Faith Family Friends

Celebrating the Joy of Living & Home Making ~

Baking, Cooking, Decorating, Tea Time, and taking Inspiration from those I love and the world around me...

A sharing of my heart and my home from a Christian perspective

...with a wee bit of whimsy added.

Monday 27 April 2015

Little Surprises for Tea Time


Spring had come once more to Green Gables....the capricious, reluctant Canadian spring, lingering along through April and May in a succession of sweet, fresh, chilly days, with pink sunsets and miracles of resurrection and growth. ~ LM Montgomery - "Anne of Green Gables"


Welcome to Tea Time Tuesday! 

I have missed you all and I want to thank you for your very sweet comments and prayers! You are such a lovely group of friends and it made all the difference having you pray for me and my family.

I want to also welcome my new followers. I am so happy to have you join my little blog!

Although much of my month has been spent in mourning, it is always a good thing to try and pick up the pieces and return to a normal life. My beloved uncle would have wanted that for he enjoyed life to the fullest.

While we were in New Brunswick, much of the snow had melted and a lot of grass is showing. The heavy rains have also helped and I can hear the song sparrows outside my windows. Spring has come at last!



This may not be the most exciting tea post in the world because I have been sick with a cold since returning home. But I hope you will enjoy my share today.

A few weeks ago, Hubby and I went into Winners and I found this sweet little covered sugar bowl. Love the wee tulip on the lid.

A friend is the sugar bowl in the tea party of life,
Sweet and satisfying to the soul. ~ unknown

The matching creamer was also there but I already had it. In fact, I had had the creamer for quite some time. 



As I was washing the sugar bowl, I got looking at the piece and discovered that it not only matched the creamer but also one of my teapots. 


All three pieces are made by Gracie China or Peppertree.

The strange thing about all this is that I had never noticed that the creamer matched the teapot until now! Duh! 



I think perhaps that was because I had always kept the teapot up above the kitchen cabinets and the creamer in another room altogether. Anyway, I was pleasantly surprised to discover I had a complete tea set! Has that ever happened to you? 

I love little surprises like that!



We thank You, Lord, for blessings
You give us on our way;
May we for these be grateful,
And praise You every day. ~ Roworth




The cup and saucer is Staffordshire made in England and I love the rich green landscape. 

The thing that tickles me most about this tea set is that it will go well with any transferware pieces I have; red/pink, blue, brown, and of course, green. 




Thank you for visiting today. I am always 
delighted when you stop by and if you have 
something tea related, please do share it with us. 
Tea wares, collections such as creamers or tea spoons, tea time recipes, or a trip to a Tea Shop, all are welcome here at Tea Time. 




Have a beautiful day friends and enjoy your cup of tea!




I am joining the following parties as well~

A Return to Loveliness
Tuesday Cuppa Tea
Friends Sharing Tea
Tea Cup Tuesday
Share Your Cup Thursday
Home Sweet Home



Sharing from my heart ~ Sandi

Wednesday 22 April 2015

Memories ~ Treasures of the Heart

Memories are timeless treasures of the heart.~ unknown

I am thankful that God made us in such a marvellous way that He gave us memories. Our memories come from past experiences which help mould us into who we are. Both good and bad.


My earliest memories come from my first home; my grandparents' farm in New Brunswick, Canada. Once called Bridgedale, it is now known as Riverview.


It was the dearest place which now only resides in my memory. It is a happy place where I visit in my heart from time to time. 


The farm was standing long before I came along because it was home to my great grandparents and it is where my mother, her sisters, and her little brother all grew up.


My mother, her sisters, and baby brother

I loved that house and all the people in it! You can see from the vintage picture below that the house had a wonderful veranda on the front. I spent many happy hours playing out there as a little girl. 




That house was my castle and I loved living there and later, visiting there. It had many rooms with all kinds of nooks and crannies and it was a splendid place for a little girl to develop a scope for imagination. To the right of the house and barn which you can't see in the photo was the chicken coop where I helped Granny feed the chickens and gather the eggs.




Behind the house and barn was, and still is, the Petitcodiac River. Also called the Chocolate River, it is where the famous Tidal Bore comes rushing through twice a day filling in the riverbed.



When I was a little girl, I called it the pink river because the water and shoreline was a pinkish colour. And boy, was that muck ever fun to play in! It squished between my fingers and toes like pudding. Indeed, it had the consistency of pudding and I thought it was the most wonderful and magical river in the whole world.


My hubby sees it differently and calls it a big mud puddle. That is an ongoing joke between us...


The best thing about memories.... is making them. ~
unknown 


I lived in the farmhouse until my Daddy built our home just on the other side of the apple orchard. The thing I liked best about that was I could skip through the orchard and visit my Granny anytime I wanted to. She was my most favourite person in the whole wide world in those days. There were always wonderful smells coming from her kitchen and tins of fresh baked cookies in her pantry.


Here is Granny with my cousin and they are admiring my new born cousin who is wrapped in the blanket.

One day, my Daddy packed us all up and moved us to Prince Edward Island. We would go over to NB every holiday and every other weekend to visit my grandparents and my uncle. Sometimes we spent most of the summer there. It was as though we had never left.

