One year my family was in Florida. I was in 7th grade. My mother loved to go to flea markets. We were looking around and suddenly my mother came upon a complete tea set, similar to the one photographed here. It was white with little pink roses on it. She was determined to have it! We brought it home and from that day on, it became a fun game to say, “Is it time for chai?” Amazing how excited we got for “tea time.” I think it was the “ritual of it.”
With four kids in the family, we each had a job. One person would put the kettle on, the other person would get the tea pot and put the tea leaves in it, the next person would get the tea cups out of the cupboard with the sugar and creamer… and don’t forget the spoons and some cookies if we had any. It was a TEAM EFFORT! We would normally sit and watch a British show that my mother got from the library and for that next hour we “felt British!”
Fast forward, 25 years and now most of the tea cups have broken, but there are a few survivors. Now there are grandchildren who have been learning about “tea time,” which is wonderful.
Not long ago, I had a LUCKY find. I was at an antique shop and I couldn’t believe it. I found this beautiful “in tact” tea set. I was very excited! Best part, it only cost me $25. They told me it was “spin the wheel day.” I spinned this wheel and received a 15% discount. That made this purchase even “more fun!”
So, “tea time” continues on… now, we need to find a good British show.
What family story do you have to share? Don’t be shy.
See this fortune cookie?! That is how writer’s block looks to a fortune cookie writer.
I’ve been listening to parents say they are sending their kids to summer camp. Some kids are excited and others reminded me of myself (WHY do I have to go???).
Have you had someone close to you pass away and then at some point you felt their presence constantly next to you?
I grew up swimming in Lake Michigan. Swimming in a Lake is carefree. You might run into some minnows, or step on a big brick – YES, there are bricks at the bottom of the Lake, but you would never run into a shark.
We also did a lot of boating on Lake Michigan, but I was not prepared for the boating they do in Wilmington. Wow – we went out on Saturday and there were boats everywhere. It’s “the” thing to do on the weekend. I felt like we were on a busy water freeway. The boats were very orderly, just like on a normal road, staying in their lane. Of course, there are always the “hot rods” even on the water.
There were the party looking boats with a lot of young people. They were doing water skiing and water tubing. There was a little island with a palm tree. As the day went on and the water started rising it covered the little island. We drove by a red Tow Boat, and later in the day hurried to dock the boat as we could see a storm coming in.
There have been a lot of thunder storms this summer. That day we could see the dark clouds coming in over the Atlantic Ocean. The lightning looked like fireworks in the sky, similar to this photo. Every few minutes behind the clouds we would see a flash of pink and silver. The thunder was incredible, so loud too. When I lived in California we had rain storms, but no thunder or lightening.
When I was a child growing up, we lived for the beach. We especially enjoyed thunder storms, which came without much warning. Suddenly the sky would become dark, the thunder, lightening and wind would start howling. We were on read alert for tornadoes.
Summer 2016 this book program was in Detroit. This summer they are in Florida. The program called, “Soar with Reading” was created to offer summer reading to children in communities where there are no books, which they call “book deserts.” The program has been successful in Washington, D.C. and Detroit. Children have started book clubs and parents/teachers say children have increased their vocabulary too.
Today I was taking a walk and something shiny caught my attention in the grass. I looked down and THERE I saw a LUCKY PENNY! It’s ALWAYS a good day when we find a Lucky Penny!
Not long ago I went to an art show. It was one of those shows where you walk around town stopping at different shops to see art galleries, clothing, antiques, furniture, etc.
Today is Sunday, a perfect day for a post about praying. Most of us know that airports have chapels, but how many of us have actually stopped in one. I confess that when I have been in an airport, even with a long lay over, I have never sought out a chapel. In fact, never even gave it a thought. My main goal was making sure I made my connecting flight.
So, it was a complete surprise to come across the “Cappella Madonna di Loreto,” chapel in the Milan/Linate airport recently.
I say this, because my mother was a born and raised in Florence. So, my next thought was that my Italian grandmother who is in Heaven (well, I am sure she is there and not Hell) was drawing me to the chapel, so we could have a sweet moment together. I admit I got a bit teary-eyed, because I miss my grandmother. She didn’t speak English, but when I visited her we got by. I quickly learned Italian and we sure used our hands a lot to communicate. She was a TREASURE!
My Nonina LOVED to play the game Bingo. She would go every Wednesday night. We always laughed when she came home, because if she had won, she would have either some olive oil or a big roll of salami under her arm.
For once, I was not irritated for the delay with flight check in. My little Guardian Angel had a surprise for me, the message was “slow down,” take a moment to appreciate my Italian heritage, sit, give thanks and send LOVE up to my Nonina! WHICH I DID!
Brilliant Viewpoint 