Fog-Lifter Afternoon Tea

The fog is so thick today it seems like a veil even on my indoor tea scene. Today I am serving Bengal Spice tea and home made oat crackers spread with a soft, Swiss cheese called Laughing Cow, which is a favorite of many tea drinkers in America.  The recipe for oatmeal crackers can be found online. I keep an electric coffee grinder especially to grind oats and nuts to make special flour for such treats. It makes a flour in an instant.

Since the fog was so thick today I decided to pull out the brightest pieces of china I own. I have been enjoying foggy-day teas so much that actually hope the fog stays around for a few more days.

A small dish of chopped apples with whipped cream and a dash of nutmeg is a perfect companion for today's tea. The table runner is made with white burlap. Burlap is available in many different colors at the fabric store and is an interesting material to work with for making bags, placemats, and many other things.

A good recipe for a cracker that tastes remarkably like digestive biscuits, go to Bob's Red Mill site. The recipe is here.  They taste better the older they get, so don't be disappointed if you eat them right out of the oven and they do not have any flavor. They seem to gain flavor a few hours away from baking. I find they taste best the day after. Note: I find good success with this recipe when using unbleached flour. Unbleached flour, though white in color, is still a good, natural flour and it blends a lot better than some of the hard flours. 

The chopped apple is a Melrose, which is sweet enough on its own, and is topped by unsweetened whipped cream and sprinkled with a dash of ground nutmeg. I tried to make a bright rosette by rolling up a piece of the colorful peel. These tea foods are something than anyone can do, and often in tea rooms you pay a very high price for something as simple as this.

The crackers and the cheese.

Recipe for Oatmeal Crackers is here. I need to inform you that I did not use whole wheat flour. Instead, I used unbleached flour, which is a light color flour, almost white. The whole wheat flour does not work very well in crackers because it is so hard and absorbs so much of the liquid and will not roll out well. Try the unbleached flour in that recipe and increase your oil to half a cup. Roll it out to a fourth or an eighth inch thick, and cut into squares with a knife, or use cookie cutters. (I personally do not think whole-wheat flour is always good for everyone. It is hard on the digestive system of some people, and some people get heart burn from it. However, it is up to the individual cook as to what works best for her and her family. I use unbleached flour most of the time.)

Since I have been making photographs  of my recent fog-teas to share with  blog people, my family calls the tea food "blog food."  At any given time, someone will ask, "Will we be having blog food today?" I might say, "There is still some blog food left. Help yourself."

Today I found two things I very much like,  that are made in America:

This is a soft-scented soap (anise? cinnamon? vanilla? lemon? I cannot determine what it is, but it is most pleasant) that comes from Dollar Tree. I admit a dollar is a lot to pay for one bar of soap, but this is a very large bar and lasts a long time.

Brown paper bags:

Many brands of heavy brown paper grocery bags are made in the USA. I use them for many different things: crafts, drawing my own patterns for various things, and wrapping packages. It is still the thickest, strongest type of brown paper in the world.  I have made baskets, placemats, scrap books, ornaments and many other things from this brown paper. A friend of mine shared that she once used a brown paper bag like this for her carry-on luggage while on an overseas flight, which tells how strong this brown paper really is. 

Extra Foggy Afternoon Tea

On this extra foggy afternoon, we are having raisin scones with clotted cream and orange marmalade. I have read about lemon, grapefruit or cherry marmalade but so far, have only tried orange marmalade, which is a perfect companion to raisin scones..

  Here is a tip when adding raisins to the scone mixture. First soak the raisins in an equal amount of water. If the recipe calls for a half cup of raisins, add half cup of extremely warm water and wait awhile to let it plump out the raisins and the water is raisin color. Substitute that amount of liquid for some of the liquid in the recipe.  It will make the scones fluffier and more flavorful, especially if you do not add any sugar. The raisins add enough sweetness.

Pat the dough out thickly and cut with heart-shaped cutter. The dough should be as high as the cookie cutter.

Pomegranate tea was served with these scones. If you would prefer something non-herbal, yet light, try white tea, which is similar to green tea.

Foggy Afternoon Tea

Fog in Appalachia

 (Allposters.com)

Today the Afternoon Tea consisted of avocado-egg sandwiches and oat shortbread, accompanied by the most exquisite hot chocolate-hazelnut (filbert) tea.  As you can see by the picture at the start of this post, I'm really trying to figure out shiny ways to mark certain hours of the day, even though I am calling this my "foggy afternoon tea."  Often in a foggy place, 4 a.m. looks exactly the same as 4 p.m. and even in warmer climes there are a great number of these kinds of days surrounded by the white puff of fog.  Morning or afternoon tea makes a fine "marker" for such days.

