Tuesday's Teatime

Fall cleaning often entails a little sprucing up of our homes. I've been a bit bored with my decor and wanted to add some new life to our little cottage by re-using things I already have.

That means it's time to start looking through a collection of magazines carefully saved through the years!

I have all but maybe a half dozen copies of Victoria magazine and I've been perusing precious issues from 1988- 1991 this week looking for fresh decorating ideas. I haven't been disappointed! I'll share some of the pages of the magazine with you and the results of their inspiration in my cottage over the next few weeks.

Today, though, I'd like to share this enchanting picture of a tea table belonging to a lady who shared tea time with her friends in a Tea Circle. Raised in a parsonage and blessed with a delightful collection of bone china tea cups collected by her grandmother on travels as a missionary's wife, she chose to bless the lives of her friends by inviting them to her Tea Circle. This is a picture of her tea table sparkling with antique lace, garden flowers, and a delightful array of tea sandwiches, vanilla cake, scones and chocolate madeleins.

Maybe I'll start my own Tea Circle once Fall Cleaning is complete as a special reward for a job accomplished!

Wouldn't that be fun?

Day at the Zoo

Yesterday we went to the Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Gardens for Wildlife Discovery Days. Five of the home schooling families from our church and my sister, her daughters and my parents joined us. It was a picture perfect day and we all had a great time. DJ and Dusty - Best Buds!
Five homeschool families from our church and our Junior Church Directors, Dave and Margaret Jowers joined us for this fun day at the zoo.

My sister, Diana, brought her two daughters and three foster children along with the special treat of my parents for the day. We REALLY enjoyed this added bonus!
Anna Pilmore, Klayton Hutchinson, Benji, and Bryan Hausman hanging out in the barn at the Children's Zoo.
Where we spent the most time - at Gorilla World. They were so funny! The new baby was full of entertainment carrying on with his mom, dad and grandpa.

The giraffes are back! It was neat to see them in their really nice new pen.

Benji, Bryan, Darla, Zach, Emily and Margaret waiting in line to feed the giraffes. We timed our visit just right! They fed them carrots.

Lorna, Jamie and Emily - cousins hanging out at the zoo.

Zach Pilmore, Benji, Tyler Mills and Klayton Hutchinson visiting the bears.

Zach and Benji strangling a bird statue. Zach's a guy after his hunter-daddy's heart-
anything gory sounds great to Benji!

Brittany and Natasha Hausman, Lorna, Deanna Jowers and Emily Pilmore enjoying a lovely day at the Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Gardens.

Thursday Thirten ~ "M"

Tomorrow marks one year of blogging for me! I had hoped to get in 100 posts by then but, alas . . .

Thirteen things beginning with the letter "M" that I'm thankful for in my life:

1. Mommy - My favorite lady in the whole wide world - and also my favorite title.

2. Martha's Vineyard, Manhattan, Mackinac Island - lovely places I've been blessed to visit.

3. Music - I love music whether it's classical, oldies, Big Band, jazz, Southern Gospel or hymns, music blesses my life.

4.Macaroni and Cheese - mmm, yummy! LOVE that stuff!

5. Mac Intosh Apples - the best for a delicious homemade apple pie.

6.Mail - regular daily delivery. Blessed to be an American enjoying this benefit.

7. Mercy - I will sing of the MERCIES of the LORD FOREVER!

8. Maps - Maps and Mapquest. Can you imagine living pre -maps?

9.Miracles - I'm a recipient of many miracles - the most precious of which is when He saved my soul from eternal damnation.

10. Magazines - I LOVE magazines - a trait I inherited from my Daddy ;) !

11. Missionary Kid - blessed to be among their ranks. They are THE MOST blessed kids in the WHOLE world!

12. Meredith - my mother's first name and my daughter's middle name. My mother was named for her mother's best friends, Marie and Edith - Meredith!

13. Milk - nothing like a glass of ice cold milk, milk chocolate, Milk Duds - mmm- anything made with milk!

Have a lovely evening and don't forget to stop by tomorrow for my One Year Blog-a-Versary party!

So, What did you do this Summer?

The long lazy days of summer are just a memory now. Remember when you first went back to school in the fall and the teacher would have you write a paper on what you did that summer? Wouldn't it be fun to read through all those papers again? Well, in honor of all those summer memory papers, here's a brief glimpse of how our summer started. We went to Michigan to spend a week at my in-laws. Grandpa so graciously offered to teach my son, Benji, how to fish. It takes A LOT of patience to catch a fish and here's a pictorial of Benji Learning to Fish.

This is how you bait the hook!

This is how you cast the line. (Notice Benji's toy poodle, Pup Pup, patiently waiting through the "How-To Process").
This is how you catch the fish - wait patiently and quietly on a lovely early summer afternoon with your little dog at your side.And without the little dog at your side!
And you'll eventually CATCH A FISH!
Then, you celebrate with a ride around the pond with your sister in Grandpa's Peddle Boat!

Wonderful Memories: A little boat, a patient Grandpa, a sweet little dog, a lovely summer afternoon, a dear sister, a boat and a pond!

Wordless Wednesday

Another Tuesday's Tea Time - At Last!

Don't these just look so yummy? A charming new bakery opened up just this month with the enticing name of

A Spoon Fulla Sugar.

With a name like that, Lorna and I couldn't resist! We chose

a Cinnamon Pecan Danish

and

a Nana's Meltaway

to have with our tea today. They are so yummy!

If you are anywhere near the Fields-Ertel/ Mason-Montgomery area,

do treat yourself to a most wonderful experience at A Spoon Fulla Sugar located in Enyart Square on Montgomery Road.

They also carry a delectable assortment of tea time treats like

Petit Fours, fruit tarts, mini cupcakes, etc., etc.

You won't be disappointed and their prices are very reasonable.

Happy Fall Y'all!

Hello Again! Long time - no see! I do miss our little visits here in cyber world so thought I'd just pop in and say,

"Happy Fall"!

It's hard to believe, summer is technically over and Fall officially begins today, isn't it?

This is our sixth week of school and Thursday we have our first field trip of the 2008-2009 School Year!

We're going to

the Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Gardens

for Wildlife Discovery Days

with our church's homeschool group.

It'll be a fun outing with picnic lunches and lots of Socialization!!

Happy Autumn to you and yours!

Wordless Wednesday - Summer Sunset