"It is well to remember that the entire population of the universe, with one trifling exception, is composed of others." A.Holmes

Tuesday, June 8, 2010

TeaCup Tuesday, Will There Be Mice For Tea?

This Tuesday I decided to show you a teacup I received from my Grandmother. I made myself a cup of mint tea and while sipping it read through a book that is not only eye candy to me, but good reading. Now you must agree that Beatrix Potter would have shared her tea time with her cat, her rabbits, mice, guinea pigs, and , well..a host of furry animals she loved , sketched, and wrote stories about. In the spirit and influence of Miss Beatrix Potter...
...I invited Miss Marple, dominant cat around here, to partake of tea time with me.
I had some Butter Almond Thins from Trader Joe's to nibble while sipping tea and reading. If you have not tasted them, you MUST! These little cookies are rich and satisfying without being too filling. They are also very good with coffee and tea, and actually enhance the flavor of both beverages after one nibble.
Here is a close up of the teacup. There are absolutely no markings on the bottom of either cup or saucer. I love the luster and color of this teacup.
Here is a picture of just the saucer. Miss Marple wants you to note the blurs. They are white "smudges" that are not dirty but the smudges seem to be under the glaze of the saucer.
Miss Marple is very pointedly letting me know catnip tea would have been preferable for her AND , "Will there be mice for tea?" Please, please, if you are squeamish dear ladies of the teacup, do not read on any further. I am about to show you what Miss Marple would have preferred for tea.
Yes, this is what Miss Marple likes to eat. She catches so many of these she has the luxury of leaving a few on the door mat every morning, along with the remains of the mice she did eat.
Oh Miss Marple, you are wonderful company, a hard working vermin eradicator, a beautiful home adornment, but not too appreciative of my tea time. Will catnip tea be good for you next week? If you would like to see the teacups and tea times of so many other Ladies of the Teacup just click onto these names, ~they are hosting Teacup Tuesday, and Tea Party Tuesday. Martha's Favorites *, Terri at Artful Affirmations * , and Lady Katherine's Tea Parlor*.

29 comments:

Unknown said...

That is a beautiful tea cup... and Miss Marple is such a good kitty!

Really Rainey

Karen said...

That really is a lovely color. It reminds me of a line from "Sarah Plain and Tall". "In the middle of a fog-bound sea, the water is a color for which there is no name."

Shelley said...

That tea cup is so pretty! Love the photos you took of Miss Marple w/ it. And she's obviously quite the hunter!

Anonymous said...

What a treasure you have in this teacup and saucer. Miss Marple seems to be right in the middle of your tea time ~ she certainly is beautiful.

Andrea said...

Ms. Marble is adorable!!

Thank you so much for your prayers and support.
andrea

Debbie said...

I never read Beatrix Potter, a loss I'm sure. I love her art. I recently saw the movie "Miss Potter" and really loved it. Don't know how accurate it was, but the movie and sound tract are wonderful.
Debbie

Paula said...

That is a gorgeous cup and saucer, Kathy... I know you are so proud to call it yours.
And Miss Marple is quite the little hunter! We could sure use her expertise around here for a while to teach Smokey the right way to catch mice. (Not run them into the feed room like he does now... *giggle*)

Southern Comfort said...

I love Beatrix Potter books and I love seeing who shows up for tea at your house. I think you have some very privileged animals. I wonder who will attend your next tea..?

Susie said...

I can imagine Miss Marple is very good company at tea time. What a great hunter she is.

Brenda ~ The Heminger Farmhouse said...

Hello, lovely teacup, and Miss Marple is such a cutie pie!! We have a cat that likes to do that with her "gifts" to us. You go to open the door, and there it is, arrgghh!! Cats are so funny, but you gotta love 'em :)

Happy Teacup Tuesday!

Warmest, Brenda

Anonymous said...

Lovely tea cup! What a good kitty Miss Marple is. Our cats are all outside so they bring us chipmunks, etc. My parent's and I just watched a DVD called Miss Potter which is about Miss Beatrix Potter.

~*~Amy~*~

homemom3 said...

oh what a pretty tea cup, I'd love that you were definitely luck to get it. Your kitty is pretty too, seems she enjoys just sitting next to you. I had cats in the past that wouldn't come in the same room as people, not sure why. Maybe your kitty brings them to show you what a good deed she did for you to keep the mice out of your house.

Nancy M. said...

The color of the cup is beautiful! I love it! Miss Marple is my kind of cat!

GardenOfDaisies said...

The lusterware teacup from your grandmother is gorgeous!!! And of course Miss Marple would want that sweet treat with her tea. ;-) LOL!!!

Wanda Lee said...

Oh miss marple, what wee gifties you love to leave mommy!..,

This is such a delightful post and taht kitty and beautiful teacup are wonderful together; why it's 'purrfection'!.., my kitty has laeft ema few presents along the way as well over theyears!.., He he

Pleaes do come by and visit me and enjoy my teaposts as well; this week will mark my 65th afternoon tea blog post!

