2020 Ladies' Spring Tea

In 2000 I coordinated a ladies' dinner at my church with the theme "If the Shoe Fits."  It doesn't seem possible 20 years have sped by!  Below is my  presentation booklet.

Over the last 20 years the 'shoe booklet' has expanded considerably with numerous articles pertaining to shoes stuffed inside, plus the purchase of a few books.  I had an inclination the subject would resurface sometime. 

Some time ago one of my blog readers from Biloxi, Mississippi mailed me several issues of Southern Lady magazine.   I've worked my way down to the 2009 issues and was recently reading one issue when I noticed Phyllis Norton Hoffman [now De Piano - she remarried in 2009], president and chief executive officer of Hoffman Media, had written a book about shoes - "Honey, it's All in the Shoes".   It piqued my interest and I ordered it. 

I decided it's time to use the theme again for a Ladies Spring Tea.  I contacted my son [the Pastor] and asked what he thought.  It didn't take him long to respond saying, "Yes, do it!"

So today, I went to a brand new venue and signed a contract for Saturday, May 9th at 1:00 p.m. [the day before Mother's Day].  If you are a local reader and have attended any of my church teas, this is a "SAVE the DATE" post.  You don't have to attend our church to come to the tea.

The new venue is Greystone Golf Club, 67500 Mound Rd. Washington, MI - about a mile north of where our new church building will be built.

Interior photo of the room I booked.

The cost will remain at $20 - a real bargain!  Theme: "Meaningful Shoes."  More details later.

Happy Paczki Day!

Today is Fat Tuesday - the day before lent begins.  Did you have your Paczki [pronounced poonch-key] today - polish donuts with 400-425 calories [or more].  I saw online that lovers of the jelly-filled donut began lining up at 5:00 a.m. at Hamtramck bakeries.  As for me, I refrained - trying to shed a few pounds and eat healthy.

I recently ordered a pound of Harney & Sons organic green tea with Citron and Ginkgo.  It is so good and my 'go to' tea right now.  Green tea is said to boost metabolism, and ginkgo contains antioxidants.

I don't remember how I stumbled onto a new tea book online, but I ordered a copy and it arrived a few days ago.   I'm anxious to read through it.  It's from Palais des Thés.

They enclosed three delicious teas in gauze bags - 1 black tea and two green.  My favorite was green tea with berries, although the tea pictured below is a delicate floral green tea with notes of rose, raspberry and lychee.  The wrapper said the blend is as refined as a Parisian woman!

Last Sunday [February 23rd] was my monthly presentation at the assisted living facility.  I took a picture of the table that was set when I arrived.  I forgot to take a picture after the residents came.  The theme was Million Dollar American Princesses, Part II.   I ordered another book on the subject which ended up being my favorite of the four I bought.  If this is a fascinating subject for you, I highly recommend the book.

Consuelo Vanderbilt is on the cover.  She wasn't hunting for a husband. She had already found a man she loved here in America, but her mother, Alva, was determined to have her marry into British aristocracy.  She married the 9th Duke of Marlborough, which was an unhappy, loveless marriage, but her sizable dowry enabled the Duke to restore Blenheim Palace to the glory that still exists today.  In my three visits to England, I've never visited Blenheim Palace, but it's on my bucket list for a return visit.

As you can see from the above assisted living photo, the tea they provide for the residents is very basic.  It's really similar to a cream tea with a pastry instead of scones and not an Afternoon Tea at all.  It's basic because the residents have just had lunch and aren't hungry for more than a dessert and cup of tea [or coffee].  Since we've just finished studying New York's elite society in the late 1800's/early 1900's I think it would be so nice to plan a 'real' Afternoon Tea for them.  I'm seriously considering volunteering to take on the task.  Will keep you posted.

