TARDIS Ornament~

It all started last Christmas when my daughter discovered the BBC Doctor Who television series while on break from school. She watched the show that aired from 2005-2009 and loved watching Christopher Eccleston and David Tennant as the Doctor.

Soon hubby and I were  watching these seasons also and enjoying what so many Doctor Who fans have loved for years; we are hopeless 'Whovians" now. Since then, she has watched Doctor Who regularly and now knows more trivia than you can shake a stick at! lol

               

We get her a Christmas tree ornament each year for her birthday that has something to do with her current interest, hobby or passion. She has enough that we bought her her own five foot tree to display them on. You can guess what ornament would be perfect this year, can't you? Yup! A gorgeous blue TARDIS~ We found one online at the BBC store.

She opened it and immediately hung it on her tree in the family room. It looks great! I will write the year on the bottom so she remembers when we gave it to her like I have done to all her other ornaments. It is such fun to get them unpacked every year and reminisce when decorating her tree.

It would be so much fun if Santa brought her a Dalek ornament.

If you have not seen the show, Daleks are arch enemies of the Doctor and reappear throughout the years. Occasionally they are pleasant, but not for long! You cannot trust them. I had a laugh when I saw this clip...

Tea with a Dalek? Um, I'd be looking for an escape route!

All Hallows Eve~

Happy Halloween, or All Hallows Eve! We have been preparing for a festive evening by putting up decorations, roasting pumpkin seeds and carving a jack-o-lantern.  I read a fascinating article about the Christian origins of some of the day's customs~

In an article called Concerning Halloween there is an explanation about how Christians began observing a day to celebrate Saints and mock Satan by wearing costumes.

"...the defeat of evil and of demonic powers is associated with Halloween. For this reason, Martin Luther posted his 95 challenges to the wicked practices of the Church to the bulletin board on the door of the Wittenberg chapel on Halloween. He picked his day with care, and ever since Halloween has also been Reformation Day. Similarly, on All Hallows’ Eve (Hallow-Even= Halloween), the custom arose of mocking the demonic realm by dressing children in costumes. Because the power of Satan has been broken once and for all, our children can mock him by dressing up like ghosts, goblins, and witches. The fact that we can dress our children this way shows our supreme confidence in the utter defeat of Satan by Jesus Christ – we have NO FEAR!

I'm not sure yet what I will wear to answer the door for Trick or Treaters. Should I wear my home made teabag costume?! Yes, I have one! I made it from interfacing...which forms the teabag, and filled it with fallen leaves from the park which is the 'tea'. And for authenticity, I did put some tea leaves inside too.~ lol

We are excited to place the jack-o-lantern on the porch. My daughter printed a pattern from a Doctor Who fan website...of course!

You might remember we love the 10th Doctor. Check out the amazing Dalek she carved.

And here it is all aglow!

                              
                              "Exterminate!!"

Have fun tonight with your families. I am looking forward making some memories, then doing a scrapbook page. Oh! I think I hear the Monster Mash music starting...gotta go dance with my hubby, oops, I mean the wolfman. haha! 

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.

Would you like sugar? Lemon? Do try a Slitheen Shortbread Cookie!

Time to pop the cracker. My daughter and I each grabbed one end and tugged!

And in honor of Rose, the Doctor's loyal companion, I went out into the backyard for a cutting to place next to the Thermos.

The Doctor and Rose~

I am sharing this teatime with~

Rose Chintz Tea Time Tuesday  

Martha's Favorite TeaCup Tuesday  
Tea Cup Tuesday at Artful Affirmations 

Teacup Thursday  

Tabletop Tuesday  

Lady Katherine's Tea Time Tuesday 

Teapot and Tea Things Tuesday 

A Return to Loveliness  

LACE Wednesdays   

Tablescape Thursday
Sweetology
Time Travel with Brambleberry Cottage

Sweets for the Sweet~

I just found out I am the recipient of this blogging award from my sweet friend Kelly! I met her at Scrapbook. com and have been inspired by her design, attention to detail and fabulous sense of humor. Oh, and even better, she is a tea drinker....EXTRA Brownie points, Kelly!! lol~ Visit her blog, Keely Creates, for a peek at her gorgeous scrapbook pages and to get your daily chuckle.

To accept this award I am supposed to list seven bloggers who have inspired me; a tough feat because in this crafting realm which I enter when signing into Blogger, there are dozens of creative, inspirational, and charming blogs written by warm generous women! One of my dearest friends also received this Sweet Blog Award from Kelly, so I will exempt her from the seven for now but she inspires me daily. Patty, thank you for your evergreen friendship. You are a kindred spirit, my 'partner in crime.' Here are my seven choices in no particular order, and I hope you have the chance to visit these blogs. You'll be glad you did~ Miss Kathy at The Writer's Reverie is a joy. Dawn is a mother of nine and makes beautiful scrapbook pages. Pam at Faery Rocks just bought a dress form to decorate her creative space. Angela at Penny Stamper shares vintage images and designs stamps. Terri at Artful Affirmations is visiting England and always shares gorgeous teacups with us. Denise has a new grandson and told me where to find the brick stamp I love to use when I'm inking! Last but not least, I love to visit Altered Alice for inspiration.
Here are some weird, wacky facts about me;
* I love bees and bee skeps...the charm, the industry, the honey! ("Oh, bother!" says Pooh bear) I have kept a bee skep in my yard for the past 20 years, usually sitting in the herb bed. bzzzzz......

* I will not eat sweet pickles...one word, ick! Give me a crunchy dill~ You may all share my portion of sweet pickles on this planet.

* I love good children's books and reread my favorites regularly. You will find copies of The Hobbit, From the Mixed Up Files Of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler, Anne Of Green Gables, Mr. Putter And Tabby Pour The Tea, The Gawgon And The Boy and more on my shelves.

*I studied Urusenke for three years with my wonderful sensei and performed tea ceremonies in public wearing an authentic kimono and obi. I had the priviledge to see the Grand Tea Master when he visited the United States.

* I do not watch much television, but I will sit down to watch David Tennant ~ the 10th Doctor~ in an episode of  Doctor Who.

And guess what? The Doctor drinks tea!!