Happy Saturday

Happy Saturday

Saturday

Enjoy your Saturday

Happy Saturday

What a lovely idea this is. Herbs in a vintage teapot! 

Enjoy your Monday

Enjoy your Monday

Have a super Saturday

Have a super Saturday

Royal Albert: Months of the Year

Lily of the Valley 

Royal Albert

Months of the year series 

This is a series of 12

Have a lovely Friday

Have a lovely Friday

Wednesday

Have a lovely Wednesday

Thursday

Happy Thursday

Have a lovely Thursday

Happy Thursday to my friends

Happy Thursday

Monday

Hope your Monday goes well

Monday

Have a good week

Monday

The start of a brand new week

Have a great Monday

Monday

The beginning of a brand new week

Have a good Monday everyone

Lily

Lilies are the flowers of the spiritually advanced. They are also the totem flowers of mothers (especially new ones), fertility and nurturing. Lilies are also appropriate flowers to present during weddings as they are symbolic of unions, partnerships, and long lasting relationships. Give lilies to new mothers and brides-to-be; share the symbolism of these beautiful blossoms with them, and watch their faces light up with delight.

Monday, the start of a brand new week

Wishing you

all a magical Thursday

Red Roses

Red roses are long associated with beauty and perfection. They are a time honoured way to say "I love you". Birthdays, Valentines Day or any other day, there is no better way than a bouquet of red roses  to express your feelings.

The shade of red also has a meaning. Bright red means love, burgundy means unconscious love and dark crimson is used to show mourning. A red rosebud symbolizes youthful love and beauty, whereas a withered red rose is used to show that the love is over.

Happiness is not something ready made. It comes from your own actions. 

Hope your Monday goes well

Happy Wednesday

A hot cup of tea may do more than relax you. Research shows tea consumption may help prevent a wide range of ailments. The latest medical research is finding potential healing powers in this ancient beverage. The benefits of tea consumption may extend throughout the body, experts believe. Here is a partial list of conditions some research has shown may be prevented or improved by drinking tea:

Arthritis: Research suggests that older women who are tea drinkers are 60 percent less likely to develop rheumatoid arthritis than those who do not drink tea.

Bone Density: Drinking tea regularly for years may produce stronger bones. Those who drank tea on a regular basis for 10 or more years had higher-bone mineral density in their spines than those who had not.

Enjoy your Sunday

Enjoy your Sunday.

 Why not start your day with a good cup of tea?

Did you know that tea can boost exercise endurance. Scientists have found that the catechins (antioxidants) in green tea extract increase the body’s ability to burn fat as fuel, which accounts for improved muscle endurance.

Drinking tea is linked with a lower risk of Parkinson’s disease. When considered with other factors like smoking, physical activity, age and body mass index, regular tea drinking was associated with a lowered risk of Parkinson’s disease in both men and women.

Relax.....

it's Thursday

Have you ever tried making candles in tea cups? They make lovely gifts and are very simple to make once you know how!

Step 1: Find a teacup in a charity shop or at a car-boot sale - check that it's not cracked.

Step 2: Cut a wick 2in longer than the depth of the cup. Tie one end to a pencil and rest the pencil across the cup so the wick hangs down in the centre.

Step 3: Put candle stubs or wax in an old pan. Put this in a larger pan with an inch of water in the bottom. Heat gently until the wax is liquid, then turn the heat off.

Step 4: For scented candles, add a few drops of essential oil, then pour the wax into the cup.

Step 5: Leave to harden, then trim the wick until 1cm is left. Leave for at least 24 hours before lighting.

Have a relaxing Sunday

Have a relaxing Sunday. Enjoy a cup of tea in your favourite china tea cup.

Sunday, for me, is all about being home with the family with no plans.

                                                                         John Lasseter

Enjoy your Saturday

I am sure that many of you will have seen, or  have a piece of Willow Pattern China of your own. Have you ever looked closely at the pattern. Do you know the story behind it?  Here is one version of the myth behind the pictures. I hope that you enjoy it.

Carolyn 

Long ago in China, there lived a very wealthy mandarin. He had a beautiful daughter named Koong Shee. The beautiful, young girl was the promised bride of Ta-Jin, a very old but wealthy merchant. The young girl however, fell in love with her father's secretary, a young man named Chang. Koong Shee and Chang would meet in secret beneath a large Willow tree and dream of their future together. Koong Shee was of noble descent and Chang was a mere commoner. So the young couple , no matter how great their love, would never be allowed to wed.
When the girl's father found out about their secret meetings, he was furious. He banished Chang and forbade his daughter from ever seeing Chang again. Koong Shee would sit beneath the Willow tree that had once been a place of joy and would quietly weep. Her heart was filled with pain. Not only had she lost Chang but Ta-Jin was a wicked man and a very difficult person to please. Koong Shee longed to see her handsome, young Chang and her thoughts would fill with the happiness they shared while sitting in this very same spot together.
As the day of the wedding drew near, Chang returned. He sent a message with Koong Shee's maid to meet him by the Willow tree. As Chang approached, he saw his beautiful Koong Shee sitting beneath the tree. Chang rushed to her side and once more held Koong Shee in his arms. They were so very much in love and did not want to be separated ever again. Chang and Koong Shee finally decided to elope and get married without her fathers permission. As they were starting to leave together, Koong Shee's father saw them and chased after the pair. The young couple raced across the bridge to a waiting boat and sailed away.

A storm developed and the boat sank at sea. Suddenly from out of the storm flew two snow white doves. Seeing the young couple's love for one another, the gods transformed Koong Shee and Chang into two beautiful white doves. These two doves have lived on forever and can still be seen today flying high above the Willow Tree where Koong Shee and Chang first pledged their love.