In honor of Mother’s Day I thought I would share about a wonderful outing my mother and I attended together recently.  Our local library sponsored an event they called “Afternoon with Jane.” They advertised it as a time for tea with Jane Austen and asked us to bring our own teacups.  My mother had been given a lovely floral tea set by her stepson who had found it and thought of her.  Being very delicate and beautifully decorated, they were just perfect for the event.  She used one with rose petals, and I used one with dogwood blossoms.  We walked into the room at the library to see many people of all different ages… both men and women, young and old… and all with such interesting and varied teacups.  We were treated to our choice of loose teas which consisted of Earl Grey Creme tea, a Caribbean tea flavored with coconut and strawberry guava, and English Breakfast.  Along with tea we were treated to  apricot scones accompanied by clotted creme, fresh lemon curd, and strawberry preserves.  After we had all filled our teacups, gotten our scones and made our way to our places, the lady who runs a local tea room talked to us about the history and heritage of tea.  It was a very interesting and informative talk, and she even told us how to naturally decaffienate our own tea!  We also learned about loose tea as compared with bagged teas.  And she discussed the differences between green tea, white tea, and black tea. 

Once she was finished, the local president of the Jane Austen Society talked to us about the traditions and practices of Jane Austen’s era.  He was very well read and knowledgable about all manner of things relating to Austen and her era, and he even took the time for discussion and to answer a few questions.  It was a really lovely afternoon, but even more so because I got to have a tea party with my mother.  

:)  I love you, Mama.

No my computer is not back to life.  But yesterday was such a grand reminder that this life is not all there is, that it quite put the rest of life right back into perspective.  Eternity is such a very long time, and this life is so very short.  There is so much for which to be thankful that computer woes just seem so insignificant.  God is amazing, and as I look around to see signs of new life budding from trees, from shrubs, and from small green stems it is apparent that He is once again “making all things new.”  When I look at a rose like the one here, I ask myself, “Could man have fashioned that?  Could that be an accident of nature?”  The color combinations are so pleasing to the eye, the scent so pleasing to the nose, the softness of its petals so pleasing to the touch… Could I have made that? Could it be an accident?  The only answer I can come up with is “no.”

But I think it is this very thing, His imaginative design and creative nature, that He has put deeply into each one of us… the desire to fashion beautiful things, to create, to design.  And in each of us that creativity manifests itself in different ways… for one it is with words, for someone else it is painting, for still another it is decorating, or the ability to speak eloquently about a beloved subject, or the skill to capture a beautiful image with photography, or the ability to design a computer program, or the aptitude to understand finances, or the passion to garden… but we all have that divine spark of creativity.  It just blows me away sometimes as I read blog after blog and each person’s giftedness comes shining through.  And if this world is as marvelously diverse and excitingly creative as it is, just imagine what the next will be like!  Resurrection…

Life is really full of seasons… highs and lows, ups and downs, and everything in between.  But God is God throughout them all.  He is, He was, and He will be.  Never changing, yet ever new.  Count on Him.  For everything.  All the time.  No matter how out of control life seems to be, He is in control.  He is a refuge, a tower of strength, a present help in time of trouble. 

It’s as if I have lain down in a green pasture somewhere and let the warmth of the sun wash over me.  Peace and joy… unspeakable… yet too wonderful not to speak about!  May you, too, experience the joy of resurrection as you ponder what it truly means.

Well, the spring articles for Charm & Grace are officially out and ready for your perusal.  I must say that this issue is the best yet, and I do hope you agree.  There is much beauty awaiting as we travel through gardens of England, the Cotswolds, and visit the home of C.S. Lewis.  There are lovely photographs from Paul Noah (you’re getting a sneak peek with the pink dogwood blossoms at left) in our Spring Fling article on organization.  Our recipes this season, with a nod to St. Patrick’s Day and Easter, are all about eating those “greens.”  And be sure to look at our Featured Finds to see my new “artwork only” website.  I’d love to know what you think!  All in all, this issue is sure to fill you with thoughts of spring and all its wonders.  Come on over to Charm & Grace, and make yourself at home.

As for the archive meme, Bebe from the beautiful and inspiring Peaches and Dreams has tagged me with this interesting challenge.  So here goes:

Link 1 must be about family.
Link 2 must be about friends.
Link 3 must be about yourself, who you are… what you’re all about.
Link 4 must be about something you love.
Link 5 can be anything you choose.

I think this is a great way to circulate some of the great older posts everyone has written, return to a few great places in our memories and also learn a little something about ourselves and each other that we may not know.

Post your five links and then tag five other people. At least TWO of the people you tag must be newer acquaintances so that you get to know each other better….and don’t forget to read the archive posts and leave comments!

