Autumn Moments and Thinking on a Party

Just living is not enough...one must have sunshine, freedom, and a little flower. ~ Hans Christian Andersen

Hello dear friends! Autumn is in full swing here on Prince Edward Island and our maple tree out front is now filled with bare branches. The leaves turned bright yellow but were gone in less than a week. I didn't really get to enjoy them because they were gone almost overnight. 

Alas, we get hit with the wind here more than anyone else on our street. Every tree in the neighbourhood is still filled with colour except ours. When we first moved into our house, we decorated outside for Christmas. We put lights in our bushes but we had to keep going out and fixing them because the wind would blow them off. So, after that first Christmas in our home, we never decorated them again. A wreath on the front door is all we do outside now. In a couple of weeks I will probably change out the Autumn wreath for the Christmas one.

Have any of you started decorating for Christmas yet? I know many people have. I think we are all craving a little Christmas earlier this year because it has been such a difficult year.

I have been mulling over the idea of having another HOME party this year between November and Christmas. Would any of you be interested? My HOME party would include all things home such as tea time, baking, crafting, decorating, collections, etc. Let me know what you think.

I don't have anything new to share this week so I set the table for tea. A jug of gorgeous sunflowers lends a bright spot of colour to my blue and white table today.

A field full of sunflowers is a sight to see, isn't it? Their bright heads always turn to face the sun.   

I brought out these blue and white pieces. They haven't been used in a while so I decided this week is a good time before Christmas shows up on my table. The teacup as well as the teapot and creamer are called Botanic Blue made by Port Meirion.

Some of the flowers on the tea set appear to be sunflowers. We will pretend they are!

Seeds from sunflowers are very beneficial to one's health as we all know. I always fill our feeders with sunflower seeds as the songbirds seem to prefer them, and I am happy to oblige them!

Blue and yellow are such complimentary colours and they look pretty on a tea table. 

 The teacup above is Royal Homes of Britain made by Enoch Wedgwood of England which I have shared many times. I love transferware. I think it is because each piece tells a story. I am old-fashioned like that.

I am having a Cream Tea today. 

Flaky tea biscuits are fresh out of the oven, homemade strawberry preserves, and clotted cream, or in this case, whipped cream, make for a wonderful tea time.

So please make yourself at home and enjoy a tea break!

For your interest~ I'm sure most of you know that there are two ways to have a Cream Tea. 
Devonshire cream is not made here in Canada so we make do with clotted cream or plain whipped cream. 
The Devonshire tea is applying your clotted cream first, followed by the jam.
The Cornish tea is applying the jam first, then the cream. As you can see by my photo I have used the Devonshire way of doing it. This eliminates the need for butter, so a few less calories if you are watching your waistline. 

I hope you are all enjoying the Autumn in your area. 

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

There is an important election coming up next week for my family and friends in the US. I am praying that the right man will get voted in. Whoever that is will affect all of America as well as we Canadians and indeed, the world. This could very well be the most important election in American history. The Lord be with you all and give you wisdom as you go to the polls!

"There is an appointed time for everything. And there is a time for every event under heaven -" ~ Ecclesiastes 3:1-2

Sharing from my heart ~ Sandi

Pink for October's Breast Cancer Awareness

The most beautiful people we have known are those who have known defeat, known suffering, known loss, and have found their way out of the depths. These persons have an appreciation, a sensitivity, and an understanding of life that fills them with compassion, gentleness, and a deep loving concern. Beautiful people don't just happen. ~ Elisabeth Kubler-Ross

Hello ladies! When I was hosting Tea Time Tuesday, I always shared a pink themed post or several during the month of October to show my support of Breast Cancer Awareness. So in keeping with my tradition, I am sharing some pink today. 

We have all been touched by this dreaded disease in one way or another. Some of us have beat it while others were taken away from us.

Maybe you have a family member, a friend, or even you yourself have encountered this terrible disease. I lost my best friend to breast cancer and I have had a few scares myself. Thankfully mine turned out be benign. But for thousands of women who have been struck by it, our hearts go out to them.

We offer up our prayers and we continue on praying, hoping, dreaming, and doing what we can to eradicate this disease. It takes the lives of countless loved ones every year. Beloved grandmothers, mothers, daughters, sisters, aunts, nieces, friends, and even some of the men in our lives. Breast cancer shows no mercy. Please, Lord, help us to find a cure soon!

The colour pink represents the sweetness and innocence of the child in all of us.

From the time our mothers dress us in that first pink frothy dress, to enjoying pink cotton candy at the fair grounds, or having a favourite pink blouse or sweater, we love the colour pink and it makes us feel good as well as feminine. 

Now I realize there are ladies out there who do not like the colour pink for their own reasons, or perhaps it doesn't suit their skin tone. But the good news is, there is a shade of pink out there made just for you. 

