For each new morning with its light
For rest and shelter of the night
For health and food, for love and friends
For everything Thy goodness sends

Thank you

~Ralph Waldo Emerson

I read someplace that gratitude is the fairest blossom which springs from the soul. My darlings this morning loads of fair blossoms are springing from my soul because I am so grateful for our friendship.

Thank you

Today I am hosting an afternoon tea over at my lovely friend Melissa's blog, Smitten by Britain. Melissa is an American with an insatiable appetite for all things British. Her fascination with Great Britain started with British rock when she was in her early teens and just grew from there. She once called Britain home and although she left Britain years ago, Britain has never left Melissa. Her blog is full of interesting and informative posts and video clips all about Britain..a true Britophile as she likes to style herself. My darlings, please pop over and join us for tea. You can find us here or by clicking on the photo above. Don't be late lovelies, remember tea is served at half past four.

Happy Monday my darling

Dance as though no one is watching
Love as though you've never been hurt
Sing as though no one can hear you
Live as though heaven is on earth

My darlings

Dance

Sing

Love

Live

As though it's the weekend
Oh! Wait it is the weekend!!

Have a lovely one then

If I were a month, I would be May
If I were a day of the week, I would be Saturday
If I were a time of day, I would be sunrise

If I were the weather, I would be sunny with a soft breeze
If I were a direction, I would be north
If I were a scent, I would be Mimosa

If I were a tree, I would be a Cherry Blossom
If I were a flower, I would be a Peony
If I were an animal, I would be a bird

If I were a fine bone china, I would be a pink rose laced teacup
If I were a car, I would be a 1931 Bugatti Royale Kellner Coupe
If I was a painting, I would be the La Modiste by Jean Béraud

If I were a drink, I would be Champagne
If I were a fruit, I would be cherry
If I were a dessert, I would be Lavender Crème Brûlée

If I were a perfume, I would be Clive Christian No. 1
If I were a gemstone, I would be an Emerald
If I were a castle, I would be Mey

If I were a musical instrument, I would be a violin
If I were a sound, I would be a bell
If I were a song, I would be Sway

If I were a colour, I would be pink
If I were an emotion, I would be joy
If I were a taste, I would be sweet

If I were a museum, I would be the Louvre
If I were a country, I would be England
If I could be anyone, I would be me

And you darling?

Where there are friends there is wealth
~ Plautus

Friendship, thoughtfulness, prayers, best wishes, caring advice and kind comments, all of these and more, you have given me without measure. I thank you with tons of love and deeply felt gratitude.

My lovelies I hope you all had a lovely Easter weekend. I am happy to report I celebrated Easter free of migraine, had a fabulous time, ate way too much food and overdosed on chocolate. On Saturday, I bumped into an old friend, and now I am off to have lunch with her (the eating never stops). Wishing you a marvellous week my darlings.

My darlings do forgive me for not being a good blogging friend of late. This hasn't been a good week for me as I have had a blinding migraine everyday. I feel terrible for not being able to visit your blogs and to respond to your comments and emails. I am hoping to get rid of this nasty migraine and to return to blogging soon. I just couldn't let Easter pass without posting my good wishes for you.

May God bless you at Easter
and keep you all year through

May God give you all the faith you need
to make your dreams come true

May His love and wisdom always help
to guide you on your way

May His light shine down upon you now
to bless your Easter Day

Wishing every bunny a joyous and blessed Easter

Happy Easter my Darlings

Daffy~Down~Dilly has come to town
In a yellow petticoat and a green gown

Happy Monday My Darlings

I awoke this morning with devout thanksgiving
for my friends...the old and the new

~Ralph Waldo Emerson

My darlings, to simply say thank you for reading my posts and leaving behind such kind comments seems so small so I wrapped the words in hugs, tied them with love and sealed them with kisses.

Have a lovely weekend.

One of my dearest friends, Nellie wrote this comment on my last post.

