Orient Express Adventure ~ Bloggy Style

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While the children and I were enjoying a lovely Saturday morning in the drawing room, I received a post from Madame Muse Swings inviting me to go on holiday with her on the new luxury express train... The Orient Express! She said all our friends will be there, we must go Dahling!

I secured my passage and set about packing my trunks. Oh what to wear?
When I arrived in Paris, I could feel the excitement in the air and... someone following me.
Before leaving for the train station, I went shopping and chose a few gifts for my dear friends who were joining us on our journey. It was a lovely surprise when I met several of the other passengers purchasing a few things too. We agreed to wait upon each other and arrive together.

We paraded ourselves in our new gowns until 2:00 pm and arms fully loaded with more boxes. We caught the train and left Paris about 3:00 pm. From there on I got no rest, I walked about the train and visited with everyone until it was time for tea.

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"And then there had come this Belgian stranger - all the way from England."You have saved us, mon cher", said the General emotionally."

I immediately rang my steward, Jean Michael, and told the dahling that I must have some tea and sandwiches.

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"Mary Debenham had had little sleep since she left Baghdad on the preceding Thursday. Two men below her window were talking French. One was a French officer, the other was a little man with enormous moustaches."

"You have not dined well. The skewers are of better quality than the kebab. The bottle is more distinguished than its wine. And the coffee."

After my little nibble, I set about to locate my friends. Perhaps they were in the dining car?

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"'When [Ratchett] passed me in the restaurant ... I had a curious impression. It was as though a wild animal ... had passed me by ... The body - the cage - is everything of the most respectable - but through the bars, the wild animal looks out ... I could not rid my-self of the impression that evil had passed me by very close."

I could have sworn I just saw Madame Christie sitting here a moment ago? Oddly, she left her writing tools behind... some writing paper, a ivory cased pen and a box of chocolates.

Ah yes, here they are my friends! They've just ordered hors d'oeuvres and champagne!

Oh Jean Michael! Could you open a bottle for the ladies and I?
Madame Sassy Lass recommended the Beef Bourguignonne! Oh dahling, it's divine!

When we finished we went to the lounge for a little game of cards.

"You'd better go catch upon your sleep before the Belgian gentleman gets back to your compartment." "Would you forgive us if we went back to the compartment, Mrs. Hubbard? Gladly, if you must. If you need aspirin, I always carry it on my person. I mistrust foreign drugs."

Oh Jean Michael, could you light my heater for me please?

Oh isn't Jean Michael such a sweet steward, he left a little surprise for me when I returned to my cabin...

Ah, yes a cup of tea, a good book and the rocking of the train to lull' me to sleep. Oh Jean Michael, could you fluff my pillow? Perhaps fetch my slippers too?
"Good night, Mr. Ratchett. Good night, Hector. Ce n'est rien. C'etait un cauchemar. Bien, Mr. Ratchett. May you now have pleasant dreams."

I've enjoyed this trip on the luxury Orient Express and I look forward to visiting all of you who have joined us on the adventure!

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"Better than the hotel? I shall probably keep the menu as a souvenir."

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*** All quote excepts are from the book, Murder on the Orient Express" ***

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My Celebrity Look-Alike

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Muse Swings who is cool in all things COOL, double dog dared me to see who my celebrity look-alike would be. I'm not a betting woman but if I were, I was thinking it was going to be Sara Palin when I wear my glasses ~ so rare nowadays because I need an updated prescription! But whew, I started getting worried when I saw James Blunt in the line up but in the end, I had a 4-WAY TIE!! The final picture has me with Brittany Murphy and I can see the resemblance, especially when I was going as a Blondie 10 years ago. But if I were to choose it would be Sarah Michelle Gellar. I'm getting an agent in the morning!

MyHeritage - free family trees, genealogy and face recognition

Now I triple dog dare you...

Go to www.MyHeritage.com and choose the Celebrity look alike challenge tab.
The site that will make a celebrity look-alike collage using facial recognition points from your own photo.

