High Tea Tuesday! Our Daily Dinner

High Tea Tuesday!

chuckieb 7 years ago
Good Morning Everyone! Just about to eat brekkie and haven't thought about what I want to make for dinner yet. Quickly took a picture of my table set for High Tea this afternoon with my girlfriends. I don't own a white linen tablecloth which would have been ideal for this. Something I should put on my wish list. But all for fun so am really looking forward to a lovely day.

First pic is of a lady teddy bear that I've set up in the front foyer as you come into the house. Second pic is the table thus far. And the third pic are those gorgeous cookies I was telling you about that I bought at the Ottawa Farmer's market on Saturday, made in springerel moulds.

Wishing everyone a fun day!
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chuckieb 7 years ago said:

I actually very much dislike the tea pot in the first picture but it does have a nice story. Jim's Dad bought it for Jim's Mom when Jim was born as he was born on Mother's Day. It has a matching cream and sugar although one of them has a broken handle.

At one end of the table I have candles and at the other end a big silver tray that belonged to my Mom and Dad. I think it was a wedding gift. On the tray I set three old teacups and saucers that belonged to my Grandmother, a silver creamer, some flowers and a china Hedgehog tea candle as one of my friends and I have a major penchant for hedgehogs. :)

I'm giving my friends each one of those cookies today along with a Christmas ornament of a hedgehog for one of them and a funky brooch for the other. :)

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mommyluvs2cook 7 years ago said:

Morning Janet! Love the teddy bear, how perfect to got with the theme! Table setting looks lovely and OMG on the cookies, I never would have know and just thought they were tree ornaments!

Going to go to the gym then getting some more Christmas shopping done today which never seems to end. Picking up our Christmas cards as well :) Snapfish now gives you the option of having them mailed to you or you can pick them up at a local store that provides their service, which to me, sounds so much faster, so hopefully it will all work out the same, especially since the store is a Walmart, yeesh. Wasn't super happy about the lighting in all the pictures we took, but that's what happens when it's pouring outside and the picture taking moves inside :\

Caiden has a Cub Scout meeting tonight, I need to check our email to find out where we are meeting at. Michael is back on nights again for the next few nights, UGH! Don't have a clue what's for dinner yet, hopefully some inspiration will come to me. May swing by the meat market and pick up some chicken breast and do a soup or something, since it's pretty cold out. Also need bacon and may grab some whole chickens as well. Wishing everyone a great day!!!

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Good4U 7 years ago said:

Everything looks perfect, Janet! the teddy bear is adorable, the table looks great and those cookies are amazing! I am quite sure you will all have a great time.

Good luck with your Christmas shopping, Michelle and I hope Caiden has a good Cub Scout meeting tonight. I am quite sure you will make something good for dinner tonight.

I am going to start doing my Christmas cards today, we received our first one yesterday! Now I have to remember to pick up stamps the next time I am out. We are having Weiner Schnitzel for dinner tonight with creamy chive potatoes and I am not certain of what kind of veggie we will have with it.

Wishing everyone a great day!

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chuckieb 7 years ago said:

Good Morning Michelle! Exciting that your Christmas cards are ready. Hope Caiden has fun at his Cub meeting. Poor Michael. I feel really bad for him. He's been working a lot and a lot of tough shifts. Which in turn is hard on you as well! :( Soup sounds yummy. Have a fun shop at the Meat Market.

Morning Joce. I sent out two Christmas cards yesterday and received one from a cousin in England last week. I only send out to the elders of my family now who aren't computer savvy and then I do the rest by Christmas emails. I love sending and receiving cards but it seems to be becoming a lost art and I also despise paying so much to Canada Post. I'm starting to sound a bit like a grinch aren't I? LOL. Weiner Schnitzel sounds wonderful.

Thanks to both of you for the compliments on my table and decorations. Just getting the kitchen cleaned up and then I'll start on the sandwiches.

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LindaLMT 7 years ago said:

Good Morning Everyone!

Beautiful table Janet! I like the teapot you have with the teddy bear, very antiquey looking and too the other older pieces. And what detail on the cookies! I'm sure you and your friends will have a great time today.

Happy to hear your visit at the farm went well Michelle. All families have "those" family members that just go the opposite way. Do what makes you happy. Like the song goes ... "But it's all right now, I learned my lesson well. You see, ya can't please everyone, so ya got to please yourself" (Garden Party by Ricky Nelson)

You sure are in a deep freeze Shona! Does it get even colder where you are living? or is this the worse of it?

