The Royal-tea Club



The Royal-tea Club

TheRoyal- 717-332-5851 email: TheRoyalteaClub@

105 Frog Pond Hollow Abbottstown Pa 17301

Spring – April 15, 2009

IN THIS ISSUE

Upcoming Club Events

Editor's Note

Reviews of Past Events

Travel News and Survey

Club Member News

Condolences

Tea Set Raffle Results

Tea Set for Sale

Thank You from Joann

Annual State of the Club Report

Recipes

Surprise from Laura Childs

Sharon takes a Back Seat

What is TeaMap?

Future Publishing Dates

Club Policies and Membership Packets

Paid Advertisement

The Ladies of the Knights of Columbus

Council #10966

Invite you to our Fourth Annual

High Tea

and

Fashion Show

Saturday, May 09, 2009

1:00 PM

St. Jane Frances Hall

8513 St. Jane Drive

Pasadena MD 21122

$22.50 per person

Fashions by Kohl's

Door Prizes Live Music

Entertainment

Contact Carol Wenkel

410-858-6261

EDITOR'S NOTE

Welcome Spring, Everyone! It is time to end our Winter hibernation and get ready for our fifth Royal-tea Club season. It is so hard to believe we are entering our fifth year. I have so many fond memories of events and trips past and look forward to those to come, as I am sure you are. There is always a new place to go, new friends to meet and new memories to make.

This issue brings with it our next group of tea events. There are some new ones and some tried and true ones. I can't wait to see what the new year will bring. Can you?

Teafully Yours,

Sharon

Paid Advertisement

The Landisville Camp Meeting Association

Invites you to

"Tea, Luncheon, and Tours"

Saturday

May 9th, May 16th, May 23rd,

June 13th, or June 20th

Reservations Required

Enjoy a lovely luncheon with many types of teas, a short

talk on the history of our grounds, and a tour of several

of our privately- owned cottages.

Contact Barbara Stephens, Tea Event Planner

717-653-0935

Total Cost: $25.00 per person

Registration Fee is $10.00 and $15.00 is due at the door

The Landisville Camp Meeting Association is a 130 year

old, non-profit, non-denominational Christian

organization consisting of 25 acres on Church Street in

Landisville, PA. Our motto is "That I May Know Him."

Page 2

2009 UPCOMING ROYAL-TEA CLUB EVENTS

*Address and telephone number are provided for each establishment should you need

directions.

*Reservations may ONLY be made through the Tea Club office.

*Prices always include tax and tip.

*The cutoff date is the last date reservations may be canceled and still get a refund or

credit.

Reservations are now being taken for the following events:

Saturday, May 9th, 1:00 PM - On this date we will be traveling to Palmdale Cafe. Our hostess, Kathy Boyd, urges all to visit Chocolate World at Hershey Park while you are here. Price: $25.00. Address: 1736 E. Chocolate Avenue, Hershey, PA. Telephone number: 717-533-3100. Cutoff date: April 29th. Number of seats: 40, Number of seats available:15.

Saturday, May 30th, 11:00 AM - We had such a nice time at Reynolds Tea Room when we were there September 2006, we wanted to go again. Price: $25.50. Address: 7 Church Circle, Annapolis, MD. Telephone number: 410-295-9555. Cutoff date: May 20th. Number of seats: 40, Number of seats available: 0. A waiting list is being taken.

Saturday, June 13th, 1:00 PM - Take a step back to 1875 as we enjoy the beautiful Victorian elegance of The Susquehanna Manor Country Inn. () Price: $20.00. Address: 3272 Maytown Road, Marietta PA. Telephone number: 866-446-6225. Cutoff date: June 3rd. Number of seats: 45, Number of seats available: 45.

Wednesday, June 24th, 6:30 PM - On this date we will be revisiting a favorite tea room of many, A Country Tea (), that is the home of the many themed Christmas trees in December. Take this opportunity to experience it during a different season. Price: $20.50. Address: 500 Country Tea Lane, New Freedom, PA. Telephone number: 717-235-6511. Cutoff date: June 10th. Number of seats: 38, Number of seats available: 38.

Saturday, July 18th 12:00 Noon - This is the date for our most popular and most asked about event, our Fourth Annual Covered Dish Tea Luncheon. Read about past events at the club web site ((.) Once again, there will be a Silent Auction and a used book table. Please start collecting new or gently used items.

