Mouse Reunion & Bears Plan Party

 Years ago ( 1986) I made many, many little mice to sell and also give as Christmas gifts. I only kept 2 mice that I never fully finished and had forgotten about them until we received the buffet my husband inherited from his parents. There in the buffet were some of the mice I had given them many years ago. I do remember them displaying the little mice around Christmas.

 I gathered the mice up and put them into one of the terrariums my husband gave me for Christmas this year.( I am so excited to arrange some miniature plantings in these terrariums.) Look at all the little mice gathered together, a mouse reunion !

 The mice shared tea while they got reacquainted , and I overheard them planning a tea-party in the near future. Won't that be interesting ? They will have to be careful about making too much noise because my cats love a good mouse treat, real or stuffed !

 As I was putting away Christmas decorations I peeked into the Bear family home. Mrs. Bear and Baby were also sharing tea and Baby was asking mama if they could celebrate New Years' Eve with a big party at the Little's home. Papa Bear was already over at the Little's where he and Mr. Little were sipping tea and having a lively discussion, as they are wont to do. If there is to be a party I suppose it will be up to Mrs. Bear and Mrs. Little to arrange. I think my husband & I should lock up the honey just in case the Bear family raid the pantry again this year.*

 Mrs. Bear finished her tea quickly while Baby ate his apple as he gulped and sloshed his chamomile tea with honey. You can see Mrs. Bear has cake already made for tonight's celebration, she only has to keep Baby from sneaking licks of frosting or taking baby bites out of it.

It just might be a pretty lively New Year's Eve around here after all even though my husband & I are planning a quiet evening together playing a game we received as a gift. We hope your New Year's celebrations are wonderful and the coming new year brings you joy & blessings abundant !

I am joining these ladies for Tea-Time Tuesday this last day of 2013 ~ Enjoy !

Sandi at Rose Chintz Cottage *
Artful Affirmations *
Martha's Favorites *
Bernideen's Tea Time Blog *
Antiques & Teacups *

Christmas Cabin & Give-Away

 Here are two Wee Little Sheep helping me announce my give-away. The little flock of 3 I am giving away will look similar to these two woolly sheep. The sheep are made using the wool fleece from my own flock of live sheep. The sheep are perfect for the Nativity scene with a 6" scale. The winner may choose to have the sheep wear bells, hearts, or no neck ornaments at all. All you have to do to get your name thrown into the bowl ( literally) for selection is leave a comment on a blog post. Your name will be entered every time you leave a comment.I will select someone to draw the name out of the bowl December 23rd, announce it December 24th and mail the little flock to the winner before the new year begins !Now, onto Christmas decorating, more specifically, our little Christmas Cabin.

 This log cabin sits atop an armoir between our living room & dining room. The cabin was built by my husband and 3 children years ago for a home-school history fair.It is furnished for my little Bear family now, and even decorated inside for Christmas. Outside the cabin it is the abode of a polar bear family and Santa Claus.

Thank-you for visiting, and please, don't forget to leave a comment for your chance to win a Wee Little Flock !

"In December the winter sun burns like white fire on the snow. Ice glitters on the cold side of the branches of the sugar maples, melts on the warm side and falls with a soft sound." Glady Tabor 'The Best of Stillmeadow'

The Fairies Host Their Tea Party

The fairies had their tea party today.

 Everyone the fairies invited came except the Little's two children. You can see the empty chair next to Mr. & Mrs. Little. Mrs. Little was fearful for her children's safety in the great outdoors, and who can blame her ? If you were small enough to be eaten by a large bird, a roving cat, a bullfrog,or even a squirrel...wouldn't you be fearful? Mrs. Little left the children at home in the china hutch with their Grandpa.( She did admit to being a tiny bit afraid for herself too.)

Mr. & Mrs. Bear were there...

...Papa Bear enjoyed his tea in a wooden mug,

Mama Bear was happy to sip tea from a lovely china teacup

 after being presented this lovely bouquet of campion flowers & fern tips. She loves it when Papa bear is so thoughtful and romantic.

 Baby Bear got his own large cupcake ( large being relative) and although he wanted a porcelain tea-cup like the fairies, his parents insisted a log cup was just right for him.

