A Story Not to Miss - about a Portrait

I have been absent, so so busy with life.

I owe you all so many visits and comments.

But today I read something I have to share with you

 so you don't miss it.

It can't be missed, it's such a neat story!

Edit:

(Here's part 2 of her story - read part one then read part two.)

It's just too good to keep to myself!

Please visit my blog friend Lisa at

Lee's Hideaway

 for her serendipity story of a lifetime!

♥

I have a trillion things to share with you.

I shall return, I promise!

Miss you all very much!

Hugs and prayers!!

~Michele

Hodge Podge (Late + Humorous)

Joining in on the fun with Joyce who hosts

 From This Side of the Pond blog

for a super easy and fun linky party.

1. April showers bring May flowers or so the saying goes. Has your April been filled with showers? Do you carry an umbrella, wear a slicker, or make a run for it? 

ANSWER: I have plenty of unbrellas - usually in the car, garage or closet and never with me. I would fail terribly in London, I'm afraid; I am a dash-fast-and-hope-I-don't-crash kind of soggy mess. 

Part 2: Besides rain, what else has filled your April?

April: filled with Easter and my sick brother and my healing toe and not ever enough seeing of the grand baby girl!

2. What's something you could you give a 30-minute presentation on at a moment's notice and with zero preparation?

ANSWER: I could easily chat away about darned near anything to do with tea: about hosting tea parties: planning the menus, using proper etiquette; history of tea time, and especially about antique teacups and teapots...of those  I know a bit or two.  

3. Share with us a favorite food memory from childhood.

LOL, believe or not my little sister just tried on Monday to get all 5 of us siblings up to her lake house for this coming weekend for her to host a "Food Memories from Childhood" surprise potluck party. I have so many to choose from that we could do, too! However, as it turned out, the house is going to be used this weekend by my sister's husband's side of the family, so we couldn't do it - hopefully we can soon. It sounds like such fun.

It's weird because we almost never ate this, but I know for almost every birthday we last three kids (whom I am one) wanted mom to make macaroni and cheese with cut up hotdogs that were smothered in tomato soup for our special birthday "you can name what you want" dinner. LOL. What were we thinking?????Whadya mean we coulda had lobstah??

Another great childhood food memory my little brother and I were just discussing a few weeks ago: we kids built a "fort" deep in the woods behind our house. We grew up on limestone cliffs - so there were big awesome rocks we could build up and make into a really safe and wonderful fireplace. My younger brother would gathering all kinds of wood and make me a roaring fire. Then I would make "Fort Stew," which simply was cooked potatoes, celery and carrots with wild chive and salt and pepper, and usually some bits of carbon from the fire - but we worked and played so hard that when it was ready (to us)  it was heavenly tasting! My brother went on and on about that happy memory. 

4. What's a song you thought you knew the lyrics to, but later discovered you were wrong?

 Oh, my goodness, my other brother- my older brother and I were just talking about this last night! Mine was a rock song from the 70s by Blue Oyster Cult. 

They did a song called "Don't Fear the Reaper." 

Well, I didn't even know what a reaper was back then, and I know I shouldn't have known what I THOUGHT it was.... but I honestly thought they were singing

     "Don't Fear the Reefer."

Yes, folks, a marijuana/pot reference. LOL. I remember thinking then:

  "Oh, yes, I do fear the reefer!" LOL. So silly. I can't believe I am sharing this, haha. 

5. According to one travel website, the most overrated tourist attractions in America are-
Niagara Falls (NY), Hollywood Walk of Fame (California), Times Square (NYC), Epcot (FL), Seattle Space Needle (WA), and Faneuil Hall and Quincy Market (Boston). How many of these have you seen in person? Did you feel like a tourist? Did you care? Tell us about a place (not on the list) you've visited that might be considered a tourist trap, but you love it anyway.

I have been to NYC many times but never to Times Square there. I have been to the Hollywood Walk of Fame but just in passing to get to a destination - didn't do much but step on stars, haha. Loved FH and Quincy Market area - been to Boston quite a few times, but for never long enough. Loved the Freedom Trail and all the rich history found there. There are some good museums there, too. I never mind looking or feeling like a tourist, long as the local understand we mean business, and we're not naive or to be reckoned with if they had ideas about purse or wallet snatching knowing we're tourists!

My favorite little tourist trap is from where I grew up on Lake Erie - called African Lion Safari. Heh. Oh, and ranking second right behind it : Enchanted Forest. Only tourists would ever go there.  (And all my friends who worked there all those summers!)