This year's special entertainment will be a Civil War era clothing demonstration by club member Mimi Johnson, aided by her friend, Dee Bishop. There will also be some very special door prizes. (See page 3). This is an indoor air conditioned event. We will again gather at Codorus Church of the Brethren located off Interstate 83 just south of York, a very convenient location for all. Reservations must be made.

Please bring a dish to be shared, as well as your recipe. We will furnish tea bags and lots of hot water. If you would prefer loose, please bring your own tea pot and teas. Let's all bring our own cups and saucers! Styrofoam or paper cups will be provided for those who don't bring their own. If you are unable to attend the covered dish, but would like to donate auction items or books, please contact Sharon or any of the committee members.

We are looking for volunteers to help set up the day before.

Price: $5.00, non-refundable. Address: 1129 Dunkard Valley Road, Loganville, PA. (Use Dallastown if using MapQuest) Telephone number: 717-332-5851. Cutoff date: July 8th. Number of seats: 100, Number of seats available: 100

Tuesday, July 28th, 6:30 PM - Here is your chance to try one of the areas newest tea rooms, Higinbotham's Bed and Breakfast and Tea Room. I have only heard great things about this place. Price: $27.00. Address: 102 Lincolnway West, New Oxford, PA. Telephone number: 717-624-1866. Cutoff date: July 18th. Number of seats: 30, Number of seats available: 30

Saturday, August 8th, 12:00 Noon - Today's event takes us to quiet and quaint Port Deposit where we will visit Tea Time on the Susquehanna at the historic Rowland Mansion. () Price: $21.00. Address: 23 South Main Street, Port Deposit, MD. Telephone number: 410-378-3336. Cutoff date: July 29th. Number of seats: 50, Number of seats available: 50

A BIG THANK YOU FROM JOANN

Joann Jennings has asked me to convey her sincere gratitude to those who have generously given of their time to pick her up and give her a ride to the tea events.

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Mamie Eisenhower's Million Dollar Fudge

4 1/2 cups sugar

2 Tbsp butter

1 pinch salt

1 can evaporated milk

12 oz semisweet chocolate bits

12 oz German sweet chocolate

1 pint marshmallow cream

2 cups chopped nuts

Heat the sugar, butter, salt, and evaporated milk over low heat, stirring until the sugar dissolves. Bring to a low boil and boil for six minutes. Put chocolate bits, German chocolate, marshmallow cream, and nuts in a bowl. Pour the boiling syrup over the ingredients. Beat until the chocolate is melted, then pour in a pan. Let stand for a few hours before cutting. It is better the second day. Store in a tin box.

Note: "Mamie's Million Dollar Fudge" was a favorite of American housewives after her recipe was printed in publications all over the country. It became a staple at the conclusion of formal White House meals.

Paid Advertisement

Need a Couples or Girlfriends

Get Away?

Escape to

Lavender Patch

Bed and Breakfast

Special for Club Members Only

Sunday - Wednesday Nights Only

July through August

$99.00 per room for 2 people

Reservations Required

Call 717-426-4533

190 Longenecker Avenue

Marietta PA



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ςΙΧΤΟΡΙ“Ν

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In Victorian times, many ladies carried their

own tea cups and saucers with them when

they visited their friends for tea. Carriers were

designed to keep their precious china safe.

Perfect to use to carry your cup

and saucer to the

Covered Dish Tea Luncheon!

Easily Mailed

A Unique Gift for Tea Lovers!

Many Colors!

Available at Lady Bug Tea Room or

Call Barbara Stephens

717-653-0935

Cayenne Shortbread Cookies

from the National Cathedral Tea Room

Mix: 3 cups flour

1 cup sugar

2 sticks butter

1 tsp cayenne pepper

1/4 cup whipping cream, buttermilk or milk

Roll out very thin and cut into desired shape.

Brush with egg wash.

Bake at 375 degrees for 10 minutes.

Page 4

ANNUAL STATE OF THE CLUB REPORT

The total number of members at the end of last year was 350. We currently have 270 members as opposed to 279 this same time last year. We are down a bit, but considering how tough the economy is for so many, we are holding our own.

