~Tea for Two~

Picture me upon your knee
With tea for two
And two for tea
Just me for you
And you for me alone
Nobody near us to see us or hear us,
No friends or relations
On weekend vacations,
We won't have it known, dear,
That we own a telephone, dear...
Day will break and I'll wake,
And start to bake a sugar cake
For you to take for all the boys to see.
We'll raise a family
A boy for you
And a girl for me
Oh, can't you see how happy we would be...

Tea for Two, with Doris Day and Gordon MacRae, 1950.

Do you see a theme, to my posts, this week?  Tea for Two is another favorite Doris Day movie. I remember seeing this one at the Lyric Theatre, Lebanon, Missouri.  Even though I was only 7 years old, in 1950, this and other wonderful old movie musicals, are well remembered.

The only TV we have on the main floor, of our home, is in the master suite.  Just as we were about to have supper, Sunday evening, Please Don’t Eat the Daisies was being shown on TCM.  We didn’t want to miss the film, while we had supper, so I quickly set the round table, that sits in the bay window of our room; there we sat, enjoying Please Don’t Eat the Daisies; mentioned in the previous post.

That supper sparked an idea for setting the table for Tablescape Thursday.  Of course, it was just natural to title the post Tea for Two, which by coincidence, is another Doris Day film.

Can you imagine following through with this idea for titles?

With Six You Get Egg Roll (Foodie Friday)

The Glass Bottom Boat (fun at Lake of the Ozarks)

Young at Heart (the adventures of Pat & J)

The list is endless!

 

Join our host, Susan, of Between Naps on the Porch, each Thursday, for table setting inspiration around the blogosphere.

The tea table is set with creamy bits and pieces from Lenox, Godinger and others.  The flatware is from Target.  Vintage napkins, birds, a cloche, and a crocheted cloth, picked up at Tuesday Morning, round out the table.

Wheat bread rounds with Laughing Cow Light Cheese, cucumber and radish slices, garnished with flat leaf parsley, Philo cups with chocolate sauce, whipped topping and strawberry slices, garnished with a mint leaf, Philo cups filled with whipped topping and kiwi; sugar free Russell Stover Pecan Delights complete the tray.  Apple Blossoms, from Trader Joe’s.

The meal we enjoyed while watching Please Don’t Eat the Daisies was featured at Back Porch Musings, previously; Crab Stuffed Flounder, seen here. 

I’m contributing “tea for two” to this week’s Foodie Friday.  Hosted by Michael at Designs by Gollum.

~Please Don’t Eat the Daisies~

 

We see these daisies, growing in our neighbor’s garden, from our windows. They are luminescent just after sunset and just before sunrise.

Please stop by Susan’s, for gardens and other outdoor views, each Wednesday.

We watched the 1960 Doris Day-David Niven movie, “Please Don’t Eat the Daisies”, over the weekend. Love that film!

I was reminded of the daisies, growing in our neighbor’s garden and took these photos, early Monday morning.

Have you made a Daisy Chain and worn it in your hair? I have…

Bright flowers, whose home is everywhere
Bold in maternal nature's care
And all the long year through the heir
Of joy and sorrow,
Me thinks that there abides in thee
Some concord with humanity,
Given to no other flower I see
The forest through.

~William Wordsworth~

To the Daisy

~Just a Little Trim Please~

I’m returning from my little break, well rested, with a Metamorphosis for Monday.  Stop by Susan’s, at Between Naps on the Porch, for more makeovers, each Monday.

Three years ago, this summer, we added trim to the breakfast bar, kitchen and breakfast room. 

I looked through my archives, on our big old clunky, slow moving computer, and found a few, in progress, photos.

I am now happily back on the speedy little laptop!

Imagine the area under the breakfast bar and the column completely bare of trim and painted Laura Ashley Gold #3. 

The first photo shows the area after the trim was partially added. Trim Guy made the brackets,using an inspiration photo I found online.  We wanted a heavy look to the trim. Baseboard was used to achieve the effect. 

The beam is load bearing; necessary, as well as ornamental. It was narrow, not “beefy” enough to suit us; therefore, trim and 1x10’s were used.  The wiring was dropped down and a larger opening made for the box.

At the same time, crown molding was installed around the breakfast room and kitchen.  Because there is a cathedral ceiling, in the hearth room, we decided against crown molding there.

Furniture was stacked around the hearth room, because the living room was painted at the same time we had the trim done.  This is also when we added the trim above the dining room window and shelf over the master bathroom mirror.

The wainscoting was added, in the dining room, at the time our home was built, in 2003.

The following photos continue the progress of trim in the kitchen/hearth room/breakfast room.

Here, you see the column before it was wrapped in trim. The trim at the top had just been added when this photo was taken.

There was no formal plan for the design of the column trim.  As the work progressed, Trim Guy and I worked together finding a way to build what I was “seeing”, in my mind. 

 The following photos show the breakfast room/hearth room and kitchen trim, as it is, today.

