A Most Beautiful Farewell Dinner

I set a very special table for this dinner,

using various things for the very first time...

fruit bowl and small berry bowls from my Great Aunt P,

who got them from her mother, my Great Grandmother W. who 

had a real love of dishes...

and a white covered bowl that was my Great Grandmother's Mothers...

and Polish teacups with roses, that were my Great Aunt P's,

 and beautiful British teacups for the two men...

and beautiful dishes, many gotten at the VNA rummage sale...

***

The menu:

Fia Pasta Sauce and thin long noodles

Salad (one mistake here, I did not shake off

all the water after rinsing the lettuce and then added the croutons

and my guests were unavoidably late, due to problems with 

getting a cab, and then we had the salad as the second course

so it was sitting for at least on an hour and most of the croutons,

sadly, were soggy.  I was a bit aghast but my guests were 

very gracious about it.  Next time, I will put croutons in a bowl

and put on right before, etc.) 

Salmon (I think I over baked it but it was OK) and salad were the second course

Third course was fruit salad with dressing 

Forth was dessert - cupcakes and vegan ice cream with both raspberries and 

a wonderful raspberry chocolate sauce.

We had a lovely red wine (that out dear guests brought with them)

and water and decaf Paris tea with dessert. 

***

The fellowship, the easy conversation, the warmth,

the conversations about dreams, the future and the present;

it was all so lovely;

it was hard to believe that this was our farewell dinner to

our newly crowned Bridge and Groom who 

we sponsored in marriage;

but it was the farewell dinner and a really special time. 

***

I was very proud of preparing the vegan ice cream in the 

metal footed bowls and freezing them the night before.

Easy serving, no worries about having to wait for the carton to

get soft, etc. 

***

I have been thinking of this newly married couple as they do their final packing 

and final goodbyes.

***

And I have thought over the many meals I have hosted since I moved to NJ 

8 years ago and how various friends we had over have moved on

to other places... how many goodbyes we have had... 

***

It does not get easier...

but more familiar...

and I realize that I, myself, have left for new places various times,

it is easier to be the one leaving

than the one staying behind, in many ways;

though I must say it took a good while for me to settled into my life here in NJ;

it is much better than the first years, in terms of missing my life in Ottawa;

but life itself changes; I am older; my parents are older; my Grandma is now 90 years old;

so I am more likely to want to visit home in MI first, though I would love to

visit Canada, and also my family there...and my church...

***

I can say that I am very glad I married my Husband and that

I feel very blessed to have my life lived with him...

***

In about 2 weeks is Canadian Thanksgiving (Oct 12) and we are 

having a small (2 guests and us) dinner on the Sunday...

getting most of the food, I hope, from our grocery delivery service... 

whose a la cart menu options are quite good... 

this is helping me have something to not only look forward to,

but to plan.... 

***

Well, it is beyond time for me to go to bed.

May God have mercy on us and save us. 

A Baptism, Change in Sunday's Dinner Menu and other adventures

 

I was at a baptism this morning!

It was really beautiful! 

I was so happy to be there!

(I am also really glad I have a hand-held fan for when my face with mask on

needs some air!) 

Like my Canadian car pillow? Thrift store find, of course!

I wrote this earlier on social media...

[This post is dedicated to my Grandma Ruth...]

I think she will remember that when I was a child, and would be at family gatherings at her and Grandpa's house, I would tell her: "Grandma, I have 2 sides of my stomach and my one side is for regular food and that side is very full but the other side is only for dessert and that is VERY empty" 🙂 ... this of course being when I would not want to finish my food but very much wanted to eat ICE CREAM!  🙂 

Well, today was a first.  I ended up having a smallish lunch and then went out again (I was at a baptism this morning, so wonderful!) ... when I got home I was so hungry that I baked a pre-made pizza, ate half of that (a 12" pizza) and about an hour or so later, I made dinner.  My Husband decided to have an ice cream filled Popsicle and I was so FULL that even my "dessert side" of my stomach had gotten squished from the "other side 😉 ) and I could only eat HALF of the Popsicle and had to put the other half in a container and put it back in the freezer 🙂  

