Well, Lavender, it is a lovely day here in New England. A trace of the cool weather is hanging around too. It was down near 50 last night, and today may be in the mid 70s, and not as humid as I am accustomed to.

I made a pot of Celestial Seasonings Bengal Spice tea, two cups from one little silk sachet. It smells so nice. And I heated the Fat Free Half/Half before I poured it. I also do not use honey nor sugar, but like Splenda.

My little grandaughters were coming here every Tuesday afternoon this summer, but now that school stops, the Tuesday tea and a visit is coming to an end. But I have the ingredients all set for making the teacake/cookie recipe when the littlest one visits on Friday. We should make enough of those to send a couple dozen home. I hope that she will have the same kind of memory that I've cherished all my adult life, of teacakes and my grandmother in the kitchen making them from scratch.

ML- What a lovely memory to give your little grandaughters :)

Your weather sounds wonderful...not too hot or too cold. How long are you going to be up in New England?

I've never tried Celestial Seasonings Bengal Spice, but I do like spice teas. I'll have to try to find some for fall...which seems right around the corner.

Hiya! I brought in my ice cold Pepsi. I've been out working in the yard where I am building a "fence" or as dh calls it, the Fence-Mahal. I sure picked the wrong time of year to do anything outside.

When did you have a freeze Lavender? I'm still watering my garden, and some things are producing, but it's not even edible. If it will hang in there for another 2 or 3 weeks I think the temperatures may drop into the 90's for highs.

50 degrees sounds wonderful. Can you box that up and send it down here?

Marti- Ice cold Pepsi sounds perfect, with your weather. Do you have any pictures of your Fence-Mahal? :)

We had the temperatures dip down to 30 a couple of nights this week, so my beans and cherry tomatoes did not like it, especially out in the kitchen garden. That's the coldest area of the garden, which is why I have mostly blueberries, purple raspberries, bee balm, catmint and perennials out there. The arbor was a good place to grow the cherry tomatoes and pole beans, but I'll have to get an earlier start next year.

I don't know how everyone in the South puts up with the high heat and humidity, but they probably wonder about our long winters and three feet of snow :)

Hopefully, September will bring you some cooler temperatures and you can enjoy the garden, again. Right now, it's really pretty here. The pastures and wheat fields are all turning a light golden color, which looks amazing with the dark green of the pine trees. No leaves turning color yet, but when they do, I'll take some pictues!

I'll take long winters and 3 feet of snow. Right now!

I have hated this weather since we moved here in 1980, but this is the best place for dh to work, so we are here until he retires, probably another 10 years. Then I want out. He thinks he would like to stay, but I've done my time.

No pictures of the fence yet. So far I just have it framed, and some pieces laid out in the garage. Fil is in the hospital after having a small stroke, and we are going there in the evenings - which is the best time to get anything done outside other than very early in the morning.

Hi,
I've invited myself for tea but I'm afraid my drink of choice is black coffee.

I had a fairly lazy day. I got up just 'fore DH, Rollie, had to leave for a doctor's appointment. he's had a LOT of trouble with his lungs and coughing etc. The doc told him that he has an unusual case. i always say if you're going to do something , be sure and do it up right. this was a follow up appt. he spent nine days in the hospital coughing up blood. Don't know why!!!

i found a new recipe for a stir fry and tried that tonight. it uses pasta instead of rice. Pasta is always good. I had a lot of veggies chopped up as well as chicken. We can always eat chicken.

Our daughter called and she's pushing to get Rollie to see an acuputureist(?) She likes to try things and he did help her.

Sorry bout your f-i-l. Hope the stroke doesn't amount to much.

ok, I guess I've rambled on enough for now.
shirley

I bought Republic of Tea's special edition promoting the movie The Help. It is a caramel cake black tea. I personally did not like it, so I decided to bring it to work to share. Everyone took one or two teabags home. Two people got back to me today about how much they enjoyed the tea, so I am going to give them more.

Sorry, dropping by on Wed. for the Tuesday tea, I see everyone is gone. My Tuesday consisted of the work day with coffee of course. I was fostering a bichon 3 year old dog who's owner has breast cancer and sadly has gone into hospice. I would love to keep her but can't leave her home 5 days a week for 9 hrs. a day - she would be too lonely. So, there are 2 different families who want her - I have had her a month and never had a dog before - maybe when I can cut down to working part-time I can get a dog - she is so sweet! Happy to find her a good home now, so it was a good day.

Katrina, over here in the morning sun, I have a pot on for my midmorning cuppa. I have to meditate before I launch into a sewing project. Doing a caftan without a pattern, and every cut counts.

