Tea on Tuesday

I am enjoying some ginger tea, all the way from Finland.

Pulling out a rarely used teacup- Foley English china from Cotswold....I do have some Finnish Arabia teacups, which might have been more appropos- oh, well!!!

I had a bag of this ginger loose leaf tea, sent to me by a friend (Teresa!), and my bag was almost empty, try as I might, to make it last forever!!

Another friend, who is Finnish, went home to Finland for a 3 week vacation. I was watching her baby lambs (100 lb babies!) - socializing them, being a lamb whisperer. All right ! I was playing with them- while she was gone.  LOL

From left:  CJ, Spiderman, and Gaga (red on CJ is from rubbing on the red gate)

I think they are Suffolk, altho Spidey may have a little of a fleece sheep mixed in

Spidey, wondering where his after lunch clover is

The fabulous freckles that are Lady Gaga

Lady Gaga foreground- she is a sweetie and quite a looker!

CJ (aka Calamity Jane) is the one with the best conformation and show quality, and of course, the one who was the least friendly of the three( and most camera shy)!! She has come around - and towards the end of the vacation, would come to me looking for her treats,and would permit full body rubs!! I understand she is now walking on a lead, in preparation for her County Fair debut! I told myself at the onset, NOT to get attached to them - but I think I failed......

I have to admit, my favorite is Spiderman (named that because he was caught eating spider webs)- he is a love, very affectionate, and would fall asleep in my hands while I was petting him. He would also ba-a-a-a when he realized it was my car that pulled up, and ba-a-a plaintively when I left. The lanolin in the sheep's wool is so good for your hands - and made the leather in my old work gloves so supple!!!LOL I can't think of anything worse than being a lamb in the hot humid weather of Va- but surprisingly, they fared far better than I did with the heat those 3 weeks!

Spidey napping

Back to the tea - I asked Jo, if she saw any, and had a chance while in Finland, to please bring me back a bag of that wonderful ginger tea.

Well!!! Look what I got, very unexpected - all for having fun with 3 lovely lambies!!!!

3 bags of ginger tea - obviously, one from each little lamb (!), and some lovely Marimekko goodies and chocolate!!! That purple suede Marimekko wallet with goblet design is wonderful!!!! Thank you Jo!!!

On a different "note" - please enjoy this group - called - appropriately enough for today's post - 

                                              THE TEACUPS!!!

Please join us each Tuesday for tea - drop by Patty and Kim for a list of other tea lovers!!!

Tea on Tuesday- Vintage Style

I am sipping a new sample tea I got in the mail (it's delicious with local wildflower honey!).

 Even tho' my Irish mug is definitely NOT vintage, while sipping a new Twinings Orange sample tea I got in the mail (it's delicious with local wildflower honey and the pictured Beekman lemon creamed honey!), I thought I would share some vintage black and white photos found on the internet, of teas gone by..........

My grandparents used to have a swing like this at their country home in Rhinebeck, NY

 

Tea for two, on two..........!!

Please join us every Tuesday for tea! Share on your blog what you're having and what fancy cup or mug you are using, or just peek at what we are sipping. 

Don't forget to  leave a comment, and visit Patty and Kim for a list of other tea fanciers!!!

Tea on Tuesday- The Aftermath....

Because of  the oppressive heat of  recent days, this morning, I am stepping away from tea, and having a fruit smoothie - 2 kiwis, 1 sliced frozen small banana, 2 grapes (!), and barely a 1/4 cup of almond milk.

MMMMM, delicious, and healthy!

In case you haven't been watching the news lately, areas of the east coast got hit with a heck of a storm on Friday. evening. Up to 90mph winds in some states, as this angry storm made it's way from Ohio to the eastern shore, wreaking havoc on trees and causing power outages everywhere.

I first noticed something was wrong, when the tv started clicking on and off. I went outside to ask Mr. Green Jeans to come in from the garden to check it out. While walking to the garden, a giant bolt of lightning came earthward -and I turned tail and ran back to the house. No brave soul I....!!!LOL

I went in the house, then out onto the front porch to check out the storm - and the roar I heard - combined with the sound of the fans from neighboring chicken houses, was UNbelievable!!!

I knew this was no ordinary storm - I ran back inside and out to the garage to tell D/H to hurry up- and the air pressure on the garage door was holding it shut. I got it open and ran thru the garage- when I got to the outer door, the wind was just too wild! I ran back in the house, got the dogs and ran down to the basement into my daughter's room. Yup, I admit it, I am NOT brave when it comes to heavy winds and big storms in the dark!!

The sky lit up with some fantastic and scary lightning. The power was out, the generator kicked in, the computer was down.
Of course, my camera battery was low (wouldn'tcha know!) - every pic I tried to take of the lightning (when I ventured out of the basement!) just didn't work. And, there was not enough power in the camera to take a video of  what was a really fantastic, albeit frightening, light show.

D/H managed to get a few things off the front porch before they blew away. The wind was probably about 50+ mph (if not more) in certain gusts!
It managed to lift some 10 lb planters off the porch and toss them all around. All those lovely rusty things I had planted full of flowers at our Valley Gals meeting were a mess.

But, all things considered - we got away easy!! The power came back within 24 hours- just before the propane was about to run out. The computer came up last night, we got texting back on Sunday night. And, we only had a few trees down - unlike alot of other people.

A neighbor had a tree fall on her house, another had a full sized tree narrowly miss his car. Our postmaster started walking and hitching  a ride to work, when his lane was blocked by a fallen tree. He had to go into work (since neither snow, sleet, hail, nor fallen trees apparently, keep a mailman from his appointed rounds....)The 2 men regularly scheduled to work - had storm issues to deal with. One lost the roof to his chicken house, the other had his carport collapse on his vehicles. Lanes and roads all over the storm areas were blocked by downed trees. Streets and lawns were carpeted with fallen leaves. Some sections of town are still without electricity.

