On Thursday, May 12th, Gertie and I were in Janet’s kitchen about to begin the making of the “cake pops” for the Sasha Celebration weekend.  Gertie is wearing a newly made outfit that I had asked Janet to make for her arrival.  I love it! 🙂

My camera for the trip was my cell phone camera.  The lighting is not the best but you can see Janet diligently working on the cake pops.  Janet had a mold formed to make many tiny ball-like shapes and she placed cake batter into the mold and baked it until done and then she put all of the cake balls into the freezer until time to frost them.

A much better photo of Janet and Gertie with the cake pops.  We put sticks into each cake ball and placed them on the cardboard rings you see in the photo.  The blue frosting was first, then the white and last, the red frosting.  I thought it was brilliant idea for the SCW! 🙂

Gertie was a tremendous help that morning. 🙂

What a fun time we all had in Janet’s kitchen with tea breaks of course! 🙂

Next, we walked from Janet’s house to the seaside to enjoy the view of the North Sea and to go to lunch! 🙂

I took a few photos along the way.  We walked above and along the beach that you can see in the distance.  So beautiful.

A lovely view of the King Edward’s Bay and you can see a ship in the distance. 🙂

I never tire of views of the sea though that day was brisk and overcast, it did not rain.  It was wonderful to walk and look and just take it all in. Only a 10 minute walk from Janet’s house.  🙂

We found our way and walked down to see the restaurant straight ahead neatly tucked in the hillside at King Edward’s Bay in Tynemouth. 🙂

The view overhead was very impressive.  I think it is the Tynemouth Priory and Castle imposing upon the skyline.

But we pressed onward to our luncheon destination. 🙂

Here we are!  It is Riley’s Fish Shack where we ordered mackerel that came with tasty side dishes.  I did not photograph the meal this time. I think it was because we were actually sharing our table with others since it was crowded that day. Most of the people dining were eating indoors rather than in the outside area due to the cool winds.  The view was fabulous and the meal was delicious! ❤

A map to show that we were in the Newcastle-upon-Tyne area that day.  The previous day we visited Northumberland area and visited Alnwick Castle.  You can see how very close we were to the Scottish borders.

We returned home after lunch and spent some dolly time with Janet’s lovely and varied doll collection.  Later we began our packing and preparation to leave the next day to join many friends at the Sasha Celebration Weekend in Nottingham.

There was a small package for me waiting at Janet’s house. A dear friend who lives in Spain had made gifts for Gertie and for Finn and posted them.  She knew that I was going to make a day trip to Paris during my England stay and voila, wonderful french outfits for my happy pair.  How very thoughtful to send gifts. ❤

Gertie loves her new dress which has Eiffel Towers in many colors, ric rac, and wonderful buttons! It fits her perfectly. 🙂

I love her dress too!  Her sandals were made by Janet. 🙂

Thank you dear friend for such a lovely gift. ❤

Finn loves his wonderful France shirt! 🙂

I love it too!  A perfect fit and a perfect boy’s shirt.  Thank you my friend for your thoughtfulness. ❤ xxx

I had the best time with Janet in her part of England.  Her hospitality was warm and kind and wonderful.  I love this part of England so very much and I was just captivated by every aspect during my stay.  I will always be grateful to have had this time with Janet and her husband Billy in their home in England. ❤

Thank you for visiting Sasha Shangri-La today and the next post will finally be the Sasha Celebration Weekend. 🙂 xxx