" SIMPLE JOYS "

                                       Tiptoe through the window

By the window, that is where I'll be

Come tiptoe through the tulips with me.

Today , it's raining,  so teatime is especially relaxing as I hum  Tiny Tim's song ' Tiptoe through the Tulips"... funnily enough my imagination is tripping with  excitement as I spy that ....
THE TULIPS  ARE BLOOMING   !!!!

It seems that I've waited so long to visit with my floral companions  ... Today, I'm choosing a " Rosina" teaset with romantic colours that just seem to " POP"
         
                                      PINK, for  passion and love  
                                    YELLOW, for joy and happiness
                              GREEN,  for  renewal and good luck ...
                          BLACK, for  the  mystical  power of nature,
                                                     plus
                                       I love the elegant  drama.

If I were to  analyze  my colour palette choices , I'd say that there are layers and layers of new beauty and love waiting to be revealed in this 1950 teaset... especially since I'm picking my hubby up from the airport on Friday.

      Alas, it's the tulips that are really thrilling me , saying love me , love me, 
                love me.  In Victorian times receiving tulips would signify, 
                                         " LOVE AT FIRST SIGHT"

                         Which is exactly how I feel about this brilliant little
                                       Mary Engelbreit  Teapot 
   
                    Look at that charming polka dotted handle( Ha ha)
                                                TOO CUTE !!!

   
                      Hello Mr. Bunny... Did you come for a cup of tea?
                                             (   Hippity Hop )

           There's an element of  magic in  every  artistic detail  of this sweet  
                          creation. I keep wondering when Alice will appear.

There is definitely mischief lurking here also , as the spout seems to be too small for the plumpness of the  pots' belly( ha ha), infact, I doubt if the 
              tea leaves  will get through this  rather small opening ...  
                   SO , Rosehip tea bags will be the flavour of the day.

Oh , such simply joys of life ...  tea , flowers and your good company Ladies.

                        " There's something beautiful in everyday .... 
                                           You just have to find it "

Oh, tiptoe through the garden

By the garden of the the willow tree

And tiptoe through the tulips with me

Knee deep in flowers we'll stray

We'll keep the showers away

And if I kiss you in the garden, in the moonlight 

Will you pardon me?

And tiptoe through the tulips with me

THANK YOU FOR JOINING ME FOR TEATIME 

( All illustrations:Mary Engelbreit)

SHARING TEATIME WITH. with Sandi at "Rose Chintz Cottage", 

Martha's Favorites, Ruth's ,"Cuppa Tea" and Bernideen's " All Things Tea" Blog.

                                                                  "CROCUS TIME"

Feeling like a slave to snow .... I was  looking into the sleepy gardens, imagining and praying for the signs of Spring to emerge out of the cold hard bed of winter ... then one day, my heart soared like a bird as one tiny crocus bloomed.

Although crocus is not the prettiest name for a flower,  I do  adore this sweet harbinger of spring and it's symbolic meaning  of cheerfulness and gladness. Today, I'm sharing my Royal Albert, " Prairie Crocus" teaset and a poem .

The feet of people walking home

With gayer sandals go-

The Crocus-till she rises

The Vassal of the snow-

The lips of Hallelujah

Long years of practise bore

Till bye and bye these Bargemen

Walked singing on the shore.

Pearls are the Diver's farthings

Extorted from the sea-

Pinions-the Seraph's wagon

Pedestrians once-as we-

Night is the morning's Canvas

Larceny-legecy-

Death, but our rapt attention

To Immorality.

My figures fail to tell me

How far the village lies-

Whose peasants are the Angels-

Whose Cantons dot the skies-

My Classics veil their faces-

My faith that Dark adores-

Which from its solemn abbeys

Such resurrection pours.

Emily Dickinson

( 1858 )

It seems that my prayers of longing and hope have been answered .. so now, I shed a sigh of relief and pour myself a much anticipated, cup of tea ... Teatime  with you all, feels like a warm ray of sunshine on my shoulders.

Lookie, lookie ...I found a pretty pink teapot at the ' Village'... Don't you love it's perfect roundness..

Unfortunately, it had a little chip on the inner  lip of the lid but, I loved its cheeky  pinkness and believed  that it would brew me a full bodied cup of  tea ...  Nothing in life is without imperfections.

This shabby chic teapot and classy little teaset seem to be creating a sweet harmony together, especially since, my little caste iron  bunnies have decided to hold up their part and partake in     teatime.


