Spring Cleaning the Front Porch

On March 10th of this year, an Internet tea friend organized a Facebook group called Christian Tea Time and Hospitality.  It already has 95 members and is growing rapidly.

Bernideen [the administrator and organizer] has chosen some wonderful topics:  Tea Wares Tuesday, Share a book Thursday [Afternoon Tea recipe books or Hospitality books], Tea in the Garden on Saturdays, and Scripture Sunday.   I like all the subjects, but Share a book Thursday and Scripture Sunday are my favorites.

It's so much fun seeing which books the other members have, and so far I have almost all the books that have been shared.  I can hardly pass up a recipe book and if it includes Afternoon Tea then purchasing a copy is a sure thing!

A couple of Thursday ago I posted one of my favorite hospitality books by Alda Ellis.  I wrote in the inside cover that I purchased it in 2007, the year I attended one of her classes at World Tea Expo.

It prompted me to pull her other books in my collection from the bookshelf:  A Table of Grace; Southern Teatime Pleasures [Alda lives in Little Rock, Arkansas], and Sentimental Living from the Porch - Four Seasons of Hospitality.  

I took this book to bed with me Sunday night and read it from cover to cover before going to sleep. Alda quotes her grandmother who used to say, "A front porch is a postcard of all who live beyond the door."  Alda says, "the front porch is the place where you welome others into your life... it's an extension of the house... an outdoor living space."

After reading her book, I was motivated to give my front porch a makeover!  My hubby and I went yesterday and bought a new mailbox and porch light - brass is out, black is in.  He took the porch swing down to give it a fresh coat of paint and make some minor repairs - it'll be 44 years old on Memorial Day, when we moved into our new house.  My parents gave it to us as a housewarming gift.  We ordered a new outdoor rug for the porch [first time for that], and the front door will get a fresh coat of red paint.  I'll look for a spring/summer door wreath, and the porch will be ready to welcome guests.  I'll post pictures when the project is completed.

Below is the swing when it was refurbished a few years ago.  

Since it hangs outdoors year round, it was time to do it again.

On another 'Share a book Thursday', Bernideen posted a hospitality and recipe book called, Come Over to my House - a guide to Christian Hospitality by Lora Lee Parrott.  I have her Sunday Dinner cookbook and have made several dishes from it, but somehow I missed this one [actually she's authored several books I don't have].  Lora Lee was the wife of Olivet Nazarene University's President, Dr. Leslie Parrott.  The book has been out of print for quite a while but I was able to find a used one.  Lora Lee transitioned to Heaven in 2011, but her legacy lives on.

I miss mentoring young women and mothers and I've been feeling a tug to get back into it.  I think I'll go to bed reading Lora Lee's book tonight.

Birthday Time

Last Thursday, my hubby and I drove to Grand Ledge, MI to see our granddaughter and her two little girls.  We missed the combined birthday party for them on May 7th because I had to work, so we celebrated with them a few days later.  Juliette's birthday already passed on April 3rd, and she turned 3.  Evie's birthday is coming up on May 23rd and she will be 5.  It hardly seems possible she will be going off to Kindergarten in September.

We enjoyed spending the afternoon with them.  Family times are fun times!  I didn't take many pictures, but below are the ones I did manage to take.  The girls had as much fun playing with the each other's gift as their own.

Juliette Grace [Jules]

Evelyn Rose [Evie]

After lunch we had chocolate birthday cake.  I only took one cake for both of them, so I put two candles on the cake - one for each of them, and they blew them out together after we sang and the pictures were taken.  Juliette reminds me so much of Tiffany when she was little - not only in looks, but her spunky, energetic personality and cute little raspy voice.

Today is definitely a day of rest... no presentations to prepare for and no work at The Whitney.   A quiet day is much appreciated after serving 109 guests yesterday on all three floors of the mansion. I'm amazed at the number of guests who come for Mansion Tea after the COVID shut-down, and am happy for the resurgence. Out of curosity, I added up the number of guests served at Saturday Mansion Teas since Jan. 8th of this year and it totaled 1,341.  Since I don't work on Sundays I don't have a count for that day, but it would be even higher.  They were expecting 141 guests today.  Tea time is alive and well at The Whitney!

Hat! Hats! Hats!

I was contacted the beginning of April to do a presentation for a local Catholic ladies group, and the date was Wednesday, May 11th.  Even though I've done three hat presentations previously, I wanted this program to be current, so I wrote completely new presentation notes.

