Tuesday, February 12, 2013

Tea Time

 
Are you all sitting comfortably?  Then, let's pour the tea ...


I thought you would all enjoy the first picture with all its crafty goodness surrounding these dear old ladies come for tea.  There's the crocheted afghan on the couch, a lovely round pillow on the back of the couch, needlepoint footstool in bottom right, and a couple of crocheted pillows beside each lady. 

The second photo is of my maternal grandmother, Violet, pouring tea for her family.  This was before I was born (1950ish), before my mother was even married.  My grandfather, Russell, had already passed away by this time.  My grandmother passed away when I was five years old, but I remember her well.  She always had some craft for us to do when we went to her house.  She knew how to knit, crochet, quilt, sew and I believe she did tatting as well.  A very talented and gentle lady.

So on that lovely start, let's get on with our own Tea Party Tuesday!!
 
Tea Party Tuesdays

 
I baked a delicious Banana Bread from this very old cookbook.  This particular book belonged to my great Aunt Mary, who was born and raised in Hamilton, Ontario (my grandfather's sister).  This book is full of all those good tasting old-fashioned fare that everyone cooked, baked and ate back on the farm ... and it's Canadian!!   Love this cookbook :)
 
 
Still warm from the oven!
 
 
I do love pottery, and nothing says 'comfort' more to me than a good handmade pottery mug for tea.  These particular mugs were made by a potter in Elora, Ontario, by the name of Knudstrupp.  He and his wife had a studio in a great old church in Elora, and my parents would make a pilgrimage to their studio quite often and buy up their wares (that was back in the 1970s).  My mother's grandfather was a potter too, and I imagine that's where her love of pottery stemmed from.
 
 
I picked up these pretty china plates in the thrift shop.  Apple or cherry blossoms (not sure which), but something to signify Spring! on this cold windy dreary day. 
 
 
So, Brown Betty is ready and waiting, tea is steeped, shall I pour you a cup?  One lump or two ...
 
 
 
BANANA BREAD
from The all new Purity Cookbook
 
Blend or sift together:
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
 
Cream:
1/3 cup shortening
 
Gradually beat in:
2/3 cup sugar
 
Add:
2 well-beaten eggs
 
Combine well.  Add dry ingredients alternately with:
1 cup well-mashed bananas
 
Beat until combined after each addition.  Pour into greased 9 x 5" loaf pan.  Let stand for 20 minutes.  Bake in preheated 350'F oven for 50 - 55 minutes.
 
 
Thanks for stopping by!
 
Wendy

31 comments:

  1. Just milk for me please, no sugar. But I will have a slice (or two) of that yummy banana bread please ;-)
    Lovely pic of your grandmother - what a treasure.
    xx

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    1. You take your tea the same as me :) And definitely have the extra slice of banana bread! Wendy

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  2. I will have a cup too; with lots of milk. I enjoyed my time at your tea party! looking forward to the next one :) -Gaia

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    1. You can join in the fun Gaia! Just click on the link to Sarah's blog and she is hosting the Tea Party Tuesday every 2nd Tuesday of each month. Thanks for stopping by again :) Wendy

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  3. Hello Wendy! I am so glad you found my blog via the tea party! Thank you for commenting and following along! I do agree that scones shouldn't be too sweet but mine were a bit too bland. I'll keep working on my recipe!

    It is nice that you have good memories of your grandmother. I treasure my relationship with mine. I also love pottery too!

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    1. Hi Stacy, and thanks for dropping in :) Looking forward to the 'perfected' version of your scones! Wendy

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  4. Hi Wendy,
    Thanks for visiting my blog and for your kind words- especially as it let me find and follow yours! What fond memories you must have- and a funny coincidence I had a great Grandmother named Violet! Thanks for sharing the recipe too! yum!
    Cheers
    Christina

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    1. Hi Christina ... thanks for dropping in for tea :) I have MANY good memories, and lately have been scanning literally thousands of slides from my parents (and that's why I post a few of the prints). How neat that our grandmother's share the same name. My mother was also named Violet, but she hated the name ... now I think it's coming back into vogue (I think she always thought it old-fashioned). Wendy

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  5. I can smell that banana bread from here. Hold a slice for me, I'll be right over! Gorgeous pictures of your family too Wendy. I especially love the crafty one. Hazel x

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    1. Isn't that a great crafty pic! Glad you like it, and hope the bread was to your liking :) Wendy

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  6. Hello Wendy, I love Violet's dress ... and I can smell the banana bread from here, delicious!

