Dishes, plates, cups, platters, oh my...

... these are a few of my favorite things. For real. I have quite a fetish when it comes to all things dishes. Of course, I'm not such a fan of the new, off the shelf, out of the box types. I like, ok love, the old stuff. depression glass, old china, chipped, worn enamel, stuff that comes to me with a story already. Stuff that has to be hunted for. Stuff that you come across when you're not looking for it, when you don't even really need it, but have to have it. It's a sickness, I suppose. 

But there is something about the times when I feel like my life is unravelling, as it frequently has in the last few years, and I find myself in the kitchen. Cooking, creating, nourishing myself & those around me. And I reach for the pink depression glass plates that I bought from an antique store for like $60 when I was in high school, or the set of white & gold edged plates that I found for my first Thanksgiving dinner after my divorce, where 20 or so of my friends & family who had carried me through that time gathered around my table,  or the stack of pretty blue plates that a sweet little old lady had parted with at a yard sale. 

And there, with plate in my hand, I have company. The memories that have been served on these plates that I have dragged around through the years, the romantic dinners, the pancake breakfasts my kids served me in bed, the tea parties, the quick lunch scarfed over the kitchen sink, all of it. It's all there in those plates.  

There are some that are on my shelf, just because they are pretty. But even they have their stories. The blue flowered plate that is the last survivor of a set of four that I found in a Half Moon Bay thrift store on a cold, foggy day, a whole lifetime ago...

Some aren't so sentimental, but I just love them. Like these cool ramekins that I use all the time...

...and my chipped but fabulous casserole dishes.

Let's not forget about my favorite wine glasses - no stems because I am a chronic breaker of glasses. And the small juice glass that doubles as a wine glass & makes me feel like I am in an Italian Grandma's kitchen, a long time fantasy of mine that will someday come to fruition. 

 

Or these old, thick glasses that used to be on my mother's shelves. I don't use them much, but I love to see them there..

These milk glass cups & creamer usually accompany my mom & I in an afternoon coffee. I shudder to think of the sentimental value these will have one day...

And a simple tea cup that serves tea to my daughters when they are sick, or that becomes a votive holder when candlelight is required...

All of these things feed my soul and carry with them the things that are precious to me. The memories, the moments, the future.