High Tea

I had a little tea party
This afternoon at three.
'Twas very small-
Three guests in all-
Just I, myself and me. 

Myself ate all the sandwiches,
While I drank up the tea;
'Twas also I who ate the pie
And passed the cake to me. 

Jessica Nelson North, American poet and author (1891-1988) in "The Tea Party"

I, myself and me joined Cousin S for a little tea party in a lovely tea room situated in a turn of the century home in the village of Jordan. Tea and a nice chat go together so well -- not to mention how well they accompany fresh scones with preserves and cream. A wonderful tradition!

Lunch with Mom in the Garden

My mother is my root, my foundation. She planted the seed that I base my life on, and that is the belief that the ability to achieve starts in your mind.

Michael Jordan, American professional basketball player and entrepreneur

As kids, it was a family tradition to go for a drive on Mother's Day to enjoy the sight of orchards blooming in pink and white. We took that drive today to the Good Earth Winery in Beamsville for a Mother's Day lunch in Nicolette's cottage garden.

The nip in the Spring air succumbed to the warming (and spicy) asparagus soup that seemed to shout, "It's Spring! Dig in and celebrate!"

Rhubarb is Spring favourite and the Good Earth's cheesecake creation with stewed rhubarb provided the perfect finish to our garden lunch of Arctic char and lemongrass marinated chicken. And I should mention that the whole meal was accompanied by "2012 Betty's Blend", the winery's new release named in honour of Nicolette's mom.

Cheers to Mom!

Making a Joyful Noise unto the Lord

Touch us, O God, through your gift of melody,
through the sounds and senses of song,
through the wordless wonder which fills our souls with heaven,
through the spirit which teaches our feet to dance
and causes our hearts to overflow.
Holy Singer of our life songs, may we be absorbed in the mystery and holiness of music,
so that, in this moment of oneness,
our lives will be bonded to each other and to you. Amen.

Music Sunday Prayer, Melrose United Church

Multiple gifts of music filled our sanctuary with adoration today, thanks to the hard work of the Music Director and Youth Chorus Co-director who orchestrated the voices of adults and children with bells, flute, cello, saxaphone, bagpipes, piano and organ. Incredible and moving.

Forest Delight

Anyone who tries to possess a flower will have to watch its beauty fading. But if you simply look at a flower in the field, you'll keep it forever.

That is what the forest taught me. That you will never be mine, and that is why I will never lose you.

Paulo Coelho, Brazilian author in Brida (1990)

I took the day off and wandered a path through the woods with the Time Traveller. What a wonderful surprise to find our path lined with trilliums. I have never seen the forest floor so covered in blossoms.

The white trillium is our provincial flower and so from a young age we are made aware of the specialness of this forest beauty. It takes six or more years for a plant to produce a flower which blooms for a short time in early May; so we were very lucky to be walking in the woods at just the right time.

While the white trilliums turned their faces towards the sunlight, the spectacular red trillium preferred to look towards the shadows. Bold colour but reserved personality.

A few other spring beauties along the path were unfamiliar. We were blessed with a warm and bright spring day that was made all the more special with the gift of this unexpected beauty.