* IT'S A TEA CUP TUESDAY *

Hi Everyone! I decided to participate in another Tea Cup Tuesday.

I'm linking to Martha's Favorites, Tue Cup Tuesday! It's only been about oh...a couple of years since I joined in the fun! I'm posting a partial repeat of an earlier version, because many bloggers may not have seen this particular one; and I don't think seeing the same tea cups and tea pots can be a bad thing, either!

This photo is of the plates, teapot clock, and "half" tea cup & saucer, that I hung in a random way on a wall in the dining room. (of our previous home) Two of the larger plates were my grandma's. The other plates were single purchases at various consignment stores. The "half" tea cup set is a one-of-a-kind I found at a gift shop in old St. Charles, Mo. I've never seen another one like it. The back of the cup and plate are flat, so it fits neatly against the wall. The teapot clock was purchased at Dillard's quite a few years ago. It's the Royal Albert, Old Country Roses pattern. (These all look like miniatures in the photo, but they are "regular" size...and as always, you can click on each photo and enlarge them 2 times)

A wall of loveliness!

This is a close up of the teapot clock.

 

 

This is a teapot I purchased at Dillard's about the same time as the teapot clock.

The tea cup and saucer were bought at one of the local consignment shops.

This cup and saucer is not a set. The cup belonged to my deceased sister (Jo Ann) when she was a little girl. It's smaller than regular, but it's also not miniature. It's just kind of "child-sized". It has a little chip at the top on the right, which is visible. (I can't imagine giving a young child a CHINA cup!) I don't know exactly how it came into my possesion, but I'm so glad I have it, and I really do cherish it.

This is a darling sugar bowl and creamer set I bought at Home Goods a couple of years ago. It's so cheery and spring-like, and just makes me smile to look at it.

 

~~~

I still have all of these lovely items, plus others that aren't shown here. Most are packed in boxes which haven't been opened since March 2013! I will be going through those boxes this spring/summer, though, and deciding what I MUST keep and what I can give away to family/friends, or take to Goodwill.

 

I've learned so much during these past few years of moving/downsizing...what is important and what isn't. And most "things" are definitely not important. One of the things I learned, at least about myself, is that having a photo or photos of those much loved items, makes it so much easier to say goodbye to them, and send them on to a new home...where someone else will love them!

 

Thanks again to Martha and all the Tea Cup Ladies!

 

 

"Come, let us have some tea and continue to talk about happy things." -- Chaim Potok

* HAPPY EASTER 2016 *

 

~~~~~~~ HAPPY EASTER ~~~~~~~

 

 

Bunny with S&P Shakers

photo taken by Becky 2010

 

 

 

 

 

 

"On this Easter Sunday…. Forgive someone. Tell someone you love them. Let your light shine." -- Unknown

* TEA CUPS, TEA POTS, & CHICKENS...OH MY *

 "Bookie" commented on my Nostalgic Sunday post of March 20th, that she...and probably others...would like to see photos of the tea room area where I work. So, here are a few I took before I left work yesterday. I have many others that I've taken at various times, but they are mostly of the Home Décor part of the store and I will share them sometime soon.  

 

Tea cups, mini teapots, and sideboard

Part of the tea room
(Please excuse the glare. It was sunny!)

Private room in the tea room

Part of hallway between Home Décor and Tea Room (See the steps and hand railing on the right? That leads to more gorgeous items to purchase, the custom design room, the owner's office and my office!) P.S. I just LOVE those ceramic chickens! I bought two smaller ones (not shown) for myself and one of these larger ones for a friend's birthday.

