Tales From Twisty Lane: November 2011

Tuesday, November 29, 2011

Wish List

Have you made your wish list?
I think it's past time to make my Christmas Wish List.
I thought I'd take you along with me!

We are walking into my village and visiting the British Isles shop.

Walking in the door and looking to the left we find Holly and Ivy by Portmeirion.

It is on sale.

Oh, my!

Off to my right is what I came to see...

Bridgewater!

I have the kitty mug on my wish list!

More Bridgewater.

The JOY mugs and platter are really fun.

Decisions, decisions!

More decisions!

I really like the kitty tea for one.
(Yep, that's me in the mirror.)

If I can't find tea things for my list there's always owls and reindeer!

Thanks to our tea party hostesses.

These are just a few of the tea parties in the Land of Blog.

Teapot and Tea Things Tuesday

Wishing YOU well and a wonderful cup of tea!

Monday, November 28, 2011

My World: My Furbabies

"What greater gift than the love of a cat."

~Charles Dickens

"Tyger! Tyger! burning bright

In the forests of the night"

~William Blake

"I believe cats to be spirits come to earth.

A cat, I am sure, could walk on a cloud without

coming through."

~Jules Verne

"When I play with my cat, who knows if she is not

amusing herself with me more than I with her."

~Michel De Montaigne

"There are two means of refuge from the miseries

of life: music and cats."

~Albert Schweitzer

"The smallest feline is a masterpiece."

~Leonardo Da Vinci

***

I hope you enjoyed seeing the latest photos of Teddy and little Cassie.

Teddy is a natural at posing. He's easy to photograph.

Little Cassie is a perpetual motion machine and

when she sees me with the camera, she walks away or walks directly to me.

Very rarely do I take a photo of her that isn't blurred!

Teddy and Cassie are my furbabies.

My companions who share my tears, my smiles, my laughs, my world.

And I share theirs.

Today I'm linking to My World and my thanks to the My World team for hosting.

Wishing YOU well and a JOY filled week!

Saturday, November 26, 2011

Pancakes With The Pachyderms

There is just no better way to start off a Holiday week for me

than to go to the Houston Zoo.

Last weekend was Pancakes with the Pachyderms,

a celebration of the opening of the completion of the McNair elephant habitat

and, as you can tell,

taking pictures of the pancakes wasn't on my list of things to do!

I will say that breakfast was very good ... a whole buffet spread

that included eggs, bacon, sausage, potatoes, pancakes, scones, breakfast rolls,

Mimosas, Bloody Marys and you could order up an omelet if you wished.

The stars of the show were the Asian Elephants.

Tess (with the blond hair at her ears),

Tupelo (Tess' calf),

Baylor and Shanti (Baylor's Mom).

Baby Tupelo seems to always take over the show.

What a cutie and such a little squirt!

Tupelo had an exciting morning and was resting and thinking

about what to get into next!

Tupelo and Baylor love their new space.

It includes a big pool for them to play in.

Baylor trying to goof off with his Mom, Shanti.

Shanti is very patient!

This is Thailand.

Dad to Tupelo and Baylor.

A big thank you to Misty for being our hostess for Camera Critters.

Wishing YOU well and a JOY filled weekend.

Friday, November 25, 2011

Victorian Christmas

These are reproduction postcards published by

Darling and Company in Seattle.

No artist listed. Published around1907.

From the postcard book:

"A variety of British postal changes in the 1890s changed the demand for picture-postcards from a trickle to a deluge. In the next 30 years countless images were printed on billions of postcards. Photography and art were both utilized and every occasion, historical incident, fad, eccentricity, aspect of knowledge, or enthusiasm was pictured on a postcard. Millions of people collected postcards, which led to an even greater demand. Holidays were also popular subjects for postcards, Christmas chief among them.

Because of the enormous demand for art, and low cost of printing a postcard, publishers were not very discriminating. They frequently allowed poor work to be printed and seemingly were indifferent to the relevance of the illustrations to the theme at hand. Fortunately, excellence was also common, and artist's flights of fancy were given free rein."


