"A combination of fine tea, enchanting objects and soothing surroundings exerts a therapeutic effect by washing away the corrosive strains and stress of modern life. . . [it] induces a mood that is spiritually refreshing. . . [and produces] a genial state of mind."      ~John Blofeld

"The cup of tea on arrival at a country house is a thing which, as a rule, I particularly enjoy.  I like the crackling logs, the shaded lights, the scent of buttered toast, the general atmosphere of leisured coziness."  ~ P. G. Wodehouse, The Code of the Woosters

"There are few hours in life more agreeable than the hour dedicated to the ceremony known as afternoon tea."
~ Henry James

"There is always a great deal of poetry and fine sentiment in a chest of tea."
~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

"The tea party is a spa for the soul.  You leave your cares and work behind. Busy people forget their business. Your stress melts away, your senses awaken. . ."
~ Alexandra Stoddard

"You can never get a cup of tea large enough or a book long enough to suit me."
~ C. S. Lewis

~ The Art of Tea and Friendship, Savoring the Fragrance of Time Together, Sandy Lynam Clough, Harvest House Publishers, 2003

On Writing Poetry ~

". . .but I am not a poet.  I can't necessarily create the thing that I study, any more than a lepidopterist can create a butterfly.
Well, OK, it's not quite that extreme.  Because poetry is made up of words, and we all use words, and I've learned something about how words work to make poetry, I can put words together in ways that I know will be effective; but that's almost a mechanical thing.

To take a risky analogy, a poem by me is to poetry as an illustration by Norman Rockwell is to art.  It's technically competent and might be interesting, or tell a story, or even more the person thinking about it - but it isn't quite art.  It's craftsmanship.

And anyway. . ., a poet is supposed to be a gentle soul and fascinating.  I fail on both counts."
~  Laurie Miller

"The figure a poem makes.  It begins in delight and ends in wisdom.  The figure is the same as for love."
~ Robert Frost (1874 - 1963) American Poet. Collected Poems (1939) "The Figure a Poem Makes"

Debra McBride

Debbie McBride ~ Working With Clay on Earth Day

There may be something to that tiny angel sitting atop the finished plate.  Every new potter in Debbie's class produces a work of art worthy of display.  "I am not embarrassed to show it off," said one beginner about her first effort.  Plates, platters, mugs ~ even orbs! ~ are options for learners.  Take your pick.  Prefer a Christmas ornament, a pendant or a tiny clay figure to keep your brown sugar soft?  You may choose to start small.

Rolling pins and fancy tools of all descriptions appear while Debbie skillfully demonstrates various techniques.  Rolling, cutting, crimping, applying texture, patching (that may come in handy), all amazingly possible for the novice with Debbie's guidance.

Kimberly Wiens Jeffrey, owner of Grindstone Creek Gallery, works quietly on a commissioned piece ~ a fascinating bowl with foliage-like detail on which sits a single frog.  It becomes obvious to the observer that this is a circle of dedicated artists.

Classes available. Everyone welcome.  All in a perfect setting ~ Grindstone Creek Gallery on King Street.  Look for the historic, red-brick gallery opposite the gazebo in the Village Green, downtown Cayuga-on-the-Grand.

Visit http://www.grindstonecreekgallery.com/ for a virtual tour and more information.

Limited Only by Your Imagination

Creative Gardening

Flea market & yard-sale finds.  Limited only by your imagination. . .


Photos:  lbwalker

Planning Your Garden? ~

  Books on choosing plants, layout, pleasures of potting. . . 

Thought for Today ~


"So what is my point?  Quite simply that increasingly in the media today, truth is being sacrificed to art (or at least artfulness);  reporting to literature.  No, this is not a matter of dumbing down; rather its opposite, dumbing up.  Newspapers are far more sophisticated, for cleverer, far better written than they ever were before; incomparably more entertaining and readable.  A column in The Times by Matthew Parris has even deservedly earned a place in the New Oxford Book of English Prose ~ the first column by a hack ever to do so; and it is only a matter of time before a news story in The Times wins a place in the next Oxford Book of English Fiction.


But therein lies the danger:  the picture of the world presented by the media is both much more beautiful and much more ugly, both much more eye-catching and much more dramatic, both much more simple and much more complicated, than in actuality it ever is." ~ Peregrine Worsthorne.


[This appeared in a 1999 book. Is 2012 even more "dumbed up?"]
~ The Penguin Book of Journalism, Secrets of the Press edited by Stephen Glover. 1999.