"Amen Duchess,
Great post hon, and it is so true.
Mother Theresa said a lot of great statements. One I really loved was when asked what we could do to promote world peace, she simply said, go home and love your family!!
How very true, cause sometimes we can treat strangers way better than we treat the ones we live with everyday. We really have to check ourselves! Thanks for sharing this inspirational post.
Blessings, Nellie "

~~~~~~~
Nellie's comment reminded me of a book I saw several years ago, at a local charity shop...a small pink book. Needless to say, the little darling came home with me and has been a constant companion of mine. The following story is printed on the first page of this book. Please take a moment and read this sweet story, I assure you it will bring tears to your eyes... good tears!!
If you would like to visit Nellie, you can find her at Nellie's Cozy Place.

I ran into a stranger as he passed by,
"Oh excuse me please" was my reply.

He said, "Please excuse me too;
I wasn't watching for you."

We were very polite, this stranger and I.
We went on our way and we said good-bye.

But at home a different story is told,
How we treat our loved ones, young and old.

Later that day, cooking the evening meal,
My son stood beside me very still.

When I turned, I nearly knocked him down.
"Move out of the way," I said with a frown.

He walked away, his little heart broken.
I didn't realize how harshly I'd spoken.

While I lay awake in bed,
God's voice came to me and said,

"While dealing with a stranger,
common courtesy you use,
But the family you love, you seem to abuse.
Go and look on the kitchen floor,
You'll find some flowers there by the door.
Those are the flowers he brought for you.
He picked them himself: pink, yellow and blue.
He stood very quietly not to spoil the surprise,
You never saw the tears that filled his little eyes."

By this time, I felt very small,
And now my tears began to fall.

I quietly went and knelt by his bed; "
Wake up, little one, wake up," I said.

"Are these the flowers you picked for me?"
He smiled, "I found 'em, out by the tree.

I picked 'em because they're pretty like you.
I knew you'd like 'em, especially the blue."

I said, "Son, I'm very sorry for the way I acted today;
I shouldn't have yelled at you that way."

He said, "Oh, Mum, that's okay. I love you anyway."
I said, "Son, I love you too, and I do like the flowers,
especially the blue."

People are often unreasonable, illogical, and self-centered;
Forgive them anyway

If you are kind, people may accuse you of selfish, ulterior motives;
Be kind anyway

If you're successful, you'll win some false friends & some true enemies;
Succeed anyway

If you are honest and frank, people may cheat you;
Be honest and frank anyway

What you spend years building, someone could destroy overnight;
Build anyway

If you find serenity and happiness, they may be jealous;
Be happy anyway

The good you do today, people will often forget tomorrow;
Do good anyway

Give the world the best you have, and it may never be enough;
Give the world the best you've got anyway

You see, in the final analysis, it is between you and God;
It was never between you and them

~~Mother Teresa

She wore her yellow sun-bonnet
She wore her greenest gown
She turned to the south wind
And curtsied up and down
She turned to the sunlight
And shook her yellow head
And whispered to her neighbour
~Winter is dead ~

Happy Spring My Darlings

My darlings after a weeklong intermission, I am back.
I was in desperate need of some Me time ...pampering and relaxing.
My TV and laptop stayed switched off for the entire week.
Instead I buried my nose in my books, drooled over my catalogues, listened to my favourite music, took little naps, ate and ate!!

Last Saturday, my friend Annie and I spent a lovely afternoon.

We managed to fill a few shopping bags from here and there.
Had a lovely lunch, couple of glasses of bubbly, and tea-licious desserts. After lunch we went and saw Alice in Wonderland.

Here is my review… The first half starts off virtually magical. A well re-told grown up version of the tale complete with tiny doors, rabbits and waistcoats...a more Walt Disney version rather than Tim Burton. Sadly, the second half took a dive into the rabbit hole. It was much darker and perhaps closer to Lewis Carroll’s orignal tale rather than Disney’s sweet, slightly saccharine place where people sing and say silly things. In my opinion the second half lacked the necessary magic to generate any narrative excitement. I am a huge fan of Johnny Depp, hence the reason I sat through the entire film. However, this movie was a complete letdown for my taste.

I realise I have a lot to catch up with …my emails and comments and of course your blog posts. I will hopefully get to them in a day or so. Pampering days were delightful; however, I must admit it is good to be back to some kind of routine again. My darlings, enjoy your Sunday, and keep your kettles whistling, I just might stop by for a cuppa.

Sandra Bullock move over!
I am the proud recipient of five lovely awards from five incredibly kind and talented bloggers whom I am so proud to call my friends.
Please take a moment and peek at their marvellous blogs.
I have posted my awards on my award blog here.
A million thanks ladies.

The "Hats So Much Award" from Anya ~ Couture Millinery Atelier

The "Sunshine Award" from Eileen ~ Stick Close to Home

The "Beautiful Blogger Award" from Debbie ~ Debbiedoos

The "Sunshine Award" from Rosie P ~ Roses and Peonies

The "Real Award" from Deb ~ Dumbwit Tellher

To all my UK Mummy friends and those celebrating Mother’s Day today
I wish you all a lovely day indeed.

I'm late, I'm late, I'm late.
For a very important date.
No time to say hello.
Goodbye.
I'm late, I'm late, I'm late.

If I had a world of my own, everything would be nonsense.
Nothing would be what it is because everything would be what it isn't. And contrary-wise; what it is it wouldn't be, and what it wouldn't be, it would. You see?

Mad Hatter: Would you like a little more tea?
Alice: Well, I haven’t had any yet, so I can’t very well take more!
March Hare: Ah, you mean you can’t very well take less.
Mad Hatter: Yes, You can always take more than nothing!

Alice: I simply must get through!!
Doorknob: Sorry, You’re much too big. Simply impassible.
Alice: You mean impossible?
Doorknob: No, impassible. Nothing is impossible.

Alice: And how many hours a day did you do lessons?
The Mock Turtle: Ten hours the first day, nine the next, and so on.
Alice: What a curious plan!
The Gryphon: That's the reason they're called lessons, because they lessen from day to day.

My friend Annie and I are planning to go see Alice in Wonderland this weekend. However, all the reviews I have read so far have been negative. Have you seen the movie and would you recommend it?
Do share darlings.