china and pottery

Solitary

March 5, 2019 at 10:55 am by Claudia

In a desperate attempt to find something that is not the usual photo on the blog, Claudia wanders the kitchen and comes up with this. (Note that this wall has yet to be painted yellow.)

On top of the cabinet, which is what I was concentrating on: two Fiesta mixing bowls from my former collection (I saved my favorite pieces) and a Fiesta gravy boat. Sheep: salt and pepper shakers and another one given to me by a friend. A fisherman from our long ago Dept 56 collection that Don always thought looked like him. A McCoy vase. A McCoy pot planted with pothos. An old tin that I found at the Country Living Fair.

And for those of you who said I should use my great-grandmother’s china…

In addition to our everyday china, I have yet another set of “good” china that I fell in love with several years ago. After searching for the pattern, I happened upon a guy selling all of this on eBay. And he lived in New York State. I love this set.

But it’s on display. I use some pieces occasionally, but it basically lives here in the cabinet. As my great-grandma’s set will live in the cabinet in the den.

We eat our dinner on trays in the den. We rarely use the kitchen table. We got into the tray thing years ago and we like it. Since we spend great chunks of the day together, it’s not as if we have to meet up at the dinner table to discuss our day. We’re discussing throughout the day.

Also, I do not like to entertain. I didn’t inherit that gene. When I do entertain, I feel incredibly stressed. This house is small and it gets tight with just Don and me, let alone others.

But to be honest, I’ve never been comfortable entertaining. I’m solitary, remember? I like my quiet and my routine. It’s amazing that I somehow managed to let Don into my life. (Best thing I ever did!) Since he feels more or less the same way, though he’s definitely more social than I, we are fine the way we are.

I also don’t like to go to parties. I’ve had a lifetime of cast parties and opening night parties and closing night parties and I usually do my duty and make an appearance, but I can’t wait to leave and breathe fresh air and not have to make small talk or shout over the noise. I can’t wait to get out of my fancier duds and put on jeans and a t-shirt or, better yet, my flannel pajamas.

When I work as a coach, I’m surrounded by lots of people all of the time, lots of energy, and lots of noise. The same can be said of my years teaching. So when I get home, I crave quiet. I am capable of being social and charming and chatty, but I much prefer the opposite. I’m an introvert, I guess.

Though Don would certainly say I’m chatty at home and I suppose I am. “Solitary but chatty…” see blog sidebar.

You can better see the pattern of the dishes in this photo of a serving dish.

I’ve got china and pottery everywhere in this house, stashed on shelves, stashed in cabinets, on tables, on desks, on top of the kitchen cupboards.

A couple of days ago, we finally managed to shovel the far side of the parking area near the shed where Don usually keeps his car. He’s been having to park in the driveway. We were too sick at the time to shovel it out and then we kept getting those storms with ice and it became impossible to shovel. Too many layers of ice. After freeing my car last week, we cleared the other side and salted it on Saturday. Don was finally able to park his car normally. As for yesterday’s snow clean-up, Don ended up shoveling the driveway and I shoveled the parking area. More salt was put down knowing that we had a big freeze coming last night. All is clear!

It will be very cold for the next three days and then it will gradually start to warm up. Next week, temperatures will be in the forties, which seems positively balmy.

I’ve seen robins for the past few days and I heard the call of mourning doves both yesterday and today. Spring is coming.

Happy Tuesday.

The China

February 20, 2019 at 11:35 am by Claudia

I finally managed to unwrap all of my great-grandmother’s china yesterday. It was packed in a big box, but the china itself was in an old crate tucked inside the box. Now, I’ve had all of this for years, but I had never looked at the crate. Nor had I done anything but look at one or two pieces of the china (which turned out to be Haviland Limoges) so I had no idea what was there.

First, the crate.

Amazing right? It’s very old. And it’s sort of wonky. We’re currently trying to figure out where to put it.

Now, the china.

Here are a few pieces that are Haviland Limoges:

And I have a small Haviland Limoges dish that I’ve used to hold jewelry for many years. It’s upstairs in the bedroom.

But that’s it for this pattern. The big surprise is that most of the china – plates, salad plates, cups, saucers and serving dish – is made by a company called O & EG Royal Austria.

The theme that connects all of the china is pink roses. You’ve seen the design on the Haviland. Here’s the design on the O & EG.

I really, really love this pattern – even more than the Haviland. The roses are intertwined with a blue ribbon. And I love the scalloped edges.

There’s one more piece – a candy dish or something like that. It’s a different Haviland pattern.

Along with larger pink roses, there are lavender blooms, as well.

I had a post up on IG yesterday and I said that I couldn’t figure out what the marking said. Reader Linda came through big time with “Hudson Crockery Co.” I compared other marks from that company and they match. The company was based in Syracuse NY. Thank you so much, Linda!

And here’s the mark for the other pieces of Haviland Limoges:

So. What my grandmother told me was a set of Haviland Limoges is not that. It’s a combination of two different china manufacturers – both beautiful, both linked by a pink roses theme. Who knew?

I’m thrilled.

Everything stacked up and ready to go in the china cabinet.

I had to clear the bottom shelf, which involved some shuffling of McCoy pieces.

Here it is. I kept the blue napkins that my grandmother used to protect the plates. I didn’t want to get rid of them. After all, Grandma kept and protected these dishes for decades. And then she passed them on to me.

I’m so glad they’re on permanent display here at the cottage after years of being in storage.

I should clean them and I will, but slowly, over time.

More snow tonight with yet another layer of ice. That’s been the case with every storm we’ve had in February.

Over it.

We’re taking it easy today. I’m slowly getting stronger, thank goodness.

Happy Wednesday.

Questions, Questions

June 22, 2018 at 8:34 am by Claudia

Yesterday, I started clearing out an area right below the kitchen window to make another garden bed. Yes, I know. I need the care of yet another bed like a hole in the head, but it’s an area that is always full of weeds and is right next to the entrance to the secret garden. It suddenly struck me that, instead of ignoring it, I could plant a shade garden there.

So I started pulling the weeds (there’s a lot of work ahead) and found the inevitable plastic bags buried beneath the ground, along with some nylons and some socks. Just how much trash is buried on our property?

I found part of a china plate. The gold design is raised. I have no idea how old it is and it’s in pretty good condition because it was inside the bag. No markings. Any idea about the pattern?

Don would like me to discover a bag of cash. Preferably a stack of $100 dollar bills Somehow, given the humbleness of our abode, I don’t think that’s going to happen. But today I’ll start digging, so wish me luck!

The annabelle hydrangea is just about to turn white.

This plant grows on the far side of the house. It returns every year, and I’ve grown to like it. Is it a weed? I wonder, because it hasn’t spread and I don’t see it anywhere else on the property.

Those flowers will turn white soon.

It’s getting quite tall. Does anyone out there have any idea what this is? I’d sure love to know.

That being said, I’ve tried to be patient, but I’m starting to think my butterfly bush didn’t make it through the winter. I see a few leaves near the bottom, but I’m not sure whether they have anything to do with the actual bush. Do I yank it and buy another one? I would miss seeing all the butterflies who congregate there.

Questions, questions.

Happy Friday.

Solitary

The China

Questions, Questions

claudiahillsparks

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