Mondays are for Grace

"Much good happens in the space where nothing is happening."

-- Christa Wells

The Tea Trolley: This Week

The tea trolley week began last Saturday with a morning visit from a friend. What to make? I spied these vanilla donut waffles on Pinterest and thought they sounded good. Yes they were! Not too sweet, nicely spiced (plenty of nutmeg) and the right size too! Next time I think I'll just use the gluten free pancake mix from Costco and add nutmeg and glaze!

My friend and I enjoyed several teas: Jasmine, maple and....hmmmm....I can't remember!

It was also a real treat to be the recipient of these lovely tulips which graced the trolley and then my sink top all week.

Sunday found several children and myself completely loaded with the cold and cough. That meant we stayed home and did online church accompanied by lots of tea.

For Sunday lunch there was roast turkey breast, sweet potatoes with lime and cranberries, mashed potatoes, roasted carrots and onions and salad with spinach, blackberries, and kumquats (kumquats are such a beautiful and tasty addition to a winter salad).

And there was even an apple, raisin, and fresh cranberry pie. The only sad thing is that I cooked the pie at the same time as the turkey and the crust was infused with turkey aroma. Sigh. I've never had a pie disturbed in this way before.

My Knitting Club girls were here on Monday and it just happened to be one of the girls' birthday! Cake was in order!

I feel so out of practice with gluten that I opted for a sponge cake recipe and weighed out the ingredients. Fortunately, it worked!

 Christina hosted a friend and I for our annual January Christmas tea. Such a treat to be served things such as chocolate mousse, oatmeal cookies, and beautiful fruit. We enjoyed decaf black tea with fresh mint leaves added (I invested in a $2 bunch of mint this week. It is so large that there is plenty to share. Fresh mint in black tea is an excellent way to beat back the winter blues.)

We pretty much laughed our way through three hours of visiting. One laugh being when Janet and Christina pulled out their copies of Yarn Farming simultaneously. If only I had brought the copy I had just picked up from the library we could have had a triplet picture!

We tried this Red Cabbage and Snap Pea slaw this week and it was delicious! I am not a fan of making salads so I need new inspiration all the time.

The Trolley was busy this morning serving Jasmine/Rose and Maple tea for a friend who will be getting married soon. We were discussing flowers -- a lovely topic in the middle of January. I sprinkled some cinnamon and cardamom on these oranges and drizzled a little honey on top to make a starch-free treat.

Well, there is more snow falling as I type! What a beautiful winter we are having!!!! It's about time for some more tea too! Happy Weekend!

Words and Wool

Now that my magic cake shawl is finished I've turned back to a long-term project of mine: a Japanese-type flower granny square that I'm hoping to make into a blanket for my bedroom. The colors will be just perfect! I've made more progress in the last week than I've made in a year on it so I have hopes that I can finish this before spring!

 We had our monthly meeting of my Girls' Knitting Club here on Monday (12 girls and 5 moms sitting in a circle to share their current projects and lives!!). One of the other leaders brought her current crochet project -- a blanket made of these flowers! How fun is that?! Definitely tempted to try one of my own! Maybe a pillow size would be a better idea for me!

And the same friend made these adorable gingerbread men for her relatives using an old wool coat of her mother's that I helped her felt. The ornaments came out so nicely! And won't they be special because of the connection with their aunt, grandma, etc.

As for reading, I really have far too many books started! But, I guess that's because there are so many good things out there to read!


Beatrix Potter's Gardening Life: The Plants and Places That Inspired the Classic Children's Tales by Marta McDowell is a brand new book that is so, so good!!!! If you like Beatrix Potter, or gardening, or painting, or England, or all of those, you will really enjoy this book. It's full of photos of Beatrix's gardens, sketches and paintings Beatrix did of various flora and fauna, and lots of information on what Beatrix planted. The book has both a biography section centered around gardens as well as a seasonal section focused on what would be happening in Beatrix's gardens throughout the year. This will be on my list to own!


Holy Is the Day: Living in the Gift of the Present by Carolyn Weber is the most recent book she's written following Surprised by Oxford: A Memoir. Carolyn's writing is easy to read, thoughtful, and easy to identify with. She chronicles the ups and downs of daily life, parenting, working, dealing with the past, and the theological lessons she learns along the way.


  The Iron Peacock by Mary Stetson Clarke was an excellent juvenile historical fiction that the children and I recently finished. The writing gripped us and we were always eager for the next chapter. The book is set in the 1650's in the Massachusetts Bay Colony and shows what it was like for an indentured servant to live in a community whose life centered around the Iron Works.

And now I think I'll take a moment to do some more reading before I head off for dinner prep!

For more ideas of books and knitting, visit Ginny's Yarn a Long.

