High Tea, Texas Style--Part 4...The Entertainment.

Hidy Ho, crafty peeps!

Welcome to yet another chapter in the coverage of the greatest tea party of the MILLENNIUM! Well, maybe not the "millennium"...

perhaps the "CENTURY"!!

hmmm, ok, maybe not that either...but, "Welcome to another riveting chapter of the greatest tea party in the month of August in Northern Texas" sounds lame.

If you missed parts 1-3...you can find them in the links below:

• High Tea, Texas Style, Part 1...The Favors
• High Tea, Texas Style, Part 2...The Invitations
• High Tea, Texas Style, Part 3...The Decorations

Today's chapter, Part 4, focuses on the entertainment...the French call it "Divertissement" (pronounced dee-ver-teez-mahn) ...a bit of merriment, frivolity, and revelry to start the party off right!

Back around the turn of the century (the late 1800s...not 1999) it was customary for these social gatherings of women to include some type of entertainment in the form of a dramatic reading (soliloquy, poetry, a bit of prose, or a scene from a play), and a musical offering--which typically consisted of either a "diva" belting out an aria, or someone's "talented" niece warbling a popular tune of the time.

I wanted to carry on this lovely tradition in our tea party. I asked our dear friend, Fran, if she would regale us with a dramatic reading of some sort. Fran is an accomplished poet, watercolor artist, and budding actress. I also asked my mom if she would read a poem I wrote, and mom, in return, asked me if I would "sing" a particular song...which I agreed to do (knowing full-well that it will probably end up going viral...and not in a good way).

So, without further ado, may I present 

Miss Fran

Our next offering is my dear mom reading a poem I wrote for the occasion.

Dian

I enclosed a printed copy of my poem in each gift bag as a keepsake. And you aren't imagining things, there is a nod to Captain Jean Luc Picard of Star Trek--The Next Generation. I'm a Trekker, what can I say?

Our next delectation is a humorous ditty, performed by yours truly. Notice, I said "performed" NOT "sung"...because those of you who know me, know how I REALLY sing...and, this is NOT it. This was parody/comedy.

The Diva Torrey

And what party would be complete without a game of some sort? I decided on a little ice breaker. I call it "Not-so Dirty Little Secrets"

Several days prior to the party, my mom asked each guest to divulge a factoid about themselves--one that nobody would know. She then typed them all up on little slips of paper and put them in a bowl. Each guest drew one and read it aloud. Then, we all had to guess who belonged to the "fact". Then, the "owner" of the fact would stand up and say a bit about it/themselves.

It was a HOOT...and not as easy as one would think. It was a great way to "break the ice". It got people talking. Here are all the factoids we gathered for the game. So much fun!

• I was called “Puddin,” grew up on a farm, and had a pony named Sunday.  I graduated from high school a year early with a perfect 4.0.
• For the better part of 2 years I spoke only French.  I also drove a truck for a maintenance crew.  The workmen didn’t mess with me, because the word was I could tote 2 bags of concrete at a time.
• I love to cook, and I have lots of friends.  I’m getting married this September 12^th!
• I really like animals, and I'm not afraid of insects, either.  I love books and swimming--my favorite pastimes.
• I won all the spelling bees at school up through 9^th grade.  Hobos knew it was okay to stop by our home for a sandwich if hungry.
• I studied long and hard toward becoming a concert pianist, but with marriage that came to a halt, and my wonderful life took over.
• When I was little I had a big brother who really made me mad.  I waited around a corner of the house, and when he showed up I hit him on the head as hard as I could with a sand bucket.  Problem solved.
• I married my college sweetheart 25 years later.  I run a multi-brand clothing showroom at Dallas Market Center. I am a cookie judge at the State Fair of Texas.  
• I can name all 50 states in alphabetical order in less than 30 seconds. My kindergarten teacher taped up my mouth because she said I was talking too much. She said she had called my mother for permission (which she didn't). I held a grudge against my mom for that for YEARS AND YEARS.
• I worked in a casino as a dealer for poker. One of my nicknames is "Medot".
• Growing up, I had a pet skunk. I love animals, and currently have 6 of them living with me...most of which aren't even mine.
• One day when my mother was changing my diaper (when I was around 2 years old) I decided I didn't want anything to do with it. So, I jumped up and ran out the back door while she was disposing of the soiled diaper. I ran around the house to the front porch, where she found me quite awhile later, sleeping on the front steps with my naked little bottom sticking up in the air.

Well, that wraps up this episode! Stay tuned tomorrow for High Tea, Texas Style, Part 5...The Food (Savory).