HI everyone,
Thanks for your sweet compliments on my new hair cut… and those “HIGHLIGHTS” are my gray hairs showing through… my bathroom light made them look golden… almost like it was highlighted… it’s not…
We went to Paducah, Kentucky oday to find a few more things for the wedding… and were gone most of the day… I think we all found one little treasure or two… mine was stickers to use when I wrap my doll dresses I sell so I have something pretty for the winner to see when they get their first look at what they’ve won… I also found 2 items of clothing I’m going to repurpose… kind of lacy like… (what else?)
I received a sweet email from Dorothy (in PA and the world) and I thought this would be fun to share…
“Dear Jeanne,
Hello to the mother of the bride.
I am so happy for you! And I am happy for your daughter also.
As promised, I am sending you this photo of Lila, my Little Darling, peeking from behind the patisserie stand in the tea room.”
“People often confuse Afternoon Tea with High Tea but they are different. Afternoon Tea is a lighter and more elegant meal served earlier in the day, often between 1 and 3 pm. In traditional Afternoon Tea fashion on the patisserie stand, there are sandwiches on the bottom tray, scones in the middle tray, and pastries on the top tray.
High Tea is a heartier meal and served at the end of the long work day, usually between 5 and 7 pm. It might include meat, potatoes, cheeses, vegetables, and crackers. It is associated with the working classes in the UK in the 18th and 19th centuries.
Wishing you a lovely week.
Dorothy (in PA and the World)”
Thank you Dorothy! I didn’t know about the differences in the tea times… so you educated me today and probably some others.
After I read what you said about the 2 different kinds of tea times… I googled high tea vs afternoon tea and then hit images… oh my goodness, what delectable and pretty foods showed up… I loved every picture I looked at!
Your sweet Lila is really and truly a little darling and she looks perfect as the table centerpiece!
See you tomorrow,
Blessings, Jeanne
Jeanne, I remember when my mom (who had light brown hair) was going gray, and she went to get a haircut and perm. The gal who did her hair complimented on her “heavy frost job”!! Of course, we heard about that for weeks! Mom was thrilled that a hairdresser thought her hair color was intentional! (FWIW, I am 75 and still waiting for my first gray hair! I started with white-blond hair, and it got quite a bit darker when I was in my 30s/40s. Mom thought I was coloring my hair, as the back was getting so dark! In some lights, it still looks kind of blond, and sometimes a bit reddish, but it’s more like a light brown now.)
Dorothy, your Lila is just precious, and thanks for explaining the difference between afternoon tea and high tea. I had no idea!
Our Pastor’s mother was originally from England and once I took her and Pastor’s wife to lunch at a local tea room. Penelope and I had a regular lunch, but Dolores (Pastor’s mom) had what they called a “cream tea”–although at the moment I don’t remember what it included. We had a lovely time, though!
Thanks, everyone, for continued prayers. Thru this all, I’ve also been fighting a UTI (my second in about 5 weeks, after never having one before), but I Am starting to feel better. I also had a chance to read the CT scan results (thanks to the online “my chart” feature), and, indeed, there is nothing remarkable about it, other than those little items I mentioned yesterday. No diverticulitis, no enlarged heart, no aneurysm, no cancer….thank you, Lord!! And thanks to my friends and sofa sisters for prayers.
Dear Charlotte, I was going to take along your namesake Charlotte Noelle but she and Selah got into an argument about who is more important a princess (Selah) or a duchess (Charlotte Noelle). They both ended up in time out so Lila was able to go. She loves taking Afternoon Tea.
Thank you Dorothy, for explaining the difference between the two different teas! I see now why the English had to have cooks, or they woud be cooking all day long, with the three main dinners and the two teas!
Lila is darling and I am sure, just waiting for the picture taking session to end, so she can sample a few things!I I love her hair!
In St. Louis, we have a place called The London Tea Room, which has all kinds of teas from London and India, and they serve both High Tea and Afternoon Tea. I have never gone there, but it sounds like fun!
