A great new volunteer opportunity

Some of you may have heard of Operation Christmas Child, a ministry in which Samaritan's Purse sends shoeboxes full of Christmas gifts to needy children around the world. My hiking friend Tammy attends Poplar Springs Baptist, a small church of around twenty members in Tallapoosa, and would you believe this congregation is giving over one thousand (yes, one thousand!) shoeboxes this year? So on Saturday, I helped with the packing of the gifts donated by this generous church. The volunteers have this down to an art form, and everything was so well organized.

Here's Tammy standing before a wall of shoeboxes ready to be packed with goodies!

Boxes are marked for a boy or a girl and are labeled by the child's age. Every child gets a big "wow" toy, typically a doll or stuffed animal for girls and a tightly packaged soccer ball with its own pump for the boys, and they also all got a notebook, coloring book, crayons, pencils, a spoon, a toothbrush and wash cloth, and some got clothes, shoes, socks, underwear, and more. I was astonished at how much you could pack into a shoebox! There were also bins full of tiny filler objects like yo-yos and chalk and plastic toys galore.

Tammy herself stitched five hundred teddy bears and bunnies so that children could enjoy these too!

This was one of my favorites (and no, I didn't tuck one away, though it was tempting).

When a shoebox was straining to close, as they often were, volunteers wrapped a rubber band around it, which apparently is permitted. I also learned that flat objects like stickers are easy to add, and I was delighted to find some with teacups on them! (Speaking of tea, I didn't get a photo, but the church brought in tasty sandwiches, snacks, and desserts for us at lunchtime, and I was quite happy—and very thirsty for—the Milo's sweet tea that arrived!)

I'm told that we ended up packing 566 of the shoeboxes that day, and I was especially grateful that we stopped several times and prayed over the boxes and the children who will receive them.

And as always, I'm thrilled that groups like this one provide dolls in an array of skin colors. I hope the precious little girl who gets this one is as excited to receive it as I was to pack it!

Girl Scouts and tea — a hundred years ago!

 

The Library of Congress website calls this image "Girl Scouts Tea room, Potomac Park, [Washington, D.C.]" and says the photo was created or published between 1920 and 1921.

Okay, but I have questions! The patrons look a little on the older side of Girl Scouting, so I'm guessing they're patrons at this "tea room" run by the Girl Scouts. It looks like two much younger folks hovering in the small building, which reminds me of the lakeside "canteen" where I worked a summer job in my teens.

The Library of Congress titled this image based on "unverified data provided by the National Photo Company," but assuming it's true, I'm intrigued that the Girl Scouts once operated an outdoor tea room. We churned butter and did sewing projects when I was in Girl Scouts, but I would have loved to have operated a tea room! Who are my fellow Girl Scouts reading today?

Rosevear Tea's Lemongrass & Marigold Tea

A few weeks ago, I followed along on Facebook as my friend Beth and her husband traveled to Scotland, and I was delighted when I saw them partaking of a very fancy afternoon tea one day. When I saw them at church after they returned, I commented on their teatime, and Beth mentioned that she fell in love with the Lemongrass & Marigold tea she had. Had I ever tried it? No, but it sounds good, I said. Well, guess what she brings to church for me on Sunday morning? A whole packet of this tea!

I'd never heard of Rosevear Tea before, but as soon as I opened the bag and saw what this tea looked like, I got almost giddy, because I've had only one other tea brimming with my beloved pineapple pieces, and I can spot that Emperor's Bride black tea from a mile away. But this was an *herbal* tea with lemongrass, apple pieces, pineapple cubes, marigold blossoms, lemon granules, and strawberry pieces. I've had lots of great herbal teas before, but this one quickly shot to the top of the list. I've always liked lemongrass herbal teas anyway, but with the addition of pineapple and strawberry, this one was absolutely divine! Happily, I was able to resteep the tea twice more, which will help me make it last longer.

So who's going to Scotland anytime soon? I'm going to be needing more of this tea! (Actually, I've decided *I* may be the one going to Scotland, and my excuse will be that going there is probably the most economical way of acquiring more of this tea!)

A surprise gift from my church!

