NanoWriMo! Hooray!

What the heck is that you say???
Nanowrimo is an abbreviation for National Novel Writing Month and it begins today.
Yea!
During the month of November hundreds of thousands of people pledge to write a 50,000 word novel in the 30 days. Yes, you read that right! If a participant finishes before midnight on the 3oth of November they are considered a winner.

This will be my third year participating. I have won twice before. My dear hubby has also won twice. This year I am writing the sequel to my novel from last year "The House With Three Front Doors". Both my husband and I are quite thrilled to be writing again this year.

Are any of your writers? Are any of you published authors? Have any of you ever dreamed of writing a novel? I would love to hear from any of you who may also love writing stories.

Hugs to you All
Terri

Tea Cup Tuesday in England

Hello All and Welcome to Tea Cup Tuesday!
Just look at this beautiful English Pub. The flowers adorning it are just stunning! Wouldn't it be lovely to have tea here, by a window in the sun.

I wish I had more time to tell you about my travels here in England. I am busy visiting with my friend and traveling to see different sites around the country side. You may not believe this...but antique tea cups seem to be pretty scarce here in shops. I finally decided why...everyone is still using theirs! But I was able to find two tea cups this weekend.

This first one I call my Fruit Cup, it is well used and I am sure well loved.
I am already enjoying the use of it.

It has beautiful fruit in the bottom of the cup....

....and simple gold floral decorations on the side.

I think that this stamp is a Crown China back stamp, but I am not sure. Does anyone out there recognize it? I know it was made after 1920, but that is all I know.

Isn't this an adorable violet cup? The bright purples and greens are quite lovely.

This one was made by Hammersley and Co. As usual for a pottery company, this one too went through many changes over the years, and now is part of Spode China. This cup could be dated anywhere between 1936 and 1963(?). I did find out that this pattern is called "Victorian Violets" and it has many variations over the years.

I want to tell you all how thankful I am for all your visits! I also want to welcome new participants in Tea Cup Tuesday. I have enjoyed visiting all your blogs! Thank you also, those of you who have become "followers".
If you would like to join in Tea Cup Tuesday, please post about a tea cup of yours and share it's history, how you came to have it, where it is from or who it is made by. Martha and I love seeing all your tea cups! Don't forget to stop by and see Martha as well. She is a dear soul and collects everything under the sun....do I have that right Martha? (giggle!).
Once you have made your post, come back here and sign in with Mr. Linky. Please do not sign up if you do not have a tea cup in your post. Also, make sure that you click on your own link once Mr. linky gets it up, just to check and make sure it works. I still have trouble each with with a couple links. I don't want to miss out on visiting any one of you.

Hugs to you all and have a fabulous week!
Terri

Tea Cup Tuesday from England

Hello All and welcome to Tea Cup Tuesday.
In case you have not seen my last post, I am in England. So I am posting this from Southampton today. I apologize for two things: One, for being late today, and two, for not really having a tea cup to show you. I have been here for 3 days now, and I have not yet found a tea cup. I did though purchase two lovely antique plates from a street fair in Winchester. Next week I will indeed have found a tea cup to share (if not more than one!). I also had a lovely tea.

Here I am with my tea cup in a truly lovely little tea room in Glastonbury.
Can you tell I haven't really slept for 3 nights now????
The tea cup was pretty, but not old at all. The tea itself was really, really good!

This little tea shop is quaint and comfortable. The begonias in the window were so beautiful, so healthy.

This is my dear friend standing in front of the tea room. We have been blessed with some really good weather so far.

I had the most delicious profiteroles with my tea! Oh yum, yum! Especially yum considering I have been off sugar for ages!

Waking up at our BandB this morning, we were greeted by the rising sun outside our window!

We could see the Tor and the remaining tower of a very old abbey as well from our bedroom window. It was a really beautiful sight!

These were on the windowsill of our bedroom. I don't have a tripod with me on this trip, so my photos are not really clear.

Thank you all so very much for stopping by!
I hope that each of you are having a very good week.
I look forward to seeing your tea cups today.
Please stop by and see Martha at Martha's Favorites.
Hugs,
Terri
To join in Tea Cup Tuesday:
Share one of your tea cups on your post, how you came to have it, why you love it, who made it...things like that. Then come back and sign up with Mr. Linky below. Please click on your own link once it is up to double check it works. Last week I was unable to visit a few people.

First Day in England

Hello All
Believe it or not, I am in England today.
Southampton to be exact.
I am here visiting my dear friend.
We had a lovely day!

(So....do I look excited or what???)

Here we are having a delicious pub lunch.

The Bridge in is totally charming! Inside it is full of antique tables and mismatched chairs. The ceiling is white washed timbers, and the paned windows let in warm sunshine.

I had my first visit to Winchester Cathedral. It is quite the magnificent place. The town of Winchester itself is very interesting. So many things to see! We will be going back to see more.

Jane Austen is buried in the cathedral. There is a lovely exhibit about her and her family. Jane is one of my all time favorite authors. Her books sit on my bedside table. I felt great appreciation for her and her life while standing by her memorial.

