Celebrating Tasha Tudor Day

We started this morning like any other, having a good cup of coffee, feeding all household residents (human, furry and feathered...) Here is Josephine. Isn't she getting big? Does anyone know what kind of chicken she is?


She really would like to know....
(we have since found out that she is a Silver Laced Wyandotte!)
















What kind of Tasha Tudor blog post could this be without including a Corgi first? Here is our eldest Corgi, Bailey, wearing a flower wreath in Tasha's honor. Doesn't she look smashing? She knows she does.



















Any Tasha Tudor fan knows that it is perfectly OK for a grown woman to play with dolls and miniatures! To that end, I will show you my little country mouse house. The mice decided to whoop it up and send calorie counting to the wind today. They had a glorious feast of lovely desserts. I overhead part of the conversation, something about a great grandmother who was a seamstress at Mouse Mills, a mercantile from which Tasha would order lovely doll dresses. The afternoon tea was just divine....for a while, anyway....

















Shhh....did you hear something?

















Oh no! A tea-time kitty saboteur! Someone save us!





Cute saboteur, but saboteur nonetheless!
















I enjoyed watching this video for the millionth time...




















and I lit a candle in memory of Tasha and had a cup of tea in an antique pink lustreware teacup in her honor...
















This card drawn by Tasha is very special to me; not only because it is in her own hand, but because looking at it always inspires me. I remember hearing somewhere that the Amish always put an intentional flaw in their quilts to remind them that "Only God Is Perfect." Whether this is true or a myth, I still love the idea of it. Looking at Tasha's quick drawing; it appears that she was not entirely happy with it. (Like, what artist is EVER completely happy or satisfied with their work?) "Unfortunately this didn't turn out too well. It is supposed to be a deer" she wrote. The card arrived with the stains you see and the tiniest flecks of paint splattered on it. I LOVE THIS. It reminds me that even Tasha Tudor wasn't perfect. God only knows what artworks we will never see because perhaps she wasn't satisfied with the way they turned out. In our eyes they may have been masterpieces. She may not have been perfect, but as the expression goes, she was "keeping it real" in her daily life. She lived authentically because she lived the way she wanted to. Was she perfect? Of course not. Who is? She even said herself that like the moon we all have our dark side that we don't want seen. All families have their share of troubles, even when things seem practically perfect on the outside. Things don't always go the way we hope or plan. But I think in the end it is not how many squabbles we may have or how many times we fall or fail; but what matters is how many times we get back up to try again. To make amends, to love again. My grandmother always said, 'Where there's life, there's hope." What matters is taking each day as a gift. If life gives you lemons, you go and make that lemonade! Make some lemon meringue pie, some lemon ice and lemon cookie bars while you are at it! Make the most of your own little corner of the world. I guess what I'm trying to say is that life comes with its joys and sorrows, its trials and triumphs. Even when things are not perfect, I hope I can always choose to focus on the good, the joy in a situation, to "Take Joy." When you remember Tasha, I hope you will, too. Warmly, Cathy ^..^

P.S. Thanks to Clarice, Cay and Suzanne for getting the word out about TT day! ^..^