Faith Family Friends

Celebrating the Joy of Living & Home Making ~

Baking, Cooking, Decorating, Tea Time, and taking Inspiration from those I love and the world around me...

A sharing of my heart and my home from a Christian perspective

...with a wee bit of whimsy added.

Friday 29 July 2011

Spiritual Sundays ~ Good News!

Hello friends and welcome to Spiritual Sundays~ http://bloggerspirit.blogspot.com/
with Charlotte and Ginger.  I have missed a couple of weeks because Hubby and I have been on vacation but I'm back this week with some Good News!

Aren't you glad God never takes a vacation?
When the Lord Jesus walked this earth, He went about doing good and He brought Good News to all. He is in fact, the Good News!

The Word of God says, Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today, yes and forever. ~ Hebrews 13:8
He never changes and neither does His Word!

As many of you know, I have been experiencing some health problems and many of you have been praying for me. I want you to know that I have felt your prayers and God has given me grace to walk in.
He has heard your prayers and answered them according to His will....

"Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life." ~ Luke 12:22

I will back up a bit in case some of you are not aware...I had a report come back a couple of months ago which was not favourable. Since then I have been poked, prodded, and sliced. However, the good news is, no malignancy was found! I will be under the watchful eye of the doctor for several months but as of right now, all looks well. I believe it will remain that way.  Praise the Lord!

From the bottom of my heart; THANK YOU, YOU ARE THE BEST!

God bless each one of you and grant you the desires of your heart!

IF JESUS IS CONCERNED ABOUT FLOWERS AND BIRDS, HE CERTAINLY CARES ABOUT YOU AND ME.

Sharing from my heart~ Sandi

Pink Saturday ~ In the Pink!

Hello bloggerettes! I'm in the pink for Pink Saturday!
Thanks to our hostess Beverly for bringing all her pinkies together for another week.
If you like the colour pink then please visit Beverly and all her pink participants for a pinkalicious party. http://howsweetthesound.typepad.com/my_weblog/

My hubby and I are still on vacation and one of our day trips took us to Summerside which is a small city on the Island. While in Summerside, we visited Spinnacker's Landing, a row of colourful little shops on the waterfront. As you can see, one of the shops is pink! Aren't they cute?



This isn't pink but I had to show you my hubby pretending to be caught in a lobster trap. He just cracks me up!


As some of you may know, for the past couple of months, I have been poked, prodded, and sliced but now it is all over with and I'm " in the pink," as the saying goes!

I found this pink fleece jacket at one of the shops at the Spinnacker's Landing which I mentioned above. 


Now, I want you to know that I don't normally pose for the camera. In fact I don't like the camera a bit, but I have something to smile about! So, I donned my pink cap and smiled for the camera because all the test results are back and there was no malignancy found. I want to thank everyone who has been praying for me. God is good! Prayer changes things and in my case, it certainly did! Thank you Lord, for answering prayer!
A bouquet of pink roses for you.


Happy Pink Saturday!
Enjoy your weekend and may all your prayers be answered.

Sharing from my heart~ Sandi

Monday 25 July 2011

Tea Time Tuesday


"Come and share a pot of tea, My home is warm and my friendship's free." ~ Emilie Barnes

Welcome to my 78th Tea Time Tuesday dear friends. Please come in and make yourself at home. I am simply delighted you have come for tea!

I want to thank everyone for your visits and lovely comments last week. It was a great party!
Hubby and I are still on vacation and we are on the go a lot so please be patient with my visiting. I promise to visit you before the end of the week.

As I mentioned last week, I have a new treasure to share with you today.


While out and about on one of our day trips, Hubby and I visited an antique shop where we found this lovely teacup.  I have always been attracted to certain colours and peach is one of them. I have never seen this particular teacup before.

It is Royal Chelsea number 160A and made in England of fine bone china. Isn't she pretty? I couldn't find any history about the cup but my friend Ruth from Antiques and Teacups ~ http://antiquesandteacups.blogspot.com/  had the information I was looking for. Thank you Ruth!

The teacup dates 1943-1951. The company is really New Chelsea that started in 1912 in Longton, Staffordshire by Stoke-on-Trent, and this is one of their later marks. They closed in 1961. 

I checked on eBay and my teacup is selling for twice what Hubby paid for it.


The mark isn't very clear because my camera has been acting up somewhat lately, sorry.


It is a beautiful warm peach on the outside with a white interior adorned with lovely posies of every hue.


It is a unique teacup in that it has an unusual gold trim. The cup itself has a plain gold loop handle and a slight pedestal.


