lily of the valley tea cup

This post is in memory of my dear mother who would have been 96 today

and in honour of my mother-in-law who turned 94 on the 22nd ~ both May babies.

I love lily-of-the-valley.  I planted some along the foundation of the house and it

has spread all along it and outward under the cedar tree.  I have to pull it out

to keep in under control.

This teacup is by Royal Albert and is called, appropriately, Lily-of-the-Valley,

for the sweet month of May.

The flowers are dried lily-of-the-valley.  I had to set up this tea last week before

the lilies bloomed as I had to pack away my china cup and saucer.

The little creamer is by Minton.

I picked 2 sprigs of lily-of-the-valley and as you can see they aren't open

yet but they are still sweet and dainty.

I love the tiny bell blossoms and their sweet scent don't you?

Our May days are almost over and we look forward to a new month ~ June.

My kitchen will be taken apart tomorrow ~ no cabinets etc. for over a week!

I'm excited and anxious all at once.  I'll let you know how it's going and

take some pictures of the progress.  Stay tuned!

Thanks for joining me today and I hope you'll join Sandi for Tea Time Tuesday

at http://sandimyyellowdoor.blogspot.com/ .

Blessings, 

Pamela 

the makings of a nest

I found this small sparrow's nest on the ground the other day.

It had blown from the pine tree in the wind.

Let's examine it to see just what these little creatures used to make it.

If you look closely you can see pieces of dried grass, weeds, pine needles, bits of sunflower seed

and  ~ what is that really fine thready stuff?

Do you see it?  It looks like hair.  Yes, it's Marshall hair.  Marshall is our dog who

sheds all year.  Now imagine how busy those little sparrows were picking up those

fine pieces of dog hair to keep their little eggs cosy.

I have actually seen a sparrow collecting the hair in it's beak but couldn't get

a photo of it.

I do hope these sparrows were able to rebuild their nest and settle in to raising their young.

Speaking of young...

Mr. and Mrs. Robin have 3 new babies and a fourth on the way.

They are back in the cedar tree beside the back deck. (this photo is from

last year as I can't quite get the angle to take a pic this year)

They get pretty excited whenever I let the dog out there or if I get too

close to the tree, but, they don't mind if I barbecue and am quiet. 

Nature is so wonderful and I am enjoying so many varieties of birds in

our yard this year.  Except for the 3 or 4 crows that live in the tree in

our neighbour's garden which is just behind our property.  They are so noisy and

they like to steal eggs from nests!  Bad crows!!

It's been cloudy all weekend and cool yesterday but today is humid.

The lilacs aren't blooming yet as they were this time last year.

Hopefully next week we'll see these gorgeous blooms.

I hope you have had a great weekend and that this week will be full of

springtime blessings for you!

See you soon.

Blessings,

Pamela

 

a visit to the greenhouse

On Wednesday morning the beautiful sunshine woke me at 5:30 and I couldn't get back to sleep so

I got up at 6:30!  Early for me!  This is what the view from our front door looked like.

I love it when it looks so pretty with the shades of new green on the trees and the blossoms

on the wild cherry trees.  Did you notice the fog in the valley?  Do you know the old saying

"fog in the holler brings horses to the collar"?  My mum used to say that it was the

sign of a good day to get the team out and work the fields.

Well, my best friend, Lois, called me at 8:15 and asked if I'd like to go to

Grey's Greenhouse with her.  I sure did.

We passed this

and this

to get to this!

Looking in from the road.

Grey's Greenhouse is in the countryside community of Scotch Settlement

west of Fredericton.

Brian and Bonnie Grey started this business about 25 years ago in their yard.

They had 2 small greenhouses and now have 4 very large ones and,

I might add, the best flowers and plants around!

Colourful pansies.

Isn't this beautiful?  It's so clean and neat.  There wasn't anyone else there when we

arrived but within 15 minutes quite a few cars had come.  It was our first

really nice day in a while so people are eager to get their plants potted!

A new colour of petunia called Phantom. 

My friend, Lois, talking with Brian.

Bonnie and Lois.

Just look at that colour!  Beautiful!

