Best Laid Plans Sometimes Go Astray

Towards the end of last February our son, Jeremy, met my hubby and me for breakfast and at that time gifted us with a transatlantic cruise on the Queen Mary 2 scheduled to depart New York City on April 30th.  I was shocked and beyond grateful.  It was a dream I never thought would come to fruition.

I immediately began planning the itinerary.  After the 7-day voyage and disembarkation in Southampton, 11 days would be spent traveling around England [Bath, Bampton, Woodstock [Bleinheim Palace], Richmond and London, and 2 days in Paris via the Eurostar.   

Our room on deck 4 had a sheltered balcony, and I could hardly wait to dine in the gorgeous Britannia restaurant... 

... and have tea every afternoon in the Queen's Room.

Days were spent selecting hotels and making reservations, and purchasing train tickets and admittance requirements to multiple events.  Finally we were in the home stretch with just seven days until embarkation.  

Yesterday, on the ride home from church I decided to check e-mails on my iPhone and saw one from Cunard with the subject heading, 'Important information about your upcoming voyage.'  I eagerly opened it, and was shocked to learn the cruise had been cancelled!  What????  When the ship came into the port at Southampton on April 22nd it was assessed with undisclosed technical issues and unable to sail until corrected - which is going to take longer than anticipated.

While disappointed, I wasn't sad because I believe everything happens for a reason, but I hated the thought of having to begin the task of canceling all the reservations today, and all that time expended for nothing, but at least we won't be stranded in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean with difficulties.

We'll rebook at a later time and life will go on with gratitude that God sees the big picture and diligently watches over us. The silver lining is that we will now be able to attend granddaughter Brooke's college graduation that we would have otherwise missed while on the cruise.

Last Saturday was busy [as usual] at The Whitney with 86 guests.  For the second week in a row it was fun to see familiar faces at tea time - a lady from church and her son's fiancée.  He recently proposed to her in Paris.  How romantic!

This and That

Yesterday was a busy day at The Whitney with 97 guests coming for tea, but what made it extra special was seeing two friends walk through the door that I hadn't seen for many years.  I love surprises like that at work. We used to attend church together before we moved to Warren.  It was Jill's 70th birthday and they came with their daughter and son-in-law.   After touring the mansion they were seated for tea in the library, which was an appropriate room since Jill is a retired librarian.  The library seating wasn't planned, but I'm glad it worked out that way. 

The General Manager asked me to order 174 teacups for the 'Generations Tea' on May 7th - a pre-Mother's Day celebration.

When I got in my car to come home a text from my son, Jeremy, awaited me accompanied by a picture of Izzy on Chelsea High School's tennis team this year.  He also attached a copy of the letter he and Samantha received from the high school principal stating that Izzy is graduating Summa Cum Laude.  So proud of her!  I can hardly believe she'll be graduating from high school.  Seems only yesterday I could hold her in my arms!

I thought I'd leave you with a smile on your face with the cartoon that Jeremy also sent.  Music lovers will especially appreciate it.  ;-)

Have a good week everyone!

After Easter Post

I hope you and your loved ones had a Happy Easter as we celebrated our Risen Lord and Savior. It was a busy Easter weekend at our house. 

On Saturday evening we were invited to our daughter and son-in-law's for a 4th Birthday celebration for our great-granddaughter, Juliette [Jules].  The birthday gifts and Easter bags were ready and waiting to be transported.  Evie doesn't turn 6 until next month but since I was unsure of schedules I took her gift early.  They got matching tea-themed dresses with matching shrugs and teapot purses.  It's a good thing the Easter bag contained treats and toys, 'cause clothes don't go over big with kids.  ;-)  Thankfully, my daughter made up for my lack.

I posted a picture of the dresses in an earlier post, but will do it again.

Earlier in the day my daughter got tickets for an Easter egg hunt at Canterbury Village, and the pictures below were taken there.

