Friday, January 23, 2009

Lunch at Elaine's

I have a very dear friend, Elaine. I first became acquainted with Elaine when I began attending Historical Society meetings just two years ago. Elaine's husband, Murray, is President of the Historical Society. When our daughter, Sherry, was murdered, Elaine was there for us. She was also there for us when Johnny's brother died. Then Johnny started attending the Historical Society meetings. The four of us began going out to dinner and having dinner at each other's houses. We developed a deep friendship. Elaine is a minister who currently ministers at a nursing home. Elaine has a positive attitude and is my role model. When Johnny passed away, Elaine was there for me. She was so warm and loving with our entire family. Elaine accepts us as we are and only sees the good in people. A few weeks ago Elaine had a heart attack and was hospitalized. She now has a stent and is recovering. Instead of thinking of herself, Elaine invited a friend of hers, Kathy, to visit and stay overnight. Elaine then invited me to have lunch with her and Kathy. Elaine is a wonderful hostess. I love to visit her home. It is filled with beautiful antiques and other treasures that she has collected over the years.

Elaine
Elaine's friend Kathy was charming. I felt as though I had known her for years.

Elaine has a wonderful collection of cups.

This is a display of Elaine's beautiful glassware.

The picture on the left is that of the young man playing a saxophone. The picture on the right is the gentleman in his later years. Elaine and Murray developed a deep friendship with him and remained friends until his passing.

This is one of the teapots in Elaine's collection. It was created by a local artisan.

Elaine collects sugar bowls and pitchers.

This beautiful tablecloth was hand embroidered many years ago by Elaine's mother.

Elaine invites her guests to select the tea cup from her collection that they prefer to use. I selected this beautiful tea cup and saucer. She told me that it is Russian. She served a wonderful lemon dessert.
I thank God for Elaine's friendship.
"Don't walk in front of me,
I may not follow;
Don't walk behind me,
I may not lead;
Walk beside me,
and just be my friend."

36 comments:

Anonymous said...

You have a beautiful true friend there. I loved that she had you pick your favorite tea cup out of her collection to have tea with her.How many people would do that.You are lucky to have her in your life.

Hugs,
Chris

Carol Murdock said...

G'morning Sweetie......
I'm so glad you had such a good time with Elaine and Kathy!
God never shuts a door without opening a window....this opened window seems full of light and fresh air. God is good!

Stacey said...

Sounds like a perfect day with friends old and new to me. :)

Gone said...

What a beautiful friend you have in Elaine. She is a true blessing.

I love all of her collections...tea pots, tea cups & saucers...all the glassware! It's lovely. Oh...and the embroidered tablecloth is something else!!

Stop by and sign up to win in our 15-week TeaCup & Saucer Give-Away!

~Blessings,
Jan

SmilingSally said...

God has blessed you with a special friend. "A friend loveth at all times."

Confessions of a Plate Addict said...

Hi Sweetie...You have a wonderful friend in Elaine, don't you? It looks like you ladies had a great time. Be sure to tell her thanks for sharing her beautiful collection with us! Have a great day!...Debbie

Linda said...

Hi Sweetie, what a wonderful frienship you share with Elaine....frienships like this are blessings. Loved seeing all the pictures, she has such pretty things, and I love the cup you selected with all the blues...what a happy day...hugs, Linda

onlymehere said...

What a great treasure this kind of friend is. I have a friend like this but since she moved to North Carolina and now Illinois we don't have together time. Emails just aren't the same. It looks like a wonderful day out.

Kathy said...

What a lovely post, Sweetie. Your friened sounds like a very special person. I'm so glad she is a part of your life!
xo...Kathy

Linda said...

Well said and a beautiful post for a good friend.

Love Bears All Things said...

What a wonderful sister/friend you have been blessed with. I loved the tour of her antigues and the table setting. Life is always fun when friends get together.
Mama Bear

Nancy said...

This is a wonderful post. I'm so happy for you to have this friend. I hope she recovers completely.
That tea cup is beautiful and what a nice idea, to pick a cup you like to use. The dessert looks yummy.
Hope you are having a good day. I am thinking of you,
Nancy

Lynne (lynnesgiftsfromtheheart) said...

Hi Sweetie, it's been a while and I'm so glad I chose this day for a visit. What a truly lovely friend you have. To share of herself and home. I'm fortunate to have a true friend as well, she's always there for me.. God has blessed me with her friendship. I'm glad you shared her home with us. It is truly lovely.. have a super day.. hugs ~lynne~

Sharon said...

