Some I'll keep forever - the lovely Dutch china in blue-and-white, the gold-accented Russian set, the pale pink rose-patterned set from my grandma (who still wears tiny pink roses in her hair whenever they're in bloom), and the set with tiny violets that I admired for five years before finally buying them. But I have far more than necessary for even a fairly serious tea habit, and it's time for some of them to find new homes. A few are displayed on a wooden shelf, the ones I use the most are in the cupboard (in stacks, I know, that's terrible), but the rest are in a cardboard box and in grave danger of being smashed all to bits if anything knocks into them.
This one was the first to go, not because I don't like it, but because Grandma gave me two:
My sister lost her home to a wildfire in 2007, and a lifetime's worth of belongings were reduced to ashes. A few teacups survived the fierce heat, their paint bubbled and scorched, and one or two were nearly untouched. Since she has nothing left of the family heirlooms that had been passed down to her, I thought some of Grandma's teacups could join the hardy survivors on the display shelf in her kitchen. I've sent one a month for the last two months, and as soon as she gets settled from the 1000-mile move she's packing for as I write, I'll send the next one to her new address.
I am finding that I like getting rid of things.
I like it even more when the things find new homes with people who will love them.
And if the person in question is somebody I love, well, that's pretty much perfect.
My mom collected tea cups & saucers most of them came from her kids on her birthday and sometimes Christmas. She did have a few very nice ones that I believe dad gave her. She was not one to drink tea very often and so they mostly sat in cupboards (where else?). I believe my brother's wife has most if not all of them. It's nice to see them when I visit because it brings back a huge flood of memories of mom. =)
ReplyDeleteThanks for the teacups. And, I'm going to try to use them more often, even if it's only for orange juice in the morning. How awesome would THAT be? :) love you, too.
ReplyDeleteHi!
ReplyDeleteIs the tea shop you're speaking of the Tudor Rose? If so, that's very sad. So many memories there. The inspiration of my love of all things tea.
Priscilla, yes, sorry to say it was the Tudor Rose. We were sad to see it go too!
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