"I can just imagine myself sitting down at the head of the table and pouring out the tea, " said Anne, shutting her eyes ecstatically. "And asking Diana if she takes sugar! I know she doesn't but of course I'll ask her just as if I didn't know. And then pressing her to take another piece of fruit-cake and another helping of preserves. Oh, Marilla, it's a wonderful sensation just to think of it."
~Anne Shirley, from Anne of Green Gables, L.M. Montgomery, copyright 1908.
My good friend Sandy at
Rose Chintz Cottage is hosting an "Anne of Green Gables" Tea Party tomorrow! I received her invitation a little over a week ago, but I've been so busy lately that I didn't know if I would be able to make it to the party. So I decided to have my own little "Anne of Green Gables" tea party right here in my dining room this afternoon, with my lovely "Anne of Green Gables" Madame Alexander doll as the hostess.
"Anne" was one of my mother's collection of Madame Alexander dolls, and the only one that I truly cared about receiving from her estate. Why? Well, because "Anne" and I have a little known shared secret. When my mother was a young girl she dearly loved reading the "Anne of Green Gables" series of books written by Lucy M. Montgomery. I can recall hearing her talk about these stories many times as I was growing up, particularly because of the very special bond we shared. You see, when I was born the first thing my mother heard the doctor announcing was, "A little redhead!" Up to that point in time I don't believe my parents had fully determined what my name would be, although several dubious choices had been considered. When my mother heard that I was a redhead, she immediately thought of her favorite heroine from her childhood, "Anne, spelled with an
e," and my name was finally decided. I would be named
Pamela Anne, and
Anne would be spelled with an
e, just like "Anne of Green Gables". I don't know if my mother considered what kind of child Anne Shirley was in those stories and that by naming me after her I might be somewhat
like her, but the name took, and I was christened
Pamela Anne Mursch shortly thereafter.
Back to the present...since I couldn't be officially a part of the tea party over at "Rose Chintz Cottage" tomorrow, (although I might pop in and surprise them with this story), I wanted to go ahead and arrange this little tea party today. Of course, in order for one to host a tea party, and invitation should be sent,
and so the invitation was sent to Anne's "bosom friend" Diana, her true "kindred spirit" to come over to tea one lovely October afternoon.
For "Diana", I have chosen another of my mother's dolls, this one is actually named "Rebecca", and is one of the Boyd's Collection of "Yesterday's Child" dolls. I actually had given this particular doll to my mother as a birthday gift for her 85th birthday. She is a beautiful little girl, looking much like I would expect Diana of this story to appear. Marilla's description of Diana in "Anne of Green Gables" said that
"Diana is a very pretty little girl. She has black eyes and hair and rosy cheeks. And she is good and smart, which is better than being pretty." (Anne of Green Gables, Chapter VIII, "Anne's Bringing-Up Is Begun". )
So now, everything is all set for the party to begin...The tea things are set out on the table, the tea pot and cups, the cake, and then of course, who could forget about the infamous "raspberry cordial"...
Well, unfortunately for Anne, she gave Diana the wrong bottle of "Raspberry Cordial", which ended up being Marilla's "currant wine", which had been made only for medicinal purposes...and poor Diana got awfully dizzy and sick...alas, even somewhat "tipsy"....and poor Anne was really into trouble over that terrible mistake.
My tea party didn't end up quite that way...our young ladies only sipped the tea..and the "raspberry cordial" was actually fruit punch left over from our picnic yesterday...so they were perfectly safe!
and our young ladies became true "bosom friends" forever!
The End.
I hope you enjoyed my little tea party today. Someday perhaps you can come over and have a real tea party with me! And we could be "bosom friends forever" too!
For another story of a previous tea party with "Kindred Spirits", go to the following link entitled,
"A Kindred Spirit" .
Thank you for stopping by and visiting with me today. Be sure to visit
Rose Chintz Cottage tomorrow to participate in the other "Anne of Green Gables" tea parties hosted by our other blogging friends. Maybe I'll see you there!
Postscript: I wanted to mention the lovely little placecard holders that are holding the cute hat-name cards for Anne and Diana. These are "COALPORT" Bone China placecard holders, made in England. My son actually found these left behind in an old house that was being renovated. The current owner had no interest in them, so he made them a gift to me! What a sweet little present! There are five of them in total, and no two are alike!
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I apologize that the picture isn't clearer. I was trying to get another picture when
my memory card in my camera became "full"...and I do not have a
replacement yet! Oh well...you get the idea!
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Thank you for inviting me to your Anne of Green Gables tea. I enjoyed it. You really had a great tea. I too have a small collection of dolls but unfortunatly I don't have a Madame Alexander doll. She is pretty.
ReplyDeleteHello Sylvia, I am so happy you stopped by for tea today. It helped to make a long Sunday afternoon go by so much more pleasantly! You are welcome to come to tea with me anytime! My mother had quite a collection of Madame Alexanders, and some were given to her granddaughters and great-granddaughters upon settling my parents' estate this past year, but this was the one I chose to keep...and the one I knew my mother had wanted me to have, for the reasons already stated. I have a couple of other smaller M.A. dolls that were gifts to me as a child from my grandmother and my mother, so they are special as well. I am not a serious doll collector, but have been given several dolls throughout the years by friends and my husband, so I have enjoyed "playing" with them! Never too old to enjoy the "finer" things of life! Like tea parties and "bosom friends". Have a blessed day, and come back again!
