Talbots is the only women's store I know that consistently incorporates tea into their fashions, whether it's jewelry, socks, sweaters or scarves, and I so appreciate them for that.
Recently my tea friend, Angela, from Tea With Friends blog, e-mailed to tell me Talbots had a silk scarf that was on sale 50% off. She thought maybe I'd need to get myself another birthday present! I receive Talbot's catalogs, but somehow I missed seeing it. I ordered one and it arrived in today's mail and is lovely [as are all of Talbots' things]. Thanks so much for the heads-up, Angela! It's 30.5 x 30.5 even though it looks uneven in the photo. I like how Talbot's shows you different ways to wear their scarves at their website.
This is my only other tea-themed silk scarf. I need one more to say I have a collection. ;-) Interestingly, they're both navy blue.
On a completely different subject, I saw a repurposing photo on Facebook today that I just love. An old upright piano that was made into a sewing station, but if I had room in my house I'd turn it into a tea station, with tea storage underneath. Don't you think it would make a unique tea station? After all, tea makes our lives harmonious, and a whistling tea kettle is music to our ears! I think it would be a fun project even if I couldn't keep it for myself, and I know my talented woodworker hubby could give it a beautiful new life.
Being the history buff that I am, I couldn't resist researching upright pianos. In the early to mid part of the 20th century, pianos were a staple in homes all across America. It was an instrument as well as a social piece, and a main source of home and family entertainment [more good reasons for it to be repurposed to a tea station!].
During this time hundreds of thousands of pianos were produced and one of the most popular was the upright piano. Some uprights were player pianos. Sadly, many upright piano manufacturers went out of business during the Great Depression, and as American homes began getting smaller, so did the size of pianos. By the 1940's the large full-size upright piano was out of production.
Today most uprights are in need of extensive restoration [with a price tag around $15,000] to return them to quality instrument status. Unfortunately pianos don't get better with age, so many uprights go to the junk yard. The photo below made me cringe. Just look at all those potential tea stations or tea bars! It gives validity to King Solomon's words in Ecclesiastes 3:1 "There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven". It's sad when that 'season' comes to an end.
Did you grow up with a piano in your home? I did, and both my maternal and paternal grandmothers had an upright piano in their home. Today, we have a console piano in our living room. My daughter and I both took piano lessons growing up.
The photo below is my maternal grandmother's upright piano. My mother is standing on the left, holding me. Standing by and sitting on the piano bench [left] are my brother and sister and three cousins.
A quick Google search revealed old upright pianos selling for as little as $100 and some owners might even be willing to give one away for free just for removing it from their home. Something to think about.
For a bit more nostalgia, below is the piano in my parents' house. The one I learned to play on. The manufacturer was Cable and the letter C in Cable was positioned directly over middle C on the keyboard - very helpful for a beginning piano player! ;-)
And below is the piano in my house today - the one my daughter learned to play on. It's a Kimball. I sometimes play hymns on it for my own enjoyment. Seeing the picture reminds me it's time to schedule another tuning.
So glad your teatime scarf arrived, too, Phyllis! I'm wishing I'd ordered two, because it occurred to me later that this would be lovely as a small tea tablecloth, but I don't want to risk getting food on one I'm going to wear! And I *love* the upright piano idea! (That actually is a fabulous idea for another cozy series I'm working on involving two sisters who love to scavenge for old things. I'll be sure and credit you when I work it into the book, ha!)
ReplyDeleteLove your new scarf!
ReplyDeleteThat idea for the upright? Brilliant = and a tea station would be great!
Around here one can get an old upright for next to nothing - I scour Craiglist and FB marketplace daily and see them "free for the hauling" on them all the time.
I grew up with a wonderful piano, my mother was a piano teacher. I have played my entire life. I never took lessons from her, and only for a little while when I was very young. I play by ear, mainly and play every day. I play must less this last year with hubs working from home due to the pandemic - but I sneak as much playing is as possible when he isn't on the phone or Zoom.
Hugs.