Tuesday Cuppa Tea, Geranium Teacup, It's HOT!

Hello and welcome to a HOT Tuesday Cuppa Tea in the Pacific Northwest!
Can you believe it? It's the upper 80s around here, and 90s inland by Seattle...record breaking. We are wilting and hibernating! Now don't laugh if you are more used to this...more than 70% of the folks in western Washington state have no air conditioning...wasn't needed...until recently. We do, but outside, it's hot! We had our daily walk at 8:30 pm last night, when it finally got down to 80 degrees!!!!  Hope it's nicer...or you're more used to it where you are!

I chose a teacup with a summer flower today for Teacup Tuesday, but didn't do a tea party...can't use the sunroom...and it's the only place with natural light enough for photos....

This is a 1930s tea cup and saucer made by Salisbury, England in my favorite hand colored on transferware design with hand applied red enamel paint in a design called Geranium.

Salisbury was in business from 1927 until the great and awful pottery closures and consolidations in the 1960s...closing early on in 1961 when it was taken over by Thomas Poole. Thomas Poole never used the Salisbury mark again, but continued to make china under the Royal Stafford name and only survived until 1972. Royal Stafford actually reopened in 2004 as a much smaller pottery and was in business still when last we were in the Potteries 2 years ago. Hooray!  For more info on the teacup at Antiques And Teacups, click on the photos.

Geraniums are a summer flower that is very popular here...our town, Sequim, has a flower basket cooperative agreement between local business owners and the high school botanical and agricultural students to decorate our central business district street light poles every summer with flower baskets, and geraniums are popular choices. The business owners pay for the basket materials and plants, the students make, plant and tend them until they are hung out on the lamp posts in spring. The our city takes care of keeping them watered.

I think they are lovely touch! And as a business owner, sponsor one every year...

Friday we attended the Sequim Lavender Festival street fair...which we do as soon as it opens before it gets crowded, and this year before it was too hot!

Here are a few sights of the fair...

This was a fun booth with wind chimes from silver hollow ware and flatware...

This booth had glass yard ornaments of all sorts of decorated repurposed glass objects...the sign says "Dale Chihuly...Eat Your Heart Out! referring to internationally known local Seattle glass artist Dale Chihuly who's Chihuly Garden And Glass is such a fabulous place by the Space Needle in Seattle...will post about that next week...

Loved these fun aluminum signs...middle one says "Drive Carefully...the Squirrels can't tell one nut from another"

And local potters with mugs and tea pots galore...as well as pretty well anything that could be made with lavender!

An empty dish you say? Huh?  That's because I forgot to take a before, during and done photo of a cobbler I made...I think the heat fried my brain! I had some strawberries that needed to be used, so...made a vegan, low cholesterol cobbler that you might want to try because it is so versatile and easy!

Simple Fruit Cobbler

Ingredients

4 cups fruit...I used cut up strawberries, frozen organic blueberries and a can of peach halves, rinsed of all juice and cut up

1 cup of flour...I used whole wheat, but you can use whatever...have used soy, almond and rice

1/2 tsp baking powder

1 cup sugar...I used organic non refined and didn't use the full amount

1 egg beaten

1/4 butter cut in cubes...I used Vegan margaine

Directions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F

Spread the fruit mixture in an 8 or 9 inch square pan, no need to grease

In medium bowl, mix together flour, baking powder and sugar

Add the beaten egg and mix in with a fork until crumbly and everything well mixed

Spread over berries, and dot with the butter or marg cubes

Bake for 40-50 minutes until browned and bubbly. Cool slightly before serving

This is equally good warm or cool, and never lasts long at our house, as you can see by the photo. Would be good with any sort of topping, but we usually don't.  I especially like the recipe because of it's ease and versatility, and have had it since I was first married 42+ years ago.

Thanks for joining me, and I hope your summer is glorious!

Below is the list of some of the blog parties I will be part of and there is the linky for your tea related posts...please remember that it is SSSLLLOOOOOOWWWW but if you are patient...it's there! And I love to read your comments, and can find you to visit!

Mosaic Monday with Judith
 Tea Time Tuesday with Sandi 

A Return to Loveliness
 Tea Cup Tuesday 
 Friends Sharing Tea
 Share Your Cup Thursday

Roses Of Inspiration

An InLinkz Link-up