Happy Valentine's Day!

My Favorite Valentine 2013

Rose Garden Tea Set

Hard to believe January is almost over.
Valentine's Day is right around the corner.
This year I added this friendly Owl to my Valentine decorations.

I thought I'd invite him to tea! 

I found this trio before Christmas at Marshalls.

It is called Rose Garden - Fine China Afternoon Tea Set by

the English Table.

Lovely roses, a beautiful bird on one side of the cup and roses on the other.

It is quiet around here.

Cloudy again.

And warm -- high today in low 80s.

Bodes ill for Ughust! 

I'd like some more cool! 

Thank you to our tea party hosts:

Tea Time Tuesday

A Return To Loveliness
Friends Sharing Tea
Teacup Tuesday

Tuesday Cup'a Tea

Tea Talk

Share Your Cup Thursday

Wishing you well, much joy and a lovely cup of tea!

This and That

It's Friday and the sun is shining!

YeeHaw!

After a week of dark, dreary, cold (for us) days it is nice to see the sun.

So, what am I going to do today to celebrate the sun?

I'm going to sneak a quick walk into the village and perhaps have some ice cream!

I'm working on a baby blanket. It's a little different in that the edge is made first

(the granny squares) and then the body is crocheted (easy, peasy chain and single crochet).

I like the pattern and think it would be a good stash buster lapghan.

I've started reading Prayer of the Dragon by Eliot Patison.

This series set in Tibet is one of my favorites.

I've been saving two books in the series waiting (and hoping) for another in the series.

YES!

There is another! 

I've been looking around the house (closet searching)

for decorations for Valentine's Day. 

The snowmen from Christmas are still out.

It is still winter!

But, I did come across my "Box of Kisses" published by Chronicle.

40 reproduction vintage postcards that are perfect for Valentine's Day.

He looks like a very happy fellow!

I love the fashions on these cards.

Look at the gloves and beaded bag!

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

Wishing you well, much joy and a little sunshine!

Valentine's Gift

Aren't these teacups wonderful?

They were a Valentine's Day gift from a dear friend.

We were shopping at Tuesday Morning when we found them.
I "clasped my hands with delight"!

They came in a wonderful storage box decorated with the heart and crown...

a cappuccino cup set called Royal Heart ...

large cups that will be perfect for tea.

**"Descending from his perch, he fell to unpacking it with great neatness and dispatch, while Rose watched him, wondering what was going to happen. Presently, out from the wrappings came a teapot, which caused her to clasp her hands with delight, for it was made in the likeness of a plump little Chinaman ... Two pretty cups with covers, and a scarlet tray, completed the set, and made one long to have a "dish of tea" even in Chinese style, without cream or sugar."

~Louisa M. Alcott, Eight Cousins

"Let us gather for a greeting

With our teacups filled with tea

And I'll tell you how important

Your friendship is to me."

~ Alda Ellis, Hats Off To Tea

"If man has no tea in him, he is incapable of understanding truth and beauty."

~ Japanese Proverb

A big thank you to our tea party hosts:
Tea Time Tuesday
Friends Sharing Tea
Tea Party Tuesday
Teacup Tuesday
A Return to Loveliness

Tuesday Cuppa Tea

Wishing YOU well, a JOY filled week and a Wonderful cup of tea!

** Quotes from 365 things Every Tea Lover Should Know

Valentine's Day Tea

Welcome to Valentine's Tea!

I love Emma Bridgewater and this year I added the heart mug

and the heart teapot ... perfect for a little tea love on Valentine's Day!

You might recognize the pretty little heart vase from last year.

My DSD (dear step-daughter) makes sure that I have roses each year

and each year, when I get the call from the florist, 

I walk into my Village and get the vase refilled. 

Believe it or not, I'm not fond of boxed chocolates

but I love the boxes! 

This heart box I filled with Dove hearts (cherry and dark chocolate).

A book, a cup of tea, a piece of chocolate, a few roses ...

priceless!

Wishing you WELL, 

a JOY filled week,

 a wonderful cup of TEA

 and a Happy Valentine's Day! 