         

I've always love the warm and fuzzy presence of the  crocus and can attest that unike  other crocus, which take their origin from( Iradaceae Family) or Iris, the  Prairie Crocus( anenome ) has little fluffy fibres, much like this motif. The flowers are 4 cm( 1 1/2 in.) in diameter, each with five to seven petal-like sepals, and possesses many pistil and bright yellow stamens that are not edible.

They are not smooth and delicate like other  crocus's. The blue or purple coloured parts, that look like petals are actually modified sepals. When folded, the outer surface is covered by downy, white woolly hairs. The flowers open during the day and close at night... I know this,  because, I lived in the Prairies and played in fields of crocus when I was a child...OOPS ...Is that telling my age or just a happy memory.( Ha ha)

Since sweet May has brought forth the buds, gardening is ever on my mind, so I'm saving all the tea leaves for my  flowers ....  Even the flowers could use a nice  refreshing cup of tea .

 Composting  would take too long, so I  just mix and pour the unused tea and leaves into the garden  for a tasty floral treat ( Ha Ha) I don't think that mother earth minds. 

In the meantime, there's  still another soothing cup of tea waiting for you to savour while fantasying about the next flower that will bloom...Tulips or Daffodils !!!!  I'm enamoured with  God's gifts... It's a Wonderful life.

Thank You for  your presence and our  teatime chatterings. 

 "ENJOY YOUR GARDEN"

SHARING TEATIME WITH. with Sandi at "Rose Chintz Cottage", 

Martha's Favorites, Ruth's ,"Cuppa Tea" and Bernideen's " All Things Tea" Blog.

"IS IT SPRING? "

The Easter Bunny has come and gone... but  I can help asking .." Is it Spring, yet? " This little pups Mommy and Daddy have been tied up with family emergencies ... Oh Dear, Oh Dear .

Poor  little " Dolly" Girl didn't find any doggie treats on the Easter tree this year , so what's a  sweet  puppy to do, but ... " WISH FOR SPRING ".

" BIRTHDAY TEA "

March was  Birthday month  ... with four out of five of us celebrating birthdates. .

March 16th, 17th 18th and the the 29th of the month..Whew, that's a lot of cake.

This was the beautiful cake my girlfriend, Renate made for me ... It  was certainly a pleasure to share it with my 92 year old mother( above )

Of course, there was no room for all the candles, but that's OK, because, now you have to quess how old I am ( Ha Ha)... and ... I'm not telling !!!

February and most of March had been a trying time, health wise for  both my,  mother, mother-in-law( 97) and other  family member, so  this was a much needed party, filled with sing song, story-telling and  teatime camaraderie...

                                   If you hurry over  Ladies... I'll save a piece of cake for you too.

                                                             WISHING YOU ALL
                                                            A BLESSED EASTER

TEA AND POETRY

              Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening

                                                 By Robert Frost

                                    Whose woods these are I think I know.   

                                    His house is in the village though;   

                                    He will not see me stopping here   

                                    To watch his woods fill up with snow.   

                                   My little horse must think it queer   

                                   To stop without a farmhouse near     

                                   Between the woods and frozen lake   

                                   The darkest evening of the year.   

                                   He gives his harness bells a shake   

                                   To ask if there is some mistake.   

                                   The only other sound’s the sweep   

                                   Of easy wind and downy flake.   

                                  The woods are lovely, dark and deep,   

                                  But I have promises to keep,   

                                  And miles to go before I sleep,   

                                  And miles to go before I sleep

What could be better than enjoying a cup of tea at a friends house and enjoying the  last of the Christmas baking .

shortbread  and fruitcake. 

It's such  a naughty thing to do but alas somebody has to do it( Yum Yum ) The most difficult

activity of the year for me is taking down the decorations... and turning off the twinkling lights.

It seems in the New year you sometimes have to create your own sunshine.( bling bling)

So I'm putting the lid on the  cough syrup and  Vicks and heralding in some new resolutions, which I hope I can keep throughout the year... Number one is no more sweets, um-m-m-m, that's a hard one. So let's  think about it over tea ... Let me pour you a cup of tea too...We can ponder this one together....  " No more Sweets ".

This is you cup today.. a lovely Coalport  teaset that reminded me of the vast colours of the  sunset.

It's a mottled beauty with  lovely gold fluted edges and a floral motif inside. I hope you enjoy it.

My Japanese Friend, Chie sent me this ' Paradise " Tea for Christmas ...  She knows how very much I love it, so I am pleased to share this floral oolong tea with you. It whispers with just a hint of Jasmine  
                                                    and pineapple ... m-m-m-m-good.


