Summertime in July

Summer didn't officially begin until June 20th so a full month hasn't lapsed yet, and it won't end until September 22nd, which means we have two months left but you wouldn't know it if you walked into stores.  Yesterday I went to two stores - Hobby Lobby and At Home.   Hobby Lobby was all decorated for fall...

 

...and At Home was a Halloween Lovers paradise.   Halloween is now ranked the second-largest commercial holiday in the United States after Christmas - higher than Easter, Valentine's Day, 4th of July, and Mother's and Father's Day.  Apparently I'm outnumbered, because as an adult, it's my least favorite holiday even though I do have some Halloween dishware.

Our summers are so short, I hate to start thinking about fall even though it's a beautiful season.

The City of Detroit will celebrate its 324th birthday on July 24th with several festivities planned.  The Whitney will be featuring a Detroit Classics menu July 7-25 and a Birthday Party in the garden on July 23rd co-sponsored by Detroit's iconic American Coney Island.  Detroit's Greatest Hits will be played and there'll be dancing under the stars.

We celebrated three family birthdays in July - granddaughters Ellie and Tiffany and daughter-in-law, Samantha.  Jeremy took the lovely photo of Sam [below] when he took her out to dinner for her birthday.

Tea times have slowed down at The Whitney during July.  Guests are enjoying summer vacations, beaches, and boating.  The guest count for tomorrow is only 47.  I can't remember when it was that low on a Saturday, but my knees aren't complaining.  

Almost all of the teas at The Whitney are custom blended for us by a lady at Eastern Market but she doesn't package the tea.  It comes in half lb. bags and I package it for our urns and 6 cup teapots.  Recently, however, we've started purchasing individual teabags from Bigelow Tea for guests who only want a cup instead of a teapot.  They've been very well received. A case arrived today and I'll take them to work tomorrow.

Hubby took this impromptu picture of me about a week ago when I was mating and organizing the teacups in the Music Room at The Whitney.  The shelves were once used to hold music when the Whitney's lived in the mansion, and we use them for teacups now. The pic is awful of me but it's a  glimpse of how beautiful the Music Room is.

Not much else has been happening with me which is why my blog has been rather quiet lately.  I hope you've been enjoying your summer.

July 4th Birthday Celebrations

I hope you had an enjoyable 4th of July.  As I mentioned a few posts back, our youngest granddaughter, Ellie, was born on the 4th of July and she became a teenager this year.  In the blink of an eye 13 years have passed.

Her aunt and uncle hosted the birthday celebration because Ellie's twin cousins turned 13 on July 5th.  The weather was nice until around 4:00 o'clock, then it rained for a half hour or so and cleared up again.  

Below is our birthday girl...

With 22 first cousins [ranging from 22 years old to 7 mos. old], plus all the adults, there was lots of activity - pool fun, trampoline fun [for the younger kids], cornhole fun [two sets of cornhole boards], basketball, and for those of us who were less energetic, we sat and visited or watched the Detroit Tiger ballgame on the patio TV until it was time to eat, and what a huge array of food there was.   My contribution was a pan of macaroni and cheese.

~ Landon and Izzy ~

~ Izzy with the youngest cousin, Baker ~

But the most exciting activity - at least for the three birthday girls - was opening presents.

The birthday girls - Ellie, CeCe and Carmela

They made a wish and blew out the candles!

~ Daughter-in-law, Samantha, and Izzy ~

There were fireworks later that night, but since I had to get up for work on Saturday morning, we left around 8:00 o'clock.  It was a great family fun day, but sadly, following all the 4th celebrations, tragedy struck Kerrville, Texas when the Guadalupe River rose 26 feet in 45 minutes and took the lives of many and destroyed homes. Our prayers are with all those who lost children and loved ones.  I can't begin to imagine their grief and the anxiety for those who are still missing relatives.

Happy 4th of July!

 Happy 249th Birthday America!

I took the photo below in 2017 and wanted to share it again today.  Wishing you a wonderful 4th of July however you may be celebrating.

The End of June

Just checking in on this last day of June.   It was a busy weekend... after work on Saturday my hubby and I attended our daughter-in-law's parent's surprise 50th Wedding Anniversary Party.  I managed to get a few pictures but only one of the honored couple as they were escorted into the party by three of their 23 grandchildren.  I was hoping one of their five children would post some pictures, but so far none of them have. 