I have replied to Laura in yesterday’s blog, so, Laura, be sure to check that!
Jeanne, two weeks and two days!! Getting closer and exciting!
Hi Linda,
I did see your reply. I actually knew that the Spencer stained from reviews on AGPT. I also thought the heavy wool didn’t seem to work with the light short sleeves . I plan to have that as Milargros spring dress.
Your Josefina is very pretty and it’s nice you have a lot of clothing for her. Yes, those little sets tend to be expensive, but I watch and wait and have been able to find what I want at a price I can pay. After 8 years I’ve finally finished all my retired wants. *whew*
Dear Linda, there is definitely an amount of preparation that goes into hosting an Afternoon Tea. When I have hosted in the past, I got my scones and pastries from a local baker. I made simple tea sandwiches. I prefer taking tea out, though, says the non-cook (laugh).
I see that The London Tea Merchant is in your town.
You are fortunate to have such a tea room close by, Dorothy. Lila is certainly a darling doll. If I end up adopting a Lila doll, I’ll credit you with contributing to the delinquency of an adult!
Alina, I looked up the Ark Church on line and it’s certainly an intriguing building with quite a history. Thanks for sharing the lovely pictures.
Jeanne, the joke’s on me. I sent a note telling about having my hair colored and highlighted for years before changing hairdressers. The new one suggested just a touch up at the roots instead of the whole nine yards every time. I wonder how much I contributed to her child’s college education funds by not educating myself about highlights! I can’t believe that in addition to natural curl, you also have natural highlights! Nobody ever said life is fair, ha, ha.
Dear Susette, I think it is wonderful that you like my Lila because the name given her by Dianne Effner is Suzette! She was the souvenir doll for the meal event of the Modern Doll Club Convention in 2018. Here is a link to information about her.
http://www.thedollstudio.com/dollsale.html
I did not attend the event but I was able to find her for a reasonable price. I gave her the name Lila. I hope you do find a Suzette/Lila. I am happy to serve as an enabler (laugh).
Well, it looks like I’m safe from buying the beautiful Suzette doll! That’s quite a story. The doll was $1500! That’s way out of my price line. You never know though. Maybe someday I’ll find one.
I do have a couple of those stands in different sizes for tea cakes and sandwiches. I’ve used them for serving dessert but also for regular sandwich makings on the island in the kitchen when family visits. Saves space. Also for Halloween dessert setup one time.
I have Josefina and her desk and really like it. I don’t have as many clothes as you have. She’s a lot of fun on Cinco de Mayo. Thanks for sharing your pictures and the story about Suzette, the French spelling, not the Swiss.
Dear Susette, that was her price then. That also included the dress. I got my Suzette without the dress and had one made for her. I didn’t pay anywhere near that price for my doll.
Suzette is really just a Little Darling Sculpt 1 in tan skin with a curly textured wig. I am sure that you could find one on the secondary market. Many people sell their Little Darlings on ebay or FB or through doll clubs. Let me know if you need any suggestions for where to look.
A funny story about “Tea” and Americans not knowing what it could entail…… My husband and I were having an empty nest get-away in northern MN. We stopped at the historic Naniboujou Lodge to explore it. The hostess asked if we’d like tea…. a favorite drink of my husband’s. We said yes and she directed us to the sunroom porch facing Lake Superior. When tea came….. it was a full Afternoon Tea not the cup of Lipton’s we were expecting! There was a whole patisserie stand like Dorothy pictured. Delightful, but we had no idea what we were eating, why it all was included OR how much it would cost us! We decided to enjoy the experience and figured we’d cut back someplace else on our spending. It’s still a wonderful memory for us…. and we weren’t even hungry at suppertime.
I so enjoy the times on the sofa…looking at doll outfits and their incredible construction by Jeanne, wedding photos, hearing about your lives and praying for health.
May you all have a good day.
