Thank you for remembering! I'm having Earl Grey tea. My favorite and very nice with an orange milano cookie. I did not take a picture of my outdoor tea area, but I did just take a picture of my mini-office, where I'm drinking tea. This was right before I got the tea cup....for the Home Decorating forum.

oh caroline, that is lovely china! how neat that you found a teapot to match.

gee, it didn't even cross my mind about tea on Tues today. I think a lot of things are just flying right over my head lately!

That is gorgeous china! After we move, I hope to start using my china more. I'm not as bad as your mil, but close.

WOWSA I am totally messed up on days this week. I do not even remember what I did on Tuesday. Chemo for Joe was changed to Monday this week. BUT we had to be there at the crap of dawn so neither of us got much sleep Monday night. I know I was busy Tuesday I just do not remember what I was doing. Had to have been yardwork , house work or animal work and of course taking care of Joe. Totally forgot about Tea. So sorry. Maybe we just need to come in any time we need a cup of tea. I have been pouring it down both hot and cold. Lots of Lemon and Ginger tea. On my favorite list right now. I have been using my big old purple mug. BUT I do hold up my little finger in honor. Be glad it is not the one I had tattooed. Cause it is not very lady like LOL

There you are Shades; I was wondering if you were being overwhelmed with duties.

Yes! Let's all drop by any time, from Tuesday to Tuesday, for a refreshing break. (and I love the company; it gets so darned quiet around here).

I made DH his first a gallon of iced tea. I use a bottle of sassafras concentrate, plus eight Tetley's black tea bags, and one cup of sugar for his first gallon of iced tea of the summer. From now on it's plain Tetley's, no sugar, but sometimes add lemon. He goes through a lot of tea, but then, so do I.

Now you know you have to share the tattoo! And I'll place a wager that you're not the only person on this forum sporting one - or two.

Lavender Lass - the two horses on your desk jumped - or pranced - right out to me. I love your office; it seems conducive to creative thinking.

Missouri Bound - Life is too short to not use, enjoy, and wear out our "good stuff" now. I hope you can use your china, too, after your move.

Desert Steph - eBay and Etsy was my friend in finding pieces to round out MIL's unwanted china. It's been harder for me to find pieces I want lately. I love china and this is my official "Thanksgiving Set."

To her six basic 5-piece place settings, (dinner, salad, bread-and-butter plates and cups/saucers), I have added six 5" berry/dessert bowls, six small sauce plates, a gravy boat with saucer, and the tea pot. She also had, and gave me, the covered sugar bowl and creamer and two oval serving bowls.

I want to find a serving platter and a round covered serving/casserole dish, but the prices will have to be right. I wouldn't turn down the rimmed soup bowls, either. I've seen the two-handled cream soup cups with underplates, but I have those pieces for my Old Country Roses china set. I thought I'd go with the simpler ones for the Autumn Leaf set.

This is one of the six small sauce bowls. I don't know if it was meant to be a butter pat dish, sauce dish, or what. I love the scalloped rim; it sets it apart from the more plain pieces. I use it to hold a sauce blend I make to serve with dim sum.

And since we're having a belated tea, I'll serve dim sum for us to snack on. This photo was taken before MIL gave me her china, and everything is set out on the tired-and-true, Corelle, in Winter Frost White, my favorites since 1975.

Thanks for noticing the horses! My dad sent those to me because the one on the right looks like Cordell....and I added white-out to the one on the left, so it would look like Mandy.

We lost Mandy last year, but Cordell and the four boys are still doing very well! Here are a few pictures : )

Many and Cordell before they had all the boys....

The entire family...on a winter morning.

Caroline the little sauce dish is Lovely. Wondering if it would be considered a berry bowl? I was never good about the terms of table settings. Mine were always a mix and match mess of yard sale. I do have some pretty pieces but no sets of anything but my forest green glass square dish set.

LL what a herd you have. I feel like they are saying enough with the camera where are the goodies??

Spent the morning taking yard photos. It is windy and partly sunny. Rained last night. I will load the pictures to my flicker album and here is the link to it.