~ Jeremy and Sam at the party ~

~ Izzy at her grandparent's party ~

The four Theisen sisters - Hannah, Samantha, Sarah and Sylvia.  They have one brother but I didn't get his picture.

  

Granddaughter, Ellie, [center] with two of her cousins.  She has a birthday coming up on July 4th and will be a teenager!

It doesn't seem possible that nine years have passed since we celebrated our 50th Wedding Anniversary.  Next year is the big 60!

After church yesterday we went out to eat with four other couples [no pictures] and afterwards made a stop at Maria's Antiques.  I normally don't do any shopping on the Sabbath, but while riding to church yesterday morning a Facebook post came through my feed stating yesterday was the last day Maria would be open at her present location.  All merchandise was 70% off.  Since we're always in need of teacups at The Whitney I decided to stop to see if she had any. I was able to get 13 bone china teacups for $38.  What a bargain!

I've been spending a lot of time organizing the photos on my desktop in preparation for getting a new computer.   Last Saturday I received a coupon from Shutterfly for unlimited pages and 40% off everything else, so I spent almost all of today working on another Shutterfly album.  The offer ends July 13th, so there's no time to waste.

Tomorrow ushers in a new month.  Wishing you a happy July!

Clara J's Tearoom

The month of June is rolling by quickly.  Yesterday was the first day of summer and today it's 95 degrees in southeastern, Michigan and feels like 104 degrees.  The Detroit tri-county area is under an extreme heat warning.  Last Wednesday a tornado touched down less than 2 miles from my house which is very unusual.  

Yesterday was a busy day at The Whitney serving tea to 155 guests, and one lovely young lady received a marriage proposal.  The groom-to-be arranged ahead of time to have the beautiful engagement ring [displayed in its case], positioned on the top tier of the serving stand when the server took it to their table.  Both sets of parents quietly slipped in to watch the happy occasion and, of course, the young lady said yes!   All the guests in the Drawing Room erupted with a heartfelt congratulatory applause.

Thursday I traveled 38 miles south of where I live to pick up my girlfriend, Sandy, to go to Clara J's tearoom in Maumee, Ohio [9 miles south of Toledo].  Our reservations were for 11:00 a.m.  The weather was drizzly, but it didn't dampen our enthusiasm for sharing teatime together.  The last time I was at Clara J's was in 2019 for a Downton Abbey tea with my girlfriend, Lori, so a return visit was long overdue.

The tearoom is named for Clara Jaessing Keller who was a lifelong resident of Maumee and restaurant owner. Sadly she only lived to the age of 59, but in 2005 her niece, Rebecca Jaessing, founded the tearoom in her honor.  In 2018 she sold the tearoom to Gretchen Fayerweather, a chef and culinary instructor who remains the current owner.  The upstairs is a Bed & Breakfast.

Several first floor rooms are devoted to guest seating.  The room we were in appeared to be part of a newer addition to the house.  I liked that aprons were used as a valance window treatment.

The food was beautifully presented and very tasty.   When we arrived only a couple other guests were there, but when we left the tearoom was full.  

We each got to select our own pot of tea, and I chose Lemon Meringue green tea.  

Next came two warm Blueberry Scones neatly wrapped in a napkin to ensure they stayed warm.  A dish of Lemon Curd, Devonshire Cream and Strawberry Jam accompanied the scones.

The three-tiered server was laden with delicious teatime food selections.

The top tier contained three savories:  A Radicchio leaf stuffed with zesty Cilantro Slaw; Watermelon & Feta squares; and a Sundried Tomato Palmier.

The middle tier contained the tea sandwiches:  Clara J's signature Ribbon Sandwich with house-made white & wheat breads layered with Chicken Salad, Red Pepper & Spinach spreads and frosted with seasoned Cream Cheese and garnished with a Pimento stuffed Olive; traditional Cucumber sandwich on white bread with Cream Cheese, Dill & Lemon Zest; and Avocado Toast with a slice of Hard Boiled Egg, Pickled Onion and Radish.