* After reading Lisa's comment about the ceramic chickens, I realized they really aren't ceramic....they are more like concrete! But not too heavy! Just wanted to verify that. AND, the Imogene's website is getting ready to be updated asap, although every single item won't be able to be listed. Just ask me what kinds of things you like, and I'll let you know what we have!

~~~

 

As I've stated before, I love my job! I'm surrounded by beautiful things, friendly and caring people, and yummy food! What more could a gal ask for? If you live anywhere near Wildwood, Missouri or will be vacationing in the St. Louis area, do stop in at Imogene's! If you're going to have lunch, make reservations, even if it's only for two!

 

 

♪ Tea for two, and two for tea... ♪

 

 

 



* NOSTALGIC SUNDAY *

It's Time for Another Nostalgic Sunday!

I don't think I mentioned I've been working a LOT of hours lately. I still love my new job, at Imogene's, and honestly enjoy being there, even though my "schedule" started out being two days a week, Tuesdays and Fridays. The word schedule is in parenthesis because I've actually never had a consistent schedule! But that's okay, too. (One of the words that describes me is Flexible! As long as I don't have any other mandatory activities, and I'm needed...I'm there for ya!) So, I worked this past Thursday, Friday and yesterday, mostly on the sales floor...so mostly on my feet...for our Spring Fling...and in between did some of my office work, too. The shop and tea room is closed on Sundays...thank goodness, so today I'm home recuperating. I go back again tomorrow, Tuesday, and Wednesday because one of the employees' last day is Wednesday and she has things to still go over with me...She is moving to Kansas City, and I'll be taking over some of her duties and I'll get my own office. 

So, what does that have to do with Nostalgic Sunday? Nothing, really! Except that because of my job, I attended a three-Saturdays-in-a-row QuickBooks class at our local community college....and that experience, my friends was the one and only college course I've ever taken! (If you've read my memoir, you are aware of the fact that I never was able to go to college, even though I desperately wanted to. And I dreamed about going someday....being a 40-year-old freshman, etc. But, as the quotes at the top of my blog reveal....sometimes, we become the person we never knew we could/should be!)

In honor of the occasion, my sweet husband surprised me with one of the college T-shirts. He said he thought it was something I should have. Now, that's why he's a "keeper" even when he thinks I say "polka dots" when I really say "tiny squares!"

Our Wedding Day - February 1983

 

Awww...so young...!



* TWO BOOKS I MUST PURCHASE! *

I just discovered recently that two of my favorite authors have been writing away, creating wonderful fictional stories about characters I already know and love! How fabulous is that?

(I thought I was already "Following" both of them on Amazon and would be notified about upcoming books and other news, but that hasn't happened.)

Anyway, here's what's happening:

1) Judith Ryan Hendricks' new book, Baker's Blues came out July 2015. It's the third book in her bakery trilogy, known as (The Bread Alone Series). I cannot wait to read this! I read the first two, Bread Alone, (2002) and The Baker's Apprentice, (2006). (In fact, I have both of them in hardcover, and I may have to skim through them again since it's been quite a few years since I read either.

Judi has been an amazing mentor and friend to me and I am sure that without her kindness and encouragement, I would've never completed and published my memoir. She wrote a wonderful book blurb for the back cover of my memoir, as well!

Also, here's the link to an interview with Judi on my blog from March 2010 http://beckypovich.blogspot.com/2010/03/much-anticipated-interview-with-judith.html
(Wow...SIX years ago)

"The smell of good bread baking, like the sound of lightly flowing water, is indescribable in its evocation of innocence and delight." --M.F.K. Fisher

~~~

2) Fannie Flagg also has a new book coming out later this year... November 1, 2016. The title is The Whole Town's Talking: A Novel. It's about those wacky citizens of small town Elmwood Springs, Missouri. I first met them in Welcome to the World, Baby Girl. Nobody writes like Fannie!

Side note: In my memoir, I write about a funny and embarrassing incident in Barnes & Noble that had to do with a Fannie Flagg book I wanted to buy! I emailed Fannie about it, hoping she'd reply and say she'd LOVE to read my book...but alas, that didn't happen. Oh well... Life goes on!

 

"The nice part about living in a small town; when you don't know what you're doing, someone else does." - Unknown

* * AND THE WINNER IS........* *

Hi Everyone! As promised, today is the day to announce the winner of the Barnes & Noble $10.00 gift card. I've decided to have giveaways much more often now because:

                                             1) I think they're fun!
                                             2) Hey, it's spring!
                                             3) To give is better than to receive!

Thanks to everyone who left comments on my March 10th post. Your names were all thrown into a hat, and voila'.....the winner is......

Linda O'Connell!

Linda, please let me know if you'd like to meet for coffee or lunch and get your card.



"The Bookshop has a thousand books,
All colors, hues, and tinges,
And every cover is a door
That turns on magic hinges."
- Nancy Byrd Turner

* HAVE YOU EVER SEEN THIS?! *

Ron and I enjoyed the lovely weather today, sitting on our patio. It was quite a bit cooler than yesterday, when we had a record high temp of 80+ degrees! But it was beautiful and I was comfy with a lightweight jacket.

 

I've always loved "sky-watching," being awed by clouds, jet contrails, birds in flight, sunrises, sunsets, the moon, and stars, etc. 

 

 

Looking almost straight up at one point, I spotted a section of a rainbow curving over the top of a huge cloud! I haven't searched for any information about this yet, but all I could think at the time was that cloud must have a lot of moisture inside it!

 

I honestly didn't think my little cell phone camera would capture it, but I'm thrilled that it did! (If you click on the photo, you can see a much larger view of it.)

 

Have you ever seen a rainbow like this?!

