Current Happenings

Today I begin reclaiming my living room.  Up until now it has been the storage place for all The Whitney Easter baskets for this Saturday's Tea With the Easter Bunny, favors for the April 26th ladies' spring tea at my church and favors for The Whitney's Generation Tea on May 9th. The Easter basket project of 10 morphed to 20.  I will be taking them to the restaurant today and will happily cross them off my 'to do' list.

Last Saturday was our Easter Egg Hunt at church.  I couldn't attend since it was a work day for me, but my hubby went to help out.  We set a record with over 1,300 kids and parents [the previous record was 900].  My daughter-in-law, who is the Children's Ministry Director, said it was overwhelming with people everywhere, but she was thankful for its outreach to the community.

Our daughter, Lori, in one of the egg fields.  Mother Nature provided perfect weather.

Being the history lover that I am, a week ago I made an appointment to go to Detroit's Main Public Library to access information about David Whitney, Jr.  It was a productive and fascinating visit and I will go again next month when all my tea commitments are done.

The city commissioned Cass Gilbert in 1912 to construct a three-floor library [thanks to Andrew Carnegie's donation of money] in the early Italian Renaissance style.  Although construction began in 1912, it didn't open until March 1921 due to construction delays from WWI.  The phrase "Knowledge is Power" is carved into the marble above the main Woodward Avenue entrance.  Located in Detroit's Cultural Center, the library is considered a gem in the city.

I discovered they will be doing an Art & Architecture Tour of the building next month and would like to go.

The day I went, the Woodward Avenue entrance was closed and I had to enter at Cass Avenue [a newer wing added to the library in 1963].

Directly across the street from the Public Library is the Detroit Institute of Arts [another one of the city's gems].  I had to park behind the DIA so it was a good bit of walking, and my knees protested.

Inside the Burton Historical Collection area of the library [where the Whitney information is held] library visitors are required to put their belongings in a locker and use only a pencil for writing.  Cell phone photos were allowed and I got a couple of good photos of Mr. Whitney.

A newspaper article about the bust sculpture of Mr. Whitney which is now housed in the David Whitney Building in downtown Detroit.   I took a photo of it when I visited in 2023.

A Detroit News article stated for years the David Whitney mansion was one of Detroit's showplaces.  The family moved into the mansion in 1894 and streams of carriages arrived for receptions, musicales and teas. Given Mr. Whitney's British heritage and Mrs. Whitney's Canadian ancestry, I knew tea was a vital part of their private and social lifestyle.

On another subject, our son, Jeremy, and his wife, Samantha, just returned yesterday from a week's vacation in Hawaii and shared these beautiful photos with us.  

As we approach Good Friday and Easter Sunday, may it be a time of reflection and remembrance of God's great love for us and the sacrifice Jesus Christ made on the cross for our redemption and eternal life for all who believe.  Wishing you God's blessings at this sacred and meaningful time of the year.

I'm Back!

It's been awhile since I've posted.  Life is busy.  Yesterday after church we drove to East Lansing to take our granddaughter, Isabella, and her college roommate, Grace, out to lunch. We let Izzy pick the restaurant and she chose P.F. Chang's.  Good choice, Izzy!

School is winding down for them with only three weeks left.  In the fall she'll be a Junior.  It doesn't seem possible.

Jerry and I ordered Sesame Chicken and the girls each ordered something different.  To go with my Sesame Chicken I ordered a pot of Sweet Ginger Peach black tea [by Revolution] and it was SO good.

Late this morning my girlfriend, Lori, came over and we filled the teapot candy boxes and tied them closed with a bow.  I forgot to take pictures until after she left, but here they are in the boxes ready to transport to the ladies church tea on April 26th.  

My hubby gave us a jump start on the project last week by assembling the teapots for us.

After Lori left, I started working on children's Easter baskets for The Whitney's Tea With the Easter Bunny on April 19th.  As of right now, I only have to make 10 baskets. 

I have to wrap them in cellophane yet, but I think they turned out cute and will make the kids happy.

Great granddaughter, Juliette, turned six on April 3rd.  Since she's in California we didn't get to celebrate with her, but our daughter flew out to be with them and took our gift and sent pictures to us.

Since Lori was flying she didn't have a lot of space for presents.  So we gave her a card with money.  The card said she was "the cherry on top of ice cream" so I also got her a bag of Michigan cherry gummies.   It's been almost two years since she's seen us, so I pasted a photo of Jerry and me on the inside of her card to help her remember who we are.  We're looking forward to them coming to Michigan this summer for a visit.

Our daughter, Lori, with her two granddaughters. 

John, Tiffany, Juliette and Evie

And as Scarlett O'Hara said, "tomorrow is another day!"