Old Tea Pots and Young Hands

Last Tuesday, I wrote a post about my very casual
teapot collection, housed in a cupboard in our
Parlor.  I mentioned that probably the only tea pot
of any value is the cobalt and gilt Meissen.

That Hummel is the closest I'll ever get to a maid.

A reader left a lovely comment on last Tuesday's post,

about "peeking" into the Parlor cupboard:

". . . I do love peeking into cupboards , especially when filled with such delightful teatime treasures...I spied your Meissen immediately ... but of course one never really uses the expensive ones since it's always a worry that they'll get broken or cracked ..... So, " happy", is the cupboard filled with flea market china that have stories to tell."

Well, Zaa, you are partly right.  Any cupboard filled with

flea market treasures does have loads of stories to share.

But in this case, so does the Meissen tea pot!

The Meissen's in the middle, all snazzy with 19th century bling.

The Meissen tea pot was a gift to me from my in-laws.

They have found some of my favorite treasures, including this one.

 I have never drunk tea out of this pot.

But my daughters, and a number of their friends, have.

'Way back when. . . .

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

Remember, Moms, those elementary school days, when picking up

your own kids after school often meant someone else's

offspring was in the car and coming home to play?

Girls being girls no matter what the era,

playing often meant a tea party.

At our house, that meant real tea, real cookies, and real china.

In the dining room.

In our living room was a big old open stepback cupboard 

(it's now in our kitchen), and it was chock full of tea pots.

 The girls were allowed to choose their tea pots, with guests

getting first choice, of course, and no tea pot was off limits.

This was often quite a time-consuming process,

especially for newbies to the tea party ritual.

The tea pot had to be just right!

The Meissen was probably the most popular choice, followed by

our tea pot from Windsor Castle, the one with Queen Elizabeth:

And the Armada on the lid! 

Cookies were usually quite plain, because some tea cups

looked like this before the hot tea was poured in:

Ack!  Sugar!

The Meissen pot got a workout in the late 1990s.

Visiting little girls were quite awestruck by its gold-ness, and some

even questioned my wisdom in letting them use it.

"I trust you to be careful," I would tell them.

"What if I break it?  You'll be mad."

"No, I won't be mad.  I'll know it was an accident, and

we all make mistakes sometimes."

It's funny.  I hadn't thought about those tea parties in a long time,

until a reader commented about not using expensive things.

If these snazzy Japanese tea cups had been in my possession

'way back in my girls' school days, they would have been a hot item.

Haha . . . my fingers are reflected in the cup.  Holy moly -- they look like knockwursts!
These cups, a set of 6, came home with me from the Far Hills Visiting Nurses Association
Rummage Sale, which is the world's best sale ever.  No lie.  And it's this weekend.  Look it up!

Although they, too, would probably have looked like this

at Tea Time!

So the Meissen tea pot rarely had a chance to get dusty,

and served up dozens and dozens of cups of tea,

poured very carefully by chubby little girl hands

I wonder if it misses those days, stuck now on a shelf

where no little girl takes it down, grasps it in a death grip,

and carefully walks into the kitchen with it.

I know I do. -- Cass

Ah, Gretchen is cleaning up.
But do I spy her sweeping the crumbs under the lacy napkins?
Shame, shame.  No extra porridge for you, my girl!

Link Parties!

Sandi at Rose Chintz Cottage, and Tea Time Tuesday.  Click here!

Marty at A Stroll Thru Life -- it's Tabletop Tuesday.  Click here!

At Linda's Coastal Charm blog, it's Nifty Thrifty Tuesdays.  Click here!

Terri at Artful Affirmations is hosting Tea Cup Tuesday.  Click here!