~Teacup Tuesday Birthday~

Another week has gone by, and it's time again for one of my favorite blog days, Teacup Tuesday, brought to us by the lovely Kim @ http://www.shabbypinkandpretty.blogspot.com/ . Many thanks to Kim for bringing teacup collectors and anything tea related together for another display of our treasured beauties, who are very anxious to meet you! Just click on the teacup to the right.

Well, I wasn't going to tell you that I celebrated another birthday last Wednesday. I was in denial for 364 days that it would come, but come it did, so I had to face it at last. After having a wonderful lunch with family, and another one a day later with friends, I was happy to have had a birthday to celebrate and people to share it with. And I started to think about the good things in being a year older...I am still alive, that's a big one. I am still healthy...another big one...I still have my family...such a blessing they are to me...I am wiser, and I have a deeper sense of who I am, why I'm here, and what purpose God has for my life. Each year brings more humility, less judgment and criticism, less perfectionism, and more forgiveness.

I have a very dear friend that I met the summer before we started high school...I won't tell you how long ago that was! She and I went to tea last month with our tea club, and I was ooohhhing and aaahhhing over a beautiful teacup. It had "Merry Rose" written inside the cup, and was adorned with the most beautiful roses. I didn't buy it...watching the money, you know...but lo and behold, what do you think she bought me for my birthday? Merry Rose!


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You can click on any picture to view full screen

"Merry Rose"

The saucer is so beautiful on it's own, I hate to cover it with the teacup!

Another friend gave me this beautiful book. I have several books about tea, but this is one of my favorites. It's about tea, but it's also a devotional. What a wonderful way to start, or end, the day.

"Tea Time With God" .











Subtitle "Heartwarming Insights to Refresh Your Spirit". This little book is full of wisdom and uplifting poems, stories and quotes.

























Before you leave to go visit Kim, I would like to give you a glimpse inside this sweet book:

You worry and you wonder

how you're gonna get it done

from the rising of the moon

til the setting of the sun.

Plenty to do

when your rest is through.

Let Him have the world

for a turn or two.

I would love to invite each of you to my tea cottage for a refreshing cup of tea, where we could enjoy a much needed rest and smell a rose or two. Do come by and visit again. My cottage is always open!

Isn't life good? Yes, it is! Have a wonderful Tuesday, and don't forget to keep "living in the pink"!

And dear friends, don't forget to pray for our country, the United States of America, and for our leaders, that they may be guided by wise counsel, to retain our founding fathers' much beloved Constitution, that insures that we continue to live in freedom and in peace. May God bless you all!

Mary

Big Picture Boo-Boo

I've been trying to change the picture behind the title of my blog, but having much difficulty, so instead of changing it, I lost it! So far, I haven't figured it out, but hope to have a picture by later today or tomorrow! Any suggestions would be WELCOMED!!!

~Pink Saturday in Bloom~

I am happy to be participating this week in Pink Saturday, brought to you by the lovely Beverly at http://howsweetthesound.typepad.com .  Visit Beverly for more pretty pinks!

I am so impressed at all the beautiful flowers, shrubs and trees I’ve been seeing in blogland lately.  It gives me such inspiration and motivation to get some weeding, pruning, and planting done while the weather is still warm.  I got quite a bit done in July, and rewarded myself with this beauty!

This is a tree rose that I bought only 3 weeks ago at Costco, and it’s already blooming beautifully.  It sits in a large pot, in full sun, on the patio, and I wonder if the reflection from the water is helping it grow.  Isn’t that magenta color amazing? And it has a wonderful fragrance as well.  I couldn’t find a tag on it, so if you know what it is, please let me know. 

  

I bought this rose tree at Costco about 3, maybe 4 years ago, and it is huge!  I have to keep it pruned regularly so it doesn’t topple over.  I love the coral pink color, and it also has a marvelous fragrance!

 

 

 

 

I’m showing you this picture just for fun.  A sweet blogging friend, Shari, at www.mycottageofbliss.blogspot.com told me about a photo editing program that is free online, called Picnik.  So I was dabbling with it a little, still somewhat fearful that I would ruin my pictures, but when I saw what it could do, I was sold.  I have a Kodak Easy Share that has it’s own editing program, but this one is simpler to use, and has more options, so if you haven’t discovered your favorite photo editing program yet, try this one out.

This is the same picture with editing!  Isn’t that amazing?  Now, those of you that are camera experts, this might not seem like much to you, but for me, it was quite an accomplishment!

