Friday Show and Tell – Embroidered Portrait

Show and tell Friday is hosted by Kelli at There is No Place Like Home

Last week, as part of a shopping excursion with my sister, I returned to my current favorite consignment shop. There, in a corner I spotted a bit of embroidery in a beautiful oval gilt frame. A closer look revealed that it was one of Henry VIII’s ill-fated wives, Anne Boleyn. Since I have an interest in English history, and a love of embroidery, and it only cost $12.00 framed, I bought it. [Actually, it was $15.26. I just checked my receipt.]

The needlepoint portrait is embellished with tiny beads around the headpiece, the necklace, and at the waist.


The oval frame is beautiful. It measures 17 inches tall by 14 inches wide.

The mat, however, is very poorly cut, so I must have a new one cut for it.

Examining the piece closely, I wonder if the handwork is completed. It seems that the bead embellishments were not all added to the needlework. So I must now search for the kit for the project to see if more beadwork is in order.

To visit other Show and Tell posts, please go to Kelli’s. Thank you for coming by. Please leave a comment and do come again soon.

Thankful Thursday - Courage

My grateful list this week includes --

• The assertion that:
  "This is the day the LORD has made; We will rejoice and be glad in it." Ps. 118:24 NKJV
• Spring is here! Promises of spring I am looking forward to: warmer weather, pretty flowers bulbs erupting from the soil, brilliant yellow forsythia on the highways, as well as across the back fence, budding trees…
• My mother is doing much better day by day. This week she even helped me by washing the dishes, even though the faucet is difficult for her to open.
• Inspiring lectures, sermons, and reading that spark renewed courage in my mind to be the person Christ created me to be.

"For the eyes of the Lord range throughout the earth
to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him."
2 Chronicles 16:9 NIV

For more Thankful Thursday posts, visit Iris here.

Décor-a-Tea

La Tea Dah at Gracious Hospitality is hosting a Tea Blog-a-Thon from March 16 until May 31. She has a different theme for each week and you may participate as much or as little as you like. The theme for the third week, March 30 - April 5 is Decor-a-Tea: "Share ideas and pictures that incorporate tea and/or tea themes into home decor. Displays, art, prints, fabrics, and collection all count in this category. Do you use teapots and teacups as a part of your home decor?"

Tea items serving a decorative function around Oak Rise Cottage are found in four rooms -- the kitchen, dining room, living room and principal bedroom.

The Kitchen
In the kitchen the pine hutch holds blue and white teacup collection. This is presented in my Jan. 25 post.

Three wood receptacles are used to hold teabags – a spice cabinet, a recipe box, and a cottage box on breakfast table holds herb tea and sits atop stack of tea books.


The spice cabinet was a $2.00 buy at a second-hand furniture store. I replaced the broken and missing white china knobs with wooden knobs. The recipe box was found in a thrift store, while the cottage-shaped box was purchased from T.J. Maxx.
Just inside the kitchen door is tea towel hangs on the microwave cabinet.


The Dining Room
In the Dining Room china cabinet is a teapot, sugar, creamer, teacupa and saucers that match the Lenox “Autumn” dishes displayed there.


The Living Room
The cabinet of the Living Room desk holds a pineapple teapot, an apple teapot like one I gave to my niece/godchild, and a blue and white child’s tea set.

In the Living Room curio cabinet is the Spode "Consul" English bone china tea set. My Jan.18 post tells about bringing this set from London to the US.

The Principal Bedroom
My Bedroom tier table displays a gilt-rimmed cream teacup and saucer, Rosenthal "Classic" from Germany and a white gilt-trimmed teapot from England.

Next to the vase is a bureau box with teacup designs. The box holds some of the handkerchief collection.

Please visit La Tea Dah at Gracious Hospitality for links to other participants.

Loving Spring In

This poem expresses the perspective of a person encountering much rain, but looking past any inconvenience to the joy of spring flowers.

It is not raining rain to me,
It’s raining daffodils;
In every dimpled drop I see
Wildflowers on the hills.
April Rain [1901] st. 1

A health unto the happy!
A fig for him who frets!—
It is not raining rain to me,
It’s raining violets.
Ib. st. 4
--Robert Loveman (1864-1923)

If spring flowers have not yet sprung up in your area, I hope you are looking forward to the delights which increasing warm weather will surely bring. Have a great day!

Note on Illustrations: The Mayflower oil painting is in my dining room. The embroidery is in my guest room.

More Litera-Tea

La Tea Dah at Gracious Hospitality is hosting a Tea Blog-a-Thon from March 16 until May 31. She has a different theme for each week and you may participate as much or as little as you like. The theme for the second week, March 23-29 is Litera-Tea: "Share tea from the perspective of literature. Post a tea quote, a verse or poem, or story. Tell about a favorite tea book. This would be a good time to share how you use tea to encourage others. Do you minister to others by sending them tea themed cards to friends and shut-ins? Or another way you use 'tea' to share joy with others?"