The bottom tier held the desserts:  Their signature Lemon Sugar Cookie Sandwich with Lemon Buttercream; Triple Berry Shortcake [raspberries, strawberries & blueberries] with White Chocolate Mousse on a house made biscuit; and a S'more Bundt Cake made with Lapsang Souchong Tea, Marshmallow Cream and Graham Crackers.  Fresh fruit garnished each plate.

When we finished eating we drove the short distance to the Maumee Antique Mall.  We spent a couple of hours looking around the mall, but nothing called our name so we left empty-handed and made our journey back home.

It was a wonderful day spent with a very good life-long [since 7th grade] friend!  

Father's Day, VBS and More...

I hope the fathers in your family enjoyed a happy Father's Day.  It's hard to believe my father has been gone 14 years, but our parting is only temporary and I'll see him again someday.

At church yesterday the sanctuary was all decorated for Vacation Bible School which began today with the theme Scuba Diving into friendship with God.  Day 1 was reported as a huge success.  I was curious when VBS began because I remember attending when I was a kid. Google says the first recorded VBS was held in 1894 at Hopedale United Methodist Church in Illinois.  How awesome that it's still going strong 131 years later.  It's a wonderful way to teach children about Jesus.

Two pictures that were posted of day #1 [Actually 13 pics were posted but I'm only sharing two].  Did you go to VBS when you were a kid?

After church yesterday our family went to dinner at Lucky's Steak House - a family favorite. After our meal my family indulged me with some picture taking.  Below are the three dads represented in our family yesterday: Jerry, son Steve, and son-in-law Dave.  The Indian statue is a reminder that Native Americans once inhabited Imlay City where Lucky's is located.

Jerry with two of his kids, Lori and Steve.  Jeremy didn't make it from Zeeland.  Steve wore his VBS Scuba Crew T-shirt since he had to preach from a platform decorated with an underwater theme.  All VBS helpers are wearing the same T-shirt this week.

When we got home from the restaurant I got right on the task of completing the Whitney Tea Service Training Manual.  I finished it just before midnight and sent it via the Internet to the restaurant CEO so he'd have it first thing this morning.  So glad to cross that off my 'to do' list.

Tomorrow my hubby begins his 12th year with the summer GM Student Corps program.  His shirt is ready and waiting to put on first thing in the morning.   He was delighted to learn his GM Student Intern used to be granddaughter Brooke's best friend in grade school until she and her family moved to another community.  Small world!

I went back to the Hallmark store today and bought the garden stone I blogged about last week.  My hubby thought it would be safer hanging than in the ground where it might get damaged by the weed whacker or lawn mower.  It did have a place on the back for hanging so we put it right by our front door.  I smile every time I see it.

I'm looking at the picture below and notice I need to pull that droopy white flower in the wreath back up in place so there won't be a bare spot.  ;-)

Have a good week as we begin the third week of June!!!

June Celebrations

June is a month filled with celebrations for our family.  Our daughter-in-law, Sharon, begins the celebrating with her birthday on June 7th.

June 11th was Jerry's and my 59th Wedding Anniversary.  We went to our favorite restaurant, River Crab in St. Clair, MI to celebrate.  It was a beautiful day, just like our wedding day.

We ordered our favorite entree - Ultimate Seafood Mixed Trio - Grilled Salmon, Crab Cake, Coconut Shrimp, Coconut Ginger Rice, and Broccoli Rabe.  It didn't disappoint, and we went home very full!

For dessert we shared a Creme Brulee.

We were hoping to see some freighters on the river, but none passed by while we were there - only a few speed boats.

The next day [Thursday/yesterday] I drove to my childhood stomping grounds to have lunch with some high school girlfriends.  This year marks our 60th high school graduation anniversary.  We decided we wouldn't refer to ourselves as old.  We're seasoned and experienced instead! ;-)

The gal sitting next to me in the above picture [in the red top] texted me recently saying she had some dishes to give to me if I wanted them.  She brought them yesterday and I didn't know what a treasure I had until I got home and began to unwrap them.  Royal Albert Old English Rose service for 12. They're beautiful!  The set has a sugar bowl and creamer, but no teapot, so I will have to remedy that.

Sunday will be another day of celebration as we honor the fathers in our family, and two of our granddaughters have birthdays on June 24th and 29th.