Valentine's Celebration at The Whitney

Surprisingly, there were only two guests who came to The Whitney for Afternoon Tea on Friday when Valentine's Day was actually celebrated, but we had 18 attendees for Mary Jones' "Aphro-Tea-Siac" tea yesterday at noon, and another 12 guests at 2:00 p.m.  Mary Jones is the proprietary tea blender for The Whitney.   I don't normally work on Saturdays, but I assisted Mary.

The tea was held in the formal dining room of The Whitney.  

Mary shared her love story with the guests, and one of the teas we served was Red Bird, an herbal she blended in his honor.

The guests all seemed to enjoy themselves.  We also served Strawberry Carmel Rose black tea.  I didn't get a chance to take pictures of the four different food courses.

When the regularly scheduled Afternoon Tea began at 2:00 o'clock, I was delighted to see two friends of mine from the church I used to attend - Bill & Suzanne Burke.  They had their wedding reception at The Whitney.

Suzanne posted her pics on Facebook, so I'm reposting them here.

The restaurant was gearing up for a lot of Saturday night diners, so I was happy to leave at 4:30 p.m. and enjoy a quiet, leisure evening at home.  26 guests are scheduled for Afternoon Tea tomorrow - President's Day.  

Happy Valentine's Day!

Another Valentine's Day has rolled around.  Hope you're feeling the love from your loved ones today.

I woke up this morning to a box of Chocolate Covered Cherries [my favorite candy] and a beautiful card from my hubby. [The flowers in the background are from my birthday over a week ago and they're still beautiful.]  

Below is my hubby's and my first Valentine's Day picture taken in 1963.  I was in the 10th grade and he was in the 11th - just kids!  He brought me a dozen long-stemmed red roses.

 Valentine's Day 2020.  What a difference 57 years makes - no resemblance whatsoever!   ;-)

  

~ We had a great dinner at Carrabbas ~

Can you believe the size of this slice of cannoli cake for two.  It was almost a quarter of a cake!  We brought most of it home to savor tomorrow.

Last year on this day, at 11:00 a.m., we were celebrating the marriage of Dave and Lori [our daughter].  The wedding ceremony was at our house.  Happy first anniversary, Dave and Lori!  I baked them a carrot cake.  It's Dave's favorite cake and what I made for the luncheon following their ceremony.

Lori went to visit her daughter, Tiffany, and her two sweet little granddaughters, Evie and Juliette, this week, and I sent a little Valentine's package with her for the little girls.  Lori texted some pics after the girls opened the package.  As a last minute thought I bought a fun Valentine headband to stick in the package and I think the girls liked it.

Tiffany sent me two pics taken today of Evie and Juliette wearing the outfits I sent.  Aren't the girls precious!

Love my daughter, two daughters-in-law, six granddaughters, one granddaughter-in-law, and two great-granddaughters!  [Not to exclude my two sons, one son-in-law, two grandsons and one grandson-in-law.]

Our son, Jeremy, took his little sweetheart, Ellie, to the Daddy/Daughter dance last Saturday.

A surprise package arrived in the mail a couple of days ago from a sweet lady who follows my blog in Fort Worth, Texas.  She recently visited Chip & Joanna Gaines restaurant in Waco, Texas and bought me a tea towel to add to my collection.  Thank you, Frieda!

Wishing everyone a Happy Valentine's Day and heartfelt thanks for taking the time to be a supportive reader of my blog.  Love and hugs to all!

Servant's Life at Meadow Brook

Yesterday my girlfriend, Sandy, and I spent a delightful afternoon at Meadow Brook Hall in Rochester, MI.  It's the home of Matilda Dodge Wilson, formerly the wife of John Dodge [automobile magnate] who died in 1920.  She married Alfred Wilson in 1925 and they built and moved into Meadow Brook Hall in November 1929.  The Wilson's gave the mansion and property to Oakland University who make it available for public tours and events.

If you've followed my blog for any length of time you know I've blogged about Meadow Brook several times [8 to be exact], but I haven't visited the mansion since March 2016 - too long!  

