This week between Christmas and New Year’s is always one of my favorite times of the year. The hustle and bustle leading up to Christmas has passed, and it’s a calmer, quieter time, and a time for reflection. This is the week I think about plans for the new year and what I hope to accomplish. Like many of us, I’ll be making my plans with a few tea-ish Christmas gifts at hand, including this teacup that Alex got me (I found it and he enabled it, ha!). This may well be the prettiest teacup I’ve ever had, and it is absolutely one of the most fragile. “Eggshell-thin” is a good description, and while I definitely plan to use it (what’s the point, otherwise?), I’m holding it by the base as well as the handle when it’s full of tea and at its heaviest, just in case.
The bottom of the teacup is marked M.Z. Austria.
The bottom of the saucer isn’t marked at all.
I just love all the roses and the scallops and the elaborate handle.
Daddy gives my sister and me money and tells us to go pick out our gifts at Christmas, so I bought some new teas and some new books with mine. One of the teas I got was this Raspberry Coconut blend from Tea Forté, and I’m enjoying it so much. I’m having the (slightly) fruity tea in between some of the mint teas I tend to wear out over Christmas.
So during this tea-sipping time of reflection, I’ve been thinking about how to approach 2021. The COVID pandemic is by no means over once the calendar turns to 2021, and someone online wrote about how, because of that, she’s anticipating another year that’s not very good. That just struck me as a bit of a self-fulfilling prophecy. I don’t want to be a Pollyanna, but I do think our attitude about life has much to do with how we experience it. I thought it was interesting timing that last week, a Christian speaker I heard in January of 2020 posted online about how she is determined to be "defiantly joyful." Wow, how I love that! I've never been one to choose a word or words for the year, but I think 2021 is a good time to try something new, so while I don't want to be delusional, I'm aiming to be "defiantly joyful" too. (Really, what is there to lose with that attitude?)So that's what I've been up to over the last few days. What about you, friends?
That's exciting that you got that beautiful MS Austria teacup for Christmas! I read that that particular mark indicates that it was made between 1884 and 1909. I like that "defiantly joyful" attitude--I'll keep that in mind in 2021!
ReplyDeleteOh I love "defiantly joyful". The is one gorgeous teacup too. So perfect for you with the roses.
ReplyDeleteI love defiantly joyful. I think we all should do this in 2021.
ReplyDeleteYour teacup is beautiful.
What a beautiful teacup! I'm so glad it found it’s way to,you. And I like the “defiantly joyful” idea, too.
ReplyDeleteI did NOT insert that apostrophe in “its”, by the way!
ReplyDeleteHa! Autocorrect will be the death of us (and for some reason, it is hard to make it go away on Blogger.)
DeleteBeautiful teacup, Angela, and I love the phrase, 'you found it - Alex enabled it!' ;-)
ReplyDeleteI've been reading a lot about Joy and Peace in Sarah Young's devotional book. One of my favorite Christian singing groups is the Collingsworth Family. At the beginning of the pandemic when everything was being cancelled, Kim Collingsworth was inspired to write "Joy is Not cancelled". Wishing you and Alex a blessed and happy 2021.