tea-a collection of three

My front porch doesn't usually have teacups sitting on the bench.

The bench usually has pinecones and rocks collected in my pocket when I walk or if I am lucky the mailman/woman has left a package there just for me. Well it does happen occasionally.

But today I am sharing my collection of only three teacups with saucers. After all, a collection is when you have three or more. When you look closer you can see something strange about these cups.

What is missing?

Yes! they don't have handles!

I haven't found many teacups made in England without handles; so

I decided they were worth collecting.

The reason they don't have handles is because when England really got into tea

in the late 1700's and 1800's all they knew was what came from Asia and teacups in Asia

didn't have handles. So when they began making teacups in the 1800's they didn't add handles.

With more than a few burned fingers they decided it might be wise to add a handle, thus

inventing the cups you know today.

I think they are really pretty and I love having my collection of three.

Most often I just admire them because they are so old, but there have been

a few times I have sipped tea from them. It is getting to feel a bit of history in my hands.

Table of Your Life

At the table of your life

Make room for tea,

And make room for me,

And make room for friends and family

And we will make room for thee.

~by Earlene Grey (aka Susan Patterson)

 

Come for tea with me

and if you wish I will serve you in a special cup

of history. 

Happy weekend, dear friends!

Celebrate springtime and maybe have a cup of tea.

Word for the Week

 From the dictionary, Amazed: greatly surprised; astonished.

 "You are like a flowering tree,

amazed when I praise you for your gifts."

 ~Rabindranath Tagore, Fireflies*

The plum tree in my garden is blooming right now. It's gifts are the beautiful blooms and a bit of hope for fruit this summer. This time of year, as everything begins to bloom, I am again amazed at the beauty of springtime.

There are 35 camellia plants bordering my property. Here is just one of the many flowers on the trees right now. They decorate my heart with joy and amazement.

“Our goal should be to live life in radical amazement…get up in the morning and look at the world in a way that takes nothing for granted. Everything is phenomenal; everything is incredible; never treat life casually. To be spiritual is to be amazed.”          –Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel

At the beginning of this new week, let's go out and be amazed each day.

*The book Fireflies (1928) was a gift given to me recently. I love the garden quotes, so they may show up once in the while. I hope you enjoy them.

Springtime and Easter is on It's Way!

 I'm Feeling Fabulous, Possibly too much so, but I Love It

It's spring and Mockingbird is teaching himself

new ways to celebrate.

If you can imagine that - that gutsy talker.

And the sky is painting itself a brand-new

robust blue

plenty of which is spilling into the pond.

I don't weigh very much, but right now

I weigh nothing.

And my mind is, I guess you would say, compounded.

One voice is saying, The pond never looked

this blue before.

Another voice says, There couldn't be a more

splendid world, and here I am

existing in it.

I think, just for the joy of it, I'll fly.

I believe I could.

And yet another voice says, Can we come down

from the clouds now?

And some other voice answers, Okay.

But only for a while.

~ Mary Oliver, from Blue Horses

 

Joy freed from the bond of earth's slumber

rushes into numberless leaves,

and dances in the air for a day.

~ Rabindranath Tagore, from Fireflies

 Flying and dancing, an awakening of the earth in springtime

lightens my heart and gives me a new song.

Happy Springtime and Easter, dear friends! 

 

*pictures are from my home this spring/Easter season. 

The doll in the last picture scares my grandson, so I must hide it before he comes to visit. I love her. She came from a doll museum I once visited many years ago.

Word for the Week

 Yesterday I attended on zoom a forum discussion Celebrating Wisdom of Women. I wasn't quite sure where that discussion would go, but following along with a group of younger women of color intrigued me enough to want to listen and learn. 

Could it open new doors for me, reach out and grab me, or teach me something new?

Where the discussion ended up going was finding our "a-ha" moments or our passion. Passion and a-ha moments go together. They talked about what brings them alive, how they find who they are, and how they choose to spend their time. For these women music seemed to be a component that brought passion to them. They didn't want to be identified by what their careers were, but by what their passions were (their a-ha moments) and by what brought them to their place of home.

That word "a-ha" just stuck with me and I had to think back through my life to remember those moments when I knew and said in my heart a big "a-ha". So the word today is "a-ha". 

Is it a word in the dictionary?  Yep!

exclamation

exclamation: a-ha 

used to express satisfaction, triumph, or surprise.

Definitions from Oxford Languages

 

A place in time, sipping tea in France.