Please note: this post contains affiliate links.

The Tea Trolley: Pop Up Tearoom

The idea of a "pop-up tearoom" has always interested me. Have you heard the term? It's a tearoom that "pops up" for an afternoon, or a weekend, in someone's private residence or similar location. In fact, in Britain, they even have "pop-up charity (second-hand) shops"!!! 

A pop-up is a good option for me because I love serving tea but I could never fathom operating my own tearoom. So, when a long-time friend of mine found Mr. Right after waiting and wondering for nearly 15 years, I thought a pop-up tearoom would be a perfect way of celebrating!

With help from all my family, I rearranged my dining room to fit three small tables and a children's table and we concocted a menu of delicious tea treats, taking a bit of inspiration from shared visits with my friend to Alice's Tea Cup in NYC.

I had just enough of my "Friendly Village" winter scene china to set the tables (a few random pieces rounded it out).

We did the traditional tier method -- sandwiches, scones, sweet treats.

Sandwiches: Christina's Famous Smoked Turkey with sundried tomato and basil mayonnaise, open-faced cucumber with herb cream cheese, and coronation chicken salad inside croissants.

Scones: Brown Sugar, Cranberry-Orange, and Double Chocolate Cherry.

Sweet Treats: tiny brownies with frosting and candy cane dust, filo shells with cream and berries, mini chai cupcakes (insanely good), gingerbread men, mince pies, and pecan pie bars.

The treats were enjoyed with three teas: African Black, Market Spice's Cinnamon Orange, and my own concoction called Bride's Bouquet (a mixture of rose black and green jasmine).

Thanks to my mom for working tirelessly to help me! And Christina who loaned recipes and equipment and Emily who insisted on coming over to help me bake everything!

I had to make these shortbread cookies in the shape of teabags for favors. Michael created the teabag "tag" with a picture of the bride and groom!

And there were boxes of tea to take with the cookies.

And I couldn't resist making these fabric play teabags for the adorable nieces of the bride.

There were drinks upon arrival -- sparkling juice and Italian coffee creams

The coffee creams were made with a new Italian coffee soda from World Market.

And the pop-up tearoom was enjoyed by all!!!!

As this was a success, and the tables fitted in my kitchen, I'm sure this won't be the last time I try a pop-up! I'd even be tempted to try a pop-up thrift sale too!!!

Mondays are for Grace

"Grace is no nibbler.

It swallows and carries us whole.

Often, it takes us where we don't want to go,

only to help us realize that's exactly where we need to be.

And that there, our wants are filled."

-- Carolyn Weber

A few good sermons recently found:

Work Out What God Works In -- Eric Alexander

Going On To Maturity -- Tim Challies

The Tea Trolley: Keeping Warm

With the temperatures up about 60 degrees (F) from where they were on Monday and Tuesday, our snow is nearly gone! Green patches are spreading across the yards and the roads are mercifully clear again.

I feel very thankful to have considered this past week an extra vacation week as we have been able to actually enjoy being home and not be worried about broken pipes, no electricity, or sick children. And tea was certainly our remedy for the cold.

Here is a cozy scene from Thursday when I first ventured out of the house and down a few doors to my neighbor's. She had a fire blazing in the hearth and tea things set up on a tray. (Do I need to tell you she spent several years of her life living in England?)

The tea trolley has been living in front of our fireplace (since we don't have any more wood) and this makes it easy to pull out whenever we want tea in the living room.

Before the second snow hit last weekend another friend managed to drive over and enjoy the remains of the bridal shower food (next tea trolley post).

We tried some new Earl Grey and a Herbal Fennel mixture. The Earl Grey was so delicious that I'm going to hunt some down next time I go by our local health food store.

I substituted gluten free pancakes for gluten free scones. Perfect! All the better with strawberry preserves and leftover "clotted" cream.

Sunday was the day much of the snow fell. Church services were cancelled and we camped out in the living room all day for online church, reading, and sipping tea. Round after round of tea graced the trolley. I started with White Pear which is a luxury! It was also a luxury to be able to sit in my chair all afternoon and read good books.

Sunday rest time brought another round of tea and cute little Polly sitting on the sofa with her basket of books.

 When I bring my tea upstairs to my own special hidey-hole, I usually place is on this chest in front of the window. Bad idea this week! The draft in the window was ferocious and the tea would have been cold in no time!

Another afternoon the children were busy so I brought my lunch upstairs once again and lit one of my candles.

And here is a tea party for Dolly that Laura set up in the front room:

 The winter brings the most amazing skies. I can hardly get enough of them and photos never capture them in all their glory.

I suppose life will be back to its general hubbub next week! The tea trolley has four appointments to look forward to (and thus four occasions to report on!). Happy Weekend!