Dear Linda, thanks for sharing your story. Taking Afternoon Tea is my favorite thing to do! I am glad you have a wonderful memory of teatime.
Just lost my post when I enlarged the tea photo. I’d forgotten that you can’t do that anymore. Wonder if you can fix that problem sometime after the wedding??
I’ve never been a tea person as I probably couldn’t crook my pinky correctly to hold a cup, but the setting is lovely and the star, Lila such a cutie. When I lost my post, I was trying to view the cute teapots in the background. Love the china. 🙂
Hope your finds for the wedding were worth the trip, but I’m sure the companionship was delightful. So what’s left on your to do list wedding wise? or maybe it is all together? Will Karn’s family be coming to town for the wedding? Have you met them yet? Will there be a rehearsal and dinner? Just curious here. 🙂
Talked to sister in law yesterday to see how niece was doing after the brush with the wildfire. Her place in Lake County, north east from us, is directly across the creek from the main part of the fire that burned a mobile home park. I think the count is now about 50 homes lost. She didn’t evacuate because of all of the animals they have. Very rural there. The fire people put out some spot fires around her place while she protected the animals. Her husband, son, and sister, drove up from here to help and were able to get through the lines/traffic. Of course, now they have no power and can’t get gas for the generator. Once you elect to stay in an evacuation zone, you can’t leave and come back. I’m sure they will figure out something as they just butchered a steer and have a full freezer. Such is rural life. Glad they are safe as it could have been far worse, but so sorry for those elderly who lost everything.
Hi Joy,
So nice to hear about the animal rescue efforts. We have a wildlife center close by and also another one in the next town where you can take wild animals for care – baby birds etc. So glad to hear your sister in law and family are safe. So very sad about all the fires.
Btw, to enlarge a photo and not lose your post right click on the photo and scroll down to “open image in new tab”.
Dear Joy, thank you for your sweet words about Lila. I love dressing her.
No one crooks a finger when taking tea. I am not sure where that idea originated.
Tea folks debate “important” topics like whether of not to put milk in the teacup before or after tea or whether to put jam on scones first or to put Devonshire cream on scones first.
All of that is too deep for me (laugh) I say let’s just enjoy the food, tea, and company.
I’ll have to try that. Was so much easier before though. 🙂
If you are looking for afternoon tea books, try an Amazon search for “tea party cookbooks.” Over 1000 books are listed. Not all are tea books, but you do have a choice of over 500. An excellent place to start —
https://www.amazon.com/Afternoon-Tea-Parties-1-blake-susannah/dp/1845977254/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=susannah+blake+tea&qid=1629468834&s=books&sr=1-1
or
https://www.amazon.com/Afternoon-Tea-Susannah-Blake/dp/1845972066/ref=sr_1_2?dchild=1&keywords=susannah+blake+tea&qid=1629468980&s=books&sr=1-2
both by Susannah Blake.
