Technology and Birthdays

Last Tuesday we received a text from our daughter-in-law telling us our granddaughter Ellie's spring choir concert was going to be live streamed at 7:30 p.m.  She gave the link where we could purchase our tickets online and then receive an access code to watch the concert on my hubby's laptop.  Since they live in Zeeland [175 miles away] we don't get to attend concerts and sports events like we used to, so this live stream technology was most welcome.  It was the next best thing to being there.

Thursday we took our son-in-law and daughter out to dinner to celebrate Dave's birthday. Since he's Italian we went to Da Francesco's [Yum!].  We wish many more birthdays to a great son-in-law!  Through a program on our daughter's smart phone, she was able to remove all the other people who were dining in the same room, so only Dave was visible.  Gotta love technology [at least some of the time for those of us who are seniors]!

Before we moved to Warren, we lived in the area where I grew up and met a wonderful family at the church we attended.  Time has brought many changes for them... their three children who were teenagers at the time, grew up, married and now have families of their own.  Jack and Janet moved to Texas and remained there for several years until Jack passed away. Ironically, their youngest daughter now lives less than three miles from us.   Janet now lives with her and she celebrated her 90th birthday at a surprise party yesterday.  I couldn't attend because of work, but my hubby went to extend our greetings.  He said it was great seeing all their family again as well as other people from our previous church.

What do you give a 90 year-old for a present?  Technology to the rescue again!  I Googled 'gift suggestions for a 90 year-old female' on my desktop computer, and an immediate idea popped up.  A soft, fleece blanket with 90th birthday greetings printed on it and a pair of comfy slippers.  

~ My hubby and Janet ~

May begins 'Birthday Season' for our family.  Great-granddaughter Evie turns 7 on May 23rd, and there's three more family birthdays in June.  Lots of reasons to celebrate!

The only way I can include tea in this post is to say it's loved and enjoyed at The Whitney where 211 guests were served tea yesterday.   While I'm thankful tea is thriving there, I'm also thankful today is a day of rest!  ;-)

Mother's Day

After a busy work day at The Whitney [159 tea guests] last Saturday, I was pleasantly surprised to pull into my driveway and see beautiful geraniums on the front porch.  My daughter came over during the day and planted them in the planters for my Mother's Day gift.

I was spoiled by lots of loving kindness and thoughtfulness on Mother's Day - cards, some of which contained money and gift cards, candy, and a delicious dinner after church.  The best gift was being able to worship together at church with my three children, their spouses, and four of my grandchildren.

We took pictures after church. L-R: daughter-in-law, Samantha, daughter, Lori, me [the short one] and daughter-in-law, Sharon.

Jeremy and family came from Zeeland and spent the night at our house Saturday.

[L-R:  Landon, Ellie, Samantha, Izzy and Jeremy]

Samantha liked the planters in front of our church but they were barely visible in their family photo above, so a better look is provided below.   One of the young mom's at our church is a master gardener and she maintains all the outdoor plants.

Lori coordinated the dinner after church at Ike's American/Lebanese Restaurant.  It was the first time most of our family had eaten there, but the service was great and food delicious.  We all had our choice of ordering off the menu or going to the buffet.  Steve said it will be our destination for Mother's Day 2025.   Landon and Brooke were missing from the table family photo because they were at the buffet.  Lori and my hubby were there, but I couldn't get them in the photo.

I ordered Chicken Marsala and it came with a delicious lemon/lentil soup.  I Googled the soup when I got home and found a recipe that sounds just like what I had, so it's what's for dinner tonight.

A photo outside the restaurant with my three blessings!  It was a wonderful Mother's Day!

2024 Orchard Ridge Ladies' Spring Tea

Our church ladies' Spring Tea is now history.  A good time was had by all on Saturday, and lasting memories were made. 

Below are some behind the scenes kitchen shots.  I was glad to be able to use my silverplated teapots.  I put Harney & Son's Paris blend black tea in the silver pots and Harney & Son's Peach Fruit herbal tea in the white ceramic pots.

Our caterer, Francine [in black] from Pamela's catering and server Pauline.  The food was delicious!

Favor to coordinate with the shoe theme - Shoes With Godly Footsteps

~ They also got a bookmark with the poem Footprints ~

~ All set up and ready for ladies to arrive ~

We began with scones and mock Devonshire Cream 

Then sandwiches/savories:  Chicken Salad Mini Croissants, Cucumber Sandwiches, and Ham & Cheese Wraps

Desserts: Chocolate Mousse Cake, Strawberry Cheesecake and Marzipan Lemon Cake Rounds

~ My sweet neighbor, Lorraine ~

56 ladies signed up to attend.  My dear friend, Lori [fourth from right] was my right hand in executing this tea.  She was always willing to help whenever and wherever she could, and she took a lot of the photos I'm sharing in this post as well as my hubby.

 

After the tea meal the program about shoes began.  It was a very fun program to present.  What woman doesn't like shoes?  

When the program was over we packed everything up and brought it home to be washed and put away until the next tea - which will probably be in the fall.  One other person was of immeasurable help in executing this tea and that was my hubby.  He carried up several heavy totes of tea equipage from the basement and loaded them in his car to transport to the church, then unloaded them once we got there.  He helped set-up the tables at the church for the tea  [along with Lori's husband and another man] and take them back down when the tea was over.  And then repeat the process of loading the totes back into his car for the ride home and putting them back in their proper place.   Thank you is a such a small word to express a heart full of gratitude.

Ladies' Spring Tea Set-up

My hubby and I hauled all my tea equipage to the church yesterday to set-up for the Ladies' Spring Tea that will be held tomorrow, May 4th.  Jerry repacked the car a couple times trying to get everything to fit.  The photo below wasn't the final packing.  In the end it was jam-packed, but he got everything in.