This was a common scene the day after, pickup trucks filled to the brim with downed branches

What's left of a big tree where Yoshi's parents live...

This house lost the twin trees in their front yard

approaching the drive thru' in RiteAid's parking lot

What's left of a huge tree that fell on our electric paddock fence

In Northern Va, where we used to live, schools, fire depts, and even the mall, were open 24 hours as "cooling centers", for those w/o electricity and a/c.

This was an unexpected and forceful storm, but so mild in comparison to tornadoes in the midwest, forest fires out west, and hurricanes at the shore. We have alot to be thankful for..........

It was just a wake up call to the ferocity of Mother Nature.

the calm after the storm early the next morning...

Please join us for every Tuesday for tea- drop by Patty and Kim for a list of other tea lovers!

Welcome to the Quilt Show- Part One

If you live in the Rockingham County, Va area, you really need to visit this quilt show today in Harrisonburg..

Quilts in the Valley XIII is put on by the Shenandoah Valley Quilters' Guild- open today from 12-5.

I have only been to shows in N. Va and Williamsburg, in huge venues. By comparison, this is small, but no less mighty! Alot of hard work went into setting up this biennial show of 155 gorgeous quilts!  The talent in the valley is amazing!!!!

I was greeted by one of the co-chairs, Guild President Sally Jones,(seen below) got the lowdown on the show and the guild, and of course, picked up an application to join their group!

The first room, as you enter Turner Ashby  High School, is filled with vendors, the silent auction, and the raffle quilt !

                                                    How amazingly wonder-full is this???? 

 You can buy a chance to win Sunrise Over the Blue Ridge  (I got so into everything else, and taking pictures, I FORGOT to buy a chance!) Proceeds from the raffle are shared with Skyline Literacy. Who wouldn't want to take a chance to own this beauty and help the literacy program too ?????

So, here's a tour - but, please, if you are in the area today- go see these quilts in person!!! Photos do not do them justice!!! The guild also sells a $5 DVD of all the quilts in this weekend's show, which will give you a better look than my blog will!

See the quilts, visit the vendors (and try not to buy anything- it's impossible!!!), watch the demos, bid on the silent auction items, and see the pillow puddle (I have NO idea what a pillow puddle is!)

Funny Looking Star- vintage orphan star bought at auction and put on new backround

Under the Sea

Gold Beaded Heron

closeup of beadwork

Lanterns- machine pieced/hand quilted

Kaleidoscope

Flying Cubes (with bead work)

Whirly 30's and Pineapples

One of my favorites- because of the color and the embroidery - and it's theme is baskets!

My Beautiful Baskets

                                                 This one is for Gene- it's wonky!!!!

Daddy's Wonky Log Cabin- made for her dad to hang in the log cabin he built

Pennies and Heart- wool penny rug - a first time entry for this quilter

Christmas Applique

Mountain Pond - paper pieced with hand appliqued cattails

I love 30's fabric and this style- I hope to learn how to do it one day! Here are 2 examples:

Grandmom's Flower Garden- 1st time entry, 1st time English paper piecing

Old Dresden Plate-the top was a vintage antique shop find, with new borders added and machine quilted by the quilter

                              

                                   There were so many more, which I will save for another post. If I counted correctly, there were 155 entries in 12 categories. All visitors get a program, and a checklist to vote for their favorite in each  category. That was VERY hard, believe me!!!

I loved the  little quilted "warning" notices  hanging everywhere - so cute and funny- reminding everyone not to touch the quilts- that was the job of the ladies with the white gloves!!! I will put those in the next post- they deserve a post of their own!!

I hope you enjoyed the show - if you can't get there today, in person - drop back here tomorrow, for another tour!!!

Tea on Tuesday

Before it hits my Etsy shop or eBay, I will have a teeny cup o'  floral tea in this pretty little demitasse from the late 1940's. It's American Limoges, in the Norway Blue pattern. Older style Limoges was hand painted - these are decals- still cute, from Sebring, Ohio.

                                                Plain on the outside, pretty flowers inside

'Tis summer, the rains are plentiful, the flowers are bright and sometimes fragrant......

gerbera daisy

wild thistle

cheery yellow

 

coreopsis- birdseed volunteer

"Tea does our fancy aid,

Repress those vapours which the head invade,

And keeps that palace of the soul serene."

Edmund Waller

"Of Tea"

Please join us every Tuesday for tea and more. Drop by Patty and Kim for inspiration and a list of other tea lovers!

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A Little Feedback.......

After several years of writing blogs, I am continually trying to expand my readership..........any advice?

I link each post to Networked Blogs, twitter, Facebook, Google,Linkedin and where ever else I can think of. I email friends who have asked to be alerted of new posts ( I don't browbeat for readership!!LOL)

 I visit and comment on other people's blogs. All very time consuming (and very enjoyable)- and all this is beyond just writing each blog post and putting up all the photos. Sometimes the networking takes up more time than the actual blog post!!!

The readership stats are not where I would like them to be, nor are the comments. I love my followers and am very thankful the number has risen to to where it is. Thank you all for following me - and I am trying to follow you all back, and visit as often as I can.

Any input would be greatly appreciated!!! Writing and putting it out there, is all about getting our thoughts out there, and the feedback, whether it be in the numbers graph, or actual comments. We writers are a needy bunch, and "need" to know we are loved (or  READ!!!) LOL

I strive to be, at the very least, somewhat entertaining; from time to time educational and/or mildly amusing; and maybe, even sometimes, reach the heights of enlightening some days!!!LOL

                                                    So, whaddya think....??????????