The saucer has a sweet nosegay of posies in the center and is adorned with the same broken gold trim around the edge.


I just love this teacup and Hubby was so sweet to get it for me!


Time for tea...



I am using my Skye McGhie Cream Lace teapot with a Skye McGhie cream and sugar in the Country Rose pattern.


The roses are a pretty pinky peach colour and don't the colours all look lovely together with my new teacup?


The teacup appears to be blushing with the rose snuggled up to it. I love to savor the blush of a rose, the chink of china against its pretty saucer, and the intricate design of lace. I think they were made for each other, don't you?


Ah, it's a lovely cup of tea! I enjoy my tea black with no sugar. It's wonderful to sip from this pretty teacup and enjoy the flowers beneath the amber liquid. 


The mere chink of cups and saucers tunes the mind to happy repose. ~ George Gissing


"Finally, rejoice, be made complete, be comforted, be like-minded, live in peace; and the God of love and peace shall be with you." ~ 2 Corinthians 13:11
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      
Thank you for stopping by today and I would love for you to join me for Tea Time Tuesday! All you have to do is share a favourite tea cup or teapot, a coffee mug, or something tea related. If you wish, you may do coffee instead of tea or the following is acceptable too: apple cider, iced tea or iced coffee, hot chocolate, lemonade, or punch. The TTT button on my sidebar is available for you to use in your post or place on your sidebar if you wish. A poem, tea quote, or scripture verse would be more than welcome! Please link back to me so that your visitors may find their way here to visit with all my lovely participants.

Happiness is sharing tea with a friend. ~

I am pleased to join the following parties as well~

Kathy~ http://blissfulrhythm.blogspot.com/
Victoria - A Return to Loveliness

Marty~ http://astrollthrulife.blogspot.com/
Table Top Tuesday

Martha~ http://www.marthasfavorites.com/
Teacup Tuesday
Terri~ http://artfulaffirmations.blogspot.com/
Teacup Tuesday

Wanda Lee~ http://silkenpurse.blogspot.com/
Teapot and Tea Things Tuesday
Pam~ http://breathoffreshair-paperbutterfly.blogspot.com/
Teapot and Tea Things Tuesday
Wanda Lee~ http://theplumedpen.blogspot.com/
Tea For Two and Wednesday Tea For Me and Thee

Donna~  http://thehomemakingarts.blogspot.com/
Tuesday Tea

Trisha~  http://sweetology101.blogspot.com/
Tea Party Tuesday

Lady Katherine~  http://ladykatherineteaparlor.blogspot.com/
Teatime Tuesday

Trish~  http://angelwingsandapronstrings.blogspot.com/
L.A.C.E.

Donna and Miss Spenser~ http://missspensersblog.blogspot.com/
Teacup Thursday

Sherry~ http://thecharmofhome.blogspot.com/
Home Sweet Home





Sharing from my heart~ Sandi

Monday 18 July 2011

Tea Time Tuesday and Marty's Cloche Party


Hello friends and welcome to Tea Time Tuesday. I am taking part in Marty's Summer Cloche Party today so I have combined the two parties and you will see a few of my cloches throughout this post.

Hubby and I are still on vacation and we have been spending our time out and about browsing antique shops and such. The weather has not been very good for beach combing so we are finding other ways to enjoy our free time and looking for little treasures is one of them!

I am always in favour of decorating with a cloche. In the kitchen, a cloche stands on the counter holding some lovely butter tarts. My favourite vintage teapot, Rose Chintz by Johnson Bros., stands beside it waiting to be of service.


Sometimes I have my tea set set out in the dining room with fresh flowers.


I also enjoy displaying different pieces of my Rose Chintz such as this little vignette with the coffee pot. Yes, there's a little cloche within a cloche!


It's butter dish, but it is a cloche!


Close-up...



Today I have Cranberry Apple, Chai, and Rooibos tea tucked into Rose Chintz teacups along with one of my roses. I thought it all looked pretty sitting under a cloche.




Let's sit in the living room where I have tea set out on the coffee table. I am having Chai tea myself as it's my favourite at the moment.


I have some homemade Blueberry muffins too...
Under a cloche.




Rose Chintz demitasses....I never tire of my roses or my Rose Chintz. What could be lovelier than lace, roses, and china!


There is no trouble so great or grave that cannot be much diminished by a nice cup of tea. ~ Bernard-Paul Heroux 


My black wire cloche holding a creamer with a few of my tea spoons. Cute, but....


