EDITH HOLDEN'S BOOKS for "Tea Not In The Garden"

I usually do my "Tea In The Garden" post 

on Thursday but yesterday with

 temperatures in the 90's and doing 

other projects - it just didn't happen. 

 So this morning I thought we'd just

 stay inside where we can be cool and  comfortable.  I apologize

for arriving a little late.

I promised my husband I would keep the teapot displays out of the "living room". 

 I am happy to have this spot in my

 Victorian parlor near the kitchen for

 my armoire and what
not shelves:

I think I am a little slow about finding out

 how you can get great books on Amazon

 and used ones work great for me too. 

 Several of the books I ordered have come

 and I have been enjoying them. (very inexpensively) I already had a copy of

 Edith Holden's "Country Diary of an Edwardian Lady".  This week two

other books that I ordered arrived:

 "The Nature Notes of An Edwardian

Lady" and "The Edward Lady" - 

The story of Edith

Holden compiled by Ina Taylor.

With my tea chest nearby you can pick
from the many types inside:

Edith Holden grew up in the Edwardian

 era and was an artist who loved birds, flowers and nature.  She kept a diary

 where she drew the  birds and flowers she
had seen each day on her walks in the nearby woods.

I am just getting a chance to look at these

 new to me books and since this is August

 let's see what she

 drew for this month.

And please help yourself to tea and one

 of these Buttermilk Brownies I baked

 last night.   Really, they are more like a cake than a brownie.  I had baked a Quiche last night and since the oven was already hot it seemed like a good idea

to just keep it going! 

Here is the recipe for the

 Buttermilk Brownies:

Ingredients: 1 stick butter, 4 Tb cocoa, 

1/2 cup vegetable oil, 1 cup water, 

2 cups flour, 2 cups sugar, 1/2 cup 

buttermilk, 2 eggs, 1 Tsp vanilla, 1 Tsp 

baking soda, 1/2 tsp salt

Melt the butter, add the cocoa, oil and water.  Boil for several minutes.  Pour this mix over the flour and sugar, mix well, add buttermilk, eggs, vanilla, soda and salt and mix again.
Bake in greased and floured 13 x 9" pan 25 minutes at 350 degrees.
I also added 1 cup chopped walnuts to this batter.

Frosting:
1 stick butter, 4 Tb cocoa, 6 Tb buttermilk, 3 3/4 cups confectioner's sugar, 1 cup chopped walnuts, 1 tsp vanilla

Melt the butter and mix in the cocoa and buttermilk in mixing bowl.  Add this mix to the sugar and vanilla - mix well pour over the brownies while they are slightly warm. 
 Sprinkle the nuts evenly on top.

I feel like we have had a wonderful summer.  Yes, it has been hot as expected.  We are supposed to enjoy some temps in the 80's

 here soon so if that happens - I won't complain. 

We have spent our summer working on the long list of projects and repairs here on our house.  My husband is currently staining the deck.