A Heart to Heart Over Tea

Life is like a teacup to be filled to the brim and enjoyed with friends. ~ unknown


Happy Autumn dear friends! It's a beautiful day and I'm enjoying a cup of Pumpkin Chai tea from David's Tea. Would you like to join me?

I am sitting here in the office with the last scents of summer wafting through the windows and I can't help but think about how blessed I am! 

My teapot is Skye McGhie - Cream Lace

There is tragedy and turmoil in different parts of the world even as I write this and I am blessed to be able to sit here with a new roof over my head, food in the fridge, lovely china in my cupboards, pretty clothes in my closet, and just a few minutes away, the love of my life is working at a job he will soon be retiring from with a pension. 
We have a loving family and good friends. One doesn't have to go too far to find someone who can lend a hand should we need one. 

The teacup is Skye McGhie - Chantilly Lace

But, I have to be honest, 2017 has been one of the most difficult years of my adult life. To say it has been a season of hardships would be an understatement. You all know about my surgeries and cancer scare. What you don't know is that I have other health issues as well. These days I am going to physiotherapy for a torn shoulder. I am seeing a plastic/reconstructive surgeon this week concerning my right hand. {I'm right handed so we'll see how that goes.} I still have ongoing issues with my back and probably always will and I also have Muscular Dystrophy which ninety-nine per cent of you never knew about because I don't talk about it.

I also have a broken rib which I'm waiting on to heal up. My youngest son told me they're going to have to tie me to a chair and have their father spoon feed me Kraft dinner and fried bologna, which is pretty much all my hubby can cook. It's good to laugh, as long as it's not too hard! 
But, more than all of that, are the family matters that have just about worn us all out until just recently. 

There are many of you out there that have much more serious problems going on than I do, so I prefer to talk about other things more pleasant. To be honest, I do not like to talk about my personal problems because I am a somewhat private person. Besides, I am alive, I am able to breathe on my own, I can walk and talk, I can see, hear, taste, touch and smell, so I figure I don't have much to complain about.

God is God. Because He is God, He is worthy of my trust and obedience. I will find rest nowhere but in His holy will that is unspeakably beyond my largest notions of what He is up to. ~ Elisabeth Elliott


Thanks be to my Heavenly Father, He has blessed me in spite of everything. In spite of all the goings-on in my life, the pain and discomfort, and that of my family, He has put a peace and a joy in my heart that is hard to fathom. In reality, I suppose I should be a bundle of nerves, perhaps even seeing someone for all the stress in my life. But it's not like that for me. 

The joy of the Lord is my strength. ~ Nehemiah 8:10

I can never ever repay the love and compassion He has bestowed upon me and unless you know personally what I'm talking about, it is very hard to explain. Faith is a beautiful thing!

Some folks talk about dwelling on good thoughts and having a peace within yourself because you believe in yourself. But what if your world falls apart? What if YOU fall apart? 
When my world falls apart, I have Someone much bigger than myself to turn to. His shoulders are bigger and stronger than mine and it is human nature to want to have Someone to look up to.

The deepest urge in every human heart is to be in relationship with someone who absolutely delights in us. ~ Larry Crabb - Psychologist

Today, right this moment, I want to thank Him for this day and try to bring a little happiness into someone else's day if possible. Someone once said, "If you want to be happy, get your mind off yourself." I believe that! There are so many other lovely things we can be thinking about. There are so many things we can be doing for others.

Life is a one time offer; use it well. ~ unknown

So, today, I am wondering what are you thankful for? We Canadians are just two weeks away from celebrating Thanksgiving so with that in mind, I know we all have something we can be grateful for. Would you care to share?

God bless you today, my dear friends, and make you a blessing to someone else!

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

Last of My Summer Roses Tea

In my garden is a large place for sentiment. My garden of flowers is also my garden of thoughts and dreams. The thoughts grow as freely as the flowers, and the dreams are as beautiful. ~ Abram L. Urban

Hello my lovely friends!

My rose bushes were full of fragrant pink blooms this year and they lasted longer than usual. I spied this last remaining bloom and had to take a picture of it. Her mates are long gone and she is surrounded by fading leaves. Soon the rose hips will appear. But this one little rose I found so inspiring; like a promise.