What a great friend you have in your life.
I really enjoyed seeing her teacups and tablecloth.
Have a great weekend.
God bless

The Raggedy Girl said...

What a lovely testimony of your nice friend, Elaine. And dessert looked really good too!
Roberta Anne

Belinda said...

Elaine sounds like such a dear person. God put you in her path for a reason, no doubt, and I'm certain you are as much of a blessing to her as she is to you. I hope she feels better every day. :-) What a beautiful collection of teacups she has...and what fun to choose one each time you go for a visit...that lemon dessert looks wonderful too!

Happy To Be/ Gl♥ria said...

What a great friend you have there girl...I am so glad you both have each other..and thank you Elaine for letting us see your beautiful home..have a great weekend dear friend...hugs and smiles Gl♥ria

Anonymous said...

Hi Sweetie! Oh, how wonderful to have such a great friend as Elaine! She looks like a precious person - I can see it in her eyes! Looks like you had a wonderful time, too! Oh, all of her cups and glassware are just lovely!
Thank you for sharing about Elaine and take care of yourself.
Be a sweetie,
Shelia ;)

Betty said...

What a beautiful tablecloth. I hope your friend's health inproves.

Lynne (lynnesgiftsfromtheheart) said...

Good evening Sweetie, thanks for the visit to see the miniature tea set. It means the world.
hugs ~lynne~

Terrie's Lil' Piece of Serenity said...

Sweetie, I am so glad that you have such a wonderful friend. She has some beautiful things. It makes me want to join you for tea.
Hugs, Terrie

Jan Parrish said...

What a dear, treasured friend. A blessing indeed. I pray she is feeling well soon. She looks great so she must be on her road to recovery.

squawmama said...

Sweetie, I'm so glad you had such a good time with Elaine and Kathy! Looks like you had a wonderful time, too! Her cups and glassware are just beautiful and how great you could choose one to sip tea from... Thank you for sharing about Elaine and take care of yourself.

(((HUGS)))
Donna

Helen said...

Elaine sounds like the kind of friend everyone wishes for...thank you so much for sharing this with us.

Happy To Be/ Gl♥ria said...

hey Sweetie thanks for coming by my PINK Saturday...have a great weekend dear friend...hugs and smiles Gl♥ria

Anne said...

What a beautiful post on friendship! That's what it's all about! =)

Cherdecor said...

How nice to have a friend like Elaine. God has blessed you with her.

Nancy Rosalina said...

What a great friendship you both have together. Love her collection of tea cups! What a geat time you all had! Blessings,Nancy

Melissa Miller said...

Hi Sweetie, :)
What a wonderful lady and true friendship you have.
Gorgeous collection of teacups.

Thank you for the kind words on my dogs.
I hope you have a blessed Sunday.
~Melissa :)

imjacobsmom said...

Elaine sounds like such a nice lady. What a neat idea - she lets her guests select their own tea cup from her collection. It must have been a fun day. ~ Robyn

Bo said...

Oh Sweetie...Your friend Elaine is a lovely woman inside & out. What a blessing it is to have a friend like her. ;-) Bo

Bo said...

Oh Sweetie...Your friend Elaine is a lovely woman inside & out. What a blessing it is to have a friend like her. ;-) Bo

ksarra said...

Glad you had such a special day. What treasures! A friend who stands by you in the hard times is a rare, beautiful thing, I'm happy you've been blessed with one!

Theresa @ Take A Sentimental Journey said...

I believe I would have chosen the same beautiful cup and saucer,I am so glad you have such a good friend as Elaine to help you through this time in your life Sweetie .

Auntie sezzzzzz... said...

Thank you so much for stopping by my blog. It allowed me to find yours. Which is full of inspiration and of beauty. What a brave lady you are, to have weathered the sadness, which has come your way. Great joy. But also, great sadness.

You said my lace post, reminded you of making your daughter's wedding gown, with 3 different types of lace. I'd never read about the idea of 3 laces... but my mother made my wedding gown also, and it was a lovely lace.

Again, thank you for coming by 'Aunt Amelia's Attic.'

Aunt Amelia
"Whatever improves the lace and makes it more beautiful is right." ~ Sister Judith

bj said...

I am so thankful you have this wonderful friend, Sweetie...I have one, too, that is ALWAYS there when I need her. Aren't we truly blessed...
xo bj