This and That

On May 4th I blogged about finding a 3-pc. dish set [luncheon plate, cup and saucer] in the Tea Leaves pattern by Department 56 at Salvation Army for $5.99.  Fast forward to my post on May 8th when my girlfriend and I went to The Pink House for tea.  On one of the nearby tables was a fresh floral arrangement in a Tea Leaves teapot.  My instinct told me the lid probably got broke and they repurposed the teapot as a vase.  Our server confirmed I was right.  When I got home I decided to look on E-bay to see if I could find a teapot with lid, and I did!  With shipping it was $25.56 and I had a gift card to cover it.  The teapot arrived this week.  Now I need to find a sugar and creamer.

At least 8 years ago, and maybe longer, my church had a garage sale for our building fund.   I donated several Easter dishes, and when they didn't sell, my daughter-in-law asked if she could have them.  I happily agreed.  Fast forward [again] to last Easter 2024 when I bought a new [to me] set of 222 Fifth Sydney bunny dishes.   My mind went back to the Easter dishes I donated and I remembered a cute butter dish was among the items.  I asked Sharon if she would mind letting me have it to go with my new dishes.  [It's really just a loan because she will get it back again when I'm no longer able to entertain.]  She said she wasn't sure she still had the dishes but she would look in her basement when she got the chance.  She's a very busy gal with many responsibilities, so when I didn't hear back regarding the butter dish I just forgot about it.   This past week I got a text and picture from her saying "Look what I found".

Last night she texted again saying she would bring the box of dishes to church and I could go through it and take out anything else I wanted.  I wasn't a complete Indian giver because I didn't take 10 bunny luncheon plates and six bunny mugs, but I did take a bunny platter and 12 bunny napkin rings. I wonder why I donated them since I love holiday dishware??? Regardless, I'm very happy they're back home now.  ;-)

When my May/June issue of Tea Time magazine arrived, I leafed through it and on page 10 From the Bookshelf I saw the book, Tea Under the Palms. Since my hubby and I had Afternoon Tea in the Palm Court at The Plaza Hotel for our 50th Wedding Anniversary, I decided to order the book.  It arrived this week and I'm anxious to read it.

Another book... when I met up with my cousins last fall at the Grand Hotel on Mackinac Island they told me a paternal aunt [by marriage] had written a nice cookbook in 2004 to go with her specialty food store in Saratoga Springs, N.Y., which eventually transitioned into a popular restaurant.  The last time I saw my former aunt [she and my uncle divorced] was in 1958.  Her son [my first cousin 14 years younger than me], recently emailed regarding family genealogy.  In our correspondence I asked him if I could obtain one of his mother's cookbooks if any were left, and it arrived in last week's mail.   Probably one of the best recipes in the book for me will be my dear grandmothers oatmeal cookies.  Can't wait to make them.

My sweet daughter came over on Monday with a pre-planted geranium arrangement to go in a small decorative planter on my front porch and individual geraniums to plant in a larger plant box, for my Mother's Day gift.  

Tiffany, her daughter [my granddaughter], spent Mother's Day at Huntington Beach in California.  Tiffany posted this picture of her and her daughters, Evie and Juliette, on Monday.

For a bit of humor in wrapping up this post, I saw the cute teacup cartoon below on Facebook and wanted to share it.