high tea at the grove at canopy!

Woot! Woot!! The big day for Aunt Linda had arrived!!!

Penny had us all over at The Grove At Canopy before 11 AM, carrying in all the foodstuffs and teas and teapots and fancy little tea cups and flowers and table linens and banners and even the brand-new coffee urn to brew the hot water - whew!

Bobby, her brother, came to town last night and was right there with us.

He'd brought brightly-colored macaroons and even some cucumber sandwiches that he'd made - nice!

He was there, primarily, to build the chicken salad sandwiches and pimiento sandwiches using the foods Penny and I had prepared.

Aunt Linda came in and kept him company for a while, then left us to it.

 

Steve and Alex decorated the doorways and placed flowers here and there and everywhere, while my task was to place lacy napkins in the fancy napkin rings, set up all the name labels by the teapots and food, entwine several teabags of a flavor for each teapot, and generally do whatever my blue-sky cousin needed of me.

(smile!)

Then we got to take a break for the grilled hamburger lunch that the retirement home put on for that family day - hooray!

Aunt Linda had signed all of us up for it, knowing we would have worked up an appetite.

How very kind of her!

 

Plus, that had encouraged the early arrival of her two great-granddaughters!

That's Aunt Linda on the couch, with Julia beside her and Nevaeh on her lap.

Julia's parents, off to the left, are Aaron and Emily Walker.

Aaron is the elder son of my cousin Bobby.

Nevaeh's mom, Tiana, is in the yellow skirt, standing by Steve, Penny's husband.

Nevaeh's dad is Jacob Bos, the elder son of my cousin Penny.

So, get this symmetry: Linda's two first grandchildren are both daughters, each from the first child - each of which are sons - of Linda's two children.

Hey, I think it's truly amazing to have that poetry at work there!

Speaking of work, Jacob missed the tea party because of his job.

(That's okay, he was there for the family dinner later.)

 

Before the first guests were due at 2 PM, here's the laden food table.

Macaroons to the left, flowers and tray of fresh fruit in the center, and finger sandwiches and mini blueberry scones everywhere!

The teapots were on a table of their own.

It's behind the first photo, the one of me and Penny being cute and sassy!

I'm the one who put her up to that pose! 

(smile!) 

As for the teas, there was Earl Gray, chamomile, lemon, lavender, orange spice, and about four other flavors besides.

All in all, there were nine different beverage choices on that table... nine! 

That's the way Penny does things: plenty of variety to please all!

I had the lemon and it was wonderful!

And isn't that table so beautifully arranged?

Steve did such lovely floral displays for it, too.

 

I already showed this table display, but it's such a highlight that it's here again.

There, front and center for all to read, is the story Penny wrote about the five generations of people named Lorena.

A brandy snifter holds a subdued floral medley that mimics a candle in color - most elegantly done!

Then, there's the basket with the 45 brightly-hued gift bags, waiting for guests to choose the one to keep as their memento.

Yes, it's almost 2 PM now.

The tea party is about to begin!

(smile!)