daughter-in-law – Cindy Hval

Tea for two, plus books!

March 12, 2026 Cindy Hval

Forget Taco Tuesday, my daughter-in-law and I recently discovered something even more fun: Tea Tuesday.

Longtime readers know how excited I was when our son, Zachary, married Naselle in October 2024. After raising four sons, I finally got a daughter-in-law nearby. And not just any DIL – one who shared my love of tea parties and books.

Recently, while scrolling through social media posts, I found a teashop in Post Falls that offered “Tea Tuesdays.”

I’ve been longing to take a jaunt east of the border to visit Kindred & Co., a Post Falls bookstore/bistro that opened in 2024. What if I could combine three of my favorite things: books, my daughter-in-law and tea?

Naselle was all in. Her next Tuesday off from work coincided with the day plumbers were in our home for a major remodel. Perfect timing!

She picked me up on a gray February morning, and we set out for La Tea Da Tea Room. On Tuesdays and Wednesdays, the venue hosts casual café lunches – no reservations needed.

We were captivated by the charming shop, which features tea essentials, jewelry and girly gift items. Our server pointed out a sweet selection of fancy hats.

“You’re welcome to borrow one for your visit,” she said. “They’re sanitized after every use.”

Who can refuse an opportunity to try on myriad flowery, lacy concoctions?

I quickly settled on a pink frothy number that matched my outfit. After some deliberation, Naselle chose a wide-brimmed forest-green chapeau with lots of lace and netting.

Appropriately adorned, we sat at a lace-topped table set with blue glass water goblets and dainty porcelain teacups.

We started with a pot of vanilla almond tea. Our server set the clear glass pot on a warmer and brought cream and sugar cubes.

While sipping the perfectly steeped beverage, we opted to share the English Tea Nibble, followed by a scone trio.

The tea nibble featured toasted sourdough topped with whipped feta and bacon jam, accompanied by a tasty pasta salad with diced cucumbers.

Then came the scone trio. Tender, warm apple cinnamon, blueberry lemon and snickerdoodle scones served with Devonshire cream, raspberry jam and garnished with fresh fruit.

Each bite, a delight!

Next, we drove to Kindred & Co. Already sated, we strolled through the bustling bistro to explore two stories of bookish joy.

Upstairs in the children’s section, puffy white cloud lamps hung next to a glittering pirate ship chandelier. I thumbed the rows of picture books looking to add to our grandsons’ library.

Winter sunlight warmed the conservatory, where a group of crocheters quietly stitched at one table, and business folk and students tapped away at laptops nearby.

Cozy armchairs tucked into multiple nooks throughout the shop added to the welcoming ambience. We didn’t take advantage of their comfort, because we had one more stop.

Naselle had found a used bookstore on Seltice Way.

We walked into Literary Souls Used Books and were promptly greeted by a svelte black cat named Gorgeous (Gorgee for short). When you find a bookshop with a resident cat, you know you’re likely to find all kinds of treasures.

Like all the best stores, books overflowed from countertops, spilled from bookcases, and were stacked in piles throughout. We had a wonderful time browsing, and Naselle was tickled to find that Literary Souls has a large selection of jigsaw puzzles.

It was truly a delightful day, and more delights are heading my way.

In July, I’ll gain another daughter-in-law when our youngest son weds. Spoiler alert: He proposed in a bookstore, putting a sticky note in a volume of “Anna Karenina.” For their first Christmas, she asked him for a pretty pink tea set.

Turns out, daughters-in-law, like all the best things in life, are worth the wait.

La Tea Da

Where: 4009 W. Riverbend Ave., Post Falls

Hours: 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday

Info: (208) 262-8969 or http://www.lateada.org

Kindred & Co.

Address: 851 E. Fourth Ave., Post Falls

Hours: 8 a.m.-6 p.m. Tuesday-Sunday

Info: (208) 457-0403 or http://www.kindredandcompany.com

Literary Souls Used Books

Address: 205 E. Seltice Way, Suite F, Post Falls

Hours: Tuesday-Friday, 10 a.m.-5 p.m., Saturday, 10 a.m.-3 p.m.

Info: (208) 457-0494 or http://www.literarysouls.com

Columns

Brown sugar cookies bring sweet memories

November 21, 2024 Cindy Hval

Chocolate chip cake bars, cowboy cookies, gingersnaps, snickerdoodles – on most Saturdays, Mom’s kitchen was filled with the fragrance of fresh-baked cookies.

When my youngest son started kindergarten and I returned to work, Mom assumed my children might never get a homemade cookie again. So she baked. Cookies were her love language.

Mom didn’t drive, so one of us would stop by her house to pick up the goodies. See what she did there? A Saturday visit from her daughter, son-in-law or a grandson was guaranteed.

Of all the treats Mom baked, brown sugar cookies were my favorite. Sweet and chewy with an added spark of cinnamon. It’s impossible to eat just one, so I often secreted a stash away from Derek and my boys.

