Teapot

One of these days, a police officer is going to pull me over for driving erratically. He will suspect that I am driving while intoxicated, but he will be wrong. In fact, I will be driving while being a little teapot. I am often a little teapot while driving. This is because when my 20-month-old daughter is in the car, she demands to hear her favorite CD, Traditional Children's Songs from Hell. At least that's what I call it. It's one of those CDs with those old songs that we are required by federal law to expose our children to, because they connect us with a time when we were a simpler, happier, much stupider nation.

Twenty years after the last time Maryland voters weighed in on a law passed by the General Assembly, they got the chance to do it three times in 2012, with referendums on in-state tuition for some illegal immigrants, same-sex marriage and a gerrymandered congressional district map designed to deliver one more seat to the Democrats. The powers that be in Annapolis are not thrilled - Gov. Martin O'Malley proclaimed it "a little too easy" to put a law on the ballot - and now several of them have introduced legislation to make the task harder.

Fancy teapots shaped like humans, animals, furniture or houses are not a 1990s idea. Many 19th-century teapots were made to resemble camels, monkeys, flowers or vegetables.Probably the most famous figural teapot is the "Aesthetic" teapot made in 1882. The clever, two-sided pot depicts a man on one side, a woman on the other. It was inspired by the Gilbert and Sullivan operetta "Patience."The teapot, made by the Royal Worcester pottery in England, is difficult to clean. The handle and spout made pouring tea difficult.

To Noi Volkov, a simple faucet, a model of a Ford Thunderbird and photos of Marilyn Monroe and Woody Allen are more than just odds and ends. To him, they are the makings for a ceramic teapot. "I am trying to create a new, unorthodox style of ceramics," said the 60-year-old Owings Mills man. "It's a mixture of Renaissance and pop art. It has a little bit of Dali and some Picasso." The teapot uses the back of the T-bird model as a handle, the faucet as the spout, and images of Monroe and Allen on either side of the body.

OGNENNY ISLAND, Russia - The prisoners arrive here after riding for hours past abandoned villages in a gray truck with barred windows, finally crossing a rattling log bridge. Most will leave only when they die. Inmates whose bodies are unclaimed are interred in a small village graveyard not far from the island, under markers bearing serial numbers instead of names. This is Pyatak Prison, on an island in a lake in the midst of the thickly forested Vologda region, about halfway between Moscow and the Arctic Circle.

Q: I have two Jewel Tea pieces, one being a teapot (referred to as an "Aladdin's Lamp" because of its shape) and a large pitcher for milk or lemonade. Both pieces (in the Autumn Leaf pattern) date from the 1940s and are in excellent condition.Can you tell me anything about them and their value?A: Jewel Tea collectors belong to the National Autumn Leaf Collectors' Club; write the club c/o Gwynne Harrison, P.O. Box 1, Mira Loma, Calif. 91752-0001; enclose a self-addressed stamped envelope for membership dues and details, or phone (909)

Far more than just a beverage, tea is both a pleasant way to celebrate a few moments' solitude and a gracious form of hospitality extended to business associates, friends and family.A Proper Pot of TeaStart with a good-quality blend of loose tea leaves, which generally are of superior quality to tea packed in bags. Not only does the hot water circulate more effectively through loose leaves, improving flavor extraction, but loose tea is nearly always a better value for the money.Fill a china or glazed pottery teapot with boiling water and let stand.

Q: I bought my son a metal lunch box and thermos in the 1950s. It has a picture of Hopalong Cassidy on both the box and thermos, and they are in perfect condition. I thought that it was just junk and was going to give it to my grandchildren to play with, but my son said not to let them have it, it could be worth something. Who's right?A: Your son wins this one. Find something else to amuse your grandchildren. It is currently listed in "Shroeder's Antiques Price Guide" at $385 in mint condition.

When Ricki Baker plans a tea party, she doesn't have to worry about finding a teapot to fit the occasion. Ms. Baker, a vice president of sales and marketing for a local company, owns more than 50 pots, ranging from delicate antiques to cutting-edge, handcrafted designs. She began collecting teapots more than 25 years ago when her parents presented her with a porcelain and chrome teapot that had been given to them as a wedding present in the 1930s.A few years ago, when she moved into her present home, a duplex in an attractive old building in Baltimore, she found out just how large her collection had become: The new home didn't have enough space to display it. Ms. Baker didn't want the pots tucked away in some closet.

Q. I have a 23-by-25-inch rectangular scarf from the Hollan America steamship line. Its red background is decorated in black and white with an ocean liner in an oval in the center surrounded by a heraldic emblem, an American eagle with flags, and the words, "New Twinscrew Steamers 12500 Tons." The names of various European and American cities appear in its corners and along the sides. Is it worth much?A. The Holland America Line produced at least two variations of its popular souvenir cotton scarves around the turn of this century.

