There is a little maid who dwells beneath the eaves at Brambleberry Cottage who goes by the name of Hagitha. Sweet hubby affectionately gave her that name for she resembles the Mistress of the house (that's me), but goes about her humble duties clothed in sweats with disheveled hair and eyes that resemble those of Alice Cooper...I love Alice! Did you know he gave his life to the Lord many many moons ago? He did and refers to himself as "a nice Christian boy."

I've noticed that when my life becomes hectic Hagitha does not tend to her duties of scrubbing floors and stocking drawers or cleaning plates or keeping dates with her washing machine. Our little cottage dwellers have been magically transformed into squirrels and pigs. Squirrels because there are piles of unattended laundry, books, magazines, and Easter chocolate scattered on every surface and chair. Pigs because everywhere I look there is a huge mess.

Needless to say this little cottage dweller needs to get her cottage in order so I'll be gone for a few days from this wonderful kingdom known as Bloglandia. But I'll be back on Monday with more houses to show and a cupboard full and fair maidens from the Belly Dance Festival.

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend!!

I've become a very busy little bee and have put up two posts this morning.
You'll find my ABC's of the Word post
below my recipe post
for Just-A-Gals Thursday Recipe Exchange.
Stop by and visit both women's blogs to be fed
spiritually and physically :).

Have a lovely day ladies!!
xoxo Cori

JustA Gals Thursday Recipe Exchange

I have this next door neighbor who is in her eighties and oh so darling and an excellent cook as well. I get many of my favorite recipes from her and this that she gave me just before Christmas
so I created this little tag for her and she packaged them up in jars with ribbons and the recipe card attached. They're super easy to make and taste wonderful in salads or just to nibble on.
You can right click on the image and print a copy out if you'd like...enjoy!

And thank you JustA for hosting the Thursday Recipe Exchange!!!

You have ravished my heart,
My sister, my spouse;
You have ravished my heart
With one look of your eyes,
With one link of your necklace.

How fair is your love,
My sister, my spouse!
How much better than wine is your love,
And the scent of your perfumes
Than all spices!

Your lips, O my spouse,
Drip as the honeycomb;
Honey and milk are under your tongue;
And the fragrance of your garments
Is like the fragrance of Lebanon.
Song of Solomon 4: 9-11

For more ABC's of the Word visit Pam at Grey Like Snuffie and help us stir up God's Word in our hearts.

Tea, Sweets, and other edible Treats

Lets see, where did we leave off? The Fashion Show...
Once the Fashion Show was over we were treated to a delicious tea that included Raisin Scones, Clotted Cream (one of my favorite Tea treats...yum!), mini Cheese Cakes, Cucumber Sandwiches, fresh Fruit, and many other delightful edibles.
The tea was very casual and people just sat where ever they could find a seat. Donna and I found a wonderful spot under a cool shade tree to enjoy our tea while watching the comings and goings of all the other guests. The models from the show mingled with the guests and that's how we met Cookie. She was a darling woman and rekindled my desire to get involved and guess what? When I got home I told hubby that I wanted to attend Costume College and he said, "great! You always let me do the ridiculous things I do, so why not!" I did after all allow him to buy two motorcycles ...LOL!

Tea was served Buffet style and there were plenty of left overs.

This is the Hale House one of eight structures on the property grounds. Don't you just love all the colors and gingerbread? Aren't you glad you don't have to paint it or pay someone else to paint it for you? I can't even begin to imagine how time consuming it must be, but it sure is purdy to look at and to dream...

Hey Becky, I can see us sitting on the porch enjoying a hot cup of tea and sweet conversation...what fun!!


The Queen Anne exterior is painted in four shades of green, three shades of red, with a combination of yellow and Victorian black. Above the front porch is a shield painted to look like the American Flag. During the restoration process the colors were uncovered and then reproduced from paint chips.
Some of the distinguishing qualities of a Queen Anne building are the fish scale shingles, the iron grill work that forms the railing on the second floor balcony, the corner turret, and the dentil work just below the roof line.


Take a closer look at the beautiful detail work and the whimsical finials atop the turret.
They just don't make them like they used to, do they? It's so sad.

You can usually tour the inside of several homes, but on this day they were closed except for my favorite house which I'll show you next time, however there are no interior shots as one of the women had her Vintage Gowns on display and flash photography causes the fabric to deteriorate quicker.

So, that was just a small look at one of the houses and I'm still playing with pictures so there will be more to come.

We're still painting our cupboard and I've had very little time to post so hopefully I'll be able to continue the tour on Friday since tomorrow is Thursday and I'll be having coffee in bloggyland with the girls from "ABC's through the Word" hosted by Pam from Grey like Snuffie...of course you could join us if you'd like!