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Taking Tea With Alice
By Brenda Hyde
A Book Review
Taking Tea with Alice: Looking-Glass Tea Parties and Fanciful Victorian Teas
The charms of tea are many, but one which is dear to my
heart is it's ability to bring children and adults together for
whimsical tea parties. In a world where our children are
often exposed to violence and conflict, it's important to
give them a refuge and help them feel safe and loved.
One way to do this is by giving magical tea parties that
entertain and delight, while creating memories that will lend
comfort when needed. Taking Tea with
Alice is a delightful book full of inspiration, menus, games,
and activites . It's inspiration stems not just from the party
plans themselves, but from the beautiful photographs, text
and illustrations in the book. You'll find the following plans:
"Drink Me": Tea with the Mad Hatter.
Painting the Roses Red: Tea in the Garden.
The Coronation Of Queen Alice: A Nursery Tea.
In Honor Of Saint Valentine: Cupid's Tea.
A Midsummer Night: Tea With The Fairies.
The Holiday Yuletide: A Family Tea.
The authors ask us to "Come follow us as we explore the
magic of traveling through the looking-glass, attending the
many tea parties that Alice herself, both the character in the
stories and the real little girl, would have attended. Welcome
to Alice's Wonderland"
Dawn Hylton Gottlieb and Diane Sedo share with us tidbits
on the real-life Alice of Lewis Carroll's Alice in Wonderland,
and give us a look into the life of Victorian children. I collect
books on tea, but rarely have I seen a book that so completely
inspires giving tea parties with children. After reading Taking Tea With Alice, you will no doubt be holding
weekly tea parties even if no special occasion exists, and making memories
that will last a lifetime for all involved!
Brenda Hyde is a freelance writer living on ten acres in rural Michigan with her husband and three kids. Stop by and visit her garden blog, Garden of Grace & Whimsy, and her photography blog, A Dance of Words & Photos.
SeptemberLady "Born and have lived in Southern MD most of my life. My husband and I just finished building a new home on the family farm, where I hope to retire in the near future.
My interests: Doll collecting, cookbook collector (especially old ones), antiques, family/friend get-togethers, cooking/baking, flower and vegetable gardening, bird-watching."
Memorial Day: Backyard Grilling Memorial Day signals the start of barbecue season. Everyone wants to light that fire and charcoal that first meal. A few tips might pre- vent your entree from becoming a "Burnt Offering."
Read these tips for plenty of grilling ideas, make this year's barbecue perfect!
Growing and Using Garlic Chives Garlic chives, Allium tuberosum, is a hardy perennial (Zones 3-9) that will grow to about 12 inches high. The stems are skinnier and flat, instead of hollow as are regular chives, with greenish white blooms that are about an inch wide and not as rounded. They bloom in the summer rather than spring. The bloom stalks grow much taller than the leaves, sometimes up to 30 inches.
The stems and blooms are both edible and have a mild garlic onion taste. I've noticed many writers will list this as primarily as an Asian herb, as they are also known as Chinese chives, Chinese leeks, ku chai (China) or Nira (Japan), but it has many other uses as well!
The Perfect Porch Swing Perhaps it is the soothing rhythm or the reassuring creak of the porch swing that attracts us. Perhaps it is the companionable silence or quiet conversation. Or maybe swings simply remind us of more genteel times.
Although porch swings can be purchased in a wide range of materials, the most common are wicker and wood. You can also make your own porch swing from one of the myriad of woodworking patterns available at garden centers, hardware stores, or on the Internet.
Memorial Day: Backyard Grilling
Growing and Using Garlic Chives
The Perfect Porch Swing