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Tea on Tuesday

This Tuesday finds me using a gift- a lidded chintz tea mug that I LOVE!

A former neighbor gave me a pair of these before we moved, and I don't use them often enough.

So, it was time to pull one out, blow the dust off, and have my tea!

That's what happens, when you have TOO many teacups- some don't see the light of day, or the outside of the display cabinet- as often as I would like!!

Twinings Black Tea Lemon Twist is very delicious hot or cold!

My mug is sitting on a white eyelet thrift store find- a set of three, probably really meant for a dresser(  dresser scarves), or maybe for the back of the couch - kind of a modern day antimacassar, with two smaller ones for the arms of the couch.

I have repurposed the longer one as a table runner, and the two small ones as mini  or tea placemats.

Now, does anyone remember what "antimacassar" means?????

?

     ?

           ?

                  ?

                         ?

Correct me if I am wrong (altho I am pretty certain I am correct!!LOL)  - an antimacassar was a doily of sorts, placed on the back of the couch or sofa - anti meaning against - and macassar meaning oil. Against oil.

Macassar, I was told,  was a brand of hair product from the turn of the century-(century before last, that is) It was a kind of oily substance- and these doilies were placed on the sofas to prevent hair oil from getting on the back of the sofa and staining it. Doilies were easily removed and washed, or replaced.

When I was little, I remember my grandmothers having antimacassars on all their sofas. I remember my dad using hair oil when he was younger - altho I believe his was a more "modern" Brylcreem- remember that commercial- "a little dab'll do ya'!"

This white trio is just like new, very modern and summery, so it's now for the table - not bad for a thrift store cheapie!!


Please feel free to join us all for tea on Tuesdays - read, comment, or write your own blog post!! The more, the merrier!!
Visit Kim and Patty - for a list of all the tea fanciers.

                                                                                     OH

Speaking of Kim - look at the happy mail I received from her last week!!!!

A unique package of all sorts of "oddments", as she called them!! All packaged in a recycled plastic sour cream(?) container, much to the amusement of my Postmaster!!!

                                                                 Recycled wrapping

She made the little boxes out of remnant book covers, the little pin cushion upcycled from a large bottle cap (Sobe, maybe?), a fridge magnet of her own design on tin with a found bottlecap.

My favorite - and it is really hard to choose a favorite - is the little bird river rock!!! SOOOOOO simple, and SOOOOOOOO cute!!!
Altho' - this pin cushion has already been put to use!!!! And, the magnet is on my refrigerator!!!

Kim is definitely one of the masters of upcycling  art!!!!!

                                                                  Thank you Kim!!!!

Take a Walk With Me............................

                                          .................to see what we can see.

 

 

                                          ( Ok- so I was driving, not walking, for the above pic)

 

There is going to be a BUMPER crop this year!

 

Yoshi

A while back, I decided we needed to get another little critter- to keep my old horse company.

I wanted to do this partly to fill the hole left by my miniature horse Miss Lilly's passing, and mostly, because my daughter's 30 year old thoroughbred needed a companion when left alone.

We have 3 horses. Two people cannot go out and ride at the same time, because Mycon is so beside himself when left alone.

So, 
           here
                  comes
                              Yoshi!

I saw Forest Creek Yoshi when he was first born, a year ago, and he was a spindly, adorable little thing. But, he was not on my radar at that time. Fortunately, he was still living down the road a piece, with his parental donkeys, and was still available!
So, we waited 'til he was gelded, and got his tiny hooves trimmed for the first time, and last night he was delivered to our barn.

At first, I thought it might be a good idea to have his dad donkey come along, to help make the transition easier- but his dad had other ideas! Dad donkey absolutely refused to get in the trailer- even sitting down on his butt to avoid being pushed into doing something he did not want to do!!! And kicking his owner!!!

As it turned out, and all things happen for a reason, dad donkey was not needed.

But, old Mycon, being true to his Mycon self, saw this little donkey and totally flipped out!!

