New Finds and Old Treasures

Not long ago I spent the day with my dear friend Elizabeth, of Just Following Jesus In My Real Life.  We spent several hours thrifting and took time for a delightful lunch together.  Time with Elizabeth is like a breath of fresh air – a pick-me-up for my soul.  We have such a good time together and I always come home with new finds and some real treasures.  A few days before our thrifting adventure I found a blog I hadn't seen before.  As I browsed and read that blog I was drawn to a plate rack on her wall and I thought I would like to find one for my wall.  Would you believe I found one during my day with Elizabeth?  I was totally enchanted with it – it was just right.  Without hesitation I put it in my basket. It was half price that day! Two dollars and fifty cents.  It didn’t take me long to hang it on my wall when I got home.  Over the next few weeks I played with several possible arrangements of plates I already owned but none of them were quite what I envisioned.  A few days ago I stopped at a favorite Goodwill on my way home from an appointment and there they were.  Plates that were just right for my plate rack and they were half price that day!  Two dollars and fifty cents for four.  Just what I needed, plus one more.  As soon as I put them on the plate rack, I smiled.  They were just right – and they made my heart sing! (There’s no way to get a great photo on this corner of my living room that is filled with shadows – we have too much light coming from all directions.  Not a problem.  I like light!)Back to my day with Elizabeth. . .
At the next stop she found a cup and saucer rack that matched my new plate rack.  Just what I needed.  And the best news?  Half price.  One dollar and fifty cents.  I knew it would be perfect on the only wall in my dining room – above the picture that my sweetheart gave me several years ago.(oops – the picture is tilted a bit!)  Isn’t it perfect there?  You can see here what was above the big picture before I got the cup rack.  They were moved to a little wall in my kitchen.  I tried several different combinations of cups and saucers and I didn’t come up with just the right thing.  I stood on the other side of the room one day and studied it, trying to decide what I wanted to do.  All of a sudden, I knew!  I had the perfect plan.  My dear, little mother’s tea set was what I needed!  She had given it to me some time ago and she was keeping it stored safe and sound until I decided where I wanted to use it.  I knew now it was time to claim her gift!  And she was very pleased!The cups and saucers you see are the Royal Albert ‘Tea Rose’ pattern.  This is a set of six cups and saucers and one luncheon plate.  My father was a minister and for many years he travelled throughout the United States and Canada, preaching in different churches and Bible camps.  My dear mother travelled with him.  Before I was married a dear Canadian friend gave her the first cup and saucer that was the beginning of this set.  She received one or two more as gifts and then purchased the remaining pieces whenever she returned to Canada.  I would love to add more pieces to the set.  I’ll be watching for good deals online and in my thrifting and antiquing trips.   These cups and saucers are part of my history – old treasures that mean much to me.  They won’t always hang on the wall.  From time to time they will come down and be used to serve tea to my friends.  Maybe you could join me for tea one of these days.  I’d love to share it with you and let you enjoy my new finds and old treasures.There is a sad ending to this story:  in the unpacking of the tea set I discovered one carefully wrapped saucer had not survived the storage.  My dear, little mother had carefully wrapped each piece well and placed them in a heavy-duty box that was stored on an out-of-the way shelf that didn’t get much ‘traffic’.  What happened may never be known.  I’m hoping to find a lone saucer to replace it sometime.  In my thrifting stops I often find beautiful, single, orphan saucers that have been separated from their lovely cups.  I’ve seen this one in the past when I didn’t think I needed it – now I’ll wait until I find one again!  In the meantime I’ll enjoy what I have and I'll always treasure the dear ones who shared themselves with me and made this all possible.