Tis the last rose of summer,
Left blooming alone;
All her companions
Are faded and gone. 
~ The Last Rose of summer- 1805 by Thomas Moore

I am not really a gardener but in my heart I am. Flowers of all varieties give me such pleasure and always have. I do have my favourites; carnations, daffodils, hydrangeas, lilacs, but especially roses. Had I been born with a strong back perhaps I would have become an avid gardener. Such as it is, my flowers are potted and set in special places around our property, except for my roses which grow on bushes.

This begonia is doing very well even now.

It seems my talents lie more within my home rather than outside of it. Any of you out there feel the same way?

I love being a home maker and when my children were growing up, it gave me the greatest pleasure to cook and bake for them. I loved seeing their sweet faces light up when they got home from school to the smell of fresh baked treats from the oven. Even now when they come home they hope Mom has a stash of cookies, cinnamon rolls, and other treats waiting for them. I always have to have potato salad and spaghetti sauce made or I'm in trouble! 

When they were all home this summer, I made certain I had some fruit cake for them because I hadn't been able to do any other baking. I did however manage to get spaghetti sauce and potato salad made for them. I was still healing from my surgeries, you see. The good thing about fruit cake is that it keeps for quite a while if you store it properly. My dark fruit cake in particular is so moist that I can use it as a pudding with a warm sauce over it and the kids love it.

Because I had been on a special diet earlier in the year I could not indulge in rhubarb when it was in season, so I froze some. Any guesses what I'm having today with my tea?

Rhubarb crisp is actually the first dessert I have made in months. A bowl of this luscious fruit with a crunchy topping and a scoop of good vanilla ice cream; yum!

To savour a splendid treat, one has to also indulge in a special tea. I went into David's Tea and brought home this lovely dessert tea; Creme Caramel Rooibos. Mmm!

It has miniature caramels in it.

Teatime is, by its very nature,
a combination of small luxuries
arranged in social symmetry.
And although tea for one
is certainly a fine thing,
the addition of a circle of dear
friends to share it with
ensures the whole is larger 
than its parts. ~ unknown author

On the table are hydrangeas which are one of my favourites. 

My teapot is red transferware called Valencia. I'm not sure who the maker is. I found this teapot at the gift shop in our local hospital several years ago. I was also delighted to get the cream and sugar because red transferware is very scarce around here.

The cup and saucer are Johnson Bros. Old Britain Castles.

So, would you like to join me? I do enjoy your company and thank you for visiting today.

God opens millions of flowers without forcing the buds. It reminds us to not force anything, for things happen in the right time. ~ unknown 



 I am joining the following parties as well~

 Tuesday Cuppa Tea
 Friends Sharing Tea



 Sharing from my heart ~ Sandi

Tea Things Tuesday

Wouldn't it be an exhilarating tonic for the soul to take a moment to appreciate the simple, good things in life which are so bountiful? ~ anonymous

Hello everyone! I like that quote! To take a moment to appreciate the good things and the blessings in one's life, can make life that much sweeter. I have learned to do this when things are going well as well as when things kind of go haywire. I believe it is important to have faith in God because when things go horribly wrong, and they will every once in a while, I know He will take care of it and me.

A bunch of flowers, a hot cup of tea or coffee, a good book; all of these things are simple but they add so much to one's life, don't they?

As I wrote to you last week, I have decided to stay with you here in Blogland for a while longer. I think a few of you misunderstood what I had written in my post. 

I am hoping my brain fog will lift and my love for blogging will return. I am certain there is lots I can share with you yet. Those of you who have left comments and sent emails over the past number of months are so much appreciated. While I was going through my troubles this past year, you stayed with me, encouraging me and praying for me. My friends here in Blogland, you are special. Don't ever forget that!

My bouquet of white roses brings a little loveliness to the table. I love white and soft pink roses best. White ones in particular remind me of a bride's bouquet. They really do look romantic, I think.

