Victoria Day Tea

May your life always be like a teapot...overflowing to warm the soul. ~ Irish Blessing

Welcome dear friends to a Victoria Day Tea and Happy Victoria Day to all my Canadians friends!

This is our Victoria Day weekend and we are enjoying the first unofficial long weekend of the summer. The past two days have been extraordinarily warm but alas, it has returned to the cold today.

Do you like my basket of posies? This was delivered to me last weekend for Mother's Day from my youngest son who lives in CO. Those wee rose buds have opened up to lavender roses. Aren't they sweet?

Most of my flowers have faded since my last post so it's lovely to have some to take their place.

This weekend we are celebrating Queen Victoria's birthday and for those of you who may not be aware, Canada is part of the British Commonwealth and therefore we have close ties to the UK and the Royal family. Queen Elizabeth is our Queen which is one of the reasons why the royals visit our country so frequently. 

Elizabeth II is, and has been since her accession in 1952, Queen of the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand, and Head of the Commonwealth.

Internet

Queen Victoria, who was our reigning Queen Elizabeth's great-great-grandmother, was a much beloved queen and the third Monday of every May is set aside to honour her memory. 

Internet

All the time I was ironing I was trying to think of a name for a new island Diana and I discovered up by the brook. It's the most ravishing spot, Marilla. There are two maple trees on it and the brook flows right round it. At last it struck me that it would be splendid to call it Victoria Island because we found it on the Queen's birthday. Both Diana and I are very loyal. ~ Anne of Green Gables by LM Montgomery

Victoria Day is also a day to pay homage to Queen Elizabeth II whose birthday is actually on April 21. 

FYI: 
Elizabeth's father was George VI
George VI's father was George V, Elizabeth's grandfather.
George V's father was Edward VII, Elizabeth's great grandfather.
Edward VII's mother was Queen Victoria, Elizabeth's great great grandmother.

Also it's interesting to note that Elizabeth's husband, Prince Philip, is a great great grandson of Queen Victoria, making Elizabeth and Philip third cousins through this relationship. 

Prince Albert - Internet

Queen Victoria and Prince Albert married on February 10, 1849 and had nine children. Their children married into other royal families throughout Europe.

After her beloved Prince Albert died, Victoria wore the colour black for the rest of her life. That did not necessarily mean the colour was her favourite. She was in mourning for her prince.

I went on line to determine what Victoria's favourite colour was because I thought I would set my tea table in that colour. However most sites claimed it was black although a few said purple. 

In any case, I will use some Royal Albert china as well as Maxwell and Williams to celebrate this special occasion and it's not going to be black although black can be very elegant.

To be overcome by the fragrance of flowers is a delectable form of defeat. - Beverly Nichols

Since I have pink carnations, my china will have to have some pink in it and what better than a little chintz. I do believe the Victorians loved the colour pink.

Maxwell and Williams is the maker of my Rose Bud teapot as well as the matching teacup. 

Royal Albert Old English Rose is also on the table because they look so pretty with the other pieces. 

Avon shape

Hampton shape

I thought this quote by Marlene Dietrich was cute:

The British have an umbilical cord which has never been cut and through which tea flows constantly. It is curious to watch them in times of sudden horror, tragedy or disaster. The pulse stops apparently, and nothing can be done, and no move made, until "a nice cup of tea" is made. There is no question that it brings solace and does steady the mind. ~ Marlene Dietrich 

A pink frosted cake with rose buds is just right for tea.

Funny, the things that come to mind when I'm writing. As I was preparing this, I recall when I was about nine years old, my mother had made a pie for the Queen Victoria weekend and I had held my piece of pie up in the air and announced, "Queen Victoria pie!" To my dismay, my pie slid off the plate and went splat onto the floor. My mother wasn't impressed with my announcement nor did I get another piece of pie. I hadn't thought of that in years. I can giggle about it now but at the time, it wasn't very funny.

The majority of this post is a re-post because I haven't been feeling well. After my surgery two weeks ago I got an infection so I have been feeling poorly ever since. 

The last two weeks have been rather sad as well because there have been two deaths in the family, one of them my dear Uncle Doug who was my sweet Auntie P's husband. I will surely miss this British gentleman who had the heart of a soldier yet enjoyed his tea from a china cup. 