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PFF ~ Peaceful Surroundings

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It's Postcard Friendship Friday hosted by my blog~beauty friend...

Marie at Cpaphil Vintage Postcards!

This picture exudes peaceful surroundings when I look at it...

I imagine the table set for tea and a plate of buttery, melt~in~your~mouth shortbread cookies, my family each in their cozy places. We could play board games, take a nap, read a book, etc...

I hope your Friday is just as peaceful!

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Adventure on the Orient Express... Blog style!

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All Aboard! Everyone is invited!

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The Orient Express is boarding in Paris on Monday, March 9th, and you are invited! Our host is my dear blog beauty Muse Swings.

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"You are invited to post your part of the journey on the 9th! What would you take, what would you wear, what adventures would you have on board? Who would you travel with, where would you stop for sightseeing and activities? Will there be drama...suspense.......a (horrors!) a murder to solve???? Will we be derailed by an avalanche? Will mysterious people board at our many stops? Will jewels disappear? What will you order from the exotic menu? You decide!"

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Visit her blog and I dare you not to want to come! I always love a party!! Leave a message at Muse's link above so we can all visit one another that day. I've requested a private car near the lounge.... join me for a game of cards and a glass or two of champagne! Hope to see you there ...

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What I've been missing...

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Well give myself a Gold Star!!

I learned something new today while figuring out my new blog design...

that if I changed the setting of my screen resolution to 1152 x 864, I'm suddenly seeing everything I've been missing! All those cute blog designs you all have, now I can see them! I didn't know you had a pretty background or sassy wallpaper designs. I didn't know that NOW I could see the entire web page at once without having to scroll over using the bar at the bottom of the page.... oh my discoveries go on and on! ha ha

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Girlfriends

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Girlfriends are generous and thoughtful...

Often bringing us little gifts for no special

reason but "just because."

~K. Williams

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Breakfast Tea

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If you've visited my blog long enough, you know that I love Afternoon & High Tea. You'll also know that I love having a themed Tea party even more! This weekend was no exception either because we celebrated the birthday of one of my dear friends of the PG group!

Happy 59th Birthday Suzanne!

Recognize the crown? Yep, it's the one we rotate for our birthdays. Here is when I wore it.

(Ya'll... I HOPE I look this FANTASTIC at 59!)

Our dear friend Sara hosted the breakfast tea party. I wish you could all meet Sara, she could have her own show. SERIOUSLY, she has the gift of home decor that I get A LOT of my ideas from. She is a well of talent barely tapped into. Sara, I just realized I didn't take your picture during the party, DARN IT! She just got a new hair-do too and it look fabulous! Sara had long hair like me until recently and her new style is celebrity short and she totally carries it off with style!

Isn't this just a beautiful table setting! Aren't the french fabric tea light lamps pretty!?

Trina brought Sara this lovely hostess gift of plants! Very thoughtful of her to do that!

So what was on the menu? Suzanne selected all her favorites and because she is originally a Dixie girl, there were a few southern dishes! First was this rich parfait of berries and ricotta & cheeses' topped with crushed cookie (I think).

Look at this PRETTY Jam/Curd canister! It matches her parfait glasses pictured above! If anyone would like to part with a china type Jam/Curd jar, I'd be happy to give it a good home! (hint hint)

These are Coconut and Black Currant scones! I loved the Coconut!


Here is what I brought, Cheesy Grits. They were so yummy! The recipe says to bake it in a casserole pan but I liked it right out of the pan when I did Quality Control. Grits are yummy and remind me of Polenta. In fact, you cook grits the same way you do polenta, very easy!

Sherri brought these chocolate croissants... enuff said!

This is a heart shaped piece of toast with a poached egg and covered in Gruyere cheese sauce and bacon garnish. Unfortunately, I did not detect a hint of Saffron in the sauce. (Inside Joke!)

