Happy Mother's Day May 10th, About My Nurturers

Hello! It's time for Teacup Tuesday for Mother's Day here in the US which is Sunday May 10th!

This is my Mom on my parent's wedding day in 1940...

For a lot of reasons, I was my Daddy's girl, and my mother and she was not an easy or nuturing mother for me after my early childhood. The nuturers in my life were my grandmother and my aunt, my Father's sister, whom I was named after and who was my godmother.

Below is my grandmother, Emma Bridgewater...who is always on my sidebar...who began and fostered my love of antiques and Victoriana. Yep...her name really was Emma Bridgewater and she was born in Leicester, England in 1881. She was born Emma Rice (unlike the potter Emma Bridgewater who was born Bridgewater and married a Rice!) and remembers going in a carriage in 1897 when she was 16 to watch the village roasting oxen on the green to celebrate the Diamond Jubilee of Queen Victoria in 1897. She couldn't attend because she was just recovering from scarlet fever.

The photo above is Emma participating in a play at age 18 as part of a dramatic society she belonged to.  I inherited her curly hair...and a few health problems as well, by that's by the by. ANYWAY, it was growing up listening to her memories of Victorian England that formed my love of the period. Then, when I was 16 she gave me her teapot and teacups. I have an older sister who was offered them first, but she was into Danish modern so I got all the family Victoriana. Yippee!!!

This is one of the teacups I received from my grandmother. The design is an ethereal watercolor of swans and was made in Germany in the 1880s. It has a crack and a chip, but I treasure it!

This is another of my grandmother's teacups that I treasure. This is a Haviland, Limoges from the 1880s that is just beautiful. We had afternoon tea every afternoon we were together...and she lived with us on and off while I was growing up...and I always got to pick my teacup to drink from...

You can see what fueled my life long love of antiques and collectibles, and why I have been in the antiques, collectibles and tea items business for over 30 years! Obsessed!!! And all Nana's fault!

In the next photo, you can see the hair locket I inherited from my grandmother as well that is hand made and hand engraved and originally had a lock of hair in the back covered with an isenglass window. 

After marrying George Bridgewater, another Englishman, also from Leicester, England, Emma became a nurse and decided that the hair was unsanitary and removed it. It is one of my favorite momentos of  her and I wear it often.

But the biggest nurturer in my life, much more so than my mother, was my Aunt Ruth. Always an ear, a refuge and a support. When I was 20-21 she took me to Europe, eastern and western, for 8 moths. She was an educator who had a short, sad marriage and divorced the year I was born and never remarried. A strong woman, and every couple of years had a sabbatical year, and always traveled.

When she was diagnosed with leukemia, it was me she called with the diagnosis. I traveled the 6 hours to be with her in 2 days, and with my husband's blessing...who came when work allowed... I was with her during her last 5 months.  I was so grateful I was able to do that for her after all she had blessed me with.  

This photo was taken by a street photographer on the Acropolis in Greece.

And I just wanted to remember the new month of May with some pages from another treasure from my Nana...the Country Diary Of An Edwardian Lady by Edith Holden that she gifted me as well that I dearly love. It reminded her of her upbringing in Victorian and Edwardian England....

A poem about May by William Wordsworth

Ode

While earth herself is adorning

This sweet May morning

And the children are culling

On every side

In a thousand valleys far and wide,

Fresh flowers; while the sun shines warm

And the Babe leaps up on it's mother's arm - 

Then sing ye birds, sing, sing a joyous song

And let the young lambs bound as to the tabor's sound

We in thought will join your throng

Ye that pipe and ye that play

Ye that through your hearts today

Feel the gladness of the May

Red Campion (Lychnis diurnia)

Wild Hyacinth (Agraphis Nutans)

Wild Beaked Parsley (Anthrisicus Sylvestris)

page 60

This is a book I come back to often. 

Thanks so much for joining me for tea today! I hope you have enjoyed learning more about my story...I guess that's what blogs are for... I hope you have a wonderful Mother's Day...whether because you are one or of know one... or are a nuturer for someone... related or not.