January Full Moon

Full moon tonight! I was able to snap this photo last night as I knew it would be raining tonight.
You can see the clouds moving across the winter sky. Our weather has turned warm and wet once again. I know many of my blogger friends are under a blanket of snow tonight.

The names of the moon are many this month...most of them do sound like winter.
Wolf,winter, cold, stay inside, big cold, whirling winds, freezing, ice, old, cooking and quiet.
My choice this January is QUIET! Oh, how I love quiet! I think that's way I really like winter.

This is a wonderful children's book about the full moon. I need to order this to share with the grandchildren.

We had a nice surprise tonight. Our daughter Gina showed up at our door this afternoon! An unexpected visitor from Seattle. She came down for her friend's birthday. Always a treat to have her with us.

Freezing Rain and Ice!

 The beautiful snow of yesterday, turned to freezing rain and ice all though the night. Schools were closed and the people of Portland and the suburbs were asked to stay home. I was glad to do just that! I was supposed to help my dad pack up his Christmas, however, I didn't want to drive. We live in an area that has a lot of wind that keeps the temperatures down, so it takes longer to thaw out. I live about 22 miles from downtown Portland. Portland is a city of lots of hills and the town is split by the Willamette River. That means lots of bridges and which equals lots of traffic problems when the ice hits. Jim got out late this afternoon to take my Etsy orders to our local post office. We have another threat of freezing rain tonight...not as much moisture...but still more ice! UGH.

I have to say, it sure is nice being retired. Jim ALWAYS had to go to work no matter what the weather was. He was a pharmacist and everyone NEEDED their meds. My retail shoppe also had a contract postal station with PO boxes, so I always had to open the store for the mail.  My shoppe was about 17 miles away and I remember a few snowy days that took over two hours to get to work. Yes, I had to cross one of those bridges and often big semi trucks just couldn't make it and would block the freeway. I don't miss those days at all!

Since we were stuck at home, we decided it was time to take down our Christmas trees and decorations. We made a good dent in it. We had a nice tea time treat this afternoon. We were gifted a box of Walkers mince pies. What a yummy treat. I just zapped them in the microwave for about 20 seconds and they were perfect.

I love the snowflake design on the top of the little pies...perfect. That shine on the plate was from the sunshine that did peak through the window this afternoon.

Another chilly wintery night. I am so thankful for our wood stove. It sure keeps us warm. I am hoping that I get over to dad's tomorrow. I will be babysitting on Wednesday and back to bible study on Thursday. I am going to be patient and just finish up my home as time allows. My goal is to be all done by the weekend. 

Northwest Winter Tea Time Thursday #61

Ah, a typical winter afternoon here in Oregon. It's very dull and gray with rain and wind keeping those of us who don't have to venture out, inside! I had a delightful bible study this morning and I'm waiting for Otto to come over while his mommy does a few errands in Troutdale. The woodstove is going and it's very cozy in my little house.

It is Thursday, so it's Tea Time Thursday. When I take down my Christmas decorations in my tea room, I just go ahead and put up the Valentine decorations. it always cheers me up and I love the Victorian goodies and the feel in my tea room. Of course, the dolls like it too and it cheers me up in the dead of winter.

This lovely piece of furniture is called an etagere. It's kind of like a what not shelf...often with open shelves, a small cabinet area and a mirror. It was a birthday gift to me years ago from my Jimmy from a shop long gone in Troutdale called the Green Door. Oh, I loved that shop. I took a tea class there one night and sat in front of this etagere with the little tea lights burning. I couldn't get my eyes off of it. I went home and told Jimmy. He took me down to look at it a few days later and the owner told us it was sold. That was fine, I just wanted to show him. Well, a week or so later, it was delivered to my door as a birthday gift! I have so much fun decorating with it and I do love it.

This is the top view of it with it's decorations for the Valentine season. It's full of treasures and like the Victorians, I like my "stuff".

You can see more of it and the bottom shelf in this photo.

I decided to do something different on the bottom shelf this year. Of course, I have to start with a Tasha Tudor book. ALL FOR LOVE is a wonderful book and perfect for this time of the year. I thought it would be really fun to display an assortment of tiny doll sized tea sets. I have a passion for them! It's just an extension of my love for all tea time goodies.

Some are new and some are old. Some are from my childhood and some are recent gifts and estate sale finds. One can never have enough tiny tea sets! Of course I have to thank my dolls for letting me steal away their tea sets for awhile. I hope you have enjoyed seeing some of my tiny tea sets today. Stay warm and toasty and have a cup of tea .