I often think that Paradise is simply a euphoric state of being . Perhaps, that is where the New Year       has brought us all ... Into a paradise of beauty, where we can share, create and be Thankful, for yet            
                                             another glimpse of God's  poetic gifts.

                                                        Have a glorious day Ladies.
                                                       Thanks  for the teatime visits.

                            I'm sharing with Sandi and friends at ' Rose Chintz Cottage"

" HAPPY NEW YEAR "

Wishing you all a "HAPPY NEW YEAR"

" CHRISTMAS ROSE TEATIME"

"It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas" ..Welcome to a carolling teatime ... ' Yes , I'm still singing ... Today, we will be humming  and listening to   "We Three Kings ",

 written by John Henry Hopkins(1857)

"We three kings of orient are

Bearing gifts we traverse afar.

Field and fountain, moor and mountain,

Following yonder star."

Who can resist a handcrafted star to symbolically glorify the message of of Christmas and the Christ Child. This is one which I purchased at the Frederickton Christmas Craft Fair. An elderly German lady  had patiently folded over two hundred of these wax paper treasures to sell. The walls  of my studio are mauve, I bought three in varying colours of purple. 

 It sets the tone for the Christmas window display, doesn't it !!!

I never tire of  Christmas stories and all the heartwarming tales. Luckily, I  found  a charming  Staffordshire tea set, called the Christmas Rose. If you care to blog along, it has a lovely little legend to tell. 

"The Legend of the Christmas Rose"

When Jesus was born in Bethlehem. There came three Wise men from the East bearing gifts of  gold, Myrrh and Frankincense. A little Shepherdess, watching from afar, wept because she had no gift to offer the Christ Child. As her tears fell to the ground, flowers sprang up, which the child gathered and hastened to bring to the infant.

In adoration, she knelt at the crib, so  Jesus could see the flowers and when his blessed little hands touched the flowers, a delicate pink appeared in the centre of each floret. So a flower that never blossomed before came into existence- the Christmas Rose. To this day, the Christmas Rose blooms more abundantly at Christmastime than any other season.

The Staffordshire company has beautifully decorated this tea set in vivid colours, unlike the actual  plant which  has only a delicate blush of light green and pink on it petals .. . still, it is a very eye catching set.  While living in Vancouver , B.C., I had a Christmas Rose  blooming in my garden during the wintry months... Thus, this pretty tea cup and saucer bears  a fond mid-winter memory and of course another favourite carol .....

" Lo how a rose 'e're blooming from tender stem has sprung ".

 I'm so  relieved that you're  enjoying  the sing song. ( Ha Ha)

Honestly,  I won't ask anyone to go solo!!!

Another  variation of my Christmas stars is this rich colour combination. Do you see how the precise folding technique allows the light to shine through, making  the  starry pattern?

( Pretty, Pretty)

                                     During Christmas, I do believe in drinking, loose tea,
              since we don't take  enough time out of our  busy schedules to pamper ourselves.

                           So Ladies ... Let's make loose tea a ritual during the festive season.
                                How about some Carmel Chai, with or without milk added.
                                                          It's a Rootibos  based tea,
                                    that has a earthy, robust taste, to get you through the day.
                                                Heaven knows ... You deserve it Ladies !!!

                                 I like taking that little  pause in life and saying to myself,
    " I'm important enough to take the five or six minutes needed for a nice cup of tea "...
                                                                     otherwise ...
                                            How would we ever get through the season !!!!

                                             Now doesn't that look full, rich and flavourful.
                                                M-m-m- girls, it tastes as good as it looks.
                                                                            OOPS....
                                                      You need your teacup replenished.

                      It is always best to store tea in a tin or specifically designed bags that seals,
                  since loose tea is like a sponge and soaks up  surrounding  scents and flavours.
                         I have  also been told, not to use "zip ", glass or plastic containers.
                                                                        ALWAYS
                                      store your tea in a cool, dry place, away from the light...
                                                                           AND
                                                      that's the teatime lesson of the day.
                                                                   

"

 "O, Star of wonder, Star of night, 

Star with Royal beauty bright, 

       Westward leading , still proceeding, 

Guide us to thy perfect light. "

                                       Thank you for lending your voices and spirit in a
                                                                     teatime song.

Today, I'm joining: Rose Chintz Cottage, Martha's Favorites, Tuesday Cuppa Tea and
 Bernideen's Teatime Blog.