Last year we had 16 events, four of which were held multiple times or days. We had our first ever three day event at Anna's and still had people on the waiting list. We had 738 paid seats at the various events, putting $14,412.57 into the tea room economy. That doesn't include all of our trips and purchases and we do love to shop! Along with the regular events we also had 85 people attend our Third Annual Covered Dish Tea Luncheon where we raised just under $1000 for the club with proceeds from the Silent Auction and the Book Table. This helps to keep your dues low.

We traveled to Charleston, as well the Madison-Bouckville Antique show and visited with John Harney at the Harney Tea Factory. We jumped puddles in Boston and had to take not one, but two trips to the National Cathedral and Mormon Tabernacle.

Many thanks to all of you for supporting this club.

Paid Advertisement

Higinbotham’s

BED & BREAKFAST

AND TEA ROOM

Tea by reservation only

Thursday – Sunday

Afternoon & evening teas

102 Lincolnway West, New Oxford PA

717-624-1866

Let us host your next bridal shower,

Baby shower, or luncheon

Paid Advertisement

A Country Tea

Tea Room & Gifts

Enjoy the sights and sounds of the country

in picturesque New Freedom, PA.

Wednesdays, Fridays, and Saturdays

Showers, Private Parties, Bridal Teas,

Holiday Teas and Tour

Reservations: (717) 235-6511



Hosts Susan and Ken Freese

A SURPRISE FROM LAURA CHILDS

The other day a box arrived in the mail. What a surprise! Inside were three hardback copies of Laura Childs new Tea Shop Mystery, "Oolong Dead" and two paperback copies of her last Tea Shop Mystery, "The Silver Needle Murder." All were signed by the author. This is the third time we have been blessed with copies of her books, but never so many. The very first one was given away to winner Jo Ann Ruffin on our trip last year to Charleston where the fictional tea shop is located. Since we aren't traveling to Charleston again any time soon, this latest gift of books will be given away at the Covered Dish event in July. You don't want to miss it!

SHARON TAKES A BACK SEAT

Those of you who regularly attend our tea events may notice something a bit different. I will not be playing hostess this year as I have the past four years. Committee Members Donna Lerew and Roxanne Batterden will very capably fill my shoes in this role. I will still be doing all the behind the scenes activities as I always have, such as taking your event reservations, collecting your payments, and writing the newsletter. However, I find I really, really need a break so I don't completely burn out. I will miss seeing all of you, but I won't be completely absent. I will still attend a select number of teas, but as a guest just like you!

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REVIEWS OF OUR PAST EVENTS

Freedom Log House

by Rose Ortel

Well, this was my first time to the Freedom Log House Tea Room and I must say I enjoyed it very much. I attended the Saturday afternoon Holiday Tea on December 6, 2008. The little town of Porters Sidling in Pennsylvania was a quaint with a lot of history. The tearoom building was once part of the Underground Railroad. The atmosphere was very rustic and I felt like I had stepped back in time. There were, I believe, a total of five small gift shop rooms catering to those who like the country style of decorating for their home. I bought an adorable metal Christmas stocking that was elongated for a special place in my home for the holiday.

Now, let me start with the tea meal. It started with warm spiced peaches served with a hint of cloves. Very tasty. Then we were served Wild Berry and White Chocolate scones. They were the best scones I have ever had, and I make my own, so that's saying a lot.

We had home made chicken rice soup and it came out in a bowl, not a cup. When I saw the big bowl I thought that we would only be getting the soup for our meal. But that wasn't the case at all. We had a wonderful smoked ham spread sandwich that was absolutely delicious. Pumpkin pie was our dessert. We were served Peach Passion Fruit tea and Blueberry Candy Cane tea. They were both very nice, but my favorite was the peach.

Door prizes were won by Sharon Walter and Rose Ortel (that's me). My door prize was an adorable hand painted tray painted and donated by Royal-tea Club member, Carolyn Troy.

One of the highlights of the day was when Vicky Senft, owner of the Freedom Log House, selected the winning raffle ticket for the beautiful tea set, for which tickets were sold at each event through 2008. The lucky winner was Carol Bowers.

Bonnie Mitchell and I drove together and we drove the back way from Fallston, MD. The ride was beautiful and made our day even more special. Now we can't wait for the next destination.

