A Teacup Full of Blessings

I have wanted to join Stephanie's Teacup & Mug Exchange for a while now.
It seems like one thing or another just kept getting in the way!
Well, as soon as I found out about this one,
I decided then and there that I was going to do it this time...
...and I'm so glad I did!
~
What fun it was to secretly find out a little about the sweet lady that I was matched up with!
I was to send my teacup and other lovelies to Judy who blogs over at 20 North Ora.
I had seen several of Judy's posts but hadn't yet started following her lovely blog.
 A few things I discovered was that she was a super crafter, collector and decorator...
...with a perfectly wonderful whimsical style!
I came across a darling yellow bumble bee teacup that I thought she would enjoy.
By reading her posts, I could tell she was quite a busy lady...
...as busy as a bee buzzing all around possibly!
It was so much fun shopping for her!
~
And what a surprise to find a package on my doorstep,
even before the deadline for mailing them out!
My package arrived all the way from Oregon from Linda.
Her beautiful blog, Lady Linda is just overflowing with all things lovely!
~
Even the bright pink tissue paper excited me!

Here's what I found inside...

Isn't she a beauty?
It seems Ms. Linda had been doing a little poking around and discovered my red kitchen :)

I think the solid, darker tone with the gold edging is simply stunning!
And in addition to this gorgeous teacup, I received...

...a tasty assortment of my favorite fruity teas...now how did she know that??
I've never mentioned the kind of tea I like on my blog that I can remember.
Linda must have psychic abilities too! :)

There was also a really cool silicone tea infuser...

...some perfect rooster goodies including these recipe cards...



...the cutest pot holder...

...a darling little pottery dish for my tea bag that was filled with chocolate {smile}...

...and this cute little "rooster under glass" refrigerator magnet.
(not to be confused with Pheasant Under Glass...whatever that is)




I just loved everything!
~
But I have saved the best for last.

Years ago my MIL passed down her beautiful Red Rose vintage Sadler tea set to me.

And just look at how beautifully my new teacup matches it!



I sat up a little faux tea party out on my deck to see how they looked together...



...and as you can see, "we" had us a little photo shoot.

I was having a really hard time deciding which photos were my favorites...

...so I decided to just throw way too many into this post.

Okay...just one more for good measure :)
~
This was so much fun!
Thank you so much Linda, for these lovely, lovely gifts...
...they have truly blessed my heart.
How wonderful it was to finally be a part of this lovely exchange!
~
And Stephanie...what can I say?
 I can only imagine the amount of time and effort that you put into every single one!
I so appreciate your heart for the Lord and everything you do.
Sweet {{hugs}} to you, my friend!
~
“Friendship is unnecessary, like philosophy, like art…
It has no survival value; rather it is one of those things that give value to survival.”
~ C. S. Lewis

A Stranger in the Woods

It was a dark and stormy night...

Not really...I just thought it would be a good way to begin a post titled
"A Stranger in the Woods" {{smile}}

But it is true that it was drizzling rain the day I discovered "the stranger".
I had Oscar outside, letting him do what doggies need to do, when I first noticed it.
I saw a few dapples of red against the mostly-still-green leaves right at the edge of the woods,
 actually only several feet from where I was standing.

At first I thought it was a new holly or pyracantha bush that had come up volunteer,
but when I looked again, I knew it was neither one of those...
...and most definitely something I needed to investigate further.
I put Oscar back in the house, grabbed my point-n-shoot since it was wet outside,
and ambled back down to the edge of the woods where I saw red...uh...orange...pink...
...all of those colors, as I found out the closer I got!

This is the stranger.



I was so excited!
In all of the 23 years living here, I had never seen anything like it.
I wasted no time snapping away between rain drops until my camera started getting wet.
(Those photos were pretty bad ...kinda blurry and dark ...so these were taken the next day in the sunshine.)

So as soon as I got back in the house I put in a Google search for...
"plant with reddish pink nubby pods with orange berries".
That's the best way I knew how to describe it.

And then, there it was...
...something called Bursting Hearts or Hearts-a-Bustin',
Strawberry Bush or the by the official name of Euonymus americanus!



And here are a few tidbits of info I found on this other link.

