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Celebrating the Joy of Living & Home Making ~

Baking, Cooking, Decorating, Tea Time, and taking Inspiration from those I love and the world around me...

A sharing of my heart and my home from a Christian perspective

...with a wee bit of whimsy added.

Monday 15 June 2015

Tea Time and Lilacs




What is one to say about June, the time of perfect young summer, the fulfilment of the promise of the earlier months, and with as yet no sign to remind one that its fresh young beauty will ever fade. ~
Gertrude Jekyll - excerpt from Victoria May/June 2011


Welcome to Tea Time my lovely friends! 



It is lilac season and the blooms are just right for picking.



I love how the light makes these lilacs look ethereal and the scent fills the room with a heavenly perfume.


I have pieces of china that look fabulous with lilacs but none look as pretty or so charming as my Johnson Bros. Rose Chintz. Those little lavender blue flowers in the pattern pick up on the colour of the lilacs so nicely. So I hope you will indulge me today. My little lavender turtle is joining us too. He hasn't made an appearance in quite a while.



An old-fashioned bouquet of lilacs and old-fashioned china call for old-fashioned tea treats. So join me, won't you, for a nice cup of tea with cookies and some tea biscuits with rhubarb sauce. 


Life is like a teacup to be filled to the brim and enjoyed with friends.~ Unknown 



I have been busy jarring up rhubarb sauce so we can enjoy a little taste of summer throughout the coming months. 


Mmm, good! The nice thing about rhubarb sauce, is you can serve it so many ways. It's wonderful on toast or English muffins, crumpets, biscuits or scones, ice cream, cake, etc. Or it's lovely right out of a bowl. My simple recipe for the sauce is at the end of this post.


Perhaps you would prefer an old-fashioned sugar cookie with your cuppa. Both the pink and the green plates on which my goodies are served are Old English made by Johnson Bros. 



My children favoured these cookies when they were growing up and since my youngest is arriving home this week, I decided to make a batch. I always cut them out big with a raisin in the center.



Happiness is sharing tea with a friend, or two or three.




Savour the scent of lilacs for they won't last long.



It's the month of June,
the month of leaves and roses,
when pleasant sights salute the eyes
and pleasant scents the noses. ~ Nathaniel Parker Willis

Soon my roses will be in bloom too. Love this time of year!

There will be no Tea Time Tuesday next week because my son will be home from Illinois and this mama is most anxious to spend some time with her boy. These precious moments don't come along very often and I know you will all understand. 



Sweet blessings to you, my friends!


People need people and friends need friends
And we all need love, for a full life depends
Not on vast riches or great acclaim
Not on success or worldly fame
But just in knowing that someone cares
And holds us close in their thoughts and prayers.
~ Helen Steiner Rice ~


Food for thought today: 
Smiling not only increases your face value; it's contagious!~ unknown


RHUBARB SAUCE
Clean and cut up stalks of rhubarb into 1 inch pieces to make four cups. 
Dissolve 1 cup of sugar and 1/4 cup water together in a saucepan then bring to a boil. 
NOTE: You may add 1/2 TBSP strawberry jello powder to the mixture if you desire. 
Lower the heat and add the cut up rhubarb. Cover and cook for 10 minutes. Pour into sterilized jars. Will freeze well too. This recipe makes about three small canning jars of sauce.



I am joining the following parties as well~

A Return to Loveliness
Tuesday Cuppa Tea
Tea in the Garden
Tea Cup Tuesday


Sharing from my heart~ Sandi

34 comments :

  1. Sandi; Before you mentioned how well the lilacs bring out the beauty of Rose Chintz dishes I thought it so in my viewing of them. so delicate and so perfect together. Your biscuits look so yummy too....Love Auntie P

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  2. Hi Sandi. I love lilacs. Used to have a fence of them.Glorious fragrance. They go so well with the china. The photos are lovely! Thanks so much for hosting and linking to Tuesday Cuppa Tea!
    Ruth

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  3. Yes Sandi, the lilacs just do enhance the beauty of your signature pattern so well! Your biscuits with the rhubarb sauce and your cookies are perfect with a cup of tea. Thank you for hosting your lovely party and most of all enjoy your time with your dear son. Hugs and blessings to you!

