Collections....obsessions, or just things.

Growing up we had very little in the way of "decor" as we know it today.  My Mom kept our home spotlessly clean and the tantalizing smells of her delicious cooking greeted you when you entered the door.

On her kitchen counter she had a set of stainless steel canisters for her sugar and flour and on our kitchen table, a soup tureen which was never used. We had everything we needed in the way of necessity and comfort, but there were no "things" for the sheer sake of having them or for their beauty.

It is no wonder today, that after so many years of having my own home and being a wife and mother, I am sometimes obsessed with finding and filling my space with things that are beautiful and
meaningful to me. 

Over the course of thirty some years, this has translated into many things.

My obsession with pearl handled sterling flatware....

 

blue and white china..... and any colour transferware....

....anything with gold gilt.....

.....acorns.....the symbol of rebirth and renewal.....

....red or pink transferware sourcing, are my serious afflictions...

 

like this wonderful platter which I use only at Christmas and Thanksgiving.

It is Woods, Burslem, English, which I acquired about twenty years ago with twelve matching plates.

 

white ironstone pitchers, green majolica and more silver.

 

...and then there are linens and more silver....

 

and china roses, when I can't get them outdoors.....

...hand painted demitasse cups....and there are a few more things....

Within the next few months we will begin a major renovation to our forty something year old house.  Mr. M. and I have deliberated for some time now about down sizing or staying put.  It appears we can't leave this old place with the garden that needs tending, and the fire flies in June and the sound of the water rushing from Ball's Falls down the way in the spring.  It is the fall of our lives and that of this old house, but we will have to renew and rebuild one more time. What will become of all the things I have collected and cherished this time around?

We shall see.