Tuesday, June 22, 2010

happy solstice!

Yesterday we had a little tea to celebrate the solstice and the longest day of the year. It was lovely, sunny and cool once again! The tea was a little different this year because the teens are all out of town and we included another family for the first time. Entertaining is a huge challenge for me because I am such a strong introvert, but on the other hand I really do want to make meaningful connections here locally, and this is a super sweet family, with three lovely girls and a nice, down-to-earth mama. So it's good for me to push myself. Nonetheless, I got far fewer photos than I would have liked because everyone piled around the table much sooner than I was expecting and I had to work around them, explaining awkwardly that I needed some photos for my blog (I'm sure taking close-up photos of our food seems very silly to most!).
I was trying to go for a theme of yellow on the table and the boys and I had fun picking nasturtiums to pile in the center of the egg plate. Oh, and this time I remembered how many eggs to cook. Linking back to the photo of our last tea reminds me of how repetitive these little teas really are, but I honestly think that's what makes them sweet and memorable for the children. I was so happy Dieter was genuinely excited about the solstice this year and wanted to share to occasion with his friends.
Rainer and I made the "monster cookies" from this book. We had been wanting to try them based on the picture in the cookbook--so delicious looking! The tea was a good opportunity to use one of my cookbooks and of course to have some baking time with the little guy. These cookies are interesting because the are full of oats and only have a teensy bit of flour binding them all together. They're a cross between oatmeal cookie, chocolate chip cookie, and peanut butter cookie. The description in the book says they are less sweet than the monster cookies the authors remember from their childhoods, and they are. We love our collection of healthy recipes but sometimes it's fun to break out and try something else for a change. Now I have a ton of cookies as they make a huge batch. Must send some to Jacob in college.

Now I need to figure out how to structure my "stay at home mama" day with the children. Huge challenge for me, but I am thinking chores in the morning, maybe an outing in the afternoon, especially since the weather is holding cool so far. What are you up to today?

7 comments:

Kathy said...

I, too, battle with finding structure in these lovely stay home summer days. Part of me (a big part) says "It's summer, relax, go with the flow of the day" but another part of me wants to take advantage of the wonderful days off and squeeze in all we can. I am trying to spend some time being productive, cleaning, organizing, decluttering, first thing so that the rest of the day we can go somewhere and then spend the evening relaxing. Of course, I am reading your blog and writing this when I should be productive, so that should tell you how it's going. Happy Solstice!

We Blog Artists said...

looks like a perfect Summer Feast!
HAPPY SUMMER!!!
Our kids don't get out of school until next week...and then we're off to England.
I try to keep a schedule with our girls in the morning so they get their writing and reading in...this way I know they've had their little bit of home schooling and we'll try snf keep this up throughout the summer.
HUGS
Char

Joy said...

Your tea looks lovely, as always. The eggs and cookies look particularly delightful. We are enjoying our solstice week at the beach. It's hot and tiring, but the kids are having a blast. :)

Elfin Goddess said...

Hey! The photos are a delight! What a beautiful celebration it must've been! Glad to know you're making new friends and connections :) Cheers, Av

momma rae said...

i love the tea tradition in your home. it is so important for our children that we carry these traditions, no matter how small they may seem to us. i posted about our solstice celebrations on my blog.

happy summer!

Nicole Vangen said...

Your table looks beautiful - and good for you for stepping out of your shell and entertaining. I am very much like you when it comes to that. In fact, I started to gather a celebration and then found an excuse not to.

Happy Summer Solstice!
Nicole

6512 and growing said...

That is a beautiful table!
Happy solstice!