1. Family:  We, as a family, have so much fun traveling together… we really love to go to historical places like battlefields and museums and find ourselves making excuses to go new places just so that we can do that.  But, the one place we are absolutely NUTS over is Walt Disney World.  We have been every year for the past several years and these past couple of years have spent 10 days soaking in all the pixie dust we could handle.  When it comes to Disney, we just lose all sense of moderation.  We have found ourselves saying, “There’s no way we’ll go back to WDW this year,” and then around September we begin to eat our words.    There are a couple of blog posts that give a hint about that here.

2.  Friends:  I have some wonderful friends, and a lot of them I have made since I started this blogging thing.  I still feel very new at blogging, as I haven’t even been at it a year yet, but I really enjoy the relationships I have made through this crazy e-world.  And as it relates to friends, I have recently had the opportunity to draw houses for two very special friends, Valery and Lisa.  And that has been an unimaginable blessing!  I have shared those two sketches with you here.

3.  Myself:  This is the hard one, since I really can’t ever think of very much to say about myself (I wonder what that says about me…)  Anyway, since I just completed a meme challenge where I told seven random facts about myself… here… I’ll just let that do the talking.

4.  Something I love:  Well, I love all kinds of things… all the things that are charming and graceful (of course!)  And, I love so many people… my hubby, my children, my mom, dad, mom-in-love, dad-in-love, step-dad, extended family, …and my friends.  But most of all I love Jesus, and without Him I wouldn’t be where I am right now.  I wouldn’t have the family and extended family and wonderful friends… and I wouldn’t have even the “things” that I do.  I love Him for loving me first, even when I was unlovable, and for making it easy for me to know Him, even though it meant torture for Him.

5.  Anything:  This one is easy …for any of you who have been reading here long, you know that one of my favorite things is Victoria Magazine, published initially by Hearst Corp. from 1987 through 2003.  Having subscribed to the original from 1987 through 1999, I have kept every one of my original copies through six moves.  And, thanks to Ebay, I have even added to the collection some of those I was missing from the years after my subscription ended.  It really was and continues to be the inspiration behind the Charm & Grace web magazine.  Every month I looked forward to getting my issue because (largely thanks to Nancy Lindemeyer and some of the most excellent photographers in the world) I knew it would be filled with beauty throughout its pages, in both images and words.  And now, we are very fortunate that Hoffman Media has given us the gift of bringing Victoria back to us.

And now I must look around and see who I can find to tag.  How about….

Lorrie at Fabric, Paper, Thread (getting you back, girlfriend )

Rebekka at Maple Sugar (yummy deliciousness …yes, that is a word)

Clare at Vintage Home (because I am fascinated by all things English!)

Just so you know, girls, this is a no obligation tag.  Since I just did a meme and tagged others, I am going to leave it at three.  But if there are others out there who want to do the meme… please do and leave a comment here.  I promise I will come look and read!

Happy spring!!!

Well, spring is almost upon us… so I thought it was time to give Charm & Grace a fresh new floral bouquet.  I hope you like it.  I am busily working on the upcoming articles for the spring issue of Charm & Grace, so I thought I’d give you a bit of a teaser.

We will have features on flowers (of course) and some lovely photos of England.  We will see what April has to do with springtime.   You’re in store for a lovely “Gardens of the Web” feature… just in time for that first burst of color.  Discover why we’re having a spring fling… and much more.  I hope to have the articles out by next week, so stay tuned.  I promise you’ll be the first to know!

The new life that is all around is such a vivid reminder of what God does in us.  Rebirth, renewal, cleansing… all things that spring, with its freshness, beckons us to remember.  What a glorious time of year spring is (but, then again, aren’t they all!)

I received the loveliest surprise in my mailbox today, the March/April issue of Victoria magazine… which I am sure they intended as an early birthday present (as mine falls a week from tomorrow.)  The third offering of Victoria by Hoffman, this one is resplendent with beauty… definitely their best effort.

With gorgeous images of gardens, flowers, a Scottish-style manor house in British Columbia, fashion, and more, this issue delights the eye from cover to cover.  I am all the more encouraged that the magazine will again be what she once was… the rightful Queen of Magazines. 

 

My heart is full to see this magazine come in all its glorious springtime splendor. My spirits are buoyed by what I have seen from this issue and my hopes even higher for the ones to follow.  Thank you, Victoria, for your early birthday present to me and for ushering in our vernal equinox in the proper fashion.

Posted in Charm & Grace Site, spring, Victoria Magazine, United Kingdom, Scotland, tea, gardens | 7 Comments »