  I would love to have a rose that was actually this color!

 

 

I was in JoAnn Fabrics the other day, and saw that their flower garlands were 70% off, so I bought this one.  I wasn’t sure where I would use it, so rather than laying it on the table or on the floor til I decided, I just hung it over the mirror on a dining room wall.  I think it’s found a home!  Sorry to sneak in a fake rose on you, but I think it’s pretty enough to warrant a spot on display today.  I can always spray some fragrance on it, right ? :)))

 

I hope you enjoyed seeing a little of the pinks in my home and yard.  I have more, so be sure to stop in again next week, and don’t forget to click on the Pink Saturday button to visit Beverly and all the other bloggers that would love for you see their pink treasures!

God bless everyone, and don’t forget to keep “Living in the PINK!”

~Tablescape Thursday with Tea~

Please join Susan at www.betweennapsontheporch.blogspot.com for another delightful display of beautiful tablescapes!

“Come and share

a pot of tea

My home is warm

and my friendship’s free”

Emilie Barnes “An Invitation to Tea”

This is one of my favorite Royal Albert patterns. It’s called Lady Carlyle.  I have prepared a pretty table on my deck, just for me and my tea!  Hubby and I often come out here in the morning for breakfast.  Mid-morning and mid-afternoon, however, is reserved for me and my pot of tea.  It’s my time to replenish, refocus, re-evaluate, and read something inspirational.  I can’t seem to do any of that without a filled teacup in my hand!

 

 

 This teapot holds 6 cups. That means there is enough for you to join me!  We can each have 3 cups while we talk and listen and take in the warmth of the sun.   It will just take a second to get your teacup. Would you like one to match, or one to mix?

 

  

 

Beautiful pink, white, and green carnations!  Unfortunately, not from my garden! 

 

 

The pink creamer and sugar bowl are, I am told, made by Cambridge Glass Co. around 1940.  I purchased these on ebay. 

 

The pink goblet is also vintage, but I don’t have a name.  All I know is I have 8 and I love ‘em!

I hope you’ve enjoyed your visit today, and that your tea was refreshing.  Come back anytime. The door to my tea cottage is always open!

 

Have a wonderful Thursday, everyone!   God bless you!

  Remember to keep “living in the pink!”

Mary

~White Wednesday Kitchen~

It’s a White Wednesday, thanks to our lovely hostess, Kathleen, at http://fadedcharmcottage.blogspot.com/.  Click on the lovely lady to the right to visit Kathleen and others that have posted  some beautiful white treasures  for you to view while you sit with a lovely cup of tea!

But first, I want to say thank you to  the ever so gracious  Duchess of Tea at http://roseteacottage.blogspot.com/ for gracing me with the lovely  award of Honorary Noble of the Most Excellent Order of the Blog Empire!  As a “newbie” to blogging, I must tell you that I am glad I found the Duchess’ blog right away, as we have a kindred love of all things tea!  I am  most delighted to be awarded this recognition and beautiful tiara!  I will wear it proudly!  It will be my pleasure to wear it when visiting the Duchess at her beautiful Rose Cottage, where we enjoy a delicious cup of tea while stopping to smell the roses.   

 

Thank you Duchess.  You are a most gracious and charming hostess!

 

My kitchen seems to be the one room in my house that never seems to be quite right.  It feels very boring and chilly to me, so I keep looking for ways to warm it up.  Right now, it’s just creamy walls and white cabinets, with black countertops and stainless steel appliances.  I always liked that look in magazines, but living with it has been a little different.  Not that I don’t like it – I do.  It might be because the rest of my house is so shabby chic and cottage style, that it seems out of place.  I’m thinking of a warmer shade of cream, almost a yellow, or a very pale, warm green – does green come in a warm tone?  Or do I accessorize with color?   Today, though, when I was at Home Goods, I saw this white canister set, and when I put it on the counter, it seems to bring the cottage look into the kitchen, and bring a warmth as well.  Perhaps it’s because of the touch of burnished gold in the name plate on the front.  As much as I like it’s classic white color, I haven’t decided  yet if I’m keeping it, because I still might want something with more color!

The set includes a teapot – another one for my collection! – a water pitcher, a butter dish, a sugar, a flour and a tea canister.  I couldn’t get a good picture of the cutwork on the top of the lid, but it’s just like the bottom, which is pretty clear.

