Coffee, Tea and Thee - Candlemas

If Candlemas Day be fair and bright;
Come Winter, have another flight.
If Candlemas brings clouds and rain;
go wit and come not again.

As we still had some snow flurries scurrying around us after Mass, hot chocolate was the order of the day. We read Angelo and Days of the Blackbird. The children asked to wait for Husband to come home so we had our treats after dinner. I let them use the pretty dishes (I'd call it fine china, but it isn't really)! In fact, it is the china we chose after we were married when we realized that the fancy china we had been talked into registering for was too hard to find. The few pieces that were ordered for us by family and friends never arrived!

Anyway....(back from left-field) I read a very thought provoking post from my dear friend, Red Cardigan, about materialism and it made me remember that the reason we chose the china we have now is because it seemed a better choice for a family. I remember saying to my new husband, "I want china that can be dropped by a child without reducing me to tears thinking of the replacement factor." And yet, here it is 11 years later and I was still saving it for "special occasions". What is it about the label "the good dishes" that screams "don't touch"?

It took me a while, but I finally figured out that an evening sharing treats, stories, smiles and giggles with these precious people is a very special occasion!

I am up for any excuse to buy new cookie cutters! This dove shaped cookie cutter came in a pack that included a duck, a pig, a horse, a cat and a lion. Hmmm....when is St. Jerome's Feast Day?

By the way, I want to say "thank you" to Mary for the book suggestions. I was very moved by David Macauley's Angelo and the children loved the beautiful illustrations. We checked it out from the library but I think we will own a copy before too long. It is too beautiful to not have on the bookshelf permanently.