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!

Ruth ~ http://antiquesandteacups.blogspot.com/
Teacup Tuesday

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.

http://silkenpurse.blogspot.com/

Country Diary Of An Edwardian Lady greets the New Year, Birds egg coddler

Greetings to everyone on this, the first day of 2011. Amazing...how did we get here so fast???


It was 20 degrees, totally clear with a hard frost this morning at 8am when I remembered to look at the thermometer. It reminded me of the January 1 post from The Country Diary Of An Edwardian Lady by Edith Holden that was published in 1906 from a combination diary and watercolour journal. The entry for January 1st reads:


Jan.1, New Year's Day. Bright and cold with hard frost.


Edith Holden lived iat Gowan Bank, Olton Warwickshire, England which is not far from my husband's birthplace. She called her diary Nature Notes and it is a joy everyday with her talented renderings in watercolor of the creatures and places around her.

I found the book in England in 1977 and have read and reread it often. The book is a joy and a comfort!


Staying in the bird theme, here is a favorite design of the Royal Worcester egg coddlers that we sell at Time Was Antiques called Birds with a single wren on one side and 2 finches, I think, on the other. It is so cute! 

For more info or to purchase use this link to the Time Was Antiques website for the: Royal Worcester Birds egg coddler


They is having the Audubon Society Christmas Bird Count here in Sequim so it will be interesting to see the results later.


My husband is watching Arsenal FC beating Birmingham on Fox Soccer channel and is not a happy camper. Aston Villa is his home favorite but Birmingham his second fave, and....not going well. Hope you have good results with all the bowl games. We laughed when we discovered the Pinstripe Bowl a few days ago. Ever heard of that one? We hadn't.


Have a wonderful day, a holiday for many, and I hope you are looking forward to the year with optimism, hope and faith.