He apparently forgot that he used to live on the premises with another donkey- but this little mutant horse like "thing" just put Mycon in a state of abject terror!! As I recall, so did the first donkey he ever saw years ago!

Mycon has never been fond of anything other than horses, hounds, and humans- if it does not fit into any of those three categories - he will do his best to get away from it- and in a big hurry!!!

Last night, Mycon did NOT disappoint!!!

He caught sight of the mini donkey,  pulled away from my daughter, and was literally shaking in his stall, with a heavy chain stall guard across his escape route to the paddock. From almost a standstill - this 30 yr old retired hunter jumper propelled himself over the 45 inch high stall guard and thru' an opening that was about 3' by 3' in diameter! Clean thru'- legs tucked in perfect form!!!

UNbelievable- the old guy still had it in him!!!!

Yoshi was put in a separate paddock, and everyone approached the fence- with big brave Mycon peering over everyone's shoulders - to check out this odd little newcomer.

We went out to check on them this morning- and little Yoshi let out a bray that echoed off the mountains!!

He was so glad to see a human - he really did want to be in with the big guys, not all by himself behind a fence!!!

He is absolutely adorable, and learning to take treats and be brushed, hugged, and loved- and he is apparently our  new
                                                          "early warning system"!

As soon as he sees me (or my daughter) he lets out a huge braying hello!!! His former owner barely ever heard a peep out of him!!! I guess his parents did all the "talking" for him!!

Anyway, I put all 4 together this afternoon - it took just overnight, for Mycon to overcome his fear. Surprisingly, he was the most curious, walking up close to smell this little foreigner!!!

Yoshi is dwarfed by them all.

Cisco, the kindest of our lot, was actually the one who tried to bite and chase poor Yoshi- so Cisco has his grazing muzzle on.
Prince John, the boss of the group, is pretty unimpressed, and doesn't really care about the donkey, as long as the donkey knows his place, and who the ruling Prince is!!LOL

Now, Yoshi can live 35+ years- he's only a year old - so barring any misfortunes(fingers crossed) I guess he will be in the will- to be left to my daughter!!!

Tea on Tuesday

As I sit here awaiting the arrival of my mini donkey, I remembered I had to post for tea!! So, I am preposting this on Monday night (sshhhh!), because if little Yoshi arrives on time - I will be very busy on Tuesday!! Fingers crossed!!!

So, if you will forgive me for taking the easy way out - I will again post some shots from Tumblr- all tea related- Tumblr is an endless source of amazement and inspiration for me! (For photo credits, please visit Tumblr)

 

Pottery, teacups and cubbies galore!! I love it!!!!

     A Harry Potter-esque artist creation- not sure I could actually drink tea coming out of this!!!!!!

 

But, I definitely could take tea from this gorgeous hibiscus teapot!!!!

Below, a collection from one of my all time favorite pottery designers- Clarice Cliff- I want them all!!

And for the inner upper crust in all of us-

Faberge

Please drop by for tea any Tuesday - see Patty and Kim for a list of other tea fanciers!!

Sketchbook Project Tour 2011

Mike made it to the gallery showing in San Francisco.

All along, we thought my sketchbook (and thousands of others) would be at 111 Minna Gallery today!

When it was time to leave to see the books,  Mike couldn't find any times or info about the Sketchbook Tour - he called the Minna Gallery, and they said the tour was not there.

So, I scrambled to the Art Co-op website to find out what was going on - only to discover the location had been changed!

And, the exhibit had been there for 2 days already!! This was the last day, not the first!!!

I did fire off an "upset" email to the Art Co-op, and to their credit, got a quick, and very apologetic reply.

Turns out, the Minna Gallery would not allow anyone under 21 in to view the books (!?) Altho' - Minna told my son, they had not heard back from the co-op, so all they knew was that the tour was not at the Minna.