Pink is known to soothe and bring a peaceful feeling into a room. 

We are seeing a lot of pink in decor in recent years and it is safe to say that pink is having its moment. I went into Michaels the other day to get some Christmas ribbon and I was thrilled to see pink on the shelf again. Yes indeed, pink is making a come back in a big way. 

Before I get started with sharing some of my pinks, I must share a bouquet of my favourite roses. They are just the slightest blush of pink.

 

Now, I am going to share a few of my pink teacups. 

The first one has to be October's Flower of the Month; Cosmos.

Then there is this stack of luscious pink teacups. Who could resist them? From top to bottom, we have Lady Carlyle, Serena, and Aynsley.

It's October, and there has to be a pumpkin or two, so this little sparkly Baby Boo is nestled inside the Aynsley teacup. 

I also have this pretty pink sparkly one which I painted and sprinkled with glitter, ribbon, and posies. 

Can't forget about Royal Albert Lavender Rose. This set of Lavender Rose I started for my mother many years ago when I was working at a jewelry store. The set now belongs to me and I have almost eight place settings as well as the tea set. I also have a Royal Dalton figurine named Shirley in this pattern which was a gift to my mother.

If pink is your favourite colour, you are loving, kind, generous, and sensitive to the needs of others. You are the nurturers of the world. With a personality colour pink, you have a maternal instinct, with a need to protect and take care of others. 

This Aynsley teacup in the crocus shape is another favourite. I love the pink roses sprinkled all over it and the saucer, as well as a few peeking from inside the cup.

Every second brings a fresh beginning,

Every hour holds a new promise,

Every night our dreams can bring hope and

Every day is what you choose to make it. ~ author unknown

Of course I have to share some of my Rose Chintz teacups.

I do have several other teacup sets in pink but I cannot share them all.

Let's finish out this post with a cuppa and a pink coconut marshmallow or two.

Pink is feminine and romantic, affectionate and intimate, thoughtful and caring. 

Pink can be powerful or demure. In any case, it is a colour that is loved the world over and I think it is the perfect colour choice for October's Breast Cancer Awareness!

Thank you dear friends for visiting today. I pray you are all healthy and happy. Please take care of yourselves and be sure to get that mammogram. I just had mine this week.

May God give you...

For every storm, a rainbow,
For every tear, a smile,
For every care, a promise,
And a blessing in each trial.
For every problem life sends,
A faithful friend to share,
For every sigh, a sweet song,
And an answer for each prayer. ~ An Irish prayer

Sharing from my heart~ Sandi

Mid-October Pleasantries

What a wonderful thought it is that some of the best days of our lives haven't happened yet. ~ Anne Frank

Hello my lovely friends and welcome back to Rose Chintz Cottage!

Thanksgiving has come and gone for another year. As many of you know, Canadians celebrate Thanksgiving in October which is a wonderful time for the holiday. The trees and landscape are filled with glorious colour and it is still not overly cold out. It is a delightful time of year to partake of veggies from the garden and succulent turkey and gravy. Pumpkin and apple pie is on almost everyone's table as well as other decadent desserts. 

Then we have the next two and a half months to decorate and prepare for the biggest holiday of the year, Christmas. Can you believe we are actually talking about Christmas again already?

This year, I am going to start decorating early. They say those who put up their tree early are happy people. And we could all use a little bit of Christmas earlier this year. Normally I wait until after Remembrance Day on November 11 but early Christmas decorating will not interfere with my honouring our soldiers and those who have fought and still fight to keep our countries free.

Here is a bit of trivia for you. A couple of my American blogger friends wondered if we had turkey for dinner on the holiday and if we celebrated like they do. The answer is, yes.

Our Canadian Thanksgiving takes place on the second Monday in October, while America celebrates on the fourth Thursday of November. The earliest recorded Canadian Thanksgiving actually dates back to 1578 - which is before the Pilgrims and the Native Americans feasted at Plymouth in 1621.

Every province and territory in Canada claim it as an official statutory holiday except for Prince Edward Island, New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia. Although my hubby had the day off, he does not get paid for it. But it is still very much a holiday here on the Island.

Saturday morning I baked my pies. 

I set my antique jug of dried hydrangeas on the table for our tea today.

I brought out my peach coloured cup and saucer from Royal Chelsea made in England which is so pretty with the posies peeking out of the cup. It sits on one of the plates from Sur La Table which was a gift from my son for Christmas one year. Snuggled up to the plate you can see a 'blessed' napkin. Hubby saw them at the grocery store and brought them home.

The soup bowl set my son gifted me for Christmas a few years ago. The set consists of four covered soup bowls and four plates. I love it!

The Pumpkin pie was a success.

My pictures are not very clear today for some reason. I had a lot of trouble loading my pictures from Picasa onto my blog post. I hope it is not a prolonged problem. I am not thrilled with this new format Blogger is using now.

