Bittersweet Memories ~Fairy Tea-Party By The Pond (Tea Time Tuesday)

I am posting one of my favorite tea parties for this Tea Time Tuesday. My husband's parents enjoyed this tea party by our pond with us and 4 of our granddaughters. They had a wonderful time with the little girls, and the granddaughters loved their great-grandparents. My husband's parents both passed away in the last few months, his mother in November, his father just this January, making this post a bittersweet reminder of good times with loved ones we won't see this side of eternity.

Youngest Granddaughter, and youngest fairy at this tea-party.

The granddaughters requested a Fairy Tea-Party by the pond with their great-grandparents. They were very excited to wear wings and made sure great-grandmother had wings too.

Oldest and youngest granddaughters ( of 6) ready to flutter...

...come on, the tea-party is about to begin !

" I helped pick the food.Cheese and crackers and sandwiches."

Great-grandma Fairy and Great-grandpa visit with the little fairies. Lots of tea is sipped and the day is perfect for tea by the pond. Not too hot, not too cold, not too windy, no mosquitos or flies. Just a light pleasant breeze and dappled sunshine. Ducks swim by, granddaughters and grandparents laugh, a lot !

Dessert was of course the most popular part of the tea party.

Angel food cake with home grown raspberries and whipping cream, all the whipping cream any little or big fairy wanted to put on it.

Who needs anything else to eat when you can have this?

I caught this fairy mid bite to show you the teacup she chose for the tea party. She declared this was her favorite for the day.

The china teacup and saucer is White Trillium ~by Royal Albert.

This will be a perfect teacup in which to take tea come late spring when we have trilliums blooming all over our property, especially down by the pond.

The little fairies' Grandpa joins us. He is the oldest son of Great-grandparents. We have a wonderful time enjoying each others' company on such a pleasant day.

The day grows late and it is time for the great-grandparents to head for home. Great-grandma ( the oldest fairy at the tea-party) gets a little help from her oldest son, my husband.

I think she liked her wings.

The youngest fairy fell asleep in the swing by the pond.

Please visit these ladies for Teacup Tuesday and Tea time Tuesday. Martha*,Terri*,& .,Sandi *,  Bernideen *, Antiques & Teacups *. I have enjoyed these Tea Time Tuesdays very much and thank-you for joining us for tea today.

"The aspects of things that are most important to us are hidden because of their simplicity & familiarity." Ludwig Wittgenstein

Marrying Day Dress

My wedding dress.

My oldest granddaughter modeled it for me. I had saved it for 39 years and thus far, I don't think anyone I had saved it for desired it, except as a souvenir of a special dress Mom wore.Our oldest granddaughter, not yet at an age where she is interested in boys but excited by dress-up expressed an interest in it.She modeled it for me and also allowed me to talk about my marrying day to her Grandpa, 39 years ago.Barefoot and wearing a pair of gloves a kind man and owner of an antique store gave her, she posed in front of the garden overflowing with the fireweed her grandpa treasures for his honeybees.

 My marrying day dress, special to me because I wore it the day I gave myself to my beloved.I pray my grandchildren remember they are special to Him, and they give their love in marriage ( and only in marriage) to one who loves Him.A simple prayer and request for the grandchildren I love. Should God grant it, they will know a life full of blessings and true joy. "Let marriage be held in honor among all..."Hebrews 13:4

Dots The Frog

Granddaughter caught a frog and named her Dots. Dots has dots, lots of dots.

Dots is a Red-Legged frog, native to our area. Isn't she cute?

Dots required a lot of worms and bugs , and granddaughter had help from her Grandpa to catch them for her pet frog.Dots had a little home in a big plastic container with moss in it.

Look, a big worm from the garden, thanks to grandpa's help. Dots loved this worm and gulped it right up. Dots loved to eat the flies and moths caught for her too.

Dots really needs her home on Cedar Pond though. After a few days of being Granddaughters' pet, Dots was released back to the spot she was caught , at the edge of Cedar Pond. We have seen Dot before and we think we will be seeing her again, near the camp fire area, soaking up the sunshine and catching bugs. Maybe one day she'll be sharing the pond with her grandchildren.

We Interrupt Turkey In A Teacup Thursday...

