It seems like in every one of my cabinets, all my drawers, for sure closet shelves from ceiling to floor and behind some doors I have stuff. Lots and lots of stuff. And I’m not sure where much of it came from. I do know I recently uncovered a box half full of the fine china that belonged to my Grandma Annunciata. Can’t recall the last time I even thought about it. It was under one of the beds as they seem to be a catch all for what won’t fit anywhere else.
“Oh, just put it under the bed,” can only work for so long. So this got me to thinking…why didn’t I just throw some of the “under the bed” stuff away? While seeking more stuff to get rid of, about 50 percent of the rest of Annunciata’s family riches were uncovered under beds No. 2, No. 3 and No. 4. Only the coffee creamer and sugar bowl were squirreled away up high in a forgotten nook in the attic. Thought the plates might be there, too. Nope. Still no plates. Where were those plates?
We spread the vast collection of pieces that we discovered across the dining room table. This is where they lived for the entire months of January and February. I’ve had these precious heirlooms for as long as I can remember and only used the salad bowls three times… twice for soup and once for dessert. I grew so weary of the plethora of porcelain in my line of vision that I finally relocated it to my office. So now, by the first of March, I had moved the problem – not solved it. Purely by happenstance, in a very back corner, on the very top shelf of the kitchen pantry, behind a very large box… TADA!!!
I found a plastic bag containing 11 errant plates! Now I had more or less a complete set. My husband, Ken, made good on his promise to list it online if I still wanted him to. He’d already examined every saucer and cup, counted each bowl and measured every plate. In addition to individual group pics he’d taken a family shot of the whole lot.
He said, “Are you sure you want to do this?” With a sigh I said, “Yep, go ahead and hit enter.” Although we’d been warned that old dishes don’t sell we thought we’d beat the odds and become rich!
But I began to have pangs of guilt to even be considering such a thing. After all, it did belong to Grandma. What would she think?! Realistically, what would I do differently if I did keep them? It was just a bunch of useless old ceramic dishes. One reason I didn’t want them was because they had to be washed by hand. Putting them in the dishwasher would be criminal. They had delicate gold highlights in the pattern and all around the rims. And being china, if they weren’t handled gently it wouldn’t take much to chip away at the already reduced service for 12. Even a slight rough rinsing could gradually diminish the set to that of one far fewer than 10.
I had already tried to give it away to someone who would truly cherish it. Finally, I got to the point that I didn’t care if it went to a good home or not. I just wanted it to go! I asked about everyone I know starting with the daughter-in-law, granddaughters, their friends, friends of mine I felt might want it and people on eBay who resell such stuff for a business. Our online proposal got nary a bite. And when the mailman declined my generous offer, I threw up my hands!
Exhausted, but with help from Ken, we gathered up boxes to pack up what had become a pain in my heart. The dishes were carted out to the garage to await the donation truck’s arrival. A totally random thing occurred the day before the truck was due. My neighbor across the street ambled over to chat. Overwhelmed for the past 75 days with nothing but tableware, you can imagine what I wanted to chat about.
Once she heard the word china she said, “I certainly hope you still have it! I love antique china. Haven’t I ever shown you my collection?” (Evidently not.)
We raced out to my garage where she asked if she could see some of the pieces. I was all too happy to oblige. I watched as she tore open a box with cups in it. I swear it was like watching a kid open exactly what they asked for at Christmas! “I want them. I want them all. Can I have them, please?”
Relieved and speechless at her request I piled as many boxes in her arms as she wanted to carry, gave her a kiss and sent her on her way. She came back the next day!
So it just goes to show as the old saying goes,
“One gal’s junk is another gal’s china!”