In August, I came across her handwritten recipe.

My future daughter-in-law was coming to meet the wedding florist in my home to choose flowers for the bouquets and boutonnieres. I planned to serve them tea and cookies, and as I thumbed through my recipes, a flash of Mom’s tidy penmanship caught my eye.

Brown sugar cookies.

I hadn’t tasted them since she moved into an assisted living community seven years ago. I’ve baked a lot of cookies over those years, but I didn’t have the heart to make my favorites.

I wanted to remember how they tasted when she pulled them from the oven and placed a warm cookie in my hand.

I wanted to picture Mom in her element – stirring dough with a wooden spoon in the sunshine yellow mixing bowl and scooping dollops onto her battered and bent cookie sheets.

If I’d known that long ago batch would be the last one she’d be able to bake, I would have savored each bite, feeling her love in the sweetness of every mouthful.

Now, Mom’s memories are jumbled and fragmented. The details of hundreds of meals and thousands of cakes and cookies she churned out are lost somewhere in the depths of dementia.

It felt like it was time to fold new memories into the richness of the old. So, I affixed the recipe to the range hood and assembled the ingredients.

While they baked, I spread one of Mom’s lace cloths on the table and warmed a teapot for my guests, just like she showed me.

The timer rang, and I pulled a pan of cookies from the oven. As usual, I couldn’t wait for them to cool. I juggled one from hand to hand and finally sank my teeth into the deliciousness of brown sugar and cinnamon. They were every bit as wonderful as those that came from Mom’s kitchen.

I shouldn’t have waited so long to make them.

When Naselle arrived, I served the cookies on the glass dessert plates we used at my wedding 38 years ago.

Of course, she loved the cookies.

For her bridal shower, I created a cookbook filled with favorite family recipes. I included Mom’s piecrust and a copy of her handwritten brown sugar cookie recipe.

I hope the memory of the day I finally made Mom’s cookies will be as sweet as the ones I have of her baking for my boys.

But if that moment fades or is lost to me in the haze of age or illness, perhaps my daughter-in-law will bake a batch and remember for me.

Brown Sugar Cookies

1 cup shortening

2 cups brown sugar

2 eggs

2 tablespoons water

2 teaspoons vanilla

3 ½ cups flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon cinnamon

Cream shortening and sugar. Add eggs, water and vanilla. Sift dry ingredients and mix well. Take small balls of dough and mash down with a glass dipped in sugar and cinnamon.

Bake at 350 degrees for 8-10 minutes on a greased cookie sheet.

All Write, Columns

Mother of the Groom

October 24, 2024 Cindy Hval

When pregnant with my first child, I envisioned a beautiful baby girl. I dreamed of the dolls we’d play with and the tea parties we’d share.

“We’ll wear floppy straw hats and floral print dresses and drink tea from china cups,” I told my husband, setting my latest porcelain cup and saucer on a shelf.

If you’ve been reading this column for a while, you already know how that turned out. That first baby was a boy. So was the second. And the third. And the fourth.

Our home was a testosterone tsunami. Until August, when Freya joined our family, even our cats were all boys.

And then, one evening several months ago, our son Zachary brought a beautiful woman with long dark hair and coffee-colored eyes to a family dinner.

She held her own amid Hval volume, and when we played Uno, she didn’t balk at playing several Draw Four cards on me.

I forgave her even before she agreed to marry our thirdborn son.

When Zach showed me the engagement ring he’d chosen, I was on pins and needles until he finally popped the question. He proposed at the neighborhood park where he and his brothers spent many hours as kids.

Wedding preparations began in earnest. Naselle’s mom died several years ago, and when she asked if I’d like to go with her to look at wedding gowns, I cried. It was such an honor to be present when she found the dress of her dreams.

Then, I had the delight of introducing her to a florist friend. I served tea and cookies while we discussed Naselle’s wedding colors and ideas. Her mother’s favorite flower was yellow roses, so they became the focal point of the boutonnières and bouquets.

Speaking of tea, my daughter-in-law loves it. In fact, she and Zach’s first date was at Revival Tea Co. downtown.

Naselle’s bridal shower was a garden tea party at the home of one of her sweet friends. The invitation asked attendees to wear their favorite hats and party dresses.

You can read the tea leaves on this, can’t you?

Yes, I finally had a reason to buy a floppy straw hat and a new floral print dress.

As I sat at a table, with the bride’s two adorable flower girls, I asked the littlest one if she’d been a flower girl before.

She shook her head, taking a dainty sip of tea.

“No, have you?” she asked.

I laughed.

“Yes, but it was a long, long time ago.”

In the harried and hectic weeks leading up to the wedding, I wondered why there weren’t any “Mother of the Groom” movies. After all, there are plenty of “Father of the Bride” films.

On Oct. 5, as I watched my son become a husband, I think I discovered the reason.

There seems to be less worry for the mother of the groom. No drama about losing a son, angst over letting him go, or stress that she’ll be able to provide. Just delight in his happiness.