Tea With Friends

I have the best friends.  Seriously I do.  They are all interesting women.  Two of my friends and I were trying to get together for tea for the last several weeks.  But each week sickness in one family or another caused us to cancel. Yesterday, it would have been me who had to cancel but Tim wouldn't let me.  I'm so glad it worked out.

I live in the southern portion of our county.  Its country down here.   I do have a nice tea shoppe with great food about 20 minutes a way, but that is really the only one around.  Or so I thought. My friend Katie found a place in a just a few minutes from her house.  She lives over the river and in the next county.  It is really rural where she lives.  

We decided to give it a try.  Our friend Amy, who lives in Maryland joined us.  Amy and I were amazed this place was here.  We often met at a local family restaurant in this little town, because it is about half way for both of us, but we didn't love it, and we would have definitely met at the tea shop!  We did not know it existed!

This tea shop is called The Tea Trolley.  It is in a beautiful old home, with lovely details and lace curtains.  The food was wonderful, but the scones were AMAZING!  The best I have ever, ever had!

Photo from The Tea Trolley website

We were all so excited that the day worked out for us to met up and it was Katie's birthday as well, so I forgot to take photos of the food!  But I did get a few photos of our dishes and of us.

 A nice young woman who had been having tea with her family, including two well behaved little children, graciously took our group photo.  Amy, Katie and I laughed and laughed yesterday!  What a good time we had.

 This was my pretty place setting.

 Amy's dainty pattern on her setting

 And Katie's.  This is a Johnson Brothers pattern, but I don't remember what Amy's or my pattern were called.  Does anyone know?

 I gave Katie a treasure of a book, that I found at our library's bookstore.  A 1939 copy of Ella Maie Seifert's "Little Amish Schoolhouse." 

Katie is expecting in early March so it is a combination baby/birthday gift.

Here I am paging through it looking for one of the illustrations that I liked.  Katie loved this book.  She was not born into an Amish family, but has married into one.  

It was a bittersweet time, too, as Amy, sister of my heart, is moving back to Texas.  She has been packing, and purging the house they have rented for the last 3 years.  She has passed a few things on to me, and one of them is this sign from her kitchen.

It's now hanging in my kitchen and it will always remind me of her.  Its perfect for our house, as some in my family are coffee lovers, we love chickens, and I love all things Colonial.  I will not say goodbye to her.  I will only say, "See you soon."  I love her.

Now, an update on Tim.  The tests at the doctor's office were inconclusive, but no infection, which is good.   But we definitely know that he has at least one kidney stone.  I've started him on Apple Cider Vinegar, to dissolve the stone/stones.  He went to work today, he said it would help distract him from the discomfort.  He wanted me to tell you all 'Thank You' for your prayers.  He appreciates it.

Do you love tea?  Do you visit Tea Shops?  Do you have a favorite place to go for tea?