Sugar Plums & Tea

by Roxanne Batterden

The Royal-tea Club 2009 tea season started out with a great "tea bang" on March 21st. Our first tea was at the relocated tea venue, Sugar Plums & Tea. Thirty one members traveled to Lancaster, Pennsylvania for tea. The tea room is located in Mill Creek Village located off the Strasburg Pike, at 403 Bank Barn Road. It is located next to a restored bank barn in a lovely community setting. Donna Lerew was hostess for this event!

The tea was served in the sun porch and library. Both areas had a lovely ambience. Sunshine brightened and warmed the porch on this brisk, second day of Spring! Each attendee had a choice of tea, served in individual colorful teapots. The ladies at my table chose the strawberry cream green tea and peach mango teas.

Our tea meal started with a delicious roasted red pepper soup topped with croutons, and served with a piece of foccacia bread. The very filling savories were a roast beef and cheese pinwheel in a sun dried tomato wrap served with a yummy homemade caramelized onion jam; spinach and herbed cream cheese in puff pastry; warm ham and Swiss cheese en crute; and a crab cake. Everything was delicious. Desserts were a sinful peanut butter delight, an Oreo cookie tart and a lemon blueberry cheese cake.

Everyone was delighted with tea. Each lady had a sample of tea to take home - compliments of Sugar Plums & Tea. The service and food were superb. Some of us even had a chai tea latte for the road. Many ladies left with more tea and adorable mini-animal cream servers. I have a duck and a bunny ... appropriate for the Spring and Easter season.

We highly recommend that when you are in Lancaster visiting or shopping that you consider a (continued)

Page 6

visit here. You will not need to dream of Sugar Plums... You will be right there enjoying! Try their coconut scones. They are yummy!

The Cozy Tea Room: Tea with Mamie Eisenhower

by Roxanne Batterden

Over 70 tea ladies (and one gentleman) attended the "The First Ladies Tea" on April 4th at The Cozy Tea Room in Thurmont, Maryland! The group was the largest that the Cozy has accommodated for tea, as well as the largest group for any tea club sponsored event, except for our annual covered dish events! Thank you, Royal-tea Club members, for the overwhelming response!

While we enjoyed Harney teas, peach cider or apple cider, and cranberry scones with condiments, we were entertained and enchanted by Mamie Eisenhower! Living history interpreter Ruthmary McIhenney of Gettysburg, portrayed Mamie and discussed her life with the 34th President of the United States of America.

She shared stories and anecdotes with us about her life with Ike, from the moment she met him, the war years, births of their children, the Presidential years, and their time at the Eisenhower Farm in Gettysburg. We were spell bound by her story. She wore a vintage dress and shoes in Mamie's favorite color, pink, and an "I like Ike" pin. She shared some of Ike's letters to Mamie, as well as memories from Mamie's journal. Ruthmary, as Mamie, engaged the audience to share their own experiences with the Eisenhowers and visits to their Gettysburg Farm. One of our ladies, Peggy Holbrook, attended the second term inauguration! Mamie even selected our two door prize winners: Connie Phelps from Mercersburg, PA and Peggy Holbrook from Oxford, PA.

We were then served our tea meal. A delicious chicken broccoli chowder was the next course, followed by a mixed salad with pear pieces, nuts, blue cheese and a raspberry sesame dressing. The three tiered servers contained a feast of delicacies. Featured sandwiches were a cucumber round, a roast beef pinwheel, and egg salad on rye. The savory was a delicious crab ball served in a phyllo cup. There was also a cheese slice, cherry tomato and melon slice. Sweets were a cookie with lemon icing, petit fours, a fresh strawberry, and a mini chocolate mousse. The dessert was a mini trifle. A perfect ending!

The feedback from ladies exiting the tearoom was overwhelmingly favorable. A handout featuring Mamie's famous Million Dollar Fudge was available. We have also reprinted the recipe in this newsletter. On display was the book "TEA with Presidential Families" by Beulah Munshower Sommer and Pearl Dexter. Mamie hosted tea events and received tea pots as gifts.

The tea was planned and hosted by Royal-tea Club Committee Member, Roxanne Batterden. The Cozy Tea Room is located at 105 Frederick Road in Thurmont, Maryland. Tea is served 7 days a week by reservation. Mamie Eisenhower can be invited to share tea with your group!

Information about Ruthmary McIlhenny: She has served as a volunteer at the Eisenhower Historical Society since 1991. She wrote a script titled "Mamie Remembers Gettysburg" and her performance at The Cozy is based on that script. Her presentation lasts about 30 minutes. She is a graduate of the Eisenhower Academy, sponsored by the National Park Service and a member of the Dwight D. Eisenhower Society.

