Good Morning

Good Morning Dear Ladies.

I am still unpacking some of the less-used things I brought home from my trip and have taken this teapot out of the box. Like all the teapots I have been seeing lately, it was packed inside of a satin-lined box with a styrofoam shape to fit the teapot. It would  be very nice to find two teacups packed in a similar way.  Since being home I have been looking on the web for matching teacups, in memory of my little Mama.

This is a teapot I bought at the Tea Leaves Tea Shop in Sassafras in Victoria. The only label it has is "Royal bone China, England collection."  If you see the teacups for sale anywhere please let me know. I liked the cut-out section on the top that made it look like a crown.  I think the saucers of the matching teacups have the lacey cut-outs too.  Remember if you go to that shop to ask  an employee to help you and point to the item. They retrieve one in a box from the storage room. It is not advisable to carry the item to the check-out, as it is a display.  I was impressed that no one had to carry fragile teacups or atand in line holding any items.   

We had our annual Ladies Day lunch at my house and welcomed 12 people. Each lady took home one of of the vases I had prepared for them. They all chose colors they tended to use in their homes.

One vase with a primrose was left so I am going to give it to someone who was not able to attend.

We used the colors of the season for the table settings ( two tables) and ate simple savory foods. Our subject for discussion was the word "unfeigned" mentioned in the Bible several times. Certainly everyone can recall a time when someone was  pretentious and fake toward them, using their friendship to deceive and to harm.  

We discussed how devastating this can be, and how "uncivilized" it is when people, especially women, undercut and undermine others, but the Christian practice of showing "unfeigned" (unpretended, sincere) love makes us more civil and trustworthy.  A person who feigns friendship and feigns love will eventually be known as a fake and will be avoided by those who do not want to be stung by her. A feigned friendship is like a poisonous snake that is sneaky and quiet until it makes a devastating strike. 

We live in a culture of lying. We are surrounded by lies and some people live that way, constantly making up lies. While we used to think of that way of life as existing only in an underdeveloped region, it has become commonplace in the so called enlightened western world. It is especially alarming to see evidence of it among some church women. This shows that it is not wealth or poverty that creates a culture of feigned love.  Only by  adhering to the instructions in the  Word of God about this subject can any society, church or family be cured of the dark and sinister habit of feigned friendship.

The question has come to my email several times of what to do if you cannot get a group of ladies to come for such an event.  My experience has been that instead of waiting for an opportunity, do something like this for your own family and make it a tradition by repeating it yearly or even monthly. It is a way to make memories and create your own culture in places where there are no tea rooms and nothing remarkable or affordable to do.  

Creating your own culture at home creates a happiness that no one can steal.  For the most part, the lady of the home guides these activities and has the choice as to how to make them important to the family.  I have had interesting things going on in my home over the years, such as:

-Historical dinners which include events and people of the Bible and other countries where we dressed in a certain way and ate the food of the era.

-Ship trips where each bedroom was a stateroom and the passengers received a morning newsletter stating the activities of the day and the location latitude and longitude of the ship. We once went on Noah's ark and tried to emulate the possible working day on the ark.

-A train trip from one point to the other, stopping at various towns and learning the history. These trips all worked very well when the weather was too harsh for anyone to be outside.   We dressed according to the theme and looked up the foods and customs of the times we were emulating.

-Music, poetry, book reviews and theatre- each family member having something to contribute.

-Dress-up day where everyone dressed their absolute best and came to a fancy hotel for tea foods. That entailed the living room and dining room being in perfect order, as though receiving important guests.

-Cooking a meal day, where the family members followed a menu, each making a dish of food, setting the table and then attending the dinner together.  

-a host of other things can be done at home and the way to determine what you want to do is to think of the longings of your heart of what you wish life would really make available for you. Use your disappointments as ideas to create the life you really want at home.  Take pictures, keep a journal and scrapbook and make a family history book. 

-It is possible to have a ladies Bible class by using the children in your home as students. Even the boys are helpful by aiding the singing, offering a prayer, reading scripture as they take a turn around the group, helping with serving food, making helpful comments in the bible study.  

Occasionally when there has only been one lady who showed up in bad weather, I recruited all my children to fill up the room and aid in the singing.  If this happens, you have to stifle your disappointment, remain as cheerful as possible and sing a bit louder, smile a bit more, and enjoy to the fullest. 

 I got a great hint when I was younger about this: when no one shows up to your event, have it anyway, get up there and teach the lesson, have the tea and then report that it went well.  This is especially essential when raising children. You do not want to program the or minds to believe that one person showing up to your afternoon tea is not good.  When one person comes, you have more time for a really good conversation and you can give her your full attention.

My handmade heart for this year's Ladies Day theme: Unfeigned Love: