On Its Coming, Thank You:

The Annual Thankfulness Tea Party is coming up in just a few weeks.

On the Weekend of February 19-20, 2011.

You are all invited. In fact I wish I could have you all here at my place. (But unfortunately Lady Long, my dog, is ill and I’m not having anyone over for the time being because of it.)

Not that I have the space for all of you, but it would be nice to party with you face to face.

So pick your date. Invite whom you choose. And join in the fun.

1. Have some party foods of your liking. (It does not have to be a Victorian tea if you don’t want it to.) Do a theme or be very relaxed. It is up to you.

2. Have it with friends or family or all by yourself. Its up to you.

3. Take the time to write down a list of things you are thankful for. And have the people at your party do the same.

4. Take the time to enjoy the goodness in your life.

I hope you can all join me.

On Let Me Explain:

Sometimes I forget that people move on and others take their place. My follower totals stay pretty steady, but when I look to see who is there, I see some new names and avatars.

So to keep the my newer readers up to speed I’ll explain the Thankfulness Tea Party.

Nothing political about it. It is just what it sounds like. Being thankful for things in your life and celebrating them.

Once a year I have a Thankfulness Tea Party. I’ve been doing this for way too many years to really remember when it started. But I started adding it to my blog a few years ago.

The idea is to have a Thankfulness Tea Party of your own making. A link to one of my parties.

I dress fancy, have classical music playing and using my best tea set, I put out the lace table cloths and linen napkins. I add goodies to eat and flowers on the table.

How far you go is up to you. The idea is to have fun, be thankful, and do something for yourself, along with others if you choose to invite them.

The only other thing you need is pens, paper or blank note books for each person invited to the party and time to write the things you are thankful for. (More about this in another posting.) Some folks share their thoughts, others do not. It is not required.

That is all there is to it. Some people have koolaid and sandwiches on a blanket picnic in the parlor with the kids, others have alone time and a favorite snack in a comfortable place. It is all up to you.

I’ll be posting the date soon, usually one of the last two weekends in February. I state the whole weekend so more people can join in without missing work or other obligations if the one day is already filled on your calendar. But this gives you time to think about whether you want to join in and time to get your party together if you do.

On Learning to be Happy with Less:

I am trying to be happy without Rupert the computer. This is hard because I got him as a ‘getting through chemo’ gift. I had been having trouble playing all my games on my older smaller computer.

I’ll say it now, I love my computer games. I play one or another each and every day.

Not for hours on end. Though I could, if I let myself. And on rare occasion I do go hole hog and play until my eyes get all blood shot and I just have to stop.

Puzzle games, Memory games, Sims games, Educational games, Goofy games, Fantasy games, Collection games, and even the rare Kill’um games. I love them all.

I miss my Sims families. I want to build houses and sculpt gardens. I want to save forests with my fairy friends. I crave playing spider solitaire with the newer Vista version.

But the thing I miss the most is my full Skype phone connection and talking to my friends around the world.

Yes, the Lady herself is on Skype. I Skype my daughter, mother and others for free. They don’t have video cameras and you don’t need them for Skype, only a microphone. Ands most laptops have them built in. The download is free over the web.

Gladys, my notebook computer, can Skype without video when she is in the mood. She has a hard time holding onto an internet connection for some reason. So I loose calls every so often or they are cut short.

So my dear friends, if your Skype list shows Lady Euphoria Deathwatch with the unavailable icon try back later. But do try again. And then again, I may be on with someone else when you want to get through to me.

And if you don’t have me on your Skype list and want to, send me an initial Skype request to connect with me call. I’ll try to get back with you, when Gladys will allow. (I reserve the right to block anyone who is not appropriate, or makes a pest of themselves.)

I hope we can connect as we did before. If not we are back to emails.

On ‘Time for Spring I Say‘:

Yes, it is that time again. In past years I didn’t have high speed only dial up, so having this link was impossible before.




I will be watching this cartoon ‘Merry Melodies - To Spring’ with Mountain Man as we do every Spring Equinox for many years now. Others will be joining us via the internet and you can join in also if you want to.

We will go for a walk in the woods and look for things growing too.

Enjoy the day how ever you celebrate it. Happy Spring!

