FRONT PORCH TEA

Mary Marcia 
America's STORYTELLER
Telling Untold Stories in Photographs, Prose and Public Speaking


Wish you could share some FRONT PORCH TEA with me today!  
   

We downsized to a small cottage in 2004. 
Our front porch is so tiny....so I expanded the "porch-space"
by adding a porch swing to the side, stepping stones and a rocking chair in front of the porch.
July 2011

My Granny Lucille always had red geraniums in pots on her front porch, and I continue the tradition.
Nothing says, "Welcome!" like a pot of  bright red geraniums!

This is my favorite seat on our expanded "front-porch-space!"
Don't you just love a rocking chair?
Can you find the daisies, geraniums,  petunias and boxwood?
July 2011

It just isn't possible for each one of my friends around the world to sit with me on my front porch today - so let's try the next-best-thing! 

What if we each made a batch of FRONT PORCH TEA and shared it with someone in our own neighborhood? 

Spring TULIPS on my front porch.  Copyright 2014 Marcia Norwood

Spring TULIPS and PETUNIAS on my front porch.  Copyright 2014 Marcia Norwood

Spring TULIPS and PETUNIAS on my front porch.  Copyright 2014 Marcia Norwood

Spring TULIPS and PETUNIAS on my  front porch.  Copyright 2014 Marcia Norwood

Spring TULIPS and PETUNIAS on my front porch.  Copyright 2014 Marcia Norwood

 Ask GOD to put someone on our heart.  The mail carrier?  The neighbor down the street?  Your son or daughter? Husband?  Friend? Grandchildren?

My recipe for FRONT PORCH TEA serves 8 to 10. 

Who will you serve today?

RECIPE:  Front Porch Tea

FRONT PORCH TEA
(Serves 8 to 10)

Ingredients

• 11 Cups Water:  Divided into 1, 2 and 8 Cup Portions
• 1 Cup Sugar
• 2 Large Family-Size Tea Bags
• 1 (12-ounce) Can Frozen Lemonade Concentrate (Thawed)
• 1 Tablespoon Vanilla
• 1 Tablespoon Almond Extract
• Fresh Peach Slices

Preparation

1. Combine 1 Cup Water and 1 Cup Sugar.
2. Cook and Stir until Sugar Dissolves to Make Sugar Syrup.  Set Aside.
3. Pour 2 Cups Boiling Water over Tea Bags in a 4-Quart (Gallon) Pitcher.
4. Let Stand 5 Minutes, and Remove Tea Bags.
5. Add remaining 8 Cups Water, Sugar Syrup, Lemonade Concentrate, Vanilla and Almond Extract.
6. Serve Over Ice, and Garnish with Fresh Peach Slices and/or Fresh Mint Leaves.
7. ENJOY!!!

Peppermint grows wild in my front garden in the midst of coneflowers,
iris, Dwarf Alberta Spruce and ornamental grasses.
It's fun to sit in the middle of the garden and take in all the sights, sounds and scents!
The red chair is comfy and also the "red" draws hummingbirds. 
Just behind the chair are three fragrant butterfly bushes.
Hummingbirds, butterflies, birds and bees dart to and fro!

We grow two varieties of  mint  in our gardens to use in this recipe.  Mint can become a nuisance in the garden, so you may want to plant it in pots rather than in the midst of your garden.

The scent of the Knockout Roses on our streetside garden is intoxicating!  I planted the roses between
Dwarf Alberta Spruce, Daylillies, Salvia, Mint, Liriope, and Lemon Basil.

Mary Marcia 
America's STORYTELLER
Telling Untold Stories in Photographs, Prose and Public Speaking

 

FROZEN

Marcia Norwood
America's STORYTELLER
Telling Untold Stories in Photographs, Prose and Public Speaking


How do you warm your heart, mind and body in winter?


Hot chocolate? 

Movies?

Snuggling the one you love?

Hi, everyone. 

I'm Olaf and I like warm hugs!  

Olaf, from Disney's Movie:  FROZEN.  (Photo Credit:  Walt Disney)

I like warm hugs, too - and I like Olaf.  

Olaf  has the best lines in Disney's movie, FROZEN.

Anna: Olaf! You're melting!
Olaf: Some people are worth melting for. 


Have you seen FROZEN?  

I loved it.  So did my teenage daughters.  It's just fun to watch.  

It's a chick-flick, a date-night movie, and a children's show...with wonderful music that now tops the music charts thanks to Kristen Bell (who knew she could sing?), Idina Menzel, and Demi Lovato.

