Our eventful August

Swiss Woods Bed and Breakfast ~I thought you might find this interesting, too. 

Well,   it has been awhile....  The past few weeks have been  rather   eventful..

 First of all,  we  had our summer vacation to   Boston  to see family  who live nearby...

So we  got to stop over going and coming   here at Swiss Woods B&B.  THis place suits us to a tee!

It is almost exactly halfway between our house and their's...  and the  charm of the place is   so   welcoming

 even when you arrive in  the rain....  which just makes us happy to know  how lush the gardens will be  next week  when we pass through yet again!

HAHAHA   does anyone's   selfies   ever look good???   But   we  were  so happy to be   enjoying the   wonderful aromas  wafting from the kitchen..

Need I say more?!?!

The  accommodations are so comfy....  but   we were   soon on the road...  for the next 7 hour leg of the trip...  which turned into about  9 hours due to the heavy traffic and rain.

Our first photo of Birdie.. who was  standing alone and    just beginning to venture out into her first steps!  we were  so  delighted to   see  4    beautiful teeth!Of course we were   happy to  see the proud  mommy and daddy,  too,  which makes three!!!

                                     

The the highlight of our  trip was to   experience  Birdie's   baptism.....   there is no  more  exquisite joy than knowing that   your children  are  grafted into the family of God... their  eternal security  secured  and   their lives   actively  building  the kingdom of God

  

I love our   family so much.....  what a blessing   they are to us....

Trying to Usher in a Bit of Spring

For us here in SW Virginia, spring is  still  an illusion....  we see it on the calendar,   but today  it is very drear with  55 mild per our gusts  and  snow flurries...I keep telling myself,  ok,  I suppose it could be considered kite flying weather,  but  then who  wants to  sail  right away on the end of a kite string. 

Then last night  as  I watched Jane Eyre on Netflix,the most  gorgeous  1996  edition,

 directed by  Franco Zefferilli...  the  story  was set in    remote  Yorkshire,  and as the wind howled out  my window I imagined  being  a part  of the  story...

Filmed in Haddon Hall in Derby, England,   

   

which is one of the most  beautiful medieval  homes still standing in the UK.

As the story  developed across  several seasons,   no scenes  were more ethereal than  springtime around the environs.

I  think one of the most romantic scenes of any literary novel,   the garden scene  when  Jane and  Mr. Rochester  professed their love .....

Spring blooms radiantly  around the Hall.

While I am  reminiscing over the film, I would be remiss to not mention what   caught my  imagination most about the inside of Haddon Hall...

  

  

If you havent guessed, yet,   it is the   exquisite mullioned windows....   and the light and shadow play   inside  that  took my breath away as much as  any living  scene on the film....  Now that was  a  magical  way to try to usher in  spring  to my  dreary    late March   evening!

Seasonal Sunday   with The Tablescaper.

What's on The Menu for My Book Chat Tea?

My Book chat tea is coming up in a couple of weeks..
We are   at this time still reading our book,  Holy Fire, by RT Kendall.  What  an  awesome book... just the  kind of literary piece  that   C S Lewis  would have  loved to  digest  and   stew over  with his  contemporaries over  tea and   delights.

Hence, my  theme for this  party.... 
  recreating  the ambiance  of  an English tea room,  or study.... in keeping with the   English theme, I discovered the  most delightful site online.. 
English Larder...This Suffolk, UK  based  baker  provides  a gorgeous    tea  fit of the royals....  but   I   think  this   is  a bit too  gracious to  my  event....  so I kept  searching...and ran across this wonderful site..
All Dishes    from the UK
and I began working up  my    menu.

I am  really   a huge fan of  marmalade, and  found  the most interesting article on   it here.I   have always associated it with  Britain,  and  truth to tell, Britain has played a great role in its popularity.  So  when I found this recipe,  it became  the  anchor of my menu.For savories,  I have included Benedictine  finger sandwiches as seen here...  truly a gentleman's idea of  a true  tea sandwich..heheheheh.

But   to finish  off this    post  I will share  about  the  Cinnamon Chip  Scones....   

which I  practiced making  this morning...

Prep: 25 min. Bake: 10 min.

Ingredients

3-1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1/3 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar, divided

2-1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

3/4 cup cold butter, cubed

1 cup buttermilk

1 package (10 ounces) cinnamon baking chips

2 tablespoons butter, melted

Directions

In a large bowl, combine the flour, 1/3 cup sugar, baking powder,

baking soda and salt. Cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse

crumbs. Stir in buttermilk just until moistened. Fold in chips.

Turn onto a lightly floured surface; knead gently 10-12 times or

until dough is no longer sticky. Divide in half; gently pat or roll

each portion into a 7-in. circle. Brush with butter and sprinkle

with remaining sugar.