Last week we received some very good news from our son out on the west coast but I cannot tell you about it just yet. In the middle of this pandemic crisis we are all in, it is especially wonderful to receive some good news for a change! This past year has been incredibly difficult and sad for Hubby and me for many reasons but as they say, there is always a light at the end of the tunnel. God is still there and He still answers prayer, oftentimes in ways we never expect.

God does His deepest work in our darkest hours. ~ AW Tozer

I hope your week is a delightful one and today and every day, may we all be thankful for the many blessings in our lives.

Sharing from my heart ~ Sandi

Thanksgiving Blessings

 I would rather sit on a pumpkin and have it all to myself than be crowded on a velvet cushion. ~ Henry David Thoreau

Hello dear friends! I finally got my pumpkins set out and as always, I put one in the bird bath. This year it is a sweet Fairytale pumpkin instead of the usual orange pumpkin I have displayed in previous years. This one is so pretty in shades of pink and grey-green. Don't you just love the wide varieties of pumpkins we have now?

A very dear friend, whom I have known since before I was married, brought me some dried hydrangeas from her garden the other day and I decided to place some in my Granny's pancake jug. Most of you know the story of the jug. The jug once belonged to my great grandmother which she gave to my grandmother. It passed from my Granny to my auntie who passed it on to me, so it is very special and very old; well over a hundred years old.

There are two teacups on the table today which are also very special. The first one was a gift from my beloved brother who passed a few months ago. He had gifted it to me for my wedding shower many years ago.

It is an exquisite cup and saucer trimmed in black, white, and lots of gold gilding. It is a vintage teacup from Royal Stafford of England and it is called Buckingham. I love it, and it will always be a treasure because of my precious brother who gifted it to me.

The next teacup you have seen many times. It was a gift from my hubby in remembrance of my father on what would have been my daddy's birthday one year. My father favoured this RA Old Country Roses pattern and it was very thoughtful of my hubby to give it to me. 

I thought it would look pretty with all the coloured leaves on the table. 

The beautiful table topper was a give-away gift which I won from my blogging friend, Bernideen, many years ago and I bring it out every Autumn.

A good life is when you smile often, dream big, laugh a lot, and realize how blessed you are for what you have. ~ unknown

I have shared many lovely gifts today; the hydrangeas from my friend, my grandmother's priceless pancake jug, the two teacups, and the lovely table topper. They all remind me of the beautiful people who have played a part in my life and I am so thankful for each one!

This coming Monday is our Canadian Thanksgiving and we will be having dinner at the home of our son's girlfriend. I will be bringing dessert. I plan to bake pumpkin pie and a lemon dessert, both of which are favourites of everyone, especially my son and my oldest grandson who will be joining us for dinner.

Thanksgiving is of course a special day set aside to give thanks for all the many blessings in our lives. Good food, loved ones, and the precious memories that have played a part in shaping who we are. Our Heavenly Father has ordained them all.

I wish all my Canadian friends a very Happy Thanksgiving and may God bless you all!

It is not what we say about our Blessings, but how we use them, which is the true measure of our Thanksgiving. ~unknown

Sharing from my heart ~ Sandi

A Time of Reflection

I'm so glad I live in a world where there are Octobers. ~ LM Montgomery - Anne of Green Gables

Happy Friday, dear friends! Please forgive me for not posting sooner. I have been so busy with appointments, company, and a delivery that I just couldn't find the time until now. 

I just finished making a big pot of chili for supper this evening and I decided to sit down and give you an update. 

I know some of you have probably wondered how we fared through Teddy, and the answer is, "Very well!" Thank you so much for your prayers and kind thoughts in regards to our safety. Teddy was a three compared to Dorian's nine last year. For that, we Islanders are so thankful! We received more rain than with Dorian but the winds were not as high therefore we were spared a lot of damage. Whew!

I am borrowing a couple of photos from my past postings because I did not have time to set up a tea this week. They reflect an Autumnal setting with the fruit and cheese.

I would like to share this reflection from one of my tea books. It is thought provoking and part of it is a quote from someone I have always admired. Have a marvellous weekend, everyone! 

"One of the ways in which we may experience true happiness is to "sip" from the supply of talents and abilities God gives us and use them to benefit others. "Sipping" doesn't require spending great amounts of time. Neither does it require extraordinary or professional helping skills."

Helen Keller, blind and deaf from the age of 19 months, had a remarkable sight when it came to viewing life's priorities. She said, "Many persons have a wrong idea about what constitutes true happiness. It is not attained through self-gratification, but through fidelity to a worthy purpose."

How miraculous it is that God has built an automatic measure of happiness into every act of self-sacrifice. Take a sip of happiness by serving others! - Excerpt from "Tea Time with God."

Sharing from my heart ~ Sandi