WELCOME SPRING!

Monday, September 14, 2009

~Tea Things Tuesday~




You know I love tea and all things tea, so I hope you will join me and Kim as we share our tea inspirations with you. Be sure to visit Kim and other participants after your visit here, and see what they have to share with you. Just click on the pretty teacup to the right.








We enjoyed the company of family from Southern Californis this week-end, including their 3 yr. old and 1 yr. old daughters. They are just adorable and kept us laughing at their sweet antics...we went to the little farm at Tilden Park, where my husband worked for 35 years, and then on to the carousel...it was a good day and a good week-end. I haven't had a chance to post or read any blogs til today, but it was really a nice break, and I found that, even though my body was on the move constantly, my mind was resting from the sometimes overwhelming thoughts of home projects. Even as I watched the girls as they swung a little chair over the top of my teacup holder...even as I bit my tongue as they clanged the lid of my silver sugar bowl against the glass top of the coffee table...even as I held my breath while they insisted they could put the grape jelly on their toast as they sat at the dining table, covered with my white battenburg tablecloth, I thought, "All of my decorating efforts are for a time such as this...to offer hospitality to my loved ones. After all, they are the reason I do this in the first place."



I am at a somewhat slow and lazy pace today, so I decided not to get my camera and tea things out, but instead will share with you a pretty picture and a page from a book I received for my birthday, "Everything I Know, I Learned Over Tea", by Emilie Barnes. Especially since we just spent a few days in remembrance of the tragic events of September 11, 2001, I thought these words were timely.



"Teacups are fragile...and resilient"


"I learned something wonderful about teacups while watching a program on archaeology - ceramic objects may be breakable, but they are also amazingly resistant to weathering and corrosion and age. Much of what we know about ancient civilizations we have learned from bits of pottery they left behind. China dishes recovered from shipwrecks are often good as new, long after the ship itself has dissolved in the saltwater.

In other words, porcelain is fragile, but it's also remarkably durable.
Like life.
Like us.
Humans are beautiful and breakable, like china cups...yet we are also strong and resilient. And unlike my cups, humans can heal and grow and move beyond disaster. We can reach out to one another in courage and comfort.

So what will I do if or when disaster strikes?

I'll do what other resilient humans do - I'll try to help someone and accept help if I need it.

And then, somehow, I'll have another cup of tea."

Running to the kitchen for a cup of tea while in crisis may seem silly, but I was thinking about the movie of the Diary of Anne Frank. As they huddled together in tiny quarters, hiding in isolation with little to eat, they still had hope for a moment in their fearful existence; they escaped to a serene place as their hands surrounded a warm cup, and as they quietly and slowly sipped. Though I have never experienced anything remotely as horrible as that terrible time, I have often found that sitting with a cup of tea in times of distress brought a sense of peace, which is truly a luxury we cannot afford to live without.


I'm so glad you came by for a visit...my tea cottage is always open, and you are always welcome. If you aren't a tea lover, then no matter what your beverage is, I hope Emilie's words have touched you.


God bless you and God bless America. Please join me in praying for those in our blogging community that need physical healing, and please continue to pray for our nation. There are changes coming that we need to be aware of...as my sister says, this is not a time to be a ostrich, with out heads buried in the sand...it won't go away just because we refuse to see it.


Please remember our troops...they desperately need our prayers as they move forward in the face of danger every single day, sacrificing the comforts of home to protect freedom. And their families, who wait for their loved one to come through the door once again.




Mary






16 comments:

  1. What a beautiful post. I am truly moved and yes I do remember to pray everyday. Hugs, Marty

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  2. Hi Mary....I loved your post with the kids and you noticing all the things they were doing but you bit your lip...You have such a good attitude! Your posts always give me something to think about and try to be a better person.~Hugs, Patti

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  3. What a beautiful and thought provoking post! I'm so thankful for your visit, it allowed me to find you and I'm so glad I did! Please keep in touch and God Bless!

