Spring Catch-Up

It's been a while since I've posted. You know, I read all these great blogs and sometimes think I have nothing cool or worthwhile to say. And then I get in the habit of not-posting. Or I get really, really busy, and just get in the habit of not-posting.

Honestly, it has been a busy month for me. I've worked extra hours because of the exhibit-change-over. I worked extra hours because of Atlanta schools' Spring Break increased our attendance. I worked extra hours because one of our staff couldn't fulfill their shifts. I worked a lock-in Friday night (wheee! clock in at 5:30 pm and clock out at 9:30 am and sleep about 3 hours in between! yay for caffeine!).

When I'm feeling taxed, then writing here goes out the window. I have other things to do, like dishes, laundry, meal planning, and cooking. Folding clothes. Straightening up the house. Hanging out with my husband.

But here's a post for y'all. Would you like some short-quick-to-the-point Deep Thoughts? Good; here you go:

• I had coffee with a good friend I haven't seen in 5 years. It's so good to see her again and catch up. I sensed in her the same changed I've been sensing in myself: I've gone through some really hard seasons in the last 5 years, and have grown up a lot, become more refined, more sanctified. So has she. Her fun and goofy and silly personality is still there, but there's also a delightful calmness and peace that was there before but is more apparent now.
• A dear friend has, in the last month, had a baby (her 3rd girl! hooray) and spent about a week in the hospital with her. The baby had (has?) RSV.
• Spring is springing here in Southeast Tennessee. The redbuds are blooming in spite of the chilly overcast drizzliness we've had the last week and a half; the pears are trying their darndest to bloom. All we need is two, maybe three, hot and sunny days and spring will dazzle and delight us.

That's about all that comes to mind. Have a good Lord's Day, everyone.

Dishes

I'm joining in! Rocks in my Dryer is having a spur-of-the-moment dish carnival and I want to share, too! I think it's amazing how many people, including me, will share details like these on the Internet. Are our plates really that important that we think of them as signifiers of who we are and how we keep house? Makes you think, right?

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First, my fine china: Lenox MicroSafe Continental Dining Platinum. My godmother talked us into registering for it about two weeks before our wedding! By that time, we only had ONE AFTERNOON to get that done, so we ran to Dill.ards and *poof* registered really quickly. The dish saleslady was impressed with our communications skills and decision-making technique.

We have service for 6 now. My favorite parts? The size of the plates, the classiness and simplicity of the design, and the size/shape of the teacups--with their easy-to-hold handles!

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Our everyday dishes: Pfaltzgraff Denim. We only had ONE DAY to do all of our registering (we lived in separate cities, were both teachers, and were coming up on final exams, ok?), and I learned from my sister's registering adventures that men have opinions but haven't talked and obsessed and thought about them as much as girls do. So, we talked everything over the week before we registered, we prayed faithfully for guidance, and when we saw these in Tar.get, we clapped and giggled. (Ok, it was just me. And registering is hard work, peeps, so I was a little punchy.)

Thanks to my grandparents and my parents-in-law, we have service for ten. We also have the gravy boat, the sugar and creamer, salt and pepper shakers, and three canisters. I like the blue look.

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Next, my buffet plates. White. Round. Utilitarian. I picked them up at a garage sale at my store last summer. They are freezer-, microwave-, dishwasher-, and oven-safe. (Oven safe! Yay!) I have ten.

I also have ten lionshead bowls, perfect for French onion soup and individual macaroni and cheeses. I'm glad I bought them, though they are a little hard to wash by hand (we don't have a dishwasher).

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My Christmas plates I got at The Bombay Store in its big going-out-of-business sale. There was a Bombay Store two doors down from Mia Cucina, and I had my eye on their beautiful Tartan plates. When they went 50% off, I snatched up their next to last box--service for four, with the dinner plate, salad plate, soup plate, and mug. Soooo pretty!

I looked and looked but couldn't find any pictures of the actual plates. This is the closest I could find, with the white center and the tartan band; ours are actually red, white, green, and yellow tartan (with red as the primary color).

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And my winter plates, courtesy of my mom and my mother-in-law...and my husband, who told his mom what exactly I wanted for Christmas two years ago. I looked and looked, but could only found this similar picture:Instead of randomly-scattered snowflakes around the rim, my plates feature evenly placed flakes around the rim. The center is white, though. The best part? The glaze is iridescent, and as my people know, iridescent is my favorite color. We have 6 of these, as well as cereal bowls. However, they are not microwave safe!

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I like plates! I got that gene from my grandmother, who has four or five nice, formal sets.

I grew up going to Grandma's house and using her nice dishes, and so I regularly bust out my nice dishes and use them, even if it's just pizza or sandwiches. They make even the most bland dinner extra nice, and fancy dinner is extra memorable.