Who Murdered the Dastardly Duke of Darjeeling?

It was a dark and stormy afternoon....

Twenty ladies were summoned by Lady Shirley Lock-Holmes and Miss Jane Marple (spinster) to present themselves at Miss Marple's Ancestral Home to be interviewed, (over a proper cup of tea), as to which one of them had poisoned the Duke of Darjeeling!

Lady Shirley Locke-Holmes seen closely reviewing the evidence....!

The Co-Hostesses:

Ms. Jane Marple, Spinster and Lady Shirley Locke-Holmes

The table was set...the tea was hot!

It could have been any one of the ladies....they all had reason to despise him....

the devious, but ever so charming Duke who had frought evil and disaster upon each one...

the ladies were arriving one by one...some tearful, some angry and several quite defiant!

who did the murderous deed?

the Tea table was prepared for the Ladies to provide sustenance during this afternoon of investigation and tale telling....

it was to be a long afternoon...a little Sherry might loosen the tongue...

scones, thumbprints, mini-cakes, Devonshire cream
andive bites, chocolates and tea sandwiches to keep the vapors away

cookies, shortbreads, pinwheels...oh my

home made jam, lemon curd, clotted cream, several delightful sweets

The evidence...a broken tea cup, tea leaves, and a glass vial of arsenic poison found near the Duke's body!!!

Lady Shirley Lock-Homes is finding the clues.....

Yes....she admits it! She murdered the evil and dastardly Duke! She said, "He had it coming!"

These ladies are enjoying some social bonding time together.  All are members of the Assistance League of Santa Barbara,  a fabulous non-profit (one of many in SB), whose mission is to serve the needs of children and adults of the SB area. 

Assistance League of SB operates a Thrift Shop at 1259 Veronica Springs Road (off Las Positas). 
Tax deductible donations are accepted Mondays, Wednesdays 10am - 3pm;
 Saturdays 10am - 1pm
The Thrift Store is open for shopping during the same hours. 
find household items, holiday decor.,

gently used  clothing, children's toys, a fabulous book department, videos, cds and dvds and collectibles of all kinds.  The Corner Shop carries designer clothing, shoes, purses, jewelry, and high end household products.

Santa's visit to the Assistance League Shop

Merry Christmas from

Assistance League of Santa Barbara

Santa Barbara has more non-profits than restaurants and that's saying a lot. I know that you could have dinner out every night of the week in Santa Barbara for a year and not have visited all the eateries we have in our bountiful community.

One of my favorite non-profits is the Assistance League of Santa Barbara, of which I am an active member.

It's Mission Statement: Assistance League of Santa Barbara is a nonprofit all volunteer organization that develops and implements projects to benefit children and adults in Santa Barbara County.

The Assistance League is made up of the Chapter's Active League Members, Sustainers and Associates; the Las Aletas Auxiliary and the Assisteens Auxiliary.

I am currently the co-chair of the Teen School Bell Program. Teens in need of school clothes from all local Junior and High Schools are taken shopping for new clothes at local stores. The Chapter House in SB has a School Bell Shop filled with new clothing designated for Elementary aged children determined to need our assistance with school clothing to come to the shop to choose their new clothing. This shop has clothed over 1000 children so far this year. All recipient children and teens are referred to the program by their school counselor.

The League's primary source of income for these and the other 10 programs we sponsor comes from the moneys raised by the

League's Resale Shop located at the League Property at 1259 Veronica Springs Road.

The Shop's Work Room accepts donations for resale in the Shop which is open to the public for both drop off and shopping on Mondays and Wednesdays from 10 am to 3 pm; and Saturdays from 10 am to 1 pm. Closed all major holidays.

Today, December 9th, the Assistance League hosted one of its monthly Friendship Luncheons for Seniors from the greater Santa Barbara area who are invited to come and enjoy a home cooked lunch along with wonderful entertainment. The San Marcos Madrigal Choir entertained our guest seniors with their magical Holiday music and Santa brought along his guitar for a sing-a-long session.

Here are some pictures of Santa strolling through the shop.

Santa Agris with Judy Wood, (Co-Chair of School Bell) in our beautiful Corner Shop

Santa with members Carla Reeves and Shirley Dettmann, posing in front of the Children's section right after they finished their shift at the check-out counter.

May the Holiday Season bring you and yours much love!