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.

Tea towels and A GIVEAWAY!

Good Monday morning - hoping each one of you is healthy, happy, and

spent the weekend doing great things.

I have quite a pleasing collection of tea towels.

I like to set up my ironing board in the kitchen - I can watch the birds 

and squirrels, and the light is bright and cheery.

Ironing them is not a chore, for me it's more like quiet time alone to think

 and ponder, and these days we are all doing a lot of that!

I enjoy spending time smoothing, dampening down with fragrant linen water, 

ironing and folding.

 Over the years several tea towels have been delightful gifts, they have stories

 and memories behind them.

They are also an item often picked up whilst in a foreign country to bring back as

 a useful souvenir. I've discovered that Italy and France have the best ones.

They are beautifully made and never wear out. Several are pure linen - my

 favorites, others linen/cotton blend. All are lightweight and, when purchased on a

 trip, easy to tuck into that ever expanding suitcase being rolled along behind one!

Where do you iron?

What do you contemplate whilst ironing?

Do you have a special collection of tea towels?

I read about this recently published UK book by Marnie Fogg,

The Art of the Tea Towel - Over 100 of the Best Designs, and knew

 it would be interesting. It definitely is! 

It's the creative history of the humble kitchen must-have which we all use, 

from the 1950's to the present day.

I purchased two copies with thoughts of doing a Giveaway some day as

I know some of you enjoy collecting tea towels.

Well the time is now when we all perhaps need a little fun. . . . . and 

one of you can enjoy a package at your door!

So, just look at the tea towels displayed on the book cover, tell me which one 

catches your eye, and leave me a comment.

This Giveaway is open to all no matter on which continent you have your

 kitchen, or where you dry your dishes and wine glasses!!!

My personal dish washer/dish dryer, Mr. Bob, will pick a winner from his favorite 
Red Sox ball cap on April 13 (Easter Monday). Hope so much you join in.

Postscript:  FYI - we really go through a lot of tea towels as we prefer to wash/dry by hand!