Customers drive for miles to buy their plants here because they are so beautiful and healthy. 

The Grey's work very hard all spring along with their staff getting ready for the 

gardening season.  They are open daily except Sunday during May and June. 

 

This is a new variety of New Guinea Impatiens called Magnum with huge blooms.

I picked up 2 of these for my vintage wicker planter that goes

on the front deck.  They'll be nice and showy from the road.

Needless to say, I'll be going back to pick up the rest of my plants on the weekend.

If you live in the area it really is worth the drive to visit Grey's Greenhouse.

You also get to enjoy some gorgeous scenery along the way.

Just tell them Pam sent you. :-)

I hope you all have a great weekend, especially my American friends

as you celebrate the Memorial Day holiday.

Oh!, the kitchen reno may start next week!  Yikes!  I still have lots of

packing to do and look for flooring and backsplash and....oh my.

I'm not ready for this.  I may not be posting on here as much for the

next week or two but I will try to show some pictures of the process as we go and

I'll definitely be doing a before and after post later on.

I'm still reading you blogs and commenting when I can

and I sure hope this problem is fixed soon. 

Blessings,

Pamela

 

ninety-four years young

We, Murray and I, spent most of Saturday and Monday painting our bedroom.  What a big job!  I really don't like all the cutting in and edging and we taped everything except the ceiling (ooops).  :-)  The weather was so cold on Saturday (6 celsius or 38 farenheit) and it was windy and showery so it was a good day to stay in and do it.    I don't know if spring will arrive before summer or not!

On Sunday afternoon, between church services, we visited with my mother-in-law, Clara, who turned 94!  She is in a nursing home as she has dementia.

Even though she isn't mobile and doesn't remember us much, Clara still has a wonderful

sense of humour and all the staff just love her.  Clara was a hard worker, helping on the

dairy farm alongside her husband, raising 3 children, gardening, sewing, quilting and baking.

She was strong both in body and spirit and it's sad to see her just sitting and not 'knowing'

what day or even decade it is.  She's a special lady!

We took her for a 'walk' through the building which is brand new and

very brightly painted to cheer the residents.  There are several lounge areas

and patios the residents and visitors can enjoy.

That is Murray's sister and brother-in-law and Murray pushing his mum.

Every corridor is named after communities in and around Fredericton

that the residents would recognize.  There are vintage photographs on each

hall that represent the community name.  I think it's a wonderful way to

familiarize the residents of where they are and where their room is.

This is the view from the 3rd floor of the St. John River valley which

still has high water along the edges.  The river is behind the trees.

There is a bald eagle's nest in this pine tree.

I think that may be an eagle sitting on the left side of the nest.

All in all it was a good 'long' weekend with the Victoria Day holiday on Monday.

We got a lot accomplished and we celebrated the birthday of a wonderful lady.

It looks like we may have 2 sunny warm days in a row before

it rains for 2 more days.  Such is spring this year.  The gardens are growing, although

they aren't blooming much yet.  The fruit trees are just starting to show buds and the

wild cherry trees are blossomed.  The hummingbirds came to the feeder on Sunday

for the first time.  The birds are nesting in our trees and there are little eggs waiting

to hatch.  It's a beautiful season ~ rain or sun.

My heart goes out to the thousands who have suffered from the tornados and flooding

in the U.S., the flooding in Quebec and Manitoba, and the terrible fires that destroyed

most of the small town of Slave Lake, Alberta.  Such terrible devastation! 

We are praying for you all.

Thank you so much for all your lovely comments on my recent posts.  I appreciate

each one of you so much and enjoy hearing from you.

I have been having a bit of difficulty commenting on some blogs and hope the comment problems

 will be cleared up soon.  I am still visiting you all!

Have a wonderful day!  The sun is shining here!  :-)

Blessings,

Pamela

maritime rose

Maritime Rose by Spode.  Placemats and paper napkins are from HomeSense.

I have just a few pieces of these beautiful dishes from my grandmother's home.

There are 4 dessert plates, cups and saucers in perfect shape and 2 other cups

that have cracks but their saucers are still good.

Last week was my friend's birthday so I invited her and another dear friend for tea and cake.

