Ivy Lea Teacup, Cookies, & Importance of Family Traditons

 I got down all my boxes of teacups and sorted through them looking for the perfect Christmas teacup, and although I have a lot of very beautiful teacups , this teacup is the only one I took out to be MY special Christmas teacup. She is Ivy Lea by Royal Albert. I keep her on the buffet with a little shepherd and some sheep , and her matching creamer & sugar bowl.

 I snatched a few Berry Butternuts* from the stash my husband baked this past weekend. Berry Butternuts are a family Christmas tradition started in my husband's family by his father.

 Berry Butternuts are a family tradition my husband is now carrying on in our family, and he takes this very seriously. We have to use real butter, real vanilla, fresh walnuts, and good raspberry jam. He was in a tizzy one Christmas season when we ran out of raspberry jam. I suggested some of my homemade plum or blackberry jam, but no, HAD to be raspberry jam ! Now I make sure to make a lot of raspberry jam from our own berry bushes. We can't be running out of raspberry jam at this time of the year.

I made a pot of peach tea and covered it with my Christmas tea cozy, marveling at how well the gold-rimmed , ivy intertwined with snowdrops pattern cup and saucer fits in with all our Christmas decorating. I am thinking of snipping a few sprigs of variegated ivy I have growing in a pot on the porch and using them for my Christmas table-setting.

Both my husband & I come from Norwegian American families. Our families shared a few beliefs and attitudes about this time of the year I discovered were not , as I had assumed, common to most families. Our families were very good at being "over the top " in celebrating Christmas without spending a lot of money. I found a book Keeping Christmas ~ Yuletide Traditions in Norway and the New Land by Kathleen Stokker , that is rich with the history & traditions of Norway from pagan to Christian times, and then onto the celebrations the immigrant Norwegians brought to America. Fascinating ! This history explains so much about our families' attitudes &expectations towards the Christmas season we still carry on, without having realized just how much our families' traditions & history affect us even today. Hospitality was always important , especially at this time of the year. 

"A veritable archive of Norwegian American character traits - the vital role of hospitality , equality ,evenhandedness in sharing hosting obligations, resourcefulness ,the ability to make one's own entertainment , a concern for aesthetics, and the attention recorded Christian piety- this custom embodies qualities still valued in Norwegian society." by Kathleen Stokker  Hospitality is always precious, and sharing tea and cookies with friends & family this time of the year and all year round are traditions and customs shared world-wide . Tea-Time Tuesdays have given me a glimpse of hospitality from all over the world through a tea-cup  !

Join these ladies to see how they celebrate all things tea :
Artful Affirmations with Terri *
Bernideen's tea time Blog *
Martha's Favorites *
Rose Chintz Cottage with Sandi *
Antiques & Teacups with Ruth *

Where Do I Store My Teacups ?

 I store my teacups and teapots in pretty boxes ...

 ... in my crafting room. It looks cluttered I know, but I took these pictures after a few hours of needle-felting wool balls. I set my needle-felting materials near the small table which has a stack of rubber foam to absorb the sharp needles I use for needle-felting the balls. Blizzard the cat is my constant companion when I am indoors and I frequently have to stop my crafting and remove him from my work surfaces . I placed the little table & chair in front of the small t.v. so I can watch the Hallmark channel Christmas specials I have recorded for my days in the craft room. ( Easy- viewing Christmas specials with happy endings make me happy , and inspire me when I craft.)

 I sew, quilt, make rugs , scrapbook, fill photo albums , and write letters in this room. And I store my teacups here.

 

The view from my window in the crafting room. It is a fine foggy fall day, the ducks and geese are splashing in the pond, Blizzard is napping on the table .As soon as I brew myself  a cup of tea I'll remove Blizzard from the table and begin a new batch of felted wool balls.I'll show the rest of my crafting room in the next post.

 

I am joining these ladies for Tea-Time Tuesday :

Sandi at Rose Chintz Cottage *

Martha at Martha's Favorites *

Ruth at Antiques and Teacups *

Bernideen at Bernideen's Tea Time Blog *

 

Tea-Party Memories

She loves her tea sweet !