I gave it a coat of paint and now it looks like this...


Two little feathered friends have found a cute place to nest. 


It may be hard to tell from the photo but the birdies are both a soft robin's egg blue, as are the eggs in the nest. So, do you like the cloche black or white?

I love cloches and I have several. I almost always have a cloche sitting here in the dining room.


And I enjoy displaying treasures under them.


Please come back next week to see my newest treasure which Hubby got me on one of our travels. She's a pretty thing!

Happiness is sharing tea with a friend.


"The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure
hidden in the field,
which a man found and hid;
and from joy over it he goes and sells all that he has,
and buys that field." ~ Matthew 13:44

Thank you for stopping by Rose Chintz Cottage. I would love for you to join me for Tea Time Tuesday! All you have to do is share a favourite tea cup or teapot, a coffee mug, or something tea related. If you wish, you may do coffee instead of tea or the following is acceptable too: apple cider, iced tea or iced coffee, hot chocolate, lemonade, or punch. The TTT button on my sidebar is available for you to use in your post or place on your sidebar if you wish. A poem, tea quote, or scripture verse would be more than welcome! Please link back to me so that your visitors may find their way here to visit with all my lovely participants.


I am joining Marty ~ http://astrollthrulife.blogspot.com/  for her Summer Cloche Party as well as these lovely parties~

Kathy~ http://blissfulrhythm.blogspot.com/
Victoria - A Return to Loveliness

Martha~  http://www.marthasfavorites.com/
Teacup Tuesday
Terri~  http://artfulaffirmations.blogspot.com/
Teacup Tuesday

Wanda Lee~  http://silkenpurse.blogspot.com/
Teapot and Tea Things Tuesday
Pam~  http://breathoffreshair-paperbutterfly.blogspot.com/
Teapot and Tea Things Tuesday
Wanda Lee~  http://theplumedpen.blogspot.com/
Tea For Two and Wednesday Tea For Me and Thee

Donna~  http://thehomemakingarts.blogspot.com/
Tuesday Tea

Trisha~  http://sweetology101.blogspot.com/
Tea Party Tuesday

Lady Katherine~  http://ladykatherineteaparlor.blogspot.com/
Teatime Tuesday

Trish~  http://angelwingsandapronstrings.blogspot.com/
L.A.C.E.

Donna & Miss Spenser~  http://missspensersblog.blogspot.com/
Teacup Thursday





Sharing from my heart~ Sandi

Friday 15 July 2011

Pink Saturday

Hello pinkie friends and welcome to another wonderful Pink Saturday weekend with our hostess Beverly ~ http://howsweetthesound.typepad.com/my_weblog/

Hubby and I are on vacation and I didn't think I would be posting this weekend but I just learned how to make a collage and I'm so excited that I had to share this first attempt with you! Hope you like it...

All of these photos are from my Tea Time Tuesday post this past week except for the one of the hand-painted bunny. He's extra; a gift from Celestina Marie @ Celestina Marie Designs ~ http://larearose.blogspot.com/
I had won him in her Giveaway at Easter time. Isn't he sweet snuggled up to my roses? I leave him out year round because he's just too cute to tuck away. He always brings a smile to my face. If you look at him closely, he looks very content and I think he's hiding a wonderful secret!


Most of you will recognize the Lavender Rose pattern by Royal Albert, with the beautiful pink roses sprinkled upon the white china. They were my mother's which she has handed down to me. The tablecloth beneath the white lace topper is also pink.



Before I go, I have to share the most recent picture of my baby doll, Jenna-Lynn who is seven months old. She has a pink bunny on her t-shirt and she is wearing a hand knit sweater that someone's grandma knit for her. Using the same program as the collage above, I added the frame and her name.


Thanks for stopping by and have a lovely pink weekend everyone!

Sahring from my heart~ Sandi

Monday 11 July 2011

Tea Time Tuesday

Friends are flowers in the garden of life.~

Welcome my dear friends to Tea Time Tuesday!
Ah, summertime! My hubby and I are on vacation for the next number of weeks so I will not be posting as often. I will however continue to host my Tea Time Tuesday every week. Some posts may be a wee bit shorter than usual but I'm sure some of you won't mind as I realize they tend to be long. I may take a little longer getting around for my visits too but please bear with me.
Please do come in and make yourself at home.

Before I serve our tea today, I would like to introduce another tea friend. I decided a while ago that it might be nice to feature a tea friend every once in a while so this week I would like you all to 'meet' Judith of Lavender Cottage. I'm certain most of you have already met Judith as she has been a regular participant almost from the inception of Tea Time Tuesday. 

