Good morning!
I am sooo excited to be hosting Tessa Rose (TR), the travelling teacup, here today. Many thanks to Barbara from Mantel and Table for this fantastic idea! Its been such fun following along her journey – you can see all the wonderful places she has been here. She’s been to lots of places in the U.S., but this is her first time in Canada. So a warm welcome to her. And OMG – she is even prettier in person – such soft beautiful colors!
I had many things planned for TR during her stay here; a trip to the Devonian Gardens, which is a beautiful indoor park and botanical gardens in downtown Calgary, followed by lunch in the railway car restaurant just south of the city. But guess what? Yup, you guessed it – we’re on lock down. Again. Its a little bit different from the first time in that all the stores can remain open, as can restaurants for take-out only, but everything else is pretty much closed. The hardest part of the new restrictions is that social gathering is prohibited with people not living in the same house – both indoors and out. They’ve set up a tattle-tale line and there is a $1,000 fine if you are caught breaking the rules. Yikes.
So poor TR was stuck at home with us. But I’d like to think we had fun anyway. We hung out in the living room by the Christmas tree.
I’m not much of a tea drinker anymore, but I do like a nice glass of Sauvignon Blanc, and Tessa Rose was most accommodating.
Here she is on the coffee table with Fox sitting nearby wondering what all the fuss was about…
And here she is on the end of the mantel – mostly because Barbara said she wanted to see the mantel lol. My camera totally hates glitter… Actually, I’m pretty sure my camera hates taking pictures period, especially since my cell phone often does a better job.
I was loath to leave her all alone at night in a strange house. So I introduced her to some friends in the dining room. I left the village lights on for them so they weren’t in complete darkness, at least until we went to bed. Anyway, I was sure I could hear them whispering and giggling into the wee hours of the morning.
She came to work with me on Monday, as I wanted to stop at the post office on the way home so she could be on her way. I’ve spoken about her at work, so everyone wanted to see her. Here she is with Miss Jane, our secretary/booking clerk/admin support (i.e., the person who pretty much keeps the department running). Yes, mandatory masking is in place in Calgary, and continuous masking is required in the hospital.
TR kind of blends in with the color of the desk, so when I brought her into my office, I set her on some books for contrast. She told me later that her literary tastes tend towards lighter themes… Me too, Tessa Rose, me too. Everyone who came by that day remarked on how pretty she was.
I had to get a new box for her return trip. The one she arrived in was quite mangled – likely attributable to the customs agents, since many of my parcels arrive in a similar condition. In my mind, I imagine a conversation between customs agents that goes something like this:
Ted: “Hey Bob, there’s another parcel here for that crazy dish lady in Calgary.”
Bob: “Yeah, well I’m not sure I trust her. I think those dishes are a front for smuggling contraband, and she’s trying to get us to let our guard down and stop checking her shipments.”
Ted: “Yeah, I agree. And that’s why I rip apart every box that she gets. Ha ha ha!”
Sigh.
The plan for TR’s return was that I would drop her off at the post office Monday night after work, but we had a winter storm warning and it was already starting to snow as I left work, so I just wanted to get home. Plus, I knew I had already missed the pick up time.
That turned out to be a bad call on my part, as the snow continued throughout the evening and overnight. Here is what we woke up to this morning. You can’t really even see the street.
But, the show must go on, so out went TR and I to the post office. And I only got stuck twice. Now, Tessa Rose is on her way back home. Thank you so much again Barbara, and thank you Tessa Rose for visiting us. We miss you!
Merry Christmas everyone!
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I have read and seen this traveling teacup on Barbara’s blog, how fun to be a part of it’s travels! I’m with you fill my cup with wine rather than tea please! Oh goodness, that snow! I can’t imagine dealing with that all winter, as beautiful as it is, I am freezing when the temps fall below 60! Stay safe up there~
Thanks so much Jenna! I’m with you about the snow, although we have had unusually mild weather this January, so that is something to be thankful for. Just a couple more months to get through. Hope you are staying safe down there!
Thanks so much Barbara, and thanks for organizing this and including me – its been a blast.! As for the snow, you are welcome to it – every last molecule lol! Glad to hear you are taking a bit of time off and I hope you enjoy it. Wishing you a very Merry Christmas and happy holiday season!
Kim – what a fabulous post!! Tessa Rose obviously enjoyed her visit with you in Canada, and so did I!! I’d love to have some of your snow, and I’m glad you and TR were safe getting to the post office and back! SO fun that she got to go to work with you. I’m with both of you on my reading preferences, although those books did look really interesting. Maybe you can just give me a summary one day! 🙂 Thank you so much for being such a wonderful host, through thick and thin! I’ll post your Traveling Teacup installment on Mantel and Table next Tuesday the 29th. Merry Christmas to a stellar Teacup Host!