Historic Aldie Mill

Ceud mìle fàilte

Welcome!  I'm so glad you join me today at Historic Aldie Mill in Loudoun County, Virginia.  This two hundred year old gristmill was built between 1807 and 1809 by William Cooke under an indenture contract with Charles F. Mercer, a lawyer, Virginia legislator (including to the House of Representatives), and military officer.  Mercer had built a house for himself across the street from the plot where he had obtained the right to build a mill, and called his home Aldie Manor after Aldie Castle in Scotland (to celebrate his Scots heritage).  The small town that grew up around the mill also took the name Aldie. 

Now my visit wasn't to get my grain ground for flour, but to attend an Outlander Scottish themed tea party!  I was very excited about this tea and its program--I can definitely say this is my first time having tea in a 200 year old mill!  When we walked up to the mill we were greeted by a bagpiper, which was a fun surprise.

Tea was in the first flour of the mill.

Unfortunately for blogging purposes, when I walked inside the building most of the guests had already arrived, so I could not get a good picture of the entire table until after the tea had finished, but even in the aftermath you can see the plaid centerpieces and remaining plaid napkins and the mum centerpiece.

Now, just a bit on Outlander.  Outlander is a series of books by Diana Gabaldon about an English WWII nurse (Claire Randall/Fraser)who traveled back in time to 18th century Scotland, where she meets and falls in love with Jamie Fraser (see below...yum!).  There is currently a TV series based on these books on Starz.

Anyway...tea!  Below was my pretty teacup with a picture of a lady inside.  Surprisingly, I forgot to turn it over like I normally compulsively do to see who made it.

We were served two teas from a local tea blender, Dominion Tea, in Purcellville, Virginia.  I actually hadn't heard of them before--I guess a road trip is in order to their Tasting room!  One tea was Highland Maple (delicious!) and the other a Ceylon.

Next, the food.  First we were served, Mrs. Fitz's Cranberry Scones on tartan plates.  (Mrs. Fitz is the housekeeper of Castle Leoch in the Outlander series, where Claire and Jaime lived when Claire first traveled back in time).

In between courses, we played a trivia game, all based on Outlander of course.  I have only seen most of the first season, so I didn't even bother, but my aunt ended up winning the game!  After scones and a few trivia questions, out came the tiered tray:

Savories:  Dougal MacKenzie Salmon Bites, Jenny's Tomato & Cheese wraps, Scottish eggs, and Ian's favorite chicken salad (all named for characters in Outlander)

Followed by our first dessert course:  ginger cakes (delicious), shortbreads, and Jaime's chocolate whiskey truffles. 

And then our second dessert course--Claire Fraser's pumpkin & spice bread.

Now that we were fed, the next part of the program started--a presentation about conflicts between the Scots and English in the 1700s, starting with a brief history of the Stuart monarchs, the Jacobite uprising, and culminating in the Battle of Culloden in 1746, all of which was an important part of the Outlander series. 

I'm a big history fan, so I enjoyed this presentation, and it even stirred some long forgotten facts learned when I took a class in Stuart England in college.  He even mentioned a connection with Virginia--at the time a big colonial trade partner with Glasgow.  There was also a shout out to William and Mary (where I went to college), so I was sold :).

But we weren't done!  We went to the upper level of the mill, where the Aldie Horticultural society had set out a large selection of flowers so we could make bouquets. 

First a presentation on arranging

Then on to the flowers.

There was a huge assortment of flowers and other random clippings, from leaves to berries to wildflowers.   There were also herbs (like rosemary) to add for scent, as well as dried lavender.  We were meant to feel like we had wandered into the hills of Scotland, collecting random flora.

After a quick stop at the ribbon station to pick a pattern to wrap around the edge  of my bouquet,

I had my own Highland bouquet (with Virginia wildflowers).

A few more pictures of the mill:

The mill was continuously operated from 1809 through six generations of William Cooke's family.  Below are different Aldie Mills labels.

The mill was restored in the 1980s, and is now one of the best preserved mills in Virginia--and it is still a working mill!  Here is one last picture of the water wheels:

(picture from the Historic Aldie mill website, it was a bit yucky out, so I did not walk around to the back of the building).

You could really tell the organizers went above and beyond with this tea and all the effort they put into making it so much fun.

Sapphires of September

In autumn the riotous colors sway

a dance of crimson, amber, and bronze

jewels set amidst golden light

contrasting against the sapphire sky

Nature's yearly adornment

made beautiful in its time.

Hello everyone!  I have a different job temporarily (and have all summer actually) and it is taking up a lot of my time, but I have big plans to post more regularly through the end of the year, so here's hoping!  At least I managed to cheat and get this post up before the end of September! 

Unfortunately, its been rainy and icky all week, so this is just a quick post for September's gemstone of the month--the sapphire.  I was hoping to take pictures outside, especially since the sapphires don't look very blue, but these pictures came out surprisingly well--considering! 

Updated:  Here is a closer picture in daylight of the sapphires--they really are blue!

Hawaiian Ti luau

Aloha!  As summer is coming to a close (and boy did it fly by), I thought it was the perfect time to host a Hawaiian luau!  And, since I love tea parties, I had a Hawaiian ti luau, or a Hawaiian tea feast! 

