Tea Room Tales & Tidbits
Table of Contents

info Introduction info Front Cover info Inside Cover info Table of Contents info Copyright info About The Author menu_book Dedication menu_book Foreword (2010) menu_book Foreword (2020) menu_book Foreword (2022) menu_book The Dream Begins... menu_book The Lady of the House menu_book Fate list_alt Scones & Biscuits   restaurant_menu Bacon & Cheese Biscuits   restaurant_menu Castle Scones   restaurant_menu Flax Seed Biscuits   restaurant_menu Ivy Tea Room Scones   restaurant_menu Paisley Scones   restaurant_menu Rosemary Manx Biscuits list_alt Tools of the Trade menu_book New Year, New Beginnings list_alt Pastry   restaurant_menu Choux Pastry (Puff Pastry)   restaurant_menu Lemon Poppy Seed Pastry   restaurant_menu Oatmeal Pastry   restaurant_menu Peacan Pastry   restaurant_menu Pie Pastry menu_book To Paisley menu_book My Group of Seven list_alt Fillings   restaurant_menu Chocolate Filling   restaurant_menu Lemon Filling   restaurant_menu Vanilla Filling   restaurant_menu Whipped Cream   restaurant_menu Cream Cheese Filling   restaurant_menu Mock Devonshire Cream menu_book Mary Gets a Proper Frame menu_book Revisiting Medieval Times menu_book The Witches Gathering list_alt Icing and Frosting   restaurant_menu Butter Cream Frosting   restaurant_menu Marshmallow Icing   restaurant_menu Satin Chocolate Icing   restaurant_menu Royal Icing   restaurant_menu Almond Glaze   restaurant_menu Lemon Glaze   restaurant_menu Cream Cheese Frosting   restaurant_menu Coconut-Pecan Frosting menu_book From Haunting to Understanding menu_book The Giant Teapot list_alt Sauces   restaurant_menu Chocolate Sauce   restaurant_menu Caramel Sauce   restaurant_menu Harvest Fruit Sauce   restaurant_menu Field Berry Sauce   restaurant_menu Raspberry Sauce   restaurant_menu Blueberry Sauce menu_book Mary Introduces Herself to the Staff list_alt Cake   restaurant_menu Angel Cake   restaurant_menu Christmas Cake   restaurant_menu Ginger Cake   restaurant_menu Gooey Tortoise Cake   restaurant_menu Our Italian Wedding Cake   restaurant_menu Lemon Poppy Seed Cake   restaurant_menu Banana Split Cake   restaurant_menu Pumpkin Cake   restaurant_menu Queen Victoria Carrot Cake   restaurant_menu Blueberry Tea Cake menu_book The Proposal list_alt Cookies   restaurant_menu Almond Apricot Biscotti   restaurant_menu Chocolate Biscotti   restaurant_menu Chocolate Chip Cookies   restaurant_menu Country Road Cookies   restaurant_menu Gingerbread Cookies   restaurant_menu Coconut Macaroon Cookies   restaurant_menu Grandma's Shortbread   restaurant_menu Grandpa's Oatmeal Cookies   restaurant_menu Lassy Mogg Cookies   restaurant_menu Lemon Poppy Seed Cookies   restaurant_menu Old-Fashioned Oatmeal Shortbread   restaurant_menu Sugar Cookie Cutouts menu_book Precious Teacups menu_book Customers of Many Kinds list_alt Desserts and Treats   restaurant_menu Meringue Nests   restaurant_menu Mints   restaurant_menu Bread Pudding   restaurant_menu Chocolate Truffles   restaurant_menu Christmas Pudding   restaurant_menu Butter Tarts   restaurant_menu Cream Puffs   restaurant_menu Lemon Unicorn Horns   restaurant_menu Victorian Sugar Plums list_alt Pie   restaurant_menu Farm-style Pie   restaurant_menu Pumpkin Pie menu_book Flying Hats menu_book You're a What? list_alt Bread   restaurant_menu Step By Step Bread Making   restaurant_menu White Bread   restaurant_menu Brown Bread   restaurant_menu Rosemary Bread   restaurant_menu Pumpernickel Bread   restaurant_menu Honey Oat Bread   restaurant_menu Rye Bread   restaurant_menu Scottish Fruit and Nut Bread menu_book Dress Up Time menu_book ...And Here's Julie list_alt Lunches   restaurant_menu Quiche   restaurant_menu Lamb Tourtière   restaurant_menu Beef Tarts   restaurant_menu Goulash   restaurant_menu Saucy Chicken menu_book What's So Special About a Tearoom? menu_book What's The Soup Today? list_alt Soup   restaurant_menu Beef Barley Vegetable Soup   restaurant_menu Chinese LoBok Soup   restaurant_menu Cock-a-Leeky Soup   restaurant_menu Creamy Garden Vegetable Soup   restaurant_menu Cream of Asparagus Soup   restaurant_menu Cream of Broccoli Soup   restaurant_menu Cream of Wild Mushroom Soup   restaurant_menu Creamy Leek & Potato Soup   restaurant_menu Fairytale Pumpkin Soup   restaurant_menu French Onion Soup   restaurant_menu Mulligatawny   restaurant_menu Root Soup   restaurant_menu Tomato and Red Rice Soup menu_book A Visitor in the Night menu_book The Photograph list_alt Salads and Dressings   restaurant_menu House Salad   restaurant_menu Mandarin Salad   restaurant_menu Greek Salad   restaurant_menu Lemon Poppy Seed Dressing menu_book That's Odd list_alt Sandwiches and Spreads   restaurant_menu Egg Salad   restaurant_menu Crab Salad   restaurant_menu Tea Sandwiches   restaurant_menu Cucumber Sandwiches   restaurant_menu Cucumber Swords   restaurant_menu Anglo-Saxon Cheese Spread   restaurant_menu Tuna Salad   restaurant_menu Paisley Bridge Sandwiches menu_book The Disbeliever menu_book It's All In The Timing list_alt Jam   restaurant_menu Sterilizing Jars   restaurant_menu Festive Cherry Peach Jam   restaurant_menu Gooseberry Jam   restaurant_menu Mandarin Melody Jam   restaurant_menu Rhubarb Peach Jam   restaurant_menu Strawberry Peach Jam   restaurant_menu Very Berry Jam menu_book In Closing info Recipe Index info Story Index info Back Cover