2016 Yard Photos

Well hubby has gone to sleep. I was going to scrub the floors Guess that project will have to wait. Chemo is not making hi sick but he is having a hard time holding his eyes open. :'(

Shades, remember that horse painting you gave me? I moved it to my bedroom and think of you at least twice a day!

Aw I am so happy you like it and it is much better on your wall than rolled up in my attic. good to see you posting. Hope all is going well in your house.

I think I am a little late for tea today, but I'm hoping to join you all once in awhile if that is ok. I have a teapot collection that I've been working on for years. Many have been gifts and it is fun to think about the person who gave a particular pot to me. I have them on two bookcases in my living room. Here is a picture of the pot and cup I bought myself for birthday and Christmas presents. Strawberries are my theme in my kitchen. I came to that from pieces from my sister's kitchen after she passed away 8 years ago.

Lovely Pot and Cup Murraysmom. Sorry for the loss of your Sister. Good to have turned it into a spark of inspiration for your kitchen theme.

There was a tea pot thread on garden web a couple of years ago. I really want a tea pot. Why? I make it by the cup. A teapot would just be one more thing to store. But I still want one. And some shown on that thread were available on eBay. For a price.

Almost ashamed to admit I use a small percolator with out the innards in it to make my tea. It makes about three cups so I pull the tea bags when it is done steeping and if I do not think I will finish the pot I also pull the plug. It only takes a coupe of minutes to re-heat. I would bet if I wanted to do loose tea I could do it in the basket and let it perk like coffee. I will give it a try and let you know. I love this thing as much as I do my percolator.

I use a small saucepan on the stove to heat the water to make my tea. I know that one cup will do it, so it's easy that way. I'm not a connoisseur of teas (or anything else) so I just do what I like. :)

Lavender Lass - I'm so sorry you lost Mandy. Did she birth all those honkin' big boys? I'm impressed; she was a good Momma. I love the kitty waiting there, patiently making her plans to bring down the biggest...prey...ever!

Shades - I have the designated "berry bowls" for both MIL's Haviland and my Old Country Roses sets. The berry bowls are wider and deeper than these small scalloped ones. The OCR have "butter pat" saucers that are smaller than what I'm calling sauce bowls for the Haviland. First and foremost, they are "bowls," so I figure than can hold what ever I need held! LOL

Murray's Mom - That is such a lovely strawberry set and a wonderful item to honor your sister's memory.

I love teapots, too (don't ask how many I have; it's a shameful amount !) I love strawberry-themed items, although I don't have any right now, and I long for a bright yellow kitchen. I think strawberries and yellow would make a beautiful "summer" kitchen. I get all happy when I find an older "Made in England" teapot. If it's a red clay Brown Betty I go delirious. It she had a downturned spout; I'd roll around on the floor in glee. They are few and far between out here.

I do have a lot of pots, but I also use them on a rotating basis. They all come from thrift store type places, and I didn't pay too much, but still, how many pots does one woman need? Answer: More!

I'm Happy... You need to find a small teapot that holds only one or two cups! Just because you deserve it. Then you can brew your tea in it, drink the one cup, and have the other for later! It can stand ready by your stove to be near the kettle.

Here's one of my favorite pots, brewing away; you can see the teabag strings hanging out from under the lid. This was one of my favorite older English pots. I used it for years and years...and then dropped it one day. Right now I'm using a dark red "Made in West Germany" pot. It's newer, and doesn't exude the same charm this one did.

When I took this shot, my neighbor was over for our weekly Tea and Murder Mystery DVD afternoon so I had the mugs set out for us. We watch an English murder mystery or comedy series episode nearly every Wednesday afternoon.

Shades and Murray's Mom - you're making your tea just fine. Don't tell my fellow Anglophiles I said this, but as long as you are pouring boiling (and not microwaved) water over your tea (bagged or loose), and letting it steep, you're doing it right!

I make a large pot each morning and take the bags out after about five minutes. I have a cup or two while it's steaming hot; then I commit a sacrilege with the rest of the pot. I put the leftover cup or two in a mug and nuke it. Oh the shame. But I can't bring myself to dump it; I drink tea all day long and I don't want to stop my projects to keep making more small pots full.

