** Tea Cup Tuesday **

First of all, I'd like to welcome my newest follower -- Michaele Malta! Hello Michaele! I hope you stop by often and enjoy what you see.

It's been quite a long time since I participated in Tea Cup Tuesday. It hasn't been because of lack of interest, or not having a pretty tea cup to share. It's mostly been a problem with my time management skills, or lack there of! But not this week! I'm very pleased to join Terri of Artful Affirmations, and Martha of Martha's Favorites for Tea Cup Tuesday!

This is my newest find! I bought it last week at my favorite consignment store, Garvey Decor, in St. Peters, Missouri. I've purchased a few items there and also sold a few of mine.

At first, I didn't even realize it had a Christmasy pattern. I just loved everything about it.

Notice the scalloped edges of the saucer. Both saucer and cup have gold trim. 

In this photo, I tried to show the crack in the cup. It's in the middle and goes all the way from the top to the bottom. Whoever glued it back together, did a wonderful job. It can barely be seen on the outside. In fact, I didn't even notice it, until I saw it on the inside. I haven't filled the cup with anything to see if it leaks, because I really hadn't planned on using it. I just like to look at it!

I just love the shape of the cup! I don't know the right terminology to describe the "round, poofy" areas!

The stamp says: Royal Albert, Bone China, England.

Flower of the Month Series. Set of Twelve.

"Holly" No. 12

Okay...now to reveal the price I paid for this lovely cup & saucer.....$3.00!

I just looked on Ebay to see if anyone had this set, and what they were going for.

I found 16 of them, most listed under Buy it Now, with prices ranging from $8.99 to $39.99!

I'd say I got quite a wonderful bargain, wouldn't you?!

"If you are cold, tea will warm you. If you are too heated, it will cool you. If you are depressed, it will cheer you. If you are excited, it will calm you." --Gladstone, 1865

** First Monday of the Month **

Every first Monday of every month, at exactly 9:00 am, our town and/or county, does a "test" of our Warning System. You know, those obnoxious blaring sirens that go off when there's a tornado warning.

When one of my grown sons was younger, he was terribly afraid of storms. This lasted for a few years and even interfered occasionally with his school days. Some months, I would be aware enough to warn him that today was Test the Sirens Day, before I dropped him off at school. Even at that, I would practically hold my breath when that horrible noise started up and blasted on and on and on. Would he remember that it was just a test?

To this day, whenever I hear that test siren (or any sirens, for that matter!) I stop for a moment and recall those long-ago years when I was a young(er) mom. Memories wrap around me like a swirling fog, a bittersweet smile comes to my lips and I feel cozy and contented.

"Rainbows apologize for angry skies." ~ Sylvia Voirol