I decorated my basement "party room" with palm trees and colorful paper lanterns hanging from the ceiling.

And here is a closer look at the table:

I found a lot of the Hawaiian decorations at the Dollar Tree, including the colorful tiki water glasses in the picture, the hula dancer napkins, and the hibiscus "placemats" at each place, which also served as the menu.

First, we have the savories

(pineapple rounds and cucumber pua (flowers))

(kalua pig on Hawaiian rolls)

(fried rice in dollar store bowls)

I served tea in my clear crystal shell teacups (in addition, every place setting had clear etched glass plates I found in a local thrift store)

For some added tropical flair, I served a guava flavored blooming green tea.  Slightly sweet, but very good, plus it is always fun to serve a blooming tea!

Next I served the scone course, tropical melody (dried tropical fruits with bananas and coconut milk) and white chocolate macadamia nut, with pineapple jam and clotted cream of course!

Taking a step back (as we get ready for dessert) here is the "centerpiece" of my Hawaiian decorations, a vintage 1970s Hawaiian travel poster from American Airlines (I borrowed it from my mother) set on top of my basement "server," which was also decked out with a hula skirt!  

And now for my personal favorite, dessert!

(Blue Hawaii cupcakes, mini pineapple upside down cakes, and hua'ai (fruit)).

While we were waiting for guests to arrive (and for me to finish my party prep work--one day I will finish on schedule), I served Blue Hawaiians in tiki glasses.

And one last view of the room before I say goodnight:

Aloha ʻoe, aloha ʻoe	Farewell to thee, farewell to thee
E ke onaona noho i ka lipo	The charming one who dwells in the shaded bowers
One fond embrace,	One fond embrace,
A hoʻi aʻe au	'Ere I depart
Until we meet again	Until we meet again
ʻO ka haliʻa aloha i hiki mai	Sweet memories come back to me
Ke hone aʻe nei i	Bringing fresh remembrances
Kuʻu manawa	Of the past
ʻO ʻoe nō kuʻu ipo aloha	Dearest one, yes, you are mine own
A loko e hana nei	From you, true love shall never depart

~Chorus, Aloha 'Oe, by Queen Liliuokalani

This week I'm linking to Home Sweet Home at The Charm of Home. 

Peridots to the end of summertime

August's gemstone of the month, the peridot, is under represented in my jewelry box, but I did find a couple of pieces to share...so to the deck!

It can’t be summer, --that got through;

It’s early yet for spring;

There’s that long town of white to cross

Before the blackbirds sing.

It can’t be dying,-- it’s too rouge,--

The dead shall go in white.

So sunset shuts my question down

With clasps of chrysolite.

~Emily Dickinson

So summer may not be quite "got through," but I am definitely ready for Ms. Dickinson's "rouge" season.  Especially when I go into one of my favorite stores (Homegoods) and they are already getting their fall/Halloween stuff out!  Also, I'm ready for an end to the heat and humidity! 

As for the tie in of that poem to today's post, chrysolite (and olivine for that matter) have both been used as names for peridots in literature and history.  Peridot has particularly interesting lore--when set it gold, it  dispels the "terrors of the night."  In fact, "the belief in the virtue of the peridot to dissolve enchantments and put evil spirits to flight was probably due to the association of the stone with the sun, before whose life giving rays darkness and all the powers of darkness were driven away."  The Curious Lore of Precious Stones:  Being a Description of their Sentiments, by George Frederick Kuntz, 1913.

Where time is drowned in odour-laden winds
And Druid moons, and murmuring of boughs,
And sleepy boughs, and boughs where apples made
Of opal and ruby and pale chrysolite
Awake unsleeping fires; and wove seven strings,
Sweet with all music...

The Shadowy Waters:  The Harp of Aengus

~Yeats

What a beautiful image of an apple orchard!

Ruby Red

For her worth is far above rubies...

Welcome to my first (and only) July post to celebrate the gemstone of the month (for a couple more hours at least)...the ruby!

Now I was thinking about what would be the best cup and saucer to set off my ruby and white topaz ring, and immediately thought of an old favorite--Old Country Roses.  But to spice it up a bit, I didn't go for a "normal" OCR...instead I pulled out my 25th anniversary OCR set...

The roses bloomed

An arbor filled

with deep ruby

fragrant yellows

and soft blushes

of pink petals.

accompanied by the OCR hat I made a couple of summers ago.

I feel as if I had opened a book and found roses of yesterday, sweet and fragrant, between its leaves.

~ L.M. Montgomery, Anne of the Island.

(This is how I feel every time a find a lovely L.M. Montgomery quote--so many great childhood memories among the pages of her books!)

O For a garden of the olden time
 Where none but long-familiar flowers grow,
 Where pebbled paths go winding to and fro,
And honeysuckles over arbors climb!
There would I have sweet mignonette and thyme,
 With hollyhocks and dahlias all arow,
 The hyacinth inscribed with words of woe,
The small blue-bell that beats a dainty chime
For elfin ears; and daffodillies, too,
 The sleepy poppy, and the marigold,
 The peony with petals manifold,
And ragged-robins, pink and white and blue.
 All these and more I'd have, and back of all
 A thousand roses on a mossy wall!

~John Russell Hayes, An Old-Time Garden