Or try America’s best known tea expert, Bruce Richardson —
https://www.amazon.com/Great-Tea-Rooms-America/dp/0979343151/ref=sr_1_5?dchild=1&keywords=bruce+richardson+tea&qid=1629469142&s=books&sr=1-5
or
https://www.amazon.com/Tea-Table-Savories-Sweets-Elmwood/dp/0966347811/ref=sr_1_6?dchild=1&keywords=bruce+richardson+tea&qid=1629469214&s=books&sr=1-6
There are some beautiful table setting in books by Hoffman Media (Victoria Magazine and Teatime) —
https://www.amazon.com/Christmas-Teatime-Celebrating-Holiday-Afternoon/dp/1940772648/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=teatime+christmas&qid=1629469430&s=books&sr=1-1
and
https://www.amazon.com/TeaTime-Birthdays-Afternoon-Celebrations-Ages/dp/1940772761/ref=sr_1_2?crid=NXM7TOH6K5YE&dchild=1&keywords=teatime+birthdays&qid=1629469521&s=books&sprefix=teatime%2Cstripbooks%2C198&sr=1-2
There must be at least 50 contenders for the ultimate tea book. My first place award goes to
https://www.amazon.com/TeaTime-Taste-Londons-Best-Afternoon/dp/1906506574/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=teatime+a+taste&qid=1629469748&s=books&sr=1-1
And here’s Boulder’s famous teahouse
https://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/boulder-dushanbe-teahouse-boulder
I didn’t have time to comment yesterday, but I read and enjoyed all the wonderful comments. I’ll try to catch up today, but there was so much to comment on and I’m sure to leave something out. I had a lovely treat yesterday. My granddaughter started school Wednesday but my grandson doesn’t start until Monday so he came out with his dad and helped me finally get my garden situation straightened out. He was amazing! Because of my fall a few weeks ago I could not tackle the job and it just kept getting worse and worse, especially with all our rain. Everyone else had something they had to do so it was going begging. Between the two of us we managed to get things back under control again. I am starting to feel much better (I think all my body parts are back in alignment) and I’ll be able to keep up with it now. But I’m definitely going with containers from now on. They require more watering but the more I watered the in-ground garden the more weeds I got. And then when things were looking good, the moles came in and killed the plants.
Jeanne, I love your haircut. And it does look highlighted. I colored my hair – my natural color – until I was 70 and then I decided to just let it go gray. It’s an array of grays which I hadn’t expected. My mother was salt-and-pepper but mine is more platinum with varying darker shades thrown in.
Milargros, what a beautiful name. And I love all her other names too. She is a truly beautiful doll. I always liked the custom of having more than a first, middle and last name. Many other cultures do this Hayley Mills name is Hayley Catherine Rose Vivien Mills. I always thought it was so pretty and honored family members. And then there is Pippilotta Delicatessa Windowshade Macrelmint Ephraim’s Daughter Longstocking (can’t believe I remembered that).
When we were going to lunch today at our favorite Mexican restaurant in downtown Sealy I was looking in the window of the Good Samaritan Resale Shop next door. There were two beautiful little antique looking dolls in the window. The shop is closed until August 23. Hopefully I will remember to stop by and check them out. They looked to be in perfect condition for $5.00 each. I’ll have to send pictures if I buy them and see if anyone knows anything about them.
Charlotte, you continue to be in my prayers. I’m glad the tests showed nothing serious but you still don’t have a resolution so I’m praying for that.
Marilyn, I love the name Rowan Hope. Very pretty and spiritual.
Now for today, Dorothy your Lila looks lovely in her tea time attire. And the food looks so yummy. We’ve been heavily involved in Scottish culture over the years with David once being the Chieftain of Heather and Thistle and I was First Lassie. It was a fun time but the organization has disappeared. So many of the members passed away and we were not getting new members. We don’t even have our Burn’s Supper any longer and that’s unbelievable in a city the size of Houston. I have a friend in the Hebrides in Scotland who always tells me what they are having for High Tea. She just usually refers to it as Tea but when you hear the menu you know it’s High Tea. And my tidbit of information – in Scotland scone is not pronounced with a long “o”. It’s pronounced like scoone. And those things that are in the fields in Scotland are not Highland Cows, they are actually Hieland (pronounced Heeland) coos.
It sounds like arrangements for the upcoming nuptials are progressing nicely. I’ve never been one for long engagements. So many of my friends, when we were young, had long engagements because they and/or their fiancé were in college and they were waiting for after graduation to get married. They often received their engagement rings at Christmas during their junior year. I got engaged in October and married in January and that was long enough for me. Sooner would have been okay but David had his heart set on a skiing honeymoon. I’d never been snow skiing in my life in spite of living near the Poconos. David went to college in Gunnison, CO, so he was really good at it. I’m a much better water skier but he doesn’t like water sports. He got sea sick on a water bike in Hawaii.
Hi Barbara,
Thank you for you sweet comments on Milargros. I like more than one middle name as well. My daughter has two middle names and all my dolls do as well, except Milargros, who has three.