Close up of the beautiful rose in the center.  The white trim on the edge is raised.  I love

the soft mauvy blue band and the pink roses in the center.

I purchased these beautiful purple tulips at SuperStore in the 1/2 off bucket.  I knew I was using these dishes so thought this colour of tulip

would go rather nicely.  I love the ironstone pitcher and the old platter.  They are on my

table most of the time with real or artificial blooms in the pitcher.  The white dresser scarf was my

great aunt's  ~ "D" for Douglas.

Do you see that beautiful pink geranium in the background?  It's from Michael's.

Yes, it's faux!  Never dies.  Always in bloom.  :-)

So pretty in the center with the bluey mauve like in the dishes.

In case you're wondering, the cake is Chocolate Fudge with real butter icing.  :-)

My best friends who came to visit now live in the city and we don't have our tea parties

as often.  It's so nice to gather on a special occasion and I think they enjoyed

their trip to the country for the afternoon.

I hope you enjoyed your visit today and that you will leave a comment so I will know you were here.

I am joining Sandi for Tea Time Tuesday at

http://sandimyyellowdoor.blogspot.com/

 and also

Kathy for A Return to Lovliness at

http://blissfulrythm.blogspot.com/

Please follow me over to visit these two lovely ladies.  I always enjoy

their posts and I think you will too, especially if you like china, tea, and desserts.

Blessings,

Pamela

 

mosaic monday blues

I found this white wooden carrier at a shop a while back and have it

on my 'island' table in the kitchen.  I change out the display in it from time to time

and this is the current spring look.

I love this little plate from Germany.  It has forget-me-nots on it and is so delicate

in it's colour and with the embossed edge trimmed in gold.

This is a rectangular plate with pale mauve lilacs on it.  It was my mother's and it's

my favorite of all the dishes I have.

See it's pretty edge with pale blue?

A mosaic of pale blues.

I am joining with Mary at the Little Red House for Mosaic Monday for the first time!

Follow me over for more beautiful mosaics at:

http://dearlittleredhouse.blogspot.com/

Blessings,

Pamela

beauty in the garden

Raindrops on Lady's Mantle.

lilac blossom buds

hosta shoots

I decided to join Tricia for Photo Feature Friday ~

http://arosynote.blogspot.com/

Sharing a few images from my garden and wishing you a wonderful weekend.

It is the Victoria Day holiday weekend in Canada with Monday as the holiday.

Enjoy!

Blessings,

Pamela

tweaking

Changing to a summery look in my china hutch.

Summer is flowers and greens, yellows and pinks.  Every thing is vintage except for the green

plate, the lamp and the 'flower' napkin ring on the linen napkins.

I got this biscuit jar at an estate sale 30 years ago.  The silver picks with polished stones

in the vase are vintage.

I had a tea party yesterday to celebrate my friend's birthday but I won't show you all the

pictures until Tuesday when I join Tea Time Tuesday.  I love these purple tulips, don't you?

Last week I continued cleaning out and packing up the kitchen.  I washed and dried and wrapped

and packed in boxes about 70 cups and saucers!  I didn't know I had that many.  Oh my.  I do

know there won't be that many going back into the new cupboard!  I have 9 boxes packed with dishes

and decor and I haven't even started the every day dishes, pantry foods, pots, pans, Pyrex, plastic....

Whew!!  Too much stuff!!!

This is what I'm working on now.  We had a lovely afternoon and evening yesterday so I am

getting the front deck ready for it's summer look.  Since it is open with no protection I cannot

leave cushions on the chairs all the time so they only come out when it's nice.  And, you will

see there is no colour yet as it is not warm enough to put out summer plants.  I hope to work

on this more today and will show you what I did later.

This was last July and I can't wait for it to look like this again.

What are you 'tweaking' with this week?  Are you changing things around inside

and outside for summer too?  I know many of you have your gardens in full bloom

and are having summer weather but here in Canada, spring has been slow coming

this year and we are just getting into the swing of things.  It's a shorter season here

but when it comes it's glorious! 

Bring on summer!!

Have a wonderful day everyone.

Blessings,

Pamela