Wildlife biologists often refer to strawberry bush as an “ice-cream plant” for deer. In fact, deer love strawberry bush so much that it can be non-existent in areas with hungry deer. For deer, we plant one, long row of plants spaced two to three feet apart and cover it with a “hoop-house” of chicken wire. The wire protects the plant and allows tender sprouts to escape the protection of the cage which can then be eaten by the deer. 

Don’t forget that strawberry bush is an absolutely beautiful and unique native plant worthy of inclusion in your yard. The bright green shoots grow straight as an arrow (hence the name arrow-wood) and develop seed pods resembling strawberries that burst open in late summer exposing four or five bright red seeds that dangle from the open pods. Hence the other common name ‘hearts-a-bustin’. Whatever its name is, include this guy in your landscape if you’re interested in adding a unique, native touch that will be sure and receive plenty of positive feedback.

I guess that explains this.

There are actually two other plants right next to the one that's blooming that I didn't recognize.

 They are nothing but a few straight, green, sticks poking up from the ground.

It looks as though a few of our visiting deer have been enjoying some ice cream! :)

So have you ever seen this stranger lurking in your woods?



I'm sharing with Judith at Mosaic Monday.
Come on over and see what others are sharing!

A Little Preview of Autumn

After eleven days and over ten inches of rain, the sky is blue once again.

This was our view last night.

It was a glorious sight to behold. 

The rain that once was, has left a fresh autumn breeze...

...gently rustling through the ever changing leaves.

It seems that everything is littered with bright colors...

 

...and strangely shaped objects.

If you look closely, you can see tiny remnants of moisture still clinging to each petal.

And I love it when that one certain leaf stands out in the crowd.

It won't be long before they all blend together in a sea of reds and oranges.

Even the little birds sense that change that is taking place...

...and I think they must be enjoying it too.

Rain or shine, all they really want is food in their bellies.

For the most part, most everything is still quite green,

especially after all of the rain.

But little by little, with each passing day,

it's quite clear that autumn is showing itself...just as it should.

And I'm loving it :)

And it rained...and it rained...

...and it rained some more.

And it's still coming down.

~  

It started out last Friday as a welcomed relief...

...and I thank the Lord for it, don't get me wrong.

It was a beautiful sight to see.

A beautiful thing to feel.

A beautiful thing to hear.


Buckets.
It's coming down in bucket loads.

It started out cool and fresh but now it feels like Florida in July.
Only with no palm trees.

You all know how much I love to snap those little water droplets.

And as you see, I've been doing a lot of snapping.

But enough is enough already.
How many ways can you photograph drops of water, anyway?

I'm done now.

It's Soup Weather, Y'all!

It's been raining for two days with more to come.

But we really need it, here in the south.

It's been dark, dreary and chilly...

...and I am lovin' it!

It's time for some soup, I'd say!

Lately, I've had a hankerin' for some broccoli-cheddar.

Recently, I've been eating low-carb and this fits the bill perfectly.

I looked online at some recipes and actually took a little from three different ones.

~

Here's my recipe:

*1 large head of broccoli, chopped small(ish)

*3 1/2 cups low sodium chicken broth

*2 T. butter

*1 cup heavy cream

*1-8 oz. block cream cheese

*2 cups sharp cheddar cheese, shredded

*1 garlic clove, minced

*1 small onion, chopped

*salt and pepper to taste

Place chopped broccoli, garlic and onion in large kettle with the chicken broth. 

After it begins to boil, reduce to simmer, cover and cook for about 10 minutes, until tender.

Next, add butter, and the block of cream cheese. 

I used cream cheese made from Greek yogurt but any will do...

...the yogurt contains more protein, as you see by the label.

When the cream cheese has melted, add the cheddar and stir, stir, stir...

...making sure the heat is on low so it doesn't stick to the kettle.

 Add salt and pepper according to your personal taste.
It's ready to eat after the cheese has melted.

HEY MA.......IS IT SOUP YET??

YOU BETCHA!

And of course, you'll want to garnish with a little added cheese on top :)

 It was the perfect lunch on a cool, rainy Saturday!

I also baked some low-carb blueberry muffins after lunch.

I'll be having one of those with another bowl of soup for supper :)

~

What's the weather like in your neck of the woods?