Christmas Tea

I've been out shopping again!

My latest adventure took me to Cornelius Nursery.

I wanted a poinsettia and a Christmas cactus

and while I was there I enjoyed all the decorations ...

especially this table filled with sugarplums of all kinds and a tea canister!

I love the handle on this tea cup
and the wonderful red and green of the holly and the ivy pattern.

 There is no decoration on the interior of the cup.

The bottom of the cup and saucer read:

Bella Lux

Gracie Bone China

by Coastline Imports.

This tea cup reminded me of the book:

A Cup of Christmas Tea by Tom Hegg and illustrated by Warren Hanson.

It is the story of a young man's reluctant visit to an elderly aunt at Christmastime 

and the unexpected joy it brings.

One year the book came as a set with a teacup.

I remember gifting the set to a friend who often talked about her Aunt

and the joy they shared over a cup of tea. 

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

Tea Time Tuesday

Teacup Tuesday

Tea Party Tuesday

Tuesday Tea For Two

Wishing YOU well and a wonderful cup of tea! 

Christmas Memories

Welcome to Winter Wonderland!

I just had to share this shot.

It is the first thing you see when you enter Blue Leaf in my village.

Oh, my!

Christmas Overload!!!

On to the memories with some help from Blue Leaf.

A smile came to my face when I saw the Christmas Village.

I remembered being a little girl and visiting my grandmother for Christmas.

She had the most wonderful Christmas Village around the bottom of her Christmas tree.

All the different buildings were made from cardboard.

The roofs had batting on the top with glitter (of course) to look like snow.

There were churches and shops and lots of bottle trees all decorated.

She even had some small houses in her Christmas tree.

Sweet memories!

I'm joining The Tablescaper for Seasonal Sunday.

Wishing YOU well and JOY filled week.

Children At Christmas

"There flourished, in the early 20th century, a culture of postcards. Hundreds of publishers poured out, each year, thousands of new designs. Artists were kept busy thinking of new subjects, and new ways to illustrate old subjects. Printing presses were run night and day churning out the many new designs -- thousands of each. While no one knows exactly how many different postcard designs were created in this period, it would not be an exaggeration to say that hundreds of millions of cards were printed during this fertile period.

Christmas was, in the avalanche, the most popular subject. Every nuance, every tradition, every character was explored from every conceivable angle, and since Christmas is a holiday closely associate with children, they were frequently featured."

~ From Children at Christmas Postcard Book, Darling and Company Seattle

A Merry Christmas

"Here's a fine fellow, as gay as can be,

For all of his presents just fit to a -T-."

There is no date or artist listed on the back of this postcard,

but it was published by the International Art Publishing Company.

 

The artist of this little girl postcard was Margaret Evans Price.

Price was a Western New York artist, painter and toy designer.

She is primarily known for the many children's books that she wrote and

illustrated or collaborated on. She and her husband co-founded the

Fisher-Price toy company.

No date or publisher is listed.

My thanks the Beth for hosting Postcard Friendship Friday.

Wishing YOU well and fun filled weekend!

Good Morning!

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

Tea Time Tuesday

Teacup Tuesday

Tea Party Tuesday

Tuesday Tea For Two

Wishing YOU well and a wonderful cup of tea! 

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!

Remember This?

Remember Mr. Brown?

I crocheted 14 of these strips.

I added green to 7  and

red to the remaining 7 .

 The strips were linked by white,

alternating the colors

and I finished the Christmas Afghan*.

Then I put the crochet hook down and

had a cup of tea.

And it isn't fall yet!

Back to 100+ degree temperatures this week.

This is way past the getting old stage.

My thanks to Mary for hosting Mosaic Monday.

Wishing you WELL and a JOY filled week.

*The pattern is from a Leisure Arts book featuring *Mile-aMinute* afghans.

Red Tea Pot

New little red teapot from TJ Maxx

"Drink your tea slowly and reverently, as if it is the axis on which the world earth revolves - slowly, evenly, without rushing toward the future." ~Thich Nhat Hanh

Teapot and Tea Things Tuesday

Teacup Tuesday

Thank you!!!

My Favorite Christmas Gift

From Mr. Dragon

 

He is my knight in shining armor.

Thank you, my love. 

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas!

Thank you so much for being part of the neighborhood here at Twisty Lane.

It's been a joy to get to know you.

I call you friend.

May you experience peaceful places,

 tranquil moments,

 quiet thoughts that nourish the soul.

Sparkle!

On a recent shopping trip, a dear friend and moi stopped by Anthropologie.

There, calling my name, was a collection of postcards.

Glitter Greetings, Joyeux Noel

Cavallini & Co.

Here is one of the postcards from the assortment of twelve.

I think you can see the glitter on the birds.

And, they were on sale!

The lovely Beth is the hostess for Postcard Friendship Friday.

