oy gevalt, the sequel

Those of you who have been reading my blog since its inception know that I have a very special love/get away from me bond with my mother. I am an only child and am basically her whole world. This can be both a blessing and a curse. When her little princess is moving far far away from her to live with a boy and leaving her all alone with no one in this world to talk to, that, dear friends, is a curse. In addition, my mother is taking my move as an opportunity to unload years of hostess/birthday/anniversary gifts that have been given to her that she has yet to actually use. When my parents got married, the de rigeur wedding gift was sterling silver coffee spoons. They have been married for 32 years. They have all 6 sets that they received for their wedding. Still in the original packaging. My mother claims that it will be nice to have a reminder of home when I'm living overseas. Few things scream "reminder of home" quite like some things which have not been used in 32 years do. (An anecdote about my family: when my great-grandmother got married, she received a tablecloth as a wedding gift. This tablecloth was just too nice to use and needed to be saved for a special occasion. So she saved it. And saved it. Kept on saving it right up until the day my Nana got married, when she gave it to her as a wedding gift. My Nana just loved this tablecloth so much that she wanted to take good care of it and not ruin it. The best way to preserve a tablecloth? By not using it. This is what she did. She decided to give it to my mother on her wedding day. My mother has yet to use this tablecloth. Three guesses as to what I'm getting for my wedding.)

As any good Jewish mother, mine is resorting to guilt to clear out all of her cabinets. Mrs. So and So gave her these lovely wine glasses for us to use and would want us to use them well. Should I address a thank you card to Mrs. So and So thanking her for the truly heinous glasses that are still in their original packaging 10 years later? My dad's aunt had this lovely plate and it would be nice for me to keep it in my house to remember her by. Is it possible to remember someone who passed away before you were even born? I used to love these serving plates so much and always told her I wanted them for myself, don't I remember? Was this before or after I told her I was the future Mrs. Ricky Martin? 

I have only been at my mother's house for about an hour and a half tonight, but it feels like so much longer. She sat in her living room, pulling out pieces from her China cabinet  and convincing me of exactly why I needed them in my life. While most pieces got met with plenty of mocking and sarcasm, I did get away with a box of stuff that was quite lovely. And $40 to figure out how to get it all to Germany. UPS, here I come! Here are the free pieces of China that I am now paying someone to pack/ship for me.

Pinecone set of China for 6 (soup bowls, salad plates, entree plates).

This was my mother's wedding China that she doesn't use that much any more. I want my own set of China (complete with serving pieces) but this will be good to hold us over until then. The pinecones motif would be great for Thanksgiving.

Blue and white serving bowl.

I love blue and white pieces and this matches some lovely trivets, coasters, and plates that we stocked up on in Turkey!

Andrea by Sadek Buckingham Oblong Platter, Chip/Dip/Spreader Set, and Cake Plate and server set

Love all of the florals on these. My guess is- TLS, not so much.

Set of 6 red glass ice cream bowls

Set of two Spode Blue and Blue serving plates/bowls.

Wedgwood Jasperware kangaroo plate

This one is tiny, about the size of a coaster, and the kangaroo is adorable and I simply adore Jasperware!

Set of two decorative plates from Spain

It's wrong to break up a set so I had to take both, not just the one (i.e. more empty space in her China cabinet which my dad would have to fill).