This teacup is special to me. I have precious memories of a tea-party my youngest granddaughter & I had together almost 4 years ago. I can still picture her tiny hands stirring the sugar into her tea and watching her drink every drop of the sugary syrup she made only to have her teacup re-filled and carefully repeat the process. To see the original blog post click here*.

 

The tea-time Tuesdays have inspired me to make time for many tea-parties with my grandchildren over the years.As I was looking over some of my tea-time posts I realized we made many precious memories together and had a lot of fun creating our tea parties. Thank-you ladies who host this day every week and all of you who share your tea-cups, tea parties, and generous support of one another through blogging.

These ladies are hosting blog parties I enjoy, celebrating all things tea !

• Terri * at Artful Affirmations
• Sandi * at rose Chintz Cottage
• Martha * at Martha's Favorites
• Ruth * at Antiques & Teacups
• Bernideen * at Bernideen's Tea-Time Blog

Ivy Lea

 It has been rainy. Very rainy . We have had inches of rain in the past few days. Standing water and mud are everywhere outside . This kind of weather just cries out " stay indoors, have a cup of tea ! ".

 So I did, except for the brief bit of weak sunlight that stole through the clouds that brought the downpours took me and my teacup outside on the porch. Since I wanted to share this teacup  today I needed better lighting than the darkness in the house due to the clouds, and pictures taken by lamp-light don't often give a true impression of beautiful china. ( with my camera )

 The pattern is Ivy Lea by Royal Albert . I have a sugar bowl and creamer in the same pattern . The ivy intertwined with white flowers is so pretty .

 The very best part of beautiful teacups is sipping hot tea from them,

so I did.

 

I am linking up with these Tuesday Ladies of the Teacup :

 

Sandi at Rose Chintz Cottage *

Terri at Artful Affirmations *

Martha at Martha's Favorites *
Bernideen's Tea-time Blog *
Ruth's Antiques & Teacups *





Tea & Tragedy

 Tea and reading on a stormy day . A little contemplation too . The teacup is a gift from Linda Sue , one of my first blogging friends .Linda Sue lives in Texas. She and her husband Skip prayed for my family during some very difficult times and I believe we're friends though I've never met her or her husband in person. Linda Sue's beloved husband Skip is with the Lord now and she continues to be an encouragement to me . The book on top of my Bible is one Linda Sue is reading and I am thankful for her recommendation .This book references Job and his pain & suffering as written in the Bible. Ever read the book of Job in the Bible ? Until a few years ago I thought it a depressing book to read ( avoid ), but when crisis and tragedy struck our family and seemed to keep on coming with no happy ending in sight I found myself taking my cuppa and my Bible down to the table by our pond and reading...and reading. I discovered the book of Job in the Old Testament , a book of sadness and almost unbelievable tragedy, was also a book of encouragement in a dark time.

The teacup is Majestic by Royal Grafton . I think it is a classic beauty . Thank-you Linda Sue !

"Suffering leaves our idols in pieces on the ground. It puts us in a position to see that God sent His Son not only to suffer in our place but also to suffer with us. Our merciful friend has been through it all...And while He may not deliver us from pain and loss , He'll walk with us through it. " Hebrews 4:15-16 Tullian Tchividjian 'Glorious Ruin ' .

 

I am linking to these lovely ladies of the teacup for Tea-Time Tuesday :

 

Terri at Artful Affirmations *

Martha at Martha's favorites *

Sandi at Rose Chintz Cottage *

Tea & Crafts With the Cats

I poured myself some tea to sip from my Gracie Chintz china cup while adding some finishing touches to a flock of little sheep . I had some help with my crafting.

Yes, after finishing some of the sheep I took them into my sun-room to photograph in natural light so I could post them for sale in my Etsy shop and look, peek-a-boo ! Miss Marple was supervising the whole procedure making sure none of the little sheep strayed from position. She is very good at whacking them around if they do. Sometimes she even helps them get away , to their detriment. Good thing there is a shepherd there to guard them. ( And I don't mean the little porcelain one. )

On the very same day I finished up a few wool needle-felted balls. I had help there too.