DeleteThank you for inviting me to your tea party. It was refreshing. I really enjoyed hearing about the dolls.
ReplyDeleteThank you for coming! I enjoyed this brief moment of rest from my work to enjoy a cup of tea with you! I appreciate you taking the time from your busy schedule as well!!
DeleteYour dolls are gorgeous and perfect for Sandi's Anne of Green Gables Tea. Happy Tea Day!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Snap! I am so glad you stopped by today for tea. Anne and Diana enjoyed sharing their tea time with you! Please do come again!
DeleteA very creative and beautiful post! Love your dolls and the tea table!!!
ReplyDeleteThank you Beth! We had such a lovely time! I'm happy you dropped in for a visit. Anne and Diana appreciate your kind words! I hope you'll stop by again sometime!
DeleteHi Pamela,
ReplyDeleteWhat a delightful tea you have shared with us today! The dolls are so sweet. I especially like Rebecca holding the teacup! I collected dolls for a while but my interests turned once again to tea things as one can have only so many dolls. I'm so happy you could join me for tea today and I hope your week is pleasant.
Blessings,
Sandi
Thank you, Sandi! I am so happy that you visited with us today and shared our teatime! I do appreciate your "invitation" that sparked the imagination! I had such fun with Anne and "Diana" (Rebecca) yesterday afternoon. I do have several more dolls...some day I will have to do a "group tea party" for all of them so they can enjoy the fun as well! I'm going to stop by your tea party in a few minutes. I peeked in the windows earlier, but didn't have time to stop! Such fun!
DeleteYou spent a great deal of time on this post and it is wonderful!
ReplyDeleteOh thank you, Bernideen. I had such great fun putting it together! Any excuse for an "old lady" to play with her dolls again! I am so glad you popped in for a visit! Do come again soon!!
DeleteWhat a lovely tea, your dolls are beautiful, as well as your china pieces, I so enjoyed it. Also, the place card holders are pretty special, a nice gift. Thank you for sharing...
ReplyDeleteThank you, Betty! I am so happy that you stopped by for a visit and a cup of tea! This was so much fun!!
DeleteHi! I am glad to meet you! Came over from Sandi's. What a wonderful tea for Anne. Love the Coalport bone china place card holders. Now that's a well trained son!
ReplyDeleteRuth
Hello Ruth! I am so happy you stopped by to chat with me today...and I'm glad you enjoyed my little mini-tea party with Anne and Diana! Yes, the place card holders were a real surprise from my youngest son, who you wouldn't think would even notice anything so special as that! I must've done something right! Ha! Thank you again! I will have to come visit your teaparty soon!!!
DeleteHi, it's me again! I've enjoyed reading back through your posts....and,in fact, have had a personal moment of revelation! I have become a follower. Joan
ReplyDeleteHi Joan, I got your messages...and thank you for becoming my newest "follower"! You have encouraged me today by your words. Sometimes we writers get discouraged thinking that no one is really paying attention to what we write...and then someone comes along and tells you otherwise. That is just the spark I needed today to get back to the basics of why I started writing in the first place---to be a messenger of God's hope and encouragement to others from the midst of my own personal struggles and encounters with God. Once in a while I take a little detour out into funsville and have a tea party or some other fun event, but then I realize I need to get back to where I started from. Thank you again. I am looking forward to getting better acquainted with you in the future!! Blessings, Pam.
DeleteHi Pamela,
ReplyDeleteLovely tea with Anne and Diana!
I loved seeing the old book covers, too.
Thanks for joining this party and sharing.
Greetings from Portugal :)
Oh how delightful!! All the way from Portugal! I feel so honored and blessed to have you visit my little tea party! Thank you. I also love old books...you may want to look at one of my "pages" on this blog "A Few of My Favorite Things" and you will see several more interesting old book covers. I will look forward to getting better acquainted with you in the future. Blessings to you today. Pam
DeleteHi Pamela,
ReplyDeleteEverything looks so lovely. I loved your Anne post! Your dolls and tea setting is beautiful. Thanks for sharing. Have a wonderful week.
Blessings,
Lisa
Good Morning, Lisa! Thank you for joining me for tea with Anne and Diana! I'm so glad you stopped by! This was a fun little tea party. I've met some wonderful new people as a result. Blessings to you this week as well.
DeletePam
Well... Anne is another thing we have in common, Pam (besides our names and enjoying cups of tea, and most of all the Lord).. I don't remember the books when I was young, but fell in love with the movie from Sullivan Enterprises and have been hooked ever since. Love your Madame Alexander doll too. I've never seen one of Anne. Fun post!
ReplyDeleteI'm so glad you love Anne as much as I do. I really didn't read the books either until I was older...even though my mother talked about her all the time. I don't think she had a copy of the book at our home until later either, when we both discovered old copies in an antique store! My mother collected the M.A. dolls...and I was so thrilled that she bought this one and promised it to me. Yes, She's very special to me.
DeleteI am so glad that we share our love of the Lord as well...He is the bond that causes our friendships to blossom for eternity! Hooray!
Forgot to say... I LOVE your English placeholders. Unbelievable that they were about to be discarded. England and all things British have always been close to my heart...as I often relate in my blog...
ReplyDeleteI was so tickled to finally have a way to show them to others. I just love them...they are so dainty and beautifully crafted. I'm glad you like them! Please do come have tea with me someday! We'll use them to identify ourselves in case we forget each other's names! :)
Delete