No artist listed. Published around 1911.

Looking carefully at this second card, I can just read:

"Design Copyrighted, John Winsch, 1911"
John Winsch was a New York publisher at the turn of the 20th century.

Thank you to the lovely Beth for hosting Postcard Friendship Friday.

Wishing YOU well and a JOY and shopping filled weekend!

Thursday, November 24, 2011

Good Morning!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Sunday, November 20, 2011

Bridesmaids Brunch

Last weekend my Beautiful God Daughter married her

Knight in Shining Armor.

Festivities started off with a brunch for the bridesmaids

on 11-11 at 11AM.

Here's the bride with her maids ... all close friends.

Brunch was held on the pool deck of the Hotel Galvez

(which was celebrating its 100th anniversary).

Wonderful centerpieces.

The food was delicious.

I ate every bite.

Can't forget the shoes!!!!!

Thank you to Mary for being our hostess for
Mosaic Monday.

Wishing YOU well and a JOY filled week.

Friday, November 18, 2011

Friday Before Thanksgiving

It's been busy on Twisty Lane.

There was a wedding (photos to come).

Thanksgiving preparations are well underway.

I'm joining Natasha for some Friday Before Thanksgiving pinning!

Mr. and Mrs. Squirrel brought their own tableware.

The wine glasses have been painted to look like pumpkins.

You can smell the pumpkin spice cake when you walk in the front door.

Yum!

The dining room table has been set for the Thanksgiving feast.

A walk after dinner is on the menu!

Cuddle up under this blanket for an afternoon nap.

(All the photos are from my Pinterest site.

For some reason I couldn't link directly.)

Thursday, November 17, 2011

Good Morning!

Monday, November 14, 2011

Chinoiserie

Many of you know that I LOVE Fitz and Floyd.

Today I want to share one of my favorite Fitz and Floyd tea cups.

The pattern is called Chinoiserie.

The flowers are from my Beautiful God-Daughter's wedding.

I carried a bouquet of white hydrangea and gardenia.

The tea is straight from China. A gift from a dear friend.

They are the four favorite teas in China:

Kuan Yin

Puerh

Dragonwell

Chrysanthemum

The decoration on the cup changes depending on what side you see.

The designs are truly beautiful on the black background.

Kuan Yin tea is also known as TieGuanYin.

It is an oolong tea.

Oolong tea offers tea enthusiasts a wide-ranging choice of styles, aromas and flavors.

Oolong tea is the most intricate and complex tea to manufacture.

In some ways oolong tea is a composite of all tea.

There are several legends about TieGuanYin and I'd like to share my favorite.

WIE Legend

Deep in the heart of Fukian's Anxi County, there was a rundown temple which held an iron statue of Guanyin, the Bodhisattva of Compassion. Every day on the walk to his tea fields, a poor farmer named Mr. Wei would pass by and reflect on the temple's worsening condition. "Something has to be done," thought Mr. Wei.

Being poor, he did not have the means to repair the temple. Instead, the farmer brought a broom and some incense from his home. He swept the temple clean and lit the incense as an offering to Guanyin. "It's the least I can do," he thought to himself. Twice a month for many months, he repeated the same tasks.

One night, Guanyin appeared to him in a dream. She told him of a cave behind the temple where treasure awaited. He was to take the treasure and share it with others. In the cave, the farmer found a single tea shoot,. He planted it in his field and nurtured it into a large bush, from which the finest tea was produced. He gave cuttings of this rare plant to all his neighbors and began selling the tea under the name Tiequanyin, Iron Bodhisattva of Compassion.

Over time, Mr. Wei and all his neighbors prospered; the rundown temple of Guanyin was repaired and became a beacon for the region. Mr. Wei took joy in the daily trip to his tea fields, never failing to stop in appreciation of the beautiful temple.