Poetry In A Pot Of Tea: August 2011

Monday, August 29, 2011

Last of the Summer Ferns~

I am sharing a special cup and saucer this time...not merely lovely, but a reminder of a life well lived, and sadly cut short by a drunk driver. I only have one of these teacups, and I take care to use it gently. I'm sure you know what I mean. I enjoy all my cups but there are those I would not be heartsick if someone dropped them, and then there are the treasured teacups.

This delicate china cup and saucer belonged to my sister's dear mother-in-law. It is white with a soft dove grey band. The edges are lined with silver, and there are elegant fern fronds scattered on the bottom.

I really like the silver edging as a happy change from the typical goldleaf on many cups.

The bottom of the cup has 'Fernwood' and 'Noritake' marked on it~

My sister graciously gave me one of her mother-in-laws teacups that I might think upon her when I used it. So, I thought of Inez today as I sipped my tea and wished we could have shared a cuppa.

I enjoy seeing the fern leaves through the tea and lace on the table~~

I had fresh watermelon and berries, a half sandwhich, and one of my new favorite indulgences~ A Fiber One Brownie which is only 90 calories and has 5 grams of fiber. Can't beat that!

And look who joined me. Isn't she the sweetest? She is having tea too!

I love the detail on her. She is wearing a darling green sweater...wish I could knit something like that. (Honey Bunny "Let's Have Tea")

The Hydrangea blooms from the bush in our yard have air dried nicely.

Love my straw fedora, and it will soon be time to swap it out for something made of tweed or felt wool~

I'd love for you to join me. I have more of everything and there are plates to spare. Alas, you'll have to use another teacup pattern. I only have one Fernwood teacup, just as there was only one Inez. She is remembered~ Which reminds me that we are each unique and precious. Psalm 139:13-14.

I am sharing this teacup post with:

MARTY'S http://astrollthrulife.blogspot.com/

Lady Katherine's Tea Time Tuesday

The Plumed Pen's Tea for Two

Rose Chintz Tea Time Tuesday

Martha's Favorite Teacup Tuesday

A Breath of Fresh Air's

and Silken Purse's

Teapot and Tea Things

Artful Affirmations Teacup Tuesday

Sweetology's Tea Time Tuesday

Miss Spencer's Teacup Thursday

Saturday, August 27, 2011

Juicy Pink!

Happy Pink Saturday! I hope all in the path of Hurricane Irene remain safe and sound~

Todays 'pink' is actually a shopping bag. My daughter had to spend an entire day at the UC campus registering for her first-ever college classes. The Writing classes (all 63!) were full. The Math class she needed was full. Ugh! It was time consuming and frustrating. While she was poring over the computer and talking with an advisor, hubby and I went shopping. She will be carrying a netbook with her to school and needs a new purse. I have a good handle on her likes and dislikes so we wandered around the shops scouting out prospects. The purse was to be a surprise and a sort of a 'Good luck in college/Back To School' gift.

I discovered a charcoal colored cloche at Anthropologie I almost bought for myself. I think I may return to buy it! I adore Fall and Winter clothing...trench coats, boots, jackets, scarves, sweaters & hats. Not quite my taste, but fun was their pink Feline Fedora and deep pink Newsboy cap~

and

My husband and I shared a delicious spinach stromboli for lunch, then it was back to the hunt. As I browsed in the Juicy Couture store I spotted it! The perfect purse for my daughter. And, it was on sale! With grades like hers she deserves a treat so we bought it. This is the bag her purse was nestled in~

And here is the bag our Freshman will be carrying~

This bag is called the 'Daydreamer'...which won't be happening too often for my daughter once classes begin! lol~

I like the bow on the end. The inside is, wait for it........TARDIS blue! My daughter is a Whovian. :)

The floral image at the top is a free Graphics Fairy design.

Sharing this post with Beverly at Pink Saturday~

Monday, August 22, 2011

Teatime Picnic~

A no-reason-to-hurry afternoon is such a treat. I hadn't made Corn Scones in a while so I thought it was the perfect day to bake up a batch and have a simple picnic tea outside. My daughter asked for Cream Scones last night so I made a batch of those as well....we'll eat them for breakfast the next couple of mornings with ripe strawberries. I love adding dried sweet cherries to the Corn Scones but did not have any in the cupboard today. No worries! You can use dried cranberries instead or go without.

Corn Cherry Scones~

Sift 2 cups all purpose flour, 1/2 teaspoon each baking soda & salt, 1 tablespoon baking powder, 2/3 cup sugar (I used turbinado), and 1 and 1/2 cups medium grind cornmeal into food processor bowl.