That was a long journey with MIL's house Bren and WoW spending Christmas Eve there for the past 32 years.

Too funny Laurie that DD forgot her winter wear. I guess she was hoping it would stay warmer longer.

Do you have many cards to send out Joce? Every year I say it's the last year for cards because fewer and fewer people do them anymore but I still send out about a dozen.

I/we accomplished a lot yesterday. Just so many little things to attend to and coordinate with a long distance move but it's getting done and like I told DH, we do the best we can and that's all we can do. Not worth getting sick over. He had a major melt down Sunday night and finally calmed down. Yeesh.

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mommyluvs2cook 7 years ago said:

We received our first Christmas card as well yesterday Joce :) Yum on your dinner, I love chives in my mashed potatoes.

We still receive quite a few Christmas cards Janet, but like you said Canada's postage is expensive, especially when you would be mailing 20+ cards.

Hi Linda! Yeah the "unhappy" members of the family are the rowdy/(hate to use the word but trashy as well) They are upset we are selling the farm but don't want to contribute either in keeping it up and running. Regardless they just want to use it to party at or either live at when they feel like it and tear it up and leave their junk. Y'all are doing what sounds like a great job with moving. Just take a breath every once in a while and you'll get through it :)

Decided on this for dinnerChicken Tortilla Soup and also made this the other day Italian Shortcrust Cookies and got them all cut and baked, then ran out of time to decorate them. They are in the fridge right now but plan on getting the decorating done tomorrow evening when the kids get home from school.

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LindaLMT 7 years ago said:

Yep, been there done that with immediate family members Michelle. When my mom passed away (several years back now) both my sisters had strong opinions about what I should do with the house (I was the executor to her estate). They both thought it should have been rented out and had these wild notions of imaginary evergreen income coming in. So instead of arguing with them I wrote up their responsibilities regarding the rental, as well as mine, and told them I was "so happy" this would be a shared responsibility and family venture and I would take it to an attorney and have it be officially written up. Well ... needless to say neither one wanted to do anything, nor be responsible for their commitment and quickly supported the sale.

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chuckieb 7 years ago said:

Phew. Have just a sec to pop in before the girls arrive. Just finished the sandwiches. Realized first thing that the one ingredient short fairy hit and I had no mayo! Grrrrr....so ran to the store and back. The coronation chicken sandwiches taste wonderful. Never thought to put a curry element in to my chicken salad before. You learn something every day right!

Thanks Linda. Glad you got a lot accomplished yesterday. Glad also that DH is feeling a little better. Moving is one of the biggest causes of stress there is so it's no wonder. I also think one of the nicest things about being married is to always have that second person to calm one down when one does lose it. LOLOLOL.

I used to mail about 40 cards Michelle and I still mail perhaps 10? Tortilla soup sounds wonderful. Gotta go. I hear the door.

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LindaLMT 7 years ago said:

When DH is having one his melt downs the only to do is nothing. He's like a 4 year old throwing a tantrum and until he runs out of steam and exhausts himself it's just best to stay out of the way and let him run dry.

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Cosmicmother 7 years ago said:

The table looks amazing Janet! I think the teapot looks super cute with the flowers in it. Enjoy your High tea! :)

Hi Michelle, you sound like me, I think the shopping is never ending too. Chicken tortilla soup sounds great. I LOVE those Italian cookies! :)

Hi Joce, how nice to receive a card. I haven't had a Christmas card in forever! Some family use to send e-cards but I don't even get that anymore. I guess since we moved far away everyone forgot us, lol, ;) It's probably me as I stopped sending them too! I use to do e-cards, but getting a paper card in the mail is so nice. :) I was just thinking of wiener schnitzel yesterday, I should make that soon too. And the creamy chive potatoes sound wonderful!

Hi Linda, I know how stressful this moving/selling business is, your right to try and keep calm. So much is out of your control!
It can get very cold up here. The coldest since we moved here 4 yrs ago was -40C with a wind chill of -44C. It can easily dip to -35 with the wind chill, but generally lasts a day or two. Right now we're into a 10 day forecast of -20's...with windchills down to -36C. So very, very cold. I am still not use to it, when I was kid we rarely saw snow in the winter and it usually stayed in the +10C/50F on the coldest days. The kids love the snow though, and there's a lot to do here in the winter vs the rain on the West Coast ;) So I grin and bear it, lol.