Now this is very southern... Pig Candy! Very easy to make too. Using DARK brown sugar, dredge the front and back of thick bacon slices, roll up if you want them to look as cute as this, secure with a toothpick. Bake on a broiler pan in 350 degree oven for about 20 minutes. We like it slightly crispy! **Warning... these are extremely addictive. The sweet/salt thing keeps you coming back again... and again... and again...

Gorgeous fruit salad!

Fresh juice and tea of course!

So what does all this look like plated up? Just look at mine here and you'll see. And just to keep it real, I want you to know that I wore elastic sweat pants to ensure I would be up to the challenge of trying everything! And Ladies, I did you all proud... I ate nearly EVERYTHING!

While we waited to see if our cholesterol went off the charts, the birthday girl opened presents! Aren't these boxes CUTE!!!!

Here she is in her new Crown jewelry! Yes, we are daughters of the Most High King!

This is a kit for making envelope and cards. Suzanne is so TALENTED on her own that she really doesn't need these templates but it's what she wanted. She is why I want to be better with correspondence and letters/note cards. She inspires me!

She also likes her Americana! Erin got her these cute decorations!

This is REALLY cute!

Well none of us had gone into cardiac arrest yet, so we tackled the CHOCOLATE birthday cake that Sara made.

She is motioning... Happy Birthday to me!

Her daughter Sherri is blowing the candles out because Suz is still recovering from being sick and didn't want to share the bug.

Here is Gwenda and I ready to dig in!!

The Beautiful Sherri and former Mrs. California of 2005!

And look at these two beauties! Cindy (L) and Trina (R)!

And if I could ask you all to PRAY for Trina on Tuesday, March 3, as she goes in for surgery.

And last but not least... this is Cody who said goodbye to us as we left the party. Cody is seriously in love with my friend Erin. He TALKS to her! I've never seen anything like it. He doesn't bark, he whines almost as he's talking.

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Remembering my FIRSTS

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Remembering my FIRSTS!

To quote my sister Tea Time with Melody, "so here are some Firsts about me, read on and enjoy and laugh or not, just don't fall asleep please. If you feel so inclined, copy and do a post yourself."

1. Who was your FIRST prom date? It was Keith from Junior prom.

2. Do you still talk to your FIRST love? Nope, but I am very good friends with his Ex-Wife (the one who came after me). We work together and just the other day I was smooching a kiss on their 5 month old Grandson! So precious!

3. What was your FIRST alcoholic drink? I think it was a wine cooler.

4. What was your FIRST job? Cashier at a burger joint in town.

5. What was your FIRST car? A black and silver Toyota Celica.

6. Who was the FIRST person to text you today? Suzanne.

7. Who is the FIRST person you thought of this morning? My son who got up at 0'dark-thirty to go to the bathroom and then walked into our room and crawled into bed to continue sleeping.

8. Who was your FIRST grade teacher? Mrs. Larsen or Mrs. Gilarducchi.... I think?

9. Where did you go on your FIRST ride on an airplane? Hawaii

10. Who was your FIRST best friend and are you still friends with them? Her name is Lucille Ginta (?spelling?), I remember she lived with her Mom and they were Italian. I haven't heard from her after they/or me moved away 30 years ago. Man, that makes me sound old! lol

11. What was your FIRST sport played? Does Roller Skating count?

12. Where was your FIRST sleep over? Probably at my cousin Kristin's house.

13. Who was the FIRST person you talked to today? Again that would be my son because I told him how proud I was of him for washing his hands after going to the bathroom. (It was 4 in the morning, he could have easily skipped this)

14. Whose wedding were you in the FIRST time? My sister Melody's wedding.

15. What was the FIRST thing you did this morning? Came downstairs, lite a candle, got my bible study out, then made some coffee.

16. What was the FIRST concert you ever went to? Rock~N~Roll! It was a Day on the Green type thing (all day long of bands that come on stage). It was Ratt, Eddie Money, Bryan Adams, Knight Ranger and the finale was Journey!