It was always a great adventure for my brother and me because we usually took the train which also went by way of the ferry. At the end of the journey would be warm hugs from my grandparents. It was always great fun to see my uncle, who was only eight years older than me, my aunts, and my cousins again. 


I had two heroes in my life while growing up; my father and my uncle. Both men were handsome, very bright, and full of life.


A few years after we moved to the Island, my beloved grandmother passed away and my life was never the same after that. Although my grandfather and uncle came to visit, and we often visited them, I missed my Granny terribly. Her presence was deeply missed by the whole family.


But I had my memories and she resides there still.


My grandfather remarried a few years later and moved into his new wife's house. He turned the big farmhouse into apartments and my Auntie P and her family lived in part of the house for awhile. Then one day the barn burned down, changing the landscape considerably.


Later on, Grampy sold the homestead and a family transformed it back into a family home complete with a swimming pool.


This picture was taken in the 1980's. 

The farmland all around was subdivided but they named a couple of streets after my grandfather and my uncle.


My cousins at the intersection of the two streets


I took this picture of the old house a few years ago. It looks so much different now. It is painted blue and the trees practically hide it from the road. I had trouble getting a good shot but I look at that house and I remember; that was my happy place.  



I look at the old house and I still hear the laughter of that little girl. I can still smell Granny's home cooking and I can still picture her churning butter in the back porch. I remember the tins of cookies in the pantry and I can still taste her home made ice cream. Best of all, I remember the love that was in that house.

Our memories are wonderful places to go, aren't they? They are places in our hearts that will never grow old and they will always be a part of who we are. They tug at our heart strings and they have the power to transport us back to another time. 


Sometimes you will never know the true value of a moment until it becomes a memory. ~ Dr. Seuss 


So many things have changed over the years. My grandparents are gone and have been for a long time. Two of my aunts have also passed on. And now, my beloved uncle is gone too. But I envision him in a better place. Someday, we'll be together again. 


In the meantime, I still have my memories.



My beloved uncle and me last summer on his last visit. 




I am sharing this with these wonderful parties~


Home and Garden Thursday

Share Your Cup Thursday
Home Sweet Home

Sharing from my heart ~ Sandi

Friday 10 April 2015

A Note to My Tea Time Tuesday Friends

Hello my dear bloggy friends! 



I will be cancelling Tea Time Tuesday next week due to the passing of a loved one. See you when I get back and take care. The Lord bless you all.

Sharing from my heart ~ Sandi

Monday 6 April 2015

Something New and Long Overdue for Tea Time


Flowers appear on the earth; the season of singing has come, the cooing of the doves is heard in our land.~ Song of Solomon 2:12

Happy Easter Monday and welcome to my first Tea Time in April! 




April means winter is behind us and the earth will be waking up from its long slumber. I am eagerly awaiting the return of the songbirds and seeing the grass again. Yes, I'm pumped!



 There is something in the nature of tea that leads us into a world of quiet contemplation of lifeLin Yutang

Back in November, my hubby had special ordered something for me for Christmas but it never arrived. So he waited, hoping to present it to me on my birthday which was in January. Still, it hadn't arrived. So, he was hoping to give it to me for Valentine's Day. Still no sign of it. 
It finally arrived last week so I will think of it as his Easter gift. Just for a joke, he gave it to me with a Merry Christmas tag on it. 



And here she is. Do you think she was worth waiting for? I'm pretty sure Ruth and Martha will like it as they both love blue! 







Made by one of my favourite makers, Johnson Bros., this scalloped teapot is Devon Cottage in all her lovely blue and cream floral splendour. It is perfect for an English Country tea setting, don't you think? I was hoping to find another blue transferware teapot and this one definitely fits me to a 'T-ea.' Thanks Hubby!

The very sight of a teapot puts a smile on the face of most people. One cannot help but think of more serene and genteel times....They are a subtle reminder of all that is good in the world. Barbara Roberts 



It has a different shape and pattern than my Blue Willow teapot. I am thrilled with it!





I have a few blue and white teacups and plates, so setting my tea table was fun using these. I hope you like it!


This teacup is Spode Blue Room Botanical.





This is Royal Homes of Britain made by Enoch Wedgwood. The plate is Blue Willow made by Churchill.


Tea is another David's Tea called The Spice is Right. It is an organic spicy green tea with cinnamon, orange peel, cloves and chili. Mmm, mmm good!

Perhaps you prefer your tea in a mug. This is a sweet, smaller than usual size mug, made by Spode called Blue Rose from the Blue Room collection.




Happiness is sharing tea with a friend.



Referring back to my post of two weeks ago, Hubby and I are now watching season 3 of Downton Abbey and are we ever enjoying it! The scenery, the costumes, the characters, and the tea scenes; whatever took me so long??





Before I close my post this little miss, who is wearing her Easter egg coloured hat, hopes you all had a wonderful Easter! She's my little lambie!




I am joining the following parties as well~ 

Blue Monday
Mosaic Monday
A Return to Loveliness
Tuesday Cuppa Tea
Friends Sharing Tea
Tea Cup Tuesday
Share Your Cup Thursday
Home Sweet Home



Sharing from my heart~ Sandi

Sunday 5 April 2015

Happy Easter!

To all my friends in Blogland....



Have a beautiful day!

Sharing from my heart~ Sandi