My auntie will miss him terribly and I ask for your prayers for her. Some of you who have been following my blog for any length of time know how close my auntie and I are. Sadly, I wasn't able to attend my uncle's funeral either because I have been ill. So it would mean a great deal if you would say a prayer of comfort for her.

I also have a date for my gallbladder surgery. It will be mid-June. It will be a relief to get that surgery over with as well. Hopefully the infection will be cleared up by then. 

Once again, it's a lengthy post for which I apologize. I hope you all have a lovely weekend and thank you so much for visiting. You really are such dear blogger friends and I so appreciate your visits and comments. The Lord bless you all!


Faith is taking the first step even when you don't see the staircase. ~ Martin Luther King, Jr.

 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

Flowers and Enjoying the Simple Things in Life.

To find the air and the water exhilarating;
to be refreshed by a morning walk or an evening saunter;
to be thrilled by the stars at night; to be elated over a bird's nest, or over a wild flower in spring -
these are some of the rewards of the simple life. ~ John Burroughs

Hello my lovely friends! Have you missed me? A lot has happened since my last post and I want to thank all of you wonderful blogger friends who have been praying for me. What a difference prayer cover can make in one's life! 

Gratitude is the memory of the heart. ~ Jean Baptiste Massieu

I've had one of my surgeries and I'm recuperating from that. Over the weekend, Hubby and I celebrated our anniversary and on Monday, his birthday. This upcoming weekend is Mother's Day so it has been a busy time for sure.

My hubby brought home a gorgeous bouquet of red roses and carnations for me and then yesterday our church delivered this huge bouquet to me. So I'm enjoying all of these lovely flowers right now. 

Reflect on our present blessings of which every man has many -
not on your past misfortunes,
of which all men have some. ~ Charles Dickens

I am on a strict diet to control a cranky gallbladder which will be going bye-bye but in the meantime, my meals are rather limited and there is no treat warm from the oven these days. So, the pie I usually bake for Hubby's birthday was replaced by an apple pie from the bakery. I can't have any so he is enjoying the pie all by himself. He says he would rather have my home made pie which is a nice compliment but this pie will do for now. 

He forgot the ice cream so he's eating it plain. If I was able to eat it, I would most likely enjoy it with a piece of cheddar. How do you like yours?

My teacup is one my sweet Auntie P sent me from her own collection. It is a Paragon and it is lovely. I love the ruffled saucer and the pretty shape of the cup. I used a couple of posies from my bouquet and doesn't the lavender coloured rose match perfectly?

I told one of my blogger friends that once the gallbladder comes out and I'm able to enjoy a real meal again, I am going to indulge in everything I've been going without the last few months. A tea party might be in order. What do you think?

The extraordinary thing about the timing of all of this, is that outside my window the trees are budding, the grass is a vibrant green and the songbirds are back. One can't keep from smiling when there is all of this beauty right outside your window. And let's not forget the beautiful bounty of flowers inside too.

It's springtime and no time is a good time to have to undergo surgery but springtime offers a wealth of new beginnings every day with a fresh new beauty all its own. 

So for me, the incredible changes this time of year lend a very calming and healing effect on me. For that I am grateful! God's timing is always perfect.

Peace is not the absence of conflict, but the ability to cope with conflict by peaceful means. ~ Ronald Reagan

What are you thankful for today? 

I am thankful for so many things. Those blessings include you, dear blogger friends. Over the past few weeks, I have received emails, cards, and gifts from some of you. The lovely quotes throughout this post were chosen from a beautiful book called Daily Calm which was sent to me by dear Deborah of The Beautiful Matters who knows how much I love quotes and poetry. 

She included the latest issue of Tea Time magazine as well as a package of assorted teas. This was a delightful surprise from my friend south of the border. Thank you Deborah, I am touched by your kindness and friendship.

What started out as a rather short post, gradually became longer. I hope you don't mind. Have a beautiful day everyone and thanks so much for stopping by. The Lord bless you all and be sure to stop and smell the roses!

I am sharing my post with these lovely parties ~

 Tuesday Cuppa Tea
 Tea In the Garden
 Home Sweet Home


Sharing from my heart ~ Sandi