Native American Day at School

We left home early this morning to attend a Native American Day program put on by our granddaughter's fifth grade class in Chelsea.

~ Isabella ~

I liked the poster [left] on the bulletin board near the school's entrance.

In the photo below Izzy's group is telling their Native American legend.  Tea was not mentioned, but Native Americans drank sassafras tea [although they didn't call it by its botanical name] and other herbal concoctions of twigs and berries.  Tea from the camellia sinensis plant that we know and enjoy today came later with the Dutch and English settlers.

Afterwards Izzy's  teacher let us take her out to lunch, along with little sister, Ellie.

It was a fun morning!  Tonight Jerry and I have tickets for the musical Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat at Detroit's Fox Theater.  We saw it at the Fox in 1998 when Donny Osmond performed as Joseph.  I'll be sure to tell you all about it on Monday!

Tea Time Magazine

I love Hoffman Media's Tea Time magazine.  It's my favorite magazine in print, and I have every issue dating back to 2004.  They are neatly and loosely bound by year, so I can pull any issue out to look at.

It almost seems too early to be thinking about Christmas since Halloween hasn't been celebrated yet, but Christmas is in all of the stores, so today I'm enjoying my Tea Time Special Collector's Issue and November/December 2015 Christmas Special Issue, while sipping tea in a Christmas teacup!

The magazines are chock-full of gorgeous color photos, recipes, theme teas with tablescape ideas, porcelain china, regional tea rooms and calendar of events, gifts along with vendor information, and quotes.

I love the quote from Calvin Coolidge in the collector's issue:  

"Christmas is not a time nor a season, but a state of mind.

To cherish peace and goodwill, to be plenteous in mercy,

is to have the real spirit of Christmas."

Now that fall has arrived, I look forward to cozy nights with Tea Time magazines and a hot cup of tea [decaf for nighttime].

What's your favorite magazine?

High Tea vs. Afternoon Tea

This morning I sampled the third and last tea I received from Plum Deluxe Teas in Portland, Oregon.  Unknowingly, I saved the best for the last - Afternoon "High Tea" White Tea.

The tea is very aromatic, both in dry leaf, and finished liquor.  White tea is blended with apricot pieces, marigold petals, and pear essence to produce a mild, wonderful taste.

As you can see, the liquor is lighter in color than black tea.

I blogged about Plum Deluxe 'Reading Nook Blend' Black tea here, and their 'Pumpkin Spice' [A honeybush and black tea blend] here.  I highly recommend the teas.

The fact that Andy [the founder of Plum Deluxe tea] named his white tea Afternoon "High Tea" prompted me to include the difference between Afternoon Tea and High Tea in this post.

Andy certainly isn't alone in referring to Afternoon Tea as High Tea.  We Americans are known in Europe for getting it wrong, and with good reason.  Do a Google search on High Tea and the photo images will be elegant, grand, posh teas with gleaming silver, gorgeous bone china teacups, an array of finger sandwiches, scones with clotted cream and jam, and delicate, delicious, bite-size desserts.  A search on Afternoon Tea will produce the same images as if Afternoon Tea and High Tea are synonymous and interchangeable.  Since the term High Tea sounds more refined than Afternoon Tea, it seems to have become the most common name for the ritual of tea in the afternoon in the U.S.

[Internet Photo]

But traditionally and historically it's inaccurate. Anna, 7th Duchess of Bedford is credited for creating Afternoon Tea in the mid 1840's when she experienced a 'sinking feeling' between the long gap between lunch and dinner.  She found a light meal of tea and sandwiches [cakes were added later] the perfect way to ward off hunger pangs.  She shared her discovery with friends, including Queen Victoria, as one of her ladies-in-waiting, and they in turn shared it with others.  Soon a British tradition was born, which continues to this day.  

High Tea, however, was actually supper for the working class when family members came home from their day's work in the factories.  It was served at a 'high table' - kitchen or dining room table - and was far more substantial that dainty sandwiches.  It also lacked all the elegant accoutrements. Mugs would probably have been used more than dainty teacups, and the hearty fare accompanying full-bodied [strong] tea would have included bread, vegetables, baked beans, cheese, meat pies, or fish. Manners weren't as strictly adhered to as they were at elite, genteel, ladies' Afternoon Teas, and formal attire wasn't required either.

Do you often hear people use Afternoon Tea and High Tea interchangeably as if they both mean the same thing?  Do you make the correction when you hear the term used incorrectly?

PBS Home Fires

Are you getting antsy for the sixth and final season of Downton Abbey that will air in the United States on January 3rd?

If you don't want to wish away the remaining days of 2015, you can get your 'British fix' from the new PBS Masterpiece Theater series, Home Fires, which premiered on October 4th.  

I first learned about it on the blog Life in My Empty Nest. I missed episode 1, but it was [and still is] available for viewing on the PBS website. There are six episodes in Season I which runs through November 8th.

The village of Great Paxford is the setting for the British drama that unfolds in 1939 with World War II looming.  The series was inspired by the book, Jambusters - the history of Britain's Women's Institute, by Julie Summers. 

Samantha Bond plays the role of Frances Barden, the newly elected president of the Great Paxford Women's Institute.  You'll recognize her from Downton Abbey where she plays the role of Lady Rosamond Painswick, Lord Grantham's sister.

[Internet Photos]

Tea is in every episode, and the series was reviewed as 'A British drama that's as warm as a cup of tea.'

