This is my wish cup...

This is my wish tea cup. It is pretty tiny....about three inches across for the cup and about four and a half inches for the saucer. I must admit, I have an obsession. I want tea cups. I crave tea cups. Every Tuesday, I gaze longingly at the beautiful tea cups that people on Tea Cup Tuesday. They are so lovely! They are big and had unusual shapes and often have real gold trim.

This is my starter tea cup. It lives on my bedside table and I see it every morning. It has a surprise in the bottom of the cup. A very sweet flower!!!

What I like best about my wish cup is the colors. It has wonderful pink and cranberry roses and the flourishes around the roses are turquoise, and a bright turquoise at that. It even has a little gold around the inside rim!

When I turn it over to show its pedigree (like you all do)...well, not much of a pedigree. It is Hong Kong, not Royal This or Royal That. Above the emblem are some scratchy black letters that say, "NOT FOR FOOD USE." Oh dear, I guess I can't show you a picture of me drinking Aveda tea (soft and soothing).

Still, I love it. And I have a funny feeling...this is only the beginning!

I have been blessed..

"If the only prayer in your life is thank you, that would suffice."

Meister Eckhart

This year has been a hard beyond anything I have ever imagined. I have been held together by so many people, by friends and family and, of course, the caring of my sisters in Blogland.
"Thank you" seems so small.

I have struggled with this a lot. It seems I have been constantly on the receiving end, with a thank you list so long, that I can't imagine getting to the bottom.  It has been such a tender and sensitive time and you have been so loving and gracious.

So, I continue to pick little things up when I see something that reminds me of a certain person. I struggle to create, but that has been the hardest. I cannot create to sell right now. I cannot to create for myself. Sometimes I can create for one of you.  I scrounge through my stash for those little things that I could pass on. I continue to make my bundles...some little, some big.

I just finished a couple of them.

This is for a friend in Germany who likes to read books written in English...

And this is for a friend who imagines being a mermaid...

I hope that the friends receiving them will understand that this is my way of saying thank you.
In the words of one of my favorite authors...


"Here are the two best prayers I know...help me, help me, help me...
and thank you, thank you, thank you."
Anne Lamott

Special thanks to Stefanie Fauth for taking the last two pictures for me on her fancy phone!

If Your Name is HOPE, Don't Look...!!!

If your name is Hope...you are an inspiration to me.

If your name is Hope...you made lovely presents for the Committee of Mothers and sent me a beautiful "mustard seed" necklace (that I wear all the time) for a little "extra surprise." 

If your name is Hope...this is for you. It looks like a lot and, really, a lot of it is "hand-me-downs" and "shares" that I wrapped up pretty (but I think you will like them).

If your name is Hope...please appreciate that these gifties have been sitting on my bedroom for a long time and my husband is happy to see them go!

If your name is Hope...you keep me in your prayers.

If your name is Hope...you are a very special woman, one I am glad to call a friend. 

The Royal Wedding...

Yes, it really was a Royal Wedding, one of the most incredibly beautiful weddings I have ever attended. The wedding was held in the historic Flood Mansion which overlooked the San Francisco Bay.

We all arrived in great spirits. Kat's boyfriend, Ashton and I shared a laugh...

...then Jud and I shared a kiss in front of the huge bay window. It was a little cloudy but the sun came up and there was...

...the beautiful view of the Golden Gate bridge.

After wine and fabulous hors d'oeuvres, the Reaney Family Club waited for the wedding to begin.

The service was beautiful. A couple who were friends of the bride and groom officiated.

All too soon, the wedding was over and Karen and Cortland were husband and wife.

Then the room was rearranged and the tables were set up. 

They were decorated with planted trees which had real white orchids wired to the branched.

The table settings were lovely. Each one had a gold charger and a copy of the menu.

I had "beef two-ways." It had both filet mignon and braised ribs covered with a rich wine sauce.

Then there were lovely toasts. Karen and Cort were deeply touched. 

The bride and her father danced together. The rest of us looked on a snuffled.

Katie danced with Jud, as the evening light trickled through the windows. I danced three dances and was done with that for the night! We dined on a dessert buffet, rather than a wedding cake. It was a nice touch.

Then my limo came and took me away. Well, to be honest, it was a big bus that took me home but it took me right to the door of our B and B! 

It was a special wedding. It is so moving to watch the children of our dear friends get married. 

Thank you, Karen and Cort and Charlie and Kathie, for such a touching, memorable time.

(Thank you to our dear friend, Iver, (aka Greg Iverson) for the pictures of the RFClub and the recessional of the  bride and groom.)