My hubby went with me to load and unload his car and to be my official photographer.  The ladies were kind and very attentative, and I enjoyed my afternoon with them.  

Zora, co-chair of the women's group and contact person.  The teacups on the table were hers for ladies who didn't bring a teacup.

~ Setting up ~

It was a good size group.

Floating teacups were the centerpieces.

My hat collection minus some left at home.  I divided hats into three main categories, dressy [summer and winter], functional, and whimsical [holidays].  I took one ethnic hat - an Asian tea plucker's hat.

Of all the ladies that attended only five came wearing a hat.  I wonder if dressy hats will ever make a strong comeback?  Do you wear a dressy hat to church or when you go to tea?  I was the only person who wore a dress.  We live in a very casual society.

I covered a broad range of hat topics during my 40-45 minute presentation.

Including the fact that Hillary Clinton was the last First Lady to wear a hat at her husband's inauguration in 1993.

And Princess Beatrice's outlandish fascinator that she wore to Prince William and Kate's wedding. It was dubbed 'deer antlers' or worse yet, 'the toilet seat'!  She redeemed herself by auctioning if off to charity afterwards.  It sold for $130,341.00  Seriously???

After packing up all my hats, I went home and made lasagna roll-ups to take to granddaughter Tiffany's house yesterday for lunch.  Next post...

Mother's Day Weekend

For readers who are mother's, I hope you've had a wonderful Mother's Day.

I enjoyed Mother's Day with my firstborn and only daughter.  We went to church with Lori and Dave and had Sunday dinner together afterwards.  Her church had a photo station where pictures could be taken before and after church.

Our son, Steve, had to forfeit being in his pulpit today as he is sick and quarantined at home with COVID.  And our youngest son had to travel to Tennessee on business.  So I didn't get to see my boys today, but they were close in spirit.  My greatest Mother's Day gift is that all three of my children have committed themselves to serving Jesus Christ. 

Jeremy texted and asked if I'd sent him some pictures of him and me 'back in the day.'  I quickly went through some photos when I got home from dinner and sent them through cyberspace.  He picked one from 1987 taken in Destin, Florida and posted it on Instagram. Amazing how time changes things... I don't even own a bathing suit now, nor do I plan to. Bathing suit days are long gone for this momma!  ;-)

Yesterday was the busiest day I've had since I began working at The Whitney.  I left home at 8:30 in the morning and got home just after 6:30 in the evening.  The drive home was the first chance I had to sit down since my drive there in the morning - almost 9 hours of nonstop busyness.  We served tea to 162 guests and for the first time since I've been there, every room in the mansion was used on all three floors.

While most of the celebrating was for Mother's Day, one other celebration was especially note worthy - a marriage proposal.  We have weddings and bridal showers at the restaurant all the time, but never since I've been there has a prospective bridegroom gone to such romantic and elaborate ways to pop the question.  This young man reserved a room on the third floor to surprise his girlfriend and ask for her hand in marriage.  She was totally surprised and, of course, cried tears of joy.  I couldn't resist getting a photo of the room when they went outside for photos in the garden.

The blackboard on the easel said, "Georgia, Will you marry me?"

After dinner today I resumed work on a presentation I'm doing this coming Wednesday on hats. The last time I spoke about hats was in 2016, so it's been fun getting my hats out of closets, drawers, and storage totes in the basement to determine which ones I'll take for display.  I put them all in my guest bedroom and it looks like I'm moving.

Also happening this weekend was granddaughter, Isabella's prom.  Her mom texted the photos to me on the way to church.  Can't believe how quickly she's grown up and so thankful she's not only beautiful on the outside, but on the inside as well.  I love you, Izzy, a bushel and a peck and a hug around the neck!

Grandaughter, Tiffany, and husband, John, hosted a combined birthday party for their two little girls on Saturday also.  A busy day in our family!  Juliette's b-day was April 3rd and Evie's is May 23rd.  We couldn't attend since I had to work, but we plan to go out and celebrate with them one day this week. No pictures to share from the birthday celebration yesterday yet, but will post them when I get some.

A Jam Packed Month

Did you have an enjoyable May 1st/May Day?  I've never made and distributed May Day baskets, or danced around a May Pole, but both sound like fun activities to do with children. Have you ever made May Day baskets? 