Caroline- Yes she had all four boys...and one that didn't make it. After the first one, she had a problem and the horse was turned wrong. We almost lost her then and the vet said...well, no more babies from her.

Three boys later...and we finally got everyone gelded! LOL She lived many more years, went out with her family to have grass one day and just laid down. We had no warning she was sick, until the kids came down and started acting like something was wrong. She probably just laid down and drifted off. We miss her, but I know she had a wonderful life : )

Caroline I have the same tea pot. I think mine is only one cup though. And it is Cobalt Blue. No markings on the bottom. I have had it for years. I forget where it came from.

I forgot to try perking the loose tea. We went grocery shopping this morning with a couple other stops and I came home to make potato salad for hubby and of course put the groceries away. I was in a hurry to just have a hot cup of tea. It is cold and raining today. I will try it for sure the next pot.

I usually pour the left over tea into my pitcher in the fridge for iced tea. I love it both ways and hot days the iced tea feels so refreshing to me.

Aw LL I missed your loss of Mandy. So sorry. They are such a part of our lives.At least she passed peacefully. I am sure she had a good life. Hugs

Just popping in for news flash. I dried some lemon balm last fall and then forgot about it. I just made a cup of tea with it and it is delicious. Happy I planned to grow it down the full length of the east side of the house. I will harvest and dry all through the summer. Love I can grow my own tea makings. Taste reminds me of minty lemon/Camomile.

.

I'm sorry for those who have recently lost their 4 legged friends. I know that pain.

Caroline, thanks for the "thumbs up" on my tea making efforts. :) I love your teapot and cups and the whole thing you have going on in your picture. I think I have a teapot like yours. I, too, have a whole lot of them. I display most of them in my living room. There is another shelving unit upstairs with just the "winter" themed teapots. Many years at Christmas I drag them all down into the family room. But here are some pictures of my pots in the living room.

Murraysmom. you have some Lovely Teapots. Very interesting collection too. thanks for sharing these with us.

Murray'sMom - I love the teapot display! The teapots! (The saddle stand teapot is a hoot.) The pie safe, the umbrellas, the walking sticks, and the Fontanini® nativity set! What a great room to be in. Is it the dining room?

I just came in for a quick cuppa I've been working in the north Hosta garden; the one with the birdbath that will hold the fairy garden.

"All" the hostas are up. There are four "Fire and Ice," one "Blue Angel," and one "Elegans." I thought it was dead, but there are two strong, green thumbs poking up today. It just needed to sleep in.

The big bleeding heart is blooming; the smallest one needs to be moved. The Lily of the Valley died in its pot; and violas are popping up here and there. I set out 16 more "Sorbet" violas simply because I can't resist them. I have all the colors, but heavy on the yellows and purples.

I dug out the few weeds, mostly dandelions and stinging nettle, and marveled at the thick tiny moss that covers everything.

I have to get a shower; I can't "garden" without looking as though I wallowed in the mud.

DH said he'd drive me to Forks. I have eight cosmos to put in the front garden. The wind is so strong here they have a tough time standing up.

I learned last year that the smallest "tomato cages" are wonderful for the cosmos plants. They were beautifully upright all season long and hid the cages. I use the same cages on the pepper plants, too. I have to get some more of them and at least five stepping stones for the Hosta bed.

Caroline, your gardens sound so wonderful!! I hope you will share pictures when everyone is up and running.

My teapots are in the living room. I like to pretend the pie safe is a fire place and that's why I had the Nativity set up there at Christmas. I've gotten at least one more teapot that is up there now. The saddle is, of course, my favorite. I love looking at them and thinking about the people that have given me many of them.

That large black and red one is a Hall. I got it at an online auction and didn't even realize how big it was until I went to pick it up!!! But I like it.

I actually don't even have a dining room. I think my house got a little makeover at one point and they did away with the dining room and made the kitchen bigger - although it is a walk through. So I have a dining table down in the family room which is an addition to the original house.