Angela Webster McRae's Blog, page 41

King of Pops Sweet Tea Lemonade popsicle

Do you ever arrive somewhere too early and then have to kill some time? On a recent weekday, I needed to visit a local shop but, unaware of their hours, arrived downtown about forty-five minutes before it opened. Should I go home and make another trip there the following week? No. So I waited. And while I waited, I decided to visit the local toffee shop, Let Them Eat Toffee, which sells some of  the yummiest toffee I’ve ever eaten, but on this day, I didn’t reach for the toffee. Not once I spotted these popsicles in the refrigerator case! 

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These Sweet Tea Lemonade popsicles are by King of Pops, a success story in the Southern business world since they started with a used ice cream pushcart and now have franchises across the South. The popsicle tasted just like you'd think it would—like a delicious but frozen Arnold Palmer drink—and I'm happy to have access to these yummy popsicles. Are any of you familiar with King of Pops?

Some Georgia-themed stamps from Studio Calico!

Advertising—there's no escaping it. I like it when *I'm* doing the advertising (like running Facebook ads for my books), but sometimes, I get wildly wrong guesses about the sort of advertisement that will lead me to actually purchase an item. The other day, I was shown an ad for a $58,000 Tiffany bracelet. Lovely as it was, what on earth made Facebook (or maybe it was Instagram) think I was their target customer? Alas, no. But the day I was scrolling on Instagram and saw an ad for these state-themed stamps for crafting, somebody hit the bull's-eye with me, and I clicked "Buy" before too many seconds passed! Aside from a stamp of the state of Georgia, which will come in handy when corresponding with friends and family out of state, can you guess which particular stamp made me purchase this set?

If you guessed this one, you're right!

The stamps arrived in just days, much faster than expected, and I was delighted to discover they were packaged in a nice, thick, reusable plastic pocket, not the throwaway cellophane that such sets usually arrive in. I also got 10 percent off my first order, which was nice. If you're a Georgia stamper/tea lover, too, you may like this same set, and if you're a non-Georgia stamper, it might be fun to see what stamps are included in the set for your state! You can find them here. (No affiliation, just a happy customer.) 

Chocolate Chip Banana Bread

Over the weekend, I wanted to make some banana bread but didn't have the sour cream my favorite recipe calls for. Could I use Greek yogurt instead? And could I add both pecans and chocolate chips?Yes, I could—and did!

Chocolate Chip Banana Bread

1/4 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup sugar
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 large ripe banana, mashed
4 tablespoons Greek yogurt
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup chopped pecans1/4 cup mini chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine ingredients in order listed and mix well after each addition. Pour batter into a 9 x 5 x 3-inch loaf pan prepared with cooking spray and bake for 50-60 minutes or until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean. Refrigerate any leftovers. 

Inspiration in the new Tea Time magazine

 

I always enjoy seeing a new issue of Tea Time land in my mailbox instead of more junk mail, and I'm especially happy when tea wares with roses make the cover! But this time, I had to turn only one page before I found something that made this whole issue a treat.

It was this shell-patterned Wedgwood White Dolphins teacup! Isn't this a classy-looking design? I've been looking for something like this for several years now for a very bookish reason. My first cozy mystery series is about a former newspaper reporter turned jewelry maker here in Georgia. My second series (the one just launched) is about two sisters with a junk business in Alabama. But my third series (coming in a few more years) will be about a retired interior designer who lives at the beach in Florida, and for years now, I have been searching for just the right china pattern for her. Most of the shell patterns I've seen just didn't grab me, but this one? I think it's lovely, and it *looks* like an interior designer would like it, don't you think?
All those shells around the three-tiered server really caught my eye! So while I always find teatime inspiration in Tea Time, it's not every issue that can provide some writing inspiration as well.

And in another bit of good timing, I came across a cute tea sandwich idea that I want to make for my niece Cari's baby shower next month. My first great-nephew, Ezra, is expected to arrive later this summer, and I'm helping plan the baby shower. If I've ever seen teddy bear tea sandwiches before, I'd forgotten them, but these will be great for the shower. In fact, maybe I need to go reread some of my back issues of Tea Time and see what other baby shower ideas I can come up with!

A trip to Paradise Garden in Summerville, Ga.

On Saturday, Alex and I took a two-hour drive north to visit a site we’d often heard about but never visited, Rev. Harold Finster’s Paradise Garden in Summerville, Georgia. Finster is famous in the folk art world for his primitive paintings featuring religious imagery and texts, and I’d long wanted to visit. 

This is the World's Folk Art Church there, and visitors can't go inside at the moment since the Paradise Garden Foundation is working to restore it. I'm very curious to know if it's as intriguing inside as it is outside.

