My Jimmy's Big Birthday Celebrations

Yesterday was my Jimmy's 70th birthday! Even as I write this, it is hard to believe the man I met when he was just 25, is celebrating such a milestone birthday. He didn't want a big party or anything super special. Jim is a funny guy and everyone loves him but he really is a very private person.  When the girls asked him what he wanted, he said he wanted to have a date with each one of them when they had time. He wants to go out to lunch and go to an estate sale with them. How sweet is that? Jim has always been such a good dad and he does love his girls...me included.

Angie and Chris invited us over last Saturday and took us out to dinner with the grandchildren for Chinese. It was yummy and the kids were fun.

I think I'll frame the fortune from my Chinese cookie! I wouldn't trade this one with anyone.

We went over to the Wirth house for presents and cake. Ava delighted in giving Jimmy 70 spankings!

We were going to go to the beach on Tuesday for Jimmy's brithday, but the weather had been so wet and rainy and the roads weren't in the best condition, so Jim wanted to stay in town. So we had a change of plans. Jim wanted to have lunch at the German Market. It's so fun to go there. We always go at Christmas time but missed our visit in December. It smells heavenly when you walk through the door.

We also made a trip over to Bearverton. Jim has always wanted to go to the Dutch market, so we did!.Anything for the birthday boy.

Then we made a stop at two of the Stars Antique shops in Sellwood. It was fun to look at the items and the displays. I was hoping he would find a treasure, but he didn't. I gave him money for shopping.

Today, grandpa got to have another fun day with Otto. Otto's daddy had dental surgery on Monday, so we brought Otto over to our house. Grandpa loves to take Otto for a walk at least once a day. Here they are....ready to take off.

Yep...Otto is the best birthday present ever! He's such a good little guy and so much fun. We just love him so much.

I  hope you had a wonderful birthday my Jimmy. I hope you enjoy your 70th Bucket List that you are working on. Here's to a wonderful year filled with LOVE and MEMORIES!

Tea Time Thursday~#63

Hello February and hello Tea Time Thursday! It's been a very wet and rainy day here in Oregon. We are not complaining, as we sure need that rain. I have been so busy but I promised myself that I would post before bedtime today! As I ended my post last week, I was debating if I should order a red transferware teapot. You can see by my photo below that I did find a lovely one on Etsy. I do love Etsy. It arrived quickly to my delight. I really like the shape and the teapot is very at home in my hutch.

Can you see the couple in the scene? I love the design on the spout too and the handle is nicely decorated too.

The overall patter around the lid and the top of the teapot is charming. Busy patterns just call to me!

The name of the pattern is Brigadoon. It's a Sadler, made in England.  I do have a few other teapots made by Sadler.

Jimmy and I were at an estate sale that had a wonderful assortment of brown, blue and red transferware. My heart jumped when I walked through the door. I was on the hunt for a red transferward cup and saucer but I could only find blue ones. I walked into the laundry room and the shelves were filled with
various pieces of china. I spotted this teacup and  I grabbed it! I knew it was older and I thought it would be a nice addition, so I purchased it.

Another busy pattern with a nice busy boarder. It's fun to just look at the work on this cup and saucer.

When I got home, I did a little research and found that it was made in the late 1800's. It was made in England by the T. Hughes company. The pattern is called Sitka. It was also made in green, black, brown and blue.

My friends Ann and Natalie recently put on a very sweet tea at Natalie's home for us. We have been trying to get together for weeks. Why is it so difficult to get together with friends? We used to have tea with Natalie's mom, Micki, when she was living. Natalie chose to use her mother's china and flatware for our gathering.

Here's my two friends busy in the kitchen preparing the tea time feast. They spoil me.

Isn't the tea time plate just beautiful? I usually have tea buffets at my house, so this sit down tea was a real treat.

This is our dessert plate and oh, yes, it was delicious! The little white heart was a See's candy and it was just fantastic. Thank you my very sweet and kind friends for the tea and the company. We spent the afternoon chatting away into the evening!

I came across this photo of a rose by my front door when I was sorting through some files. It's so pretty and I am longing for spring and flowers. I know many of you are waiting on yet another snow storm! I start hoping for spring in February! How about you, are you anxious for spring?

