DERBY WEEKEND IN KENTUCKY



It’s that time of year again in the Bluegrass State. Today is the Kentucky Oaks but tomorrow, May 1st, is the world famous Kentucky Derby. For most of us in Kentucky that means a weekend of Derby themed parties, dinners, and more parties! The Tea Society has had Derby Teas in the past where we’ve highlighted all things Kentucky, especially in reference to teas and food products. We've even designed our own Derby hats in the past years. But this year, with incredibly busy schedules from all, it seemed impossible to find a weekend where most of us could join together.



Some of our members are wearing their finest millinery and attending all the racing events. While our Polly, a well-respected and talented milliner, has been covered up in hat orders from around the globe. She will no doubt welcome a bit of breathing time after the race on Saturday. That is, until wedding season sweeps her up with more orders! For me, I think I will spend the weekend watching all the celebrations from a cozy seat in my parlor while sipping a hot mint infusion or a cuppa Elmwood Inn’s Kentucky Blend. On Sunday, however, I will take advantage of a tradition among many of the women in our region in wearing a fine Oaks or Derby hat to church on Sunday.

If by chance you would like a taste of the Derby, try the famous Kentucky Mint Julep(seen in the image below). Southern Living offers a recipe here.

THEME THURSDAY: LUNCH






Some of my most memorable lunches came after church at my Grandmother Coleman’s house. She referred to them as Sunday ‘dinners’ and they were always around 12:30 PM, just enough time for everyone to get to her house after their various services. Lunch for her was hardly what one might have every day. We had Sweet tea, lemonade and coffee to drink (no soda pop at her house). The meal consisted of at least two different entrees. That was usually fried (always prepared in a deep black cast iron pot) or baked chicken with dressing (sometimes turkey), a roast of some sort and even meatloaf as well. She had two huge vegetable gardens so in the summer we always had fresh vegetable dishes, at least six-eight to accompany the main courses, and then of course two or three desserts to choose from. Of the latter, cakes, pies and cobblers were always on the sideboards to tease us throughout the meal. I will say that in spite of the massive “lunch” on the table, we always had room for my Grandmother’s famous apple pie. Just thinking about it makes my mouth water. It amazed us all that she managed to have feasts like this every week and refused to have anyone bring a dish. It would have been an insult to her to do so and she truly lived to prepare those meals. For her, it was a way to insure that the entire family would always at least be together once a week to fellowship. Needless to say, after these huge lunches/dinners, no one seemed to have much of an appetite for supper and if we did eat later, we usually took leftovers home from Grandma’s.

These days Sunday lunch usually consists of a salad and soup or a sandwich and some fruit with a cup of tea. That’s quite a far cry from those wonderful Sunday afternoon feasts, but much kinder to my waistline.

CREATIVE TUESDAY: EASTER


( Pieta` )


I was so thrilled with this Creative Tuesday Theme, Easter. This is such a beautiful celebration of Resurrection, redemption, rebirth, and renewal. It was fantastic timing because I had another project underway that fit perfectly with this theme. Our church issued a call to parish artists to create art for the stations of the cross, to use at our Good Friday service. I chose the 13TH station( 9th in some other observations), Jesus taken down from the cross. It didn't take long for me to know where to find artistic inspiration for this piece. I turned to two Pieta's, one of course by Michelangelo and the other by Carracci. The latter of which I drew the most inspiration from, with the poses of Christ and Mary. I used Michelangelo's work to inspire Mary's garment and head covering. I rendered the drawing with Derwent Graphic pencils on acid-free Strathmore smooth drawing paper.

The artwork will be on display at our church through Easter Sunday when after the service, there will be a silent auction for all the works. The proceeds will be donated to our mission team's Haiti relief trip.

Have a wonderful Good Friday and a very blessed Easter!