We went for a walk along a steam by the pub. It was so beautiful, so tranquil. I thoroughly enjoyed my first day here.

Thank you so much for stopping by.
Hugs,
Terri

Tea Cup Tuesday

Hello Everyone!
Welcome to another Tea Cup Tuesday!!!
Thank you all for coming by and seeing my tea cup.
Martha and I love hosting this party, and hope that you will join and show us your lovely tea cups. Make sure you stop by and she what Martha is showcasing today, her cups are gorgeous!

I have saved this cup for October, because of it is black and gold. Seemed more fitting to have it near Halloween. I have adorned it with some of our first colored maple leaves of the season. I bought this cup because it is clearly hand painted. Everyone of those Fleur de lis are done by hand. No two seem to be alike.

It has one of my favorite style of handles. It has a bit of a fancy split loop with a gilded thumb rest. I find these handles easy to use.

Amongst all the dark colors is this pretty poesy of pinks, blues, reds, yellows and greens. There is also plenty of gold trims.

I love the foot of this cup. It is scalloped and totally golden. I love it!

And here you can see that it was made by Royal Stafford, which is an English company originally called Thomas Poole. It was founded in 188o and then re-formed, with another company Gladstone China, in 1952 when it became known as Royal Stafford. The 1845 date might be alluding to the companies inception. I can only say that this cup was created after 1952. I wish I knew more, but I did not find any examples on the net about R.S. backstamps.

In a nearby little town, I found this curious situation at a lovely vintage shop decorated for fall.
He/She is sleeping peacefully.......wonder what kinds of dreams.......

Here is a full view of the store window.....I just found it so sweet and comical at the same time!
He/She is holding that birdie so gently! I wonder if He/She sleeps by that birdie sticker on the window every day?

To finish off, here is a photo of a rose at a nearby park. It is cooling off at night, but still quite warm in the day. So we have falling leaves and beautiful roses at the same time.

What a joy!

Thank you so much for joining me today. If you have a tea cup or two you would like to share with us, please make your post and then come back and fill in the two blanks below with Mr. Linky. We would love to come over and see your tea cups!
Tell us how you came to have your cup.
Tell us about the maker and what you love about it.
Hugs,
Terri

Mixed Media Mary Shrine

Hello All,
Today I spent some time in my art room. It was a beautiful morning....the window was open and a slight breeze was flowing in...I could heard the birds singing their morning song.....All is Well.

I began my "Sacred Heart" shrine because I am reading the book "Traveling with Pomegranates" by Sue Monk Kidd. Sue's journey is similar to mine, and I am finding her story very inspiring. I was surprised to see this months Mixed Media Monday challenge was to create a shrine! So here it is.

Just below Mary are words that say "The Fire at the bottom of my Heart" This is a statement from the book. I don't want to give it away though...so I won't explain it : )
I hope that you are enjoying this week and creating something from your heart.
Hugs,
Terri

Tea Cup Tuesday Blues

Hello All!
Time again for Tea Cup Tuesday.
I am so enjoying Tuesdays with you all.
Martha and I are having so much fun sharing tea cups with you!
Before I start though, I have a question for those of you using Blogger. Are you all getting the "Service Unavailable" message lately? Are you getting it often? I am even getting it when I try to comment on blogger's posts. So it may not take my comment at all, or take several tries. Let me know if any of you are experiencing this as well.

O.k....back to Tea Cups! Yea!

Today I am showing you a special cup. Not usually my color. But I do like to pick up cups that I find different. This one is different for two reasons (at least in my humble opinion).

First is its very intense blue coloring (as you can see at the photo above), and all the gold on it. It really does have a great deal of gold details and edges.

As well as the vibrant roses inside and on the center of the plate.

A fancy split loop handle with a small thumbrest.

And here is the second reason it is different to me, it is signed by the artist. This is the first signed piece I have. I know Martha has some, maybe many...right Martha?
Reginald Johnson was only 14 years old when he started working with Doulton in 1923!

This cup was produced by Paragon. This backstamp is a little odd from what I can tell researching it. It could be from 1960-1963. The odd part is that the backstamp looks exactly like the one that began in 63, except that it says "China Potters" instead of "Manufactured by".

Not too long ago I stopped in a thrift store, and I spotted these two beautiful glass tea cups. No saucers, I will have to keep an eye out for matches. I just thought the coloring was gorgeous. They were also only $1. So I brought them home! I am thinking these are depression glassware. I know some of you out there know all about this type of glass. I would love to hear anything you can share with me about these. Thank you so much : )

Thank you so very much for stopping by today.
If you would like to share one or more of your tea cups with us then sign in below with Mr. Linky and you will be automatically added to the list.
Show up your Tea Cup
Tell us how you came to have it.
Tell us about the cup itself, who made it...
We love hearing your stories about your tea cups!

I want to thank all of you for your comments. I do go to all of your posts. Sometimes though, a link won't work and I can not get the info from your profile to find your blog. So double check to make sure your link works after you enter your info into the two blank spaces for Mr. Linky.
I also want to thank all of you who help me out with information about my tea cups, or about photography. I really appreciate all your help.
Hugs,
Terri