Phyllis Barkey and I'm a dishaholic!  [There should be a dishaholics annonymous for people like me!  ;-)]

I've been busy purging things at my house lately [so the task won't be so overwhelming for my kids someday], and I've had fairly good success selling things I was willing to part with on Facebook Marketplace.  

Yesterday, I took a break from my sorting to check emails.  In my inbox was the latest post from a blog I follow,  Home Is Where the Boat Is.  It's not a blog about boats [although Mary does live on a lake and has a nice pontoon].  Two of her passions are gardening and collecting dishes.  She shares photos of beautiful, creative tablescapes she puts together with her many sets of dishes and frequently provides recipes too.  Yesterday's post was titled 'Oh My Stars & Stripes:  Patriotic Summer Table for America's 250th Birthday.'

The dishes in her tablescape were so lovely.  At the end of her posts she shares where she obtained her dishware, cutlery and linens.  Many times they're from businesses that no longer have a brick and mortar store but sometimes they're recent purchases. The dishes in yesterday's post were recently purchased at Hobby Lobby, so I grabbed my purse and headed to the nearest Hobby Lobby quicker than the blink of an eye!   To my delight they were 40% off, but with a sale that good their inventory was low - so I only got service for three.   I'm a 'never say die' person [especially if it's something I want bad enough], so after visits to three other Hobby Lobby stores I finally got service for eight.   I'm a happy lady and my kids will have to deal with dispensing them when the time comes.  ;-)

I already had Melmac Patriotic Dishes that I purchased eons ago and will still keep them for outdoor eating and picnics, but these are so much nicer for an indoor tablescape.

Today is National Iced Tea Day and I've got a pitcher of tea cooling right now for dinner.   It's a steamy 89 degrees with 55% humidity in southeast Michigan as I type this post, and we have a heat advisory.  A glass of iced tea will taste very good.

Below are two pics I took on precious National Iced Tea days.   You will recognize the one from my header above.

A pic of my hubby and me enjoying a glass of iced tea in Charleston, South Carolina a few years back.

I hope you will enjoy a glass of iced tea today!

Memories

Today is daughter-in-law Sharon's birthday.  We took her out to lunch after church for her birthday, but I forgot to take any pictures.  The picture below was taken in 2013 at the Indianapolis Propylaeum tearoom.   It's a bittersweet birthday for her as her mother [who she was very close to] passed away the end of April.  Their birthdays are two days apart, so they always celebrated together.  Happy Birthday, Sharon.  You are loved!

I had just finished washing my hair this morning when our power went out and it wasn't expected to come back on until after 12:00 noon.  No blow dryer or curling iron to get ready for church! Ug! At first I was just going to stay home and watch the service online while hubby went without me, but then I realized I could take my curling iron to church and curl my hair in the ladies' restroom before church started.  I'm glad I didn't stay home because I would have missed seeing some very dear friends who visited today.

Wes & Marcia were the youth pastor and spouse at the church we attended [and where I was church secretary for 22 years] when our kids were growing up.  They had an incredible spiritual influence on them during their teen years and contributed greatly to who they are today.  Wes retired from active ministry last week.  He spanned youth ministry to senior adult ministry and everything in between.  Marcia said there's really not a lot of difference between the youth and seniors as long as there's pizza at the events.  ;-)  Today was their first free Sunday of retirement and Wes said they wanted to spend it visiting Steve's church.

Wes & Marcia are the couple on the left, and the rest of us attended church together when our kids were younger and now we're all at Steve's church.  Who would have imagined that the young questioning, energetic teenage boy would one day become a pastor!  

Wes commented on the above picture after one of the ladies posted it on Facebook that he could write a book about the memories from this group.  It was just like old times to be together for worship.   Friends [and great memories] are one of God's greatest blessings.

Steve probably contributed to a few of Wes' white hairs from when he was in the teen youth group!  ;-)

Our daughter, Lori, on the right with Wes & Marcia was in their teen youth group too.