~ Evelyn [Evie], Tiffany, and Juliette [Jules] ~

Sunday we had two morning services and since my hubby had committed to ushering in the 9:00 a.m. service we went to both services.  After the second service we went out to dinner with Steve, Sharon, Brooke, and Sharon's mom, Sheena.  No new Easter outfit for me this year - I wore a 'rerun.'

After we got home from dinner, our son Jeremy came over.  He had business in our area  Monday morning, so spent the night.  So thankful we got to see all our children and some of our grandchildren on Easter weekend.

It's too late for this Easter, but I saw the adorable Easter cake pictured below at Tea For All Reasons.  Hope to make it next year.   It looks easy and so festive.  I think the handle is a headband.

Hudson's Dept. Store, The Whitney and Tea

Around last November I received a phone call asking if I'd be available and willing to do a presentation for a Grosse Pointe, MI Questers group this April.  I said I would and today was the day.

It started out that I was just going to talk about J.L. Hudson's Department Store and tea, but then the Program Chairperson called and asked if I'd include the 11 beautiful Tiffany windows at The Whitney Mansion. I decided they would enjoy knowing that J.L. Hudson [the department store founder] and David Whitney were friends and shared many things in common, so it ended up being an expanded program, but one everybody enjoyed.

I arrived at the meeting location [the private home of one of the Quester members] around 11:00 a.m.  Since it was in a private home and I was by myself [without my hubby's assistance], I didn't take my large oak display case.  I opted to only take my mannequin, dressed with a suit, fur and hat, all bearing J.L. Hudson Department Store labels.  It was a good example of what ladies would have worn in times past, when dining at Hudson's.

As it turned out two of the Quester members were former downtown Detroit department store employees and it was fun hearing them share their stories around the dining room table at the luncheon after the program.

The Pettipointe Quester Chapter #243 meets the first Thursday of every month.  There were about 15 members present.  After my program they had a brief business meeting.

~ Kay, President of the Chapter ~

 

The ladies on each end [below] were former Hudson's employees, and the lady standing next to me was the program chairman.  I wore my green "Hudson's outfit" that I always wear when I  speak about Hudson's.

Thank you Questers for allowing me to speak about three things I'm passionate about:  Hudson's Department Store, The Whitney and Tea!

Happy April!

 

I hope you had a nice weekend.  Did anyone prank you on April Fool's Day or did you prank someone?  It was a work day for me at The Whitney, but thankfully uneventful with no pranks.

Our church had its annual Easter egg hunt on Saturday.  In spite of the rainy, chilly weather it was well attended.  The pic below is what 10,000 candy stuffed Easter eggs looks like.

And this is what they look like spread out between two different fields.  

The younger children had their own field to collect eggs from.

Plus a petting zoo.

And other fun activities.

And, of course, yesterday was Palm Sunday.  "Hosanna!"  "Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord."  John 12:12

In the time of Jesus, the Sunday before Passover was "Lamb Selection Day" - the day that Jewish families went to the temple in Jerusalem to choose their "perfect lamb" for the Passover.  Then they'd bring the lamb home to live with them, knowing that within a few days it would be slaughtered for the Passover meal [Exodus 12].

When Jesus entered Jerusalem on Lamb Selection Day, it was as if He was presenting Himself to all the people and asking them, "Will you choose me?"  He wasn't just riding through the streets for pomp and glory.  He had a purpose and destination.  With much gratitude on Lamb Selection Day, as well as everyday, I choose Jesus as my perfect Lamb and sacrifice.

After church we came home, had a bite to eat, and then drove to Novi, MI to attend Brightmoor Christian Church's performance of The Promise.  Our youngest son called us Saturday night and asked if we'd like to meet him there.  I don't know how many their large sanctuary holds, but it was filled for the outstanding performance.

As we enter Holy Week [or Passion Week], may it be a time of reflection about the great sacrifice Jesus Christ made that whosoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.  

I saw these Easter bunny parfaits with tutorials on the Internet and wanted to share them. So cute!

I'll close with another tea-themed quote I recently read:  

"Life is like making tea!  Boil your ego,

evaporate your worries, dilute your

sorrows, filter your mistakes and get

a taste of happiness."

~ Anon