Monday, April 13, 2020

Giveaway Winner - Stormy weather - Baking


Wow, quite a night, and now a wild morning after. Severe storms bringing tornados, 
baseball sized hailstones, trees down, power outages, and flooding, roll across the
 country once again leaving a trail of destruction. . . . .  but hopefully no deaths or
 serious injuries. Properties are heavily damaged in some areas, and south of us
an area of North Carolina has thousands now without power. We have been lucky
here in our area.

I didn't sleep much and was up by 6 AM which is early for me, especially these days!
I had no idea what to do so got in the shower, washed my hair, and just let the water 
drown out the outdoor noise of the storm. Small branches fell littering the the deck
 and garden, treetops swayed violently, emergency vehicle sirens sounded, and
 mama finch's nest in the hanging basket spun around like a wild carnival
 ride. . . . . but she stayed tucked in!

It's still blowing and raining off and on, but the sun is promised later - from what
 I can see there's no real damage here, just a lot of clean up when things dry out
in the next day or so hopefully.
The fig tree appears greener than ever.

Anyway, once Bob was up I grabbed him to pick the Tea Towel Giveaway winner!
Here we go. . . . . . . .


. . . . . .we tossed all the names of each of you who had commented on the Giveaway
 post in his Boston Red Sox cap, and he pulled out Marilyn's entry!  I think we both
 just stood there gaping at each other and then said "Wow, it's Marilyn!"  
She's a dear and lovely tea lady friend from Portland, Oregon and, although I wish all
 of you could have won, we know she going to enjoy the book because if there's 
anyone who knows about tea and tea time, it's definitely Marilyn. 

So congratulations dear Marilyn - I'll be in touch regarding mailing the book.
I know some of you already follow Marilyn's delightful blog aptly titled
DELIGHTS OF THE HEART  - but if not, do visit and meet her soon.

Thanks to all who entered the Giveaway and for leaving fun comments on 
your tea towel collections and ironing!


More to come in another post regarding what I'm doing to keep busy whilst still
 locked down - which I guess is better than being locked up!

Hope your Easter weekend was good despite being so different from usual.
I baked these pistachio muffins again for Easter Sunday - everyone who tries them
 seems to love them - and shared with neighbors.

Stay safe, stay strong, be well.

12 comments:

  1. Oh my goodness, those muffins look delicious. Glad to hear you're safe. Hopefully you won't get anymore storms.
    We had a good Easter weekend with lots of time spent together. I'm longing to go out somewhere though. Feeling rather tired of walking around our neighbourhood but I know it's for the collective good.

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  2. Congratulations to Marilyn! What a wild night you had. I'm glad that you're safe and hope that power and utilities are soon restored to those without. What a terrible time for a storm like this (not that there's ever a good time). Glad to hear that Mama Finch is safe, too. Those pistachio muffins look so delicious! Take care, Mary.

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  3. We had a terrible storm last night as well. Luckily we did not loose power but many in Hendersonville did. Your muffins look wonderful

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  4. Wow! I won! I can't believe it. I will love receiving this special book. Thanks so much. Thanks for the link to my blog too.
    Those muffins look gorgeous and delicious! Did you post the recipe? I always love making recipes from Mary.
    What weather you are having too. That sounds a bit scary. I have been hearing on the news all about the weather in other places. Here we are having gorgeous sunshine and 70 degrees. Perfect for a good walk.

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  5. Mary, let me begin by saying THANK YOU for your kind comment today, it cheered me up immensely. I am sorry that things, life, the storm are keeping you awake. You and I need to see what remedy works for a good night sleep because sleep is the most important thing right now.

    The storm was ferocious here as well, last night I thought the roof was going to blow off and this morning was no better. There are big trees down all over the area, fences blown over as well as small twigs, etc. Thankfully no hail and no power outages.

    Your muffins looks delicious! I would love the recipe, have you shared it on the blog?

    Have a wonderful day friend, stay safe, stay home and know that your blog, your comments and you are loved.

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  6. We too have cleaning up after another stormy night. It did bring a little more rain. Your garden photos are so lovely...doesn't look messy to me. Hugs Ali.

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  7. So glad to hear you stayed safe during those storms! We had very high winds here today and I was afraid our power was going to go out, but thank goodness, it didn't. We're in for a cold week here - only in the 40's.

    Congratulations to Marilyn! I know she will love that book.

    Your muffins look amazingly delicious. Please, please share the recipe? Maybe here on your blog or if not, would you mind emailing it to me?

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  8. As you said Marilyn is our go to authority on all things tea, and she was the perfect winner! Congrats dear Marilyn🙌🏻
    Thank you dear Mary, for offering your delightful Giveaway during this lockdown period - a nice little distraction!
    Oh your Pistachio muffins look amazing - can I ask for the recipe please! Knowing you, I’m sure they will be a healthy version!!!
    I’m doing all sorts of baking these days and looking for interesting recipes.
    Take care, xxx

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  9. Congratulations to Marilyn, the lucky (and happy) winner!
    Your pistachio muffins look great, I've never come across much baking with pistachios, so these are intriguing.
    It was very windy here yesterday, too, but nowhere near a storm, just brought down the temperature considerably. Good to know nothing on your house and garden was damaged.

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  10. Storms on top of everything!! You were so fortunate and the little finch nest was evidently built to a master builder's specification, as well! Easter came and went and I didn't make the Middle Eastern pistachio biscuits I'd planned (surprise bag of pistachios found in the freezer and not enough yeast to sacrifice for Hot Cross Buns, haha) and will be making it a priority tomorrow ... maybe ...

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  11. Congrats to the lucky winner Martylin !
    I'm sorry you had a storm, I'm also glad that it wasn't that strong there at your end.
    I love your header, it's so pretty too.
    I'm a baking frenzy while in quarantine, I will try your deli looking muffins.
    Keep safe.
    Fabby

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  12. Dear Mary,
    Been thinking about you and hope that the worst of the storm has passed and you can get on with your life. Having to worry about the Corona virus is bad enough.
    Stay well.

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