TEA MINISTRY

As some may be aware, I've had my 89 year-old mother staying with me this month. She had quite a bad cold for a time. My sister and brother in law came from Florida to see her. Before their arrival a beautiful bouquet of flowers arrived for my mother.

We had planned to have an afternoon tea during their stay. My sister brought a tea party kit for my mother. It was presented in a beautiful gift bag with this tag:

The tea items included:
Cinnamon Flavor Green Tea
Melville’s All Natural Tupelo Honey Flavoring Spoons
Walker’s Pure Butter Shortbread Petticoat Tails
Guava Cake (Panetela de Guayaba)
DeBeukelaen Pirouline Cookies
Harry & David Truffles

Here are a few photos on these items.

Each day I serve my mother a hot drink first thing in the morning, often to her in bed. This is usually in Churchill "Bermuda" pattern mug, which is my everyday china pattern.

Later in the day we usually have some herb tea together. Right now the tea cup she uses is Portmeiron "Harvest Blue."



I am using Royal Worcester "Hanbury." Both teacups are lovely in design, sturdy in shape, and each holds eight ounces. My mother enjoys the variety of wares I use throughout the week.


I have received tea-themed cards from my mother, a good friend and a co-worker. They are displayed on the glass doors of the pine hutch in the kitchen.

Please visit La Tea Dah at Gracious Hospitality for links to other participants. http://gracioushospitality.blogspot.com/

Litera-Tea

La Tea Dah at Gracious Hospitality is hosting a Tea Blog-a-Thon from March 16 until May 31. There a different theme for each week and you may participate as much or as little as you like. The theme for the second week, March 23-29 is Litera-Tea: "Share tea from the perspective of literature. Post a tea quote, a verse or poem, or story. Tell about a favorite tea book. This would be a good time to share how you use tea to encourage others. Do you minister to others by sending them tea themed cards to friends and shut-ins? Or another way you use 'tea' to share joy with others?"

My January 28 post shared a number of my tea-themed books.

In Metropolitan Museum of Art Teatime Tales & Rhymes , I found two poems which express the joys of tea.


A Cup of Tea
When the world is all at odds
And the mind is all at sea
Then cease the useless tedium
And brew a cup of tea.
There is magic in its fragrance,
There is solace in its taste;
And the laden moments vanish
Somehow into space.
And the world becomes a lovely thing!
There’s beauty as you’ll see;
All because you briefly stopped
To brew a cup of tea."
--Traditional

The Tea Party
In the pleasant green garden
We sat down to tea:
"Do you take sugar?" and
"Do you take milk?"
She’d got a new gown on—
A smart one of silk.
We all were so happy
As happy could be.
On that bright summer’s day
When she asked us to tea.
--Kate Greenaway

One of my favorite tea-related stories is A Cup of Christmas Tea by Tom Hegg, illustrated with watercolors by Warren Hanson. A nephew’s obligatory visit to his elderly aunt results in new insights into family memories.

The sequel, A Memory of Christmas Tea reveals the importance of special times for reflection about what matters most.

One of my favorite authors on various aspects of tea is Emily Barnes. I have been inspired by If Teacups Could Talk and recently got The Twelve Teas of Christmas from my book swap.
See La Tea Dah’s excellent reviews of four Emily Barnes tea books.

Please visit La Tea Dah at Gracious Hospitality for links to other participants in the Tea Blog-a-Thon.

Color Green in the Home

In honor of spring Angela at Cottage Magpie is doing a roundup of posts about the color green in the home or garden.


This is fun challenge. I love the color green for its links to nature – green leaves, grass, trees. It is one of my favorite colors and is found in small doses in almost every room. Here is a sampling.

In the living room on top of the desk cabinet are a pair of celadon green ceramic pots with peach roses.


Across the room in the curio cabinet are fruit and vegetable pitchers

On the shelf above is a lettuce plate

The dining room has a group of an Asian screen flanked by an embroidered piece with green fabric mat and an etching and oil painting.

Like the embroidery, the Asian picture is matted in green fabric.

The new drapes in the dining room are in aqua green and pick up the nearby wall art.

This wall group in the study is composed of two Spode green plates and a framed print


Check Angela’s for a round-up of all the participating blogs. Thank you for your visit and do come again.

Easter Joy

The Savior’s death between two thieves
enables us to see
That He comes to us right where we are,
Not where we’d like to be.


“I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.” John 10:10

Jesus, Savior…
Thank you for becoming like us
That you might become for us
The perfect sacrifice,
The one true Savior
And eternal Lord.

Happy Easter!