This is what Judith has to say about herself....

"My husband and I just celebrated our 39th anniversary and we have two lovely daughters (two fine SIL) and six grandchildren that are a delight. The youngest and oldest are boys (4 and 16) and the rest are tea party lovin' girls. (6, 7 and 14 yr old twins)

I'm a freelance garden writer/photographer and initially started blogging to write articles to further my weekly gardening column. As we tend to gravitate to other bloggers with the same interests, I found a few to follow that also liked gardening. During this process, I ended up on Sandi's blog one day when she was hosting her weekly tea party. Well, hosting and attending tea parties is another of my passions so I was very happy to meet up with her. The earlier parties only had six or so regular participants and it's so nice to see how the numbers are growing; Sandi's an awesome hostess.

Thank you Sandi for hosting Tea Time Tuesday each week and bringing together a group of ladies to enjoy each other's company and get to know each other over a cup of tea."


Thank you my friend... Judith and I are both Canadians and we both love beautiful china, flowers, and tea. Please take a moment to visit with her and see what she is offering today. The lovely photo above is one from her tea post this week. http://lavendercottagegardening.blogspot.com/


I have brought some roses in for a bouquet and sprinkled a few rose petals around on the tea table which I have set in front of the window. The whole table smells so fragrant. Now, let's enjoy a Lavender Rose tea, shall we?


Lavender Rose is a favourite pattern of mine. I love the shape of this teacup and the lovely roses with their touch of lavender, graceful handle, and softly scalloped rim.


I started this beautiful Royal Albert pattern for my mother years ago when I was first married. Since she has downsized, she gave her set of china to me. Thank you, Mum! I really am enjoying it!

Happiness is sharing tea with a friend.

Tea Tidbits ~ 
Did you know that you can feed tea leaves to your roses?
House plants thrive on cold tea.

I have made a dessert to enjoy with our tea. My hubby prefers cake and berries while I prefer a shortcake biscuit and berries. And since we are on vacation with little time for preparing, I am having angel food cake from the grocery store topped with luscious blueberries, strawberries and whipped cream. Doesn't it look pretty as well as delish?


This tea table just whispers of Summer to me. The scent of blooms and the freshness of berries are just a couple of lovely things I enjoy about summertime.


And yes, it is as good as it looks!


China and roses were made for each other!


He who must have beautiful roses in his garden,
must have beautiful roses in his heart.~ S. Reynolds Hole

And how pretty this month's Victoria magazine looks with my teacup and roses!



I hope you have picked up your issue as it is brimming with inspiration and wonderful dessert recipes!


"Delight yourself in the Lord; And He will give you the desires of your heart." ~ Psalm 37:4

I am delighted you have stopped by today and I would love for you to join me for Tea Time Tuesday! All you have to do is share a favourite tea cup or teapot, a coffee mug, or something tea related. If you wish, you may do coffee instead of tea or the following is acceptable too: apple cider, iced tea or iced coffee, hot chocolate, lemonade, or punch. The TTT button on my sidebar is available for you to use in your post or place on your sidebar if you wish. A poem, tea quote, or scripture verse would be more than welcome! Please link back to me so that your visitors may find their way here to visit with all my lovely participants.

I am happy to join the following parties as well~

Kathy~ http://blissfulrhythm.blogspot.com/
Victoria - A Return to Loveliness

Marty~ http://astrollthrulife.blogspot.com/
Table Top Tuesday

Martha~ http://www.marthasfavorites.com/
Teacup Tuesday
Terri~ http://artfulaffirmations.blogspot.com/
Teacup Tuesday

Wanda Lee~ http://silkenpurse.blogspot.com/
Teapot and Tea Things Tuesday
Pam~ http://breathoffreshair-paperbutterfly.blogspot.com/
Teapot and Tea Things Tuesday
Wanda Lee~ http://theplumedpen.blogspot.com/
Tea For Two and Wednesday Tea For Me and Thee

Donna~ http://thehomemakingarts.blogspot.com/
Tuesday Tea

Trisha~ http://sweetology101.blogspot.com/
Tea Party Tuesday

Lady Katherine~ http://ladykatherineteaparlor.blogspot.com/
Teatime Tuesday

Trish~ http://angelwingsandapronstrings.blogspot.com/
L.A.C.E.

Miss Spenser~ http://missspensersblog.blogspot.com/
Teacup Thursday





 Sharing from my heart~ Sandi