Page 7

"Tea With Friends" in New York City

by Roxanne Batterden, Roving Reporter

Some of you may recall an article I wrote for the Summer 2007 newsletter about the first trip a group of us made to New York City for a tea tour with Elizabeth Knight. We had such a wonderful experience we knew we wanted to return to enjoy another one of Elizabeth's tours!... And we did! Elizabeth is the author of several books on tea, including Tea in the City New York and Celtic Tea With Friends. She is also the former tea sommelier at the historic St. Regis Hotel in New York City and is a certified English Tea Master. She is a wealth of knowledge about everything tea and also a great tour guide!

Five ladies and one gentleman escort traveled to New York City via the Mega Bus from the White Marsh Park and Ride on Saturday, March 28, 2009. We arrived safely in New York City and made our way across town by taxi from Penn Station to the Rockefeller Center area. We had time to explore the area and enjoy lunch prior to meeting Elizabeth. Members of the happy tea tour group were Shirley Smith, Donna Lerew, Roni Lynch, Pat Easter, John Pomarzynski and myself.

The first stop on our "East-West" tea tour was at located at 608 Fifth Avenue. This is a famous Japanese sweet shop. Delicacies are flown to New York from Japan. We enjoyed the display of Japanese tea items featured in the store as well as the artful display of the delicacies. We each chose a Wagashi, a Japanese sweet delicacy to sample. My choice was a Kurimanjyu. This small bean cake was undeniably delicious.

Elizabeth expertly guided us through the Rockefeller Center complex. We learned the history of the wall and ceiling murals representing the working people.

Our second stop was the La Maison Du Chocolat located at Rockefeller Center. How do I describe this experience? One word - WOW! We chose either a chocolate pot or pot of Melange tea, a Chinese black citrus tea. We were served divine raspberry and vanilla macaroons. Each was filled with a yummy dark ganache infused with Lapsong Souchang and Earl Grey tea. The blending of the tea and the macaroons was heavenly. We also sampled chocolates. Need I say more? Divine. Rest assured. Some of those divine chocolates returned on the bus!

We passed the famous Trump Plaza en route to Bergdorf Goodman at 754 Fifth Avenue. Our goal was to reach the seventh floor. This was a problem. We walked through the handbag and jewelry sections and some of us were a little distracted! The seventh floor houses a book shop, a sweet shop which featured various teas and chocolates, as well as a room featuring antique dinner settings, teapots, open salts, and other glass and silver items. Beautiful collection!

The next stop on our tour was the MacKenzie-Childs store located at 14 West 57th Street. This store is phenomenal. I could have spent hours there looking at all of the gorgeous Piccadilly dinnerware patterns and the tea pots. There was a tiered server topped with a darling little teapot. I was in my element! I came home with a hand painted teapot trivet/cheese board. But I have my eye on that tea server and a few other items. I am hooked!

Our main tea venue for the day was at Takashimaya New York, located at 693 Fifth Avenue. This department store features a rare and distinctive selection of merchandise representing Eastern and Western aesthetics. The Tea Box is located on the lower level and includes the restaurant and the international tea and gourmet treat shop. There was a phenomenal selection of teas which were displayed in ceramic bowls. We were able to smell the aroma of the various teas to assist in choosing tea for the "East West" tea we enjoyed.

The Takashimaya tea experience was completely different than the traditional teas we know. It was served in a simple, Zen-like minimalist room. The teas were served in individual Japanese ceramic tea pots. Our tea meal was served on a individual "footed trays" representing an individual table for each person. The food was delicious and very different. The meal featured a crab roll; salmon served on a sticky rice cake; a chicken and horse radish sandwich; and cucumber on sticky rice; mixed vegetable chips; a fruit cup; and mixed, seasoned nuts. Sweets were butter cookies, lemon pound cake; and chocolates with a Matcha green tea infused (continued)

Page 8

filling. Dessert was a Panakote, a delicious caramelized bake custard. No one left hungry.