6. Your signature clothing item?

V-neck anything -  long sleeved tees, short-sleeved tees, v-necked sweaters. Love em. 

7. What's an experience you've had you think everyone should experience at least once? 

Taking a week long cruise. It's so much better than you can know if you've never done it. It is the EASIEST vacation you will ever have! 

8. Insert your own random thought here:

Mine is more just a fun pic I took recently of my grandbaby:
(I couldn't resist sharing this!)

                 All pics except for the one of the baby were taken off of google random images and are not my own. 

As always, thanks for popping in to say hello! 

♥  HUGS  ♥

Teacup Exchange REVEAL - Spring 2017

I just again recently participated in Stephanie's

 TEACUP EXCHANGE from the blog The Enchanting Rose.

This is my 3rd time joining in on the fun.

 (And I plan on signing up again in autumn for her next one!)

I encourge everyone to get in on it -
making new friends is the best part!

I am so pleased to share my lovely and delicious wares

from a fellow Ohioan and blogger

Cynthia from View from a Garden.

Without further ado, here is my gorgeous new tea cup -
isn't it absolutely lovely?!!????

Everything was packed up so carefully.

Here is the bounty all laid out;
I had such anticipation and excitement unwrapping each item!

Being in these exchanges always makes me feel
as though I've won the lottery- or is how I felt 
as a child on Christmas morning....
anxiously awaiting the fun magic and "specialness" of it all!

Everything was wrapped up so carefully.

Of course I saved the best till the end -
 unwrapping the bubble-wrapped teacup & saucer last.

I am so happy that Cynthia took the time
 to tell me a bit about herself
 by typing up a sweet letter and tucking it inside
 this beautiful pressed flower handmade paper envelope:

Part of my package included a large pretty tin of one of my favorite
tea companies - Harney and Sons - with sachets of 
English Breakfast...along with two wonderful candles!

One of the candles smells like Red Velvet Cake
 and the other smells just like fresh spring!

♥♥♥

I found THREE gorgeous springtime botanicals nature gift tags, too-
here is a close-up of the pretty butterfly one!

(These pics don't do them justice.)

A pack of lovely floral teatime luncheon napkins:

And, finally a really cute Scripture Happy Face calling card:

Thank you, Cynthia for this delightful exchange.

I am so happy to have made a new friend -

 especially one from my own state!

Thank you, Stephanie for yet another

 wonderful teacup exchange experience.

It is so much work for you -

 you're an angel for bringing such joy to so many.

I had my tea time outdoors yesterday
 with my beautiful new teacup set.

 Click the below pic to take you to see the post.

As for my box full of treasures sent-
I sent a package of teatime loveliness to a non-blogger named Belle
 in New South Wales, Australia
(very early into the exchange so she'd receive it all in time.)

Of course, I got way too excited and forgot to take pics of what I sent her
(big surprise there, sure wish I would've remembered!)

Stephanie hadn't received a pic from her for the big reveal day
but assures me that Belle let her know she received the package unscathed.
I am glad of that, it's certainly a very long way for delicate china to  travel!

She wrote me an email the day after reveal saying liked everything very much.


As always, thank you for your visit!

Teatime in the Zen Room

Oh, we are having such a warm sunny and beautiful day!

I got up early and finished most of my work

so that I could enjoy this pretty day at teatime

outdoors, in my covered garden patio.

Most of you know I refer to this space as my "Zen Room."

It's decorated in a girlie white-wicker-pastel-quilts cottage fashion.

It's a space for only me, as my husband has allergies

 and never ever stays but a millisecond.

It's my favorite place to invite a friend or three and sip on

tea, or lemonade or even sometimes wine after the heat of the sun

wanes, after it ducks behind the evergreen tree-lined backyard.

And all my beautiful Easter flowers here are hostess gifts

when my family came to luncheon on Easter sunday.

(I mentioned I would share a little about them in my last tablescapes post.)

See these sweet cut tulips? 

Youngest daughter grew them in her garden.

In the background are my dark pink bulb tulips from eldest daughter.

They matched the pink in my china we used Sunday perfect.

(My last post shows it if you missed it.)

Along with those you will see my beautiful Easter lily

that my older brother gave me.

They smell heavenly.

I was surprised my dark pink tulips actually have a fragrance-

not just the fresh tulip smell but a true lovely scent. ♥

I'm using a beautiful new gifted teacup

 that is just so perfect in a garden setting!

More about that soon!

I have to share something really neat with y'all.

