Happy February!

It's hard to believe the first month of the new year is gone and we're two days into February!  

February is my birth month so my biological odometer will soon be rolling over another year.  I have the Royal Albert February teacup pictured above, but not the dessert plate.  I really should go on Ebay to see if I can find one so I'll have a trio.

I saw that Punxsutawney Phil saw his shadow this morning, so there'll be six more weeks of winter [probably more in Michigan!].  We're having a heat wave today as it's 31 degrees where I live.  I'm venturing out after I finish this post, but it'll be the first time since Sunday.

After my presentation on The Whitney mansion on January 23rd, my interest in researching the mansion and family was rekindled, so I've been doing a lot of Internet research.  I ordered a 2006 out-of-print book from Abe Books and it arrived this week.

Normally a book about a cemetery wouldn't be 'my cup of tea', but Detroit's Woodmere Cemetery is where the Whitney family mausoleum is located so I wanted to see what author Gail D. Hershenzon had to say about the family.

Ms. Hershenzon is a retired Detroit School Teacher, and we've had several e-mail conversations since her book arrived.  She's been most helpful in my research.  While Mr. Whitney wasn't one of the original members who established Woodmere, he was a stockholder and on the Board of Directors.   He purchased the plot where his family mausoleum was built in May 1879.  The mausoleum was designed by Daniel Burnham, one of the architects of the 1893 Chicago World's Fair and architect of the David Whitney building in downtown Detroit, at a cost of $7,000 [that's $214,848 today!].  The mausoleum has space for 18 bodies and as of 2005 16 bodies are entombed there.

On the lighter side, my March/April issue of Tea Time magazine arrived and I've been enjoying looking through it. But before we start thinking about St. Patrick's Day teas, Valentine's Day is right around the corner.  Do you have a Valentine's Tea planned?

If you live in a cold climate, stay warm!  If you live in a warm climate, enjoy the sunshine!  And wherever you live, make time for a cup of tea on this Ground Hogs Day.