Winter is the Time for Home

Winter is the time for comfort,
For food, and warmth,
For the touch of a friendly hand 
and a talk beside the fire: 
It is the time for home. ~ Dame Edith Sitwell

Happy New Year to you all, dear friends! I hope you all enjoyed a happy Christmas and you are anticipating what 2017 will bring.

Now that all the busyness is behind us, we can relax and savour the new memories made.

"I wish we could put up some of the Christmas spirit in jars and open a jar of it every month." ~ Harlan Miller

Our Christmas dinner this year was the usual turkey and all the trimmings. I made crustless pumpkin pie for dessert and I'm so glad I did because my son and his girlfriend joined us for dinner and she is gluten free. I didn't know that until they arrived.

She gifted me with this lovely Dutch Almond cake which we are going to have with our tea today. 

It is the consistency of a soft almond cookie and slices wonderfully well.

Wintertime is the perfect time for cozying up by the fire and sipping a cup of something warm. So, lets enjoy our tea and cake today. 

The mere chink of cups and saucers tunes the mind to happy repose. ~ George Gissing

I am using my RA Old Country Roses china. I love this pattern and it always reminds me of my Daddy because he admired it so much.

God gave us memory so that we might have roses in December. ~ JM Barrie

These birthday roses are from my hubby. I do love white roses. 

I know some of you are taking a look back over the past year and sharing favourite blog posts but I will save that for another day. Meanwhile, I am going to savour tea in this beautiful teacup and give thanks for all the blessings this past year. 

The birth of a New Year is a time of reflection, bringing with it an opportunity for change....for developing a greater appreciation of what is most important in life. ~ Victoria magazine


Dear friends, may the New Year bring you good health, happiness, and may your cup be overflowing with blessings from above. God bless each and every one of you! 

I am joining the following parties as well~

Tuesday Cuppa Tea
Friends Sharing Tea
Share Your Cup Thursday
Home Sweet Home


Sharing from my heart ~ Sandi

The Miracle of Christmas

Christmas is forever, not for just one day,
for loving, sharing, giving, are not to put away
like the bells and lights and tinsel, in some box upon a shelf.
The good you do to others is good you do yourself. ~ Norman Wesley Brooks - 1976, from "Let Every Day Be Christmas"


Merry Christmas all my lovely blogger friends!
Christmas is almost here. 

I just want to thank you all for your visits and comments over the past year. I've mentioned this before but I find Blogland to be much like a friendly village where we all know each other and care for one another. Some folks we know better than others but we're still all part of this great big community of bloggers. 

I pray your heart would be full this Christmas. 

May the angels watch over you and your loved ones.

Take time to sit back and enjoy the sights and sounds of Christmas. 

Enjoy spending time with your family and friends.

My little grandson and granddaughter were able to build their first snowman this year. They seldom get this much snow where they live.


Our hearts grow tender with childhood memories and love of kindred, and we are better throughout the year for having, in spirit, become a child again at Christmastime. ~ Laura Ingalls Wilder


May your table be bountiful, not just with good food but with the love of family.

While we are enjoying all the wonderful festivities, let's not forget to worship the One who came so long ago to Bethlehem as a Baby born in a humble stable. Without His coming, we wouldn't be celebrating this beautiful and joyous season. The Miracle that is Christmas!

Our world was dark and in need of a Saviour. At just the right time, our Lord left His home in glory to come down among men. He could have been born in a castle for He was and is a King. But He chose a humble stable. A peaceful but smelly stable. His earthly parents were specially chosen by God to bring up this newborn King who would change the world forever. 

We who know Him recognize that it is because of Him we celebrate. Jesus, Son of God, is the Miracle that is Christmas. 

Joy to the world! the Lord is come;
Let earth receive her King.
Let every heart prepare Him room,
And heaven and nature sing....
Issac Watts, 1674-1748   Arr. from George F. Handel, 1685-1759

If I were a wise man, I would do my part.

Yet what can I give Him - give Him my heart. ~ Christina G. Rossetti

May His Light and Love fill your heart and home this Christmas, my dear blogger friends. 

Sharing from my heart ~ Sandi

Christmastime Is For The Little Kid In All Of Us

What is the Christmas spirit? It is the spirit which brings a smile to the lips and tenderness to the heart; It is the spirit which warms one into friendship with all the world, which impels one to hold out the hand of fellowship to every man and woman. ~ Anonymous

Hello my lovely friends! I hope you're all enjoying these special days leading up to Christmas.