Last night after dinner I was visiting a few blogs

trying to catch up on all I've missed lately -

and stopped for a visit to Aiken House and Gardens.

Carolyn is one of my all-time favorite bloggers

and she had mentioned she is being featured in the latest

hot-off-the-press VICTORIA magazine!

(Her post about it has the most beautiful teacup!)

So, I guess I squealed my inner delight and joy of this happy news

rather quite loudly; enough to startle my husband!

Next thing, I hear our garage door open and close.....

YES my friends, he left the house quietly and returned with the

latest copy of the latest Victoria magazine for me!

Isn't that the sweetest thing ever?!?

He knows the copies sell out much too fast at our local store

and didn't want me to miss out. ♥♥♥

Needless to say I am renewing my subscription!!!!

(sure thing if they're smart enough to feature Carolyn Aiken!)

It's a really nice spread about her lovely gardens

and all around great issue!

I highly recommend getting a copy of it yourself!

For my teatime snack I enjoyed a piece

 of the carrot cake I made for Easter.

I absolutely ADORE cream cheese buttercream frosting.

The secret to THE VERY BEST cream cheese frosting is using

 12 ounces (box or box and a half) of cream cheese
 and two sticks of butter.

I use one with salt and one unsalted.

It really makes a lot, not sickening sweet
 and makes a very smoothe and easily spreadable frosting.
No one will complain you put too much on anything, trust me.

As always, thank you for your visit!

~Michele

Linking:

Tea in the Garden   *   Foodie Friday   *   Anything Goes

Easter Tablescapes 2017

Hope your Easter was wonderful!

Ours certainly was.

I am "hippity hopping" in to share a few pics

 of my Easter tablescapes this year.

I showed you one I had planned on using a few posts ago -

but the day before Easter I received the final tally

 and 12 peeps were expected for our luncheon -

 so that earlier 4-top tablescape wasn't going to work this time!

I have a complete set for 12 in this pretty spring/summer

 Noritake china, so I used it.

I try not to force the manly men of my family to eating off my

ultra feminine tea partyish girlie pretty floral china,

but since this is all kept upstairs in a china cabinet I chose it.

My broken toe and aching feet appreciated it at least.

I put cute chocolate carrot-shaped Lindt chocolate

 candy favors at each place setting.

I used my hand-painted garden water goblets

 on the kitchen tablescape.

I have only 8 Noritake teacups and saucers to this set

 and I didn't think to set them out at the adult places

before I snapped these pics.

I wish I had, they're my favorite part of any china sets!

The above pics are in the kitchen, the below pics are from the dining room.

Sorry it was so dark and that I was in such a hurry.

I used gold chargers and gold flat ware in the dining room,

and green straw chargers and vintage silverplate in the kitchen.

I only have a set of 6 gold flatware.

I think I need to buy another set.

I think my husband would beg to differ. : - )

Regular chargers don't fit well on my slender kitchen table

when I have six place settings there - gets too crowded.

Easter feast was a bit of a pot luck:

Sweet Glazed ham with pineapple

Lasagna (hey, I married an Italian and so did my sister!)

Cheesy potatoes (because my family is Irish!)

Mixed veggies (broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, squash)

Salad (youngest daughter brought - (w/ homemade croutons and dressing)

Dinner rolls and whipped butter

My sister had two big parties last weekend so I told her to just bring wine.

She always cooks something everytime I host, but I wasn't having it this time. 

My brother's stroke has been MOST hard on her.

 Just saying she needed a break! Took her some convincing, too.

My eldest daughter brought 2 yummy desserts -

 a Boston Cream Pie and Key Lime Pie

I made a carrot cake with Cream Cheese Buttercream frosting.

I snapped a pic of the feast table but I take crappy foodie pics, so I am not sharing, haha.

As it turned out, my daughter Katie brought me beautiful cut tulips

 from her garden that I ended up using on my kitchen tablescape,

 and my eldest daughter Evelyn brought me dark pink tulips

 for my dining table, THEN my brother brought gorgeous Easter lilies! 

I was overwhelmed by these generous blessings!

I just get so upset when I forget to get pics - 

I wish I could share how perfect they looked on these tables...

much much better than what I had before they arrived!

I shall try and share pics of them in my next post at least,

 before they lose their beauty.

Perhaps even for teatime. ♥

Anyway, Easter is such a wonderful joyous season.

I hope it lingers in our souls all year, as intended.

God bless each and every one of you!

As always, thank you for stopping by!

♥

~Michele

Linking:

Inspire Me Tuesday   *   At Our Home