Faith Family Friends

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 18 January 2021

Friendly Village and Chocolate

Winter is the time for comfort, for good food and warmth, for the touch of a friendly hand and a talk beside the fire: it is the time for home. ~ Edith Sitwell 

Hello my lovely friends! We have been having the loveliest weather here and oh, to have the whole winter like this would be grand! Then the rain came on the weekend! But it has been mild, and until the two days of rain came, we had sunshine; what bliss!

I have most of our Christmas put away now. I replaced the little tree in the dining room with a tray of some Friendly Village china and one of the little trees I used at Christmastime.

We shall have our tea using this china today. Johnson Bothers, one of my favourite makers, produced this charming pattern first in 1952 and it has attracted generations of admirers and collectors over the years. Each piece depicts a different scene which creates a delightful story for your table. It's appeal is as great today as it was when it was first introduced more than a half century ago.

I was planning to make these little nuggets for Christmas but just didn't get around to it. So, I made them on the weekend. 

The chocolate raspberry truffles are very small and delectable, and they are a delightful little treat with your cup of tea or coffee. I have served them in one of my King's Crown red rimmed sherbet glasses. The truffles would be lovely for Valentine's Day. A little chocolate also makes you feel good.


All you need is love. But a little chocolate now and then doesn't hurt. ~ Charles M. Schulz

The truffles recipe is from a mystery novel authored by, Joanne Fluke, a New York Times bestselling author. A number of her books were made into movies as well, and I have them all. This particular recipe is from the book, "Plum Pudding Murder." Sorry, I do not have permission to share the recipe, but if you go to her site or Pinterest, you can find the recipe there. 


When you have flowers, books and tea, you are never alone. ~ Alexandra Stoddard




I have acquired quite a number of mystery novels and other books over the years. I love a small library of books that I can go to at whim. I love to read. How about you?


Some of these mystery novels are written by Joanne Fluke and some are written by Laura Childs, who is also a New York Times bestselling author, of the Tea Shop Mysteries. I have every one of Laura Childs' tea mysteries. I really enjoy Childs' character, Theodosia Browning's exploits along with her tea shop employees/friends, tea master, Drayton, and baker extraordinaire, Haley. Their adventures take place in Charleston, South Carolina. If you enjoy a good mystery and a cup of tea, you will enjoy her books. She always includes tea recipes and tips. 


Joanne Fluke's character, Hannah Swenson, on the other hand, owns The Cookie Jar, a coffee shop in Lake Eden, Minnesota. She too loves to solve a mystery, oftentimes at the chagrin of her detective friend, Mike, and dentist friend, Norman. With the help of her family and partner at the coffee shop, she has helped solved many sticky situations, and loves to share her many recipes. 


I recommend both of these authors' books. They are wonderfully entertaining and good books to curl up with on a winter's day.


Thank you for visiting today and I hope you have an especially lovely week. Take one day at a time and glean every drop of JOY you can from it. 


Every day is a second chance. ~ author unknown {from the Hallmark movie- A Joyous Christmas}



Sharing from my heart ~ Sandi

14 comments :

  1. Good morning, Sandi. It's a frosty morning here, and there's a bit of blue sky showing, so hopefully we'll enjoy sunshine for at least part of the day. It certainly lifts the spirits. I have a collection of Rosamunde Pilcher books that I return to for easy reading, also some mysteries by Dorothy Sayers, Agatha Christie, and Ellis Peters. They are all older books. I will look for the ones you've mentioned. The Raspberry Chocolate Truffles sound delicious. Have a great day!

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  2. Hi, Sandi. I so enjoy your blog. Thank you for all you share. I, too, have some pieces of Friendly Village and some pieces of King’s Crown glassware. It was my mother’s.
    I have a question about the Friendly Village teapot. The handle on mine gets so hot I can’t hold it without a potholder in my hand. Is that the case with yours? I believe my teapot handle must be hollow and fills with the hot tea.
    I also have a few favourite pieces of red transferware. No wonder I love your blog!

    Christine from Ontario

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    1. Hi Christine! I'm so glad you enjoyed my post. In answer to your question, I almost always use a pot holder or pretty tea towel to pour the tea so I haven't really noticed the handle getting hot. But hot tea in the handle certainly makes sense. The next time I use it, I will try pouring without the tea towel and see if the handle gets hot. Thank you for your visit. Take care!

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  3. Well, I was writing a long comment, and lost it, so I guess it was too long anyway. I loved this post and your dishes especially. My grandmother had a set of those cranberry thumbprint dishes (that's what we called them), and when she died they went to my brother. Sadly, he and his wife divorced, and she took the glassware. My brother asked for them back since they belonged to his family, and she claimed they were all broken. No one believed her story, but there was no way to prove it, and life goes on. Alas, they are only dishes! And my brother is now in heaven, where he is enjoying much more beautiful things than cranberry thumbprint glassware. That's what truly matters. Sorry to go on and on. I love the tea room mysteries and have read most of them. I wasn't familiar with the other author, so will have to "check it out". Thank you for the introduction...I need some new reading material! I enjoyed your lovely post and the beautiful dishes and the chocolate raspberry truffles. I can almost taste them now! So delicious! Have a blessed and wonderful rest of your week.

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  4. Oh to have a raspberry truffle with a cuppa tea would be so heavenly, especially in a Friendly Village teacup. I really need to look up those books, Sandi, and get started reading them by either author. I’m so happy that you’ve had nice weather with some sunshine ☀️ to lift your spirits! Have a wonderful rest of your week. 😘

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  5. I love your gorgeous tea set! Always a pleasure stopping by!Best wishes!

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  6. I also love to read but have not read either of the author's you mentioned. I have quite a few that I like and have a list on my Happy Cottage Quilter blog of books I have reviewed. I will look for Joanne and Laura's books.
    I also have quite a few pieces of Friendly Village and had them on display at Christmas. Always such warm winter scenes.
    Enjoy your warm days.
    Jocelyn in sunny Florida

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  7. I've always been a fan of the Friendly Village teawares and would love to add the teapot to my mom's collection!

    I've also enjoyed Laura Childs' tearoom mysteries. I have the latest book (e-version) on hold at my library and look forward to reading it!

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  8. Such a pretty tea time; "Johnson Brothers - Friendly Village" makes for the perfect setting for a January Tea. Adding the red accents of your sherbet glasses adds that something special. Your tea time dessert looks delicious too.

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  9. Sandi, I love the way you set up your tray with the snowy tree and Friendly Village, teapot elevated on a cake stand. Thanks for the book recommendations; I've been wondering what to read next. Happy Winter!

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  10. Such a delightful post! I love your dishes! Especially the cranberry sherbet dish! I will have to look for them when I am antiquing! I read the Sugar Cookie mystery by Joanne Fluke back in December (it was the first time reading one of her books) and I really enjoyed it! I haven't read any of Laura Child's books, but will have to look for them at our library. We have had fairly mild weather too but extremely gloomy. Yesterday the sun came out a little bit and it was mid 40's, so we headed to the beach and had a long walk which was very nice for the body and the soul!
    I am going to look for the raspberry truffle recipe.

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  11. Sandi, I love Laura Childs Tea Shop Mysteries! I've never read the other author but now will have to check her books out. I also love Friendly Village dishes. I use them all winter!

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  12. Chocolate Raspberry Truffles ... oh yes, please!

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  13. Good to hear you are enjoying the weather along with your tea and a good book. I read several of Laura Childs books in the past. Don't think I've read any of the Fluke books. Hope this week is going well for you.

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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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