Frilly cards unfold into a whimsical teapot, a windmill or a sailboat dubbed The Cupid. A Roaring Twenties beauty smiles from a heart-shaped frame on a card that asks "Be Mine, Sweetheart." A curly-topped paper doll attached to a thin piece of cardboard circles a sweet Valentine verse. Vintage Valentines, many of them family keepsakes that date to the early 20th century, have become part of the collection at the Gate House Museum in Sykesville. "These Valentines give you a perspective into people's lives," said Jaime M. Bradley, museum curator.

OGNENNY ISLAND, Russia - The prisoners arrive here after riding for hours past abandoned villages in a gray truck with barred windows, finally crossing a rattling log bridge. Most will leave only when they die. Inmates whose bodies are unclaimed are interred in a small village graveyard not far from the island, under markers bearing serial numbers instead of names. This is Pyatak Prison, on an island in a lake in the midst of the thickly forested Vologda region, about halfway between Moscow and the Arctic Circle.

When you step inside the House Downtown, it may seem more like you're visiting a neighbor. And that's just how Stephanie Gamble, owner of the new Havre de Grace home furnishings store, likes it. "I want it to feel like [customers] are going into their friend's house," she says. So don't be surprised when Gamble offers you tea and sweets, or when you hear the soft music playing or smell the sweet fragrance of beeswax candles. The cozy store, built circa 1890 and recently restored, projects a philosophy that comfort and quality matter most, and that each room in the home should reflect one's personality.

Hampstead officials and police are asking for the public's help to solve several cases of vandalism at Town Hall recently. Four incidents have occurred, all at night, at Town Hall, 1034 S. Carroll St., according to police. Dec. 4: The glass in the front door was broken using a metal ball bearing sleeve. Jan. 9: The glass in the front door was broken using a small statue. Jan. 16: Town officials reported the theft of two flags from the front of the building. Sunday: Hampstead police on patrol found that a window facing the south side parking lot had been broken out. Police suspect a small teapot found near the scene was used.

One of these days, a police officer is going to pull me over for driving erratically. He will suspect that I am driving while intoxicated, but he will be wrong. In fact, I will be driving while being a little teapot. I am often a little teapot while driving. This is because when my 20-month-old daughter is in the car, she demands to hear her favorite CD, Traditional Children's Songs from Hell. At least that's what I call it. It's one of those CDs with those old songs that we are required by federal law to expose our children to, because they connect us with a time when we were a simpler, happier, much stupider nation.

It can be argued -- as novelist Jay McInerney did in his wine column in a recent issue of House & Garden magazine -- that the cocktail hour is the brash American equivalent of British teatime. While there's much to be said for a martini, there's also a great deal in favor of tea -- the accoutrements are so charmingly traditional, for instance: teapots, tea cups and saucers, silver spoons and tiny tea napkins. Unless you're one of 71 artists in the "100 Teapots" show at Baltimore Clayworks (through Feb. 24)

Q: I have a plastic doll that was bought -- probably in a Lee jeans store in Macon, Ga. -- around 1950. He is 14 inches tall and has movable arms. There is a label on his coveralls and hat with the words "Lee -- Union Made." On his back are the words "Buddy Lee" in plastic. What he is worth?A: "The Antique Trader Antiques & Collectibles Price Guide" by Kyle Husfloen shows a "Buddy Lee" doll with jointed shoulders, painted and molded boots, painted side-glancing eyes and the original clothes at $75 in good condition.

From Steven Glass and Mary Holland's "Dread," a handsome black-and-white bowl with simple but effective drawing, to Jo Schneider's almost 7-foot-tall sculpture "The Rational/The Irrational -- Right Brain/Left Brain," there's a wealth of variety at the National Museum of Ceramic Art's Regional Juried Exhibition. It adds up to one of the most interesting shows this organization has yet mounted.This is the first regional for the museum, which enlisted jurors William Daley, distinguished professor of art emeritus at Philadelphia's University of the Arts, and Frederick Brandt, curator of 20th century art at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts in Richmond.

Need a teapot, a mug, a platter, a vase, a cookie jar, a box? Or, even if you don't actually need any of the above, maybe you'd like to have something, or give something, from the fourth annual Holiday National Invitational Exhibition, called "Winterfest 1998," that just opened at Clayworks.Functional is the hallmark of this show, and the key word is national - the show's 20 ceramics artists hail from as near as Maryland and Virginia, but also as far as Utah, Colorado, Texas, Minnesota and Montana, with North Carolina, Tennessee and New York in between.

Far more than just a beverage, tea is both a pleasant way to celebrate a few moments' solitude and a gracious form of hospitality extended to business associates, friends and family.A Proper Pot of TeaStart with a good-quality blend of loose tea leaves, which generally are of superior quality to tea packed in bags. Not only does the hot water circulate more effectively through loose leaves, improving flavor extraction, but loose tea is nearly always a better value for the money.Fill a china or glazed pottery teapot with boiling water and let stand.