Stir. Add 2 sticks unsalted butter cut into cubes.

Pulse half a dozen times. Butter pieces should be the size of small peas.

Place corn mixture into a bowl. Now is the time to add dried sweet cherries or cranberries. Mix. Make a well in the center of mixture.

Pour 1 cup buttermilk into the well. Mix briefly with a spoon. Dough will be stiff and sticky.

Let rest 5 minutes. Shape into 2 and 1/4" balls; place 2" apart on parchment lined cookie sheet. Preheat oven to 425 degrees, then turn to 375 degrees as soon as you place scones in the oven.

Bake for 12 minutes. Turn pan in oven, bake an additional 8-10 minutes. Do not overbake. Serves 13-15. Cool on rack.

Mmm....the kitchen smells divine! Now to make tea. Since I will be going outside for a solo unfancy teatime, I will be using an unconventional 'teacup'. I am using my new Teazer Thermal Tea brewer by Liquid Solutions, which is unbreakable and keeps my tea warm for awhile. I found it at TJMax for $7.99. It is BPA free and stainless steel, and made by a company which is environmentally aware. I went back and bought several more because they are so convenient to use.

There is a removable stainless basket inside for your loose tea. Once the tea is steeped, remove the basket and discard leaves. Press sipping lid onto the Teazer, then screw on the outer lid to commute or travel outside. ~

I grabbed a quilt, my big book of Shakespeare and some sketch books. I also brought out the scones.

I could smell the Basil growing in the standing planter behind me. Fragrant!

The tiered server is so handy. I painted it hunter green some time ago and attatched a silk leaf vine. Look who joined me....

Winnie the Pooh and Piglet are also having a Picnic Tea!

The scones were delicious with my tea. I read for a bit, then did some sketching while I listened to the sounds of the neighborhood...a bird, a distant train, the sound of the summer ice cream truck playing CampTown Races. ~lol~

Hope you have a wonderful week, as many head back to school~ Aha! Another excuse for a tea party.

This cup would look right at home with a picnic~ although I chose to use my Teazer today. It is by Crown Trent China Limited and is a sunny yellow with gardening motifs.

Here is the bottom~

The inside has a beautiful blue butterfly just under the rim~

Here is the opposite side of the cup. The handle has "Tea In The Garden" written down the length of it~

I am sharing this post with;

Kathy~ http://blissfulrhythm.blogspot.com/
Marty~ http://astrollthrulife.blogspot.com/
Martha~ http://www.marthasfavorites.com/
Terri~ http://artfulaffirmations.blogspot.com/
Wanda Lee~ http://silkenpurse.blogspot.com/
Pam~ http://breathoffreshair-paperbutterfly.blogspot.com/
Wanda Lee~ http://theplumedpen.blogspot.com/
Trisha~ http://sweetology101.blogspot.com/
Lady Katherine~ http://ladykatherineteaparlor.blogspot.com/
Miss Spenser~ http://missspensersblog.blogspot.com/

Saturday, August 20, 2011

In The Pink~

Happy Pink Saturday! My daughter has spent the summer learning to drive while I sit in the passenger seat keeping a civil tone in my voice and offering 'helpful tidbits', as my husband likes to call them. I've even managed not to gasp, although she did catch me gripping the seat and asked me if I was ok! She is now venturing further from home, and today I suggested a trip to Wootens so we did not simply drive around without a purpose. Of course, just because Wootens is one of the most fully stocked scrapbook stores had nothing to do with the choice of destination! ~lol~ You believe me, right? I figured I deserve a little incentive for being such a good driving coach! I purchased some pretty paper and a nifty Smash stick from K & Company. The Smash stick is a pen on one side and a glue stick on the other...perfect for keeping odds and ends in a journal. (more about that later)

The paper with the stacked teacups is by Webster's and is called Ladies & Gents Teatime. It has lush looking roses on it. The center paper is a design by Renae Lindgren for Creative Imaginations. It has has tiny roses and pretty hats on the reverse side. The sheet on the left is Through The Looking Glass by Reminisce and has tiny pink teacups and teapots on the backside. Each of these were new to me so I had to add them to my tea themed paper collection!! I was really good though, honest! I also bought a sticker sheet by Echo Park called Apothecary Emporium~

Then I walked back out to the car ready to brave the roads again. I did not even look at the stamps, inks, ribbons, etc!