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  4. Hi Sandi,
    Everything is so very beautiful today! Such gorgeous pics and your lilacs do look stunning with your Johnson Brother's Rose Chintz. My lilacs are finished now so I am enjoying yours. Your cookies, scones and rhubarb sauch make me hungry! Happy Tea Day and enjoy your special time with your precious son! Thank you for hosting! Take care, Karen

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  5. I love the scent of lilacs and they look wonderful in your rose chintz china. Enjoy the time with your son while he's home, I agree that you have to make the most of these opportunities.

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  6. That bunch of lilacs is beautiful! It must smell heavenly. The rhubarb sauce with the biscuits looks wonderful, what a treat.
    I have those same plates; I love the pretty fruit designs on them.
    Have a wonderful time with your son, and enjoy your blogging break. Thanks for hosting Sandi.

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  7. I do love the scent of Lilacs; and so wish they would stay around longer. You have created a beautiful display for your table top. Wishing you some very special time with your family. Enjoy.

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  8. Oh my how beautiful everything is in this post. I love the lilacs and they looks so pretty in your china. My Mom used to make Rhubarb pies and sauce, so you've sparked a nice memory for me.

    Have a lovely summer.

    hugs
    Sissie

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  9. Your lilacs are beautiful and the china looks so pretty. Thank you for the Rhubarb Sauce recipe. Mum used to make it when I was a kid. If I can find it in the grocery store, I will make some for her. She will love it!

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  10. Love the lilacs, Sandi! They match your beautiful rose chintz china perfectly!

    Have a wonderful visit with your son!

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  11. Sweet Sandi, the lilacs are gorgeous and perfect for your lovely dishes and setting! I need to get some.
    Enjoy your visit with your son, I bet you'll both have fun.
    Have a great week.
    FABBY

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  12. Love the rose chintz tea set! They do look so nice with the lilacs. Our lilacs are finished here, but the peonies are blooming now which is a nice consolation ;)
    Wendy

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  13. Enjoy your time with your son!!! I adore lilacs - such a peaceful/calm sent. Have a great week.

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  14. So beautiful! And the rhubarb sauce looks yummy, so I pinned it. (: Have fun with your family.

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  15. Sandi: Those scones look prize winning and that Rhubarb saucer looks amazing. I love this posting.

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  16. Happiness is sharing tea with a friend, or two or three. lovely.. I believe so.. I love Johnston bros Rose chintz.. I don't have the teapot yet but I have everything else lol.. I can't find none made in England they are all from China.. I admire yours all the time.. the cookies look great.. Have a great new week with love Janice

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  17. I enjoyed seeing your beautiful lilacs. Ours bloomed months ago. How I wish they would last longer. I agree; your rose chintz is the perfect tea ware to display your lilacs.
    Thanks for sharing the rhubarb sauce recipe. Such a versatile sauce.
    Enjoy your son's visit!

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  18. Your lilacs are just breathtaking, so beautiful Sandi! I love, love that green plate, such a soft color, so pretty, and you're right, the rose chintz looks wonderful with your lilacs. Rhubarb and ice cream sounds fabulous!

