Postal Deliveries and More

I frequently see Facebook ads from The Teacup Attic [a vintage store], but they usually feature beautiful teacups, teapots and other pieces of fine china.  Last week, however, they posted a pretty silver teapot pendant necklace for $19.99.  The picture stated only two were left in stock, and since I like to wear tea-themed jewelry to work I decided to order one.  I'm glad I acted quickly, because right after I placed my order the website said 'out of stock.'   The necklace arrived and I'm very pleased with it.  It has a 29 inch chain and the teapot itself is about 1 1/4 inches tall by 1 1/4 inches wide.  It looks very vintage even though it's not.

The other package that arrived was from Amora Coffee and Tea Company [www.amoracoffee.com]. They recently sent another package containing a tin of  Chai Masala black tea and Chamomile herbal tea, and this package contained two tins of Peppermint herbal tea and a stainless steel teabag squeezer.

I decided to sample the Peppermint tea for breakfast.  It was deliciously refreshing.  Reminded me of a York peppermint patty minus the chocolate.

The teabag squeezer is very handy and amazingly, I didn't already have one.  It seems I remember reading or hearing that you aren't supposed to squeeze teabags because that releases tannins into the brew producing a bitter taste.  Since this is an herbal tea with no tannins the squeezer worked great.  

This tea was the perfect way to start my day.  I've been trying a new medication in place of low dose antibiotics that will hopefully stop recurring UTI's - it contains D-Mannose.  My stomach doesn't like it [hopefully that will pass once I get acclimated to it], but the peppermint tea seemed to help me tolerate it better.  I highly recommend this tea and visiting the Amora website.  And if this new natural medication works I'll shout its praises from the rooftop!

Thank you Amora Coffee and Tea Company for sending me the samples to try.  I'm thinking the peppermint tea will be great iced, and I'm going to make that for dinner.   Will try the Chamomile before going to bed tonight.

It's hard to believe this is the last day of June and tomorrow is July 1st.  My boss has already talked to me about plans for our Autumn and Apples Tea in September.

On Monday my girlfriend, Sandy, and I attended the funeral of a high school classmate's husband.  Funerals are so sobering and thought-provoking.  They make you realize death is inevitable. How will I be remembered by future generations, if I'm even remembered at all?

Have you researched your genealogy?  I'm thinking about subscribing to Ancestry.com so I can research my family.  I know the names of my great-grandparents on both sides of my family but that's as far back as I can go. Yesterday I scanned photos of my paternal great-grandparents for a cousin.  I'm glad I have their pictures.  There were nine living children in my dad's family and all of them are gone now except for one aunt, and she has Alzheimer's so she can't provide any information.

Below is my paternal grandpa's parents with my cousin [their great-grandchild].

I don't know what year they were born or what year they passed, and I feel bad about that.

 My paternal grandma's parents.

My paternal grandma [below] who lived to be 98 years old, and passed away in 1992.  She was loved by all.  Her favorite quote was "Only one life 'twill soon be past, only what'd done for Christ will last."  ~ C.T. Studd

It's been said the past is the key to the future, so I'm feeling I need to learn the past to pass it on to my children and grandchildren.  Here's to sipping lots of tea while researching relatives who are responsible for my earthly existence.

Fun Day at the Lake

We left home yesterday morning around 11:00 a.m. bound for Port Sanilac on Lake Huron. Our son-in-law's family owns a cottage there.  A hot, sunny, clear day was forecasted, but Mother Nature said be content with 79 degrees and overcast skies.  At least it didn't rain on our family event.

Our daughter, Lori, is babysitting her two granddaughters, Evie and Juliette, for the week and when we arrived they were sitting on the front porch having their lunch.  

When daughter-in-law Samantha arrived with Izzy and Landon [Ellie was at church camp and Jeremy was in Milwaukee on work business] we walked down to the beach.  The kids said the water was very cold, so their swimming was brief.

[Izzy]

Evie and Juliette enjoyed playing with sand/beach toys.

After Landon took a dip, he decided to dig a hole in the sand to bury himself.

Steve, Sharon and Brooke arrived to enjoy the family beach day.

[Dave and Steve]

[Sharon]

Izzy and Brooke enjoyed their cousin time.

[Samantha and Lori]

Beach life is exhausting - time for a nap!

Then it was time to head back to the cottage for a cookout.

Brooke, Izzy and Landon took turns loving on two-year-old Juliette.

After dinner we played a few rounds of the game "Spoons" then it was time to make our two hour drive home.  It was a wonderful family day.

John and Tiffany are on a sabbatical from their church and are enjoying a week in southern California.  They know their girls are in very good care with Lori watching them.

Take Me Out to the Ballgame!

Our son, Steve, is a HUGE Detroit Tiger baseball fan, so for Father's Day his wife, Sharon, thought it would be fun to combine Father's Day gifts for him and Jerry [my hubby] by buying tickets to a Tiger ballgame.  Sharon, Brooke, and I were also included in the fun.

Sharon is very creative and planned for Coney Island hotdogs before the game at Kerby's Koney Island.

She even bought a Detroit Tiger baseball for each of us to sign as a keepsake of the game for Steve.  The photo below was taken inside Comerica stadium.

