Cakes and Tea – Kathleen’s Blog

July 2020 – A Memorial Tea
Only July, and Already tiny acorns Fall from the old oak. ​ During these times of historic cultural change simultaneous with the continuing spread

June 2020 – A Humble Tea
​On the porch at dawn The silver track of a snail On the newspaper. ​ ​During the month of May, like so many others

May 2020 – Afternoon Tea with Children and Teens
The Birds of May So much happens in May– Our heads spin, our breath catches, and dizziness takes control, Like dancing the May Pole

May 2020 – Home and Baking
​By the time you read this, most of us will have been home for six weeks or more. I am baking. No shocker there:
April 2020 – Easter in April
April’s evening breeze, Too soft to move the strong lilies. Touches the wisteria’s new lavender blooms, Clustered like graceful fingers Pointing down at the

April 2020 – Spring
Possibly, no one likes winter more than I but even a fog and rain lover can’t resist the excitement of our world busting into

March 2020 – A Blue and White Tea
March Thirtieth There are times, certainly, when the World hardly seems like home When the sun comes at us coldly Through light years of

March 2020 – A Wee St. Patrick’s Day Tea
​ Though roughly 10% of the American population is of Irish ancestry, everyone gets to be Irish on Saint Patrick’s Day. And why not?

February 2020 – Happy Chinese New Year
Gentle rain falls through The first cherry blossoms as An owl softly hoots. Here at myteaplanner.com, we are all about tea and tea parties,

February 2020 – Bundt Cakes for Mourning
​As soon as I decided to blog about a calendar year of birthday cakes, I received word of an old friend’s passing. In our family,

January 2020 – A New Year’s Tea Party
​ ​The weeping pine points Down at the cold earth, covered With bright green ivy.​ ​ ​Two dogs, heads down, sniff Through fallen leaves;

January 2020 – A Year of Birthday Cakes
Cakes celebrate many milestones and celebrations throughout the year. A big sheet cake for graduation, a beautiful Bundt pound cake for Mother’s Day, a

December 2019 – Holiday Homage
Over the river and through the wood, To Grandmother’s house we go; The horse knows the way to carry the sleigh Through the white

December 2019 – Feast of the Seven Fishes, an Italian-American Christmas Eve
The traditional Italian-American Christmas Eve menu has been mainly fish and seafood for the last 100 years. In our family, we didn’t call it Feast

November 2019 – Festive Fall
​November’s full moon Rises from the sea, spilling Gold across the waves. ​In autumn, nature’s vitality is spectacular. The full moon is larger and

November 2019 – Fall Tea Menu in Watercolor
​ Although fall is my favorite season for inviting friends over for an autumnal afternoon tea party, this cool season tends to get quickly

October 2019 – Pumpkin Time – Savory and Sweet!
​The full, golden moon Escapes from dark clouds, sending Light to the pumpkins. ​October has arrived, and so has autumn. Soon pumpkin patches will

October 2019 – Afternoon Tea at Headwaters at the Heathman Hotel, Portland, Oregon
Prompted by a tempting article in the May/June, 2019 issue of Tea Time magazine entitled “Tea Treasures of Portland, Oregon,†my friend, Valerie, and

September 2019 – Lovely Lanai
My husband and I have visited the Hawaiian island of Lanai several times over the decades, and although it has changed over time, Lanai

September 2019 – Afternoon Tea Menu to Celebrate a Special Birthday
​Recently, I was fortunate enough to cater an afternoon tea in a Victorian home in Santa Cruz, California. A party for ten was set

August 2019 – On the California Mission Trail
I wrote the first chapter of this blog, “Tea and Travels,†in June of 2016, more than three years ago. I have invited you

August 2019 – The Cream in a Traditional British Cream Tea
If you are at all interested in afternoon tea, you have most likely heard of a cream tea, featuring Devonshire or Cornish clotted cream.

July 2019 – Sun and Sand in Santa Cruz
When I was a teenager living in the Santa Clara Valley fifty miles south of San Francisco, Santa Cruz was the place to go

July 2019 – A Summer Cherry Berry Tea
A petite serving of Summer Pudding with freshly whipped cream on vintage china ​ We caught the best of summer cherry and berry seasons

June 2019 – The Joys of June: Cherries
​Bees hover between Agapanthus and tiger Lilies in the breeze. ​The Summer Solstice: a A white rose and a cobweb Sway in the hot

June 2019 – Ivy Lane Carrot Cake
​I had yet another bite of bad carrot cake. In 2019! Haven’t we learned to bake a delicious carrot cake yet? Carrot Cake gets

May 2019 – The Magical Month of May
​Mynahs build their nests As plumeria blossoms Scent the clean sea breeze. ​May is a lovely month filled with all sorts of holidays and

May 2019 – Tea at the Hotel
​Chances to go out to tea seem to be getting further and fewer between. In the United States, small country tea rooms have all

April 2019 – Splendid Spring
​Moonlight spreads over Tall oaks filled with new leaves; from Somewhere, an owl calls. ​As April arrives, so does spring, the season of new

April 2019 – Spring!
​A cheery welcome ​ ​Finally, spring has come, with alternating days or even hours of sun and showers, wind and calm. Tulips, lilacs, jonquils,