Monday, August 1, 2011

August from Country Diary Of An Edwardian Lady, Teacup Tuesday, Zara's Wedding, Scotland Shelly Thistle Teacup

I am joining Teacup Tuesday and Sandi for Tea Time Tuesday today . The more the merrier...I just love seeing the fab teacups all you ladies share!

Wanda Lee~ http://silkenpurse.blogspot.com/ 
Teapot and Tea Things Tuesday 
Pam~ http://breathoffreshair-paperbutterfly.blogspot.com/ 
Teapot and Tea Things Tuesday 
Wanda Lee~ http://theplumedpen.blogspot.com/
Tea For Two and Wednesday Tea For Me and Thee 
Donna~  http://thehomemakingarts.blogspot.com/ 
Tuesday Tea 
Trisha~  http://sweetology101.blogspot.com/
Tea Party Tuesday 
Lady Katherine~ http://ladykatherineteaparlor.blogspot.com/ 
Teatime Tuesday 


This is one of my favorite books. The Country Diary Of An Edwardian Lady by Edith Holden was written in 1906 and is a scrapbook, diary and sketchbook of a lady living in Warwickshire, England close to my husband's birthplace. I love her watercolor nature sketches. She records almost daily what she has seen or observed and  quotes bits she has read or heard that catch her interest. A truly enchanting view and record of a lost time in what was then rural England. The area now is pretty much all built over.






Mottoes for August

"All the tears St Swithin can cry
St Bartlemy's mantle wipes them dry"  

Note: St Swithin's Day is traditionally July 15th, St. Bartlemy's is another name for St. Bartholomew is usually celebrated on August 24th of the Anglican calendar

"St. Bartholomew (August 24th)
Brings the cold dew"

"If the 24th of August be fair and clear
Then hope for a prosperous autumn that year"

Poetry for August

"Fairest of months!  Ripe summer queen
The hey-day of the year
With robes that gleam with sunny sheen,
Sweet August doth appear"

by R. Combe Miller

The moor cock springs on whirring wings
among the blooming heather,
Come, let us stray our gladsome way
And view the charms of nature,
The rustling corn, the fruited thorn,
And every happy creature"

by Robert Burns






And in Scotland at Balmoral Castle for her summer holiday, Queen Elizabeth attended the wedding Saturday of her eldest granddaughter Zara Phillips to Mike Tindall. Zara is the daughter of the Princess Royal, Princess Anne.





And in celebration of the Scottish theme of the week with the wedding in Edinburgh, here is a Shelley China Thistle design cup and saucer that I love.





And to go along with that, an antique Victorian silver plated thistle knife rest that is so cute! Knife rests were another of the great Victorian table top gadgets the Victorians were so fond of. Because table cloths were so difficult and time consuming to launder, the knife rest kept dirty knives off the tablecloth so helping keep it clean. There were sizes for table knives and larger ones for carving knives. A great Victorian dining gadget!





For more info on the Shelley teacup or thistle knife rest at Time Was Antiques, just click on the photos.

8 comments:

Donna Heber said...

Hi Ruth,

Your Shelley Thistle teacup is gorgeous. What a lovely post. Thank you for joining us this week.

Johanna Gehrlein said...

Hello Ruth,
what a wonderful post with thistle theme. That design is really rare and you show so beautiful pieces of it. I love the Diary, we have it also here in Germany. And the cup and the knife rest are outstanding. Thank you for sharing it.
Best greetigns, Johanna

Snap said...

The thistle tea cup is lovely! Fun post. Happy Tea Day!

Sandi@ Rose Chintz Cottage said...

Hi Ruth,
What a delightful teacup! Love its shape. I so enjoy reading your posts as you always share such wonderful news and historical facts. I came upon some knife rests last week on one of my outings. I had never seen them before. Thank you for sharing this wonderful post with Tea Time and enjoy your day.

Blessings,
Sandi

Terri said...

The book you have shared has always been a favorite of mine too! Thank you so much for sharing it, now I will get mine back out to have a look again.
Your Thistle tea cup and saucer are really beautiful, as well as the incredible knife rest.
Thank you so much for sharing with us.
Hugs,
Terri

Nancy's Daily Dish said...

Once I leave your blog, I'm on my way to search for this book. It looks and sounds beautiful! I have to have it! Hope I can find one.

Nancy

Decor To Adore said...

Oh my that book looks like a true gem that I must seek out. Thank you for sharing!

Martha's Favorites said...

Hi Ruth: I love the Thistle Tea Cup. I have never seen Thistle knife rests. All so beautiful. It is a wonderful post. Have a great week. Blessings, Martha

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