Hello Friend,
So glad you’re here! I’ve been waiting for our tea time today.
Not that it’s anything special, mind you. I’ve been spending so much time out in the garden that I haven’t taken time to bake anything new. It’s going to be brown-eyed susans again. But I think you enjoyed them last time, didn’t you?
Which reminds me, did I give you the recipe yet? I think I forgot, at our last visit.
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Brown-Eyed Susans
- 1 cup margarine
- 3 Tbsp. sugar
- 1 tsp. almond extract
- 2 cups flour
- 1/2 tsp salt
Cream margarine. Add sugar, almond extract, flour and salt. Roll level tablespoons of this mixture into balls. Place on a greased cookie sheet and flatten slightly (I used my thumb). Bake at 350 F for 14 minutes. Frost with Frosting:
- 1/2 cup icing sugar
- 1 Tbsp. cocoa
- 1 Tbsp. hot water
- 1/4 tsp. vanilla extract
Combine sugar and cocoa, add water and vanilla. Frost each cookie with a drop of icing.
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Before we head around to the back yard, take a look at those tulips. Aren’t they magnificent, standing so straight and tall? And these aren’t even all of them; there are still several more to grow up and bloom. See?
Mr. Rabbit has been leaving them alone since I sprinkled bone meal around them and put some marigolds in the vicinity. Beautiful. These tulips make my heart dance; they were so worth the wait.
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Come on around back. The Cowboy has been busy building extra garden beds, and this week Babe and I planted vegetables – everything we wanted except carrots. We couldn’t find carrot seeds anywhere. Imagine! I’ve never run into that problem before.
Digging in the dirt is therapeutic, isn’t it? To feel warm earth pass through my fingers settles me and brings me back to age-old wisdom. What has always been true …
A mighty fortress is our God,
A bulwark never failing.
Our helper He amid the flood
Of mortal ills prevailing.
Martin Luther
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Let’s sit in this spot on the patio. I’ve turned our chairs to face the flowerbed where I planted those two half-barrels with geraniums and trailing white lobelia. I must have geraniums and they must be bright pink. As you can see, these tulips are just finishing, and the hostas are just beginning. I love the look of a garden on a cloudy day. Something about the air makes the colours so vibrant.
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To plant a garden is to believe in tomorrow.
Audrey Hepburn
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Camomile, Honey & Vanilla tea is the perfect pairing for our brown-eyed susans. The tea is ever so slightly sweet, and the only sweet thing about the cookie is the drop of chocolate. Take a sip, lean back, and relax. We have nothing pressing to do in the next little while.
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The Cowboy and I took a little trip to a nearby town’s DIY home centre on the weekend. He needed more supplies for the yard. The last time he’d been there, he was almost the only customer, so we thought we’d be in and out in no time. But since his last time there, some restrictions have lifted in our province and suddenly it seemed everyone was out and about.
My goodness there were a lot of people there, trying very hard to keep to the protocols – using hand sanitizer, keeping six feet apart, following the arrows, obeying the “only-two-shoppers-in-the-greenhouse” rule.
It was impressive how hard we were all trying. But I have to say, the overall atmosphere was … tense. People were On Edge. This is a whole new world we’re trying to navigate, and the buffer that most people keep between their raw emotions and the outside world has depleted and worn thin.
Out in the lumber yard, The Cowboy cheerfully greeted our helper from the cab of our truck, only to be given a tired, gruff response. He was helpful, but not very chipper. Perhaps he’d had enough of touchy customers that day.
I was happy and relieved to get back to safe harbour. Home.
As much as many of us are anxious to get out there doing, I for one, have become accustomed to the simple and utter safety of Home. I love home.
Oh look! There, in the evergreen just over the fence. A robin peeking out. The Cowboy said that the other day he was working near that evergreen when he looked up towards the roof of the house, and there sat two robins watching him very closely. One of them had tufts of dead grass and fluff in its beak and they seemed agitated. He thought that he must be working near where they were building a nest. He left that area for a few minutes and when he came back they were gone. Maybe we’ll have baby birds chirping from that tree someday soon.
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Do you have to go? Well, thank you so much for coming and sharing simple peace and delight in my garden. Have another peek at my tulips on your way out.
See you next time, and stay safe out there.
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Featured Image (watering can with tulips) by Jill Wellington from Pixabay
That cookie recipe looks so good, I’ve saved it to my recipe folder.
Your tulips are gorgeous.
I do not look forward to going shopping anywhere, except to the grocery store, everything else can wait.
Have a great day and weekend ~ FlowerLady
I love brown-eyed Susan’s and the possibility of baby robins! We have a nest in our evergreen tree in the front yard. We keep track of the progress from our front window. Thanks for the ‘tea time’ today!
❤️Dawn
I’m glad for another helping of that delicious looking cookie. But I will pass on the camomile tea, it not being a favourite flavour.
I heard people were lining up to get into Winners and Home Sense today. But I’m with you, except for the grocery store, everything else can wait. It really can.
I enjoyed the peaceful visit…thank you.
Happy day, Joy!
Brenda
I didn’t get my garden in before the several-day’s rain hit our area. The vegetable-seed selection was pretty skimpy today when I finally visited our local garden shop–the third place I’d looked. I’d been putting it off shopping, because I too have been only grocery shopping. The bit of carrot seed I have in last-year’s packet may have to do. We always plant the carrots too thick anyway. I sat down for tea rather late tonight–not sleeping, so I appreciated your tea-time company. Nighty Night tea for me right now.