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
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