LEARNING SOMETHING NEW OR SOMETHING YOU KNEW BUT FORGOT

When we lived in Colorado Springs and

 I got a new camera, I figured out how to take

aperture photos.  You know the type of 

photos where you zero in on something

but the background stays kind of blurry.

After we moved - I forgot what I had

learned so this week I looked at the manual
for dummies but I must be really dumb because
I couldn't figure it out again.  This is what

 I love about the internet - you can find

instructions that make sense - right? 
 And by the 

way guess what
 has returned:

I do not like these birds.  I am happy to see
springtime finally arriving in Missouri.

Twice I have taken the wreath off my
front door because the purple finches
try to build a nest on top of it.  Can someone
please explain to me why they call them
purple finches when the male is red?

So I love all the daffodils that are
blooming now and the tulips are
coming just behind them!  Last
year I planted those double tulip
bulbs but really I find they are
so heavy they fall to the ground
so no more of those in the future.

I decided to use an older floral
on the door instead.

Please stay safe and healthy during
this difficult time.

If you would like to practice
aperture photos:

This is for a D5100 Nikon:

Setting Up and Shooting in Aperture Priority Mode

1. Turn your camera on and then turn the Mode dial to align the A with the indicator line.
2. Select your ISO by pressing the i button on the back of the camera.
3. Press up or down on the Multi-selector to highlight the ISO option, then select OK.
4. Press down on the Multi-selector to select a higher ISO setting, then press OK to lock in the change.
5. Point the camera at your subject and then activate the camera meter by depressing the shutter button halfway.
6. View the exposure information in the bottom area of the viewfinder or by looking at the rear display panel.
7. While the meter is activated, use your thumb to roll the Command dial left and right to see the changed exposure values. Roll the dial to the right for a smaller aperture (higher f-stop number) and to the left for a larger aperture (smaller f-stop number).

TEA BY THE WINDOW

I thought I would set up a little tea time by

the sliding doors today and enjoy the

view of what is becoming a green back

yard.  We have had lots of rain and the

bulbs are coming up.

This morning they had a "senior hour" at

the market so we took advantage of that

and picked up some things.  I bought a

small package of pink roses and a stem of

baby's breathe to go with my daffodils.

I hope you love tea as we are

having some.

I have a collection of English Bone China
cups and saucers that I love.  

The spoon is a commemorative of
Queen Victoria's reign 1837 to 1897.

We have a warmer day today
so I am excited about that.
It could reach 70 degrees.
That should really draw the 
bulbs out of the ground.  

During this time we are staying in our own
homes and we can still go out into our yards.

I hope you are well and take care!

THE FISH THAT GOT AWAY OR THE TEAPOT ANYWAY

I know you all have a story to tell and

since we have "time to our hands" I

thought I'd tell mine.  About a 

month ago I was bidding for several

things on ebay.  I am sure many 

of you have done that before.  Back in
December I purchased 2 sets of antique

staffordshire dogs for my mantle - I 

wanted to go with white ones so
these arrived and are very old and
I love them.

If you are looking for the old staffordshire
dogs, they are reasonable right now from
England.  We have an unusual area next to
our kitchen called a Hearth Room and I
use it for my more formal furniture.  I don't
really have a dining room and our living room
area is more casual.

Now that we are retired we live in
a different way as it is just the two of us. 
 So one day earlier this year I saw a 
single white dog available and frankly
 really cheap on ebay. I thought I 
could add it in the middle.  Of particular 
interest to me was the fact that it was from an
 estate in the Lake District so that thrilled my
 little heart as I could imagine Beatrice Potter
 herself had been to visit the home where it 
came from. (not really)  I asked the couple
 how much the shipping to the US would be as
 they had not done that and naturally this can
 be expensive.  They said it was 10:00 PM
 at night there so I should not buy it but
 rather wait till the morning and they 
would post the shipping.

You are already guessing how this story is
going - right?  

Well, when I went to my computer in the
 morning - someone had purchased it of course
 and the selling couple apologized and said 
that had certainly never happened 
before - ha!

Now that was just my warm up story.

This happened the next day.  I had also
 been watching a certain historic type teapot 
which could never be used because of a
 large cracked piece in it.  The thing is
 though - it would make a great display
 piece.  It was very cheap too and no one
 was interested in it but me I thought and it
 was coming up for final auction the next
day in the afternoon.  I was ready
and excited but there was just one
little problem the next day.  I still don't
know why but my computer wouldn't let
me on online that day.  I tried all day
to no avail.  Someone got this teapot
really cheap: (ebay photos)

You can see the crack rendering the handle
useless to the right back.  But isn't this amazing
 with Queen Victoria in 1837 at her Coronation
 and in 1897 at her Diamond Jubilee! 
 Whoever has it -
I hope you love it!

