Category Archives: Garden/Tea Time

Summer Splendor…

Posted on July 29, 2021 by Marcia Ren

“Summer afternoon—summer afternoon; to me those have always been the two most beautiful words in the English language.” -Henry James Hello, sweet friends… While July is coming to an end… Our garden is coming more alive… This month has brought the joy of traveling again and a few other activities which I have enjoyed… however… I have been most grateful for the many moments and opportunities spent in my garden… Sunny days… and beautiful blooms helping to refresh as we celebrate the season… 👩‍🍳 WHAT’S COOKING? This week I gathered blueberries from our garden and posted a photo on Instagram asking for any suggestions for recipes. My Facebook friend Pat suggested one…and so here it is! (Thanks Pat!) BLUEBERRY BUCKLE Ingredients  ¾ cup white sugar 1/4 cup butter 1 egg  2 teaspoons lemon zest  1 ½ cups flour  2 teaspoons baking powder  ½ teaspoon salt  ½ cup milk  1 tablespoon flour  1 ½ cups fresh blueberries Topping ▢ ¼ cup butter + 1 tablespoon ▢ ¼ cup brown sugar ▢ ¼ cup white sugar ▢ ⅓ cup all-purpose flour ▢ ½ teaspoon ground … Continue reading →

Posted in Coastal Living, Cooking, Garden/Tea Time | 6 Comments

Six Years Later & A Garden Tour…💕

Posted on July 15, 2021 by Marcia Ren

Life is like a garden. Perfect moments can be had, but not preserved, except in memory. – Leonard Nimoy Hello, sweet friends… This past weekend Joe and I shared our home in a local garden tour… and six years ago (on the same weekend) we had made the biggest move of my life… moving from California to the Oregon Coast…. Reflecting on these past years… I’ve learned that changing the direction of your life is a bit like growing things from seed… Those early ideas dreams can be compared to early seedlings… some just don’t develop at all… others grow wild… and a few seem to flourish and grow at their own pace… I thought it was quite amazing that our garden tour coincided with the anniversary date of moving out of California… Both dates will be forever embedded as precious memories. Beginning something new requires a lot of patience… … Continue reading →

Posted in Garden/Tea Time, Our Cottage | 8 Comments

Music…My Father…and…The Piano🎶

Posted on June 17, 2021 by Marcia Ren

  “Dads are most ordinary men turned by love into heroes, adventurers, story-tellers, and singers of song.” -Pam Brown Hello, sweet friend… These past few days the weather has been beautiful… I’ve been enjoying the garden…  The ‘Doris Day’ roses Joe planted in memory of my father’s 100th birthday… are blooming beautifully!  That being said…and with Father’s Day just around the corner… today I would like to share a re-edited post written several years ago…dedicating it to my father a.k.a.… ‘Captain Ed’ ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Original post published June 2015   One of the reasons I love to blog… is that I enjoy talking😂  telling stories.   more specifically sharing them…   I must confess the intro to this post has been edited several times.   I found myself in a quandry about writing “certain” things. Things of the heart are sometimes difficult to share. ❤️   Perhaps because it makes me feel a … Continue reading →

Posted in Coastal Living, Garden/Tea Time, Our Cottage | Tagged , , , | 12 Comments

Retirement…10 years later & A Mini Summer Garden Tea…

Posted on June 10, 2021 by Marcia Ren

To Do…1. Plant a Garden✔️2. Bake a Pie✔️3. Read a Classic✔️4. Shop all Day✔️✔️ Hello, sweet friends… Today marks the 10th anniversary of my retirement. Similar to those 30 years of teaching…these past 10 years have been an exciting adventure …and the years have sweetly flown by… Now come and join me as I share how I spent the day…

Posted in Garden/Tea Time, Our Cottage | 6 Comments

Enjoy The Little Things…💗

Posted on June 3, 2021 by Marcia Ren

“Enjoy the little things in life because one day you’ll look back and realize they were the big things.” Hello, sweet friends… I hope you had a wonderful week… With summer just around the corner I’ve been spending more time outside… Particularly in the garden…. Each day some new beauty shakes out the creases in her petals. Recently it was the turn of the peonies… and the beautiful roses… Over the fence and across the yard they both look almost the same shade of pink and scarlet… viewing closer you can notice they are different. I also notice the variety of birds singing. It’s all very lovely. I enjoy just to water the flowers or pull a few weeds. To my delight I see some parts of the garden looking quite successful…thanks Joe! And the simple act of walking around noticing what is blooming always brings me joy.

Posted in Garden/Tea Time | 4 Comments