Last week, my deacon's wife got in touch to say that she wanted to drop off "a gift from the church," and I was puzzled. Yes, my husband passed away back in April, but church friends already did a ton for me back then, and I'm no longer ugly-crying every day, so … Why would they want to give me a gift, and what could it be? Well, Fran comes by and, after navigating under the ladders and new sheetrock going up in my foyer, delivers a pretty gold bag that is absolutely brimming with gifts. What was inside?

A beautiful sage-green crocheted prayer shawl.

Some fun snacks. (I've already eaten the miniature Reese's cups.)

A candle and some scripture cards.

Lots of tea!

An inspirational coloring book and pencils.

An afternoon tea coloring book and metallic pencils.

A journal and pen.

And a book on grief that I didn't yet have! Turns out, my church's grief ministry times it so that after the initial shock of losing someone has worn off a bit, they like to give gifts just to let us members know that they're still thinking of us and praying for us. And the fellow widow who wrote me a sweet note said that she was sure to include tea gifts to let me know these gifts were chosen just for me, not just something they randomly put together. I was (and am) so overwhelmed! I don't know if any of you are part of a church that has a grief ministry, but I must say that I am completely bowled over by the way I've been ministered to by mine!

Time to shop for holiday decor

I always buzz by the ornament aisle at Hobby Lobby at this time of year since the teacup and teapot ornaments tend to sell out early. I didn't find any new tea-themed ornaments there last weekend, but I did find some cute stickers that I think many of use would enjoy using to seal our Christmas cards or decorate packages this year.

So cute, and these *tea mug stickers* were half price, just $1.25.

But as a longtime Santa mug collector and crocheter, I was MOST excited to find this charming kit for a crocheted Santa mug! Once I get these home repairs behind me (the new foyer ceiling was installed this week), I plan to take some time off to enjoy crafting with my friends, and this adorable little project, which was also half price, is the perfect one to take along. Are any of you shopping for Christmas items yet? Some of you, I know, never stop!

Rose-Shaped Ice Cube Trays

I bypassed these cute pink silicone ice cube trays the first time I saw them at T. J. Maxx because goodness knows I have way too much kitchen stuff already, a fact that is staring me in the face since my dining room stuff will be crammed in the kitchen, too, next week when new dining room flooring goes down. But it dawned on me that rose-shaped ice cubes would be gorgeous in a punch bowl, so before I went and bought a bunch of the trays, I decided to try one out.

The trays are a bit fussy to work with. You fill them through the little round openings at the back, and I apologize if you suddenly find yourself thinking about Breast Cancer Awareness Month, which isn't until October, but hey, I didn't design the thing.

And here's the first batch of the rose ice cubes I made. Pretty, huh? But I have found that the water spreads unevenly, so you may have some really thick roses and then some like the one at the bottom that isn't as thick. I'd like them to be completely uniform, so I'll be trying again to adjust the water level so these all look the same. They didn't pop out of the tray quite as easily as I'd expected, either, but still … rose ice cubes, y'all!

I wondered how a single one would look in a pretty tea goblet. Like this. They look like this, which wasn't as impressive as I'd hoped. But then I poured this water into a Tervis, and that was the chilliest ice water I've had all summer! Even as the giant ice cube slowly melted, it kept that water sooooo cold. So that's a win too. Now I'm thinking that I may buy one more of these ice cube trays, strictly so that I can have a pretty red tea punch to serve at Christmas or Valentine's Day (I would freeze cranberry juice for the ice cubes). Are you tempted by these? Would you have the patience to fiddle with them just to get pretty ice cubes?

A weekend full of nieces … and a creative baby shower!

My weekend was all about my nieces! On Saturday, I joined my youngest niece, Amelia, my sister, Rhonda, and my oldest niece, Madison, to shop for Amelia's wedding dress in Chamblee. Turns out that all of us were a bit worried about how this would go. Amelia has always been very picky about her clothes, with comfort being a MUST. When she was a little girl, I once took her Christmas shopping for clothes, and she had to touch the interior of every garment, eventually striking them all as possibilities. So we were thrilled when she said yes to the dress! And it was truly stunning on her and made her look like a very elegant princess. She will be a beautiful bride this December!