17. FIRST tattoo or piercing? Got my ears pierced when I was 15.

18. FIRST foreign country you went to? Mexico, drove in and drove out with my Dad driving us over the border and turned around again, just to say we did it.

19. What was your FIRST run in with the law? Oh this is easy... toilet papering a house in the neighborhood.

20. When was your FIRST detention? I think it was in Junior High for being late to class on a Quiz day.

21. What was the FIRST state you lived in? California.

22. Who was the FIRST person to break your heart? That would be Brent. There were no obstructions to get in the way of anything, he just didn't think I was the best thing since sliced bread. When I broke up with him, he THEN pulled out all the stops to shower me with love, affection and a marriage proposal but I held my ground. If you took me for granted before now, it obviously wasn't going to turn around after this whirlwind of affection wore off.

23. Who was your FIRST roommate? I shared a room with my sister growing up, so after that it would be my friend Jackie.

24. Where did you go on your FIRST limo ride? For Prom to San Francisco.

25. Where did you go on your FIRST date with your husband? After our first meeting of coffee and then dinner, I agreed to go out on a date. It was dancing and oh what a hilarious story that is!

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A Library for PFF!

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Interior of the Library at Biltmore House, Asheville, North Carolina

The ceiling painted by Pellegrini, houses 20,000 volumes!

I want to be there to peruse the collection of books, nibble on Afternoon Tea and enjoy this Postcard Friendship Friday!

Don't forget to visit the host of PFF, Marie at Cpaphil Vintage Postcards

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I've been Tagged!

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I have been tagged by my sister at Tea Time with Melody! I've yet to do one of these so this was especially fun for me to see what I would chance upon! The instruction is to go into my photo collection, take the fourth folder and the fourth picture in that folder and explain it. Then tag four more bloggers to do the same.

Here is my photo.... I am writing a letter to my sponsored sister, Devlija, in Bosnia-Herzegovina. It is my first letter to her for 2009 and I took several pictures to show her myself, family and the picture below of me actually writing the letter she will hold in her hands. I felt the visual pictures would help her know that I am real person and not a computer generated sponsor. I mail my correspondence to the organization where it will get translated and then forwarded to her in the native language which I believe is Serbian. Her letters to me will also be translated into English.

I am a TERRIBLE corresponder when it comes to putting something in the mail because I am great user of the Internet/Email/Bloggin' ~. Just this week, I FINALLY got a sympathy card in the mail to a dear friend whose Mother died earlier this month. This is no secret to my friends though as I repeatedly through the years confess my defect in this area. Each year it is my resolution to do better... not off to a good start am I! ha ha This year I am out of practice as last year I sponsored a woman in Iraq and correspondence was not permitted due to the war. This year, I was switched back to my favorite region of Bosnia.

6 years ago I joined Women for Women International as a sponsor to women survivors of war. Each year I get a new sister who I financially support through their program for a small monthly contribution. To me it's like tithing to my church, it comes out automatically. I will share with you how sponsorship works...

Correspondence between me and my sister is an important element in the Sponsorship Program. Letters are an excellent source of support and inspiration for the woman going through the program. We are encouraged to write monthly, and my sister is encouraged to respond to the letters she receives from me. It typically takes up to two months for a letter to reach her and often our letters cross in the mail.

Some years I have had wonderful sisters who have written to me and there have been years when I received no letters, but I continued to write anyway. I am sensitive to cultural differences, particularly if my sponsored sister may have suffered persecution because of her class, race, gender, or ethnicity. I do NOT ask about the atrocities committed against her and her family. It is no surprise either to learn that some women have NEVER written a letter in their life so it's overwhelming to them to even begin to know how to write one. They are gently encouraged and given instruction but it is not required of them.

If you would like to learn more about Women for Women International, click on the link to read more. It truly has been one of the rewards of my life to be a part of this organization.

Okay, now to tag 4 people that I don't think have done this yet...

A Little Bit of Scrap

Nana's Living The Dream

Olive Rue

Sassy Lass

I hope you'll play along ~ I'd love to see what you post!

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