"Come little cottage girl, you seem to want a cup of tea...................

     And will you take a little cream?  Now tell the truth to me."  She had a rustic, woodland grin. Her cheek was soft as silk, And she replied, "Sir, please, put in a little drop of milk."  ~ Wordsworth

     It is that time already, Tea Treasures Thursday.  This post might just as well be called, It's a whiteout.  In case you are not familar with the term; in northern states where it snows and they have blizzards, sometimes all you can see is white - they have a whiteout.  I have been having a white-out lately with dishes!  Let me back up and say, on Sunday I went to a Ross store hoping to find something my daughter is looking for. No luck for her but, a few steps on down the sidewalk is a TJ Maxx (Home Goods), and I couldn't be that close and not run in there for a few minutes. Now let me tell you I have always loved white dishes especially the ironstone look.  White dishes have a quiet allure, a serenity and they provide a gentle and peaceful setting.  But, can have good style, be interesting and not boring.
So when I walked into TJ's home goods department, there on a sparsely stocked shelf sitting almost alone was this....................

A white cup with a lid, sitting there waiting for me to come along!  And, not just any old lid but, a lid with a cute little bird!  I know we have had a conversation about chickens and roosters but I don't think I have mentioned how much I love birds.

This is the perfect thing for me and it was just $3.99.  It's perfect because almost without fail whatever hot drink I am drinking I drink about half of it and then later find the other half sitting somewhere cold.  This will help keep my hot drinks hot!

See how nice it looks near the fall colors.

Another cherished inexpensive white piece is this teapot.

And yet another is this pretty shaped  little plate. One of the reasons that white dishes are desirable is they provide a great backdrop for food.  Unless, of course, you are serving white or light food. My expert chef son-in-law agrees with me on this.  His choice for a  good presentation of food is using a white plate.

Have you tried these?  They are found in the frozen food section at my Publix. They are not something I would rave over but are pretty good.  It comes in 3 or 4 varieties.  This one is pretty dry.

It was better after I put a big dollup of applesauce on each one. Next time I will heat the applesauce first.  Devonshire cream would be even better. All you do is defrost them in a toaster. They are thicker than they look here and are smaller on the bottom than top.

So, whether you are serving up bran muffins or fall acorns - white works well! 

I will explain these in another post - just a preview of things to come.  They are white and not tan as they look in this picture.

Four o'clock on a fall afternoon. The sky is overcast, the light is ebbing and the time for tea is now. Grab a cup no matter if it's not white and enjoy some tea with me.  I suppose you could even make yours hot chocolate, hot cider?

"Autumn is the eternal corrective..........

     ..............It is ripeness and color and a time of maturity; but it is also breadth, and depth, and distance.  What man can stand with autumn on a hilltop and fail to see the span of his world and the meaning of the rolling hills that reach to the far horizon?  ~  Hal Borland

     What is autumn to you? The changing weather, comfort food, getting to wear different clothes, turning leaves...........where I live we rejoice with the first temperature drop after a long very hot summer, but that doesn't last, at least not consistantly.  I can hardly wait to put on cooler weather clothes. I like them the best of any season's wear. I love the beginning of a new growing season and hoping we don't  get a killing frost. One of my favorite things about fall are the festivals, open houses, craft sales, etc. I have gone to several already. A tour of gardens in Mount Dora, an open house last week at a wonderful plant nursery and garden shop called Apenberry's. It started at 6:00 and got dark very quickly so I have no pictures. I can show a picture of what came home with me.......

This is a wonderful smelling lemon cedar.  It is soft and not prickly like evergreens.  I have never had one of these before and hope I can keep it healthy.  You will be seeing it among my christmas things later.
     Friday night the weather people said it would be in the forties and would stay unseasonably cool all day on Saturday. This sounded like great weather to go to Oviedo's annual Great Day in the Country. Well, it did get very chilly and I got up and dressed in those cool weather clothes I was anxious to wear.  I even put on my Goodwill cape that I mentioned in an earlier post. As I left the house it was cold and I felt good all bundled up!  

Our little group met and headed for a great cool day in the country.  That short one is me and to the right is my daughter, Carrie.  On the left is Fran Peeper and her daughter, Jennifer.  We had not gone all the way down the first isle at the show when we had to start shedding outerwear!! The weather people really missed it that time.

I didn't take many pictures because I know booth owners often don't appreciate picture taking. The Ragtag Rubies (former Cupcakes and Keepsakes) ladies are friends of mine so I did take some pictures at their cute booth.

These are this year's special Oviedo tree ornaments featuring Pappy's U-pick Strawberry Patch.  I love to go pick strawberries at Pappy's.  So, you may see me there along about February picking those juicy strawberries.

I had to get one of these.  I forgot to take a close-up before I took mine apart to make it work on a jar so I can keep it in my kitchen year round.  I don't have a tall jar to fit yet so this is on a very squatty jar.

It came with this red checked bow and the label which says: "Oviedo, Florida is home to roosters, peacocks and people who would never dream of leaving its steeple lined streets and u-pick patches.  Happy harvesting from Ragtag Rubies.  All a very nice keepsake.  Oviedo is just down the road a few miles from where I live.  

Here is a glimpse of one of the owners and her mother, both hard at work.

The other owner who is a great artist.  One of the high lights of this day was stopping by the "taco-in-a-bag" and funnel cake booths.

Yes, autumn holds many pleasures.  "On such a day each road is planned to lead to some enchanted land; Each turning meets expectancy.  The signs I read on every hand.  I know by autumn's wizardry on such a day the world can be only a great glad dream for me--Only a great glad dream for me!"  ~  Eleanor Myers Jewett

The hazy, cloudless skies of Indian Summer.  Leaves scurrying down the street before the wind.......

As I am sitting by my fire I am wondering what will be our next fall excursion................could it be a trip to the corn maze??????????

Thanksgiving is just a little over a week away.  I think I had better quit dreaming and start getting myself organized for the big meal.  I might need to dust off the fall decorations that I put out starting about the middle of August!  I will have the pleasure of entertaining guests from England for Thanksgiving.

Tea Treasures Thursday

     Most of my teacups are one of a kind but today the one I am featuring is part of a set and I have a complete set of dishes of this pattern. I found it on a visit to Martinsville, Indiana several years ago. I didn't buy it at the time but kept thinking about the set after I got home so I sent money to my daughter who lived there and she picked it up for me.  It was just at the height of  popularity of tearooms and tea parties and I was so glad to get it.  Now, this look is not particularly popular but, I have still hung on to it.

I think this cup is prettier on the inside than the outside....

The set is from Cobridge, England by the Simpsons (Potters) LTD.

At first I thought I had no teapot to show that would blend nicely with the china pattern but decided this one would work because of its colors.

It simply says: Windsor and made in England.

I have no memory of when, where or how I got this teapot.

It was a beautiful day to set the table on my porch this afternoon.

I like the little saucers in this set.

I used  a lot of blue in my house for many years but got tired of it and didn't keep many blue dishes or linens. I do have this vintage cloth that looks good with the china.

At one time I had a big interest in having a tea room or bed and breakfast but it was a dream that never came to fruition.  I probably still have enough plates, cups and saucers and teapots to start one! I definitely have enough recipes.  What I don't have is enough energy and never had the money for the initial investment. Oh, what might have been!

The sugar bowl and creamer are very pretty and large.

I usually like the cream pitchers best but with this set the bowl is my favorite.

I love the little detailed rose on the lid.

You have had a glimpse of these snapdragons in a couple of pictures.  I bought ten pots of them  yesterday to go in my front yard and thought they would be pretty on the table first. In a few weeks after they mature a bit I will show them in their place in my yard.

