Sunday Afternoon Tea

A house that does not have one worn, comfy chair in it is soulless. ~May Sarton

It is quite amazing that I sit here sharing tea with you again. Can it possibly be Sunday? This week seemed to lose the days between Monday and Saturday. I guess it is because I was away from home so much this week with errands and library commitments.

The heat and humidity have caught up with me so I felt it wise to stay home, in the air conditioning this morning. So...here at home on a Sunday morning my thoughts were of...home... and how delightful it can be when a person is not feeling well.

Since I was alone, I could walk around the rooms of my abode and feel the warmth of my favorite things seemingly place their arms around me and wish me well. One finds it difficult to ponder such things when not alone, as family members may not quite understand when they find one talking to a teacup. Talking to cats the guys understand ...teacups they do not. :)

My kitchen looks lovely with the sunbeams shining through that small bit of dutch lace which shows under the checkered valance. I can understand why artists are constantly talking about light...and shadows...and those things we mere mortals fail to look at as closely as we should.

Other changes made in the kitchen this week add to the homey look with the oats poured into a larger container and placed on the bottom shelf of the old, yellow, three tiered stand. That left room on the red shelves (the same that held my husband's boyhood books in his room growing up) for me to display two glass jars, one containing my "fake sugar" and the other rice. The change was quite small and took only minutes but I love the old, farmhouse look it added to the vintage reproduction tins that hold all my baking supplies.

I find by spending time pondering the way I want our home to look, my eyes are immediately drawn to those items at thrift shops, garage sales, antique malls, etc. that I know will help create the look and atmosphere I want in our home. As I have told my daughter many times, if you love an item, it will all eventually fit together.

I wanted to do something special for the guys since it is Sunday so I pulled out My Precious* and assembled one of Anna's coffeecakes**...this one using a package of frozen cherries I had purchased for that very recipe. I make mine almost like Anna's original but I add a little almond extract when using the cherries and I pour on a simple glaze when it is cool (it is that pastry chef wannabe part of me coming out again). It is such an easy recipe that I can make it even when feeling a little under the weather...literally.

With my thoughts continuing down the path of "cozy home feelings", I blew the dust off of my tart warmer and removed the old wax, which had long ago lost the fragrance. I went to my favorite drawer of an antique cabinet (the one with the old Singer sewing machine in the pictures located in My Home) and found a French vanilla tart warmer. The drawer holds candles and tart warmer waxes, many of those purchased at thrift stores for pennies and it has the added benefit of scenting cards and stationary in another drawer. The scent has made its way to the office area...beautiful!

I have a stack of books to go through, treasures from this weekend's library sale. I'll share the titles later this week. There were also some Victoria magazines for a quarter each, all of which found themselves going home in the backseat of my car. So...I'm going to brew some coffee to be ready when my husband arrives home as he enjoys coffee with...coffee cake. I will also surround myself with magazines that have pictures I want to cut out to make a journal like Jewels'***. Sometimes it is not all that bad having a Sunday afternoon tea with one's foot propped up on the sofa...in the air conditioning...with cherry coffeecake.

* My Precious
** Anna's coffeecake
*** Jewels' journals