An Anne of Green Gables Birthday Tea

Dear Friends,

For Tasha's birthday yesterday we hosted an "Anne of Green Gables" tea party with a friend of ours.
It would have been wonderful to have had you there as well, but, since you weren't, allow us to show you what we did in pictures. . .

For the centre piece there was a freshly gathered bouquet of Queen Anne's Lace blossoms--so perfect for the occasion!

 Tasha setting the silverware before we began.

 There were many delicious things to eat that we mentioned in the Anne books including:

 "Anne Shirley’s 'Unpoetical' Sandwiches"

"The girls sat down by the roots and did full justice to Anne’s dainties, even the unpoetical sandwiches being greatly appreciated by hearty, unspoiled appetites sharpened by all the fresh air and exercise they had enjoyed."— Anne of Avonlea

Plain old cherries.

And plain old peaches. 

"Susan Baker's Monkey Face Cookies"

"In a very brief time everything had changed. Walter was in bed, warm, fed, comforted. Susan had whisked on a fire, got him a hot cup of milk, a slice of golden-brown toast and a big plateful of his favourite “monkey face” cookies..." —Anne of Ingleside

More "Unpoetical Sandwiches".

"Diana Barry’s Splendid Lettuce Salad"

“Oh, Anne, mayn’t I help you cook the dinner?” implored Diana. “You know I can make splendid lettuce salad.” — Anne of Avonlea

In the back of the plate can be seen a good-for-you "Anne Shirley's Lady Fingers:"

  "I’m going to have the daintiest things possible. . . things that will match the spring, you understand. . .little jelly tarts and lady fingers, and drop cookies frosted with pink and yellow icing. . ."

— Anne of Avonlea

(What we really ate were coconut-date rolls)

And now here we are going to the party. . .

As a present, our friend brought another bouquet of other beautiful flowers!

 

Hyrum stole a lot of attention with his adorable looks and handsome overalls.

We all donned tea party hats—fancy and un-fancy alike—which added to the party.

After we were finished with the tea, Audrey gave us recitation of "Music" by Percy Bysshe Shelly:

 

"MUSIC, when soft voices die,
Vibrates in the memory;
Odours, when sweet violets sicken,
Live within the sense they quicken.

 

Rose leaves, when the rose is dead,
Are heap'd for the beloved's bed;
And so thy thoughts, when thou art gone,
Love itself shall slumber on."

Our hostess "Anne". . .with almost the hair colour that she wanted. :)

It was such a lovely party and we did have a splendid time.

Thank you for stopping by and enjoying our tea party through the pictures.

Blessings,
Marqueta (. . .and Tasha, who write this post!)

Welcome October~A Pumpkin Tea~

Dear Friends,

We greeted the beginning of another month with another Thursday Tea! Audrey decorated our table with two of our three pumpkins (They didn't do so well this year), and a zucchini for good measure!






We enjoyed an herbal chai (cardamon, cinnamon, ginger tea with milk) with a little elderberry syrup for a little extra sweetness and color (and health benefits!).


We had pumpkin cookies for treats, which Frankie decided would make a great soup with the chai (Consider yourself blessed that we failed to take a photo ;) )!

The girls have found a puffball mushroom in the neighbor's field, which unfortunately was too mature for eating,


And our Monarch butterfly emerged yesterday, but the poor thing is hanging stock still even yet, as Monarchs are cold-blooded and cannot move when it's below 60 degrees.


And here we are enjoying a little autumn silliness ~


And the beautiful skies this time of year~



We hope that you are enjoying this autumn, as well! May you and yours be blessed with health and joy.

Love,

Marqueta

"Once more the liberal year laughs out
O'er richer stores than gems or gold:
Once more with harvest song and shout
Is nature's boldest triumph told."
- John Greenleaf Whittier

Thursday Tea Time

Dear Friends,

Thank you so much for coming by today~You're just in time for tea!


We decided to set out two tables today, so there will be plenty of room if you want to bring a doll or two :)~
While we bigger folks will sit at the bigger table here~


The Japanese Knotweed is in bloom, and makes a lovely centerpiece~

Add some pretty cups and saucers, a few healthful refreshments (Except maybe for the pickles), a lemon slice~



And we're all ready to enjoy a few moments of each others' company! Oh yes, don't forget the tea: today's tea is a blend of sage leaves and linden blossoms, very yummy and nourishing.



(Should you be in the mood for something a little more filling than carrots, popcorn, and pickles, we'll be serving up garden-fresh ratatouille in a few minutes here :) )

Thank you to Emily of A Beautiful Life for motivating us to have our party today~we hope you all enjoyed it as much we did it. May you have a blessed day, dear friends, till next time.

Love,

Marqueta

*********************************
Friend

My fields are not too rich in grain,
My orchard trees are lean and few;
But, friend of mine, come once again,
Ever their yield belongs to you!

The rooms within my house are small,
Their furnishings are not the best;
But, friend of mine, my home and all
It holds is yours--come you and rest!

~Sydney B. Cooksley

Happy Tasha Tudor Day!

Dear Friends,

Welcome today to our part of the world. We thank you for coming by, and hope you've had a lovely week, as well! Ours was spent busily preparing for Grandma and Grandpa Graham. They are coming to visit us and see Mr. Graham perform as Captain Crewe in "A Little Princess" at the local theatre.

We wanted to share a little of our humble celebration for our dearly departed Tasha Tudor, whose birthday is today. Although she is no longer on the earth, we feel that her spirit is just as strong as ever.

AnnaMarie made this clay figure of Tasha and her goat and dove~Too bad the camera wouldn't cooperate and made blurry pictures!

AnnaMarie also made a fruit ice for us this morning (And decorated it with mint and flowers) out of frozen apples and bananas, with a little organic lemon flavoring for just the right touch of citrus.

Too bad the angel isn't edible! ;)

Later in the day, we had a tea at a local park~

Perhaps Mr. Graham is going over his lines in his head?

We used our forget-me-not teapot to remember little Victoria, who was born and died last year.

And watched "Take Joy" and "Take Peace", the video biographies of Tasha Tudor.

All in a all, it was a pleasant way of remembering the lady who has been such an influence in our lives. May her memory be always kept alive.



Love,

Marqueta

*****************************

"The past wasn't as romantic as people seem to think. There were many hardships, especially for women. They usually had large families of six or eight; they were pregnant most of the time or nursing when they weren't. Think of all the spinning and knitting and sewing and cooking and woodgathering. It was constant. No wonder that saying, 'Man may work from sun to sun, But woman's work is never done.' I don't say they were unhappy, but I think they were tired most of them." ~Tasha Tudor (Somehow this quote seemed appropriate after our week of deep cleaning!)