Tea Parties Monday September 10th

I enjoy looking at the Make Mine Pink Sites and blogs http://makeminepink.com/ because they are all about the home! Furnishing it, painting it, eating in it, supplies for the home and much more, abound in these sites. I admire the fact that many families have little businesses from home to add to their income.

"Spring Tea" by Susan Rios

It is always interesting to see those pieces that most people do not think they have any use for, used in a beautiful way, even making it more valuable.

On Monday September the 10th, they are hosting a tea party. You just post pictures of your own tea party on your blog. Go to the site and click on the MMP Blog and read more about it. I hope to post one also on that day. JUst click on the pink invitation and see what is going on.

I often wish there were Tea Gardens at the local fairs and festivals instead of those awful, stinking beer gardens that one is forced to walk past witht their children. Tea Gardens would welcome little children and teen agers and all those people that need a nice, soothing place to sit. Whatever ideas you have to encourage such a trend, please let us know!!

The thing I like most as a hostess, about an Afternoon Tea, is that the preparation is usually refrigerated, and the only thing you have to keep hot is the tea pots. I think a meal is wonderful, but if guests are late, or it sits on the stove too long, it is not as good. Tea foods seem so fresh and good and even when we are in a hurry, there are always gourmet cookies or sliced fruits and vegetables.










The paintings are from the Susan Rios Gallery at

http://www.karenwhitney.com/sr/gallery2/

Among Friends" by Susan Rios

I remember when I first moved to this location. A woman and her three daughters brought us a portable tea party. They even brought a folding round table with table cloth, and tea pots. They created a tea buffet for us with little bits of foods--cheeses, meats, gourmet crackers, vegetables, fruits, scones and desserts and of course pots and pots of hot tea. I was so lifted up by it that I jotted it down in my memory as something to do for my neighbor, who cannot get around much anymore, due to her health.

Please check back again this afternoon, as we are trying to post a video of some simple cleaning and decorating tips to show those people who need a little boost in their homemaking. Even a one minute show seems to take so much time to set up!

Also my daughter and I are considering posting "Room of the Week" just to motivate us to get some long awaited improvements finished. In the meantime, I am absorbed in the usual things that make a house a home. While I was washing dishes today a thought struck me about the incredible freedom that homemakers have, compared to those who work for another employer every day. Our schedules are whatever we chose that suits us best. Our surroundings and decor are also up to us. Our time and our money are managed by us, and we can choose what kind of music we want to listen to, which is quite the opposite when in a place of business that is not your own. If we do not feel well, we rest. If we need to have a friend to tea, we do so. If we want to write a letter, we do. There are crafts and hobbies and sewing, house keeping and decorating, and every lovely thing that makes being the guide and keeper of the home attractive.