 Songs from FROZEN

CLICK on the link or COPY & PASTE the link in your browser:

http://soundtrack-movie.com/frozen/

http://video.search.yahoo.com/search/video;_ylt=A0SO8z8AE9BS2V8Afi9XNyoA;_ylu=X3oDMTB0aDJpa2VnBHNlYwNzYwRjb2xvA2dxMQR2dGlkA1ZJUDMyMl8x?p=songs+from+frozen+the+movie

FROZEN

 CLICK on the link or COPY & PASTE the link in your browser:

http://movies.disney.com/frozen/

Photo Credit:  Walt Disney

I dream of springtime, but for now - I'll warm my heart with the beauty that surrounds me.

One kind word

can warm

three winter months.

Japanese Proverb

Fountain at The Kansas City Zoo.  Copyright 2010 Marcia Norwood                                                                     CLICK on each PHOTO to ENLARGE.

Copyright 2013 Marcia Norwood

 Winter is the season 

in which people try to keep the house 

as warm as it was in the summer, 

when they complained about the heat. 

Author Unknown

 

Hand-painted Screen at Ronald McDonald House, Loyola (Chicago).  Copyright 2010 Marcia Norwood

Hand-painted Screen at Ronald McDonald House, Loyola (Chicago).  Copyright 2010 Marcia Norwood

 

Copyright 2011 Marcia Norwood

Of winter's lifeless world each tree
Now seems a perfect part;
Yet each one holds summer's secret
Deep down within its heart.
 

Charles G. Stater

Secret Garden, RMH, Loyola (Chicago)  Copyright 2010 Marcia Norwood

 

It is the life of the crystal, 

the architect of the flake,

 the fire of the frost, 

the soul of the sunbeam. 

This crisp winter air is full of it. 

John Burroughs, "Winter Sunshine"

Secret Garden, RMH, Loyola (Chicago)  Copyright 2010 Marcia Norwood

Walking in a Winter Wonderland...

Copyright 2013 Marcia Norwood

Copyright 2009 Marcia Norwood

Copyright 2009 Marcia Norwood

Brew me a cup for a winter's night.
For the wind howls loud, and the furies fight;
Spice it with love and stir it with care,
And I'll toast your bright eyes, my sweetheart fair.

 
Minna Thomas Antrim

 "A Night Cap," A Book of Toasts, 1902

 

Copyright 2010 Marcia Norwood

It is said that in a certain faraway land 

the cold is so intense 

that words freeze as soon as they are uttered, 

and after some time 

thaw and become audible, 

so that words spoken in winter 

go unheard until the next summer.

Author Unknown

Secret Garden, RMH, Loyola (Chicago)  Copyright 2010 Marcia Norwood

Secret Garden, RMH, Loyola (Chicago)  Copyright 2010 Marcia Norwood

Winter is on my head, 

but eternal spring is in my heart.

Victor Hugo

 

Copyright 2013 Marcia Norwood

Thanks for stopping by!

Come back often, and invite a friend!

Marcia Norwood
America's STORYTELLER
Telling Untold Stories in Photographs, Prose and Public Speaking

FRONT PORCH TEA

FRONT PORCH TEA

Marcia Norwood, America's STORYTELLER


Wish you could share some FRONT PORCH TEA with me today! 

We downsized to a small cottage in 2004. 
Our front porch is so tiny....so I expanded the "porch-space"
by adding a porch swing to the side, stepping stones and a rocking chair in front of the porch.
July 2011

My Granny Lucille always had red geraniums in pots on her front porch, and I continue the tradition.
Nothing says, "Welcome!" like a pot of  bright red geraniums!

This is my favorite seat on our expanded "front-porch-space!"
Don't you just love a rocking chair?
Can you find the daisies, geraniums,  petunias and boxwood?
July 2011

It just isn't possible for each one of my friends around the world to sit with me on my front porch today - so let's try the next-best-thing! 

What if we each made a batch of FRONT PORCH TEA and shared it with someone in our own neighborhood? 

Ask God to put someone on our heart.  The mail carrier?  The neighbor down the street?  Your son or daughter? Husband?  Friend? Grandchildren?

My recipe for FRONT PORCH TEA serves 8 to 10. 

Who will you serve today?

Please tell me about it! 

Post a comment here or email me:

Email: mailto:marcia.norwood@sbcglobal.net

FRONT PORCH TEA
(Serves 8 to 10)

Ingredients

• 11 Cups Water:  Divided into 1, 2 and 8 Cup Portions
• 1 Cup Sugar
• 2 Large Family-Size Tea Bags
• 1 (12-ounce) Can Frozen Lemonade Concentrate (Thawed)
• 1 Tablespoon Vanilla
• 1 Tablespoon Almond Extract
• Fresh Peach Slices

Preparation

1. Combine 1 Cup Water and 1 Cup Sugar.
2. Cook and Stir until Sugar Dissolves to Make Sugar Syrup.  Set Aside.
3. Pour 2 Cups Boiling Water over Tea Bags in a 4-Quart (Gallon) Pitcher.
4. Let Stand 5 Minutes, and Remove Tea Bags.
5. Add remaining 8 Cups Water, Sugar Syrup, Lemonade Concentrate, Vanilla and Almond Extract.
6. Serve Over Ice, and Garnish with Fresh Peach Slices and/or Fresh Mint Leaves.
7. ENJOY!!!

