Summer Inspirations For Me, My Soapbox

I am happy to find a few minutes to post a few things for summer...

Which arrived with summer solstice on Sunday, June 21st, which was also Father's Day.

Our out-of-state-kids finally managed to arrive on Thursday night, despite a day spent in an Oregon hospital en route for our son in law with an infection.

So things have been totally altered as to home routine.

But so happy because of it!

Anyway, so just wanting to share some sunny yellow summer things to brighten your week!

A pretty 1950s Clare yellow Rose and Violets teacup...

A sunny yellow Hall Parade teapot, also from the 1950s...

Shelley Dainty Primrose teacup...

Villeroy & Boch, Germany Jamaica pattern eggcups...

And if that all doesn't make you smile, how about these wonderful yellow flower decorated cupcakes from KerrysBouqcakes?

And Heaven knows we need smiles.

Don't let life at the moment cause you to forget the many blessings we have.

And the blessing of being in a society where we are free to voice our opinions.

I was in the Soviet Union for several months in 1967 and have never forgotten the oppression, the fear, the want, the quick reprisals against those that dared to disagree with someone's ideologies, and the deep divide among the haves and have nots that the government denied existed under communism but was CLEARLY visible, a constant "elephant on the room"...

Intolerance is intolerance, and is a dire error, for whichever side you are on.

 There are no perfect absolutes, their are always circumstances and THERE WILL ALWAYS BE things we must learn to tolerate, agree to disagree with, and allow others to not perfectly ascribe to EVERYTHING we believe.

No one is perfect.

No one has all the right answers.

NO one has a right to refuse to listen to others' heart felt beliefs,

but we ALL have a call to learn to not reject someone or something because it is not completely in line with our beliefs.

We are all different, and all entitled to our own feelings.

True tolerance is the ability to not reject others because they don't agree 100% with us, and that is what this country stands for when compared with most of the world.

DO NOT LET US LOSE THE PRECIOUS FREEDOM TO NOT BE OPPRESSED BY ANYONE.

We don't want to be another NAZI GERMANY with Brown Shirts and KristalNachts,

AND NOT HAVE LEARNED FROM THAT HORRIBLE TIME IN HISTORY at the lowest depths of human intolerance.

PLEASE, BE TOLERANT and work to bring understanding and acceptance of each other!

Comfort Teatime and Comfort Food

Hello dear friends. Hoping your days are retaining some order and peace. 

We keep saying... "when things get back to normal..." but we wonder when and what that will be!

A common comment on my Facebook page for Antiques And Teacups is thank you for a bit of peace and beauty in a chaotic world. I share what brings be those elusive things right now.

The tea tray I am sharing for this week is not what I had planned, but life intervened, as it has a way of doing.

Our daughter and son in law bought property close by last year as they live out of state, and planned to be back here by April 1st to begin construction...

That was cancelled by the virus. So they started on their way last week in their trailer with their dog and 3 cats...

only to have been forced to stop just over the Oregon border, one state away from us, because our son in law was in great pain.

After various tests at a local hospital to where they booked in with their RV

 it was found that he has a kidney stone, so things have not gone as expected for any of us. We have been on the phone with our daughter constantly as it is ongoing at the moment.

Sigh... normal indeed. BUT... he is negative for COVID-19, which was routinely tested as soon as he entered the emergency room.

So just a tea tray for a comfort tea during prayer and calls about Alan.

I used my family Royal Doulton, England Rosebud teacup and family silver...

And a Claud Monet's Water Lilies teapot from Leonardo, England from the artist's painting from 1906... love the blues!

And some plain scones and strawberries in Royal Albert, England's Old Country Roses cream and sugar...

Speaking of strawberries, I found another strawberry fork! I love them! this is by Rogers (Anchor) Silver Company, USA in the Newton or Raleigh pattern from 1900. So elegant!

Just basic scones. Nothing fancy...

And enjoying looking through Christie's Teapots book. I do love antique teapots!

It does a great job of an historical overview of the great potters I love.

There is nothing that establishes a sense of peace in turmoil, that a cup of tea and a book for a bit of a respite before again entering the fray... which is life in all it's myriad facets.

We are only getting groceries delivered about every 10 days to 2 weeks, and ran out of meats for lunch. And needed comfort food, so...

Being raised in an English household, there are things I don't think twice about until someone points them out.  Like I mean an American goggling at me and asking "what???" And such a case happened yesterday.  I am on my milk free diet due to this having been a bad year for my respiratory allergies, and food can get boring. A friend was visiting and asked what I was making for lunch. I told her without thinking, Tuna and Sweet Corn sandwiches...and she almost spilled her tea down the front of her shirt. Her next comment was "Ewwwww, that sounds horrible!"

That's when I thought...ahh...another Brit thing I take for granted. I was raised on them...along with bacon butties, chip butties, toad in the hole, etc. Sooo...here is the recipe. I love Tuna and Sweet Corn sandwiches. In England you see them all over, and their baguette sandwiches are the best!!! You can even get them at Sainsbury's of Marks and Spencers or any good food hall all over the country.

Tuna & Sweet Corn sandwich spread

1 can of water pack chunk white or albacore tuna, drained and flaked into bowl

chopped green onions to taste---all of this recipe has lots of room to innovate, I do it all the time

dried dill weed---again, to taste

1/2 to 3/4 cup sweet corn kernals, drained canned or thawed frozen or cut from cooked, cooled...the English call it sweet corn because what they call corn is what we call wheat

2tbs or as desired of mayo...some folks like to add or substitute sour cream or cream fraiche, but I don't with the milk allergy

a dash of lemon juice and pepper if desired. Mix well and chill. Serve on bread, a bagel or a small split baguette.

