It's Friday.... hip, hip hooray (thought sarcastically). One of my least favorite yet necessary things to do has been cleaning out my mom's house so that it can be sold. Normally this wouldn't be such a burden, but we saved everything, while adding more in hopes of finding that "perfect" homestead aforementioned. So, that means it's like somebody's normal house full of goodies, minus the collection of butter bowls, aluminum pie pans, and bread wrappers, and instead add in a balloon blowing clown head, chandeliers from Union Station, and autographed pictures from the likes of Joan Jett and others.... Now many people would think... "Oooh, cool!", but for a person whose lived the life, sitting down and sorting becomes a rehashing of where it came from, how much it costs, and worse yet, the conversation that me and mom had while obtaining it. In other words, a day full of crying, made worse yet by having someone rush you that doesn't have the emotional connection that you do.
So, try cramming 3 lifetimes worth of junque into an 1800 square foot house. I currently have 4 china cabinets in my dining room besides a buffet, and table and chairs. This week I've been working to get my great-grandmother's Jewel Tea collection out of the boxes and into the cabinets. It takes up 3 of the cabinets. The 4th holds my mom's "Red, White, and Blue" collection of dishes. It's kind of a mixture of Wedgwood, Blue Willow, and red transferware, along with bits and pieces from my restaurant dishes. We shuffled all of the everyday dishes into a cupboard that my dad made, in the hallway directly off the kitchen, and filled the 1920's kitchen cupboards with my Fiestaware. The cabinets are painted white, so they really show off the colors of the Fiesta.
There are 2 complete sets of Franciscan packed away for Steve's niece and nephew, for when they get old enough to need it. There's a partial set of Rookwood that mom and I were collecting, but they are so expensive and evidently rare that I don't know if I will find it all in my lifetime. Mom liked it because it is white with little blue ships circling 'round the rims. I like it because it's Rookwood. After I get it all arranged, maybe I'll learn how to add pictures to this blog.
I hadn't intended for this to be the dish dialogue, but it seems that's where it went. So now you know... we collect dishes, and directly prior to being disabled, I managed an antique mall. It was not glamourous, but it paid the bills, and I got to shop on the job, and work with a friendly bunch of people. I've also catered, owned 2 restaurants, been a retail manager, a photographer, and worked at 6 Flags....long, long ago, and far, far away......
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