Tea Time Tuesday ~ With The Thursday Ladies

 

My favorite of 4 tea cups in this set I bought 2 years ago. It is a pale minty green chintz pattern, and comes in a beautiful box to store it in with the 3 other chintz teacups in this set. I used the chintz teacups for a ladies luncheon last Thursday.

I will call these lovely ladies the Thursday Ladies. We gather once a month on Thursday to share a meal together and study the Bible.

We are studying I Samuel using Myrna Alexander's book 'After God's Heart".

Mothers are welcome to bring their children, and the children have their own table. I have always appreciated homes open to children, and the opportunity for children to gather with us is also an opportunity for mothers & grandmothers to enjoy their company, and also teach them how to behave properly when they are in someone else's home.( these are pretty well behaved children , so it is no trouble to enjoy each other and them!)

If you look closely at the table, you can see the Chintz teacups.

Inside the box.

 

"Gracie China, Chintz Collection " made in China

 

 

 Having so many beautiful teacups and china I love, it is a pleasure & a privilege to share them with friends and family. Did you know hospitality, or being hospitable ~"receiving and entertaining guests generously & kindly" (Webster's Dictionary ) is commanded by God? Hospitality requires nothing more than a welcoming heart and willingness to share your hearth and home. Hospitality does not require fancy table settings and food, nor does it require a perfect home.I Peter 4:9,10 says, "Be hospitable to one another without complaint. As each one has received a special gift, employ it in serving one another as good stewards of the manifold grace of God." Sometimes simply sharing a cup of tea with someone and offering a listening heart and a prayer is all it takes to show true hospitality.

 

The Thursday Ladies have already been a blessing and the study of I Samuel promises to be one of personal challenge to me....learning to trust God as Hannah ,mother of the prophet Samuel did. "Turn first to God for comfort ( in times of pain & distress)not to something or someone else. And give Him your emotions." Myrna Alexander

 

I am linking with these ladies for Tea Time Tuesday ~

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

 

 

A Chicken For A Teacup & TeaTime Tuesday Is Lambing Time !

It is Tea Time Tuesday once again.Seems like the Tuesdays are flying by.It is also lambing time on Cedar Pond too. So much excitement calls for a cup of hot tea , then it is back outside to tend my sheep.Isn't this teacup pretty? I laid a few of the roses my husband gave me for Valentine's Day next to the teacup. They seem to have been meant for each other, my teacup and my roses.

While helping my husband's sisters clean out their parent's basement I came across these two little books.We had been separating the many books into 2 places. On the shelves will go the books worthy of placing up for sale or of possible interest to the many family members. In a big box go the books destined for the Goodwill. I almost tossed these books into the box.Then I took a second look.The 'Romance Of a Doctor's Visits' pub. in 1937,are stories the author says are , "true incidents in the life of the writer." I think it will be interesting.

This plain little blue book is by Amy Carmichael. It is titled 'If '. She writes in the first pages ,"such a booklet as this is not meant for everyone, but only for those who were meant to be under-shepherds." To learn more about this amazing woman, missionary to the vulnerable girls & women in India click here.*

Just one of many gems in this tiny book, and it pierced my heart.

Back to the teacup. It was made in England by Ridgway Potteries. I received this teacup in trade. I traded 2 frizzled bantam hens for this lovely teacup. Do you think I got a good deal? I know the lady who took home 2 of my fluffy, curly, frizzled hens was happy,she now has 2 broody hens to hatch out & raise her chicken's eggs.

This is Delilah. She had a handsome ram ( boy) lamb this afternoon.Here he is pictured still wet from the womb, trying to get up to find his mother's milk.I always find this amazing, new born animals walking within the hour of birth, seeking milk, and within a few hours are usually leaping and playing. If you would like to see the other new lambs click here*.

"If I myself dominate myself, if my thoughts revolve round myself, if I am so occupied with myself I rarely have "a heart at leisure from itself," then I know nothing of Calvary love."Amy Carmichael

For more Tea Time Tuesday delights, check out the links below, you'll be richly blessed !

Terri at Artful Affirmations *

Martha at Martha's Favorites *

Bernideen's Tea Time Blog *

Antiques & Teacups *

Sandi at Rose Chintz Cottage *

Don't Let Your Heart Rot !

"...as those who have been chosen of God, holy and beloved, put on a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience; bearing with one another, and forgiving each other , whoever has a complaint against anyone; just as the Lord forgave you, so also should you." Colossians 3:12, 13

"Not forgiving will rot your heart ~ forgiving before you are asked will set you free." author unknown

Sheep Shearing Time~ Valentine Surprise !

It is shearing time for my flock of Jacob sheep.I have them sheared, feet clipped, vaccinated, and if they are not pregnant, wormed at this time.Here is Thora, enduring the indignity of being turned onto her back for the process.

My sheep shearers are a father/daughter duo, and also our good friends, Dirt * and one of his 4 daughters, Bet*.

This is Tilda, she is 2 months shy of her 1 year birthday and a very small Jacob sheep lamb.

