Saturday Tea Time

The sugar spoon was a gift from my Grandma Pooh...it has a tiny teapot on top.

 Isn't it adorable?

This Saturday the ladies had tea time at Blessing Farm. While Hubby took the boys off the a local historic plantation for a Civil War re-enactment, meeting some friends there, and having a literal "blast" (I hear there was quite a bit of cannon fire), the ladies gathered at home for the genteel practice of having tea.

I got up early and ground some white wheat to make my family's favorite Bran Muffins (recipe below), and they turned out moist and scrumptious (it's a good recipe, you should try it). Ladybug had talked me into buying some lemon cake at the grocery store after our Antique Mall trip the night before (it was the same price to buy the pre-made lemon cake made as it was to buy a lemon cake mix and icing to top it with), so we had that to grace our table as well.

We brewed up a pot of my favorite Earl Grey tea (decaffeinated, since the children were drinking it with us), and the girls helped Nanny set the table with their little tea sets and our "grown up" one (another delightful Antique Mall find using my Christmas gift certificate from Bubba...two beautfiul tea pots, four scalloped edged serving plates, and a matching creamer and sugar dish). We each had a cup and saucer (they are from Ladybug's set, a gift from Miss S. on her birthday), a small cake plate (some of my milk glass plates), a tiny spoon for stirring (from...the Antique Mall...I LOVE that place), and a crocheted-edged napkin (a set of four...a gift to Ladybug from Lady L...thank you, Lady L.).

Thankfully, baby Boo decided he wanted a nap (really, he did), so we laid him down in his bed, turned on some sweet classical music, lit a vanilla candle, and sat down to pleasant repast. We started with a prayer to bless the food, then taught the girls how to serve tea using their tiny tea pots. It took some practice, but by the third tiny tea cup, both Ladybug and Firefly were scarcely spilling a drop.

Isn't it adorable that they wanted to use the tiny tea sets instead of regular-sized cups?

I just love Ladybug's pinky finger...soooo refined! ;-)

Nanny and I enjoyed talking with the little girls about delightful little girl things during our time with them. In between our amiable chatting:

• We showed them how to take only half of what your eyes tell you they want, then to ask for more when you are done with that
• We demonstrated how to put their napkins on their laps and use them to dab at their lips when needed.
• Firefly swallowed her tea the wrong way a few times and got to practice the etiquette of coughing into her napkin, face away from the table.
• We practiced NOT talking with our mouth full.
• We explained why it is rude to reach across someone to get something you want, and helped them learn to ask, "Please pass the sugar," and "May I please have another slice of cake" with a sweet voice.
• We taught them what topics are approriate for the table, and which ones are not (though I don't think it is really the girls who need help in this area...at least not at our house. Maybe we will have to include the boys next time!).
• Lastly, we explained how a pleasant expression and an agreeable disposition says more about you than a hundred words can...and how kind words make your company feel welcome.

Here we all are in our dining room, just about ready to start the fun!

Our tea time was a time of learning manners, but also a time of pleasantries and fun. I will cherish the precious memories forever. I am so glad we had our tea time. I can't wait until it is time for the next one. We will have to invite friends next time, so the girls can practice their manners in company.

I hope you have a blessed day...and don't forget to take time for tea in your busy week. You will be glad you did!

Blessings,

Heather

I think Firefly learned the lesson about having a pleasant expression!

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Bran Muffins (modified from the classic All-Bran recipe)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees

Sift together:

• 1 1/4 cup flour (I used 3/4 cup freshly milled white wheat flour, 1/2 cup white flour)
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 tbs. Baking Powder

• 1/4 tsp. salt (I used sea salt)
• 1/8 tsp. cinnamon

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Put 1 1/4 cup milk in a different bowl
Add 2 cups bran cereal...you may use All-Bran, but bran flakes of any brand work (I do soak them a bit longer)

Soak for 10 minutes

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Add the following to the soaked cereal mixture:

• 1 large egg
• 1/2 cup chunky applesauce (you may use another type, but this one works very well to make a nicely textured muffin)
• 2 TBS oil
• if available, sometimes I add one diced apple (peeled and cored, of course)

Stir gently, then add flour mixture and mix until combined.

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Spray muffin sheet or line with papers, then fill each 2/3rds full. This works well with either 12 regular or 6 jumbo muffins.

Bake for 15-18 minutes. Test with a toothpick. Muffins will be firm, but the toothpick will not be entirely clean. These muffins are very moist and are delectable for breakfast topped with fresh butter. Enjoy!

Gratitude Challenge---Day Eleven---Good Friends

Today I am grateful for good friends, like my mom and my friend, Lady L. My mother will ALWAYS be my best friend, but since moving here, I have been blessed by God to become friends with several wonderful Christian women, among them, Lady L.

Lady L. is a Christian mother of five, she homeschools, and her husband works two jobs, so he is often gone. That means that the two of us have a lot in common. Aside from that, she likes to cook and sew, she is very sweet, a lot of fun to talk to, and has an extremely generous heart. Lady L. has one daughter, Miss S., who is very close in age to Ladybug, so the two of them are fast friends, too. I called her up last week and asked if they'd like to meet us for tea at the Tea Shoppe in the antique mall in a nearby town for some girly time to celebrate Ladybug's 7th birthday. Happily, she agreed, and we had a marvelous luncheon, delicious dessert, many pots of tea, and then spent several hours walking the aisles looking for treasures, while the girls chatted up a storm (and so did we).