Fate

My son will soon be six., I remember saying to my girlfriends while enjoying some iced tea by the pond that I had dug the summer before. I was certain I had needed it for serenity. That and the grass never grew in that spot of the yard anyway.

I passed out some old fashioned oatmeal cookies to the ladies as we sat soaking up the sun. They were talking about the funny little things (and some not so funny things), that their kids were getting into and how they were managing it. I was preoccupied. I had been given the word that I had better go out and find a job as soon as my youngest was off to grade one. I was panicking. What could I do? I had been a stay at home mom for the past ten years. What skills did I have?

Are you kidding me?, questioned my closest friend of the group with a mouth full. She struggled to swallow before blurting out the next thought that came to her mind.

You should open a tearoom! These cookies are amazing. You always cook in batches that are huge and I don't think that I have ever eaten anything from your house that wasn't yummy. It's not like you've been sitting around eating bonbons all these years.

She finished her last bite of cookie, wiped her hands on her jeans, and held up her fingers to count, Let's see, you've also been running your own home-based sewing business for seven years now. And don't forget the fact that in that time you babysat and landscaped your whole yard. You are full of great home decorating ideas; it's like talking to Martha Stewart. How many skills do you need? You can do anything Tam, I've seen it.

It had never occurred to me that those few things were actually considered skills. It had been years since I put a resume together and now; three kids later, I was faced with making some life-changing decisions. A tearoom? Memories from years ago came out of the foggy depths of my brain.

What should I do? How do I get started? Where do I go? How much money would I need? Could this save or break my already failing marriage? I needed to get some good advice. I knew nothing about running a tearoom business. My girlfriends all headed back to their homes to receive children and husbands, make meals, and finish up household chores. Each of them was prepared to do it all again the next day as well as go off to their part-time jobs. If they could do it, I could do it, too.

Summer came and went. The kids went back to school and signed up for their fall sports. Two out of three decided to do gymnastics with my firstborn deciding that she would like to try the trampoline classes. Excellent I thought it's all in the same building. Luckily most of the kids' classes ran simultaneously, give half an hour or so. It was doable but expensive. I then learned that I could train to be a coach and get a discount. That was even better. I signed up for a level one coaching course and started something new. Tearoom plans where on hold and left to incubate.

Then one day it happened. As I lay in a crumpled mass on the kitchen floor in a puddle of tears feeling lost and broken from a failed marriage, I heard a voice come in loud and clear from somewhere in the kitchen.

It is time.

Startled, I looked around and saw nothing. Again I heard a woman's strong voice stating that it was time. Baffled, I wiped away my tears, took a deep breath, and went outside into the serenity of the garden by the pond. I didn't know where that voice came from. I couldn't explain it but with the marriage counselling finished and my relationship no better, I understood the meaning. It was time to plan my future and take action for my own good. Days later, my girlfriend, Sarah called from Toronto. I had spent more time speculating the future and attempted to share my broken thoughts and worries. She; being the wisest and most organized of my friends (not to mention the one who knew me the longest), suggested that I go and visit her in Toronto for the weekend. We could catch up and hang out for a few days. She assumed I needed a break and she was right.

Wow, you are so pumped about this. Do you know anything about running a tearoom? Have you ever worked in one before?

I choked on this and had to answer no, but confirmed that I was sure I could figure it out. She then, wise marketing guru that she is said to learn with someone else's money before I spend the capital on my own place. She also added the question, What if you don't like it? What then?

We had a good time talking about numerous other things over the weekend that involved life-changing decisions on both our parts. She was at the beginning of her international marketing career and me at the revelation that my marriage was over. Now I could do whatever it was I needed to do if I put my mind to it. I arrived home safe and sound from the bus stop on Sunday only to find a message from my sister waiting on the answering machine. Apparently, she had heard that Faye was opening a tearoom in Port Elgin. I obviously needed to speak with this Faye person. This was my opportunity to get the experience I needed before opening my own place. I couldn't believe my luck. It really pays to have a sister who loves gossip and keeps her ears and eyes open at all times. The next day I tracked down Faye and asked her about her tearoom. I insisted that she hire me and wrote down my phone number on a scrap of paper. I asked her to give me a call when she was ready to open.

A few weeks passed and the phone rang, Could you come over to my house for an interview?

Faye was making the final arrangements to open her tearoom. She showed me clean, white dishes, the blue and yellow table cloths, and shared some of the menu plans. Just like that, I was hired. She opened in November, just in time for the Christmas season. Faye was an avid businesswoman who was already established as a baker of Christmas cookies. In May 2000, I gave up coaching gymnastics and devoted more time to Faye's. I gained a year and a half of experience by serving and baking which helped me move closer toward my tearoom adventure.