HOME

"Dear God,
Protect our going out and coming in; let us share the hospitality of this home with all who visit us, that those who enter here may know Your love and peace." ~ Author unknown

Hello my lovely friends and welcome to my HOME! I would like to wish all of my American friends a very Happy Thanksgiving and a Happy Hanukkah to all my Jewish friends!

I am delighted you have stopped by today and blessed me with your presence. I really do appreciate all of you, my bloggy friends.


Before I actually begin this week's party, I must share with you from a very thankful heart that God has just answered a very big prayer request concerning my mother this morning.

It is a very long story and I cannot go into specifics but it took a miracle for this to happen. And it took two years for this prayer to be answered. God is so good!

One thing I have learned well over the years is that prayer really does change things and we should never give up hope!

This week for my tea party, I shared a little bit of Christmas for my tea. The teapot was a gift from my son and DIL last year and the Spode mugs, I found out in Vancouver last Christmas for half price. They are a set of four.

My little tree is one that I set in a mercury glass hurricane candle lamp and decorated with mini lights inside the lamp and on the tree. I thought it looked pretty cute and gives off a soft glow.

As promised, I will share the recipe for the Cranberry Squares I served for tea this week.

Most of you probably have your own Cranberry Sauce recipe but this is mine which I also used in the square recipe.

Cranberry Sauce
4 cups fresh or frozen cranberries
2 cups brown sugar
2 cups water
pinch of salt

Bring water, sugar, and salt to a boil and boil 5 minutes. Add cranberries and cook until the skins pop. About 7-10 minutes.

Remove from heat and add 1/3 cup of orange juice. You could add a bit of orange peel too.
Cool and refrigerate.

Cranberry Squares
Mix together:
1-1/2 cups rolled oats
1-1/2 cups flour
1-1/2 cups brown sugar
1 tsp baking powder
Cut in 3/4 cup of softened butter and mix altogether until crumbly.

Press 2/3 of the oat mixture into a greased 9 inch square pan. Top with 1 cup of the cranberry sauce and then sprinkle the rest of the crumbs over the cranberry layer. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Let cool completely and cut into squares.

Here are some wonderful features from last week~

Ruth @ Antiques and Teacups shared a charming teapot made by Staffordshire. It is adorned with transferware scenes from the famous poem by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, "The Courtship of Miles Standish." Isn't it lovely!

Diane @ An Extraordinary Day shared her fabulous sweater stocking tutorial. Hers was also the most viewed post.

We have a tie for the second highest viewed posts:

Debbie @ A Debbie-Dabble Christmas shared the wonderful Christmas department in a Wegman's grocery store. What fun!

And Poppy @ With a Dash of Color shared her fabulous French Country bathroom. Just beautiful!

Dianne @ Shabby Gals shared her gorgeous 1933 chest of drawers which she transformed into a thing of beauty. It even has a jewelery box built into the top of the chest; quite unique!

Coming up, I will be hosting a "HOME for the Holidays" Party beginning December 11 until the 22 of December.

You are invited to share all your Christmas and holiday decorations, baking/cooking, tablescapes, etc. Anything and everything which makes your HOME a beautiful place to be during the holidays. I hope you will plan to join me.
I know there are lots of parties coming up in Blogland and I always say, 'The more, the merrier!' 

This is my button should you wish to use it.

Thank you dear friends for welcoming us into your homes every week and thank you for visiting me today. Have a wonderful holiday this week.

"Lord, this humble house we'd keep

Sweet with play and calm with sleep.
Help us so that we may give
Beauty to the lives we live.
Let Thy beauty and Thy grace
Shine upon our dwelling place." ~ Edgar A. Guest

As a courtesy, please link back to me so that your visitors may find their way here to visit with all my lovely participants.

I am joining the following parties as well~

What's It Wednesday~ http://ivyandelephants.blogspot.com/
Home and Garden Thursday ~ http://www.adelightsomelife.com/
Share Your Cup Thursday~ http://jannolson.blogspot.com/
Home Sweet Home~ http://thecharmofhome.blogspot.com/

Sharing from my heart~ Sandi

A Little Christmas for Tea Time Tuesday

"It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas..."