Well, we got all the cupboards in and finished the counter top! Now it's just the finishing details like foot boards and trim etc..:)
The Christmas tree is unfinished. We have two trees. One is a large 7' douglas fir that is very full and real looking. It's a pain to put up as there are so many branches to attach and fluff up. So we often use our smaller 5.5' tree that goes up in one swoop and is pre-lit. Since my MIL is coming I wanted the nice tree, so I spent forever setting it up then realized we have no lights, lol. So Pete is getting some LED's for it today and picking up the pulls and knobs for the kitchen etc...Hopefully I'll have the tree decorated tomorrow.
I don't have anything for dinner yet, so perogies and salad are my back-up plan. I ordered grocery's as the roads are too treacherous. And I just need to follow up on a few upcoming appt's, I feel so behind on getting back to everyone! So I'll feel better once I cross some stuff off my list today. I want to make banana bread too and give the house that warm and cozy feel as it's freezing out there!

Have a fabulous day everyone! :)

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MissouriFarmWife 7 years ago said:

Quick note. We leave in a bit to take the RV in for winterizing so only have a sec.

Supposed to get cold here, they forecast Arctic air from you all in Canada. Low about 9F Thursday, depending on which station you listen to....sometimes it seems like they are talking about different states when they give weather reports. Ha ha. But it will be cold. And yes we expect about 6 snowflakes -- LOL-- Wednesday. It is foggy out, the forecast was sunny today but obviously the fog didn't get the memo!

Got to go. See ya.

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chuckieb 7 years ago said:

You did a very wise thing with your sisters regarding the sale of your Mother's house Linda. I suspect that is why she made you her Executor in the first place. :) Jim's Dad is 87 and when he passes away he is leaving the family cottage to all of his five children. We've been shaking our heads over that for years. It's going to be a nightmare.

Thanks Shona! Wow on a -40C day. That's just nasty when it gets that cold. Not safe really , to be outside then. Yay on getting the cupboards and countertop in. Your trees sound lovely. Yum on perogies. Banana bread will indeed make your house cozy.

Canadians are good at sharing Karen, even our weather. :)

Afternoon tea was just delightful. It was my very first time eating a cucumber sandwich and also my first time trying devonshire cream. The sandwiches were yummy. My favourite was the Coronation chicken but they all got eaten up with the exception of maybe 7 leftover which I sent home with my girlfriend who is single so then she has dinner tonight. The scones were amazing, with the devonshire cream on them and then raspberry jam. I think that was almost my favourite thing. My friend's Victoria sponge cake was very pretty and tasted great. She did a lemon curd filling. It was her Mother's recipe so made it all that more special. Jim washed all the china for me after lunch while I went and chatted with my friends in the family room. One of my friends knits, and one crochets and they are forever giving me little things they've created. And they did today as well, a crocheted reindeer and a knitted Christmas ball although i think it might also be a sugar plum. :) So much fun.

Am making
Jarlsberg Chicken
for dinner with noodles and pesto on the side.

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gaspesiangal 7 years ago said:

Your table looks beautiful Janet and I love the tea pot and the story behind it.Holy cow, those cookies are a work of art.
I did some shopping on line too Michelle and knocked one person off of the list. Shish on the evening shifts. Chicken is always popular here. Sigh, every family has members like that. There's an old Sicilian saying....He has arms that are two different lengths. A long one for taking and a short one for giving.
Enjoy your Weiner Schnitzel Joce.
I suspect that Janet is right about your parents appointing you executor Linda. I've given up trying to please the family, it doesn't work.
Wow, that's cold Shona. Our temps dip that low but not usually until late Jan. Yeah!!!! the kitchen cupboards are in an it's almost done. Plus your trees are up. I'm trying to talk DH into not getting one this year, I'm just not feeling it.
Good luck with that Joce and as Janet said...we like to share.
I'm still trying to clean out the freezer and pulled two salmon burgers and two wild boar sausages. I'll serve that with a veggie stir fry.
I hope that I didn't miss anyone...if I did then my apologies.

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LindaLMT 7 years ago said:

Yes, my mother knew I had the head the guts for the job. Not a job one desires but I wish I had someone like me for me when my time comes. Anyhow ... more pleasant topics.
Had Kenpo this afternoon and after grabbed something out to eat. Went to Bonefish grill and they have THE BEST espresso martinis so I had one of them with cedar plank grilled salmon and Caesar salad. DH had a gin martini with mahi mahi Oscar style and a Caesar salad.
It wants to rain here so bad but it just won't. It's hot, it's humid and if it passes it's suppose to bring in a cold front and bring the temps down to about 50(f). I have to laugh because it's December 6th and I'm still running the air conditioning and Shona's windows are so iced up she can't even see out them.

