Tea Kit

DD#1 brought me two tea kits from the train trip in India. How cute it that? How lovely would it be to have tea kits given out while traveling? 

I

I’m going to make myself a “tea kit” to carry in my purse and one for my knitting bag! Maybe I’ll get creative and alter an Altoid tin and use it. I do like stevia in my tea, but I think I can fit my stevia tablets in a tin. Oh, I’m so excited at the idea of a new project!

I have been stewing over making handkerchiefs and having a difficult time hemming the edges. Hate the quarter inch turned edge sewn by hand or machine. I am working on hand rolling the edge of the last one. I like the look, but what a pain. I must not be doing something right. I’ll either search the web for directions or go through the books I have….. I think the web is quicker!

I did want to get a picture of my great Aunt Mary’s gypsy girl napkin holder. I am feeling very nostalgic these days and pulled her out. I remember her on my Aunt Mary’s table. Ah, life goes by at the speed of light!

Next on my list is to find some aprons. I wish I had some of my mother-in-laws aprons. She would pack one when ever she visited us. I was puzzled at first thinking my house must not be as clean as she liked! Then I found that she always liked to be busy and after raising 4 boys (my DH is the baby) she liked to just jump in and help. I had 2 kids while she was alive and it was always wonderful to have an extra pair of hands. She was planning on coming to help when our third baby came but sadly she passed before my DD#2 was born. I will always pack an apron when visiting my kids!

cheers!

Tea in India

Well, DD#1 is back from her trip to India. Lot’s of scary tales of cars running over her foot, to an incident concerning her head, a rock and a rock slide. However, not counting the bronchitis she came home with, she did bring back wonderful stories of people and places and “eatables”.

She took me via my “Flat self” along. Here I am in the Himalayas.

Here is an interesting advertisement for Lipton.

Yeah, and there are way too many monkeys in the northern part of India!

My card reader is missing in action or I would post a picture of the Tea Kit they give out on the trains. How lovely is that? 

Anyhoo, the house is still in post travel chaos, but slowly laundry is being washed and put away. There is only 4 weeks until moving back to college. Wow, the summer is flying past!

Cheers!

Hello old friends!

Yes, it’s been awhile. Computers! Arg!

Anyhoo, I have pictures to share. Let’s start with the oldest.

Our tea with neighbors.

It was a lovely Blue Willow day.

Next are two of my dollar store finds! I need a bag for every project or they get lost. I found these in several “Bikini Bottom” prints and solids. Now, almost all summer projects have a bag!

I’ll insert a cool flower that bloomed. DD#1 received these flowers from the “best boyfriend in the world” before heading off to India. This one “artichoke” looking thing didn’t open until 2 weeks after she left. Very Star Trek looking.

Now for the Pot Sock I did. I have several cast iron pans and needed a hot pad for the handles. I made these and will post the pattern for it in a day or two. Very quick with double stranded kitchen cotton. 

And lastly, I made a felted wine bag. What a fun project. I think I’ll sell these around town. I used Patons SWS yarn which is wool and soy. One ball. 

Here it is before felting.

And after the washing machine magic!

 

 

I loved the stripes! I blocked it with a 1-liter soda bottle. Boy, felt is fun!

Ok, that’s it for now. I have more tea menus to post as well as some knit patterns. I’ll get to work on those now!

Cheers!

The difference between biscuit and scone

I thought we would think about the difference between biscuits and scones today. 

I ran across a magazine clipping from 1988 I had saved on biscuit vs. scone. 

The obvious is that in England a biscuit is a cookie and an American biscuit in England would be thought of as a scone.

So for our purposes we will confine the conversation to scones and their American cousin the biscuit.  

You will note that scones and biscuits are prepared the same way. I have made them as drop biscuits, rolled and cut into triangles, rolled and cut into hearts and just plain round shapes. They are not eaten the same way however, as we talked about before. I prefer my southern biscuits split in half, slathered with butter and dripping with honey with the top back on. Yummmmm. Scones I like bite sized with Devonshire cream on top.

I love scones and tea anytime of day. It is a lovely thing to make for a quick treat when a friend comes to visit. 

Cheers!

How to eat Scones

Every tea I have given and every tea house I have enjoyed have had scones offered. I love scones especially with Devonshire cream. I have found that people new to the idea of “taking tea” do not know how to eat scones. It’s funny to think that we don’t know how to eat something! Especially a food as simple as a biscuit. But, there is a feeling of “proper” eating when a teapot is in front of you! 

In my humble opinion, one either breaks off a bite sized piece and spreads something on it, or if a smallish size, slices it in half (like a biscuit) and places the spread of choice on top and eats it in biscuit fashion. I discourage replacing the two halves back together and eating it sandwich style. 

I have seen the lovely scone ignored on the tea table. Perhaps it is this lack of understanding that keeps it from being enjoyed. Perhaps it is because it is eclipsed by the other food. Think about those saucy little sandwiches cut into shapes or open faced goodies looking so inviting. Let’s not forget the sweets all beautiful and taunting us to start with them! Ah, the scone has a hard time competing with all the other “fancy” foods. That is why I like to invite someone for “Tea and Scones”. I can still use my tiered serving dish it is just filled with several scones and perhaps strawberries or grapes on top. After all, having a friend over for tea is not about dazzling them with your china or tea stuff. It is about sitting down and visiting. The lovely scone is perfect for a quiet moment alone or with someone. 

Check the sidebar for my favorite scone recipes. 

Cheers!

Giving a tea

On Saturday I helped give a birthday tea for the dearest woman who is like a second mother to me! There were eight friends from her bridge club. My mother set up a buffet of goodies and I poured tea .

The birthday girl in the lovely white jacket.

Hats are always lovely at a tea!

The following day I had a delightful soiree for the cast of Oh What a Lovely 
War. We had a beautiful tea with a beautiful day on the deck. There was even wading in the river.

 

I never took an inside picture. Oh, well, I will post the recipes for several things I served later.

Today, with DD#2 on Cumberland Island for 5 days, DH and I took the canoe up the river.

Action picture of DH.

In case those that know me well don’t believe I was out of doors, here’s proof. Note the lovely pedicure.

 

Here is a shot of our little dam behind our house.

Tracks on a bank. In the sunshine are blue heron and in the shadow racoon.

Storm damage.

OMG! What is dead on the bank?  The sad remains of a hobby horse.

We rounded a corner and saw this.

A closer look. It was a party of butterflies!

But what were they doing?? HMMMMMMM. It IS springtime. You can guess.

Then we came upon the Fairy village. 

Approaching the end of our romantic paddle. 

This whole beautiful river is behind my house. Life is good!

Now to find the recipes to post for your enjoyment!

Cheers!