Mr. & Mrs. Little had to admit they did enjoy tea, even though they were concerned about the large birds they saw overhead.They also missed their children.Mrs. Little thought the fireweed blossoms her husband picked for her were her favorite color and deliciously beautiful. She is appreciative of how the fireweed here on Cedar Pond and the surrounding area feeds the bees and helps make the honey she so loves.Mr. Little was polite, but really wanted to read his book.

                                                         

 The menu for tea was tiny breads, cakes,hard boiled Zebra Finch eggs, and fresh blueberries and raspberries.And tea.You can see tea is served in different size miniature tea sets.There are 3 sizes shown above.

 The sun did not peek out of the cloud cover today and the temperature did not exceed 68 degrees, but there was no rain and the party was pleasant. Lilac & Lavender were very happy to host a tea party for their friends.They were thankful they had chairs and tea sets to suit all their teensy friends.Maybe they will host their next party in their little garden, when it is finished. They still have a lot of weeding and planting to do, but they love this kind of work.

I do not know who made the tiny tea sets I have shown. None have labels indicating origin. However, I am linking with the ladies listed below for Tea Time Tuesday.Check out their blogs to see what's being served for tea in their homes.Next week I have a new tea cup to show, so please come back for Tea Time Tuesday !

1.  Terri at Artful Affirmations *
2. Martha at Martha's Favorites *
3. Sandi at Rose Chintz Cottage *

TeaTime Tuesday With Mrs. Little & Friends

It's Teatime Tuesday and I've missed my Tuesday teas.Since the weather has remained a steady cloudy / rainy, and cool, in the high 50's to the low 60's, I decided I would brainstorm with Mrs. Little and two of her friends to plan a fairy garden party. Surely the weather will warm up soon, and a party in the garden is something to look forward to.Above is a new tiny tea-set my friend Judy gave to me to share with the Little family.

This little tea set is perfect for the Littles as you can see. Mrs. Little's fairy friends, Lily and Lilac, are using teacups that are slightly larger, much more appropriate for them. Mama Cat and one of her kittens have come to the table to find out about the fairy garden party too.

Lilac is reaching for the delicious cake Mrs. Little prepared ahead of time for this little planning party.

Lily is dictating to me the list of supplies I will need to assemble so 4 of my grandchildren and I can make just the right miniature gardens for the upcoming party.

Mama Cat returns to the Little's bed to contemplate the upcoming party and she is hoping there will be catnip tea and some very tiny mice.

Thank-you Judy for this little tea set. About the tea set,there is a sticker on the bottom of the tray . The only legible thing on the silver label is " N.J." I am assuming they are the abbreviations for the state of New Jersey. There are no other marks  of any kind on any of the little pieces of china.The tiny roses are a favorite of Mrs. Little, and she adores the gold rimmed china.She believes this little tea set adds elegance to her humble china hutch home.

I have several miniature tea sets and all are of different sizes thus enabling me to serve tea to the Bear family, the Little family, and the fairies without any of my little friends having to deal with cups and saucers they are unable to comfortably handle.My little friends assure me they enjoy tea with me no matter the size of the cups, but one does like to make friends and family comfortable and welcome and I like to know they appreciate tea with me enough to come back for more.Please join us next Tuesday when I will share the Fairy Garden Party in the miniature gardens our grandchildren and I will have made just for this occasion.

Please join the ladies listed below for Tea Time Tuesday :

1. Artful Affirmations *
2. Martha's favorites *
3. Lady Katherine's Tea Parlor * 
4. Rose Chintz Cottage *
5. A Delightsome Life *

"Why not seize the pleasure at once? How often is happiness destroyed by preparation, foolish preparation?" Jane Austin

So, make a pot of tea and a sandwich, head outside, and breathe in the scents, sounds, and sights of summer as you sit back and enjoy the simple blessings you already possess. No fancy garden, porch, or tea accessories needed, just simple thankfulness and appreciation.