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LindaLMT 7 years ago said:

High Tea sounded like a big success Janet and fun time! I foresee more in the future ...
Nice on completing the kitchen Shona! Must be a very good feeling. The details will be a breeze. Banana bread sounds good. I have two ripe bananas in the fridge begging to be made into something but I'm too lazy at the moment to go mix up the ingredients.
It is finally raining here, hopefully it'll be a good soaking rain as we need it.

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chuckieb 7 years ago said:

That's an amazing quote Bren. :) You did well from your freezer. Will both your kids be home for Christmas and will they want/expect a tree?

An espresso martini eh Linda. I'd try that. I wouldn't care for the gin martini. I need some other flavour in there. And I'm not talkin' just an olive. :) Your lunch sounded fantastic. It is amusing hearing the disparity in temperatures among us. :) Indeed, I'll totally use the High Tea again in the future for special lunches for company. Glad you are getting some rain.

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gaspesiangal 7 years ago said:

Thank you Janet, I love that quote. Our son still lives with us and our daughter is just a few minutes away so yes. Our son probably wouldn't notice lol, but our daughter would be disappointed so I guess that I will just bite the bullet and put one up.
I would so go for your meal Linda. Yeah on the rain and the lower temps. We haven't had the air on since August.

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laurieg 7 years ago said:

Hello everyone!
Becca and I had Panera for dinner. Frank had a work get together. I so tired I'm ready for bed lol.
Glad the tea was a success. I used to do a few Theme type dinners. I had Jewish night and made recipes from my great aunts cookbook once. I've done Chinese food but mostly on New Year's Eve.
I have never really been a card person. Frank says it's because I'm not sentimental. I feel guilty throwing them away after the holiday but I hate the clutter. When the kids were little we sent out the picture Christmas cards.

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MissouriFarmWife 7 years ago said:

Hi. Back from the RV trip.

The table setting is lovely Janet. You did a great job. I have never attempted a high tea but it looks like such fun. The tea pot is similar to some we saw in Germany except that shape was the coffee pot, their tea pots were usually round, or square, and short, depending on the style. I bought a Bavarian one that I never use, just look at...ha ha!

We got Wayne's mom a pink set and she loved it! (I don't like pink but she did.) His sister has it now and plans to put it in a curio cabinet as soon as she gets around to finding one she likes! The set came with cups, creamer, sugar bowl, and saucers.

Love hedgehogs. When we lived in Germany one came into the basement and the Polizei just picked it up, laughed, said "Igel!" and carried it into the woods. I have a shadow box of the tiny ones.

How was Caiden's Cub Scout meeting Michelle. We ended up grabbing a bite on the way home at the only place with RV parking! Your dinner sounds yummy!

Joce, you are way ahead of me n Christmas cards! Mine go out near New Years.

Linda, I agree moving is a stressful thing. Hope all goes well and you sell the house soonest.

Shona, glad your kitchen is nearing the home stretch! Pictures please!

Hi Bren! Love the quote!

We are settled in the living room. Mel is asleep on my lap after tossing his cookies on the floor....Aargh! Fritz is still wound up after spending most of the afternoon is his crate. He chewed a hole In one of bottles of air fresener scents that came with the Rainbow. It dripped all over the hardwood floors and smells quite nice, if just a tad stronger than we like. Ha! A room filled with the scent of berries!

Wayne started a fire in the stove and it is slowly heating the living room. He is tired out and both of us are ready to relax. If their are no fire calls it will be a nice evening.

Have a good day, everyone.

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chuckieb 7 years ago said:

I think we only had the air on two or three times this past summer. :)

Theme dinners are really fun and almost easier to put together than regular ones. A Jewish night would be a lot of fun Laurie. I'm really not that knowledgeable about Jewish food to be honest.

That's nice the Police let the hedgehog go in the woods Karen. :) My hedgehog loving friend is going to England this coming spring to visit family and she's scouted out a Hedgehog Rehab that's located close to where she'll be. Needless to say that is a high light of her itinerary. :) Oh goodness that Fritz chewed a hole in the air freshener. Eesh. Shall keep my fingers crossed that you don't get a fire call. :)

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