Friday, November 19, 2010

New tea friends from S.C. ... and Scotland!

What an incredibly fun time I had yesterday! I finally got to meet my tea friend Belinda from Greenville, S.C., a lovely lady I'd gotten to know here in the tea world but whom I'd never actually met face to face. Here are Belinda (at right) and myself at Holly Cottage Tearoom here in Newnan!

Belinda was actually enjoying a girlfriend trip to Holly Cottage with four other ladies, and I can honestly say I loved them all immediately! Clockwise from left are Sharon, me, Belinda, Phyllis, Ruth and Anne. Ruth is actually the pastor's wife at the Presbyterian church these ladies attend together. I greatly enjoyed hearing about their work with the tea ministry and learning who does what. Belinda is the one who first had a heart for this ministry, and Phyllis joked that she and Belinda were doing "research" by eating at this tearoom. I already knew that Belinda and I both enjoy cooking teatime treats, and I learned that Phyllis and I are both huge fans of Jan Karon (I'm in the beginning of Jan's newest book, and Phyllis says some surprises are in store). Sharon, I learned, washes the dishes after the church teas, and she and I immediately bonded as fellow firstborns. It is amazing how much you can learn about a group of ladies in such a short time when they are as friendly and welcoming as these were!

I was intrigued to learn the ladies' pastor is Scottish, and I so enjoyed getting to hear his wife Ruth's wonderful accent, along with that of her equally delightful friend Anne, who was visiting from Scotland and joined these ladies for the trip. (I should have photographed her standing, as she wore a beautiful knit top with a teapot near the hem!) Here, Ruth and Anne are going all out in the hat department with their "Southern belle" look. Our time together passed all too quickly, but I certainly was blessed to get to spend a few hours with such a fun bunch of tea-loving ladies!

7 comments:

  1. how wonderful meeting ladies in person you have so much in common with.Thank-you for sharing your fun with us.

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  2. Oh My Goodness ! What a lovely time we had. Holly Cottage is the best tea room and it was such a delight to meet you ,Angela. Thanks for making time for us. We loved Newnan-the Vintage Flea was a big hit (and DSW shoes).
    The gals will be so surprised to see themselves in Blogland.

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  3. I'm Anne's daughter! How exciting to see Mum on the internet while I'm sitting here at home in the cold! thanks for posting, and glad you had fun!

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  4. How fun to see Belinda. I think she once won a give away I had sometime ago. I just love meeting new tea friends. Now the new Jan Karon book is sitting waiting for me to start reading. I think it must be the next one.

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  5. Hi Angela, what a fun post! Great photos and it looks like a lovely time was had by all. Thanks for sharing, Joanie

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  6. It was so lovely to meet you,Angela!We just had the best time at Holly Cottage and exploring Newnan. Aren't the gals a hoot?!

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