 

 

 

“Dare to love yourself as if you were a rainbow with gold at both ends.”  ― Aberjhani, Journey through the Power of the Rainbow: Quotations from a Life Made Out of Poetry    

* BARNES & NOBLE GIFT CARD GIVEAWAY *

Don't forget that tomorrow, Wednesday March 16, is the deadline to leave a comment on my blog post of March 10, in order to be in the drawing for the gift card.

 

Again, I know that a $10 card won't buy much of anything at B&N,

but at least it can help a little! It can be used in a store or online.

I'll announce the winner on Thursday, March 17.

 

 

~~~~

This is me laughing, and having a great time at B&N

soon after my memoir came out in November 2013.

 

~~~~

This is me looking drunk at B&N

soon after my memoir came out in November 2013.

(I have no idea what I was doing or talking about.

Probably just acting goofy!)

 

~~~~

 

 

* Note: My memoir can be purchased at BN.com, but they don't carry it in their stores.

If people ask for it, they'll say they can order it. That was so disappointing at first because when I worked there, I dreamed about seeing my memoir on their shelves. I imagined it being right next to Colin Powell in the biography/memoir area. J

 

 

"You are never too old to set another goal or to dream a new dream." -- Les Brown

* HOW DOES MY BLOG LOOK NOW? *

It's been years since I  had columns on both sides of my blog, and I'm glad I thought to try it again because I like the way it looks. My only negative thought is that the middle part - the most important part where my New Posts are - is a bit narrow.

What are your thoughts?

 

Also, how do you see the lettering in the date header and the gadget header?

 

               They're supposed to be kind of "goofy." The font is 

                                             

Sometimes when I'm working on it, those headings are correct, but at other times they aren't. It's a bit aggravating!

 

 

*BLOG UNDER CONSTRUCTION. PLEASE EXCUSE THE MESS*

I'm playing around with the columns, etc....so will hopefully have this "fixed" to my liking soon!

* MY ERMA ENTRY....AND A GIFT CARD GIVEAWAY *

I've made the decision to post my entry for the Erma Bombeck 2016 Writing Competition here on my blog. Some of my writer pals have suggested they might save theirs for another contest, but after thinking it over, I didn't like the possibility of it being rejected...again!

 

(At the bottom, please keep scrolling and reading

 for some information about my entry, 

and also about a gift card giveaway)

 

 

Erma Bombeck

Husbands: Sometimes You Can’t Hardly Look at Them Without Snarling!

Boy, don’t I know it! What is it with men anyway? When it comes to listening to their wives, they either can’t understand simple directions, only hear part of what we say, or completely tune us out. My much-loved husband Ron, has been guilty of all three complaints a few times during our 33 years of marriage, but the most recent episode practically had me snarling in the aisles of a local grocery store.

It all began one morning at the checkout counter in an outlet mall, when I realized I didn’t have my debit card. Fortunately I had my Master Card tucked away in a special area of my purse…for Emergencies Only. I’d say this particular moment was definitely an emergency. I certainly didn’t want the embarrassment of announcing I didn’t have enough money.

After paying for my purchase, I walked to the parking lot in a daze, tossed my bags into my car, and climbed in…racking my brain the entire time. When did I use that card last? Where could it be? Was a bandit emptying out my “gigantic” bank account at this very moment?! I wondered about it as I drove to my next stop. Then it hit me! I used it the day before when I bought lunch, and tucked it inside the top pocket of my suit jacket.

As soon as I got to the grocery store, I called Ron and asked him to look in our bedroom closet for the jacket. I guess he heard “my brown winter coat in the coat closet.” Uh, no. Then he thought I said “a sweatshirt.” NO! I finally got him to listen enough to hear me say, “No, it’s in my side of our bedroom closet. Look for a lightweight jacket that has tiny red, black, and white squares, TINY squares.” I hear the noise of hangers being pushed back and forth.

“I don’t see anything like that.”

“It has to be right in front of you. It’s kind of like a shirt with a collar. It’s not a heavy jacket.”

More silence except the swishing of clothes and hangers. Once again he said it’s not there. I let out a heavy sigh, but kept my mounting frustration to myself.

 “Never mind. I’ll look when I get home. Thanks anyway, honey. Bye.”

As I pushed my cart along, he texted the words “Got it” along with a photo of the jacket and the card. Unbelievable.

When I got home, he said I hadn’t told him it had little squares, but that I’d said “polka dots.” Oh my gosh. Husbands. Sometimes you can’t hardly look at them (or listen to them) without snarling!

 

Okay, here's some info about this piece

 

I realize that "can't hardly" is not proper grammar! The entire title is something my dear friend, Rita W. said to me a few years ago. We were sitting at her kitchen table (isn't that just the best place to talk with your girlfriends?) and we were complaining about whatever our husbands were doing, or were not doing, at that time that was driving us crazy. As soon as those words came out of her mouth, I busted out laughing (which happened a lot when Rita was anywhere near) and said, "Hold on. I've got to write that down, so I don't forget it! I grabbed a pen and scrap paper from my purse, jotted it down, and have kept it ever since. It's all wadded up and in a huge envelope of notes and clippings of "writerly stuff." I'll write more about Rita another day, but for now just know that she was sweet, kind, motherly, hilarious, ETC! I've referred to her for years as Crazy Rita. She died about 2-1/2 years ago and I think of her every single day and miss her so much. I hope she's smiling at me right now, and making her crazy snarling face!