 

One of my stories of an a-ha moment was when I decided to move from one career to another. I had a little push from a boss I had at the time, which then encouraged me to make a list of those things I loved in life. In journal writing and self reflection I realized tea had always been entwined throughout my life, but I had never thought of it other then having a quick cup in the morning. That a-ha moment came when I realized it could be so much more. Once I realized that, it has become one of my passions and ties so much together. It encourages me to learn more, it connects me with people, and it has given me adventures I would have never imagined. Even the forum I watched on Sunday wouldn't have happened for me if it wasn't for my connection to tea.

 

Just a side note and one I knew, but still touched my heart once again. In watching and listening to these wise young women brought home to me that we are all the same. It doesn't matter the color of our skin, who raised us, what circumstance we live in - we are all the same. For that I am thankful to have been surrounded by these beautiful, strong, wise women for this moment in time.

Can you remember a a-ha moment in your life?

Did it make a difference in the direction you went?

Trees make a Difference!

Most of you have realized that I love nature.

What I am learning about myself is that I am still learning and concerned for our world.

Recently I just started paying more attention to the importance of trees and how they effect our climate.

 I read just this morning that with the more trees we plant in cities the temperature can be lowered up to 10 degrees. Wow! That is amazing! Urban Forestry is a thing, a term I hadn't heard or listened to. I have felt so strongly on the importance of trees to our climate that I have started donating each month to two organizations that plant trees both locally and throughout the world.

As I write I remember my childhood being framed by trees. I climbed trees and terrified my neighbors. I walked under trees and picked their fruit. I hugged trees and ran my hands over their different barks.

But still, I took them for granted, I just expected them to always be there. I didn't realize their importance for the air we breathe and the temperature surrounding us.

This is my bandwagon today! Let's just stop to notice what we notice and take small steps to make a difference whether it is planting a tree, donating, or just admiring and appreciating what is in our own backyard.

     "Save the World, Plant a Tree, Be Part of the Solution."         American Forests 

All pictures, but the last two were taken on a recent drive to the Pacific Ocean for the day. I am trying to notice the trees and pay attention to their importance for all of us. 

Just two blocks from my house, down the middle of the street, is an arboretum of trees.

Neighbors have planted flowers surrounding the trees and it is quite beautiful today. I walked there just to snap pictures for you this morning. The cherry blossoms are out there too.

Let's all be tree huggers! 

Happy weekend, dear friends!

A Word for the Week

"There is a voice inside of you that whispers all day long,

'I feel that this is right for me,

I know that this is wrong.'

No teachers, preachers, parent, friend or wise man can decide

what's right for you -

just listen to the voice that speaks inside."

~Shel Silverstein

My son had many of Shel Silverstein's poems memorized as a child

and still when I come across one of his quotes I think "yes" once again.

Yes, VOICE is the word for this week.

Wondering what voice this hawk has that I found in my garden this week.

I think his voice was saying "feed me", but we sent him on his way.

Listen to that voice within and have a terrific week.

A Green Teatime

 A Green Teatime is the perfect way to celebrate the beginning of Springtime and St. Patrick's Day!

Recently I asked a group of tea lovers what would they make for a March Green Teatime.

There were a lot of fun answers that definitely encouraged me to have a St. Patrick's Day tea theme.

So this week I served teatime with this in mind to my "live-in gardener" and myself in the green house.

There were sausage rolls with Dijon mustard, a stacked sandwich of tuna, black olive, and deviled ham with a green cream cheese frosting, Guinness whole wheat scones with raisins soaked in Guinness, green fruit salad with a peppermint tea syrup, and brownies with a layer of peppermint flavored icing.

I had planned to sip green tea, but then decided to continue my Darjeeling sipping from earlier morning. My "live-in gardener" sipped some Tulsi, which I also enjoyed helping him finish off.

It was fun to search my house for the color green. Of course my green depression glass works. Then a green teapot with my Marmalady's tea cozy made from vintage fabric. Both of the teacups are vintage too. The cup on the far side by the green chair is handleless and comes from the late 1800's. The cup closer in the picture is made in England (Colonial Pottery). I am not sure how old it is, but guessing early 1900's. I need to do more research on it.

Picking a single color to focus teatime was a fun challenge and one I plan on trying again.

Hummm? Wondering what color would be fun to feature the next time?

Anyway, it was just wonderful to be back in the green house for teatime.

I have missed it during the winter months.

Have a great weekend, dear friends!