2017 Year in Review [Part II]

~ July 2017 ~

July 14th was the 15th Annual Lavender Festival in Armada, MI.  I met a local tea blender there, The Teatroiter.

July 26th I attended Hudson's Historic Windows to the Past Exhibit in Dearborn, MI...



...and had the privilege of seeing Amy again - one of my blog followers.

July 28th my girlfriend, Lori, and I had tea at Tonia's Victorian Rose Restaurant/Tearoom in Rochester, MI.  Tonia is the new owner of the establishment.

July 28th I attended the Queen Bee Tea - a fundraiser for Taylor Conservatory and Botanical Gardens, in Taylor, MI.

~ August 2017 ~

August 25th I went on a two-day outing to Lakeside [Ohio] Chautauqua with four friends to attend the annual antique show.   We had Afternoon Tea at Tea by the Sea Tearoom.  Ruth Ann, the owner, is in the center of the photo wearing black.

~ September 2017 ~

September 10th, sweet great-granddaughter, Evie, was dedicated wearing the same christening dress I wore, her grandmother, and her mother wore.

September 11th was supposed to be the departure date for the Southern Belle Tea Tour, but Hurricane Irma went everywhere we were planning to go [Chattanooga, TN, Atlanta and Savannah, GA, and Charleston, S.C.] so I had to cancel the tour.  Not to worry - it's being rescheduled for May 2018.  We all met at Royal Park Hotel on September 14th for Afternoon Tea to drown our sorrow in cups of tea and each other's company!  ;-)

~ October 2017 ~

October 18th my friend, Linda, organized a tea party at Secluded Celebrations Tearoom in Hartland, MI.

October 27th Linda organized another tea at the Purple Door Tearoom in Ferndale, MI where I did a Shirley Temple presentation.

~ November 2017 ~

November 1st my hubby and I traveled to Frankenmuth, MI to have lunch at world famous Zehnder's Restaurant.

November 4th Linda and I went on a bus trip [sponsored by ChocolaTea tearoom in Portage, MI] to Chicago for Macy's Christmas tree lighting.  It was magical, and the perfect way to kick-off the holiday season.

We had lunch in the Walnut Room...

...and Afternoon Tea at the Peninsula Hotel.

November 11th I did a J.L. Hudson presentation for the ladies of Cherry Hill Presbyterian Church in Dearborn, then dashed to Troy, MI for the 3:00 o'clock ceremony of my grandson Brandon's marriage to Venessa.

November 28th Linda and I traveled to Owosso, MI to have Afternoon Tea at Abiding in the Vine tearoom.  It was a very fun day.

~ December 2017 ~

December was a very busy month.  Cristy Bennett's Rhapsody in Blue Tea in East Lansing, MI was the first event on December 2nd.  My girlfriend, Lori, attended with me.

December 7th was the annual Christmas Tea at Pine Lake Country Club to benefit the Governor Warner Mansion in Farmington, MI followed by an Afternoon Tea at the Village Club in Bloomfield Hills, MI.

December 12th, Linda gifted Lori and me to Afternoon Tea at the beautiful Whitney Mansion in Detroit, MI.

December 15th I had lunch with Ruth, a very dear friend.

December 24th was the annual family Christmas Eve gathering at our house.

December 26th we celebrated Steve and Sharon's 25th Wedding Anniversary.

It's been a very good year.  God has blessed me immeasurably with a beautiful family and wonderful friends.  I agree with English writer and cleric, Sydney Smith - I'm glad I wasn't born before tea!  I've been blessed to enjoy so many lovely tea experiences this year.

And now I look ahead to 2018 with 12 new chapters and 365 new opportunities! I don't know what the future holds, but I'm thankful I know the One who holds the future!

Happy New Year and God's blessing to all!

2017 Year in Review [Part I]

I completed my sixth year of blogging in 2017, and even with cutting back I'll still finish the year with 195 posts - for a total of 1,467 posts since I began blogging on January 24th, 2012.  Who knew I'd have that much to write about!

