The Blue Willow Journal

Having Fun Being Green

Finding wonderful things at resale shops, flea markets and garage sales has become such a fun pastime, not only for me but my whole family. We all head out on a regular basis with a few dollars in our pockets never knowing what we will find.

Besides being fun, practical and even lucrative at times - this habit is green! Giving these things a new life saves them cluttering up the landfill and avoids the need to buy new items when these are often far better functionally and aesthetically. As an additional bonus, these vintage items often lead to furthering one's education on the most unexpected topics. Not a bad deal all the way around!

Here are some recent "scores":

 

a Spode cup in perfect condition......

 

a stunning bird plate from the 1860s.....

intricately embroidered linen napkins.....

 

and crocheted pillowcases in a great pink for summer!

How to Tea

Recently I taught a class for our local community school on how to plan and give an afternoon tea. This was something I had been interested in doing for quite some time and it was great to finally do it.  The class covered types of tea, how to brew tea, menu planning, presentation ideas, baking tips and resource ideas. It was great fun and the class participants were terrific! I am planning on teaching a Christmas Tea class and a Manners for Children Tea Class in the fall.

 

 

 

 

Teatime

In reading one of my English magazines recently I came upon an article about "bringing back teatime". I didn't realize teatime was becoming elusive, but I guess life gets crazier by the day no matter where you live.

Quoting from the article: "Teatime can be a relaxing way to socialize: the cooking and preparation has all been done beforehand and there's less food involved than at lunch or dinner, more time to chat. It's also relatively short, making it a good opportunity to invite people whom you may not know very well or who for various reasons might not enjoy mixing with your other friends over a long meal."

Good points. I just did a Valentine Tea for two of my sisters, making everything here in Rhode Island and transporting it to Connecticut - very doable and enjoyable. When everyone is home for Christmas we always have a tea one night instead of dinner with the men in the family just as happy with this tradition as everyone else.

The truth is I haven't met anyone who doesn't like "a tea" - I've done teas for large numbers of women, family friends and colleagues.......the response is usually delightful surprise at how relaxing it is and how good the tea and goodies are.

So I'm going to do my part in keeping teatime a frequent part of 21st century life.