Tea and Sympathy

Last week, Gran was kind enough to accompany me on another road trip--I desperately needed to get my mind off all the surgery-related anxiety (someone asked what kind of surgery I'm having--carpal tunnel release on my right hand), so getting out of town was a great idea! And THIS time, there wasn't any of that healthy raw stuff. No sir-eeeee Bob! THIS time, I picked the restaurant!

Gran described our trip on her blog a few days ago, so you may have already read about how I needed to start the excursion at Starbucks with an iced latte. I don't remember reading where she told you what SHE needed to start the day with. Hummmmmm. I guess I should remedy that omission. Keep in mind--this isn't lunch. Around 11 a.m. or thereabouts, we pulled up at the Ghirardelli chocolate factory and outlet.

Strawberry cheesecake, if I remember correctly. And it wasn't one of those Yoplait light yogurts either! But then I guess she needed the energy so she could make it all the way from Lathrop to Pleasanton--maybe a 40 minute drive in the passenger seat!

Okay, so here's MY KIND of lunch place--the English Rose Tea Room. Generally speaking, tea rooms enjoyed a surge in popularity several years ago, and then the interest in afternoon tea died back, along with the economy. But the English Rose seems to have weathered the ups and downs very well. They have three seatings daily and the restaurant was just about full when we arrived and saw the tail end of the 11 a.m. seating and, of course, the customers for the 1 p.m. seating.

While we were awaiting our seating, we sat out on a side patio in the shade. Darling little garden space!

Both of us ordered the top-of-the-line, full on English tea, although having tasted the scones, clotted cream, and lemon curd, I could have been just as happy with the cream tea. Heaven! (We had already begun eating the little sandwiches on the bottom tier before we remembered to take photos!)

After tea, we back-tracked a bit to Livermore, where we visited In Between Stitches, one of the shops highlighted in the most recent spring Quilt Sampler magazine. (If you're a long-time reader of Pam Kitty Morning's blog, you may recall she used to work at this shop a few years ago.) Very nice shop! Gran has more photos on her blog--just click over from the link in my sidebar under "friends."

I don't think I thought about surgery hardly at all during our excursion, AND I learned something VERY important: I can eat English tea with my left hand. Of course, that means that Gran and I may need to repeat the experience during my recovery period--or seek out another tea room. And you know what else? I bet I could eat a Ghirardelli ice cream cone with my left hand too! Sadly, though, I'm reasonably certain that eating a raw, vegan salad with my left hand would be virtually impossible. Oh, well, I guess I'll just need to come to terms with my upcoming disability and make adjustments accordingly!