Saving Stuff

 I'm slowly trying to donate unused stuff to local charities.  And,  I am trying not to add new items to the stuff collection. The battle is real 😃. 

One thing that has been in my mind is a collection of Lenox Christmas china.  I enjoyed acquiring these dishes over the years,  as gifts or by finding a sale.  I love the pattern,  the glaze,  the weight and the shapes of this china.  I don't have an exact complete set,  but I do have about a dozen dinner plates and a variety of other pieces; both serving and place setting. 

I've been using some odds and ends for my daily dishes.  (A few bone-china plates that were Great Aunt Bubble's handed down to me with her cedar chest of heirlooms.  A few dinner plates from Grandparents Johansen, Golden Wedding gifts that Gus had in his collection.  I have to say that I enjoyed using those old plates. I always thought of my Johansen grandparents as I held the cream colored plate with a scalloped gold edge.  The white bone china was beautiful and while I don't have many memories of great aunt Bubble, she did raise my Mom from age 3 to 16.) Breakage had claimed most of the old plates and I was ready for a change.  I tried shopping at thrift stores to pick up another mixed collection of vintage plates but had no success. I did pick up a few plates at the Dollar Store, but once I had them home, I was not happy. 

So,  I decided to start using my Christmas dishes every day.  Turns out to be a really great idea.  I love these dishes,  I feel joy when I eat off the dinner plates and I love how they feel and look.  Eventually,  somebody will have to figure out what to do with all the serving pieces. But for now,  I'm using these little beauties. 🎄 

More and more I ask myself,  what am I saving stuff for?