At our tea, Elizabeth eagerly introduced her very own brand new tea blend! We are proud to announce that we were the first group to experience the aroma of the new blend. This tea will be known as "Tea With Friends" and is blended by the East Indies Tea Company. The blend features rooibos, China black tea, cardamom, cinnamon sticks, cacao nibs and flavoring. This blend has a wonderful chocolate taste and scent without added sweetners. The blend will be available from Elizabeth only and can be purchased from her website. Shirley Smith was the lucky winner of the drawing for a sample of the tea.

It was a wonderful experience. We are definitely ready for our next "Tea with Friends" guided tea tour adventure with Elizabeth Knight in her favorite city... New York! It was a lovely day. For more information or to purchase your very own "Tea With Friends" tea, see Elizabeth's web site, . Please tell her, that Roxanne referred you! Perhaps I will get a free bag of tea!

What is Tea Map?

by Roxanne Batterden

Have you ever had a phenomenal tea experience you would like to share with others? Tea Map is a mechanism for you to share your tea room review! You can also identify a new tea room that you would like to try.

TeaMap is a web site hosted by Adagio Teas. Over 2,000 tearooms across the United States are listed on this site. You can access the site it by going to . The tearoom listings can be accessed by entering your zip code to find those within a certain mile radius of your home or you can simply look by each state. The tea rooms are listed alphabetically.

The Royal-tea Club is a club which supports the art of tea and our local tea rooms. We can help our favorite tea room owners by posting reviews on TeaMap. I would suggest that each time you experience a tea room that you consider adding your review to the site. The more reviews listed for each tea room, the higher the tea room is ranked by the website. In turn, this attracts new patrons to the tea rooms and helps our tea rooms prosper and stay in business!

Donna Lerew and I often peruse TeaMap to identify tearooms to schedule for our club teas. We look at the ratings and the comments to help us decide which tearooms to try!

So, think about becoming an active participant in the tearoom evaluation process. Post your review on TeaMap!

WANT TO BE A WRITER?

You may not have noticed but Roxanne Batterden has contributed several articles for this edition of the newsletter, as well as many others over the past years.

Did you know you, too, could submit articles for the newsletter? Many times in their daily lives, people come across something interesting related to tea. We urge you to write them up and submit them to Sharon. We can not guarantee every article will

be published, or if it is, that it will be in the very next newsletter. Sometimes we are limited by the amount of space available. We do hope to see some new names in the next edition.

CLUB POLICIES AND MEMBERSHIP PACKETS

In order to avoid putting everyone's personal name, address, phone number, and e-mail address information on the web site, everyone will get these packets via USPS. They will go in the mail by April 15th and you should have them by April 18th.

Page 9

TEA SET RAFFLE RESULTS

The ticket for the winner of the tea set raffle was drawn at the Christmas Tea at Freedom Log House on December 6th. The very lucky and very surprised winner was Carol Bowers of Hanover.

And, speaking of tea sets......

TEA SET FOR SALE

For a whole year, the tea set we were raffling off sat alone uneventfully in Sharon's basement. But on the day it was being taken to Freedom Log House, it decided some excitement was in order after all the quiet time. On the way in, the box bumped a chair and the handle of the creamer was broken. Another set was quickly ordered for Carol Bowers. Luckily, we have a very talented member of the club, Jennifer Giza**, who does quality antique restorations. She graciously donated her time and talents to the club. The creamer has now been repaired. You can barely tell there ever was a break. The 24 karat gold is just not as shiny at that spot. Thank you so much, Jennifer, for donating your services and doing an excellent job.

So, the tea club now has a gorgeous tea set it does not want. We don't want to have another raffle, so the set is now for sale. There are cups and saucers for six, a sugar bowl, creamer and large tea pot. The background color is an opalescent white, embossed with 24 karat gold. There is a small red and a small pink rose in the center. Please make an offer. The set will go to the highest bidder. Contact Sharon, 717-259-9339.

** You may contact Jennifer at 717-677-9531 if you have an item you would like her to repair. She has done work for me in the past. She repaired a footed creamer that was my great-great grandmother's and I am extremely pleased with the results. She also excels in custom cabinetry and repairs of antique furniture.

FUTURE PUBLISHING DATES

We had to make some changes to our 2009 publishing dates due to the late publication of December's newsletter. Also, we needed to adjust the schedule so a newsletter was not due out in December, a very busy month.

