Apparently a little too full.
I didn't hear the crash so I have no idea when it happened, but sometime yesterday one of the built in shelves in my perfect little closet gave way and the shelf along with stacks of dishes fell onto the stacks of china resting on the shelf below.
Here are pictures of the carnage:
I am so disappointed. Lost was a Desert Rose gravy boat (the hand painted version that belonged to my husband's grandmother), several blue and white bowls that belonged to my mother, and a few bowls, dessert plates and a hard to find gravy boat in the Ever Yours pattern that is my absolute favorite. The Desert Rose divided bowl that also belonged to my husband's grandmother can be salvaged--there was only a small slice torn from the rim and luckily I found it in the dust and debris and can repair it. Thanks to an artifact conservation class I took in graduate school, I have some great experience with piecing broken things back together!
As I was sweeping up the mess, ready to toss all the jagged pieces in the trash can, I realized that maybe there is a bright side to this sad event. When we moved, I brought along with us an iron patio table base from our old patio set. It is in good shape, it just needs a new top. For a couple of years now, it has been my plan to mosaic a new top. Well, now it looks like I have some china pieces to work with! At least these special pieces won't end up in the dump.
Another positive: my children were with me when I discovered the breakage, so I had a wonderful opportunity to model a mature response to a sad little mishap. And to my credit, I did. We ended up having a meaningful conversation about disappointment and making lemonade out of lemons. And we reminded each other that it is just stuff, after all, even if it is stuff that is full of loving memories.
So once the weather warms up (IF the weather warms up???), watch for a Before & After featuring a shiny new mosaic patio table.
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