China Far And Near, and Dion Speaks!

If you are new to That Old House, you might not
know that a month ago, our daughter got married.

Alida, our daughter, on the right.  Josh, not-our-daughter but our newly minted son, on the left.

After their New Jersey wedding, Alida and Josh returned to their new apartment in Los Angeles,

and then took off for a 3-week honeymoon in China.  They got back to California on Sunday.

Much to the relief of all their parents!

They have jillions of pictures, and Alida says that when things settle down

for them, she will do a couple of guest posts about their China adventure for That Old House.

About places they visited

I spy the terracotta warriors!  Look behind you!

 

And about things they ate.

 Look!  Blue and white china!

 Love the Tablescape, below.  I think I need one of those pots.  Goodwill, maybe?

Mmmmm . . . .

And even about things they cooked.

 If Josh knows how to vacuum, I see a long and happy married life ahead of them.

 Well, I see that anyway.

Now my daughter is a little like me, in that she can be moving in a straight line toward a goal,

and find several detours along the way.  But we'll remind her of her promise to guest blog, won't we?

Tourist!

***************************************

Speaking of china . . . 

it's what we need to make a Tablescape on this Thursday, a day in which I have been

detouring 

to fabric sites online and other tempting distractions and not settling down to the task at hand.

Focus!

And let's have tea in the Parlor, shall we?

A couple of weeks ago, I scored a Queen Anne style mahogany tea table at an antiques mall.

For 47 dollars.

I have only cleaned it -- not refinished it -- and popped it into the Parlor, where I think it looks right at home.

Today, we put the tea table to work, in the Parlor that just last week looked like this:

Now, that's a big improvement!

Dion is convinced there must be crumbs here somewhere!  He can smell cookies.

Pictures of the tea table, awash in blue and white.

 Johnson Brothers Indies Blue china cups, sugar and creamer -- one of my very favorite patterns.

 A blue and white tea pot.

 And the cake plate I got at Goodwill on Monday is already making itself useful.

 Made in China, it is not food safe (probably lead in the glaze) so I am using a little cobalt-and-gilt plate to hold

the dark chocolate cookies atop the pedestal plate.  I can hear my husband:  "What? We have cookies at home?"

 Sugar for our tea, in the shape of little pink roses.

A silver bud vase, fashioned from vintage flatware.  I love this piece, a gift from my sister-in-law Phyllis.

 On the mantel . . . not much.  We're going spare and Zen today,

because I am completely out of ideas for jazzing up the fireplace.

"I sniffed that whole floor and no crumbs.  What's up with that?"

Mr. Dion DiPoochy lodges his complaint

about cookies that are out of his reach!

Click to view; it's short.

Dion has perfected that high-pitched yap for when he really wants to get your attention.

Or a Beanie Baby tossed at him.  -- Cass

Linky Parties for Thursday!

At Between Naps On The Porch, it's the Mother of All Linky Parties -- Tablescape Thursday.  Click here!

At Tales from Bloggeritaville, check out Thrifty Thursday.  Click here!

Colorado Lady gives us Vintage Thingy Thursday.  Click here!

and

At Shabby Chic Cottage, it's Transformation Thursday.  Click here!