    Hugs,
    Karyn

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  4. Beautiful post, Mary. Happy Tea Things Tuesday!
    Valerie

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  5. Dearest Mary, what a thoughtful and lovely post. I would have expected no less from you!

    Tea soothes my soul when I am discouraged and makes me even happier when I am joy filled. There is something so special about the very act of drinking tea from a beautiful cup.

    Keeping our bloggers in prayer. There are so many needs out there.

    Hugs and blessings,
    Barb

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  6. Hi Mary,
    I LOVE Emilie Barnes and have several of her great books. I am also a great tea lover and collecter of tea cups and tea pots. When my kids were growing up I always kept my tea cups locked away in my hutch - and only brought them out to look at them. I realize now that they are to be used - and when I DO use them, they make me feel so special because of the close connection I have with my loved ones whom I have received them from.

    I wrote a post about my beloved grandmother's tea pot that didn't survive my children's gymnastic somersaults when they were young, and what I did with the pieces of it to be able to keep it even though it was beyond repair. If you are interested, it can be found here:
    http://anewdaydawningforkymber.blogspot.com/2009/01/pink-saturday.html
    You are right - what I have learned over the years is that relationships are so much more imprtant than "things". Children will hold dear the memories of time spent sipping out of treasured teacups and learn to love this pasttime too. You are passing the love of teacups and the peace that they bring to the NEXT generation!

    I loved your story today! Thank you for sharing!
    Blessings to you,
    Kymber

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  7. Good morning Mary,
    I really enjoyed reading your post today. I enjoy reading them all the time, but this was especially sweet. You know that I love coffee, but I am the first to admit that there is nothing like a good cup of chamomile tea to relax with. :-D Have a peaceful and relaxing day.

    Hugs,
    ♥Ana~A Petite Cottage

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  8. Hello Mary, thank you for the sweet comments on my post. I appreciate it so much.

    I do love your lovely 'tea' post today. I so agree with the analogy of a tea cup or 'china in general'
    We are fragile and also resilient. We have the blessings of renewal when times are sad or bad. It is time for us to stand up for America. Read my post on this coming Sunday.You will like it.

    Hugs...Jeanne

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  9. I'll be right over for tea. What a lovely post this is. Interesting information about porcelain and the way you compared it to people.
    I was so inspired by the movie about Anne Frank. Hubby was privileged to visit the house where she hid when he was in Amsterdam about 20 years ago. Wish I had been with him.
    Hugs,
    Charlotte

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  10. Such thoughts should be repeated often lest we forget what is really important.
    Hospitality can be excersised anywhere and at anytime as shown by the Franks and their friends. With what we DO have we can share, whether it be a piece of bread or an afternoon tea...I really believe that each of us has the moral obligation to do unto others as we would LIKE it done unto us :)

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  11. What a lovely post today Mary. Sure gives a person alot to think about. Love the picture from your Emilie Barnes book as well. I have a couple of her books and I just love them. I find myself reading them over and over again and sometimes just pulling them out to look at the beautiful artwork inside.

    Hope your week is going well so far. Take care.

    Kim

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  12. Darling what a lovely post and so informative too. I love how you brought so many topics and weaved them together so artfully, you are massively talented my tea friend. I have a post for Tea & Friendship Tuesday which explains the rules and as I said before it is almost like the one you are doing, so may be you can combine them since you are so talented in the interlacing department and do one post and participate in both!!

    Have yourself a bright, sunny and lovely week.

    Love & Hugs
    Duchess ♥♥♥
    .

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  13. Mary,
    Thanks for coming by.

    re: the Challenge- Yes, company is a good excuse.

    When the 29th rolls around, just link up and post whatever you have done.
    We will be thrilled to have you, even if it is half a project!! OK?

    Now, sit back and have another cup of tea. =0))

    Blessings
    barbara jean

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  14. Have a sweet and lovely weekend my darling.

    Love & Hugs
    Duchess ♥ ♥ ♥

    P.S. Is that a new hat your blog is wearing? I like it!!

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