Tuesday, December 09, 2008

Lunch with Jade at Country Rose Gifts and Tea Room



This is Jade, who I met this spring. We've gotten to know each other a bit over the past year and I've really enjoyed it. She is a hard worker, a wonderful volunteer, and a terrific person. She just started a new job at the chamber recently and they were so smart to hire her. She will do amazing things there.

Jade just returned from England, where she was part of a Rotary exchange program. I was so thrilled she got to go. Going abroad is always life-changing, and it certainly was for her.

She arrived at lunch today with a package. Well, we both did. I had bought a little ornament for her some weeks ago. I love to give people Christmas ornaments. She handed me her package and said, "this is just a little something." I said, "well, so is this - a very little something."

But, Jade was not telling the truth! What was in the package was a treasure. A beautiful, incredible treasure - not just a little something. It was this...



...  a Wedgewood teacup and saucer she bought when the group toured the factory in England. Isn't it stunning?!?!?! I'm so in love with it that I haven't even begun to consider drinking tea out of it. So far I've only photographed it. I had to rush to do that when I still had daylight so it would be shown off as beautifully as possible.

It was all the more perfect that we were having lunch at Hutchinson's new tea room, The Country Rose Gifts and Tea Room. It is perfectly charming. The food was good, the decor great and the service pleasant.



It's at 519 North Main, and well worth a visit.



The owner has done a great job with making it cozy and attending to the details.









They had a tree decorated that I just loved, with real tea cups. I have a tree with tea ornaments, but it just never occurred to me to create one with real tea cups. How could I possibly have never thought of this? Theirs was just beautiful.







They have a brewed tea ready each day, or you can choose the tea bag of your choice and they'll bring you your own pot of hot water, with a warmer underneath. I went with that since I can't have caffeine.



Tea always tastes better in a pretty cup. I can't wait to see how it tastes in the Wedgewood cup Jade brought me from England.
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Friends Lovely Friends

Saturday Susan and Cynthia surprised me with a visit. Considering they live more than a three-hour drive away, I was touched.

They also came bearing gifts. Very special gifts. Cynthia took this photo of me excitedly opening one of the gifts she brought, and wearing the other one. The pin I have on was a gift from her. I have a deep love of old costume jewelry pins, and I love star shapes, so it was perfect.

Another thing I have a tremendous love of is what was in this box.



Yes, hand-embroidered antique linens, with hand-crocheted lace. Wonderful. But, Cynthia had made them extra special because they were lavender scented. How beautiful is that?

Susan also had a surprise for me... something she had made herself...



An ornament she had paper pieced. It's another perfect gift... I love ornies... I love ornies people make. I labeled it with her name on the back so now I can add it to the tree.

I'm always so impressed with people who are great gift-givers. I try to be. Sometimes I'm more successful than others, but I guess we all are. But, I'm always charmed by people who can come up with the perfect thing.

Susan used to live in Hutchinson before moving to Valley Falls to her husband's family farm. Cynthia, who lives about an hour away from her, I have known for years from journaling lists online. After Susan moved to that part of the state I knew they should get to know each other. So we've all been to tea together and had some other outings. They were both able to come to the Ramona get away in April.

It was great to visit with them a bit and to also give them their Christmas presents. When Greg and I were in Kansas City in October for the Obama rally we made a stop at Victorian Trading Company, which I just love. I found these adorable tea pot ornaments and immediately snapped three of them up - one for each of us. I love having ornaments on the tree when I know other people have the same ones. There's something about that shared experience that really appeals to me.

Well, I hadn't even wrapped their gifts yet. They were still in the cushioning they had wrapped them in at the store. But, I didn't want to miss the chance to give them to them in person.

It was so nice to see them and I was so touched by their remembrances. They are things I will cherish.
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Check www.patsyterrell.com for the blog, art, and more. Friend me on Facebook.com, Follow me at Twitter.com.