WREATHMAKER

Every Tuesday, I visit Sandi for her Tea Time Tuesdays. Yesterday I made a rhubarb crisp for our dessert, and while waiting for it to bake, I whiled away some time on my computer. Checking out the postings which came up on my dashboard, I saw that Sandi had already posted. ...Hmmm! ...Rhubarb Crisp!...well I guess many of us are  using that this week...it's fully in season... And then, I saw something else which was so familiar...cranberry glass!... I used the inspiration copied her idea......  My crisp was a little on the juicy side...I guess the rhubarb and strawberries were extra juicy... It was oh-so-good with a little scoop of ice-cream.... I used a mixed bag of china: small soup bowls: Tudor Rose by Royal Stafford Cups and saucers: Foley Devonshire Cake plate in background: Coalport Cranberry glass: gift received many years ago, purchased at Eatons Cloth by April Cornell Double flowered tulips from my garden So thanks, Sandi, for the inspiration...

I love old rustic, rusty, weathered door hardware. These were all seen at Lower Fort Garry, Manitoba. (click on photo to enlarge) If you want to see creative mosaics, please visit Mary at Little Red House ...always a delightful experience!

We took a little day trip…the sun was shining…lovely! We took along our coffee and muffins (and lunch)…and stopped at a lakeshore camp. Sometime in the 1930’s someone took on the job of adding trim made of small rocks, to this water tower. This is the back view.. see the  point above the door on the right…do you notice it is slightly different from the one on the left? A closer view…right at the peak, perfectly centered, a Phoebe has built her nice round nest…what a designer! (and WE talk about “nesting!) On the same wall of the building, a busy wren has filled a crack in the wall with her nest. Wrens have been known to fill very large cavities with nesting material… Further North, along Lake Winnipeg, we saw more work of birds…this is near the lower part of a tree trunk…a Pileated woodpecker has chipped out a 5-6 long oval area, hunting for grubs,,,it must have a powerful beak..those chips are not tiny! More evidence of Sapsuckers or woodpeckers drilling for ...

Today we will enjoy a cup of tea and some lemon poppy seed muffins served on a Carlton ware  plate. I received a few pieces of Carlton ware for our wedding many years ago, and never quite realized how collectible it is until recently. I believe these pieces are “Wild Rose”. I like the odd shapes of the plates and the sculptured pattern of the flowers and leaves. Here are a few more pieces: The lemon poppy seed muffins have just the right amount of tartness. Now, I am heading over to Sandi’s for the weekly tea party, Yummm!

I saw a former Royal chef on the Oprah show, demonstrating his recipe for the cake that Prince William chose for his Groom’s cake, and was inspired to try it, not because of the cake itself, because chocolate is not my favorite, but because I wanted to use the photo for inspiration! Here is the photo on Oprah’s website: You see, the photo shows a Shelley Dainty Blue teacup, just like the one I have, so here is my  version:   Yes, I realize the cake wasn’t iced and decorated, but I was in a bit of a hurry…. Anyway, my husband and family enjoyed the cake! The flowers are pulmonaria, so pretty  with their blue and pink flowers on each stem. The link to the recipe on Oprah’s website is http://www.oprah.com/food/Chocolate-Biscuit-Cake-Recipe The Royal family photo of the Groom’s cake can be seen at http://www.flickr.com/photos/britishmonarchy/sets/72157626482581411/ I am joining in at Tabletop Tuesday today, where there are some very great tablescapes, et...

On Saturday I attended a Mother’s Day tea at our son’s church. Our DIL hosted our table . Each hostess was in charge of setting her table. This was the table our daughter-in-law prepared, with the bone china given to her by her Grandmother. The pattern is “First Love” by Royal  Albert.   There were so many beautifully set tables, but one of my favorites was this pink and white table I am once again joining Sandi’s Tea time Tuesday. Thanks Sandi