It is almost that time of the month when ....stop that, you don't even know what I am going to write! ~lol~ It is almost that time of the month to change the flowers on my mail basket. One of my dearest friends created it for me. It is made of tin and has different flowers for each month of the year that attatch magnetically. I love the four seasons and enjoy decorating for various holidays. It just is so fun to mark the changing months, and she couldn't have chosen a more perfect gift for me to keep in my scraproom!

Isn't it delightful? I keep all my cards, letters and notes from her as well as cards from scrappy and blog friends. Each month I change the flowers and I keep it where I can see it every day. Isn't this big pink bloom gorgeous? September's flowers are black and yellow sunflowers~

Sharing this post with How Sweet The Sound~ Pink Saturday~

Friday, August 19, 2011

October frame of Mind~

Want to play with some amazing goodies for free? Want to be featured on one of the fastest growing scrapbook communities? Bella Creations is holding a call for a guest designer for the month of October. Click on the link above for all the details and criteria~

And speaking of October, I have been counting down the days until Fall...oh, we have a ways to go here in southern California! lol~ We will have summer weather until mid October. But to indulge my itch for autumn I have been making cards~
This one is Ranger alcohol ink on glossy paper, then stamped with a spiderweb. I cut the center plaques with my Cricut. The candle is stenciled using Distress Ink and my Zig H2O pen. I masked the candle, then stamped the Music Score over it.

This one was so fun to create! I stamped the girl images and fussy cut them. I used Ranger Distress Inks on glossy paper for the background, then stamped the spooky tree. The moon is masked~

I got to play with my new Tsukineko Walnut Ink on this next card! I made a 'Z' shaped card, matted printed paper with plain Bazzill cardstock for each segment. Then, I masked a moon using Distress Ink on a manila tag. I spritzed the moon scene with Tsukineko Java and also colored the grungeboard tree with it~

I've got three more to share with you tomorrow!

Monday, August 15, 2011

Raxacoricofallapatorian Tea!

It all started with a mug. The moment I laid eyes on it I knew I was taking it home!

In fact, I knew I was taking two home with me so Miss R (our tea drinking soon-to-be college girl) could share a pot with me. Look what is written on the front....Where there is Tea there is Hope. Is that not perfect?! ha ha~ It certainly is for me, as I feel this way! And on top of the humorous quote was the fact that it is TARDIS blue.

For those who have not watched Doctor Who on BBC, the TARDIS is the time machine the Doctor and his companion travel inside. The original series began in 1963. My family and I really like the series filmed from 2005-2009. There is an episode that aired in December 2005 where the Doctor regenerates, his appearance changes, and he becomes the 10th Doctor. In that episode he is sleeping for a good part of the show as his body finishes the process of regeneration. Stay with me here, I know this is sci-fi geekery, but if you got to know the Doctor you'd see why I get a kick from this next part! So, some big bad aliens invade London! The Doctor's companion, Rose, along with the Tardis, is brought onboard the Sycorax ship. In the nick of time, the Doctor awakens after inhaling tea vapors from a thermos that had spilled near him and saves the day!!

He later said, "Tea! That's all I needed! Good Cup of tea! Superheated infusion of free radicals and tanin, just the thing for healing the synapsis." ~ I knew he was my kind of guy!~ lol

With the perfect quote and color of these cups I figured my daughter and I would have a Doctor Who themed tea time. I have a fresh tin of matcha so we decided to make green tea shortbread in honor of the green aliens from Raxacoricofallapatorias called the Slitheen.

~Green Tea (Slitheen) Shortbread~

Sift 2 cups all purpose flour and 2 tablespoons powdered green tea together. Add 1/2 teaspoon salt. In a separate bowl, cream 2 sticks unsalted room temperature butter.

Stir flour mixture lightly into butter. Add 1/2 cup powdered sugar, stir. Do not overmix.

Chill for 30 minutes~

Roll on floured surface to 1/4 inch thick and use cookie cutters of your choice. We used stars for our sci-fi teatime!

Place on parchment lined baking sheets. Bake 15-18 minutes at 325 degrees. Rotate cookie sheet halfway through baking time.

These are not too sweet and have a light as air texture....mmmm! My daughter drizzled a few of them with a basic vanilla icing. Then we set the kitchen table for tea.

Fans of the Doctor will recognize a couple of the additions to our table setting~ there is a British cracker (from the same episode I mentioned above) as well as the Tardis key on a chain! A tiny Dalek also found a place near the tea tin. Guess he felt comfortable there, both being made of metal and all!

~ ha ha~ Notice the Thermos? We decided on a full bodied English Breakfast from Grace Rare Teas called Winey Keemun. It is a fabulous tea any time of day.