May you find some peace, hope and love in your world.

First through prayer and meditation, but also from tea, companionship and maybe comfort food! Lol!

Celebration of Wedgwood Blue and White

Are you looking for some comfort during these astounding and unprecidented times? I know we have been...

And to me the combination of blue and white is extremely calming...

I realized I had several items of Wedgwood, England Embossed Queen's Ware on hand, that I hadn't put together for awhile...

so I got some of them together in the sunroom this week...

I had already had the teapot and cream and sugar together on the tea tray in the sunroom, so just added to it...

Queen's Ware, is also called creamware. Josiah Wedgwood, who was besides a wonderfyl potter also a chemist and consumate innovator, discovered the formula in 1762 using local clay. It became called Queen's Ware when he supplied sets to both Queen Charlotte and Catherine the Great.

Much of the pieces I have are from the 1920-1940s and were made in the pottery at Etruria which is an area in Stoke-on-Trent.

Embossed Queen's Ware was made in several different colorways including blue on white, white on blue, green and pink as well as all white...

All have hand applied decorations. These have grapevines and grapes, but there also floral and shell designs.

Blue and wake just makes me happy!

This cylinder lidded box is in Queen's ware with the applied classical figures Wedgwood is so well known for on their jasperware... with palm fronds and a leaf and berry border.

The cup and saucer with matching plate are again in the grapevine design...

as is the tall reeded trumpet shaped flower vase...

and as an isolation treat, I got some of Harrod's Empire Blend No. 34 black tea. When we were going to the UF+K for a month every year and always included a week in London, I stocked up and either carried or shipped it home. Let's hear it for being able to order online!

And we felt like a treat, so I made a simple batch of  Orange Date muffins from an old cookbook I came across cleaning out a cupboard. 

Definitely something to keep me busy while isolating!

How many cupboards have you managed to clean out??? Lol!

We are also spending quite a bit of time in prayer.

So... " May the peace of God that surpasses all understanding, guard you heart and mine in Christ Jesus.

Anniversary of Queen Elizabeth's Coronation

Hello and welcome! I am celebrating the anniversary of Queen Elizabeth's coronation!  On June 2, 1953, Queen Elizabeth was crowned queen of England and the Commonwealth in Westminster Abbey.

Queen Elizabeth became England's longest reigning monarch, surpassing the record of her great-great-grandmother Queen Victoria around 5:30 pm on September 9, 2015 after 23,226 days, 16 hours and roughly 30 minutes on the throne at that point. Cool! Don't know what her time clock reads NOW, but...wow!

This is a Cecil Beaton official coronation photo from 1953. 

And another official one from 1953...

My royal grouping in the sunroom in honor of HRH Queen Elizabeth has some reign landmark royal commemorative china items from Antiques And Teacups shop and the archives...

2 teacups and 2 mugs in her honor....the first teacup is a coronation design made by Shelley China in 1953 in the late Dorothy shape. The design is a photo by photographer Lord Snowdon, Anthony Armstrong-Jones, and is one of my favorite designs from the coronation. I think I've shared a mug with this design before.

The next royal commemorative item is a Coalport, England loving cup made for the Silver Jubilee in 1977. We were there for our usual month that year, and jubilee things were everywhere, and cheer was rampant!

The next is a Golden Jubilee mug from 2002 commemorating 50 years of reign by Royal Burlngton which is the trade name of a small pottery that has few records...I can't even find out if it is still in business...and my friends in Stoke-on-Trent who work in the potteries have never heard of it, and think the trade name was only used for the Jubilee by another pottery. We were again in England and it was festive again...

The last is a tea cup and saucer made for the Diamond Jubilee of 60 years on the throne in 2013 by Heriloom China, who has only been around since 1998. I sold the last I had left  just after the wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan on May 19th, 2018.

What an incredible year this has been in contrast to the ususal public rounds of visits, audiences, parties, investitures, etc with the Covid-19 pandemic seeing her Majesty in isolation at Windsor Castle in obedience to her government's health directive to all those over 70... and she is 94!

Country Living quote: When given the chance to write the preface for a new biography, Elizabeth II: The Steadfast, in 2018, the Duke of Cambridge didn't just deliver —he honored Queen Elizabeth with a sweet yet rare public appreciation of both her reign and her role in their family, as well.

"The Queen's kindness and sense of humor, her innate sense of calm and perspective,

 and her love of family and home are all attributes I experience first-hand," he writes.

 "All of us who will inherit the legacy of my grandmother's reign and generation need

 to do all we can to celebrate and learn from her story. Speaking for myself, 

I am privileged to have the Queen as a model for a life of service to the public."

Speaking of the Queen's sense of humor, I found this on Pinterest and posted it on one of my Facebook pages...Her Majesty is cracking up at something her husband, Prince Philip is saying...I so wish I knew what it was!

Thanks for joining me! I can't believe it is June already! Amazing!! Where did the time go!

Take some time to enjoy the simple things and have a lovely, reflective cup of tea with a thankful heart!
The pandemic isn't over, we are still isolating, but life continues and we continue to appreciate our many blessings instead of lacks, annoyances and inconveniences.