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  19. OMG ... I do love Lilacs...I can smell them from here...It's such a lovely display for teatime. Your chintz is a warm inviting pattern that goes so well with that yummy rhubarb recipe( Thanks). I might be hearing things, but ... The cookies on the lovely green plate seem to be whispering eat two.( Ha Ha)...ENJOY your day !!!! Hugs

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  20. Hi Sandi, Your lilacs are beautiful, and your house must smell divine - not only from the scent of the lilacs, but from your cookie baking and jam making. Both look yummy! Enjoy your time with your son. Family times are so special! ~ Phyllis

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  21. Sandi your photos this week are just lovely of the lilacs! Have a wonderful time with your son!
    Hugs,
    Sherry

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  22. Perfect pretty tea setting and the lilacs are beautiful! Enjoy fully time spent with your son. Patty, NS

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  23. How grand--your lilacs are in bloom! Alas their season is so very short. I thoroughly enjoyed ours early last month. By mid-May, though, they were all done here in South Jersey. I agree, the Rose Chintz is a great compliment to the lilacs! I wonder if that rhubarb recipe would work well with another fruit? Enjoy your son's visit--we are traveling to New England to see my son and that grand-girl next week!
    Joy!
    Kathy

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  24. Love your lilacs. I have never been able to grow them. Enjoy your time with your son. Blessings, Martha

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  25. Hi Sandi! Beautiful lilacs. It's great to see them again--they have been long gone near where I live. It feels like full blown summer here. Lilacs always remind me of my grandparents--they had huge lilac bushes that were over 100 years old. Yours look so pretty in your Rose Chintz pitcher! Have a great visit with your son! I'm sure he will appreciate those delicious looking cookies :)

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  26. Hello Sandi, I so enjoyed seeing your beautiful tea time post with all the lovely lilacs and your special china. We are enjoying the lilacs and rhubarb too. Today I froze about 12 cups of rhubarb for later use. I know I have been neglectful with my comments on your lovely posts. So sorry! Life is very busy for me now. My grandsons (my daughters boys) are staying with us almost daily and I still have my dear Mom to visit at an assisted living. I am so glad to hear your son is visiting. Praying you have a wonderful relaxing time!
    Hugs and blessings, Nancy

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  27. Hello Sandi, I so enjoyed seeing your beautiful tea time post with all the lovely lilacs and your special china. We are enjoying the lilacs and rhubarb too. Today I froze about 12 cups of rhubarb for later use. I know I have been neglectful with my comments on your lovely posts. So sorry! Life is very busy for me now. My grandsons (my daughters boys) are staying with us almost daily and I still have my dear Mom to visit at an assisted living. I am so glad to hear your son is visiting. Praying you have a wonderful relaxing time!
    Hugs and blessings, Nancy

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  28. Always a delightful treat to visit your lovely blog,
    d

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  29. What a lovely tea time you have shared! Your lilacs are just beautiful, and I am sure I could catch a waft of their lovely scent right through the computer screen! :) I hope you are enjoying your time with your son, and appreciate the lovely post today... you've made a new friend, I'll be back... :)

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  30. Sandi, what beautiful photos! I love your lilacs. I'm not linking today as my post this week, Chicken Chowder, really has nothing to do with tea. Looking forward to checking out some of these links and perhaps trying your rhubarb sauce next week. Have a marvelous time with your son!

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  31. I love the smell of lilacs. We have an orchard near us and it's full of lilacs, the flowers all in different colours. Sandi, wishing you an amazing weekend and if your son is still visiting, enjoy enjoy enjoy. :)

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  32. Sandi, your table is lovely. And the lilacs are breathtaking! One of my favorite flowers! Thank you for sharing your tea party with us.

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  33. The lilacs are stunning and goes perfectly with the chintz tea cup. Shame I wasnt able to link up I am just a little slow. Hope you have a good QT with your sweet son.
    Enjoy your weekend Sandi.

    Blessings,
    Aida

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  34. Oh how pretty and the scent must be intoxicating. Enjoy your week with your precious. x

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I am delighted to have you visit me and I read every comment. Please forgive me for not being able to visit you all as there are so many of you lovely bloggy friends now. I will visit as much as possible. I wish you a day filled with JOY!

Also, due to the amount of spam I've been getting, I have had to set Comment Moderation. ~ Sandi

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