Terri said...

Hello Kathy, I love your post today! I am a huge fan of Beatrix Potter, have been to Hill Top Farm in the Lake District (didn't want to leave!). And I have the very same book you have included in your wonderful photos.
Miss Marple would have been just the cat for Miss Potter, she always needed a good mouser....er, even a good ratter would have been a blessing.
Your cup is such a beautiful color, and may be lusterware. I am always partial to lusterware.
Thank you so much for joining in today. I enjoyed visiting you.
Hugs,
Terri

Martha's Favorites said...

Hi: What a beautiful tea cup. I love the mint green color. Thank you so much for sharing this day with us. I wish you a wonderful week and look forward to your next's week treasure. Blessings, Martha

Julie Harward said...

That was cute...what a pretty kitty! But not the mouse...eeek! LOL Come say hi :D

Mary Bergfeld said...

That is one beautiful cup of tea. Miss Marple will continue to be Miss Marple and have her own tea favorites no matter what you do:-). My Lola proudly shares her trophies with everyone at exactly the wrong time. I hope you are having a wonderful day. Blessings...Mary.

Jocelyn said...

What a beautiful tea cup! I love the color.

Jocelyn
http://justalittlesouthernhospitality.blogspot.com/

Connie said...

Well, I don't care much for Miss Marple's catch of the day--HA! She is good to have around though. Perhaps you should reward her with some catnip tea next time you invite her to join you. I love Beatrix Potter. I read her books over and over to my boys when they were young. I hope your week is going well, Kathy.

KathyB. said...

Rainey, ( love your name) Miss Marple is a good kitty. And she loves to sit on my lap and purr too.

Karen, what a beautiful description of that color. And so true of the sea and sky. I have often tried to name a color that stirs my soul and come up blank....thank-you.

Shelley,Miss Marple is a miniature lioness when it comes to hunting, and I love her!

Mildred,Miss Marple likes to be in the middle of everything I do , but does excuse herself when we have company, then she hides under the bed.

Andrea, thank-you.

Debbie, the movie was pretty good,I bought it.Although I think the actress portraying her was quite a bit prettier than B.P. the movie was a good portrayal and I think I would have very much liked Beatrix Potter, and you would have too.

Paula, running them into the feed room? Funny!

Southern Comfort,don't you find Beatrix Potter's books show a lot of quiet humor? I never know who will show up for tea around here and am surprised myself sometimes!

Susie, Miss Marple really did insist on being part of tea time, I could not get her out of the sun room and she was very interested in the tea and cookies.

Brenda, what would we do without our cats? I am glad Miss Marple does hunt well, but I would love her even if she was a couch potato.

Amy, I love that DVD and yes, Miss Marple catches chipmunks too. Fortunately she leaves the remains outside.

Homemom 3, I am not sure why she leaves evidence of her success on the door mat, but I like to think it matters to her to show them to me. I do love her!

KathyB. said...

NancyM, what color would you call that cup ? Miss Marple is a very good cat, thank-you~

Garden Of Daisies, is it really called Luster Ware? I need to look it up. "Luster" really fits the description of this cup and saucer so that makes sense.

Wanda Lee, thank you, and I will drop in. The tea is always on at your place, thank-you!

Terri, you have visited the Lakes District? I would love to, and have often looked on-line at tours to England's Lake District....maybe one of these years.I have read of Miss Potter's need for good ratters and I too think she would appreciate Miss Marple!

Martha, thank-you very much for co-hosting this teacup Tuesday.Your teacup collection is amazing and I have learned a fair bit reading about the different cups and tea sets.

Julie, you don't like mouse with your tea?

Mary, "at exactly the wrong time" seems to be cat time , after all, it is all about them!

Happy Cottage Quilter, thank-you!

Daisy, I think I really might try to make catnip tea for Miss M just to see if she likes it. I have noticed there is a fair bit of dry humor and a true appreciation and knowledge of animals in Beatrix Potter's books that goes unnoticed by many. The charm of her books alone makes them such a good read though. I wold love to chat with her about her sheep!

Patti said...

Thank you for stopping by my blog and commenting on my first Teacup Tuesday post.

Very beautiful teacup. And a lovely read too, I might add. I love Beatrix Potter.

Blessings,
Patti (Of Days and Dreams)

Thistle Cove Farm said...

Miss Marple is a wonderful mouser; for that, she'd get a canned tuna treat around here!

KathyB. said...

Patti, isn't teacup Tuesday fun?

Sandra, good idea, tuna for her next tea time!

Vikki G said...

I love your collection of teacup's! Just lovely~ Miss Marple is a beautiful cat..and such a good mouser!
Blessings,
Vikki

Thistle Cove Farm said...

Loving Miss Marple! Around here she'd get canned tuna as a treat -grin.

KathyB. said...

Vikki, thank-you. Yes, Miss M is a wonderful mouser and after finding 4 mice in the feed room barrels I think I need another Miss Marple to help out!