Sit a spell and let's have a spot of tea

Welcome back to Bloomfield. Glad you decided to visit us again. If this is your first time, you’ll love our town. The people are friendly, loyal and caring. Most of them have come in for a bite of lunch at one time or another that is except for the younger generation. Those twenty-somethings don’t enjoy the tea room like their parents do.

They seem to prefer the Fancy Schmantzy restaurant in town. That’s not the real name, but that’s what folks call it around here. I haven’t been there but once or twice myself. The décor is rather formal and people talk much more quietly than they do at Burt’s Barbeque. The fancy place uses fine china, silver, linens and sparkling crystal for their tables along with linen tablecloths and napkins. The lights are not bright, but you can see your food and know what you’re eating, and the food is excellent.

The tea room uses fine china for our dishes whether it matches or not. If it’s old, pretty and has a design, I’ll buy it for the tea room. I do love this new pattern we recently started using because it features butterflies, one of my favorite things. Of course when the men have coffee, they are given sturdy pottery mugs. Men don’t cotton to well to dainty cups, but they don't seem to mind these new ones with the larger handles. The pink and white interior with pink geraniums everywhere delights the ladies, but the men tolerate it to have some of Lida Mae’s chicken pot pie or quiche. 

I love our crystal in the Colony pattern from Fostoria. What you see here were my mother’s and she got them in the 1940’s when she married. The tea set belonged to my grandmother.

Winnie’s party was a huge success. We managed to surprise her, but only her closest friends from high school days know her real age, and we’re not telling because then people would know how old the rest of us are. One person missing was our Mayor. Woodrow Hansen had out of town business that kept him away, and frankly I think Winnie was a little disappointed he wasn’t here. I’m not one to spread tales, but if you ask me, now that she and Woody have both lost their spouses, she’d like to ignite their old flame from high school days. Now that’s one fire I’d like to see re-lit.

I hear that Lynn Myers is coming back to town to settle her brother’s estate. He lived in a creepy old house next to the cemetery. I hope Lynn can fix it up to what it was like years before her brother became such an eccentric. Lynn was once a regular patron of the Pink Geranium and it’ll be good to see her again. She’s a widow like me, but her loss is still rather new, so coming back here will do her good. I just hope she’ll feel at home again.

You can read Lynn’s story in Last Chance for Justice. It’ll be available in May and you’ll meet Lynn and her daughter, Rachel next month after they get settled in.

It’s time to get ready for week-end guests, so I’ll leave you for now. I hope you’ve enjoyed our little visit. Do come back as I have lots more to tell you and many more people for you to meet.

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