For a different type of sandwich, I put my daily bread dough in this mini-loaf pan. I have to say that the bread turned out much softer and  better done, than when made as a large loaf, and it has a pastry-like texture and taste; most pleasing. Before the second rising, after I had patted the loaves into the pans, I whisked the yolk of an egg and brushed each loaf. That is the way to make the bread nice and golden brown on the top. However, since these are home grown chicken eggs, the yolks were a deep yellow.

There is no doubt that tea time improves the mood and creates a renewed interest in work and creative endeavors.

After buttering both sides of the bread which was sliced from a tiny loaf, I added sliced avocado and a slice of boiled egg, with salt. (Click on the link to find out about the delicious salt I use.)

When you haven't the "foggiest" idea what to serve for an impromptu afternoon tea, take a second look at the ingredients you used for breakfast: hard boiled eggs, crunchy bacon, cheese, crepes, scones, and even pancakes can be made into tea foods. And, if you are trying to cut down on the amount of food you consume during the day, try cutting a bite size piece of each tea food, and drink more tea. 

Here is the Stash tea I used, and it was reported that it tasted especially great with the oatmeal shortbread. 

I am linking to Ruth at Antiques and Teacups. 

Cinnamon-Apple Spice Tea

Winter Sunset by Raos Dubravko

Today I served a tasty and wonderfully fragrant herbal tea called Cinnamon Apple Spice. There are many different companies and brands of this herbal tea, but you could also make something like it  by heating apple juice with water and spices of your choice. Bengal Spice has a similar taste, and it is also herbal. This kind of herbal tea tastes good and has the added delight of making the house smell good.

These apples are from the harvest and are called "keepers" because they keep well throughout the winter if they are stored in a cool place.

With this delicious hot tea we had carrot and cauliflower sandwiches with lettuce on thinly sliced home made bread. To make the filling, mix chopped cauliflower with grated carrots and your choice of dressing: plain yogurt, sour cream, mayonnaise, etc. Thin slices of white cheddar cheese  and apples are a tasty combination.

This is an interesting cup with a beautiful lid to keep the tea hot. First Corinthians 13:13 is written on one side. The cottage teapot in the back ground makes everything feel like home sweet home around here.

We sat on the old couch and looked through the January issues of Victoria magazine (1987-1996). Each month when I get all the older issues out, it is like getting 10 new books in the mail.

Sipping tea and viewing the ice on the flower bed from the window.

Pleasant Things For the Home

Lighthouse Walk at Biarritz 1908

by Joaquin Sorolla y Bastida (Spanish, 1863-1923)

This is the view outside, with a temperature to match, 

...and so, today I made a trip to the Dollar Tree, where I purchased some bright and interesting things.

This is a lovely foam rose-shape, (comes in pink and also red),  which I will use for a placemat, (and I would like to go back and get some more!)

and there was a new shipment of light scented perfumes from the United Kingdom. Since there were about 10 different kinds, I had a hard time deciding what I wanted. There was a lovely scent called "Pink Ice,"  but I finally settled on "Nice Lady," which is really quite a sophisticated scent for a dollar. They were all packaged so beautifully that no one would guess they were from the dollar store. 

Another one of the new perfumes: Pink Waves. Also try Pink Ice, Pink Thrills, Extreme Happiness and several others.

(Not everything here is made in China ;-)

Shown with a child's tea set is a chocolate scented candle from the Dollar Tree, and it smells better than the real thing.  The items on this table all came from used goods stores like Goodwill. I liked the porcelin candle holder because it had a handle and reminded me of days when people used to carry a light through the house at night.

Inside is a led-light candle, also purchased at Dollar Tree: a package of three for a dollar. I notice the led-lights are improved quite a bit, as they are much brighter and they flicker like candle light. I like to put several of them in gifts, like confetti sprinkled in the box.

This feather rose is for someone who has a birthday in February. She loves things like this and will probably lay it on her entry table or coffee table just as it is. If you want to put a "dew drop" on an artificial rose like this, just heat up your hot-glue and squirt a drop or two on the outer petals. When it dries it looks like drops of water.