When looking at trim for wainscoting, etc., don’t forget baseboard.  I love the look of our breakfast bar, done with baseboard and white paint; giving it a paneled appearance, at a fraction of the cost of paneling.

A Jim Shore Santa provides a bit of whimsy.

~July 25th, 2009~

 Thanks, so much, for the phone calls, e-mails, Facebook and decor group messages and to all who left comments on my Taking a Break post.  Your wonderful birthday wishes mean so very much to me!

We had a quiet dinner for two, Saturday evening, at Calvin’s at Woods Fort Country Club, where the above photo was taken.

We both had salad; I had Lemon Pepper Chicken over Pasta and a steamed vegetable mix.

J had the Strip Steak, with baked potato and the steamed vegetable mix.

I counted my pre-dinner cocktail as dessert.

My gift was a pre-birthday shopping trip to Chico’s, The Meadows at lake Saint Louis, MO.  I love Chico’s! 

Have a wonderful week!

~Taking a Break~

As difficult as it was to tear ourselves away from the beautiful Ozarks, we decided it was time to come home.

As the photo shows, I am back at the little black desk, in the hearth room.

The trailing plant is an amazing Pothos, that began life in a tiny Wal-mart container, 4 or so years ago.  It’s still in the original container and sits in the basket of an iron plant stand.

I considered getting together a table post and/or  foodie post. And thought about a pink post, to complete this week. But after careful consideration, I chose to take a few days “down time” and step back from the computer.

I have a makeover thought or two, in mind. One of which was accomplished a couple of years ago. If I get around to it, I’ll have it ready for the next Met Monday.  I think you might like it. It has something to do with “millwork” or “trim” or something like that.

I’ll celebrate a birthday, over the weekend.  It’s amazing how time flies. I still, pretty much, feel like I did 40 years ago. How could I possibly be 66, already!!

I’ll be back sometime next week, with stories and photos, as usual.

As always, thank you all so much for your kind support of the Back Porch. I read and appreciate each and every comment and e-mail.

Enjoy the rest of the week and have a fantabulous weekend.

Pat, J, & Molly, too!

~Summertime~

The above photo and the one below were taken facing east at sunset.  The sun is reflecting off the clouds.

The photos, in this post, were taken over several days, during the past week.

A sailboat, in our cove, the afternoon of July 16th.

In the basket, Tuscan Peasant Bread.  We purchased the home baked bread and many other delicious foods at the Camdenton Farmer’s Market, Saturday. 

The perfectly chilled wine is Steinberg White, from Stone Hill Winery, Hermann, Missouri.  We added seasoned oil for dipping the bread and a few crackers with cheese, for a delightful lunch on the deck, Sunday.

Monday morning, we hiked down this trail.  It wasn’t a long hike, but one that could be tricky for a couple of seniors, with a nosey dog on a leash.  We managed quite well, until the mosquitoes decided it was lunch time.

The trail leads to the natural bridge in Ha Ha Tonka State Park.  We’ve visited Ha Ha Tonka many times. 

The photo, below, taken a couple of years ago, shows the castle ruins. Click the photo, for more information about Ha Ha Tonka State Park. 

The paved trail to the castle is a fairly easy climb.  There are overlooks, with amazing views. The castle ruins and story are eerily beautiful and interesting.

Looking through the trees to the natural bridge.

This is looking toward the sun dappled path, on the other side of the bridge, where the trail continues.

Molly leads the way.

She’s telling us to come on, keep up!

The trail is listed as moderate.  Good shoes are definitely needed and it might be a good idea to use a walking stick, if you are a senior, taking this .5 mile trail.  

If the mosquitoes weren’t hungry and had we had sticks, we might have continued through the bridge to finish the trail.  I have a little bit of a balance challenge, so a walking stick would be a must for me.

It was a beautiful walk.  If you are in our neck of the woods, walk a trail at Ha Ha Tonka; you won’t be disappointed.

A view of the lake, after leaving Ha Ha Tonka.

Great Blue Heron, on the same area of the lake.

Beautiful Lake of the Ozarks, from Hurricane Deck Bridge, Monday morning.

We continued our day trip, driving north on Hwy 5.

J needed a closer look at this 1963 Chevy Impala; an oldie but goodie.

From one form of transportation to another.

We stopped at Versailles, for lunch.  Versailles, in our neck of the woods, is pronounced Ver-Sales.  While we’re talking about regional pronunciation, it’s a great time to asked; how do you pronounce Missouri?

I was born and raised in southwest Missouri, J was born in the Saint Louis area.  We both pronounce the name of our fair state, Missour-ee. Other Missouri folks say, Missour-ah. 

When we were touring a home in Charleston, South Carolina, a few years ago, we were asked, by the tour guide, about the pronunciation. Everyone smiled, when J and I firmly said in unison, Missour-ee.

If you’ve read Back Porch Musings, for awhile, you know about my goal to photograph Missouri’s 114 county courthouses.  While in Versailles, I took these photos of Morgan County’s beautiful old courthouse.

Stop by Susan’s, A Southern Daydreamer, each Wednesday, for outdoor views around the land of blog.