Keeping In Touch

I hope you've been enjoying the month of June so far.  It's hard to believe it's been over a week since I last posted. The days go by so quickly and there really hasn't been anything newsworthy to blog about, but since I want to stay in touch I've come up with a little 'this and that'.

While I went off to work last Saturday to serve tea to 130 guests, our daughter came over to work on a project with her dad.  She will be moving into her new house in mid-July and wanted to give her oak dining room set a face lift.  They sanded the chairs and pedestal and will paint them black this coming Saturday, while the table top will remain it's original oak color.  I took the picture below when I came home from work when they were just wrapping things up for the day.

It's always a blessing to go to church on Sundays, but yesterday was a double blessing when Dr. Todd and Jeanne Mellish attended while visiting from New Hampshire.  [They are the young couple pictured on the left.]  Todd's dad was the senior pastor of the church we attended for 26 years and where I was church secretary.  Todd is a few years younger than my kids, but they all grew up together and Todd has kept in touch with Steve since moving to New Hampshire. What a joy to see them again!  His wife Jeanne has the gift of hospitality and would love to own a B & B someday.  She said she'd enjoy a job like mine at The Whitney.  I suggested restaurants in historic homes, B & B's or upscale hotels as good places to start looking.   It all starts with a dream so dream big!

In the center of the picture is my girlfriend, Lori, and her husband.  They attended the same church, so also know Todd.

 

Earlier today while out running errands I passed a school sign that said dream big.  I couldn't help thinking about my conversation with Jeanne, so I took a picture and sent it to her.   It took a long time [and a lot of prayers] to get my dream job, but with persistence it finally happened.  What dream would you like to see come true?

When we went outside after church, Liz, a master gardener who plants all the flowers at church and cares for them, was watering them before going home.  Aren't they beautiful!

Speaking of The Whitney... I have a question I'd really like your input.  I'm working with management on an updated Tea Service Manual for training purposes. I think many people are visual and retain info better with pictures.  I'd like to include photos to accompany instructions.  What do you think?

A new tea room book arrived from Amazon last week.  I first learned about Leila & Erika Shanoff through World Tea Expo a few years ago during the COVID quarantine, and they also advertise in Tea Time magazine.  They are a mother/daughter duo who own a tea room in Clermont, Florida called Erika's Tea Room.  They've been in business for about 12 years.  In addition to their book, they also do YouTube videos which are interesting to watch.  I love their slogan, "Memories Made with Every Cup!"  Very true!

Below are some scones I ordered from them in 2021 for a World Tea Expo virtual tea tasting.

I saw this teacup swimming pool on Facebook recently and thought what tea-themed item will they think of next?  Even though I'm a tea lover, I'm not a sun goddess [I burn too easily], and I'm not a water lover either so I'll leave the teacup swimming pool for others to enjoy.

In closing, I went into the Hallmark store today and saw the cutest garden stone.  I took a picture of it so I could mull it over in my mind, but I think I'm going to go back to get it.

Have a good week!