A big thank you to our tea party hosts:
Tea Time Tuesday
Friends Sharing Tea
Tea Party Tuesday
Teacup Tuesday
A Return to Loveliness

Tuesday Cuppa Tea

I've Got A Feeling

I've got a feeling that these are the last Kiss reproduction vintage postcards

I'll be sharing with you this year for Valentine's Day!!!

They are both from a Box of Kisses published by Chronicle Books.

"I've got a feeling for you."

"What's a peaceful country scene,

With lovely cherry trees,

Without a pair of lovers keen,

To kiss and coo and squeeze!"

Thank you to Beth for being our hostess for Postcard Friendship Friday.

Wishing YOU well, a JOY filled weekend, and a 

Happy Valentine's Day!

More Kisses!

I'm still celebrating the coming of Valentine's Day

with reproduction vintage postcards from

A Box of Kisses published by Chronicle Books.

Both of these cards are good for a giggle.

Thank you to Beth for hosting Postcard Friendship Friday.

Wishing YOU well and JOY filled weekend!

Kiss!

More from The Box of Kisses: 40 Reproduction Vintage Postcards

published by Chronicle Books.

"In the Spring

We are getting busy in the Garden."

"The Seventh Heaven"

***

I LOVE January.

It has nothing to do with welcoming a new year or making resolutions.

It is the time of year when all the seed/plant/garden catalogs arrive!

Let the list making begin!

Soon I will be getting busy in the garden.

That's my Seventh Heaven.

Thank you to Beth for hosting Postcard Friendship Friday.

Look Out For The Fellow Who Owns An Automobile

As we get closer and closer to Valentine's Day,

 some words of wisdom from

A Box of Kisses published by Chronicle Books,

a box of 40 reproduction vintage postcards.

"You must kiss him or get out and walk.

Look out for the fellow who owns an automobile."

"Love me and the world is mine."

Thank you to Beth for hosting Postcard Friendship Friday.

Wishing YOU well and a JOY filled weekend!

Hearts and Flowers

Valentine's Day is right around the corner 

and so many in the Land of Blog are featuring wonderful hand made hearts.

I'd love to show you some hearts I've been working on, but, alas,

my fingers have been busy turning pages of the books I've been reading

and crocheting squares for a baby blanket while I sit with Mr. Dragon.
DD (dear daughter) is back with us and Mr. Dragon's sister is visiting.

So, here are some Valentine postcards for you to enjoy.

Hearts and flowers and all things sweet and good.

Wishing you well and a JOY and LOVE filled week.

A big THANK YOU to Mary for hosting Mosaic Monday.

Mosaic Monday

Mary, at The Little Red House is the hostess for Mosaic Monday.

Not only was yesterday Valentine's Day, it was also the Lunar New Year, the Year of the Tiger.

I enjoyed both!

Some of the photos are of the money envelopes that are commonly used for Chinese New Year, Weddings, birthdays - any special event. During the Chinese New Year, money envelopes are normally given by married to unmarried individuals, regardless of age. Tradition is to give an even numbered increment of money enclosed in a red envelope and include wishes of peace, good fortune, prosperity, success and happiness.

On Mosaic Monday, I wish for you: peace, good fortune, prosperity, success, happiness and time with your loved ones.

Celebrate!

There's lots to celebrate today.

It is the Lunar New Year. Losar, the Tibetan New Year.

The Year of the Iron Tiger.

And, it's Valentine's Day.

The Tibetan New Year Festival, Losar, can be traced back to the time before the introduction of Buddhism in the sixth century C.E. when the Bön religion was predominant.

Every winter, a spiritual ritual was performed in which incense was offered to calm the spirits, deities and protectors of the land. It was said to have been started when an old woman introduced the measuring of time based on the different phases of the moon.

This later evolved into an annual Buddhist festival. Since the 13th century, Losar has traditionally fallen on the first day of the first month of the calendar year, which is lunar-based—unlike our solar western calendar.

However, before the coming of a new year can be celebrated, unfinished business and unhappy memories must be dealt with. And so, on the 29th day [February 12] of the last month in the old year, there is a festival called Gutor, in which everyone whitewashes and cleans their houses. The last day of the old year is spent preparing for the new year. People go to monasteries to make offerings, and to participate in the ceremonies conducted during the day. Many rituals take place that are designed to chase away any evil spirits. One of these is a play in which the lamas perform masked dances to symbolize the triumph of good over evil. New Year's Eve is Lu Yugpa, an opportunity to banish evil spirits from the old year and clear the way for starting the new year right.