Cut each circle into eight wedges. Separate wedges and place on an

ungreased baking sheet. Bake at 425° for 10-13 minutes or until

lightly browned. Serve warm. Yield: 16 wedges.  

paired with a  delicious  cup of Orange Spice tea,  these scones are  perfect for  the  cold snowy day

as seen from  my front window this morning.

 These scones are  very ample in size  so even though the  recipe  originally  said  cut the  disks in 6 pieces, Im glad I cut them into  eighths!

Served up on my newly found   Lochs of Scotland  dessert plate by  Royal Warwick..

the  tea   tasted  marvelous  from  my Wedgewood  Romantic Collection,  Willy Lotte's Cottage  tea cup.

Next week,  I will be giving the cake a try!  Please  check back!
I am  sharing on 




The Charm of Home

Seasonal Sundays..

A Return to Loveliness

Martha’s Favorites 

Tea Time Tuesday 

 Tuesday Cuppa Tea

Teacup Tuesday 

Friends Sharing Tea 

Share Your Cup Thursday

I love to Plan a Tea

If   you have   followed along  on my journey  you must know  how I love to plan  tea parties.... and this week   I shared  already about the book chat  I am planning    in  late March with  5 of my very best  friends and prayer partners.  We are   reading the most    wonderful book, Holy Fire, and are coming together   over  tea  to   share   what we have learned...  I can hardly wait,   but in the meantime,  I  get the most  delightful joy of  planning....

 Yesterday, I stopped in at   the library and   perused all the   glorious  books on teas.  I am so glad  Lynn was with me to tote  the books to the car...I got to spend  a good hour   in the afternoon gleaning the pages  for ideas and   tips to  consider.

My desire is to recreate a scene of  shabby  refinement... for   lack of a better description...  I envision C. S Lewis's library, littered with  stacks upon  stack of books  with overstuffed chairs  indented by the seats of  lofty contemporary  scholars who  had gathered for  just such  endeavors.. to chat over  the  writings of the day...ok...   my vision  will be a bit  difficult  to  implement...  but toward that end, I did  do a bit of  redecor-ating...

 Now  please realize this is a work in progress...  for  I still see remnants of Christmas past,  and  our event  will   take place in early spring...   yayayay for spring!  So to begin,  I was just playing around with the furniture.

 You will notice that I have pulled  it all into the center of the room,  making for  a cosy,  if   cluttered  arrangement,  focused on the fireplace, 

which Lynn promises me will  be  alit...  but  even Lynn told  me this morning, it was growing on him...

One part I  truly  revelled in was  house shopping for just the right book to pile into my little stacks..

 Not only for their decorative   addition   by color or  antiquity, but  by their  literative composition  and   interest to  my   sweet group of  friends.

 They in themselves will offer  delightful   conversation starters as we are pouring out our tea and    enjoying the    tasty morsels...

it is a tea, after all.

Watch   the blog  for  more   ideas   and to see how it all pans out....   come to think of it, soon, I need to figure out if I will need to purchase any special new pans...   oh,   the ideas a re fluttering about in my head!

*****

PS. I have had a  wonderful  time studying in my  new "reading room" 

with my feet   propped up  and my  reading  bag handy

   the  setting  is perfection  for my sensibilities... especially,  accompanied by a lovely cup of  Tazo tea.

One of my  springtime themes for the  party will be to showcasae  blue and white for spring  so  I am  enjoying  using my beautiful  transferware...
this cup and saucer is from the Romantic England collection of   Wedgewood, depicting Wiley Lotte's Cottage.  

Another     fantastically fun thing I did today was to  add a  page of pins  on my Pinterest    all about planning my Book Chat Tea....  If you have  time check  it out....if I sound giddy, it is because I am!

Happy  Pink Saturday! 

with

Beverly  at   Pink Saturday
and   Seasonal Sunday   with The Tablescaper

A Return to Loveliness@ A Delightsome Life

Martha’s Favorites @ Martha’s Favorites

Tea Time Tuesday @ Rose Chintz Cottage

Teacup Tuesday @ Artful Affirmations

Friends Sharing Tea @ Bernideen's Tea Time Blog

Share Your Cup Thursday@ http://jannolson.blogspot.com

Cottage Style Linky Party@ http://lavendergardencottage.blogspot.com

Valentine's, Roses and Candlelight

 

I dont mean to rush the season,  but  it is such a happy time for me Im thinking about  how   to plan for  a  great  Valentine's  celebration...  
Last year it was fun using my  red transferware...
the menu consisted of  Venetian chicken,
 

  with  dipping sauce..

and  quinoa salad

  finished off with

  chocolate  dipped strawberries for dessert...

  ummm....  not a bad  menu if I must say so myself!
   
Im not so sure    need to make any changes....   This looks   alright to me... unless  Lynn wants to take my Ruth's Chris!   UHMMMMM!
Happy  Pink Saturday! 
with

Beverly  at   Pink Saturday
and   Seasonal Sunday   with The Tablescaper.