Never thought that would happen, LOL! 🙂

***

[I wrote this also, earlier, on social media... I had just realized....]

 that Sunday (Julian calendar Feast of the Cross) is a fast day. We are having the newly crowned Bride and Groom Sunday night for a special dinner! Frantically (and super bummed, so much for chicken and cream 😥) wrote my spiritual father, got the blessing for fish, called a local fish stand, ordered wild caught Alaskan salmon, went there, then to my favourite upscale grocery store, bought vegan chocolate and vanilla ice cream and went back home, using light rail. The picture is when I was waiting for the light rail.....tomorrow I am baking an amazing chocolate raspberry cake! Meanwhile, I need fresh basil and lemons......

***

Well, that's today's stories! 

May God have mercy on us!

Tea for Two ~ to celebrate a newly crowned Bride

High Tea for the Newly Crowned Bride ~ Menu and Table setting Details: 

Three tiered tray in centre of table:

Top tier: Polish marshmallow chocolate, 

Trader Joe's Chocolate truffle and a puff pastry cookie.

Middle Tier: Scones made from Tea and Sympathy (in NYC) Scone mix

with cherry preserves on the table.

Bottom Tier:  Egg salad sandwiches and 

sandwiches with butter and slices of white cheddar cheese

on Pullman bread that I baked in my new Pullman pan;

this bread is also called Pain de Mie.

In the footed clear glass bowl: chicken salad with bowtie pasta.  I poached the chicken 

according to this method and it worked perfectly.

Tea: Rosie Lee tea from Tea and Sympathy in NYC. 

Milk and sugar cubes included with the tea on the silver-plated tea service

In two water pitchers: filtered still water in one and pink lemonade in the other

 (the lemonade being from concentrate 

made with filtered still water).

Flowers: The bouquet in the tall white pitcher was my bouquet at the wedding.

The lovely 4 smaller jars of flowers were done by the Bride’s Mom for the 

wedding reception and given to me by the Bride when she came for tea!

A&L fan: A wedding favour from the wedding reception! 

Gifts: my personal gifts to the Bride as her wedding sponsor :) 

My dear friend and newly wedded Bride is as much into antiquing and thrift stores

as I am and loved all the things I had for her… which I found mainly at sales :) 

Wooden Napkin Holders: I got these years ago in Halifax with a dear friend;

they are painted on wood and were perfect for this Bride as some of her wedding gifts

are similar in colour to the turquoise :) 

Tea Cups: I used these on purpose as they are from Poland, where my friend is from!

I just got these two teacups from my Great Aunt P’s home

and knew right away that I wanted to do a tea with my friend, the new Bride,

because of where they were made!

Plates: I bought the gold rimmed white plates on Etsy, the seller said they 

were her Grandparents and were gifted to her Grandparents at their wedding. 

Three tiered tray: it is Royal Albert Old Country Roses pattern

 and I bought it at the VNA rummage sale :)

***

The tea was really special, like moments stolen out of time,

Extra-ordinary moments of fellowship, beauty and enjoying a lovely

Tea together! 

The Bride had wanted to go to Tea and Sympathy in NYC before her wedding

but it did not work out...so...since I had already bought tea and the scone mix

from Tea and Sympathy in NYC in August,

I brought her a high tea, in part, from Tea and Sympathy 

and it really was a grand time! 

***

I was telling Mr Husband at lunch that her wedding was such a special day,

It was like my wedding, a day outside of time, and remembering it is like

seeing Narnia from a distance while one is moving out of Narnia,

like in Prince Caspian… 

Our high tea feels like that a well, 

Moments stolen out of ordinary time, special memories that we will

carry with us…

It bought back so many memories for me and of my friend

S. who did my makeup, gave me a pedicure, did my nails…

And the small Bridal shower my friends threw for me,

the one that my church in Ottawa did, as well as my NJ far-away church,

and my family Bridal shower in MI…

So many special memories!

***

I know I am going to treasure these special wedding memories for a long time to come!