Blizzard personally checks each and every wool ball out by batting and rolling it around. If the ball has jingles in it he double and triple checks it , enjoying my game of seeking it out after he is done. You can see Blizzard is sitting next to a blue bin where the wee little sheep are placed for their protection after they are completed. I have learned the hard way NOT to leave the little sheep unattended if the cats are prowling the house.

Just minding her own business ? Hardly, she is supervising the terrarium projects I have going on...

...with some help from Blizzard. I'm not sure if they think the resin mouse in the terrarium is real, but I do know they'd love to sink their paws into the mosses . If you look closely at the window behind Miss Marple you can see the cats have thoroughly decorated the window with little nose prints, the higher row of prints being those of Blizzard. I suspect the terrarium will be thusly dotted soon.

And then there are my weaving projects. I completed 3 rugs last week all with plenty of help from Blizzard. He holds the loom down for me. At 16 plus pounds, he's very good at this.

"Cats can work out mathematically the exact place to sit that will cause the most inconvenience." Pam Brown  ~ But that being quoted, you can tell I love having my cats in, out, and round-about me. As I write this Blizzard is holding my husband down in the recliner , stretched full out on my husband's lap. They are taking their evening nap together. "Dogs have their days but cats have 365." Lillian Jackson Braun

I enjoy this teacup, one of a set of 4 rose-chintz patterns from Gracie China. It is not only beautiful, with it's rose patterns, but when I hold it up to the light it is slightly transparent. Also, this is a sturdy teacup , a quality I need when working around my cats who love to check out my dishes but pay them no mind if they decide to have a spat about who gets to sit closest to me. I have had to remember to place my teacups firmly toward the middle of the work table to spare them such disasters. We don't have too many broken dishes from the cats, I am the klutz, but several close calls taught me well.

I would like to mention a blog I love, written by a cat lover who also enjoys her tea time. Deb at  'Just Cats'* writes not only about her cats, but also about the cats she encounters in her cat-sitting business. She also has some very good tips and info regarding cat care, and some common problems people face with their cats & kittens. "The smallest feline is a masterpiece." Leonardo da Vinci

I am linking up once again with these ladies for Tea-Time Tuesday :

• Sandi at Rose Chintz Cottage *
• Terri at Artful Affirmations *
• Martha at Martha's Favorites *
• Bernideen at Bernideen's Tea time Blog *

Pinecone Tea-Time

Pinecones or pine-cones , I am not sure what the proper spelling is, but I do love pinecones. I bought this hand painted teacup & saucer 2 years ago and it is still one of my favorites. Maybe because I love pinecones of all kinds. In case you can't see it clearly because of my inadequate photography, each and every bit of the hand painted pinecones is outlined with gold paint. The teacup and saucer shine brilliantly when tea is sipped from the cup or the saucer is moved ever so slightly. Even the needles of the painted pine branch are so illuminated.

In celebration of my teacup and the season I decided to make a cheese ball for my husband & myself . I was inspired by a cheeseball my husband's sister Jean brought to a family celebration last year. A pinecone cheeseball * ! Very easy to make and so pretty.

I am not a football fan, and don't enjoy football games at all ( please don't hate me for that ! ) but this cheeseball is a good snack for those get-togethers with friends to watch a sport's game of any kind. I was perfectly agreeable to my husband sharing this with friends while they watched a game together during a power outage here , causing my husband to drive to their home so he could rejoice in his team's victory with appreciative friends.

Pinecone teacup (Norcrest Fine China , hand painted, made in Japan ), pinecone cheeseball, good snacks shared with friends....priceless, especially when shared with those you love !

 

I love linking with these ladies for Tea-Time Tuesday ~

• Antiques & Teacups *
• Bernideen's Teatime Blog *
• Terri's Artful Affirmations *
• Martha's Favrites *
• Sandi at Rose Chintz Cottage *

A Winter Tea-Time

 Winter weather around our home calls for hot tea to warm the tummy, a cookie to tingle the taste-buds, and greenery to soothe the eye. Ahhhhhh, now for a break . A Tea-Time Tuesday break !