In modern times the preparations for Losar consist of collecting fresh roasted barley flour for phyemar (this symbolizes good wishes); lophud, a young wheat sprout that is the symbol of the birth of a new year; chang, a mild barley beer; sweet rice, tea, butter, fried biscuits, sweets, fruits and butter lamps.

A complete collection of these seasonal foods is always placed on the family's Buddhist altar as an offering. The entire neighborhood is cleaned and houses are freshly painted. New clothing is sewn and new curtains are put over the doors and windows. There is a saying in Tibet, "Losar is Lekar," meaning the new year is new work!

On the first day, at sunrise, the wife runs to collect the year's first bucket of water. She burns incense at the well or river, ties a white scarf around the tap or nearby tree and gives a food offering of the first portion of the special foods for the celebration to appease the nagas (subterranean serpents and spirits).

A special breakfast is prepared, everyone wears new clothes for the year, and a special Buddhist practice is performed at the family altar. When the formal family ceremony is over, the household members run to their neighbors' houses shouting Tashe Delek!—literally, "Good Fortune!" As on Christmas morning in the west, on the morning of Losar the children love to fill their pockets with sweets and show off their new outfits.

According to Khenpo Tsewang Dongyal, "Each new year is an echo of the changing cycles and Losar reminds us of the true nature of impermanence. Everything that is born is bound to die. The old year is gone and will never exist again. The new year gives us the opportunity to come together and celebrate; to notice and appreciate each moment, in the moment, and to realize the blessings of the teachings."

—excerpted from a story by Margret Dunham from the Padmasambhava Buddhist Center's website at www.padmasambhava.org .

***

How about Valentine's Day?!

This is my Valentine -- everyday of the year.

"I love you not only for what you are, but for what I am when I am with you. I love you not only for what you have made of yourself, but for what you are making of me. I love you for the part of me that you bring out."

Elizabeth Barrett Browning

Happy Valentine's Day!

May you be with those you love.

Valentine Journal Page

Happy Valentine's Day!

I know I'm a day early, but I was ready and I've been eating chocolate!

Today is Friday which means journal page day and I'd like you to meet
Mr. and Mrs. Dragon on their wedding day.

A few presents for you! (Thank you Dover!)

Cute little Valentine Putti is clip art for you.

Another clip art bouquet for you.

I think the swans are my favorite clip art.

The next chapter in The 12 Secrets of Highly Creative Women is titled Conquering Saboteurs. "In order to leverage your creative growth, you need to defend yourself from saboteurs, both internal and external". In order to do this McMeekin suggests that we value our natural abilities, overcome the fear of criticism and others, but it was these two that I *felt* the most. She talked about gremlins -- those persistent little voices of doubt. The gremlins suddenly turned into dragons that needed slaying. I laughed. Interesting what symbols mean to people. You see, my imaginary friend when I was a kid (a very long time ago) was a dragon. Sort of a dragon of the Puff the Magic Dragon type, with a nice big belly that made curling up easy and comfy with his wings draped around me. My dear Puff has changed over the years. Sometimes he was a fiery monster that kept all the bad *stuff* away, but he always was on my side.

My natural abilities were never nurtured at home. I had a chorus teacher in grade school who recognized my perfect pitch. I still kick myself for not continuing voice studies, but the finances weren't there -- the support wasn't either. I quit singing in high school. I hum a tune every now and then. I loved Barbara Sher's quote "A good teacher is the holiest of God's creatures." Amen. To all you teachers out there -- bless you!

My father had the most beautiful handwriting. He was taught in school the Spencerian Script. It was hard to read with all its flourishes, but what an art! He should have been an artist.

I've always been interested in *things*. I've always *crafted*. I don't think of myself as an artist -- craft person is ok with me. Is that a gremlin sneaking in and telling me I can't do it? Good question!

When this month is over, and all my talks and tours are given, I'm going to take a kid's art class. I have the books and I'm going to be a 5 year old going to my first art class with my crayons and pencils in tow. Don't worry, I'll share!

One more quote from this chapter: "To fear is one thing. To let fear grab you by the tail and swing you around is another." ~Katherine Paterson, writer.