Tune in this Sunday night for the second half of season 1.

A Phantom of the Opera Tea

Last Saturday my daughter and I traveled to East Lansing for Cristy Bennett's Phantom of the Opera tea.  It was my 18th tea [from April 2011 to the present], and I enjoyed sharing the experience with Lori for her first time.  All of Cristy's teas are lovely, but this one ranks in the top five.

~ Gorgeous porcelain Phantom mask ~

The tea was filled to capacity with 16 attendees.

The tablescape was black, white, and red with lots of red roses.

As always, Cristy decorated her living room and dining room in the theme.

Each place setting had a different black and white bone china teacup.  I only photographed four of the 16, but they were all beautiful.

~ Tablescape photos ~

We each received a personalized menu, vase with a fresh red rose, a silk red rose napkin ring, and a black nylon bag filled with Dove dark chocolate candies to take home.

A Phantom of the Opera soundtrack played softly in the background throughout the tea.

~ Sugar for tea. ~

~ Rose shaped candles. ~

~ Another candle with Phantom sheet music beneath it. ~

~ My sweet daughter, Lori. ~

~ The tea began with a toast of chilled sparkling Apple-Cranberry juice. ~

The first course was roasted Roma Tomato soup, with an Autumn Apple-Cinnamon pinwheel scone accompanied with spiced Devonshire cream.

~ The tea was a black apple cider tea with cinnamon and cloves. ~

The second course was a delicious Chicken Cordon Bleu ramekin, Salad Greens with roasted Cherry Tomatoes, Feta Cheese, dressed with Maple Balsamic Vinaigrette, and Autumn Fruit Cup.

The dessert course was a mini-Bundt Pumpkin tea cake with Cream Cheese frosting.

~ Lori and Me ~

The last photo is a fun one showing how Crisity coordinates every detail of the tea right down to the soap in the powder room, which was beautifully decorated for autumn.

Thanks, Cristy, for a wonderful afternoon!

*  *  *

Today I'm joining Rose Chintz Cottage for Tea Time Tuesday
Antiques and Teacups for Tuesday Cuppa Tea
Lavender Cottage for Mosaic Monday

Sunday Reflection...

"I Met God in the Morning"

I met God in the morning,

When my day was at its best

And His presence came like sunrise,

Like a glory in my breast.

All day long the Presence lingered;

All day long He stayed with me;

And we sailed in perfect calmness

O'er a very troubled sea.

Other ships were blown and battered,

Other ships were sore distressed,

But the winds that seemed to drive them

Brought to us a peace and rest.

Then I thought of other mornings,

With a keen remorse of mind.

When I too had loosed the moorings

With the Presence left behind.

So, I think I know the secret,

Learned from many a troubled way;

You must seek Him in the morning

If you want Him through the day.

~ Author Unknown

May God bless your week!

Lunch with an Old Friend!

You may remember me blogging about my 50th high school reunion that was recently held on September 25th, but I didn't mention that one of the gals I was good friends with in Junior High [we drifted apart in High School amongst so many other students] sought me out at the reunion.  I hadn't seen or had any contact with her in 50 years, but we promised to have lunch together after the reunion.  Yesterday was the day.  I drove down to my old stomping grounds and met her at a restaurant.

She proved the saying is true:  "A true friend is someone you can go years without seeing and when you reconnect nothing has changed!"

[Regina Reggie and Me]

It took me over two hours to eat Logans Kickin' Chicken Salad because we had so much catching up to do!

Another classmate who is also a blogger, blogged about the reunion today too.  I loved two of the quotes she put on her blog:

"Growing old is mandatory; growing up is optional."  

~ Chili Davis ~

On another subject...
When I was at the Questers meeting Wednesday night I saw some vintage cobalt blue egg cups that I liked in the museum gift shop.  It was after closing, so no one was manning the shop, and the egg cups weren't priced.

I couldn't get them off my mind, so before I headed down to meet my girlfriend for lunch I phoned the museum to inquire about them.  The museum was open until 3:00 p.m., so they told me to stop by after my lunch appointment and they'd have an answer for me.

After Reggie and I said our goodbyes, I drove the 11 miles over to McFadden-Ross House, where the egg cups were waiting at $5 each.  I bought all four.  While I was there, I got a little history about the house that I didn't know when I was there Wednesday night.

Before it was a residential farm house, it was an arsenal, built in 1839.  The arsenal closed in 1875, and the building was sold at auction. Nathaniel Ross and his wife, Elizabeth McFadden Ross, purchased it.  Over the years they made several changes and additions, including raising the roof and adding a second story.  They raised their family in the house, and farmed six acres of land around the structure.  When Elizabeth died in 1950 she left her entire estate to the City of Dearborn, specifying that it be used for a museum and educational purposes.  The museum opened to the public in October, 1956.

A museum employee allowed me to take a few pictures inside.  He said it was easy to tell the structure was a former arsenal because of the unusually thick walls [a safety precaution for the explosive gunpowder].

The two rooms I particularly wanted to photograph were the kitchen...

And the bathroom.  I love the sink, and how 'bout that bathtub!

What a fun day of getting caught up with my girlfriend, and learning about the museum too! When I got home I placed the egg cups on a shelf in the living room where they'll reside - except during a tea party.  I think they'll be perfect filled with Devonshire cream when I use my cobalt blue dishes.