SELLING CUPS AND SAUCERS

While out rounding up some inventory for our next sale I found two beautiful teacups. I can't decide whether to keep them or sell them. I would love to keep them but I say that for everything I buy so where do I draw the line? Oh, decisions, decisions... Well, here's the first:

                                      It's a Royal Staffordshire with delicate flowers...isn't it pretty?

 

 With some flowers and a cupcake left from Mother's Day, I enticed myself to keep it.

                                   I might regret this but my decision is....It's FOR SALE! But I WILL eat that cupcake! (Another decision I'll probably regret! Hah!)

                                                             And that's my final answer.  The other teacup? You'll have to wait until next week to see it. I'm joining the following parties:

Tea Cup Tuesday at Artful Affirmations
Tea Cup Tuesday at Martha's Favorites
Tea Time Tuesday at Rose Chintz Cottage
Tuesday Cuppa Tea at Antiques and Teacups
A Return to Loveliness at A Delightsome Life

HAPPINESS IN A TEACUP

Happiness is not something you postpone for the future! It is something you design for the present. Jim Rohn

I think one of the reasons people enjoy tea is that not only is it something to tastefully savor, but it is a simple "event" you design for the present. When choosing to "take a cup of tea" one must  intentionally take time to choose the flavor of tea, choose a beautiful cup, and then go through the steps of preparing the tea. Whether you prepare a festive table or find your own cozy spot, all of these activities keep you "in the moment" and that is where you find happiness. You are intentionally designing happiness for the present. And then the finale of sitting down to relax and enjoy your tea  in quiet alone or with a lovely tea with friends. Happiness!

It seems that each of my teacups comes with a memory. Another reason for happiness! My teacup today is from  blogging friend, Vera, from Olivia Paige. She makes beautiful doll furniture for American Girl Dolls. We signed up for a blog swap a couple of years ago and were matched. It was the first swap for both of us and it was great fun! I highly recommend you try a swap!

        The cup is a beautiful creamy yellow with gold flowers. It's a Royal Grafton from England. And along with my yellow cup, here's a pot of daffodils to bring some sunshine into a winter day.

 

One of the things that I enjoy doing while drinking  tea is reading. Most recently I began reading a book that belonged to Dr Plummer. Both Henry and Daisy Plummer enjoyed reading and there are still bookshelves in the living room and library chock full  of their  personal books.  Most of the books have either a personal signature or a personal bookplate. It's fun knowing that while living in the home of Henry and Daisy we can read their personally autographed books.

Henry enjoyed reading medical books, horticulture, and history. Daisy left many music books as she played the piano.The book I'm reading now is "Customs and Fashions In Old New England" by Alice Morse Earle. The book was originally written in 1893 but this edition is dated 1901. The book tells about the early puritans and how they lived.

One story tells how ministers were not allowed to marry couples, only a magistrate, a captain, or "any man of dignity in the community". Some times people  tried to "marry themselves" and these were called "disorderly marriages". They were punished by being fined every month until they were "properly married".  Following is a story from the book concerning a "disorderly marriage".

"A very trying and unregenerate reprobate ( aged 49 ) in New London persisted that he would "take up" with a woman ( aged 22)  in town and make her his wife without any legal ceremony. This was a great scandal to the whole community. A pious magistrate met the ungodly couple on the street and sternly reproved them thus: "John Rogers, do  you persist in calling this woman, a servant, so much younger than yourself, your wife?"
"Yes, I do," violently answered John.
"And do you, Mary, wish such an old man as this to be your husband?"
"Indeed, I do," she answered.
"Then," said the magistrate, coldly, "by the laws of God and this commonwealth, I, as a magistrate pronounce you man and wife."
"Ah! ",  said the groom, married legally in spite of himself, "thee's a cunning fellow."

Prepare yourself a cup of tea with memories, add some lovely flowers, and an entertaining book...HAPPINESS DESIGNED FOR THE PRESENT!

Today I'm joining the following parties:

Teacup Tuesday at Artful Affirmations
Tuesday Cuppa Tea at Antiques and Teacups
Tea Time Tuesday at Rose Chintz Cottage
Bernideen's Teatime Blog
Teacup Tuesday at Martha's Favorites

TEA CARTS, TEA TRAYS, AND TEA CUPS

"You can serve high tea around the dining room table but afternoon tea is more of a living room occasion, with everything brought in on a tray or a cart."   Angela Hynes, The Pleasures 
 of Afternoon Tea

Before I share this week's Tea Cup I'd like to share with you a bit of history...

This is a photo of a tea cart from the 1920's. It sits in the corner of the dining room of the Plummer House, a 49 room mansion in the heart of the city. The Plummer House was the home of Dr Henry Plummer and his wife, Daisy. 

 Many have asked me about the 49 room mansion, called The Plummer House, that we live in and that I mention here in my blog.

