** Please Keep Me in Your Thoughts **

We've all heard sayings about not taking life for granted, take time to smell the roses, and we don't know what tomorrow may bring.

The past 24 hours or so have been difficult for me. A very close family member had emergency surgery, and I don't know much else than that. It's something that can be quite serious, though, and I've been really worried and fearful.

I'm sorry if I seem secretive, but I don't want to divulge anything else at this time.

If you'd like, please send good thoughts and wishes my way.
I'll also accept prayers, good karma, peace....whatever you'd care to send....including virtual hugs....(thank you, Karrie!)

Hopefully, I'll have some good news to post sometime tomorrow.

"Don't ever save anything for a special occasion. Being alive is the special occasion". ~Author Unknown

** Tuesday: Time For Tea Cups and Tea Parties **

Hello! It's another Tea Cup and Tea Time Tuesday. I'm participating in both this week. One is hosted by Martha at Martha's Favorites

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

And by Lady Katherine at Lady Katherine Tea Parlor

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The first picture below is part of a complete set.......

I actually had forgotten about it.......

Until I was searching for something else today.............

And discovered the box ...............

hiding in a drawer............

and then I saw it......and remembered!!

.....................Drum Roll Please..................

Ta Dah........!!  Did you guess it was a miniature set?!

I bought this set on E-bay about a year ago. I have a project in mind that I needed it for, but somehow that little project, like so many others, got put on the back burner.

I wrote to a blogger friend recently that I had some things that were so far back, on the back burner, that they wound up in my neighbor's kitchen and on her stove top! ☺

"American-style iced tea is the perfect drink for a hot, sunny day. It's never really caught on in the UK, probably because the last time we had a hot, sunny day was back in 1957". -- Tom Holt

Happy Summer Solstice 2010!

This is my oldest son, Scott, who is in England on a business trip. He just sent this photo to us yesterday, and I was thrilled to see that he was able to visit one of the most extraordinary monuments in the world.

It's also one of those Twilight Zone moments I seem to experience more and more lately. While doing a little research online just now about Summer Solstice, I discovered that thousands of people flock to Stonehenge every year to witness this event. It looks like Scott was a day or so early, but all the better, otherwise he would've just been lost in a sea of Druids, hippies, pagans and other curious folk!

find out more about Stonehenge

"Rest is not idleness, and to lie sometimes on the grass on a summer day listening to the murmur of water, or watching the clouds float across the sky, is hardly a waste of time." -- John Lubbock

* Microfiction Monday*

Welcome to Microfiction Monday, where a picture paints 140 characters, or even fewer.


Susan at Stony River hosts Microfiction Monday. Susan posts pictures every week and writers take on the challenge to write 140 character (Twitter-sized) stories about the picture.

Here's this week's picture .....and my take on it:
 
Others question the flying fish. I question what else Lazy Dog offers. What can it be that the words had to be hidden behind the trees?   (135 characters)

** Father's Day 2010 **

Remember when we were kids and daydreamed about our ideas of what the 21st Century would be like? Didn't we think we'd be traveling in flying cars, like on The Jetson's?!

We have seen, and are living in, an age of such advanced technology...yet still driving along highways, streets, avenues and sometimes very bumpy roads of life.

Two days ago, another memory involving my childhood summer vacations in Iowa, came to me. Since it involves my dad, I thought it'd be appropriate to post today.

The majority of our car trip in those days was spent on 2-lane highways. Sometimes I liked to scoot up to the edge of the back seat and rest my arms on the upholstery between my mom and dad (no seat belts back then!) Many times I would see what looked like water on the road, up in the near distance, but every time we would get to that particular spot, there was nothing wet on the road. I asked my dad about it and he explained to me that it was a mirage....that it just looked like water and that it had something to do with the heat. To this day, every time I see areas on roads like that, I think of my dad and how he always took the time to explain things to me. He was such a great dad....for a few short years....and then he left us. I can only dream of how different my life may have been, had he stayed around and continued to be the dad his little girl loved so much.

* Tragic News From Miz Mollye *

I'm sure some of you have visited Miz Mollye's blog. Mollye is such a neat lady who I've only known a short while. I don't even remember exactly how we ran into each other in Blog Land, but I'm so glad we did.

A few minutes ago, I began trying to catch up on all the blogs I attempt to keep up with....and read a short post on Mollye's. She said her youngest son, Jake, had been shot and killed Thursday. That's all she knew at the time. She also said she or someone in her family would post more information when they can.

Can you even imagine? I had to read that short paragraph about three times before I realized and believed exactly what I was reading.

If you are a prayerful person, please say prayers for Mollye and her family.
If you aren't, please send your good thoughts and wishes her way.

I cannot even begin to comprehend it......

"What we have once enjoyed we can never lose. All that we love deeply becomes a part of us." -- Helen Keller

* Tea Cup Tuesday - Part 3 *

I'm feeling extremely grateful tonight.....for various reasons. Since it's almost midnight, though, and I'm not in one of my Night Owl modes, I'll have to write about it tomorrow.

For those of you who might check back here for my comments in the last 4 or 5 posts, I've finally managed to leave some for you. I have some reading and commenting to catch up on, too, at other blogs!

Knowing that all of you are "out there" and sometimes thinking of your numerous blog friends, hopefully including me, is one of those things that makes me happy, joyful, & blissful.

I"ll say good night and send you over to Robert Brault's blog. He is an amazing, inspiring man and I love his quotes! (That's why I'm not posting a quote here tonight. You can go to his blog and read so many beautiful quotes!)

* Tea Cup Tuesday - Part 2 *

Well, I finally finished making all the birthday cards for June, took them to the post office and hope they will arrive in time! I swear, I keep saying I won't let the due dates sneak up on me anymore...but this time, I mean it! I need to begin tomorrow making the ones for July!

Enough of that.....

Before I forget, I took photos to show the bottom stamps on the cup & saucer, that are shown in the post immediately following this one. (Thus the name, Part 2!)

This is the bottom of the plate/saucer. It has the crossing arrows or whatever they are called, plus an indentation of the number 53, which kind of looks like a 33 here, but it's definitely a 53. Also, to the left of the arrows, there is another indentation that looks kind of a like a capital D in cursive, plus something else I couldn't make out.

This is the bottom of the cup and if it looks strange it's because I had to take the picture kind of upside down and backwards to get that number 4 to show up clearly! (I really gotta get a better camera!)

* Thanks to Terri  at Artful Afirmations and her comment below, asking about the stamps on the bottom of these. I had forgotten to take those photos!

Okay.......Gotta pry myself away from this laptop for awhile, but I'll be back sometime later.......As usual, I have lots to say!

“A perfect method for adding drama to life is to wait until the deadline looms large.” -- Unknown