Before I leave you I will share a favorite quote of mine written by someone living on the frontier and sent to a friend or family member.

"Here at the frontier, there are falling leaves.  Although my neighbors are all barbarians, and you, you are a thousand miles away there are always two cups on my table."

~~ anonymous

Majoring in Minors ................

     I often major in minors or to put it another way, emphasize small things. I can get a big thrill from something very small.

I am showing you my breakfast just so I can show a few small things. First, do you notice the little apple stem top?  I didn't cook it but, it gives a little something special to the sauteed apples and biscuits breakfast.  Don't wait until you entertain, do it for yourself.

Do you ever saute/fry apples like this? they are so good, especially served with biscuits. I am able to have two biscuits because I pull most of the middle out of mine. I don't particularly like the fluffy part. When you do the apples just use a little butter in a frying pan and peel most of your apples but leave a few unpeeled. It adds greatly to the presentation but, most importantly it adds a lot to the taste. I add a small amount of brown or white sugar while they are sauteing.  Don't use a lid. I let them get dry enough to brown lightly. I enjoy using this little oblong dish - makes breakfast more fun!

Had to turn it over to show the bottom.  The white scroll work is raised, not flat.

Now, for the pan. It is the smallest baking sheet I have ever seen. Four bisquits would fit just perfect!

Have you ever limped along for weeks, months, years even with an unhandy situation that just a small easy change would make a big difference?  I do that all the time.  Especially since I got my new stove I have needed something close to it to move hot pans onto. I had been walking across the room (not a long trip, but still.....) to get an old, stained hot pad from a drawer. Last week I spotted a set of two black pads in Big Lots.  Thankfully, I thought of my situation and brought them home.  It is great!  It actually adds to the look of the area here by my black stove so I just leave it all the time.

I'm telling you....it doesn't take something big to make me happy.

And, on to this little sweety.  I went to a neighbor's church bazaar and liked this flattened jar made into a serving dish.  It has some character since it had some designs on the sides which still show.  It now has no sides and lays flat. 

It's a keeper @5.00!

 

I have been keeping an extra roll of toilet tissue in this bag on the tank top. But, it was down in and not showing and I thought only I would ever know it was there. So, I put a second one in which raised it up but it didn't look very attractive at all.  I unrolled about 12 inches of tissue, leaving it attached, folded it into about 1 inch strip.  As you can see, I rolled it up into a rose shape.  I stuck a straight pin down through the rose to hold it in place.  If you ever need to use the "spare" at my house, dig down in the bottom for the one without the rose!  Now, I can hardly believe myself, that I am going to show you this next item but since it is right next to the bag and everyone needs to know about this product, here goes............................

Yes, that's right, it's called poo-pourri.  It smells wonderful and it works!!! All you need is two spritzes into the water.  It is expensive but lasts a long time. 

As you can see, I got the monogrammed one - paid extra. I just refill this same bottle.  Mine has a grapefruit oil/fragrance. There is a lemon one that is great too. Since we are in the tiny guest bathroom I want to show you why I would choose a black bag to sit on the tank lid in the first place.

It is just under this shelf and towel bar.

As you can see everything is black and white.

A little touch of red in a victorian bag.  There is a little vase of water in the bag.  On to the next little thing that thrilled me yesterday!

Four of us went to Mount Dora to their Annual Garden Walk.  As we were driving to the next garden we came upon a garage sale in progress.  I got this wonderful old book for $1.  It is in almost new condition except for nice brown edges on all the pages - aged to perfection.

I got it to use in decorating but I think I will end up reading it.

It's a beautiful dark red color. It has a hand-written name and date inside.  The date is 1904.  The copywrite date printed in it is 1882. Who would have thought they would have used copywrites that long ago. 

"The Boy's Percy

being

Old Ballads of War, Adventure and Love"

Here is how it is displayed for now. A small, minor thing but a treasure to me!

 I know someone will wonder what the words on the crock say.  "Gather ye Roses"