    Just a little note to let you know your name was picked out to be the next person to receive the book The Fine Colour of Rust, so if you could email me your details, I'll be very happy to send it on to you.

    Love Claire xxx

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    1. REALLY?!! How nice ... you've just made my day Claire, thank you! I'll send you my details in just a bit :) Wendy

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  7. Don't you just love these old photos?! I wonder what our grandparents would think of our crafty and Bloggy ways! :) x

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    1. I think my grandmother would've been right into it with me! I'm sure we would've been each other's first followers :) Nice to think about!

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  8. I love your mugs - they look to be such a nice shape to drink from. I'm sitting here enjoying banana bread and tea for breakfast as I read through my blog list (it's only 6:30am here, Wednesday!) - your banana bread looks great and I'm glad I have some of my own here as the sight of yours would make me hungry for it!

    Sarah x
    PS thanks for joining in the party!

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    1. Good morning Sarah Jane :) Still Tuesday at 4:40 p.m. and the day is winding down. I've had too much banana bread today, and I need my son to finish it up for me so that it's not tempting me tomorrow. The party was lots of fun and I see I have a couple of new followers (and I am following some new ladies as well). Looking forward to the next one! Wendy

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  9. I love banana bread! I just finished a piece with a cup of tea in fact! I have just come over from the Tea party Tuesdays, thank you for visiting my blog :-)

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    1. Hi Megan, thanks for being a new follower on my blog. After today I'm really hooked on Tea Parties :) Wendy

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  10. The banana bread looks delicious, thanks for sharing the recipe :)
    Lovely photo of your grandmother, and the pottery is beautiful.

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    1. The banana bread IS delicious (not good for me to eat it though). I only just came across the photos recently and thought they'd be perfect for my tea party post. Wendy

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  11. Your story of your family warmed my heart! I absolutely love those pictures!!! And I will be trying that recipe! Thanks so much for popping over! I look forward to journeying along with you!!!!

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    1. Thank you Nicole :) I hope you enjoy the banana bread. I've been reading back through some of your posts, and I know I'm going to enjoy following along your blog. Wendy

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  12. Mmmm...there's nothing like fresh baked banana bread! I love the lightly crispy top and moist and soft inside. So yummy!

    I love handmade pottery too. I took some ceramics classes over the past few years and made a lot of things for our home. It feels so amazing to use mugs and bowls and other things that I crafted with my own hands. The pottery mugs seem to stay warm longer too. That's nice. :-) It's wonderful how your pottery has memories to make it extra special. Those blue mugs are really nice!

    Hmmmm....Now I'm hungry for banana bread and tea...I wonder how many bananas I have? :-)

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    1. You've described banana bread perfectly! It's that crispy top that I love too ;) It's such a special thing to make things that are actually used in the home. What a great experience to take a ceramics class. I took a ceramics class years ago, but it was just putting glazes on pre-fired pre-made pieces, now I think it would be more fun to make the entire piece. Still, it was fun to experiment with the glazes. Wendy

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  13. Ooh You can't beat a nice pot of tea, served with some deli sous banana bread! Such prey pottery.....that makes it more delightful too! LOVE the old worldy pictures!~Thanks for this lovely recipe, Wendy...May just have ago...
    Keep cosy.....Love Mariax

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    1. Sorry Wendy...YOU know it should read pretty...Need hubbies reading specs!

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    2. I used to 'borrow' my husband's reading glasses too until I eventually realized I really did need a pair of my own (which I now have!) ;) I hope you can work out the measurements in the recipe, as I know you use weight measures. Wendy

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  14. I love the photos. Special ladies and I'm sure everyone can identify with the needlepoint foot stool and crocheted blanket! :o) I'm sipping my morning tea right now and wishing for a piece of warm banana bread.

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    1. I really thought that photo was a gem ... almost too good to be true! I don't know who the ladies are in the first photo, but the thing that caught my eye was the expert balancing act of tea cups and saucers on their laps! I have a feeling they did this a lot :) Wendy

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  15. Oh yes, a cup please, without lumps :-) The first thing I noticed in the opening photo was all of the charming craftiness surrounding the lovely ladies. You don't often see that anymore. Such a great pity.

    I love pottery too. And Elora. :-)

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    1. I'll set another place ;) I think there's a great number of ladies reviving the craftiness! Wendy

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