Friends are an awesome blessing from God. Not only does "iron sharpen iron," but friends are also an expression of God's love for us in that I believe He sends us friends at the right time to meet our needs, whatever they may be.

Here are some pictures of our lovely afternoon. Next time, you will have to come along. The food is simply divine...and the company was fantastic. Here's what we ate: Grilled ham and three cheese sandwiches with onions and tomatoes, topped with pineapple and mandarin orange chutney, served with a bed of lettuce, raspberry vinaigrette, and frozen grapes. We tried four different teas: Darjeeling (loved it), Romance tea (loved it), Scottish Breakfast tea (too heavy for me), and Raspberry and Vanilla tea (too light for me). Dessert was a half and half deal of lemon pound cake topped with lemon curd and whipped cream and warm chocolate ganache cake topped with raspberry ice cream and whipped cream. Yum! All delicious, and I think the company was even better than the food. The little girls each had a doll dressed for tea, and they literally drank POTS of tea. They so loved it. I can't wait to go back again. I hope we can make it a tradition to go every six months or so.

We love our local tea room. The proprietor is such a sweet lady, and the decor is so quaint and interesting.

Every table has a unique teapot with a coordinating set of pretty teacups.

Two pretty young ladies, and with such good manners, too!

Ladybug, with my childhood doll, Rosie, and Miss S., with Ladybug's new doll, Jenny.
Me and Lady L....two sets of friends.

 The conclusion of the  first of (hopefully) many outings to the tea room for the girls.

 Mom and daughter photos to remember the day by.

I hope you will tell your friends how much you appreciate them today. Thanks for being MY friend, Lady L.. You're awesome!

Blessings to you,

Heather

Time for Tea

Good friends came over today for a visit from the Bookmobile, a day of play, nice conversation, and dinner. The boys, ages 12-9 played for hours with Tex's "practice swords" we bought him from the Vision Forum catalogue last Christmas. They also shot the bows and arrows, threw slobber balls for Bella, and fed the animals in a sudden torrential downpour (which they seemed to think was FUN). Then they proceded to defeat the "Dark Side" playing some Star Wars game on the computer.

The little ones had fun (ages 1-7) playing dress up inside, playing Reader Rabbit, and loving on (or tormenting, depending on your viewpoint) the new kitten and the bunny. Then the girls (Ladybug, Firefly, and my friend's 7 yo daughter) came in and sweetly asked if we could have a tea party.

Well, that wasn't in my plan for the day, but on the spur of the moment I decided, "Why not?" So my friend, Lisa, and I got out my Baking With Julia cookbook (I LOVE it! I saw the movie Julie and Julia with my mom and I am now a Julia Child fan!) and found a recipe for buttermilk scones. Fortunately, while I don't keep buttermilk handy, I do have Saco's buttermilk powder and that worked fine.

Lisa washed cups and a tea pot, then brewed some Earl Grey (my FAVORITE, Lady Grey comes in second), and I got down a silver tray and made some strawberry butter while the scones were baking (all I did was add some of the strawberry freezer jam I made to Parkay from the tub and voila! Strawberry butter!).

Here is how it turned out:

It's a good thing we made plenty (our final batch was double this amount), because the big boys ate and drank more than the girls did...but don't tell anybody!

Here's the recipe for the scones that I used. Yes, as usual, I adjusted it (*gasp*...did I REALLY adjust a Julia Child recipe? Yes, I did. I did not have lemon zest or lemon flavoring, so I added vanilla and some butter flavor instead. Plus, I have made scones before and found that I like a bit of vanilla yogurt added to the mix for moistness and flavor, so I did that, too.) And guess what? They were GREAT!!

Buttermilk Scones
adapted from Baking With Julia

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees

Ingredients:
3 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1/3 cup sugar
2 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking sodabaking soda
3/4 tsp. salt
1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter (I had to use margerine and it worked fine)
1 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup vanilla yogurt (my change..we like ours chewy and soft...you can leave this out if you like)
1 tsp. vanilla (my change)
1/2 tsp. butter flavor (my change...Julia calls for 1 tbs. lemon or orange zest)

Sift dry ingredients together. Cut in cold butter pieces using fingers or a pastry blender until it resembles coarse cornmeal. Large pieces of butter are fine as this increases flakiness. Combine buttermilk, yogurt, and flavorings, then add to the mix with a fork just until moistened. The dough should be soft. If it is too dry, add a bit more buttermilk. Make a ball with the dough, then press gently on a lightly floured surface and knead briefly (just a dozen times, no more). Make sure you flour your hands, too, so you don't get too sticky.

Cut the dough in half and pat first half into a flat, 1/2 thick circle. I put the remaining dough in the bowl in the fridge while doing this step. Cut your dough into eighths or tenths and place the triangles on an ungreased baking sheet. Melt a half stick of butter in the microwave and brush the tops of the scones with some of the butter (save half for the next batch). I didn't have a brush, so Lisa suggested dabbing it on with a paper towel and that worked fine. Then take your sugar shaker and sprinkle the tops of the scones with sugar (about 2 tbs). I cooked my scones in two batches because my oven is not that good. The batches took about 10 minutes each. Repeat this process with the second batch. The scones should fluff up nicely, but be somewhat firm to the touch and golden. They are gooooood! Dip them in strawberry butter (or, I have added a touch of vanilla creamer to butter for a nice change before) and they are deeeeelish!

Enjoy! Let me know about your tea party...I'd love to hear details and to see recipes.