Tea & Honey ~The Little Honey Escapade

The Little family's fireplace mantle is adorned with their usual Christmas decorations minus the Christmas stockings which are not hung until Christmas Eve. The Little family are enjoying their visit with the Bear family. Doesn't this appear to be a lovely, tranquil visit with dear friends? What the Little family do not know is that the Bear family knows it is hard to come by enough honey to satisfy a bear, and they love the Little's so much they decided to gift the Little family with honey enough for themselves and their guests, the Bear family. This would require some daring and courageous actions on their ( Bear's ) part. Papa Bear knows that the home he resides in is headed by a BEE-KEEPER* . Papa Bear counts himself very blessed to live in a miniature log cabin that sits in the very living room of the Bee-Keeper, and this Bee-Keeper has his cupboards full of the most delicious honey a bear could ever want for. Unlike a real bear though, Papa Bear is a Teddy Bear . He cannot just go push over a hive ( thankfully for the Bee-Keeper! ) and take his fill of honey. Papa Bear has to plan very carefully just how he will acquire his supply of the nectar of the bees. When Papa B. thinks the Bee-Keeper is asleep, he and his family make their way to the counter top just below the target cupboard. They climb atop the microwave just below the cupboard and Papa B. swings his furry paw into it and hangs on.Mama Bear and Baby Bear yell encouragement and offer further assistance, which Papa accepts gladly. Papa directs Mama and Baby to get behind the jar of honey and push it towards him so he can grab it and..wait, oh no,the Bee-Keepers' wife has spotted them. Gosh darn it. That lady never sleeps. What is she doing up at this hour? Now they're gonna get it.No honey for them or the Little's, they'll just be put in a drawer for who knows how long... WHAT? The Bee-Keepers' wife surprised them. She lifted the Bear family and the jar of honey out of the cupboard and placed them into the Littles' home. Imagine that. They heard her say "Merry Christmas" as she left them and their prize jar of honey there just in time for the party. Baby Bear and Tommy Little are amazed to see so much honey. Mmmmm, it smells so delicious and they want to scoop up handfuls ( paws full ) of it but Mama Bear and Mrs. Little tell them "NO! Not yet". Papa Bear and Mr. Little are happily discussing theology and just what the Bible has to say about bears as they sip their tea laced with the brandy ( only for special occasions you know ) Mr. Little had set aside especially for this occasion. You can see in this picture that Papa Bear is a bit too big to sit in any of the Little's chairs, so he finds a comfy corner out of the way to sit on the floor. He brings his own mug made of hollowed-out logs for beverages. Mrs. Little and Mrs. Bear are happily discussing the upcoming Christmas festivities and recipes for their Christmas cookie baking day on Wednesday.Mrs. Little has the cookie cutters out, and as the bread for the evening meal has just come out of the oven they will begin serving dinner to the rest of the family before they begin their party games. Mrs. Little is wrapping yet another Christmas gift while she chatters away with Mrs. Bear. Baby Bear and Tommy Little are frustrated. They cannot eat any honey, the desserts are off limits until after dinner, what are they to do? Grandpa Little is playing with Tommy's little sister...the kitten wants to play only with Tommy's rooster pull- toy. What can he and Baby Bear do? EXPLORE ! They climb the shelves in the china cupboard and find so many tea cups to peek into. They climb into this pretty teacup*, but it is too deep for Tommy. Baby Bear helps Tommy out . They go looking into other teacups. Baby Bear discovers this Flying Goose* teacup. He likes the way the lights shine through it and this teacup reminds him of the geese he sees flying overhead through the skylight in the BEE-KEEPERS' sun-room. Tommy Little finds he is able to get in and out of this teacup* easily and the wood-land scene looks just like Cedar Pond, right outside his window. He also likes the blue rim and the golden glow from this teacup that filters down into the bottom shelf of the china cupboard he lives in. After exploring all the china in the hutch Baby Bear and Tommy Little return to the bottom shelf of the china hutch hoping it is time to eat, but alas, it is not.Baby Bear and Tommy Little sigh and shake with anticipation as they wait for their parents to begin serving up treats, "Please, can we get this Christmas party started?" For more Tea-Time Tuesday and All Things Tea Blogs, please check out these ladies~

• Martha's Favorites *
• Artful Affirmations *
• Breath Of Fresh Air *
• Lady Katherine *
• Silken Purse *
• Rose Chintz Cottage *