A bichon is a lovely dog, will make some family very happy. But in your choice, make sure the new owners can afford to give her the grooming required to keep her healthy and pretty. Very smart animals they are.

Well, I hear the gas generator running as DH tests it. I thought coming up here to New England I'd be out of harms way from hurricanes, but now he is preparing for any power outages should Irene head this way. What a bummer.

ML, good luck with the caftan, it sounds comfy and cool. I was reading Dog whisperer books, and heard about the Monks of New Skete dog - or should I say people training and it is interesting how dogs function. Good advice about the grooming - they are high maintenance, but what a nice little dog! I will miss her when a new home is decided on. I wish I could join you in the sun instead of here at my very boring job - the economy has made our business super slow for the last two years, but better this than a visit from Irene. Hopefully you get bypassed!

I'm so glad you've all stopped by, for a visit. Tea can go on, as long as everyone is having a good time, so it's never too late to join in :)

Today, I'm just about to have a big cup of Earl Grey and tackle my desk. It's a bit of a mess and I need to get organized! All this gardening and my inside chores, definitely fall behind. I'm hoping to get enough done today, that I can go out and finish working on my bench, when it cools off a bit. The fairy garden is on the east side of the house, so it's nice and shady in the afternoon.

ML- I hope you don't have any hurricane worries. It doesn't seem fair that you go north for the summer and they're following you, up there.

Katrina- Your dog sounds like a real sweetie. I know you'll find great 'parents' for her and a happy new home. I hope you'll be able to get your own dog, soon.

Ellendi- Great idea to share tea, at work. I've never tried that kind, but it sounds very interesting. I'm looking forward to seeing the movie, too :)

Shirley- Coffee is fine! Glad you stopped by and I hope your DH is feeling better.

Marti- Sorry to hear about your FIL...I hope he gets out of the hospital, soon.

Tonight it is chicken fettucini alfredo, with some red sweet peppers and some small green Asian cabbages. It should look beautiful.

And I also found some Okinawa sweet potatos in the Asian market up here in Massachusetts, but imported from Hawaii not locally grown. I was hoping I could sprout a couple, but they say that Hawaii irradiates their potatos so they do not sprout. The ones in Alabama were locally grown, and I left at least one growing in our veggie garden there. Hopefully I can start a big bed of these lovely lavender tubers early next spring. But meanwhile, I must get busy making FLGARGOYLE's sweet tater pie recipe.

After reading all the No.1 Ladies Detective Agency books, I've become fond of the "bush tea" that Precious Ramotswe drinks constantly. It is sold as ROOIBUS or "red bush" and grown in South Africa. The tea is very very red in the cup. Slightly naturally sweet too. I just finished a cup.

Shirley, that sounds really serious. I hope he doesn't give up on doctors until they find out what is wrong. I know that is my tendency. After being to 2 or 3 docs who can't find anything wrong, I just give up and live with it.

Katrina, I had to look up bichon to see which one it is. Cute little dogs! I know what you mean about not having time for a dog. I guess that's why so many working people have cats. Mine sleeps all day whether I'm here or not.

ML, I hope the hurricane doesn't make it up there. How long are you going to be there this time?

Fil got out of the hospital today. I haven't seen him since Tuesday night when he was hallucinating and thought he was in jail. He was so out of it that the hospital put an orderly in the room 24/7, and fil kept pulling his IV out. He even took a swing at the orderly when he decided to make a jail break. What's funny is that fil is 85, has Parkinsons and is fairly feeble, and probably weighs 120 now. And the orderly was a good 200 pounds. ;)

Marti, sure hope your FIL is okay. One time when my mother was in the hospital for a heart attack, they called me to come sit with her because she was unruly and hallucinating. It turned out they gave her something she never should have had, and I hope I get it right after all these years, I think it was Finneran? With elderly people, instead of it calming them down it gives them hallucinations. When I walked in there after midnight, she was standing up in the hospital bed trying to tune the TV, and then she was jumping on the bed! And she was over 80 at that time. I hope I never run across that stuff ever again. So I know what you mean about your FIL outdoing a much larger orderly....or a whole floor of nurses too.

A few years back, the AKC BEST IN SHOW winner was "J_R". He was a male bichon frisee, and he was really strutting his stuff. Oh boy, he was the favorite from the start, and it seemed he KNEW he was going to win that whole show. I could just imagine the personality of that little guy. But it needs to have a lot of grooming to stay looking that good. I wish I could offer to take your little bichon, but not at my age when the two little guys I have is as much as I can take care of. Vet bills are high with two, three would be way too much.