 This Colclough china cup was made in England in the 1940's. I believe the pattern is Grape Vine. The cucumber mint tea was a Christmas gift and I am hoping the tea really proves to be "green tea for youth recovery " ! It is delicious tea.

 I gather a tray I bought before Christmas. This tray really can serve all winter though, don't you think ? The scene on the tray is one you can see in many rural areas of the U.S. this time of the year.

 I chose the chickadee teapot my husband's parents gave us for Christmas one year because I love the sprigs of greenery and pinecones surrounding the little chickadee on the pot. The teapot is Winterwood by Pfaltzgraff. I grabbed the last three Berry Butternuts * my husband made before Christmas. He only makes these cookies once a year and their rich buttery taste improves when they are stored in a sealed container. The trick is to hide them so they last long enough for me to enjoy  AFTER Christmas !

"The first weeks of the year are often a time of quiet reflection for many people ~ days when the wintry white landscape outside sets the tone for thoughtful contemplation inside." Tea Time Magazine

I am linking with the ladies below for Tea~Time Tuesday :

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

Tea-Warp ?

My newly woven rug !

I was able to weave 3 rugs from the last warp I put onto my loom, and am now sipping tea as I wind another warp onto my warp board, to then thread onto my loom and make more rugs. More tea is needed, I am sipping as I wind a warp. ( Hang on Scotty, don't beam me up yet ! ) Above is one of the rugs I wove using the loom ends I bought at the Pendleton Mill.

I am sipping my herbal tea from this Royal Grafton teacup I have featured before. I love the minty green color with flowers inside the teacup and the gold leaves circling the flowers in the teacup and on the saucer.

Back to work, making or winding my warp, but unfortunately NOT at warp speed.

I find I am always a day behind all the ladies enjoying Tea-Time Tuesdays in other time zones of the United States . ( and Canada ) While most of you are snug in your beds dreaming of tea parties or counting your teacups I am busy posting my blog & catching up with you. Happy Tea-Time to you all ! To see the tea-times of so many other ladies across the world just click onto the links below.

• Terri *
• Martha *
• Sandi *
• Bernideen *

Thursday Ladies' Bible Study & Luncheon ~

 I know I've shown this Royal Grafton teacup before, but I love it and it is a perfect teacup for Autumn table-settings with its' cheerful yellow & white color and orange red dots.

 I set the table for the Thursday Ladies' Bible study with my Charleston by Noritake china. The quilt in the center of the table was made by one of the ladies from the Ohop Ladies sewing group , a local group of ladies who meet every week at the grange to sew.

 This old buffet once upon a time belonged to my husband's grandmother. It holds many precious memories along with our china and table linens. Sometimes it holds dessert too !

 Lunch was baked chicken breasts, home-made coleslaw , home canned applesauce, spinach salad ( thanks Marlene ) and chicken salad ( thanks Karen ). Dessert was a chocolate cake and a butter pecan cake...thanks to Duncan Hines ! We had cranberry juice , coffee, & tea to drink . After we ate we shared our thoughts on our study of I Samuel using After God's Heart by Myrna Alexander.

Later that day I sipped tea from my cheery teacup as I pondered the study and how I long to be a woman after God's own heart but so often my selfish desires prevent this. God is gracious and merciful though and He will forgive me and continue to teach me His ways if I seek Him.

I am glad I had time to clean up, and even more time to ponder than I had thought because my dishwasher is not working. I washed all the dishes, pots & pans the old fashioned way, by hand.

"A heart that does not try to compromise God's command is a heart that is His. A heart that desires to follow the Lord and obey His command is a heart after His heart."  I Samuel 15:20  Myrna Alexander

I am linking with the ladies listed below for all things Tea , for my Tea-Time Tuesday.

Sandi at Rose Chintz Cottage *

Terri at Artful Affirmations *

Bernideen's Tea Time Blog *

Martha at Martha's Favorites *

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