~~~ 

GIFT CARD GIVEAWAY

 







I have a Barnes & Noble gift card for $10.00 that can be used in a store or online. All you need to do is leave a comment here of any kind. Maybe you have a funny spouse story you'd like to share, or something about a wonderful friend, or what purchase you'd like to put your gift card toward...I realize $10.00 can't buy much of anything all by its little old self! (Drawing will be done next Wednesday, March 16)

 

Pinterest

~~~~~

 

from The Happy Page on Facebook



Hey you....you definitely make me happy!



* I did NOT win..... *

Finally the Erma Bombeck winners and honorable mentions have been listed on their website......

I did not win. I did not get an honorable mention......

Neither did any of my writer friends......

Maybe now I can sleep at night, or at least sleep without talking in my sleep ....like in giving my Thank-You speech........

Hey, local writer friends......let's go grab a bit to eat, huh? Since I'm not a drinker, I can't go drown my sorrows.

BUT, THIS ISN'T STOPPING ME, IN FACT, I'M ON A WRITING ROLL, SO ......I'LL ENTER AGAIN IN 2018.

* CHICKEN SOUP FOR THE SOUL - CALL OUTS FOR NEW STORIES *

I just received an e-mail from the lovely editors at Chicken Soup for the Soul, asking for stories for a new, upcoming anthology named, Chicken Soup for the Soul: Curvy & Confident - 101 Stories about Loving Yourself and Your Body. 

This sounds like a book that's perfect for us women of a "certain age" and I'm definitely going to begin working on a submission for it. The deadline is June 30, 2016.

After reading the email, I was motivated to check out the Chicken Soup for the Soul website and see if they had other call outs going on...and they sure do! Following are the current ones, with various deadlines. Be sure to check them out!

Angels & Miracles   
Best Mom Ever!       
Blended Families
Dreams and Synchronicities
Parent to Parent
Stories about Cats
Stories about Dogs
Stories about Teachers & Teaching
The Joy of Christmas
        AND
The Spirit of Canada (for Canadian entries only)
College Student Stories (for current students up to age 24)


Here's the link to the Call Out page: http://www.chickensoup.com/story-submissions/possible-book-topics. They even give suggestions about what to write about.

As always, I encourage everyone to submit stories, even if you've never done any writing at all. Just take your time and write from your heart. If your story doesn't get chosen, you haven't lost any money, because there is no submission fee...but if your story IS chosen... "If your story is chosen, you will be a published author and your bio will be printed in the book if you so choose. You will also receive a check for $200 and 10 free copies of your book, worth more than $100. You will retain the copyright for your story and you will retain the right to resell it or self-publish it." Pretty neat, huh?!

GOOD LUCK TO EVERYONE AND PLEASE LET ME KNOW WHERE YOU SUBMITTED YOUR STORIES!



"The role of the writer is not to say what we can all say but what we are unable to say." - Anaïs Nin (1903-1977) 

* MARCH COMES IN LIKE A LION *

 

March definitely came in like a Lion in my part of the world.

Cold and blustery winds almost blew me across the parking lot at work this morning!

(I think if I would've had an umbrella, I would've been lifted up into the air for a while...just like Mary Poppins...one of my favorite fictional characters!)

 

So, as the saying goes, I'm hoping that March goes out like a Lamb,

just like this adorable, sweet little Lamb!

Every year when March rolls around, I think of the kite-flying days of my childhood. I always loved flying kites, even when mine got lost in the wind after the string ran out! And to this day, you may drive by a wide open space and see me standing out there, having the time of my life, flying a kite!

 

 

Hmm, and speaking of Mary Poppins (up above) there's also a song in the movie that I obviously love, "Let's Go Fly a Kite."

** I TOOK OUT THE YOU TUBE OF "LET'S GO FLY A KITE" BECAUSE IT SEEMED TO BE MESSING UP MY BLOG IN CERTAIN AREAS. **

What about your part of the world? Lion or Lamb? Did you like to fly kites when you were young? Do you still get out there and experience the joy of kite flying, no matter what your age?