Welcome to Tea Time Tuesday, friends, and  Happy Thanksgiving to all my American friends!I would like to wish all my Jewish friends a Happy Hanukkah as well! May your holiday be beautiful and bountiful as you celebrate this week!

One month from today is Christmas Day, can you believe that? So, to start the season off, I'm sharing a little bit of Christmas for tea today.

The teapot was a Christmas gift from my son and DIL last year. It is made by Ganz and I thought it was the perfect companion to my new Christmas mugs.

The mugs are made by Spode and I found them in Vancouver last year when Hubby and I spent the holidays with our middle son and his family.

The best part; I got them after Christmas for half price! There are four of them but I will use two today. One for you and one for me.

They are each decked out with a Christmas tree on the front and a rich forest green band around the rim.

On the back is a sprig of holly and inside is some  mistletoe.



FYI:
A Little Bit of Mistletoe Folklore which I found on the Internet~

Mistletoe was a plant of peace in antiquity. If enemies met by chance beneath it in a forest, they laid down their arms and maintained a truce until the next day. This is thought to be the origin of the ancient custom of hanging a ball of mistletoe from the ceiling and exchanging kisses under it as a sign of friendship and goodwill.

According to the Anglo-Saxons, kissing under the mistletoe was connected to the legend of Freya, goddess of love, beauty and fertility. According to legend, a man had to kiss any young girl who, without realizing it, found herself accidentally under a sprig of mistletoe hanging from the ceiling.

If a couple in love exchanges a kiss under the mistletoe, it is interpreted as a promise to marry, as well as a prediction of happiness and long life. In France, the custom linked to mistletoe was reserved for New Year's Day: "Au gui l'An neuf" (Mistletoe for the New Year).
 

These mugs are so festive and very comfortable to hold. They're wonderful for hot drinks like tea, coffee, hot chocolate, or hot apple cider.

"The tea party is a spa for the soul.
You leave your cares and work behind." ~Alexandra Stoddard

My table topper is a crocheted one which was a gift from a friend years ago. I like it this time of year because it resembles snowflakes.

I put fairy lights on this little tree and tucked it into a mercury glass hurricane candle lamp.

I like the soft glow from the lights I placed inside.

..."Perhaps that is the true gift of a teatime celebration: It fills our cups with joy and warmth and friendship. May the echo of the teacup's message be heard not only at Christmas, not only on special occasions, but anytime friends come together." ~ Emilie Barnes

For our tea I have made Cranberry Squares.


These are much the same as date squares only made with cranberries instead and they are very tasty! I make these only at this time of year.

I will share the recipe at my HOME party on Wednesday.

Coming up, I will be hosting a Celebrate the Season ...Christmas Tea on Monday, December 9 and every Monday until December 23.

Here's my button if you wish to use it.

Each week, you are invited to come and join me for some Christmas tea, goodies, and conversation about this beautiful holiday which is upon us.
I welcome all your Christmas goodies, as well as pretty tea things, and any fond childhood memories you may wish to share with us.

Remember that you are welcome to share egg nog, hot chocolate, hot apple cider, coffee, or punch in a lovely bowl instead of tea if you wish. I hope you will make plans to join me often.

"Somehow not only for Christmas
But all the long year through,
The joy that you give to others
Is the joy that comes back to you.

And the more you spend in blessing
The poor and lonely and sad,
The more of your heart's possessing
Returns to make you glad." ~ John Greenleaf Whittier

I am joining the following parties as well~

A Return to Loveliness ~ http://www.adelightsomelife.com/
Tea Cup Tuesday~ http://artfulaffirmations.blogspot.com/
Tea Cup Tuesday ~ http://www.marthasfavorites.com/
Tuesday Cuppa Tea~ http://www.antiquesandteacups.info/
Friends Sharing Tea~ http://blog.bernideens.com/
Share Your Cup Thursday~ http://jannolson.blogspot.com/
Home Sweet Home~ http://thecharmofhome.blogspot.com/

Sharing from my heart~ Sandi