  Here's the "short story": We don't own the house. It is owned by the city of Rochester and managed by the Park And Recreation Dept. We work for the P. and R. Dept and act as Resident Directors, living in what we like to call, "the West Wing" of the house. The house was built from 1917-1924, taking 7 years to build. It was owned by Dr Plummer who helped begin the world famous Mayo Clinic with the Mayo Brothers. He was a genius and invented many things even unrelated to his medical profession. We've lived here now 22 years. The house can be  rented ( except, of course, where WE live ) and is most often used for weddings and small events. There are days in the summer set aside for tours and videos sharing the history of the house and family.  I will be sharing more about our adventures here and the history of the house in future posts. Our responsibility is to oversee events and tours and any other activity in the house. We oversee the day-to-day needs of the house working with the cleaning staff and maintenance staff and tour guides. There are 11 acres of gardens, ponds with fountains, and woods taken care of by the Park Dept. There are amazing views in  every direction. We feel very blessed to be living here!

OK so what does this information have to do with Tea and Tea Parties? The tea cart above belonged to Daisy Plummer. She loved to entertain! The family came from an English background and so, of course having tea was a big part of their entertaining. As the saying above says, "tea was brought in on tea carts and trays".

The top of the tea cart held two glass trays that could be picked up to carry and serve. The doilies you see were just set underneath the glass trays.

                                     Here's a close-up of the doilies.  Sorry about the glare spots. I really need a better camera...

 Many famous people came to the clinic ( and still DO) and in the past, the Mayo family and the Plummer family hosted them for parties and for tea.  Here is a photo of Daisy Plummer on the left with...anyone care to guess?.... It's Helen Keller in the middle and Annie Sullivan on the right! Daisy hosted them for tea on THIS VERY TEA CART! This photo sits on the tea cart now ( but without the white glare spot ). I'm not sure when this photo was taken but the clothes appear later than the 1920's.

They were in their heyday in the house from the twenties to the early thirties. Remember hearing about the "roaring twenties"?  You can see in this photo below that this was taken in the 1920's when the clothing styles were about "flappers" and  low waisted dresses. There are photos of this era all around the house.

This is  Daisy but once again I have another glare in there. This photo hangs in the Master Bedroom.

Below are photos of the dining room. The furniture here is all original to the house back when Henry and Daisy lived there. The dining table has 7 leaves and opens up to seat 20 people.

Since the house isn't rented over the Holidays,  we enjoy our family Christmas, Thanksgiving, and Easter dinners in this room. Since the one table can seat so many for a long time we didn't have to have  to have  a "kid's table" like our family and my husband's family  did back when we were growing up. Now that our family is growing and we can't all even fit around THIS table we've had to add a "kid's table"! Our older grandchildren ( ages 11 and 16 ) now feel "shunned" having to sit at another table! OK They don't really feel shunned but it's new to them. Guess they've been kind of spoiled and we're  not even rich! My husband tells them, " Your great aunt, Cindy, sat at the kids table until she was 40!" Anyway, it all gets worked out and everyone is happy!

Here's the chandelier over the dining room table. The ceiling was hand-"carved" out of the ceiling plaster and much later painted ( the painting of it was a mistake in MY mind ). One of the current goals we have for the house is to get the painting and walls back to their original style.

                                                      Original buffet and a newer mirror.

This door leads to the Butler's pantry where there is a dumb waiter  and then on into the kitchen. The silver drawers you see as you look in are warming ovens.

We've had many adventures living  here that I'll share in future posts. We've also learned to appreciate and gain a deeper interest in the history of our home and community, its medical roots, and the people in it.  It also fits into my love of vintage and antique treasures. To see some outdoor winter photos of the house go to my right sidebar.  I'll be changing them as the seasons change...

                                                      AND NOW MY TEA CUP!

                                      
 Once again this was one that belonged to my grandmother.  It's Evangeline Paragon. After checking out the background on this I found that this particular cup  dates back to the mid 1930's. Paragon China is an English company making fine china  and in later years becoming Royal Doultan. It states that this China is so delicate that if dropped it would shatter into a million pieces.What cup wouldn't?  I won't be testing it out, however!

The design on this is on the saucer and INSIDE the cup. The outer side of the cup is white with a gold ring.

                                        I love the delicate curved handle on the cup.

The colors don't show well here but it has a light mint green background with dainty colored flowers. I simply MUST get a new camera!!  UGH!  The shadows!

 

I hope you enjoyed a little history with your tea today... I'll be joining the following Tea Parties:


Teacup Tuesday  at Artful Affirmations
Teacup Tuesday at Martha's Favorites
Tuesday Cuppa Tea at Antiques and Teacups
Tea Time Tuesday at Rose Chintz Cottage
Tea On Tuesday at Poetry In A Pot Of Tea
Friends Sharing Tea at Bernideen's Tea Time Blog  ( Wednesday )
 Tuesday Tea  at Tea Cozie Cottage
A Return To Loveliness at A Delightsome Life

To find my GROW YOUR BLOG and a GIVE-AWAY go to my Sunday Jan 20th post.
To find LIVE YOUR DREAM LIFE NOW WORKSHOP SESSION 3 go to my Monday Jan 21st post.

TEA WARMS THE HANDS

Tea that helps our head and heart
Tea medicates most every part
Tea rejuvenates the old
Tea warms the hands of those who're cold.  J. Jonker, Amsterdam, circa 1670

It's really cold out tonight. I sit  home, enjoying a cup of Chamomile tea in one of my maternal Grandmother's tea cups trying to keep warm with tea and memories.