Thank you, Beth!

Wishing all of you well, the happiest of holidays and a bright and glorious New Year!

Good Morning!

Christmas Wreaths

Each year different departments at M. D. Anderson Cancer Center

make Christmas wreaths for auction.

The wreaths are displayed on the walk-way between the main building and the Mays building.

The auction goes on for two weeks with the proceeds going to family programs.

Here are a few of my favorites.

Please excuse the quality of the images.

The reflections were horrible, the lighting terrible and there was a lot of pedestrian traffic to shoot around.

I loved the pink "Ride 'em Cowgirl" wreath with its boa like feathers.

Curious George was a hit with the kids as was

the Mickey and Minnie Mouse wreath.

Then there was the "My Fair Lady" wreath with it's fancy feathers, fabric roses, ribbons, pearls and

plenty of lace.

It was the "Happy Texas Gulf Coast Holiday" wreath that really captured my attention.

Photos of the gulf coast, fishing lures, weights, shells, lighthouse.

You name it. If it had to do with fishing, it was on the wreath.

There was even part of a fishing pole hanging off the side!

Love the jingle bells, too.

A big thank you to Mary for being our hostess for Mosaic Monday.

Christmas is less than a week away.

Wishing you well, a JOY filled week, and many blessings this holiday season.

Postcard Friendship Friday

Seven days until Christmas!

Time is flying by.

All the packages have been mailed -- yeehaw!

Time to sit, cuddle under a blanket with the kitties, have some eggnog, enjoy some old movies.

Rest, relax, read, dream.

Here's Santa on his rocking horse.

As the horse rocks, you can see more of the village behind Santa.

This is my favorite of the reproduction postcards I found on Galveston Island.

A big thank you to Beth for hosting Postcard Friendship Friday.

Wishing you well and a JOY filled weekend.

Good Morning!

Tea Tuesday

How about a wreath titled Christmas Tea for Tea Tuesday?

I thought it was perfect for Christmas and Tuesday tea.

I 'd like to thank  Tea Pot and Tea Things Tuesday

and Teacup Tuesday for hosting Tea on Tuesday!

Wishing you well and a yummy cup of tea!

Pass the Yarn Please!

I've been catching up with my email and look what I found.

Crochet patterns from Lily using their Sugar N Cream cotton yarn.

Aren't they wonderful?

Images from Sugar N Cream

The Elf is named Lily, the coaster has a wonderful candy cane pattern and the Santa holds a tag.

Images from Sugar N Cream

My favorite pattern is the one for the reindeer ornament.

I have a thing for reindeer!

One of the stockings is knit and the other crochet.

I almost forgot the Santa ornament.

Pass the Yarn Please! I'm all ready for some more fun hooking!

A big thank you to Mary for being our hostess for Mosaic Monday.

***

Mr. Dragon has an appointment with his oncologist Monday and we'll see what the word is on further treatment. 

Thank you again for all your prayers, white light, juju, vibes, hugs, emails.

We really do appreciate all your support.

Wishing you well and a JOY filled week.

Postcard Friendship Friday

We lived on Galveston Island for many years.

 Dickens on The Strand is held there in December .

I remember it as a lovely Victorian celebration of Christmas and found this post card at one of the shops along The Strand.

This is a reproduction moving action Santa greeting postcard.

His arm with the paint brush moves.

There's nothing Santa

more enjoys

Than making toys for

girls and boy,

And in his way he's 

wondrous wise,

For he knows just

what'll please

your eyes.

Fun!

A big thank you to Beth for hosting Postcard Friendship Friday.

***

Mr. Dragon is home with his oxygen.

We learned a very sad lesson ... never believe your doctor until the FINAL path report is in.

Cancer cells were found in the fluid that has collected around his lungs.

We have an appointment on Monday to see what is next for treatment.

Thank you for your support, your prayers, your emails.

It means a great deal to both of us.

As Thich Nhat Hanh says:

"Smile, breathe and go slowly."

Wishing you well and a JOY filled weekend!

Good Morning!

(Image from Paragon.com)

***

Sorry I haven't visited or posted recently.

Mr. Dragon has been in the hospital since Sunday.

The good news, all tests negative for cancer.

The bad news, he needs help breathing and has some other problems.

He may be home today.

Keep those good vibes, juju, prayers, thoughts, white light and all coming!

Thank you!

I promise I'll visit -- hopefully soon!

Postcard Friendship Friday

It's December.

The Winter Solstice is just around the corner.

Christmas! Twenty one days away! Oh, My!

The hurrier I go the more behind I get ... or something like that! 

Two postcards to celebrate winter 

and Christmas.

The postcards were made by Current, Inc. I've had them for years and love the art work.

A big thank you to Beth for being our hostess for PFF!

Wishing you well and a fun weekend!

Edit: Current Inc is still in business!