Lori's husband, Dave, was also in Wes' youth group a few years ahead of Lori.

It's been a great day!  God is good!

This and That for May

Do you fall prey to buying things on Facebook even though you've had bad experiences in the past?  I should have learned my lesson, but when I saw a cute personalized teapot tissue holder I couldn't resist.  It looked beautiful in the photo as though it was made with some kind of  sturdy leather-like material.  

It took forever to arrive [shipped from China] and the material resembles a soft flimsy terrycloth fabric.  A small square box of tissues won't fit into the opening, but that was remedied by removing the tissues from the box.  It's not a horrible purchase [I've had worse], and it was only $31, so I will still use it on my nightstand, but it was deceptive.  If you see 'Joymemento' ads, beware!

I recently received a text message from a teacher my middle son had in high school.  She retired years ago, but still keeps in touch with Steve.  She knew I was into tea and saw Facebook posts about the church teas I've coordinated.  She was purging her cupboards and wanted to know if I'd like to have the teacups and china plates that belonged to her deceased mother-in-law.  She said they had been taking up space in her cupboard since the 1990's and it was time to part with them.  She dropped them off at Steve's house and he delivered them to me last week.  They're lovely.

Yesterday was International Scone Day.  Did you have a scone in observance of the day?  The beloved baked good originated in Scotland in the early 16th century and in the 18th century the English refined the recipe and adoped the treat.  By the 19th century scones were a staple at Afternoon Tea and remain so today.

I had to work yesterday, and scones are always on our Afternoon Tea [or Mansion Tea as we refer to it at The Whitney] menu, but I didn't eat one.  I had a scone mix in my pantry that my granddaughter gave me for Christmas, so today after dinner I decided to bake them.  

The mix only called for the addition of 1 cup of whipping cream.   They didn't rise a lot - looked more like a puffy sugar cookie, but they were delicious and had the texture of a scone.  So here's to International Scone Day, a day late!

The plate they're on as well as the plate behind them are just two of several plates in the things  Steve's teacher gave me.

Great-granddaughter, Evie [Evelyn], turned 9 on May 23rd.  How can that be?!  Tiffany sent pictures of her opening gifts we sent.  Belle is her favorite Disney character.  They will soon be coming back to Michigan for a visit and we're all looking forward to seeing them again.  

At midnight we say goodbye to May 2026 and welcome June!

Memorial Weekend 2026

I hope you're enjoying a wonderful Memorial Day.  It's a picture perfect day in Southeastern Michigan with sunny skies and 77 degree temperature.  While summer doesn't officially begin until June 21st, Memorial Day seems to kick off the season.  

My hubby and I are enjoying a relaxing holiday at home this year.  I considered visiting my maternal grandparent's graves at Mt. Olivet Cemetery in Detroit, but decided it probably wasn't a good idea since the neighborhood surrounding the cemetery isn't a safe area anymore.  My grandfather wasn't a veteran and died in 1945 before I was born, so I never knew him.  My grandmother died in 1968 and that was the last time I was at the cemetery.  It's sad when areas deteriorate over time.  Below is a picture of the cemetery at their website, and it looks lovely, but I don't know when the picture was taken.  Do you visit cemetery graves of loved ones on Memorial Day/Decoration Day and decorate them with flowers?

While I was at work Saturday, my daughter came and planted geraniums in the front porch planters for my Mother's Day gift.  She has done that for several years now.

While at Hobby Lobby recently, I purchased a festive red, white, and blue star for the front door...

And a patriotic garland for the kitchen window.  Maybe they can both stay up until the 4th of July??

No new dishware for this year's holiday even though I have a $50 HomeGoods gift card to use. I'm posting photos [below] of  tablescapes/dishware from previous holidays.  

I mentioned grilling today, but my hubby wasn't keen on the idea, so I'll use my air fryer instead for our Italian sausages [served with diced and sauteed green peppers and onions]. Are you grilling outdoors today?