Tea Time Thursday #62 The Hutch and Transferware

Mid January already and I am looking forward to February! Happy Tea Time Thursday. Did you enjoy a nice cup of tea this afternoon?  I'm sharing a red transferware teacup today that I just received. I LOVE transferware and have been on the hunt for some red teacups. I haven't had any luck finding any locally so I have had to order them online. I am waiting for three more and I hope they come before Valentine's Day.

This was made in Germany and is a Villeroy and Boch Burgenland. I like the design and color.

I always love to have designs on the inside of my teacups.

Last fall I was at the Goodwill thrift store and I saw this hutch up on a window sill. I couldn't believe my eyes. I had been looking for a corner hutch for our home for years. It couldn't be too large and had to fit into the corner and not block the heat register on one side. I thought this hutch looked like a good fit, but I didn't have any measurements with me. I went home and told Jimmy about it and we took some measurements with us and headed back to the store. It was a perfect fit! The price was perfect too....$69.99.  The colors are true on the right hand photo.

You can see how I decorated it for Valentine's Day. Now you can understand why I am looking for more red transferware.

My last picture is from Christmas. My Christmas Tree Spode looked very much at home in the hutch too.

I also have my eye on a teapot....hum...should I place that order? I am so tempted!

A Busy Weekend Show!

Yep, here's my Jimmy again! He looks pretty tired as this photo was taken after we set up his booth at the Clark County Fairgrounds in Washington last Friday. He does 3 shows in Oregon and 1 in Washington.
The show in January is quite a bit smaller in size, but it actually is a very good selling show for us. He got a double booth this time and it's quite nice to have extra room for the customers to get into the booth. Friday was a bit slow, but wow....he did fantastic on Saturday and yesterday on Sunday. Even the Seahawks playoff game on Sunday didn't spoil his sales. Jim has such a gift for selling and people really love to chat with him. I love to set up the shows and that's my job. All of these pictures are from the set up. I really should have taken some photos of the booth when we take it down! He sold sooo much this time. With a pocketful of $$$ he will have to start shopping again. The next show is the first weekend in March!

This is the "Tasha" section. We call it that in honor of Tasha Tudor...more primitives and wooden items. It sells well at this show and in the fall in Oregon.

The "Men's" section. We have expanded it to 1 1/2 sections as it always brings the guys in. There's a lot of things to tempt women at these shows but not always a lot for the menfolk. Jim does well with this section at the shows.

The 3rd section is mine to play with and try different things. I can work with a theme so the booth always looks a bit different. This time I went with a little Valentine look with red hearts  and red items.
I had fun with this table and we can offer a different type of merchandise this way.

We play around with this white display at each show. This time we filled it with tea cups, kettles and tea time napkins. It's a fun display piece. Think Downton Abbey.

I am thankful for the good show. It's a lot of work, but a fun retirement "hobby" that allows us to make some extra money to go on the hunt to buy for the next show! We are two tired old dogs today! don't thing we will be doing much today.
Our handyman Duane hauls all of this in and out at the shows. Without Duane, we could never do this. Thanks Duane!

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 .

Downton Abbey~ Season 5

Ah, Monday....a new week in bleak January. I was able to have lunch with a friend on Thursday afternoon to just sit and chat and exchange our Christmas presents. One of her most generous gifts to me was this delightful book! A Year in the Life of Downton Abbey! She knows I adore the series and this book is lovely. It is filled with photos and recipes as you journey though a year at Downton. I know there is a place for digital books and all, but is there anything as wonderful as a real book in your hands? I love books. Thank you so much my friend for this gift.

Season 5 began last Sunday. I am hoping it will be better than season 4, which was not my favorite. As my hubby reminded me, even a bad season of Downton Abbey is something good to watch on TV.
I do agree. The sets and the costumes are amazing, even if the story line isn't my favorite. Who knows what's in store for the new season?

Of course we know that Edith and her little girl (still a secret from most of her family) will be an important story line.

It will be another very busy week, but I am trying to work my way back into blogging. I still haven't gotten a new laptop, but I am able to get creative with posting pictures so I can still blog. I am helping Jim get ready for our next antique show this weekend at the Clark County Fairgrounds in Washington state. It's a smaller show and a bit more fun than the others we do through out the year. I will have extra babysitting this week as he will be hauling merchandise on Thursday. We will finish pricing and packing today.

So I am planning to enjoy a cup of tea this afternoon when I take a break. It has been wet and chilly here in Oregon but no chance of freezing temps, snow or ice this week. That's a good thing with the upcoming show. Have a good week.