Peppermint grows wild in my front garden in the midst of coneflowers,
iris, Dwarf Alberta Spruce and ornamental grasses.
It's fun to sit in the middle of the garden and take in all the sights, sounds and scents!
The red chair is comfy and also the "red" draws hummingbirds. 
Just behind the chair are three fragrant butterfly bushes.
Hummingbirds, butterflies, birds and bees dart to and fro!

We grow two varieties of mint in our gardens to use in this recipe.  Mint can become a nuisance in the garden, so you may want to plant it in pots rather than in the midst of your garden.

The scent of the Knockout Roses on our streetside garden is intoxicating!  I planted the roses between
Dwarf Alberta Spruce, Daylillies, Salvia, Mint, Liriope, and Lemon Basil.

UNTIL ALL HIS CHILDREN HAVE HOMES!

Marcia

Website:  http://www.marcianorwoodstoryteller.com/

Marcia's BLOG:  hhttp://tellmeastory-marcia.blogspot.com/

Email:  mailto:marcia.norwood@sbcglobal.net

WINDOWS

WINDOWS

Photos and Text Copyright 2012 Marcia Norwood


Today it's raining outside my window!

I'm thankful God watered the  bulbs and plants and trees. I watered the bamboo, boxwood and rosemary plants - inside  my kitchen window.

My Kitchen Window
Copyright 2012 Marcia Norwood

The bamboo plant was a gift from one of my husband's clients, (an elderly Chinese lady) when she learned we had two Chinese/American daughters.  I put the bamboo plant (roots and all) in one of our Chinese vases, and filled it with water...no soil needed.  

It's wonderful to have rosemary in the kitchen for cooking and fragrance.  We also add rosemary to our homemade soaps, potpourri and bath salts.  I gently rub my hand across the rosemary to release its scent into the room.  My hands smell wonderful, too!     

My daughter, Sarah, gave me the two tiny boxwood plants for Christmas. The boxwood would have been fine outside in our cold Midwest winters, but I decided they would winter in my sunny kitchen window. I'll find a place for them in one of our cottage gardens in the spring.     

Boxwood & Bamboo
Copyright 2012 Marcia Norwood

If I had to choose only one evergreen plant (God forbid!) for my garden - it would be boxwood.   I've planted boxwood gardens in every house we've owned,  including the little cottage we downsized to in 2004.  I've  planted almost 50 boxwood in our front and side gardens so far...with more to come! 

Boxwood Evergreens In Our Front Cottage Gardens
Copyright 2012 Marcia Norwood

"Any device in science

is a window on to nature,

and each new window

contributes to the

breadth of our view."

Cecil Frank Powell

My Kitchen Window
Copyright 2012 Marcia Norwood

 

"Art is the window to man's soul.

Without it, he would never be able

to see beyond his immediate world;

nor could the world see the man within."

Claudia Johnson

There are other windows and other delights in our simple kitchen. 

Here's our new Bamboo Steamer, for making our girls' favorite Chinese dumplings.   We discovered the steamer, and these beautiful porcelian tea cups/mugs with diffusers at the Chinese Market in Kansas City, Missouri.

Monogram initial ceramic tiles... 

My favorite:  Oolong and White Peony Tea!

You'll find bunny shaped tea pots and Noah's ark-shaped teapots from our collections on top of our black cabinets.   I painted our oak cabinets first with white, green and then black, and finally sanded off paint until I got the distressed look I desired.

I moved one of the CD players and two speakers to the kitchen, so Martina McBride, The Beach Boys, Aretha Franklin, Chris Tomlin and Sara Groves could serenade us.

A copper tea pot perches in the pot rack above the sink...with a little birdie....a Christmas decoration that I just couldn't put away.

There's a stained-glass dragonfly in my kitchen window.  It was a gift from my husband, Ed, who can't seem to go shopping without bringing me back every dragonfly that he finds!

"Buy, buy, says the sign in the shop window;

Why, why, says the junk in the yard."
Paul McCartney

What's the view from your window?

Tell me about the simple delights in your kitchen!

Sign up to have my stories delivered to your inbox by adding your email address in the box in the top right of this blog that says: 
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"It seems to me that trying to live without friends

is like milking a bear

to get cream for your morning coffee.

It is a whole lot of trouble,

and then not worth much after you get it."
Zora Neale Hurston

Marcia

 Let's keep in touch!

  Website:  http://www.marcianorwoodstoryteller.com/

  Marcia's BLOG:  hhttp://tellmeastory-marcia.blogspot.com/

  Email:  mailto:marcia.norwood@sbcglobal.net