Yes, I am still around, or, kind of.  It is very inconvenient to check my email, or to blog, so therefore, I have had very limited time to sign on.  But I'm still hoping for a remedy, soon.

Meanwhile, I'm going to try to go down my list of Things I Want To Post, and perhaps when I finally do get back on, I'll be all caught up.

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This past summer, in late August, we took a trip to the Biltmore Estate in Charlotte, North Carolina.  The first night we stayed at a hotel right outside the Estate - it looked liked it has been here as long as the Biltmore has, yet, it was only recently built and opened this past spring of 2009.  It deserves it's own post, so maybe I'll get to that sooner or later, too.

The next day, we moved from the hotel outside the grounds, to the Inn of Biltmore Estates, right on the property.  It is a very elegant place.  While we were waiting for a van to take us over to the castle, my husband thought it would be a great idea for us girls to have tea.

I confess, I didn't want to take the time to have tea.  I was afraid that we'd miss the ride over to the castle - it was mid-afternoon, we'd already missed it twice, and they left every half hour.  If we didn't wait right at the front door, I was sure we'd not make it over there.

So, although I tried to convince my husband that we did not need any afternoon tea, he insisted.  He said that Grandma would enjoy this. When I realized I would not be winning this battle of "To Tea" or "Not To Tea,"  I resigned to an elegant cup of tea.

We girls - Ruthie (10); Rachel (17); Grandma; and myself, sat at a table as we were brought tea and scones.  Dad sat on a nearby couch with the boys, reading to them.  I think they thought they were getting jipped - we got something to drink with cookies, and they got to be read too.   I think Ruthie enjoyed the tea all the more, assuming  she was one up on her brothers.

(At the Biltmore Estate looking over the balcony of the beautiful view.)

We did miss the next van over to the castle.  Just like I thought would happen.  But, eventually we made it over and seen everything by closing time.  And guess what?  When asked what was the highlight of their day (grandma and the girls), they said it was the afternoon tea.  Dad's spontaneous idea was what made the day for them, even though mom's punctuality nature thought it might ruin it.