It seems like 2017 went by in a flash.  I'm grateful for my blog as a review.  Thanks to everyone who visited this year, and a special thanks to those who left comments.  My wish for each of you is the words in the Wassail Song: "Love and joy come to you...and God bless you and send you a Happy New Year!"

~ Highlights from January 2017 ~

 January 12th my friend, Linda, hosted a lovely post-Christmas luncheon.  

January 16th, I was notified I had been selected by a panel at Feedspot as one of the Top 100 Tea Blogs on the web for my contribution to the world of tea.  I gratefully and humbly display the award on my blog's right sidebar.

January 18th I began hosting a ladies' Bible study in my home.  Five of us meet at least once a month throughout the year to study women of the Bible.  Afterwards we enjoy a light lunch with tea, of course!  Our first study in 2018 will begin on January 9th.

January 21st my girlfriend, Lori, and I attended an International Women's Tea in Bloomfield Hills, MI sponsored by Poblo International Ministries.  Poblo is an evangelical Christian organization working to meet the spiritual, physical, and emotional needs of Muslims and other immigrants and refugees in the United States by sharing the love of Jesus in practical and culturally relevant ways.  Tea speaks every language!

January 25th my friend, Linda, planned a mystery trip to the Swan House Tea Room in Findlay, Ohio, where we met up with a group of other tea lovin' ladies from Ohio.

January 29th I began my fourth year of presentations at Shore Pointe Assisted Living in St. Clair Shores, MI during a monthly tea.  The program was Presidential Inaugurations.

~ February 2017 ~

February 3rd, my girlfriend, Lori, took Linda and me to the Royal Park Hotel to celebrate my upcoming birthday, as well as Linda's in March when she'd be in Florida.

February 4th was a meet-up with my friend, Shirley. She gifted me with a package of Phyllis's Phenominal Michigan Cherry Scone Mix.  Wish I would have been the Phyllis who thought of that!  

February 5th we celebrated my b-day [a day early] with my family at Olive Garden.

February 18th I attended an Afternoon Tea sponsored by Northville Historical Society on the subject of Mrs. Henry [Clara] Ford.

~ March 2017 ~

March 25th was my granddaughter Tiffany's baby shower for the arrival of my first great-grandchild [a girl].

March 29th I attended the Roddis Family Exhibit - 130 Years of Fashion - at Henry Ford Museum, and had lunch at Dearborn Inn with my girlfriend, Sandy, afterwards.

~ April 2017 ~

April 1st was Cristy Bennett's Beatrix Potter's Easter Parade Tea in East Lansing.  I attended with my girlfriend, Lori.

April 8th was the date of the 18th Annual Yvonne Leslie Pottery Tablescape Luncheon sponsored by Mah-Nah-Be-Zee #198 Quester's Chapter.  This was a four-part post with 58 tablescapes.  The winning table was #2, "Oceans of Aqua" where my girlfriend, Lori, and I were seated.

April 20th Jerry and I took a private tour of downtown Detroit, and enjoyed every minute!

~ May 2017 ~

May 13th I attended a Spring Tea at Cherry Hill Presbyterian Church with my girlfriend, Sandy.  Susan Muldowney presented a great program on Presidential China.

May 20th my hubby and I went on a weekend getaway to The Grand Hotel on Mackinac Island.

May 23rd great-granddaughter Evelyn [Evie] Rose arrived.

God blessed us with four generations.

~ June 2017 ~

June 3rd my girlfriend, Lori, and I attended Cristy Bennett's Swan Tea in East Lansing, MI.

June 13th I took Lori and Linda to a Beatrix Potter Tea at Kellogg Manor House [near Kalamazoo, MI] to celebrate their birthdays.

June 26th I was privileged to have blogging friend, Angela McRae [Tea With Friends blog] and her husband, Alex, for lunch.  Since Angela authored the book, Dainty Dining, a book about department store tearooms that included a chapter on J.L. Hudson's Mezzanine Tearoom, I had to serve them a Maurice Salad, with Canadian Cheese Soup, and a Hot Fudge Cream Puff. 

Tomorrow's post will conclude highlights from July thru December 2017.