The Dollar Tree purchases amounted to $5.00, a small price to pay for luxuries. If you are wanting to "come home" full time, but are concerned about "doing without" some luxuries, there is always the Dollar Tree. These little perks are an even greater thrill when they do not have a big price.

This afternoon we had tea at home, which included cucumber and Italian parsley (we call it cilantro) on potato bread.

Everyone agreed that the heart shapes seemed to make them taste better. 

Inside the cucumber-cilantro sandwiches on potato-bread.

This is what I did on a cold, foggy day.I would be interested to know what you do to take your mind off the cold weather or in stormy weather. I like to get the most urgent housework done as quickly as possible and then get in the car to go on errands and essential shopping; then have a brisk walk in this gloomy weather before afternoon tea. The reason I like to quickly get the house work done before going out, is because it is so pleasant to come home to a fairly (I say "fairly" because it is not always possible to do it that way) orderly house.

I am joining "Grey Days to Glimmering" Blog Party.

Jesus, Lover of My Soul

Light House Cove

by Carl Valente

I enjoy this arrangement of the song "Jesus, Lover of My Soul" and I think you will find it a soothing background inspiration for any homemaking that needs to be done. You can listen to more on my playlist here.

My house is currently in  disarray from rennovations, and that is the reason I have not posted in awhile. People are so kind to me, phoning and skyping me even from other countries, when they have not seen me online for awhile.

I hope to have something more uplifting to post later!

And if there are any subjects currently on your mind you'd like me to address, just leave a comment, and though I cannot guarantee that I can always find a perfect answer, I will try.

Love to all,

Lydia

New Song Added to Playlist

I have just added this to the top of my playlist.  I am sorry that I have not completely got rid of the ads on some of these pieces of good music, but hopefully you can click them off yourself as they come up.

This song was written by a man named Brumley, who also wrote the much loved hymns, "I'll Fly Away" and "Jesus Hold My Hand."  It was not as promoted as the other two songs, but I find it just as wonderful, if not more.  It was written about 50 years ago.

Growing in Grace: For Older Women

Daily Bread

I am enjoying this candle cup that shows a word when the light comes through it. I seem to be only able to find these at Christmas time. I would like to see more of them in other colors, with other words, as well.

This is the daily bread I have been making. I believe my own health has improved since I've not been eating commercial bread. I watched the demonstration here  and found the recipe here, and very workable. Just make sure it gets a proper rising period and do not be in a hurry. Paste her recipe from her blog onto a page and you'll have a nice printed copy for your recipe collection. 

I have been eyeing the recent post on Tea With Friends, from my blogroll, and wanting to try that crumpet recipe.

I find it interesting in the Lord's Prayer how Jesus instructed his disciples to pray for something as simple as daily bread. (Matthew 6:11).* For our daily care, even though He already knows what we need, he still wants us to pray.  

*Just linger on the reference and the scripture should pop up in another window.

Building Faith in the New Year

Inspired by the comments on the previous post, I will share some faith-building ideas, which are things I am attempting to adopt into my own world this year.

Mrs. B. has a lovely post about this aspect, here.

*While it is impossible to avoid hearing negative, doomsday reports, it is possible to keep from entertaining them.  Divert attention to Biblical solutions, yet not more religious doom and gloom replies, if you know what I mean.  

*Do not engage in fruitless complaints about things that you can do nothing about at the moment. This is an exhausting, circular discussion based on an indignant response to life. Resist the habit of thinking on the negative side of everything.

*Keep moving around and accomplishing what you need to do, and refuse to waste time worrying and talking about the state of the world. Let God take care of that.

*Don't listen to the bad news all the time. It does not mean you will not be aware of it, as it will come to your attention in other ways (friends, emails, etc) but don't deliberately tune in to the public news to immerse yourself in.  That is the bad news, and the reports are picked by the private companies which own the news stations. Much of the news is designed to demoralize people and make them desperate for changes so that they will agree to certain things just to get some relief from the worry.  The Good News is the Gospel, and the goal of every Christ-One is to use all that negative as a way to focus on that good-news message with all its solutions. Some people think we are supposed to change the world, and in a sense, it is true. We are to change it through our own households. That is something a homemaker has control over.

*Make your home, your life, your attitude and the lives around you better for you having been here.

*Go through one box of storage items, one shelf of books, one part of a closet, and one-of-something each day,. Just one extra cleaning job: One drawer in the kitchen, one shelf in the laundry room, one box of papers each day, one shelf in the kitchen, one scrap paper drawer, one sewing drawer.  