Anyway, all's well that ends well. Mike did get to see my book - I am not sure if he got to check out any others- it looked crowded and was close to closing .

So, if you have a book in the 2011 tour, or wish to go see the books at any location - check to make sure there haven't been any last minute changes or updates!!!!

Chicago, Illinois, and Winter Park, Fla are the next stops- but check the website to be sure!!!!

There are ALOT of wonder-full artists and illustrators who have books in the tour. If you can't make it to any of the locations, the books will eventually all be online at the Brooklyn Art House Co-op's website.

And, if you'd like to play along - I believe there is still time to get a moleskine of your own for the 2012 Tour!!! 

I did!!!!

Giveaway Winner

We have a winner - from names written on teeny tiny scraps of paper and picked by an uninterested observer (my daughter!)-                 the
                                             
                                                                WINNER
                                                                        
                                                                         IS


                                 ANGIE
                                in Yanchep 


 Email me your address and I will get your book in the mail on Monday!! 

And, thanks to everyone for dropping in and looking and sometimes commenting!!!

Just a Quickie...................

A little hand stitched chatelaine of sorts- first try.

 

I saw a fancier one in Julieanna's and thought I'd try one out of scraps I had.

I cut a heart out of a cardboard PopTarts box (recycling!)

The vintage muslin scraps were from the thrift store- I have dyed several with different kinds of tea - this one was tea dyed with yerba mate tea - made it a light sagey green.

Very old rickrack, with vintage rayon ribbon, and a very vintage mother of pearl button,cover the lily of the valley print pocket.

Underneath is cotton batting, front and back, so it can be used as a pin cushion also.

The loop is from a thrift shop curtain tie back - I meant to have the tassel from the tie back at the bottom of the heart,

but 

was watching tv,

got distracted,

and 

forgot to sew it in........

The little sewing scissors were also a thrift store find- so the cost of this was probably less than a dollar.

This heart was the 1st try - the others will be better!!!

threesixtyfive

Robyn Gordon posted a wonderful video on her Facebook page( which I shared on mine) that has inspired me to get back to posting on my threesixtyfive blog.

Taking a photo a day and posting it every day is NOT as easy as one would think it should be!!

                                               At least not for me!!!

Drop by and see the two new photos posted, and please become a follower, if you are not already - the more followers, the more inspired I will be........................

PS - don't forget to enter my drawing on the previous post - a name will be pick tomorrow nite.

DING, DING, DING!!!!! GIVEAWAY!!!!

Bells are going off- my blog counter has informed me I have reached a total of




                                                  11,111  visitors




                                                I think THAT calls for a giveaway!!!!!






I think I will give away the book   

                              ART & FEAR    
Observations on the Perils (and Rewards) of ARTMAKING


                     by Bayles and Orland


And throw in a few other little goodies, and of course, some tea, to celebrate so many visitors..!!!


Thank you for dropping by, and please keep coming back!!


To enter, just leave a comment, and become a follower, if you are not already. I would love to have more followers - I'll follow you, if you follow me!!! Oh, and winner will be picked Saturday, June 18, after 5pm EST.

Tumblr Tea on Tuesday

Having recently discovered the wonders of Tumblr , a website full of shared art and photos, I thought I might just share a few tea related ones I found there!

I am sipping a tall glass of ice cold, southern sweet tea, made with Red Rose teabags, lots of sugar, flavored with fresh mint and stevia from my garden.

                                         What does the well dressed press wear to Tea on Tuesday? A lovely knit    sweater, of course!!

                              If we stitch, while we sip, we must have a pin cushion like this, if it is Tuesday!!

                                 

                        What to wear, what to wear, for Tea on Tuesday????????

 

Everyone should have a blue willow pottery shard dress like the one above and a teacup made of hide!!!!

The perfect ring for Tea on Tuesday member!

                            And we can all sip our tea, by the light of a Tiffany style teapot lamp............

Click on my Tumblr , for the credits, websites, and artists for all these photos.

