Day 269/366

Tea Cup Tuesday

What better time to showcase this Paragon teacup trio than in spring?

This is the fifth set in my trio collection.

I am determined not to make impulse buys but to make sure I have a trio I really like and one that is in good condition or better.

I think I may have let myself down a little bit on this set.  Perhaps it is a second.

The gold trim is in excellent condition.

There is a slight bubbling on the glaze, just over the lilacs and two light brown spots inside the cup.

There is also the slightest chip on the unglazed under-cup edge.

On the edge of the cake plate there is the smallest smudge that looks like pen ink.

I think it is a splodge of blue under-glaze.

On the same plate there is a scratch in the glaze.

Despite these imperfections, this trio is quickly becoming one of my favourite because lilacs are not often used on dinnerware. Unlike roses.

Terri, at Artful Affirmations is a wealth of information when it comes to tea cups.

At present she is filling in her readers on back stamping on tea cups.

Why don't you drop over and visit her on 

Tea Cup Tuesday.

I have linked to Tea Cup Tuesday at Artful Affirmations and Martha's Favourites.  

Day 160/366

It's off to work I go and meeting my daily photo challenge becomes more and more difficult.

So here is a photo from earlier in the week which showcases some beautiful teaspoons Mr Honey Pie's Mum passed down.

They are from Holland and each teaspoon's stem is a also a flower stem with bud head.

There is a viole(viooltje), lily of the valley (lelietjes vd) clover (klaver), poppy (papaver), rose (roos), and of course the tulip (tulp).

These are just a few of the beautiful teaspoons she left us.

When I was becoming acquainted with Mr Honey Pie, way back in the late 1960s, I was intrigued with the quaint silverware his family used daily.

Their cups of tea were a ritual and the teaspoons were really only used to stir the tea.  Sugar was spooned in to the cups with what I knew to be a teaspoon but after that this tiny bowled spoon was placed into each saucer and used to stir what was the best cup of tea I'd ever tasted.

Just like the British, the Dutch know how to make a good cup of tea.

Day 158/366

When you're feeling down,

...clean the silver.

I've never made a silver cleaning bath before; using washing soda and aluminium foil.

It caused quite a reaction...in more ways than one!

Here is my latest vintage china acquisition.

A fluted Wedgwood with gold trim.  

Very simple but elegant in its simplicity.

Mr Honey Pie said this is the masculine edition of the very feminine 

Royal Albert trio I blogged about recently.

I purchased this from my favourite vintage shop in Springwood:  Frou Frou, using a gift voucher my daughter gave me for mother's day.

Linking to Terri's & Martha's : Teacup Tuesday.

Day 143/366

Tea Cup Tuesday

Such simplicity, such elegance.

Just what I've come to expect from Royal Albert.

Doesn't it just remind you of a ballerina's tutu?

Swan Lake I'd say.

Purchased from one of my favourite shops in Springwood, Frou Frou.

My Darling Daughter gave me a gift voucher on Mother's Day.  I should have enough left to buy another trio once Parisa finds some more.

The trio is in perfect condition.

The heavily embossed teaspoons are inherited from my Mother-in-law and are from the Netherlands. 

The handle is classical Royal Albert.

I have linked to Terri's Teacup Tuesday.

Do stop by and see what treasures others are sharing.