Thank you to everyone for your very kind comments and prayers regarding my last post. I really do appreciate all of you!

Tykes on sleds and shouts of glee, icy-window filigree, sugarplums and candle glow, part of Christmas long ago. ~ Jo Geis

I decorate my kitchen window the same way year after year. You can see out the window that the snow is really coming down. The sweet little china deer was a gift from my mother many years ago. He has his place on the window sill over the kitchen sink as well as his friends.

The children building the snowman was a gift from my hubby one year.

And the little girl wearing a real knitted hat was a gift from my son and DIL. 

The Hallmark Gingerbread house plays Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy when you ring the door bell and all the gumdrops light up and keep time with the music. This too sits in the kitchen every year. Little fingers and sometimes bigger fingers, love to ring the door bell, as you can imagine!

My nutcracker tree stands on the little chest in the dining room. The miniatures are too cute and the Sugar Plum Fairy is on top. Sorry, I guess they may be hard to see.

I do love to add touches of whimsy to my decorating especially at Christmastime. At Christmas I think there is a little kid still living inside of each of us. It doesn't matter how old we are, we are all children at this time of year.

The wee mercury glass teapot is an early Christmas present from my hubby. I just had to hang it on the tree. Sorry about the reflection.

We are in the deep freeze right now with dangerous winds blowing. It's a good day to stay inside and sip on hot tea. 

So, today I have set the table with more of my Christmas teacups. The teacup tree is also joining us today.

The bright Christmas red teacup is Royal Albert and I received it from my Auntie P just a few months ago. 

I think this one is simply stunning! It is from the Regal Series in the Montrose shape and from the 1970s. It is beautifully enhanced with the gold filigree. 

My December Christmas Rose teacup is such a pretty pattern and it is also made by Royal Albert. 

The holly teacup is Royal Stafford which I found at a yard sale a few years ago. 

The teapot was a Christmas gift from my son a few years ago also with a holly motif. 

I have both my dark and light fruitcake as our treat today as well as some home made fudge. 

While we are all enjoying the sights and sounds of the season it's important to remember why we celebrate it. If the Christ Child had never come, we would not be celebrating "the most wonderful time of the year." 

The magic of Christmas is not in the presents but in His Presence. ~ unknown

Blessings to you all this Christmas season. May your homes be filled with the Light and Love of the First Christmas Gift.


I am joining the following parties as well~

Tuesday Cuppa Tea
Friends Sharing Tea
Tea Cup Tuesday
The Art of Home-Making Mondays
Share Your Cup Thursday
Home Sweet Home


 Sharing from my heart ~ Sandi

It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas

Blessed is the season which engages the whole world in a conspiracy of love. ~ Hamilton Wright Mabie{1845-1916}

Hello dear friends! I have been absent from Blogland for a couple of weeks. It has been a difficult year with so many health issues plaguing me and one wonders how my hubby puts up with me but he does. 

My doctor has me on my fifth pill to try and regulate one of my health issues but this one isn't working either so far. I am pretty much a shut-in these days and can't wander too far from home. I hope in the new year I will be having some good results. In the meantime, I'm trying to take one day at a time and counting my blessings. I have much to be thankful for. We all do!

Snow flakes in the air
Carols everywhere
Olden times and ancient rhymes
Of love and dreams to share.

Sleigh bells in the air
Beauty everywhere
Yuletide by the fireside
And joyful memories there.

Christmas time is here
We'll be drawing near
Oh, that we could always see,
Such spirit through the year....~ From A Charlie Brown Christmas

I thought I would share just a little Christmas decorating I have done so far. I generally take the colour theme throughout the house but this year I did it a bit differently. 

Our big tree is in the family room this year instead of the living room. It holds most of my Memory ornaments. Red, gold and green are the colours I've used for this tree with gold and red ribbon.

The birdhouse with the light inside next to the tree was made for me by a lovely gentleman in our church. I keep it out all year round in the family room.

A wee Nativity that I have had for years.

In the living room we have a four foot tree which I have decorated in gold, pink and teal. It too holds lots of Memory ornaments.