Father/Son  Steve/Jerry

The 7:10 p.m. game against the St. Louis Cardinals had clear skies, but was a bit on the chilly side. The high for the day was 69 degrees and once the sun started setting it dipped into the high 50's.  I was glad I brought a sweatshirt along.

We even got to see a winner!  Tigers beat the Cardinals 8 to 2.

Detroit skyline as seen from stadium seating.

I couldn't resist taking a picture of the David Whitney building since I work at the Whitney Mansion.  Construction began in 1914 and was completed in 1915.  The 19-story building was the skyscraper of its time, and was built to honor the great lumber and shipping magnate, David Whitney, Jr.  The Whitney family sold the building in 1965.  In 2013 it underwent an extensive $92 million renovation and now contains 105 high-end apartments, and a 136-room boutique hotel called Aloft Detroit.  The building also has five event rooms for weddings and other events plus office and retail space.  I've never been inside the building so I need to pay it a visit.

Full moon over Comerica Park after the sun went down.  Fans still do 'the wave'.

One last picture of Brooke and Papa before leaving the stadium.

Now to bring this post around to tea.  I'm not sure if Comerica Park concession stands even sell tea, hot or iced [I know they sell beer, pop, bottled water, coffee, and hot chocolate - I warmed up with hot chocolate last night], but Amora Coffee and Tea Company sent me a package of two tea samples to try.  It arrived a couple of days ago and I will sample them and write a review soon.

Happy Summer!

Summer is here and along with it comes picnics, swimming, baseball and many more fun activities.

The weekend was a busy one at my house.  I assembled 60 candy arrangements in golf ball mugs for The Whitney to give out on Father's Day.  I was happy to scratch that project off my 'to do' list.  I received an e-mail from my boss this morning saying they were a hit, so that made the effort worthwhile.

Below is a picture of the sample, but the actual arrangements were a bit fuller with 7 pieces of candy instead of 5.

This is what my family room looked like Friday evening before delivering them to The Whitney on Saturday.

The Whitney was bustling on Saturday - 98 guests for Afternoon Tea and a Bridal Tea Shower, plus a wedding reception on the second floor.  They were anticipating Sunday to be a big day too with a Father's Day BBQ.

We celebrated Father's Day at a picnic/cookout with our son, Jeremy, his wife, Samantha, and their kids - Izzy, Landon and Ellie.  It was held at Sam's sister's house and all her siblings and parents were there too.  The weather was beautiful and the rain held off until around midnight.

Father & Son / Jeremy & Jerry

Looks like they were having a serious conversation.

And a serious game of chess too with one of Samantha's nephews.

Grillmasters, Samantha and her sister Sarah 

Jeremy with his three beautiful kids [below].  Izzy got her first job this summer at Chelsea Burger.  How can it be that she's old enough to be working?!

Izzy hard at work making milkshakes.

Tomorrow we'll celebrate Father's Day with Steve, Sharon and Brooke at a Detroit Tiger's ballgame.  

At our lunch date with Steve last Thursday, we went by the church building site to check out the progress.  It's coming along nicely.  These are very exciting days for our church.

 

55 Years of Marriage

Last Friday [June 11], my hubby and I celebrated our 55th Wedding Anniversary.  It doesn't seem possible that five years have passed already since our kids gave us our 50th Wedding Celebration, but the clock seems to tick faster every year.

It was a beautiful day with clear skies just like the day we were married in 1966.  My hubby made 6:00 p.m. reservations at the River Crab restaurant on the St. Clair River in St. Clair, Michigan for just the two of us.

We left home early to visit some antique shops in Algonac and Marine City, but we didn't have enough time to see everything, so we'll plan another day trip soon.  It's a beautiful, scenic drive along the river.

Nothing called out to me in the antique mall. I didn't see any small green vases or clear glass shamrock dishes, but it was fun to browse.

Park in Algonac across the street from the Antique Mall.

Marine City has an abundance of antique stores but we only had time to go inside one and I didn't make any purchases, but we'll be back!  We got a yummy pistachio ice cream at The Sweet Tooth next door to Big River Antiques.

Then we were off to St. Clair, MI.  The three cities are all fairly close together, and only about an hour's drive from where we live.

 

Being a Friday, they were quite busy when we arrived, but they were ready for us and even had special menus printed for us with our name and anniversary wishes at the top.

Our server's name was Bailey and she graciously took our picture.

We both ordered the same thing: Martha's Vineyard Salad, and the Ultimate Seafood Mixed Trio [Salmon, Maryland style Crab Cake, and Coconut Shrimp with Ginger Rice and Fresh Vegetable]. Everything was delicious, but my favorite of the seafood trio was the Coconut Shrimp.

While we were eating, a freighter passed by on the St. Clair River.  The 40 mile-long river flows from Lake Huron into Lake St. Clair.

Dessert was a complimentary Crѐme Brûlée for two.

It was a very nice afternoon/evening and now we begin working towards #56!  We received several Facebook wishes and texts, e-mails, phone calls, and some lovely cards that included a tea-themed card, handmade by my girlfriend, Sandy.  Thank you to all!