I've gone on a "Behind the Scenes" tour a couple of times but never blogged about it because photography wasn't permitted.  When I read about the "Servant's Life Tour", it was different so I decided to go. 

Sandy and I entered the mansion from the servant's side entrance.  The hour and a half tour began at 11:30 a.m.  We were escorted by a volunteer in maid's attire to the servant's dining room where we filled out a fictitious employment application.   We were told the date was February 8, 1930 - a few weeks after the family moved in.

A volunteer who went by the fictitious name of Mrs. Farley, portrayed the role of the head housekeeper, whose real name was Bernice Whitaker.  I hope Mrs. Whitaker wasn't as rigid as Mrs. Farley who is standing in front of the fire place in the servant's living room.

In the above photo Mrs. Farley was reading some of the applications.  I smiled when one of the men in attendance applied for the position of chauffeur, and said he had previously worked at The Whitney mansion in Detroit!  ;-)  Another fun question on the application was "Can you make a proper cup of tea?"

Since Sandy and I were one of the first to arrive, we had time to look around in the servant's living room.  I didn't see any signs that said no photography, and Mrs. Farley hadn't yet stated there'd be no pictures on the tour, so I took my liberties. I couldn't resist the television Mrs. Wilson provided for her servants with the tiny screen from the late 1940's.  I think that's a record player on the opposite side.

Below is one of the maid's uniforms, and in the display case on the table are examples of collars and cuffs that would have been worn on the uniform and soaps used for cleaning them.  Mrs. Wilson provided the uniforms that she ordered from Saks Fifth Avenue, but the maids were responsible for getting their own collars and cuffs.

I'm kicking myself for not taking a picture of the dining room.  A large rectangle table and sideboard were in the room.  The table could probably seat 12 servants when fully extended. There were 50 servants so they had to eat in shifts.   

Christmas was wonderful for the servants.  Mrs. Wilson personally set the table for their Christmas dinner with her good linens and china.  Everyone got a poinsettia for their room, and a turkey if they lived off site.

Above is a photo of some of the staff.  The servants worked 5 1/2 days a week, and their pay was based on the importance of their job.  There were no pay raises until after six months of employment.  The matriarchal system was used rather than patriarchal.  The only room in the mansion under male control was the dining room run by the butler.

Mrs. Wilson was in her office on Mondays between 11:00 - 12:00 for the servants to place supply orders needed for the following week. 

Each maid had their own private 9 x 11 bedroom with a sink, but they had to share bathrooms.  Mrs. Wilson's secretary had a three room suite [bedroom, private bathroom and sitting room] on the same floor as Mrs. Wilson, but in the opposite wing from the family bedrooms.

When we finished the tour, tea and scones were served on the servants porch just off their living room.  [It has been enclosed and winterized since Mrs. Wilson lived in the mansion.]

The price of the event was $35 and well worth it.

A volunteer played the role of the head butler [of which there were two].  Like his counterpart, Mrs. Farley, he shared a lot of interesting information.

In addition to two butlers, there was one head housekeeper, one nanny, two chauffeurs, one head cook [over time Mrs. Wilson had three ladies who filled that role - one German, one Danish, and one French].  There were no valets - Mr. Wilson and sons Danny and Richard dressed themselves.  Mrs. Wilson had a Ladies' Maid who was also her close confidant. There were two housemen [maintenance workers], a head gardener, a switchboard operator, and a kennel manager [the family raised Pekingese dogs].

Two volunteers in the flower room located in the servant's area.  

The maid on the right [above photo] escorted us from the servant's area down the long hall [pictured below] to the gift shop.

I purchased a tin of tea.  There were two choices: Earl Grey and English Breakfast.   It is blended for Meadow Brook by Oliver Pluff & Co. of Charleston, S.C.

Then Sandy and I left through the main entrance of the mansion.  If you live in the area and like history, I highly recommend this tour.  Sandy and I really enjoyed it.

And last but not least, I have to show you the cute pair of socks Sandy brought me!