Please feel free to join us, every Tuesday for tea. Visit Patty and Kimmie for list of other tea fanciers!

Thriftin' and Porch Sittin'

                   I'm in love with vintage silver and silverplate!!! I use          it, alter it, recycle and upcycle it!!

This is a recent score from the thrift store- multiple sizes of Paul Revere repro footed bowls- they will look lovely filled with floating flowers, lined up in size order down the table, or in a group.

The tea kettle is too badly worn on the inside to use for tea - (altho I wish I could use it!), so it will be upcycled with vintage flateware "chimes" and chandelier prisms.

The little measuring scoop above  I am absolutely in love with- I'm guessing it is one and two tablespoons - haven't actually checked the accuracy yet! But, I will use this - it's kind of unique.

Scored two large iron wheels for my garden - rusty farm equipment is too good to pass up when the price is right!!!! I'll show you them both later - when the garden is fully weeded!!LOL

 

Here is my daughter's dog, behaving very well, surveying the property from the front porch.

This was the other day, after I lugged those wagon wheels to the garden, and before the hay was cut.

I joined Luna on the porch, with a glass of iced mint water, and a good book - The Dirty Life- about a city girl who became a farmer - hhhmmmm!! It is a really good and quick read - with some yummy recipes included!!

A view down my porch - the rusty child's wagon leads the parade of vintage watering cans- one can NEVER

 have too many watering cans....................

A Quilty Tea on Tuesday

Last Thursday, I had the pleasure of attending one of Julianna's evening tea classes. 

                               Altho', this one had a different twist!

The ladies decided to have a tea version of a dinner theatre, by staging a mystery theme tea party-

                                     THE CASE OF THE CRAZY QUILT CAPER

We all received printed invitations, and when we arrived - the room was hung with an assortment of gorgeous vintage quilts. The quilts were owned by Julie and Susan and were made by their mothers, grandmothers, and husband's grandmothers.

Several attendees volunteered to act out a part (I was NOT one of them!) Quillinda, the Quantam Quilter (portrayed by shop owner Julie), was trying to discover who stole Grandma's prize winning quilt from the quilt show. It was a  fun  evening- I did not guess right - actually, only one person guessed who stole the quilt!!!

This mystery was from a script from Maxine's Mystery Tea Parties

Here are more than a few photos from that evening! You can click on all pix for a closer look.

All tables were beautifully set!

 

The tea room part of Julieanna's shop is a work in progress- it is not quite ready to be opened. So, the quilts hanging managed to cover up the unfinished walls quite well!! The shop is housed in an historic building, owned by Julie. We all can't wait for the tea room to be opened!

Julie (above) played the part of Quillinda, mistress of the quilt show and quantum quilter!

 Each place setting had a tiny teapot pin, made by "grandma", a wooden spool place card with a  name tag. The mix and match teacups were so gorgeous! Quilt theme items from the shop were brought in to double as centerpiece decorations.

                                                                    My friend, Judy

                                                        Our table's beautiful decorations

                                               My little place card - which I got to take home!!

                                        Simple decorating - fabric squares angled across the center of the table - a piece of orphaned china repurposed into a fancy pin cushion, a sewing scissor chatelaine (I'm making one of these!)

                                                Teapot lapel pin (some are still available at Julieanna's!)

 

Above is "my" lovely teacup

Menu

Another teacup fitting in perfectly with the backround  vintage embroidered quilt

                                                                     First course!! ham and apricot pinwheels, fat quarter sandwiches, pineapple flower sandwiches, cucumber cups with tzatziki.

                                      Raspberry scones - forgot to take the pic before I dove into them!!LOL

                                                Key Lime mini trifle and minted strawberries and pound cake

                                                        Chocolate- a perfect ending!

 

I hope you enjoyed "attending" the tea mystery party with me!!!
Please join us for tea every Tuesday- drop by to visit Patty and Kimmie for a list of all the tea partiers!!