A Birthday Tea for Aunt Jane

My Aunt Jane herself would tell you that today is a very important birthday: she's 60. My mother's younger sister, Aunt Jane is mildly mentally retarded and doesn't always get the year right, but she certainly gets the date right, and we could hardly get through the tea being held in her honor without Aunt Jane asking if we were going to sing "Happy Birthday" to her again. (I say "again" because my parents, with whom she has lived since my grandmother passed away 12 years ago, sang it to her as soon as she woke this morning.)

Growing up close to an aunt with a mental "issue" was no doubt very good for me and my sister and gave us lots of exposure to those who are "different," so I think because of that we are probably comfortable around a lot of different types of people. Aunt Jane can be a challenge sometimes, as my sainted parents know well, but she is also tremendously good-hearted and quite a lady to boot. So today I had the day off work and my family and I helped dear Aunt Jane to celebrate. Here she gets a hug from her great-niece Amelia.


Also at the tea were my mom, my sister, my two other nieces, and my sister's mother-in-law, Daresa (rhymes with Teresa), above with Amelia, who is visiting from Texas. She is always lots of fun, so I am always happy when she's in town and can join in our celebrations. (I'd show a picture of the table where my mom and Aunt Jane were, but mom had her eyes closed in both photos and would have a spell if she saw that one published.)

But here's what her table looked like.


On the table in the dining room, I used this tea set that was a gift from Aunt Jane.


I was very happy to be able to use two vintage teapot-themed tablecloths I've found in recent months, this one ...

... and this one.


And I can't resist showing off some photos of the nieces, so here's Madison ...

And here's Cari. I bought this dress recently at a Collins and Wood estate sale imagining she would enjoy playing dress up in it. She did.

And here's Amelia. And as Amelia rather bluntly told me at one point, "That's enough pictures." If you don't mind, I'll share a few more tomorrow and share some recipes as well!