[Country Living Magazine Photo]

The month of May has many things to celebrate.  This Thursday [May 5th] is Cinco de Mayo for those of Mexican descent.   Areas with large Mexican-American populations celebrate this day.  If you love Mexican food, it's a great day to plan a meal and tablescape around. Below is one of my Mexican tablescapes.  I noticed there's a parade in Detroit and Royal Oak this year.  Maybe there's one in your area too.

Saturday is the Kentucky Derby.  I belong to a Facebook Tablescape group, and I've seen several Kentucky Derby tablescapes.  I've never hosted a Kentucky Derby tea, have you? There's several great food options for hosting a Kentucky Derby tea.  Thanks to my tea friend, Linda J. who lives in Kentucky, I've visited a horse farm in Lexington.

Sunday is Mother's Day.  I'm not sure yet what I'll be doing but my son, Steve, usually coordinates something.  My hubby bought me my Mother's Day gift today - he ordered tickets to an advanced showing of the Downton Abbey 2 movie on May 18th, and dinner before.  The release date in our area is May 20th.  I can hardly wait to see it.  The trailers look great.

I coordinated a Downton Abbey tea event at The Whitney when the first movie came out, but I didn't ask to do one for Downton Abbey 2.  

International Tea Day is May 21st in case you'd like to sample some teas from around the world and tea customs.  On Afternoon Tea Across America Facebook page today, someone posted pictures of seating areas inside a large teapot and teacups at Dutch Kitchen & Bar in Amsterdam's Airport Schiphol.  Wouldn't it be fun to sip tea there?  I wonder how long the wait is for being seated at one of those spots?

[Internet Photos]

And lastly is Memorial Day weekend - May 28th - 30th.

Let's celebrate during May and make tea a part of every celebration!

  

Now There Are Four!

You may recall when I began a search last year for Anchor Hocking vintage, emerald green, short [3 1/2 inch], squatty, ruffled vases to go with a St. Patrick's Day tablescape.  Finding them has been slow, but I managed to find two in antique malls and one at an estate sale, all at reasonable prices. I used two for St. Patrick's Day this year.

While looking at estate sale photos last night, one jumped out at me.  The estate sale was five miles from my house, so I concluded it was worth getting up early for.  The sale began at 9:00 a.m. and I knew I should get there around 8:15 to get a low number for entrance into the house.  That meant a 7:00 a.m. wake-up time.  My hubby and I were #24 and 25 and were among the third group admitted inside the house.  I went straight to the kitchen because it looked like that was where the photo was taken.

[Estate sale website photo]

There it sat, patiently waiting for me with a price tag of just $2!  I saw a Royal Albert teacup for $9, but I already have one like it so I resisted temptation.  My hubby paid for the vase and we left with just the single purchase.  Then we went out to breakfast.

I began thinking about what other tablescape where I could use these vases and it dawned on me that they would look lovely at each place setting of my Bavarian Daffodil China.  So when I got home I did a quick place setting.  Yep!  They're perfect with the china.  Since I have service for 10, it looks like the search will continue for six more.   ;-)

One last note... My AOL account has been restored and I'm one relieved and happy person. Now I pray there'll be no more encounters with hackers.

Internet Hackers

[Internet Photo]

The Internet is a blessing and a curse, and hackers are are a huge part of the curse! 

I've had my Facebook account hacked a couple of times which was a relatively easy fix of changing my password and posting a message to my friends telling them not to confirm any new friend request because it wouldn't be from me.

For the first time since my AOL e-mail account was established over 20 years ago, it was hacked yesterday.  It hasn't been a fast and easy fix like Facebook.  I've changed my password, but still can't access my AOL account from my i-Phone and all new e-mails on my desktop go to my 'recently deleted' folder instead of my in-box.

I was able to see that the hacker sent out his fraudulent message [posing as my husband] to all my contacts in four different batches beginning at 1:31 p.m. and concluding at 2:01 p.m.  All the 'undeliverable messages' from the hacker were in my 'recently deleted' folder.

I called AOL and spoke with a representative who was foreign and barely understandable, but finally got that I would have to pay a fee for their technical support.  I said no thanks and terminated the call.  

Today is a new day and my hubby and I are back at it [with our limited technical knowledge] trying to restore my AOL account.  If you received an e-mail from my AOL address containing a fraudulent message from the hacker, delete it and don't respond.  My husband didn't request a favor from you.  Here's hoping today will be a lot less stressful and everything will be resolved and restored with my AOL account.