"I Remember You" ~ A Nostalgic Tablescape Thursday event!

Welcome to a very "Nostalgic" Tablescape Tea Party...

My focus will not be on the dishes, linens, or stemware today,

but on the precious couple sitting at the table

holding hands and sharing lovely stories of their life together

...after celebrating 67 years of marriage just a few months ago!

Thanks Susan, for hosting a favorite of mine, Tablescape Thursday!

To visit other tablescapes later today,

please be sure to click on Susan's blog "Between Naps On The Porch".

On the menu ~

Fresh Baked Buttermilk Scones with Golden Raisins

Home made Devonshire Cream

Dried fruit & nuts

Black Currant Preserves from France

Le Petite Ecolier Cookies

Special Tea Selections

After the scones were baked, I prepared my Tea Basket for Travel..
I wanted my time with this couple to leave them nothing but great memories when I left..
So, I packaged everything from the plates, napkins, milk, sugar, tea pot, etc... (everything)
I took a half day off work, and scurried to my car to begin my 30 minute drive...
Let me put it in reverse for just a moment... ;)
Let me explain how I met Elouise...
I joined a Writers Club in a nearby town in '08, Elouise is one of the founders since it's inception, 1973.
One day last November, while on a call with her, I asked her if I could come and have a tea party with she and her husband Barney, whom I'd never met. She said they'd love that!

We set the date for 2/25/09 2pm
Let me now begin to introduce you to this most adorable couple
Elouise, 83, and Barney, 86
I thought I was going to have a lovely tea with this couple...
I excitedly set the table with the pansy table topper I'd taken along...
and began to put all the plates and silver in their places...
Barney had just woke up from an afternoon nap...
From the time they both sat at the table, their hands were clasped...
All of a sudden, I didn't care what type of china I'd brought with me,
I didn't care how pretty my cups were that I'd brought for them...and had no interest
in telling them who they were made by... :)
All of a sudden, I was enveloped into witnessing one of
the greatest "love experiences" in my life.
Barney told me from the moment I met him
that he'd married the prettiest girl in the world...
he reminded me of that all afternoon...
When he did, he always squeezed Elouises's hand and smiled.
They shared with me moments of how they met, about their early years...
I felt as if I were meeting the couple from the characters in "The Notebook",
especially when Barney broke out in song and serenaded Elouise singing...
"I Remember You", the great classic written by Johnny Mercer.
He knew every word, and we all had tears in our eyes when he was done.
During our talks, I learned Barney had been a great boxer and an avid golfer!
Elouise brought in his huge trophy he won in earlier years so I could see it.
I'm glad I took my camera, I wanted to capture pictures of the tea party
so I could provide them to Elouise & Barney as a keep sake of our day.
I asked them if I could take a picture of their hands together...because this is a moment
I wanted to remember for the rest of my life...
They obliged...
Once the tea had ended, I found myself driving home
reminiscing about our tea and the wonderful stories both Elouise & Barney shared with me...
I had been forever lifted into an entirely different world than the one I'd left when I'd jumped into my car earlier in the day to start my journey. This "Nostalgic Tablescape" reminded me that it's not always about the linens, the candles, or the ambiance...but about the people seated behind the tablescape...about their hearts, their stories, and their endless love... Maybe I'll share on another day the tablescape I used while there, but then again...that could ruin the memory I've left you with today, "Elouise & Barney" and their endless love of 67 years and his serenading her with, "I Remember You"...

~CC Catherine