O Lord, no. Not THAT President. I have better things to do with my time.
This President....
our third President
Ok, maybe I didn't exactly dine WITH Mr. Jefferson himself (which would have been a little creepy since he's been dead since 1826) but I did dine with his dishes. Or maybe dishes named after him. Doing a little research now, what I always thought were reproductions of the White House dishes might just be dishes named after the Pres. O well.
Anyway, back at Christmas time, Belle showed up and saw Mina eating off a saucer in the kitchen.
Fluffy cat eating off the good
Lennox Jefferson china.
Now, these are dishes that I have had for Belle's entire life.
She exclaimed "Wow! Where did these come from? Why didn't we ever have decent dishes? We only had the crappy pottery ones."
And then it hit me. These are the "good" dishes. The fine china. Got the set when I got married, got the set when I got divorced. And in that 31 year period, those dishes were probably used maybe ten times. Obviously Belle did not ever remember seeing them. WHY??
Tonight's dinner.
Using the china and silver.
On the gorgeous antique dining table.
(Click here to see the table refinishing project)
These dishes are beautiful. I love them. Even after 31 years. Bone china is practically indestructible. I know. I've dropped them on the wood floor. Hand washed them in my sink which is legendary for chipping dishes. They don't break or chip. Yet, they've been safely tucked away in their little quilted storage bags waiting for "special occasions".
Salad from Moonlight Pizza,
napkins from Target's Dollar Spot,
silver from old family friends.
And at that moment, Belle opened my eyes.
Why am I saving the things I love? Why am I not using them?
I vowed that starting in February for President's Day, I would get out the good china and use it all month. Now that February is almost over, those dishes aren't going anywhere.
Sometimes even Carlos gets to use them.
Seize the day. Spoil yourself. USE the good stuff. Break out the crystal for that glass of wine. Put on the diamonds. Wear the silk and cashmere.
What's the point of having beautiful things if you don't enjoy them?
Thanks, Belle.
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And speaking of enjoying beauty, look what I have on my windowsill.
My own private Spring.
The temp out right now is 20º.
It is the dead of winter in Colorado.
But back when I moved here, I brought this Aloe Vera plant from Texas. In my travels, the plant tipped and dirt spilled out. Once I got settled, I went to the shed and grabbed a handful of dirt out of a plantless pot.
Guess there were some petunia seeds in that dirt. At first, I thought there were weeds coming up. Then I recognized the leaves.
Beautiful, no?
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I'm headed to Texas at the end of the week.
Probably won't post the first week of March.
See you when I return with tales of rodeos
and friends.
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