Congratulations on being First Lassie. I would have loved to attend the Burn’s Supper. I have Scottish heritage as well. Love those Hieland coos.
Hope you get those little dolls!
Dear Barbara, I love hearing about Scottish culture. I will have to do a Google search to learn more about being a first Lassie. That sounds like a great honor.
Thanks for your sweet words about Lila. She loves taking Afternoon Tea. She has hot chocolate and cookies.
Being married to a Chieftain is how I became First Lassie. Yes it was an honor. When we joined Heather and Thistle David took over the unexpired term of the Sergeant-at-Arms who was moving. Then he was elected that for a full term. Then he was Sub-Chieftain and then Chieftain. We got to sit at the head table for four years. It was an amazing experience. Sadly the Burn’s Supper disappeared when Heather and Thistle disappeared because it was the officers of H&T that put together the Burn’s Supper. As people rotated out and there was no one to fill their places, the Supper just went away. It was such a magnificent celebration but the last few years they had it attendance was really down. It originally coincided with the Offshore Technology Conference in Houston and companies would buy tickets for their out-of-town/out-of-country visitors. When the date of the OTT was changed that took much attendance away from the Burn’s Supper. I sure do miss it. It occurred around our wedding anniversary and that was how we celebrated for years.
Good morning, everyone! Lovely, cool, windy morning in Salida.
DOROTHY, thank you for the picture that included dear little Lila! Everything “looks good enough to eat” on the tiered server! Before I got married (53 years ago), my father thought I needed a fun trip before the wedding, so during my spring break, a friend and I went to Bermuda for the week, staying at the Hotel Bermudiana. Every afternoon at 4, Pat and I showed up in the elegant dining room for tea, dressed up in afternoon dresses, and tried to very politely and daintily gorge ourselves on all the sumptuous goodies. That was our late “lunch”. A real highlight of the trip.
This past year, our chamber music society had to resort to filming our concerts which were beautifully done, if I say so myself. Because we were not able to treat our loyal subscribers to our annual private appreciation concert and dinner, our artistic director ( who played piano for the Dallas Symphony for years) and her daughter, a professional cellist, decided to film an afternoon tea concert similar to what they did years ago at the Grand Kapinski (now Hotel Intercontinental Dallas). To make this event even more special, we had the board submit tea recipes, and we paired each recipe with a music piece Jo and Camilla were playing. We commandeered an artist to do whimsical drawings and published the program for our subscribers and sold the booklets to non subscribers. I did a lot of research on the practice of tea and came up with a page of what I titled “Tea Tidbits”. The research was fascinating. I purchased two tea cook books that I recommend. “Afternoon Tea: Delicious Recipes for Scones, Savories & Sweets” from “Tea Time Magazine,” and “National Trust Book of Afternoon Tea” by Laura Mason. My main source of information, other than the internet, is a wonderful book, “A Social History of Tea: Tea’s Influence on Commerce, Culture and Community” by Jane Pettigrew and Bruce Richardson. I thought it was a really great read. Our youngest son and DIL have made reservations for of us to have a holiday tea at the Brown Palace in December. Can’t wait! It’s supposed to be amazing.
JOY, I sure feel for your family amidst the fire. Prayers coming their way. I just cannot begin to imagine how awful and terrifying it has to be for them and the animals. Dear God.
LINDA G, I enjoyed your tea story. Thank you ALL for your stories every day.
Hugs,
Sally
Hi Sally,
I really like TeaTime magazine. I’ve subscribed off and on and have most of those back issues. My favorite magazine is VICTORIA. Do you know it? I have the whole collection from 1987 through the current issue. i will never let that one go. Any issue is the perfect “escape” from world craziness, especially when accompanied by a cup of tea, slice of cake, and a warm purring kitty on my lap.
Hi Laura, do you have a kitten? And I have three older kittens, because they are 10-11 years old, but in a week my daughter will bring two black kittens, one of which will be ours and the other will be our daughters. It will be fun.