My girlfriend, Lori, and her husband, plus one other lady from church met us there and the set-up began.  Many hands make light work so we accomplished the task in a short time.  56 ladies signed-up which equated to seven tables of eight seats.

Today's a work day for me at The Whitney so this is a short post.  More pictures tomorrow at the tea.  

Estate Sale Finds

My girlfriend, Lori, texted me yesterday to tell me about an estate sale in Warren about 15 minutes from my house.   She noticed there were lots of teacups and teapots in the sale and thought I might be interested.

I haven't been to an estate sale in a long time even though they're very plentiful in my area.  I quickly viewed all the photos and my first thought was I wouldn't go.  With the ladies' tea at church this Saturday, I figured I could make better use of my time at home, and I had just recently purchased a supply of teacups for The Whitney so they weren't in need of any right now.  Later in the day, however, I went back and gave the pictures a closer look and discovered there was a teapot from The Grand Hotel on Mackinac Island and  A Cup of Christmas  Tea teacup.  Hmmm... maybe I would go afterall.

The sale didn't open until 9:30 a.m. but we got there around 8:00 o'clock in hopes of getting a low number that would allow us to enter the house with the first group.  As it turns out we were numbers 21 and 22 and were among the second group to be admitted.  I think this was the first Trident Way Estate Sale that I've gone to, but their prices were amazing.  Everything was priced to move quickly, even on opening day.

I could tell from the pictures that the items I wanted were in the family room on a table by the doorwall, so that's where I headed.  To my delight the teapot and teacup were both still sitting there waiting for me.

The Grand Hotel teapot was just $8, in perfect condition, and even has a porcelain tea infuser. It's hard to tell in the photo, but those are red geraniums on the front - the hotel's signature flower.  

I've stayed at the Grand Hotel three or four times [and blogged about it], and bought their teacup, pictured below at Afternoon Tea, but never got the teapot.

A Cup of Christmas Tea teacup from Tom Hegg's book was just $5 and in mint condition.  I have a couple already but was happy to add another to the collection.

I also saw a Sandy Clough Christmas Plaid teacup.  Since I was the only home party distributer in Southeastern Michigan for most of the time the company was in business, I wondered if the lady who lived in the house attended one of my parties???

Sitting on the table close to the teacup and teapot was a new tea-themed tea towel for just $3 so I couldn't pass it up.

We made a quick trip to the basement where I found a prop for the tea at church this coming Saturday.  The theme is 'Shoes With Godly Footsteps' so I thought this hat box would enhance the decor and help carry out the theme.

More than any other color, red shoes have always had a powerful aura.  They have been referred to as "follow me" shoes.

My check-out total was $21.  Not bad for everything I purchased.  Thank you, Lori, for telling me about the estate sale.  It was a fun way to end the last day of April.

Updated Blog Page Completed!

Work on my blog page is completed and I'm a happy blogger!  Special thanks to Austin Ryskamp for his technical skills and diligence in giving my blog a new and updated look.  There is now an option on the sidebar to have blog posts sent directly to your inbox.

I highly recommend Austin.

Contact Information:  
Email: ryskampaustin@gmail.com 
 Business line: 947-258-0506

Things have been busy in Detroit with the NFL Draft.  Yesterday an all-time Day #1 record was set with more than 275,000 fans in attendance.  Just look at that sea of "Honolulu Blue" jerseys, T-shirts, sweatshirts and jackets!

[Photo Courtesy of WXYZ TV]

And tomorrow things will be hopping in Louisville, Kenturcky at the 150th Kentucky Derby.  Have you ever attended a Kentucky Derby tea party?  I always thought it would be fun to host one.

[Internet Photo]

Spring and Bridal Teas

I've been working on a Ladies' Spring Tea at church which will be held on Saturday, May 4th.  Below is the flier with details.  I've asked for the day off at The Whitney.

In 2020 I was planning a Ladies' Spring Tea with a shoe theme called Meaningful Shoes, but it had to be cancelled due to COVID lockdown.  So here's hoping this one will take place as planned.

I spent yesterday afternoon working on the favors - gluing rosebuds on clear plastic high heel shoes that will contain pink M & M's.  They remind me of Cinderella's glass slipper.

Ladies will also receive a Footprints in the Sand poem bookmark.

Dorothy's ruby red slippers in the Wizard of Oz are probably the most famous shoes that come to mind and I will be using a replica pair as a prop at the tea.

Alice in Wonderland wore Mary Janes - remember that style?

I got a pair of bronze baby shoes from Ebay as a prop too - the first shoes an infant girl wears. But it's also a reminder to women that the infants will eventually be old enough to watch our footsteps and copy them.  We have a big responsibility to guide and teach them to walk godly paths.  

More posts about the tea after it happens.

Saturday was a VERY busy day at The Whitney.  Probably the busiest since I've been there and while I'm not sure what the restaurant's capacity is, we had to be very close to it.  

There were four bridal teas at 12:30 which utilized all but one smaller dining room on the first floor and one tea was on the second floor.   Each tea was beautifully decorated, but I was so busy I didn't have time to take pictures.  One of the servers took pictures of the tea in the Music Room and sent them to me to share.  Tis the season for bridal teas.

At 1:30 we served tea to 120 guests for Mansion Tea.  All total, tea was served to 241 guests.  I kept busy making sure the urns on all three floors were filled with tea for everyone.  We are now serving Mansion Tea on Fridays at 1:00 p.m. as well as Saturday, so I don't have to worry about boredom setting in anytime soon!