"T" is Tea Tyme and The Spring Tea Cup/Mug Exchange

This tea gift photo is sideways, kind of like me today! I have been battling allergies and sinuses and today woke up with a severe attack of dizziness. So I am late posting my gifts that I received in the Tea Cup/Mug Exchange hosted by Stephanie . I have participated in this exchange twice, once last Fall and this latest Spring share. It was delightful. I was blessed with this gift package from Sandy in sunny Florida. She sent me a sweet tea mug with matching porcelain spoon in a gift box.

This mug is so sweet. It has a porcelain spoon and cute gift box.

There is a sweet smelling tea candle and a cute tea wallet plus lovely soap from Italy and candies and honey spoons too.She also included Earl Grey tea and I already sampled those. Thank you Sandy.

Francesca from California sent the sweetest letter and I learned a lot about her. She sent me a pretty white and pink tea cup and saucer. She sent a favorite tea, it is an organic Wild Strawberry tea and so yummy. She also made an eye mask filled with chamomile and lavender and other herbs to give you a restful night's sleep. It was just a wonderful gift and I am thankful to have received it.

This was the package I sent to Pat in NC for the Spring Mug exchange.

Te red mug was already wrapped so here is a photo of it before I wrapped it. I thoguht this mug so cool so I purchased one for my hubby and myself also.

T is for Tea and I love everything to do with tea.

Isn't this pinterest find Elephant Teapot cute? So colorful. I have a sweet white elephant my daughter Rebekah purchased for me at a thrift store. He is very sweet too. I use to find so many pretty teacups and teapots at thrift stores. Now I rarely find any. But I have a nice collection and recently found a sweet tea mug:

A few years ago I participated in a Memory Quilt Project for a little girl named Shannon who lost her young life (age 3) to a rare brain cancer. Her parents were overwhelmed by the kindness of strangers who had created a quilt for their child that turned into the memory quilt when she lost her battle with cancer. They sent each one of us a letter with a packet of forget-me-not's and asked us to plant them in memory of Shannon. I do it every year and then I found this tea mug. I had to have it and think of sweet little Shannon when I use it.

I hope we can get together with more tea cup/mug exchanges. Keep these words close to your heart.  Visit Pink Saturday too .Have a blessed and beautiful day.

"I" is for .....Welcome March and the World of Tea

I feel Spring in the air! Icy cold drinks like sweet tea and lemonade will fill our days and the weather will warm!

It is still cold outside and we usually get hit with a big snowstorm in March. It is hard to begin planting until around Mother's Day and two years in a row we got snow on Mother's Day! I found these two peeking out from the cold earth this morning. I went to stand up my frog who protects the garden. He is sort of a garden gnome. I found these buds shooting up.

Since I is my letter today I was thinking of snow and icicles. I also had an idea and was going to attempt to redo a French Provencial chest of drawers and  a matching nightstand. I was thinking of using chalk paint. Let me know if you have any ideas to share.  What is your favorite "I" word share.

This tiny blue bird reminds me of Springtime. March is a difficult month for me. My oldest sister Pat had a March 27 birthday which is also the day I was informed, in 1987, that our unborn daughter Rachel had perished in utero. My niece Sarah who left this earth too soon was also a March birthday girl. But my nephew Ryan and several good friends share March as their birth month so I smile more these days. It is a reminder that my favorite feline BFF Boots left this life after a brief but devastating illness. I like to remember those who left before me in a happy way and never forget the beautiful memories I shared with them all.

If you were nearby we could share a teapot shaped cookie and a hot cup of tea or perhaps even coffee together. If you love tea and even coffee come join Stephanie for her 10th annual Teacup/Mug Exchange. If you do not have a blog you can join anyway! She is a beautiful lady and a very gracious hostess. I hope you will come join the fun but hurry over there is a limited amount of time to join the fun!

Enjoy your day and this new month too.

Many Monday Memories in the Making

I think being different is cool. It is awesome and fun! I own one cat, his name is Mr Kitty. He is quite pretentious and thinks he is the house ruler. I am caregiver to Nick's cat, Rose. She is the Chicken Wrangler, steals chicken faster than you can say "Where did my chicken go?"  Fried, baked, boiled, she is not picky although I think she may have some Southern roots. I have caught her twice with fried chicken, only the remains of the crispy goodness in her whiskers. A faint whisper of fried chicken on her breathe. The girl is a magician, disposing of the bones so she leave no evidence. Daphne belongs to our middle daughter's beau. I call her "Hey Girl", as she is skittish and shy. Having been dumped inside a twelve pack box of Miller Lite Beer with four siblings, as a newborn , I guess I would be afraid of humans too! Our youngest daughter owes Leo, oh what can I say about Leo, he is the neighborhood good will ambassador. Greets each dog in three yards surrounding our home each day. The grumpy black lab, who for nearly 6 years, has barked at me! Yet he wags his tail at Leo as they sniff butts through the fence and pee as if giving each other a high five! Leo stands about six feet tall on his hind legs. He is massive, about 75 lbs. He will lick you to death, kiss you and nibble your arms! But he is a gentle giant, once confined to a kennel for more than 12 hours a day. My hubby hates for him to jump on the bed but when I have had a bad day, a rotten  migraine or simply feel defeated he will come and lay next to me. He will look me directly in the eyes and I tell him how blessed he is to be here where he can run, catch rabbits, play fetch and lounge outside in the sunshine. He understands me and he loves the great outdoors. I babysit Jeremy's three dogs. Bandit is the ancient one. The old man recently received sad news. He is 15, quite a feat for a fellow who weighs a whooping 10-12 lbs. and is called a rat terrier. But he had an infection on his back paw and the vet thinks is is quite serious. The oral antibiotics helped and his three times a week foot soak with a special medicated shampoo has healed him somewhat. But Jeremy will have to decide about further testing to determine the seriousness of his illness. At nearly 100 in human years, the little fellow is a true prince. Smokey is a Boxador, which is a Boxer/Lab. he is 8 and the friendliest fellow. He watches over his tiny elderly brother and cherishes Stella, also 8, the shepherd/blue heel rescue. She is his love and he guards as as if she were a precious gemstone. My days are filled with cat litter, dog food, hair and spills. But the company is good. Sometime a furry friend knows exactly what you need. They will never let you down either. They are so different from people. They give a vacuum a great workout! So be different and visit Sandee at Aw...Mondays.

Pretty blue tea things from Pinterest. This elegant teapot would be terrific for a little tea party. I love the design on it.

Pinterest has some pretty tea sets too. This one is very classic and might be used at a high tea or just a fun vintage tea.

This Vintage Cobalt Blue teacup is bright and colorful. It would be fun to use at a Mad Hatter Tea Party where you could mix and match some different tea cups and saucers.

Amen to this pinterest find. I hope Jeanne joins me for some tea. I have lovely almond cookies, an English shortbread cookie and some elegant pastries to share. won't you join me too?

I will ask pinterest to give me this scone recipe too. You might enjoy glazed lemon blueberry scones.

Even Love is...loves tea time too!

Now Ms. Maxine, we really need to work on those manners. You can't spill hot tea on someone you don't like! Isn't it better to simply kill them, with kindness?

I will always love sharing Scriptures and the Book of James is very special to me.  I read it because my father read it and furthermore, he lived it.