How fun to have a kitten Alina. Hope your older kitties will cut it a break. Nothing like being the new kitty on the block. Hope to see pictures soon. 🙂
Sally, what a creative way to keep your subscribers engaged and rewarded. While reading your comments I remembered a book that my husband’s mother gave me a few years ago. It is a cookbook called “Tea Time at the Inn”. In the table of contents under High Teas is listed A Chamber Music Tea, The Village Inn, Lenox, MA. No inns are mentioned in Tennessee so I guess I will have to prepare my own, or plan a vacation like Linda’s: )
Dear Sally, Lila and I had so much fun. Not in the photo were my four tea friends. Two of them are doll collectors. One of them collects nutcrackers.
I am glad that you had fun taking Afternoon Tea. It such an elegant experience.
Hi Marilyn and Debbie, Thank you for your sweet comments on my Milargros. I’m glad you’re continuing to do so well, Marilyn, and it was nice to hear about your dolls and their names. Congratulations on getting Felicity. i received Samantha back when my daughter downsized along with a lot of the clothing and some accessories I had purchased for her. She was definitely more my favorite and spent most of her time on the doll shelf, so she came to me in pristine condition. Once I learn adults had dolls, Felicity was my first choice. I absolutely love her collection.
So nice to hear you have a Felicity as well, Debbie. She’s a special girl.
Hi Dorothy,
How lucky you are to have a tea room close by. The one we used to have closed.
Your LD Lila is a sweetheart. I love her hair. She looks hopeful that she will get to have tea sandwich and sweet.
That was weird!
Dear Laura, thank you for your sweet words about Lila. I do have fun with her.
I see that there is a tearoom in Waynesville, Ohio called Remember When. I cannot tell if it is still open or not. The photos look very nice.
We have had quite a few of our tearooms close over the last few years. That is always sad to me.
Thank you Dorothy! I made up my own explanation for the difference. I decided that high tea was for the wealthy class and that afternoon tea was the American version. Thankfully I never said that out loud! Your Little Darling is charming in her tea dress. I am on the long wait for one to arrive. I hope she is as pretty in person as the hundreds of pictures I have looked at for months.
Linda, I am comforted to know that I wasn’t the only one that was confused. What a fortunate mistake. An empty nest vacation sounds wonderful! All of our vacations are to visit the fledglings.
Dear Debbie, we Little Darling people “stay” on waiting lists (laugh). Everyone I know is on one. I too go through a gazillion photos when I am looking for a new Little Darling.
I only have three. Some people in our ning group have thirty or more.
Many years ago when I was in the WRAC (Women’s Royal Army Corps) one of the girls in my barracks was from Scotland. She invited me to her room for a cup of ‘English’ tea. i had no idea what she meant but she explained that in Scotland you never served tea without a biscuit (cookie) or a piece of cake which she didn’t have. The English had no problem with serving tea on it’s own!
Many years later, when we first came to NZ we were invited to lunch by a couple from church. We had a wonderful lunch with lots of food. After lunch we were asked (as you do) if we would like anything else. I said I would love a cup of tea. My hostess looked at me oddly and said Ok I was going to do that later and came out with tea and an enormous array of cakes and biscuits!!!!!!
Further to my comments yesterday, The Delta virus has now reached Wellington so we are still in Lockdown for another 4 days at least. Auckland probably won’t be out before the end of the month but if there are no more cases South of Auckland the rest of us might go to level 3 or (hopefully) level two next week.
Hang in there. Hoping that the Delta doesn’t take hold. It’s everywhere around here. Even some vaccinated have gotten it, but mildly. Those without vax are in the hospital if they have contracted it.
So enjoy hearing from you and learning about life in NZ. 🙂
Dear Anne, thanks for sharing your story. As you note, tea means different things to different people, depending on where one lives. I love to see the old movies set in the UK where folks drink tea. It seems so tied to the human experience.
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