On Some Things I’m Thankful For:

Silver linings, they help make the bad times bearable
Music
Cloudy winter days, I love the look of light and shadow
Wings
Trees and bushes without leaves, I just like the structure
Flavored Popcorn
The sound of rain on the roof as I go to sleep
Crayons
Walking in the woods on a calm day
Stories

Remembering childhood fun
Lace
Creating, crafting, repurposing
Smiles
Grilled cheese sandwiches, though I rarely eat them
Birds
Looking for fairies hiding in nooks and crannies while I dust
Wooly sweaters
Having my hair brushed and fussed with
Sweets

Finding myself singing a silly song for no reason
Dried fruit
A new set of clothing that sets me apart
Rubber boots
Sitting quiet and knitting by the fire on a cold day
Tango
The soft way that corn leaves whisper and click in the wind
Water pistols
Black lipstick and fingernail polish
Video games

The unrestrained laughter of children at play
Doc Martins
Walking in a cemetery dressed in my finest black dresses
Tea parties
Songs that make me think about my life
Wilted roses
Puzzles of all kinds, jigsaw to pencil, spatial to logic
My bed
Internet friends from all around the world

On Stories, Dogs and Knitting: And Tea

I posted a new story on my ‘Thrill or Shiver’ blog last night. Like some of my stories, ‘Mack’s Room’ is a fabrication based on an experience I once had. I hope you like it.
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My knitting of unfinished objects, UFO’s, is coming along again. ‘Interruptions’ seem to be the call of the day. Among other things the dog, Sir Laidback, had an allergic reaction to something and his face swelled up. Meds and fussing on him fixed the troubles, but it took time away from the things I wanted to get done like my knitting yesterday.













Right now I’m working on a purple and gray stripped scarf I started back in May. I didn’t have the mojo for knitting a scarf in the late spring, even though I was loving the yarn. So it sat in my UFO box until now.

The Yarn is Reynolds’ Odyssey 100% Merino Wool 50 g. balls. I picked it up when I went to Boston last spring to visit my daughter. The color in the picture doesn’t do it justice. No color name, but it is a variegated gray and variegated purple, and the pinks and blues really stand out in the purple. It is a lot more colorful then it looks in the picture here. In the daylight you can see the striping contrast so much better.

And the softness of the yarn is like melted butter, a cloud… When I first touched it I didn’t know it was wool. I thought it was some kind of non fluffy angora.
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Some people will be having their Thankfulness Tea Parties tomorrow and I will be having mine on Sunday. (Mountain Man has a prior commitment on Saturday and I want to include him in my Tea Party.) I have collected and readied all the things I will need including the flowers for the table.

Have a good time with your parties and remember the small things you are thankful for too.

On Tea and Knitting:

The Thankfulness Tea Party is coming this weekend. So you only have a few days to collect what you are bringing to the tea or want on hand.

I cut out scraps of paper from magazines with pretty pictures and paste them to the corners of my pages. I also find a special pen to write with.

This year with Mountain Man and I being sick, I have already sent a package to the friends who where going to be here with me, so that they can have a illness free tea party without me coughing on their goodies.
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On to the knitting:
I have so far, in my quest to finish the UFO’s or ‘unfinished knitting’ during the winter games, finished my gray sweater.

It is just a simple top down Feather and Fan patterned sweater. I cast on the neck, increased every other row until I got to the arm holes, separated the sleeve stitches for later and just went with the yarn I had. Leaving just enough yarn to sew on the buttons. Five balls of Patons, Classic Wool Merino 3 1/ 2 oz. or 100 g. in the color Gray Mix for my large frame. I went with three big buttons because I like the look.

The pattern I made up is very similar to the Liesl pattern shown here. My button band is more substantial and my repeat in the pattern break is in the solid part and hers is in the lacey portion. So, I won’t be making up and posting a pattern for this because she has done the work to have all sizes. But feel free to ask me any questions.



I feel like Molly Weasley from the Harry Potter Movies, but with a little more class. I’ve always liked the Feather and Fan pattern because it reminds me morticians drapes. I think I’ll wear it to tea.

On The Tea Party is Coming:

I came up with this Thankfulness Tea Party some time ago. But there are people asking if it is one of those protest things. No it is not.

It is a simply nice way to remember that we have some things to be thankful for in our lives and that life is not all dull and/or bad.

Some people stopped worrying about things long enough to watch the Supper Bowl today and I offer a Tea Party on the weekend of the 21-22.

The rules are here if you want to look at them. But in a nut shell, you have a little tea party, by yourself or with others, and write down the things you are thankful for in your life. You can keep it privet or share, that is up to you.

Nothing complicated just nice clean fun and enjoyment.

I hope you can join me along with Ms. Mousie and Black Crow.

On Tea Parties:

Last year I started something. A Thankfulness Tea Party here on the web. Last years blog about it can be found here.

