A Favorite Tea Memory and Teacup Thursday

Today is Teacup Thursday...a day I just discovered from a couple of favorite blogs that I am going to participate in as well.
Teacups are a wonderful symbol of warmth, friendship and hospitality....and I love and collect them (as well as sell them) which is a joy for me, everyday. 

This particular example is a Christmas or Holiday themed design called Noel by Royal Grafton, England. So seasonal! Click the teacup for more information about it at Antiques And Teacups. 

    I want to shsre something that Bernideen of Bernideen's Tea Time Blog posted on the Afternoon Tea Across America Yahoo group....she called it a Favorite Tea Memory and I was so touched I wanted to pass it on:

Enjoying a wonderful cup of tea can be a way to celebrate almost anything. So
much can be enjoyed over a teacup!
I can remember being very young, as were my five siblings when my mom, who was
such an incredible and admirable lady, invited our neighbor over for a cup of
tea. Before my mom walked back into the house, she picked some mint from her
herb garden and continued into the kitchen to turn on the stove. I followed her
as she went to the closet and took out a basket. The first thing she pulled out
was a lace tablecloth, which she laid and flattened on our old dining room
table. Next, she took out a pretty porcelain teapot with a pink rose on it and
two teacups and saucers. I remember also seeing sugar cubes and sugar tongs and
a funny little item, which at the time I thought would make a great spaghetti
strainer for my dolls, though I have since learned it was a tea infuser.

Minutes later, they were drinking tea, conversing, laughing and relaxing. I was
playing on the floor with my younger brother in the next room, but I still had a
perfect view of these two women who seemed to really be enjoying their time
talking and listening to each other. I tried to pay attention to every small
detail as I saw my mom brew the tea leaves and strain them into each of their
teacups. She made it look so easy, like she had done it a thousand times before.
The thought and the feeling that is most vivid to me, after all these years, is
how important my mom must have made Mrs. V....... feel that afternoon…

My beautiful mother passed away a month after my seventh birthday. Every memory
that I do have of her are all so wonderful and precious to me, but I do believe
that is one will always be one of my favorites. My love for tea began because of
Mom.
I worked for a tea company for a few years before I began my own company in
2007, called "Cuppa Tea with Me."

It is very true that the perfect cup of tea commands our attention and our time.
No matter how hectic my day was, my spirit and soul feels refreshed and I feel
like "me" again after having my "cuppa." My teacup is my cup of serenity.

Your friend in tea,
Julia 

And that's an example why we love taking tea, teacups, friends sharing! Have a great afternoon, a warm evening and kiss those you love!