So, just for 2009, there will only be three newsletters. There is this one and there will be one issued mid-July and mid-October. Next year, and here on out, newsletters will be published mid- January, mid-April, mid-July and mid-October. You may wish to write these dates on your calendar. If your newsletter has not been received by the end of those months, contact Sharon.

CONDOLENCES

This winter was a tough one for some of our members.

Mary Ann Johnson lost her son, Bill, in December right before Christmas. He was also Dottie and Mimi Johnson's brother. Ann-Margaret Arnold's grandmother, Granny Jenkins, passed away December 26 at 95 years of age. Also, Suzanne Krause's father-in-law passed away on February 4th. We extend our sincere sympathies to all of you.

FRIENDSHIP QUOTE

"Friendship negates differences. It bonds people together like nothing else. When you make a new friend, you open the door to all kinds of growth because of the additional possibilities that person brings to your life. Friendship is one of God's greatest gifts."

from Luci Swindell,

"The Women of Faith Daily Devotional"

CLUB MEMBER NEWS

Sara Secrest, or Sara the Younger as those of us who went to England in 2007 call her, was recently on assignment to a hospital in Arlington, VA for four weeks. Sara is a contractual MRI technician. It was the first time Sara had been in "our neck of the woods." Twelve of the nineteen alumni from that trip, along with Phyllis Clements' husband, Joel, gathered at Mrs. K's Tollhouse in Silver Spring, MD to have dinner with Sara on February 7th. It was so great to see her! Sara is now on assignment in Omaha, NE and will be there several months. See you on the ship, Sara!

Cindy Fischer has had some troubles. She was training hard for a St. Patrick's day race; too hard. She fell and broke her leg. Not only that, but a few weeks later she developed blood clots in the same leg. Cindy is Phyllis Clements daughter. We hope you are up and about real soon, Cindy.

Marion Coccagna is having two knee replacements done on April 28th. She needs to be all better for London and the cruise!

Page 10

TRAVEL NEWS

BRITISH ISLES CRUISE

This is a last call for anyone interested in going with us on the British Isles cruise in August. There is also an optional three day pre-trip to London. Those of us who are going were very excited to learn we may take an optional excursion to Wales from our stop in Liverpool. Those that do will be able to visit five countries while on this trip: England, Ireland, Scotland, Wales, and France.

We even found out a quilting group from Sara the Younger's (Secrest) home town of Marion, IN will be on board. Marion is home of The Quilters Hall of Fame. They will have on-board quilt classes and will be attending the British Festival of Quilts. Will you be taking any classes, Sara?

Patty Suchy will very shortly be making the final arrangements. You may contact her at 410-294-4094 if you would like to join us.

TRAVEL SURVEY

I have a BIG question for everyone and really need your feedback.

With Krouse Travel's assistance I have planned a day trip. It can best be taken either in the Spring or the Fall.  This trip would include a boxed lunch, a late afternoon tea room stop and two other very interesting stops.  The cost would be around $100.00.

My question to you is:  Do you have to know where we are going to sign up for the trip?  I would love to do this as a mystery trip, but am concerned that no one would sign up unless they know where they are going.  I await your response!

ASHEVILLE

I owe everyone who receives this newsletter only via USPS a very big apology. In January it was decided we would plan a trip to Asheville NC in November, primarily to see the Biltmore decorated for Christmas. Neither of our trips to the Madison-Bouckville Antique Show or Boston filled last year, so the club treasury lost a substantial amount of money due to the non-refundable deposits.

To give us more time to fill up the Asheville trip, I made the decision to release the Asheville flyer electronically to all members with e-mail as soon as I received it. Never, ever did I expect the response we received! Within five business days, the original 30 seats were filled. Although the paper copies of the flyer were mailed to those without e-mail the day after I received them, the trip was filled before you got them.

In order to accommodate more people, Krouse Travel checked with all the venues on the trip. All but one could take up to 40 people. The last tea room could only accommodate 32. So, we added eight "limited" seats. By "limited" we mean you will not be able to go to the last tea room, but there are several other meal options within two blocks of the tea room, and the trip will cost you $30.00 less. Already three of those eight seats have been taken, so there are only five left. Contact Krouse Travel toll free at 877-244-6410 if you would like one of them.

IRISH TEA BLESSING

"God willing, may our tea be steeped in serenity, sweetened by sharing, and surrounded by the warmth of your love."

Anonymous

(Submitted by Roxanne Batterden)

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