Thankful Thursday - The Secret Garden Chronicles~ Tea Time in the Garden Updated

Today is Thankful Thursday....and I have some things to be thankful for!  This week has been a little busy, and I haven't had much time to catch up with all my friends here in Blogland and beyond.  My sincere thanks to all who have recently commented on posts...I haven't had time to respond to all of your sweet messages, but I have read them and I give thanks to the Lord for each and every one of you.  I told my husband and son this morning that I feel so blessed to have such wonderful friends in so many different places in the world and our country...and even though we've never met face to face, I feel like we've known each other forever and that we are "old friends" just staying in touch and encouraging each other on good days and not so good.  It's a beautiful place to be, and I am very grateful to the Lord for bringing us together!

This little tea party was actually a little over a year ago, in what has now become "The Secret Garden".  When I originally wrote this, the Secret Garden was still a "secret" even to me!  Even though I had thought about and had even named it that in my mind, I rarely spent any time there and did not realize just what God was planning to do in the upcoming months to make this place even more special than it already was.  Come along back in time with me and let's have a little tea party in the Secret Garden!

Original Post 3/8/2016:

"Never lose an opportunity of seeing anything that is beautiful;

for beauty is God's handwriting--a wayside sacrament.  

Welcome it in every fair face, in every fair sky, in every fair flower,

and thank God for it as a cup of blessing."

Ralph Waldo Emerson

Note to reader:  I started writing this last night when the cake was hot and bubbly and fresh out of the oven. However, this special treat deserved better attention...so this morning it became an occasion for "Tea Time in the Garden".  Enjoy along with me...and the recipe will follow.

(for china descriptions see postscript below)

"Let the thankful heart sweep through the day and,

as the magnet finds the iron,

so it will find, in every hour,

some heavenly blessings!

Henry Ward Beecher

"Be still, and know that I am God;

I will be exalted among the nations,

I will be exalted in the earth!"

Psalm 46:10

"As flowers carry dewdrops, 

trembling on the edges of the petals,

and ready to fall at the first waft of wind or 

brush of bird,

so the heart should carry its beaded words of thanksgiving;

and at the first breath of heavenly flavor,

let down the shower, 

perfumed with the heart's gratitude."

Henry Ward Beecher

Blueberry Cake

My good friend Diane sent this "Minnesota State Fair Prize Winning Recipe" to me a few years ago, and I hate to admit that I am just now getting around to trying it!  Chalk that up to retirement this past fall...which now gives me the time to try new stuff and experiment a little more.  (And to have tea time in the garden!)

I don't think Diane will mind my sharing this recipe with you...so here goes:

Cream together 3/4 cup sugar with 1/4 cup butter

Mix together one egg, 1/2 cup milk (or buttermilk...which is what I used because I had some left over in my fridge that needed to be used), and 1/2 tsp. almond extract.

Sift together 2 cups flour, 2 tsp. baking powder and 1/2 tsp. salt

Combine all ingredients and stir together.  Fold in 2 cups blueberries and sprinkle on the following topping.  Bake in a greased 10" springform pan at 375 degrees for 45 minutes.  (I didn't have a springform pan, so used an 8x11 pyrex pan.)

TOPPING:

1/4 Cup Sugar, 1/4 Cup Brown Sugar, 1/3 Cup Flour, 1/2 tsp. cinnamon, 1/4 Cup Butter.  Mix together until crumbly.  Sprinkle over the cake batter before baking.

Now, why don't YOU bake this wonderful blueberry cake and have your own tea party in the garden? Or in your dining room...or on the porch...or wherever you can sit down and enjoy a cup of tea with a friend or even by yourself...and just enjoy!

"You will show me the path of life;

In Your Presence is fullness of joy;

At Your right hand are pleasures forevermore."

Psalms 16:11

Postscript:  I know some people love to know what the different china pieces are.

The small Pansy teapot was made in Czech Republic by Flaas & Cajzek.  

The sugar and creamer and tea cup are actually more of a child's size, and are made by Lefton's China, #2912 violet pattern.  

The saucer under the cake is a part of a teacup set, also a violet pattern, made by Salisbury Bone China, England.

Note 5/4/17:  And yes, that little rusty brown chair in the garden above is none other than this one, that I painted with a can of spray paint and repurposed it for God's Glory as it sits at the entrance to the Secret Garden and adds a colorful bit of welcoming beauty...

 Amazing what a can of spray paint can do!!

Kind of like you and me...Amazing what Jesus can do with a tired old rusty person who feels like life is mostly over...and then Jesus comes along and says, "Not so fast! I've still got more work for you to do!  So put on a happy face and get ready to greet weary travelers along the way in this journey we call life."

Yes, I will say it again:

"You will show me the path of life;

In Your Presence is fullness of joy;

At Your right hand are pleasures forevermore."

                      Psalms 16:11 

Until Next Time~

Be Thankful!!