Beforehand, we ate lunch at a great restaurant called J. Alexander's. They had fabulous salads, including the one I got with chicken, avocado, pecans, bacon, and cornbread croutons. Yum!

Then yesterday after church, I headed to Ranburne, Alabama, for Madison's baby shower. Little Hoyt, her and Logan's first child, is due in just a few weeks, and the church Logan pastors gave them a great shower yesterday.

I loved all the balloons!

Hoyt's nursery has a woodland theme, and that was used for the shower decor as well.

I loved the paper place mats that featured rings of wood. I asked one of the hostesses where she found them, and of course she said Amazon!

They had a great variety of finger foods, which was most welcome since I sped there after church and hadn't had time to eat. I love pinwheels, crackers and dip, cheese spread, and other such foods. 

The cucumber sandwiches above were the one contribution I was asked to make. Madison absolutely loves cucumber sandwiches, and I like to think this is because of all the tea parties she enjoyed as a little girl.

Someone had special cookies made, and I thought they were so cute.

But one of the cutest touches was the trail mix station.

As a thank-you gift, we all got to make our own trail mix to take home.

What a lovely way to remember such a fun baby shower!

A new flavor of stroopwafel

When I received a stroopwafel with a teacup last month, it reminded me how much I enjoy these lovely teatime treats. It also occurred to me that these would be fun to share with my little neighbors at teatime, so I looked for some when I was in T.J. Maxx this week. They love to add honey to their tea, and since the honey flavor was a new one to me, that's what I got, though they also had caramel, chocolate, and coffee flavors.

T.J. Maxx also had them in miniature sizes, but I like the ones that fit over the top of a teacup.

Or the top of a tea mug! The vessel doesn't matter, I suppose, as long as it provides the steam necessary to soften the stroopwafel. I enjoyed the new honey-flavored stroopwafel as much as the caramel-flavored ones I've had in the past. Are you a stroopwafel fan?

 

Revolution Tea's Earl Grey Lavender Black Tea

The tea in my teacup in Monday's post was this Earl Grey Lavender blend from Revolution Tea, a brand I first enjoyed many years ago. When I was introduced to this tea company, each tea bag was housed in a tiny little cardboard box that was maybe 1-1/2 inches wide and an inch tall. So when I saw this new box of their tea at Ollie's, I had to give it a try, especially at just $2.79 for the box of twenty pyramid tea bags.

Each pyramid bag is contained in a large foil pouch that keeps the tea leaves from getting all crunched and smashed.

And the taste is everything you want in an Earl Grey blend, with just the right amount of bergamot and a not-overly-perfumy amount of lavender. I find this a great "transitional" tea, as it's heartier than the fruity blends of summer yet not so spicy that you want to go make a pumpkin pie. And another thing I like about this tea? Once I've steeped the hot tea, I toss the tea bag into a glass of cold water, place it in the fridge to cold brew, then add a squirt of lemon juice to make yet another refreshing tea. It's definitely one of my favorite bargain finds of recent months!

A new vintage recipe: Apricot Nectar Cake

I'd been wanting to try a recipe that I found in one of the old metal recipe boxes I started collecting a few years ago, so I volunteered to make a cake for Bible study kickoff last week so that I would be able to share it. Typically, about half of a 13 x 9-inch cake will get eaten at such an event because of the wide array of treats, and I was happy that it was well received and that one friend liked it so much that she took home some of the leftovers. I also saved a few slices for teatime with my young neighbors, and I even had a few slices left for me. (When you slice a 13 x 9-inch cake into 1 x 2-inch bars, you end up with a lot of cake!)

The secret ingredients for this very moist apricot cake are a can of apricot nectar and a box of lemon-flavored Jell-O. And of course I have never met a lemon glaze that I didn't like.

This cake confirms my long-held belief that the more stained and weathered the cookbook page or printed recipe, the easier and better it is. If you want to make a delicious teatime treat that feeds a crowd, I definitely recommend this one, which paired well with some Earl Grey Lavender tea. Enjoy!