My oldest grandson & I love her. She is petite, very feminine looking, and over all an appealing sheep. She has 4 horns, and if she can refrain from head-butting her sister sheep, she might have a beautiful and well balanced set. She gets feisty about where she wants to sleep and if any other sheep are in HER place she takes them on paying no mind to extreme size differences, forgetting she is one of the smallest sheep in my flock.

Bet does a very fine job of shearing. Since Bet showed sheep for many years in 4H she tries to shear so as to preserve the fleece for those of us who process our wool for spinning.

Timmy, my wethered lamb is being sheared.Did I just spot something surprising? No Way !

Look at this! Can you believe it? I am trying to be careful how I word these pictures because so much comes to mind....

..so I'll leave it at this, Happy Valentine's Day!

I am linking up to a Valentine's Day Farm Blog-Hop, please join me!

Valentine's Day Boost My Blog Party *
&
 Self-Sufficient Home Acres * 

Cairo TeaCup ~ TeaTime Tuesday

This teacup was one offered to me by my husband's sisters as we cleaned up their parent's home for the new residents. I had never noticed this teacup before but was immediately smitten.I even made myself some tea to sip from her ( for I think of this cup as "her") when I took a break.

Moths. Have you ever seen moths on a teacup before?

This teacup is feminine in all the right ways, but not too feminine.

By the term "not too feminine" I think I mean the teacup embraces nature and all I love about the world God created without being fussy. The design has moths, big and gawky Asiatic birds,

and beetles !I have never seen beetles on any other china pattern.Most certainly NOT too feminine.Right up my alley though, as I spent a great part of my childhood looking for and capturing insects, lizards, turtles, frogs, salamanders,and keeping pets that make many of my friends scream and run the other way...quickly. I still help my grandchildren find frogs around Cedar Pond, and am a great admirer of dragonflies. Any teacups celebrating dragonflies?

The design is Cairo by Coalport.I have been trying to research this pattern and see it comes in not only this color, but blue, green, and gold..maybe more.I could not find any history on the design or why it is called Cairo.

Look at the treat my husband brought home for me.A chocolate covered strawberry. A pot of green tea, and an early Valentine treat for me!

Oh, I really do love this teacup!

Thank-you for joining me for today's celebration of teacups and all things tea.I am linking up with the ladies listed below for Tea Time Tuesday, and they are lovely hostesses.Please click onto their names and enjoy the teacups, table-settings,recipes and ruminations on tea time from all over the world.  ~

Terri at Artful Affirmations *

Martha at Marthas Favorites *

Sandi at Rose Chintz Cottage * 
Antiques & Teacups *
Bernideen's Tea time Blog * 

Mind Your Mouth, Be Kind

"Let no unwholesome word proceed from your mouth, but only such a word as is good for edification according to the need of the moment, that it may give grace to those who hear....let bitterness & wrath & clamor & slander be put away from you along with malice.

And be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other as God in Christ has forgiven you." Ephesians 4:29,31, 32

Pictures taken around our pond, by me.

Sister's Birthday Luncheon ~ Rosebud Chintz

January, the month two of my three younger sisters celebrate their birthdays.My three younger sisters and I gather every year to celebrate our birthdays.This year I had the privilege of hosting the birthday luncheon in my home.I chose to use the Spode china I had just been given from my Aunt Ruby and cousin Christine. This birthday luncheon was truly a family affair.

My three younger sisters pose for me as I capture their images for yet another birthday celebration.

I arranged fresh flowers in the Spode gravy boat. The goblets are special, all 4 of us have these goblets and we bring them to all our birthday luncheons.

I deviled some eggs laid especially for me by my flock of chickens, and also bought some blue cheese stuffed olives. The bowl is almost empty though because I cannot resist them. A pound of these olives had dwindled dramatically by the time I actually put them out to share with my sisters.

Grapes, French bread generously slathered in butter & herbs...

...and my home made clam chowder. Clam chowder made WITHOUT potatoes ! I hate potatoes. I did cook up some diced potatoes to add to the chowder two of my sisters ate, but my youngest sister & I do not like potatoes. This chowder is chock full of bacon, mushrooms, clams, sour cream, butter. Not a diet lunch for sure, but this is the very best clam chowder I have ever eaten, and I think I could have easily eaten the whole super big crock pot of this all by myself if given the chance. But, I shared, because after all, it was not my birthday.

The birthday girls, my two youngest sisters.Of course they had their birthday crowns on, and they were having too much fun, but on your birthday fun is the name of the game. Fun and cake !

My teacup / coffee cup for this TeaTime Tuesday is my Rosebud Chintz, by Spode.

I am linking to the gracious tea ladies listed below. Please check out their blogs and enjoy the many variations of tea times from all over the world. Don't forget to have a cup of tea to sip while enjoying your vicarious travels.Maybe you too will decide to share your teacups and tea times.You need not go online to share your hospitality, simply share a cup of tea with a friend or family member, and remember you're all the more blessed for this time.

Check out these Tea-Time Tuesday blogs:

1. Terri at Artful Affirmations *
2. Sandi at Rose Chintz Cottage *
3.  Martha's Favorites *   
4. Lady Katherine's Tea Parlor *
5. Antiques & Teacups *