Last of My Summer Roses Tea

In my garden is a large place for sentiment. My garden of flowers is also my garden of thoughts and dreams. The thoughts grow as freely as the flowers, and the dreams are as beautiful. ~ Abram L. Urban

Hello my lovely friends!

My rose bushes were full of fragrant pink blooms this year and they lasted longer than usual. I spied this last remaining bloom and had to take a picture of it. Her mates are long gone and she is surrounded by fading leaves. Soon the rose hips will appear. But this one little rose I found so inspiring; like a promise.

Tis the last rose of summer,
Left blooming alone;
All her companions
Are faded and gone. 
~ The Last Rose of summer- 1805 by Thomas Moore

I am not really a gardener but in my heart I am. Flowers of all varieties give me such pleasure and always have. I do have my favourites; carnations, daffodils, hydrangeas, lilacs, but especially roses. Had I been born with a strong back perhaps I would have become an avid gardener. Such as it is, my flowers are potted and set in special places around our property, except for my roses which grow on bushes.

This begonia is doing very well even now.

It seems my talents lie more within my home rather than outside of it. Any of you out there feel the same way?

I love being a home maker and when my children were growing up, it gave me the greatest pleasure to cook and bake for them. I loved seeing their sweet faces light up when they got home from school to the smell of fresh baked treats from the oven. Even now when they come home they hope Mom has a stash of cookies, cinnamon rolls, and other treats waiting for them. I always have to have potato salad and spaghetti sauce made or I'm in trouble! 

When they were all home this summer, I made certain I had some fruit cake for them because I hadn't been able to do any other baking. I did however manage to get spaghetti sauce and potato salad made for them. I was still healing from my surgeries, you see. The good thing about fruit cake is that it keeps for quite a while if you store it properly. My dark fruit cake in particular is so moist that I can use it as a pudding with a warm sauce over it and the kids love it.

Because I had been on a special diet earlier in the year I could not indulge in rhubarb when it was in season, so I froze some. Any guesses what I'm having today with my tea?

Rhubarb crisp is actually the first dessert I have made in months. A bowl of this luscious fruit with a crunchy topping and a scoop of good vanilla ice cream; yum!

To savour a splendid treat, one has to also indulge in a special tea. I went into David's Tea and brought home this lovely dessert tea; Creme Caramel Rooibos. Mmm!

It has miniature caramels in it.

Teatime is, by its very nature,
a combination of small luxuries
arranged in social symmetry.
And although tea for one
is certainly a fine thing,
the addition of a circle of dear
friends to share it with
ensures the whole is larger 
than its parts. ~ unknown author

On the table are hydrangeas which are one of my favourites. 

My teapot is red transferware called Valencia. I'm not sure who the maker is. I found this teapot at the gift shop in our local hospital several years ago. I was also delighted to get the cream and sugar because red transferware is very scarce around here.

The cup and saucer are Johnson Bros. Old Britain Castles.

So, would you like to join me? I do enjoy your company and thank you for visiting today.

God opens millions of flowers without forcing the buds. It reminds us to not force anything, for things happen in the right time. ~ unknown 



 I am joining the following parties as well~

 Tuesday Cuppa Tea
 Friends Sharing Tea



 Sharing from my heart ~ Sandi