This week's teapot is one I spied at Home Sense one day. I had searched for a turquoise teapot for years and had never seen one until this one. Naturally I brought it home with me. I like the perky shape of it as well as the colour and the sprinkling of posies all over it. It makes me happy to look at it.

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

I also purchased the matching cup and saucer to add to my collection of turquoise/robin egg blue pieces. Both the teapot and the teacup are made by Gracie China.

I know the next two cups look more blue but they are in fact turquoise as well; just different hues of this amazing colour. I found both of these beautiful teacups at antique shops.

This one is made by Aynsley and I found it in an antique shop in Summerside, PEI. The shape is lovely and I adore all the gold vines inside the cup.

This beauty is Blue Crocus by Aynsley. It is unusual with its sweet surprise of purple violets/crocus just inside the cup.

I also have a Royal Albert teacup in the same shade but I am not featuring it here today.

There is no trouble so great or so grave that cannot be much diminished by a nice cup of tea. ~ Bernard-Paul Heroux

It has been a troublesome couple of weeks what with Hurricane Harvey and now Irma plus a major earthquake in Mexico. May the Lord comfort those who have been afflicted with so many losses. I cannot imagine the devastation folks will have to live with for the next while. 
Let us pray that power will be restored to our neighbours and clean up won't take too long. God bless them!

Thank you for your visit today and do take care, dear friends. Hope to see you again next week. Perhaps I will even include a treat to go with my tea.


I am joining the following parties as well~

 Friends Sharing Tea
 Home Sweet Home

 Sharing from my heart ~ Sandi

Pondering This Blogging Thing and A Teapot for Tuesday

Tea is like a hug and a handshake; something about it warms friendships and inspires confidences. ~  Victoria magazine


Hello my lovely friends and Happy September to you all! Alas, summer is really winding down. *sigh*

Most of you know this past year has been a difficult one for me with my surgeries and some family matters as well which I haven't mentioned. I am quite exhausted from it all and, to be honest, I have been pondering shutting down my blog. 

I have noticed more and more of our blogging friends are not attending to their blogs and some have not given us an explanation why that is so. I realize that many are busy and life takes us away from blogging at times. Some of us become ill and having a difficult time of it. Still, I think it is prudent to let our blogging sisters know we will be going away for a while because we do become concerned when we haven't heard from our friends. At least I do.

I have been trying to keep mine up with a post or two once in a while so you know I'm still breathing. But I have to admit, my heart hasn't really been in it for a while. Exhaustion tends to do that to you.

Anyway, I've said all of that to say this; I have decided to stay with you for a while yet. I will not start up my tea party again because it is very time consuming and I don't have the energy for it at this moment in time but what I will do is share a tea post every week for those of you who are interested. I may also share a post on another subject when I feel inspired to do so.

So, without further ado, here is my teapot for this week.

When I first began collecting china wares, I started with teapots because I have always been enamoured by them. I find them completely charming and most of mine have a story attached to them.

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. ~ Barbara Roberts

This one you have all seen before but it is a favourite because of the sprinkling of roses and buds and it's a lovely size. It's not too big and not too small. This is Rose Bud made by Maxwell and Williams. I love chintz and whenever I see chintz, I am drawn to it just as I am transferware.  

Strange how a teapot can represent at the same time the comforts of solitude and the pleasures of company. ~ Author unknown


The cup and saucer are in the same pattern, Rose Bud.

I am having Lady Grey tea today.

This Rose Chintz teacup made by Gracie china is a good match. 

These are some of my roses; Theresa Bugnet. They were much more abundant and lasted longer this year for some reason.

One day I decided to decorate a cake with them. Just a bakery bought angel food cake but iced and decorated with my roses, makes a pretty dessert.

I hope you enjoyed my post today and if all goes well, I will share another next week. 

Treat everyone with politeness, even those who are rude to you, Not because they are nice but because you are. ~ unknown author

Take care, dear friends, and remember to smile today. A smile can make you feel better and perhaps make someone else's day. The Lord bless you!



I am linking with the following parties as well~

 Tuesday Cuppa Tea
 Friends Sharing Tea
 Home Sweet Home


 Sharing from my heart ~ Sandi