We interrupt Turkey In A Teacup Thursday because we caught a mole! Our granddaughter poses with the mole next to a big mound and hole in the ground caused by the little one and it's many relatives. This is the mole super highway, underground of course.

Granddaughter had never seen a mole up close before and was excited because I was excited my husband trapped one of the legion of little critters causing so much destruction and havoc to our lawns, gardens, sheep pens, chicken pens, driveway, pond....when she actually saw the little creature she was sad and said "It is so cute, it's dead? This is sad~". I do not have the words to express my mixed feelings about these little critters, except to say they cannot be allowed to flourish as usual around here. The damage they have done is extreme.Now if they just stay to the woods and by-ways they would be left alone. But no, they have super hi-ways and by-ways around and under our home. Sheep crippling tunnels and mounds , garden destroying cave-ins, need I go on? ( but they are kind of cute)

Miss Vickie *, one more for our count on underground varmints . Here's hoping you are adding to your count.Let the competition be fierce!

The turkeys were very happy to not have to pose in a tea-cup this week. They will be back next Thursday, whether they like it or not.

Tea Time !

It is Tea-time Tuesday, again!This week I have a special guest to help set the table and take tea with me. My lovely granddaughter, our oldest granddaughter , daughter of our oldest son, is staying with us. She chose the menu : fresh fruit, ( cherries & oranges) , tuna fish sandwiches,chips, peach tea, and chocolates for dessert.Granddaughter plated the chocolates and decorated them with cherries, she also plated the fruit. ( with joy!) The table linens include a small embroidered tablecloth I embroidered the first year I was married , along with some cotton napkins embellished with beaded napkin rings. The sandwich and chips are garnished with chive blossoms and lovage leaves.The chives and lovage grow in my herb garden. Lovage tastes like celery. I use lovage often in the summer for salads, and sometimes in herb bread.

Granddaughter likes sugar in her peach tea.

Real cream is good too.

The plates and cups were chosen because Granddaughter chose the pink teapot for tea, and not being a "pink" gal myself, my color choices are limited when it comes to adding pink to my table. The rose adorned plates are thrift shop finds, very cheap. The cups are beverage cups that come in sets with hostess or dessert plates. These clear glass dessert cups and the plates that go with them were a gift to me from my Mother about 20 years ago. She bought them at a garage sale and she told me they were collector's items even then. I did find a big market for them on E-Bay years ago. I am not interested in selling them and have a quite a few, they are very nice for serving refreshments and coffee , tea, or punch at showers or weddings.

The underside of the plates.( click to enlarge)

Close-up of my tablecloth. ( Be kind, my embroidery was hit and miss and hastily done.)

The best part of Tea Time Tuesday today was sharing it with my Granddaughter! To enjoy the Tea Time Tuesday, Or Tea Cup Tuesday with many others click onto Martha's Favorites* , Artful Affirmations*,Wanda Lee* & Lady Katherine's Tea Parlor*.

"I learn as the years roll onward And leave the past behind, That much I had counted sorrow But proves that God is kind; That many a flower I had longed for, Had hidden a thorn of pain, And many a rugged bypath Led to fields of ripened grain." Author Unknown "Grandchildren are the crown of the aged." Proverbs 17:6 May all of you be blessed with precious company for tea!

Special Guest Writes Today! ( I Love This Writer)

Today I have a special guest writer. She asked to write a blog-post and I was very happy to have her write for me. She not only authored this post ( and selected the photos to be posted), she did a lot of the baking and cooking that are the main theme of this post. I am writing of our oldest granddaughter, second grandchild. She and her 3 younger sisters have spent the week with us and what a wonderful time we have had. A busy, active, and thankful time.This is about our lunch with my husband's parents, much of it prepared by her. From here-on the words are hers. "This is me cooking chicken pot pie for lunch with our Great-Grandparents. I got the recipe for the chicken pot pie from 'Paula Deen's my First Cookbook'.

Look, it is ready to go into the oven!

I also made Strawberry Delight from the cookbook. It was YUMMY!

After lunch we watched the movie 'Zathura' . It was fun and scary and exciting!

My little sister tried to hide under the pillows every time it got scary.

When the movie was over we went Easter egg hunting. There was one golden Easter egg. Guess who found it, ME!

We say "good-bye" and hug and kiss our great Grandpa and Grandma. Tomorrow we go home, Spring break is over, back to school on Monday.