Tea and Shortbread on a Late Autumn Afternoon

Hello, Dear Friends - Autumn is moving along

and the days are getting shorter and shorter,
 here in the north-woods of Washington State. 

Won't you join me for a walk in the golden forest,
 then come inside for a hot cup of tea,
with some home-made shortbread? 

The foothills have a new dusting of snow, 

but there is still some fall color among the 

evergreen fir, cedar and hemlock. 

We've had fierce winds the last few days, 

which has blown the leaves off lesser trees, 

but our native maple and black cottonwood

are just coming into their prime. 

A sturdy raincoat and warm scarf are in order - 

this beautiful hand-knit was a gift from 

my dear, talented friend, Pat, who blogs at Lily, My Cat. 

It's so soft and warm.

Temperatures are dropping into the 40's now. 

The ground is a tapestry of color. 

Nature's beauty. 

The sun hangs low, even at high noon. 

Vine maple illuminates the gloom of the forest.

A late afternoon sunbeam as we step inside. 

xoxo

Let's make some shortbread! 

My pretty spatula is a gift from my sweet Sis-in-law <3 

Here's the easy recipe:

Lemon-Vanilla Shortbread

Preheat oven to 325 degrees 

Lightly spray an 8-inch shortbread pan 

with nonstick cooking spray. 

(or an 8-inch round cake pan)

Ingredients:

1/2 cup salted butter, softened

1/2 cup confectioners' sugar

1/2 tsp lemon extract

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1 cup all-purpose flour

pinch of salt 

In a large mixing bowl, 

cream the butter and sugar together. 

Add remaining ingredients and mix until 

soft dough forms. 

Pat dough into prepared pan. 

Bake @ 325 degrees for 35 minutes. 

Remove from pan after cooling for 10 minutes. 

Cut and enjoy! 

These are so buttery, light and delicious! 

These beautiful Johnson Bros., 'Friendly Village'
plates were once my dear Mother-in-law's,

just sent to me all the way from New Hampshire,
 from my sweet Sis-in-law for my birthday. 

We lost my dear MIL last December. 

These will be so treasured. 

A covered bridge scene. 

When I was a child, my family vacationed 

at 'Butler's Cabin' - a log cabin in the 

White mountains of New Hampshire.
(I grew up in Massachusetts)

Mr. Butler was my Father's friend and boss. 

The cabin was located at the base of Black mountain, 

in Jackson, N.H. and we had to travel 

over a covered bridge to get there. 

Those lovely days were the best memories of my childhood.

I had this little dish already :)

I've used my 'new' vintage Kate Greenaway tablecloth 

that I just found at Virginia Retro - etsy

I had seen this tablecloth on Pam's blog
 (Virginia Retro) months ago, 

when she featured it in one of her wonderful table-scapes,

and I promptly fell in love with it. 

When she opened her Etsy shop recently, 

there it was for sale and I couldn't believe my good fortune! 

Kate Greenaway was a wonderful children's book

illustrator in the late 1800's and I have a few of 

her lovely books reprinted in the 60's and 70's. 

Lemon tea and shortbread. 

xoxo

Some lovely pages from 'The Language of Flowers'.

Time to clean up <3

Ramblin' Man will be so happy tonight!
Shortbread is a favorite!

xoxo

Thank you for joining me, Dear Friends!

If you are interested in buying one of these
beautiful shortbread molds, you can find
many examples for sale, Here.

xoxo

Wishing you a lovely week! 

A Lovely Harvest

Hello, Dear Friends, I hope that you are 

having a lovely week, with a little sunshine 

to brighten your days. 

Our snow is melted and now we are having more

'normal' weather for November, 

a little sunshine, a little rain and some blustery winds. 

Before all this wet weather set in, 

I harvested some hydrangea blooms

and tansy from my gardens. 

The colors were especially lovely this year. 

This variety is 'Nikko Blue'.
They start out a beautiful shade of sky blue,
but turn amazing shades of chartreuse
 tinged with lavender by October.

I planted these many years ago as tiny 

cuttings and now I have a beautiful hedge. 

This variety (mop-head) are fussy about 

where they live. They can't take too much sun, 

and require steady moisture.

These live under tall trees and get mulched
every fall with fallen alder leaves. 

I love gathering them in large baskets 

and tubs to decorate with. 

Here they are in my bedroom. 

My son gifted me with this wonderful, 

galvanized, vintage tub for my birthday. 

This large vintage basket sits on top 

of my 1920's art deco armoire. 

The desk in the mirror was my dear Mother's 

Ethan Allen from the 1960's.

To gather hydrangeas for drying in baskets,
crumple newspaper to fill 3/4 of the basket
and insert the stems.

If you gather the hydrangeas late in the season
when the blooms feel like paper,
you can simply let them dry in place.

I keep this basket on the stair landing.

I keep a revolving gallery of flower paintings here.

I painted the small cabinet years ago
using petal and leaf shaped stamps
cut from kitchen sponges :)

Hydrangea wreaths are easy to make
out of a coat hanger, floral tape and wire.

I harvested a big basket of tansy, too.

The leaves are stripped off the stems.

I'll divide this into two baskets and let it dry.
I fluff it once or twice a day until it dries,
usually in about a week or two, then I will
store it in plastic tubs until I am ready to use it.

Here it is in full bloom earlier in the season.
This is a tall, lanky herb that will spread if
not contained. Here it has fallen from
 a heavy rain and is sprawled all over.

If it is clipped early in the season, it won't grow so tall.

The button flowers can be dried, also.

If you are interested in growing Tansy you
can purchase seeds Here.

A sketch I made in 2014 that shows the details.

This is a pungent herb that I use to make sachets to
repel moths.

I'll post a tutorial for the sachets in my next post!

Now it's just a harvest of leaves!

Whitey Bear likes to lie in my leaf piles :)
He refuses to move......

Is that a treat? 

I'll move for a treat!

^^

**

 >o< 

U

Kai is looking for squirrels.

Uh-oh little squirrel. You had better run!

xoxo

Today I am linking with:

Floral Passions - Floral Bliss

Won't you join the fun?