*Each week phone one person that might need some good news or something positive to think about. I phone a young friend who needs housekeeping motivation. I tell her how far along I have come in my progress of the house, even if it is is only getting fully dressed and fixing my hair.  I ask her to call me back when she is dressed.  She calls me when her front room is clean, and I call back when I have finished another task. We sometimes share what we have on our to-do list. We have enormous enjoyment from these things, and then we take pictures of before and after areas of the house.  

*Send something to someone in the mail once a month: a care package with tea party ingredients, or a card and a letter, or just anything you do not want anymore. If it is light weight, it should not be a great expense.

*Make it a goal to get in the habit of cleaning up the kitchen before you retire at night, and going through the house to straighten everything, as if you were having company in the morning. It will do great things for your mood the next day.

*Try not to hit the floor running when you first get out of bed. Get up early enough to prepare yourself and get a shower, dress up and fix up as if you were doing the most important job in the world.

*Realize it is unfair to bring children up in a home atmosphere of gloom and doom, where the negative is the automatic reaction to everything. It will breed in them a negativity that will harm their future mates and children.

*Serve tea regularly. 

*When you get in a mood slump and cannot seem to find any light in your life, go through my blogroll and read the current posts. Then go to their blogrolls and check out what blogs they like. You will most likely never read a discouraging word there. They are showing you the good side of their lives. In the old days, it was not considered "good form" to make anyone depressed by unloading all the negative thoughts and feelings on them. Consider there is a God in Heaven and a Son, the great advocate for us, and spend more time personally talking with Him.

*Listen to my playlist while cleaning the kitchen. I'm trying to eliminate the ads, but can click "skip" if any of the music has a loud ad. I've also added some really good songs that will do your heart good and help you get through your work at a good pace.

*Read the New Testament daily for positive messages to your heart. God does not want anyone to dwell on morose, unhappy things all the time.

*Suppress the habit of complaining in your home about bad things, and do what you can to correct; the rest, leave to God's will. The tendency to complain about the condition of the house, the air, the food, health, and the world, will invest itself in your mind and multiply to a legion of bad thoughts,until you can't stand your life anymore, and neither can anyone else.  For this reason it might be a good idea to limit online reading about every disease and every corruption that goes on and substitute it with intelligent study of some good literature or building knowledge on how to live your best.

*Make sure your house is in order before taking on the troubles of this world. If your mind gets too wrapped up in the fearful and the negative aspects of life, you will lose your ability to concentrate on making your home the best it can be. Take all bad news in stride, realizing that is the way it works, and that a homemaker has a chance to live above it all by creating a refuge at home. It is necessary to discuss the political issues sometimes, but keep a proper perspective of it so that instead of being drawn into despair and discouragement, you lift your family up to higher spiritual levels.

*Increase your skills in things that would benefit you, your home, your family. This is not limited to cooking and sewing, but even those two subjects have limitless learning possibilities. Try something you have not done before. It could be photography, learning how to refinish old furniture, upholstery, writing fiction or non-fiction, art of some kind, interior design and house design, or even learning to repair a washer, dryer and other household items. This kind of positive progress will make the world's bad news have less impact on your mind. Use these new interests as rewards to yourself  for daily work.

My own belief is that, like Paul, although I am a citizen of the country in which I live, I am also a citizen of a different country, with a different passport, a different ruler and different code to live by. Yes, we are here in this world, but God gives us His will to follow, so that we may endure, and have abundant life.

If you even put one of these items into practice, you will find that you see more of the ways in which God is helping you, protecting you and working in you.

Of course it is important that we know what things to avoid and what things to embrace, so naturally it is good to talk out political and religious things in the home. However I do think we have to have a proper mind-set about it and not be drawn down into the morose, defeating talk.  It is, for example, important to know what they are teaching in public schools, how to help your children avoid things harmful to their spirit and body, hype about the economy collapse (how many decades have we been endangered with that?), the over-population "threat", the lack of jobs projection, the "you can't survive on one income" fallacy, the end-of-the world predictions, and shortages on food and necessities threat.  These kinds of things are designed to keep us in a constant state of unrest, so that we cannot concentrate on being inventive, resourceful and successful, and will always be dependent on the government news.

Anyone who would like a phone call this year is welcome to email me and set up a time. ladylydiaspeaks@comcast.net   I also have a personal email update that I send out privately. If you would like to receive that, please let me know. It is just about things going on around my home and in my life, including sewing projects and hospitality events, room re-painting, and things I do not put on this blog.

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