These cakes [below] are from a few years back.  I didn't bake and decorate a cake this year, but we did have a pasta salad to go with our corn on the cobb and Italian sausages, and a fruit salad.

So grateful to those who gave their lives while serving in the Armed Forces to preserve the freedoms we enjoy.

Bees Are 'In'

Three posts ago I shared photos from the recent spring tea I coordinated for the ladies of my church where the theme was 'Bee All That You Can Bee'.  The tablescape color scheme was yellow and black and all the table accessories were bee themed [scroll back to see photos].  

You can find bee accessories [for table and home decor] at almost all home decor stores and online businesses.  I purchased several things for my recent tea at Hobby Lobby and Oriental Trading Co.  But the first place I encountered beautiful bee dishware was in 2024 at Stonecliff Inn on Mackinac Island.  They set their tables with Williams - Sonoma's Honeycomb Collection.

Their bee-themed collection is beautiful and extensive from china to glassware to cutlery to cookware to linens.  Go to Williams - Sonoma website and type in Honeycomb Collection and scroll through all the beautiful things.   Sadly, it's out of my price range, so I just admire it.

I ordered a bee/honeycomb teapot by Certified International from Macy's for the ladies' tea at church and that began my bee tea collection.  One thing always leads to another!

After the church tea I went online to Amazon and purchased the coordinating sugar & creamer, teacups, and luncheon plates [service for 4], all very reasonably priced.  Of course, I needed napkins [which still haven't arrived yet] napkin rings, and a table runner!  It's such a cheerful tablescape that says spring and summer.

During a quick stop at Dollar Store recently I noticed they joined the bee bandwagon.  On a display right by the front door were bee themed dinner plates, salad plates, cereal bowls, mugs, glassware and linens.

I couldn't resist getting the placemats.  At $1 each how could I go wrong?

Initially I purchased four water tumblers [pictured above] but decided I liked the shorter wine glasses better [they weren't as busy with printing only on one side], so I exchanged them. They'll be perfectly fine holding beverages other than wine.

Bee clothing and jewelry are popular too.  Belk has some beautiful Napier bee brooches, earrings, and necklaces.   A Google search of bee jewelry brings up many beautiful things.

A few years ago I put together an outfit for a bee-themed tea that I'm still waiting to wear!  ;-) It seemed too formal to wear to the ladies' church tea this year because it was outdoor/picnic oriented.   

So I wore this informal bee top instead...

Have you been stung by the bee craze yet?

Did you know May 20th was World Bee Day and the third Saturday in August [celebrated since 2009] is National Honey Bee Day?  Bees do so much for us.

2026 Mother's Day Reflections

My kids always make Mother's Day special.  After church Steve made dinner reservations at a new Italian restaurant none of us had ever been to before -  Verona's located in Cambria Hotal in Shelby Twp.  There were several buffets to choose from:  breakfast, pizza, appetizer, Italian and dessert.  The food was amazing.

Hubby and I arrived the same time as our daughter and son-in-law so a picture was taken of Lori and me.

It was a difficult day for daughter-in-law, Sharon, since it was less than a month since her mother passed away.  It wasn't planned, but there was one empty chair at our table and Steve said that was meant to be in honor of Sheena.  Sharon gave me a thoughtful box of decorated cookies from Cookies & Cupcakes by Design.  They were SO good with hot tea.

[Sharon, Me & Steve]

[Granddaughter Brooke]

[Lori, Me & Dave]

[Hubby and Me]

After we finished eating we had a group picture taken in front of the Mother's Day sign.

~ My lovely Mother's Day Cards ~

I hope you were treated special on Mother's Day.  While I received money, gift card and flowers, the best gift was my three wonderful children who made me a mother!

This week happens to be our son-in-law's birthday so on Monday I baked him a carrot cake [his favorite] and delivered it on Tuesday.