I have been doing this at my home for some time, around the third week in February each year.

I picked that time of year because most of us in the Northern hemisphere are reaching our limit with the winter blahs. I noticed that my friends and I needed a pick me up and a new outlook. A freshen-upper.

To all those that are interested in joining us:
You are invited to join Ms. Mousie at Knotty Mouse and Little Black Crow at her knitting blog or her more often used arts blog, my co-hosts this year, and myself Lady Euphoria, to a Thankfulness Tea Party.

It will be held on the weekend of February 20-21, 2010. (I will be having my tea on the 21 st, but I leave it open to the twentieth for those of you who’s lives fit this day better.)

The rules are as follows:
You invite anyone you like to your party, if you want to. (Some of my best Thankfulness Teas have been held alone.)
You serve the Tea and Goodies of your choice. Other drinks are aloud as long as they are served in tea cups in keeping with the theme.
You have nice/pretty paper or a blank book and a pen or other writing implement for each member of the party. (I paste small pictures in the corner of each page of small note books for each participant. Often tying it up with a ribbon.)
You dress up in your finery. (I dress in my Victorian gowns.) You can dress as you like, but you should look your best, this is a party.
You are to play thoughtful music (I use classical, but what you want to listen to is up to you.)
You and your guests, if any, enjoy your tea and write down the things you are thankful for as they come to you.
It is to be an uplifting experience. Talk and have fun, but spend some time looking inward and finding your thankful self.

I would love to hear about your tea party plans or experience. So please feel free to comment.

I will remind you again before the weekend arrives, but I did want to give you time to get your Thankfulness Tea Party things together.

I’m looking forward to having fun with you all. Lady Euphoria

On Thankfulness Tea Party:

Hi Everybody,

Today is the first annual Internet Thankfulness Tea Party.

I hope that everyone had the time to collect some goodies to eat, pen and paper, and a good attitude. If you are expecting guests, that they arrive in good time and that they are happy and healthy.

I’ll be interested in hearing what others have added to their parties to make it special to them. Did you listen to rock music or have pizza rolls? Did you indulge in chocolate latti or had a mixed drink instead of tea? Did you dress up or dress down? Was it a personal alone time experience or a family get together with the kids?

But mostly I’m interested in hearing some of the things you are thankful for.

Some lists will be long and others short. Some full of family and friends and others the names of the cats. But I know that each list with be as individual as the maker and just as special.

My lists have varied over the years. The one after my son died had little on it but the word ‘tears.’ But through it all I have found something, no matter how small, to be thankful for.

It is a good thing to take stock of the good things in your life. It gives you perspective and fills the places in your heart that are running low on positive energy. It gives you hope and lightens the soul in hard times.

If you have a hard time getting your list started, look around at the party you have created for yourself and list the things you added to make it special for you. I hope your list is full of wonderful things that mean a lot to you. And to start with I’m thankful for you my dear readers. You have taken a little idea I had to help me through the last long days of winter and expanded on it, embraced it, and made it you own. Feel free to do it again whenever you feel the need of it.

Have a happy Thankfulness Tea Party day, everyone.

Sincerely, Lady Euphoria Deathwatch

On An Invitation to Tea:

After mentioning the Thankfulness Tea Party that I have for myself each year, I had gotten some interest from others for knowing the date I would be doing it so that they could join me from their own homes.

I have decided to have the now Internet Thankfulness Tea Party on Sunday February 22. I hope that twelve days is enough for you to get something together so that you can join me. If not, feel free to do it on the closest day to it that you can.

All you need is a few special treats to eat, a table setting for yourself that you think will work for your tea party. (I always add some of those lacy paper doilies to dress up the table and on the plates of goodies to make it festive. Some years I have flowers on the table too.) Add some pretty writing paper or a note book with a pen or pencil.

Guests, are of course, up to you, just be sure that they understand the reason they are there and that they have something to write out their things of thankfulness too. The idea is for self knowledge not necessarily sharing so the sharing is also an individual thing.

I dress up for this but the dress code is also up to your liking for the day. Sometimes just a pretty hat, shawl or piece of jewelry is all that you need.

Remember the point is to set a mood of happy thankfulness by surrounding yourself with nice things. Start by having some nice music playing to add to the mood, make yourself some tea or other such drink that you enjoy with some special treats to eat. Then take some time to write down the things that you are thankful for. If you like, you can hold onto the list for next year and read them back to yourself, but this is not necessary. If you blog feel free to let us know how your tea party went for you.

That is all there is to it. I hope that you all join me in this new yearly holiday.