The retired minister was said to be quite the eccentric, and I bought a book about his life that said even his critics agreed that he treated people well and truly seemed to love everyone he met. (Something to aspire to!)


The gardens featured lots of miscellany throughout, and I imagine you could visit this place a dozen times and see something new on each visit.

In this open-air bridge-like gallery, there was artwork by Finster as well as artwork by others. He just painted the artists' names right there on the walls, and Alex and I both hope the Foundation has documented all of this before it fades one day!

Only a handful of visitors and a small group of plein air painters were there the day we visited. You can go in all of the outbuildings at your leisure, and there was stuff everywhere!

It would seem the reverend didn't view anything as trash. In one of the buildings, I spotted some pieces that I would have liked if they hadn't been damaged.

These pieces looked fine, and I wondered what Finster, who died in 2001, had planned to do with them.

Coffee, anyone?

Throughout the gardens were several of these pieces that remind me of a chicken-wire compost bin I have in the backyard. But Finster's "compost" was not quite like mine …

Look at all these plates!

And that pink saucer was (key word being "was") so pretty!

Look at all this stuff!

This mosaic (ish?) piece reminded me of those shell-encrusted pieces you see around coastal cities like Savannah, except …
 

I recognized this piece (a teacup, perhaps) as Royal Winton's Old Cottage Chintz pattern. I certainly didn't expect to see that there!

Or Santa!

And this artwork? It may or may not be in the garden somewhere. I saw it in a photo collage (uncaptioned) that was displayed in the welcome center, and I asked the staffer on duty if she happened to know where it was. She did not, but she noted that even a year after working there, she still sees new things all the time. I can believe it! I bought a book about the whimsical art by the retired minister who loved Jesus, people, and junk, and I'm looking forward to learning more about this unusual man who's been referred to as "the Andy Warhol of the South." If you appreciate folk art and ever have the opportunity to visit Paradise Garden, go!


 

Remember and honor

 

Today, we remember and honor those who gave the ultimate sacrifice …

The winner of the ebook of "The Roots of All Evil" is …

 Mel! So if you'll check your email for details, I'll get this headed your way. Congrats!

A new treat from Twinings

I realize it's just now feeling like spring in some parts of the country, but here in Georgia, we've already had a few overly warm days that had me reaching for some iced tea. And now that I've learned to cold-brew tea in the fridge, I'm willing to slap any ol' tea bag that strikes my fancy into a glass of water, and I'll sip on it all day. So when I saw this jar of Pineapple & Coconut Cold Water Infusions from Twinings on sale at Kroger this week, I decided to give it a try.

Frankly, the flavor is what appealed to me most. I know probiotics are good for you, though, and if I can get them in my tea (or tisane, in this case), so much the better. This blend contains white hibiscus, lemon balm, apple pieces, and natural coconut and pineapple flavor.

You're supposed to steep this infusion in a water bottle, but I like to steep mine in a glass of ice water, and I imagine the result is much the same. The pineapple-coconut flavor of this one was delicious and refreshing, and I hope to grab another jar of these while they're still on sale this week!

Ebook giveaway for "The Roots of All Evil"

 

Increasingly, I find that readers want a book to be available on Kindle as much as they want it to be available in print. Now that the ebook version of "The Roots of All Evil" is available, I decided to give away a copy here!
So if you're a Kindle user (and I read Kindle ebooks on my Kindle, my iPhone, and occasionally, an old iPad), just leave an Enter Me to this post by 7 a.m. EST Friday, May 26, 2023, and you'll be entered to win! I want you to have the book in time for the long holiday weekend, so please make sure I have a way to contact you if you're the winner! Good luck!

'Tis the season ��� no, really!

On Saturday, I ran in Hobby Lobby to get an ink pad, and as always, my eye gets drawn to those bright-orange clearance stickers scattered on items throughout the store. This time, I saw one on a package containing a cute Christmas mug die set and thought, "Wait a minute��� I always say I'm going to get started on Christmas cards early. This is a sign!" And of course the good discount was another sign, so yesterday, I made my first Christmas card of 2023!

I collect every Christmas cup/mug die set I can find, so I was happy to discover a new one. These Momenta dies were super easy to use, and I really like the way this card turned out. I didn't have any brown card stock to make the cookies in the package photo, but I think I like the card better without them because it focuses on the tea mug. The green background was made with one of Stampin' Up's Scalloped Contours dies, which are absolutely the best all-purpose background dies I've ever owned. (Got mine from my friend Kathy here, if you're interested in these.)

I'll wait and add a sentiment at Christmastime, whether that's a "Thank you" or a "You're invited" or simply "Merry Christmas." Or maybe I'll make a few cards that say nothing and just use them as notecards during December. If you're a card crafter, too, you may want to check out your local Hobby Lobby before these sale dies get scooped up!