  Here was the back:

So that's my FISH THAT GOT AWAY story......

HISTORICAL COLLECTION

Are you interested in Queen Victoria

and Prince Albert?

  You may have watched

the television series on PBS called

"Victoria".  We watched it and later

purchased the DVD's.  I had never

read much about Queen Victoria's
 time from 1837 to 1897.  We all know
this became known as the Victorian Era.

I recently became interested and also

to learn a little about each King who
 followed

her up to Queen Elizabeth II.

Today my box arrived from England

and 3 more pieces of the lustre (English

spelling) ware that was originally sold at

the 1851 Great Exhibition as souvenirs.

The pieces are so old now that many

have stains, etc but I don't intend to

use them for food but rather as a

historical collection.

I already had the cup and saucer which
show the Queen's daughter Vickie who
married Prince Frederick who became
the King of Prussia and Germany.  This
cup and saucer is from 1858.

During this difficult time - you might like
to read about Queen Victoria online.
I have looked up many things but
I have not read her old diaries.  I
heard that they are online too.

The teapot above is very unique as the lid slides off to the right.  The queen looks rather
mad here.  This was a commemorative from
 her diamond jubilee in 1897.  I have seen
 this same "sketch" of her on other things
 and it is not very flattering. 

SENDING A BOUQUET

So I send you all a bouquet during this

time of difficulty:

It was snowing lightly this morning and

has since melted away.  I picked these

to bring them in from freezing.

Mostly I keep busy restocking my tea cozies

on my Etsy page:

I participated in the spring cards exchange

in the tea group I am in on Facebook called

"Afternoon Tea Across America". 
 I made 27 cards:

These were fun to make and amateur of course

but it was fun "playing" with glue.

Stay safe and go by the rules!!!

POWER, LOVE AND A SOUND MIND

SAINT PATRICK'S DAY

The little stand up card above is one of

a few I enjoyed making last week.

If you would like to make some Irish

Currant Scones HERE IS THE

RECIPE from a past post.

MORNING GLORY MUFFINS FOR TEATIME

Have you ever made Morning Glory Muffins

or Hummingbird Muffins?  I love them and

with a number of recipes I noticed that

a banana and mashed pineapple are the 2

distinctive ingredients.  Chopped pecans 
seem to be another popular ingredient.

For this post I am calling these
Morning Glory Muffins because I
have found the same recipe by
both names.  In the past I shared
this recipe and you can
 find Jean's recipe here
(as Hummingbird Muffins)

I have shared this tea cozy before too.  It
is made from embroidered napkins that my
Grandmother made for me over 51 years ago.
I use this for my Saint Patrick's Day cozy.

So here at my window I have set up a little teatime time for us.  I am using a couple of spoons and one of my little silver sugar nips as they are called.  Also, these spoons came 
from England and I was thrilled to get them.

These are commemorative spoons of
Queen Victoria's reign and Diamond
Jubilee in 1897.

It was hard to get reflections off those spoons.

Of course, we are drinking 

Irish Breakfast Tea! 

Outside things are changing.  We just
had 2 days of rain and everything
turned suddenly green.  Bulbs are coming
up and as you can see, I found a couple
of tiny daffodils in the front garden today.

I am playing this week with some crafting
and card making for Saint Patrick's Day so
here are some of the pictures I have clipped:

If you do make the muffins - I
know you will enjoy them!

WHEN THE PUSSY WILLOW BLOOMS

When summer comes I grumble

about the heat.  By July it is really

getting hot and we have a lot of

humidity.  Spring here in Missouri

is really lovely and does come very

early.  We have 4 distinctive seasons

and I do love that.

So in this early part of March I

am encouraged because I know that

spring will be here in the upcoming weeks

(and not just on the calendar).

So now the pussy willow is just beginning
to open it's buds.  The sight of it is
so hopeful and here and there bulbs are
popping out of the ground and 
forget-me-nots that survived our
milder winter.  These were the little baby ones
from the big dying mother plants. I am
glad that last fall and I planted them
 here and there.

I am very thankful to have a wonderful

sewing room and craft room to help

occupy the winter.  Now,  I look forward

to time in the garden and to see how

things might be this year.

Talking about the lovely weather seems
inappropriate in view of the tornado
devastation last night in Tennessee.
I have been praying for these people today
and ask you to join me.