Friday, December 3, 2010

Tea, Anyone?

When the boys were young, we used a Countdown to Christmas calendar. It had a pocket for each day that held a strip of paper with an activity that would help us get ready for Christmas. Even though I haven't used that calendar for many years, I still like the concept of spreading out the holiday activities, and try to do one or two things every day to make the season less hectic.
One of my newest holiday traditions is attending Mr. Toast's virtual Christmas Tea.  Last year was his first one, and I met the nicest group of people there!  When he announced that this year's tea was being held on December 5th at Torosay Castle on the Isle of Mull in Scotland I quickly circled the date on my calendar.


After that came a flurry of decisions.  What to wear?  Who to bring?

If the weather in Scotland is anything like it is here, it will have turned brisk.  That's a good thing, but I find it limits my wardrobe choices.  The crowd was dressed pretty formally last year, and I wanted to make sure my outfit fit in.  After much deliberation, I decided on a silk chiffon gown with an empire waist and elbow length sleeves. No bare shoulders for me!


Who might my escort for this year's tea be?  I wanted someone with a hometown connection.  After a lot of thought, I chose Stan Musial, a St. Louis Cardinal baseball legend and one of the newest recipients of the Presidential Medal of Freedom (which he'll receive in a ceremony early next year).  At 90, Stan is in frail health, so I don't think we'll be doing a lot of moving around, but from all accounts he's a wonderful conversationalist, so we'll just take a seat by Mr. Toast's roaring fire.  Please stop by and say hello.


I'm sure if you'd like to pop in at Mr. Toast's for tea on Sunday it would be OK. It would be best, though, if you'd RSVP to make sure there's enough tea and scones for everyone.

9 comments:

  1. You'd best add a floor length fur to that lovely dress! ;-)

    Mull is north of one of my clan homelands... Colonsay. It's that island between Mull and Islay. Been researching it for a possible trip next year... and it's COLD there now!!

    BTW, if you like coffee, Cornacupia over in Kirkwood has the BEST flavor. It's called "Highland Grog".

    ReplyDelete
  2. that's a gorgeous dress, Kathy. so glad you circled this on your calendar too and got your escort to the Tea. Never mind if he;s cold--there are plenty of fires roaring over at the castle. So looking forward to hobnobbing with you at this year's Tea. thank you very much for your lovely journal entry here. Do let us know when you arrive.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Love the dress! You'll look smashing in it! And what a great choice for a date! I'll be sure and seek you out for a chat! See you there!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Lovely dress, Kathy and an interesting choice of date. See you over there by the fire!

    ReplyDelete
  5. What an absolutely lovely dress, Kathy. You are going to swoosh by all the others with your charming guest and stunning attire! :)

    ReplyDelete
  6. Oh my goodness, what a beautiful choice for your gown.

    I truly look forward to meeting you at the Tea, and would love to meet your escort in person.

    Ta Ta and hugs....see you Sunday.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Lovely gown - so elegant.

    Look forward to meeting you once we get out of a snowed in Heathrow,

    ReplyDelete
  8. I am looking forward to the tea! See you tomorrow!

    ReplyDelete