Never worry about the size of your Christmas tree. In the eyes of children they are all thirty feet tall.  ~ Larry Wilde

A Christmas birdhouse with a tin roof and a beautiful glass knob for a perch. I have added a wee Christmas wreath over the opening.

A tea tray set up just as you enter the living room. I have used my red transferware teapot and some teacups and arranged a few cedar clippings around with dried roses. 

A bowl full of Christmas ornaments. 

Like many of you, I have brought out my Christmas teapots and teacups. I am using my cardinal ones today. 

This teapot was a Christmas gift a few years ago.

I have both my fruit cakes made and yesterday I quickly made some mince tarts. So today it's tarts for tea time.

This poinsettia ornament was made by a friend. Isn't it lovely? 

We are all so busy these days and one must take some time to relax and enjoy the season. A hot cup of tea with someone you love is just the thing. 

In spite of poor health these days, I am determined to rise above it and give thanks for this joyous holiday we are celebrating.

Lord, help me this Christmas to reflect the light of Your presence and goodness to others. - an except from Our Daily Bread. 

Thank you for visiting, dear friends. I wish you all much Joy this Christmas season! See you soon.


I am joining the following parties as well~

 Tuesday Cuppa Tea
 Friends Sharing Tea
 The Art of Home-Making Mondays
 Share Your Cup Thursday
 Home Sweet Home

Sharing from my heart ~ Sandi

Old English Roses for Tea Time

"It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas..." ~ Meredith Willson, 1951

Hello everyone ~ Everywhere you look, the grayness of November is being lit up with lights and holiday decorations. I'm so glad we have Christmas to look forward to because it helps one forget that winter is coming and right now, we have all this beauty and an air of expectation to enjoy.

A few months ago my sweet Auntie P sent over some beautiful teacups. The two Royal Albert teacups below were left to her by her neighbour many, many years ago. He has since gone home to be with the Lord. I remember him and he was a dear old fellow. Gorgeous, aren't they? They are part of the Regal Series.

The two teacups above were part of Auntie P's collection. 

Auntie has been in the hospital the last number of weeks and will be joining my uncle in a Retirement and Special Care Residence when she is released. It is so very sad to have our beloved relatives growing older and being unwell. She will not be returning to their beautiful condo which she had built to her specifications. I really don't like changes like these nor does she. We haven't been able to communicate either because she has no access to a computer. She is in New Brunswick and of course I am here on PEI. But life oftentimes does this to us, doesn't it, and we must make the best of it.

Most of you know that the majority of my Rose Chintz came from her and now these beautiful teacups will become part of my collection. Thank you Auntie. I love you and God bless you!

For my post today I am sharing the Old English Rose teacup that Auntie sent me. Pink roses are very much at home among a little Christmasy tea setting. I couldn't wait to pull out the glitter!

I now have three Old English Rose teacups. Each one is unique. 

The one above is in the Hampton shape and the other two are in the Avon shape. 

The one Auntie gave me is incredibly rich looking with all the brushed on gold. It is vintage and is perhaps from the 1930's?

I am enjoying a cup of Stash Cinnamon Vanilla tea with a cinnamon roll fresh from the oven. 

Hubby will be happy to see them on the table! Cinnamon rolls are his favourite. The mercury glass votive which is tucked into the center of the rolls is for butter. Thank you Ruth for the inspiration.

Although Hubby can appreciate a beautiful china teacup, he does prefer a mug when sipping his tea and coffee. I actually know very few men who like their tea or coffee in a teacup. My father loved a teacup but then he appreciated fine things. My Uncle Doug, Auntie P's husband, being a Brit, also loves a teacup.

The teapot is Royal Albert in the New Country Roses pattern.

..."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

Would you like to join me? 

I have started decorating but haven't gotten very far yet. I had the flu yesterday so that held me up. We purchased a little four foot table top tree this year. The big tree will be going up in the family room since we spend all our evenings in there watching the Christmas specials.

Once again, thank you for stopping by. It's always a pleasure to have you! Till next time, take care and Happy Thanksgiving to all my dear American friends!


I am joining the following parties as well~

Tuesday Cuppa Tea
Friends Sharing Tea
Tea Cup Tuesday
The Art of Home-Making Mondays
 Share Your Cup Thursday
 Home Sweet Home


 Sharing from my heart ~ Sandi