July Activities

Tuesday was a visit with a friend I haven't spent time with since before COVID.  She's an avid tea drinker [by the pots full], so I made some pumpkin bread for her to enjoy with her tea.  The recipe makes four loaves.  I gave two away and kept two.

I thought we were having lunch at her house but when I got there she said we were going out. We went to a place in West Bloomfield called Stage Deli.  I didn't take any pictures, but I ordered a yummy Maurice Salad.

Before leaving to come home she gave me a cookbook by author, Debbie McComber, and a vintage piece of sheet music for the song, Tea Leaves.   I never heard it before - it was written in 1948 and sung by Ella Fitzgerald.

I'm not into tasseology [tea leaf reading] but here's the lyrics.

I was never superstitious, just believed in destiny.

Then a gypsy in a tea room changed my mind for me.

Tea Leaves read by a gypsy sent me in search of you.

They said "You'll find your dream girl.

You'll meet her somewhere beyond the blue."

And now that my arms enfold you,

dear one, my search is through.

My heart believes in Tea Leaves, 

because the Tea Leaves told me of you.

*  *  *

I flipped through the cookbook when I got home and it's got some good recipes in it.  The last chapter - Drinks - has a section on homemade teas.  Some of Debbie's blends are Christmas Spice Tea, Rosy Black Tea, and Minty Lavender Herb Tea. 

My friend's house is a mini tea museum.  She owns practically everything associated with tea including some French Veilleuse-Théières [pronounced VAY-yerz - TAT-ee-yair]. Curosity got the best of me and I had to research them.  Here's what I found:  They are basically teapots that sit on a tall [usually between 9 and 12 inches tall] vintage style warming stand.  I've seen a few in antique shops, and since they're not plentiful, they're pricy.  They're also known as nightlight teapots. Inside the warming stand is a small vessel [called a godet] filled with oil or a short candle to keep the contents of the teapot warm.  Placed bedside [before the days of electricity], the oil or candle not only kept the tea warm, but also served as a nightlight as the flame flickered through the vents and porcelain itself.  

During the 18th century, people often enjoyed sipping warm cups of tea just before retiring for the night.  So bedside porcelain teapots became wedding gifts.  

The earliest veilleuses [stands] were used as food warmers for soup or an invalid's drink in sick rooms or hospitals and a bowl instead of a teapot sat on top.  

The world's largest collection of them is found at the Teapot Museum in Trenton, Tennessee, midway between Nashville and Memphis.  I'm definitely making note of that for my next road trip south.   

When I came home Tuesday night I went on e-Bay and Etsy to see what I could find.  To my delight I found a copy/repro on e-Bay that was made by Bombay [when the company was still in business].  The price was right and so was the color [blue and white] so I bought it. Estimated delivery is July 22nd.   I apologize the picture below is a bit blurry due to enlarging it for this post.  I'll take a better photo when it arrives.  I justified my purchase by convincing myself it'll be a great visual for a presentation on French tea customs.  ;-)  It'll also fit perfectly in my blue and white living room.  Do you have a Veilleuse-Théières - vintage or repro?

Yesterday found me in baking mode again.  Our church had an outdoor potluck followed by a baptismal service - the first one since COVID shut everything down.  For my potluck contribution I baked a Texas sheet cake.  I made more than my share of them when I was a Sandy Clough tea lady, because it was the only dessert Sandy would allow us to serve guests at home parties. She added a little powdered cinnamon, instant coffee granules, and orange extract instead of vanilla, and renamed it Sandy's Tea Society Cake, but it was really Texas sheet cake.  It's a scratch-made cake with soft, creamy, fudge-like frosting, and it's deliciously moist.

We had a great turnout and nine people were baptized.  The owner of a residential building company attends our church and the event was held on his property.

~ Play area for the kids ~

Food Pavilion.  We need one of these on our church property for outdoor activities.

One of the baptismal candidates was a young girl.  Her personal testimony was in the form of a song she wrote and sang for the occasion.  Her proud father and Pastor Steve stood close by. It's so heartwarming to see someone young make a decision to follow Christ.

Steve had the blessing and privilege of baptizing one of his life-long friends from their teen youth group days.

It's been a great week.  Thanks for letting me share it with you, and it's not over yet.