Do you see the swatch of yellow behind the water pitcher?  I have several yellow swatches all over the kitchen!  I like it, but just not sure…it does warm it up, but will I tire of it?  Is it too yellow?  Oh, decisions, decisions!  How I hate decisions!

My favorite piece of the set - the teapot!  This would be my third white teapot – no, fourth!  Is that too many?  Careful how you answer that – I know where you live.

The butter dish – isn’t it darling?

 

The water pitcher.  Can’t you see pretty utensils peeking through the top?

 

The flour canister.  I wouldn’t put flour in it…but  maybe more teabags!

 

 

The complete set. They are so pretty together…

 

or separate.  The tea canister and the teapot – again – I just love looking at the teapot!

I’m already thinking of what whites to show you next week, so be sure to stop back in.  I might have a yellow kitchen, a different set of canisters, wallpaper…who knows! LOL!  But whatever the decor, the tea kettle will always have hot water ready to pour into a beautiful teapot, then gently into your choice of china teacups!  The door is always open to guests that want or need to sit awhile, and enjoy the calming effect of a soothing cup of tea.

I hope everyone has a wonderful Wednesday, whether it’s all in white or not, it’s a great day of the week.   May God bless all of you, and remember to keep “living in the pink”!

Mary

~Teacup Tuesday~

Thanks to "Shabby" chic Kim, at www.shabbypinkandpretty.blogspot.com for hosting Teacup Tuesday, where we get to show off our china and pottery, and you get to see how beautiful it can be to sit down to a delicious cup of tea! Just click on the teacup to the right to visit Kim's blog for more delightful teacups!

I've been thinking all week about which teacups to show today. Think that's an indicator that I might have too many? Nah, me either! There's no such thing as having too many teacups, and I've set out to prove it. I still see so many that I would love to have. Right now, I think I'm at about 90 teacups. That's down from over 100 last year. They were falling out of my armoir, so had no choice. I took a box of them to a local tea house and sold them. I do go and visit them once in awhile, though!

This is a vintage beauty that was a gift to me from one of my tea club friends. She chose it for me because I love purples and lavenders. There is no marking on either the saucer or the teacup, so I have no idea who made it or where.

This darling lavender and pink iris teacup with the tiny feet was a gift from my Daughter-in-Love one Christmas.

Don't you love those little feet?

This sweetie is made by Royal Albert and is the Wild Rose pattern. I know they made a Wild Rose for their Friendship Series, and there's also another one, so three in all that are named Wild Rose. Confused? Me too.

By the way, you can click on any picture and get a full screen view. At least, I think you can! It's been a month already, and I'm still learning the "blogging" ropes! If it works, it will take the blurriness away, too.

Well, it won't take the blurriness away from this one - it's the photographer's fault - that's me.

Those are just a few from my teacup collection. I hope you liked them, and will come back next week. My teacups are natural born hams - they love to be taken out and admired and photographed. Can't you see the smile on their faces? Well, maybe not, but they put a smile on my face, and I hope on yours as well.

Have a marvelous week, everyone, and don't forget to keep "living in the pink"!

God bless everyone!

Mary

~Spiritual Sunday~

HEAVEN'S VERY SPECIAL CHILD

A meeting was held quite far from earth,

"It's time again for another birth,"

Said the angels to the Lord above,

"This special child will need much love.

His progress may seem veery slow,

Accomplishments he may not show,

And he'll require extra care

From the folks he meets way down there.

He may not run or laugh or play;

His thoughts may seem quite far away.

In many ways he won't adapt,

And he'll be known as handicapped.

So let's be careful whre he's sent,

We want his life to be content.

Please, Lord, find a family who

Will do a special job for you.

They will not realize right away

The leading role they're asked to play.

But with this child sent from above

Comes stronger faith and richer love.

And soon they'll know the privilege given

In caring for this gift from Heaven.

Their precious charge, so meek and mild

Is Heaven's very special child

I would like you to meet my very special child through a scrapbook that my sweet Daughter-in-love made for me for Mother's Day a few years ago.

At 1 1/2 yrs.

At 3 yrs. just learning how to walk














At 4 yrs.














At 10 yrs.


















At 13 yrs.
















































At 22 yrs.

































Thank you, Lord, for giving us Your very special child!


I know there are many parents of special needs children. I hope you know just how lucky you are!



Thank you, Charlotte and Ginger, for hosting Spiritual Sunday! Click on the picture on the sidebar above to visit them!

God bless you all!


Mary