I sit in a chair of my fraternal Grandmother's. Already recovered several times, my "style" has changed  yet again and I would like to recover the chair  but it's not even worn! Is it frivolous to do this? I'll probably go ahead and do it anyway : )  It kind of looks like the teacup. The teacup sits on a little blue vintage table I picked up at an Estate Sale.

                The inside of the cup is a lovely light creme/yellow below the gold trim.  The colored flowers on it are  sweet and bright. They make me smile. My hands are warmed by the cup, my heart is warmed by remembering grandmothers, and the hot liquid goes down warm.

                                                       Made in England, it's very delicate. A Rosina.

If you  peek under the teacup you'll see a pretty vintage hand stitched linen dresser scarf with delicate blue flowers.

                                I'll make a pillow out of this, I think...with a blue and yellow backing.

 I'm off to join the following parties:

Teacup Tuesday at Artful Affirmations

Tea Time Tuesday at Rose Chintz Cottage

A Return To Loveliness at A Delightsome Life

SNOWMAN TEA

While most of my teacups are dainty and lovely, I also love to have tea served in something just fun! Soooooo.....Here's my cute little snowman individual teapot/cup.  I enjoy peppermint tea in this little cutie.

He's sitting  on a vintage silver tray.

The tray says "Merry Christmas" on it.

And to add to the fun of sipping my peppermint tea in snowman teacups, we just received our first snowfall of the season so we  are assured of a white Christmas. I took a few photos from the inside of the house.

 

This photo overlooks the circle drive.

The two photos above, look out our dining room window where I sometimes sit with my tea.

                                         This photo looks out the living room window  in the back of the house.

 

And apparently I have a "thing" for snowmen as I have collected several of them without thinking about it.  This is probably my FIRST Snowman...a vintage little guy that my grandmother had.

 

And here are two more in a fun basket that has little lights all over it. Purchased from a very talented lady I know who makes many of these baskets.

This is an old vintage snowman that I found at a yard sale. Planned to sell it but decided to keep it.

                                        This snow lady was a purchase from TJMAXX. And I was  still not realizing I was collecting snowmen. Just gathering up cute things I liked.

                                        A warm, cuddly sweet little guy I couldn't resist.

 

And a whimsical folk- art- like snow fella.

Not to mention a whole set of Mitford snowmen and matching lamp, snowman child's cups and plates.... and more!! And I really wasn't trying to collect snowmen! So it was fitting then when I ended up buying a snowman teapot/cup!

 

Apparently I have a snowman addiction as I took photos of more snow people I was going to buy. I don't have them YET but....

My snowfriends and I are joining the following tea parties:

Teacup Tuesday at Martha's Favorites

Teacup Tuesday at Artful Affirmations

Tea Time Tuesday 

Tuesday Cuppa Tea

Bernideen's Tea Time Blog

Miss Spenser's Tea Time Blog

TEA AND CHRISTMAS BOOK

I've collected Christmas books since my children were young. They are now married and I give them a book every Christmas from their childhood readings. But I continue to find sweet old Christmas books that I can't turn down. So this year with my cup of tea I'll be sitting down to read my old books along with Christmas devotionals.

I picked out this tiny little Red Wing cup to enjoy the taste and scent of peppermint tea along with the book, A Christmas Blessing.

I purchased the tea cup a few years ago at a Christmas Vintage Market. I love the daintiness of it. Red Wing dishes are popular around here as they were made in the town of Red Wing which is about 45 minutes away from where we live. The old factory where they were made was turned into a unique mall with the largest section being antique shoppes. our favorite place to shop. My grandmother owned a lot of this and we all were given pieces after she passed away. Now all Red Wing pottery reminds me of my Grandma.

  The book, A Christmas Blessing, only dates to 1996, but  the photos were taken from vintage magazines and other places from as far back as 1887. I love these old pictures. They are beautiful!

THE CUP IS SIX SIDED AND A PRETTY GREEN INSIDE.

THIS IS THE SAUCER SHOWING THE SIX SIDES.

HERE IS THE RED WING SYMBOL.

MY HULL SWANS SWAM OVER TO JOIN ME.

HERE'S A CLOSE-UP OF THE DESIGN.

"LET US REMEMBER THE FOUNDATION OF THIS JOY---THE FEAR,THE JOURNEY, THE REFUGE, THE BIRTH, THE REVELATION."   Taken from the book, A Christmas Blessing by Welleran Poltarnees.

DON'T FORGET TO SIGN UP FOR MY 2013 WORKSHOP, "LIVE YOUR DREAM LIFE NOW" BEGINNING JANUARY 7TH! DETAILS ON "WORKSHOPS" PAGE ON MY BLOG.

I'm joining the following parties:

Teacup Tuesday at Martha's Favorites
Teacup Tuesday at Artful Affirmations
Tuesday Cuppa Tea at Antiques and Teacups
Tea Time Tuesday at Rose Chintz Cottage
Miss Spenser's Teatime Blog
Bernideen's teatime Blog
A Delightsome Life