Autumn Leaves Little 'Pea Bowls'

I keep this little stack of bowls because there are so many memories surrounding them...When I look at them I can almost hear my granddaddy... Pappa...asking my grandmother...Mamama..to hand him a little bowl for his peas.. and she would hand him one of these little bowls..  This is the pattern she used most often when we ate at her house.....so, this is the story of a stack of 'pea bowls'...

I was beginning an annual fall purge of all my china yesterday...Then I ran across this little stack of dishes way back in the corner of my china closet...Every year, it is the same..do I keep them or do I toss them?
I never use them.  They are only for the memory of Pappa and his peas...

The jury is still out on this decision.....  But I thought what a nice way to preserve the memory if I do decide to give them away this year...a tablescape featuring the few pieces I have of this Franciscan china.  The name is perfect for this time of year.  Autumn Leaves ...

It does have great autumn colors, the green, gold, brown, and teal on a creamy background...

I used some teal rattan chargers..another purge..one last photograph.....I am needing to make room for other great finds..and these take up a lot of room....

The brown and green glasses...no more room..say goodbye......but they are pretty with these dishes....

One thing I am surely keeping ...this monogram pattern..It was a practice run but it is really nice...How do you like it?  I am thinking some linen napkins with this G would be pretty...

Yes, the stack of 'pea bowls'......Maybe you will be happy to know that after all of this writing, I decided to keep these little bowls....after all, they don't really take up that much room....maybe I will keep these brown plates too...but the chargers and the glasses can go...There, I feel better now that I have made some good decisions about what to purge.  LOL

Do any of you do this too?  I mean go through your dishes and decide to donate some that you are tired of or never use anymore?  I believe that this keeps the tablescaping and thrifting fluid....That if I want to keep finding good things at the thrift stores, I must give into that pool sometimes....I used to be in the habit of donating much more often than I do now.. So, I encourage you..for every set of dishes you find, donate back something...anything...There is no way I could ever keep all of the dishes and glasses that I buy from the thrift stores...It is a good hobby...See what you can find, do a tablescape, take some beautiful pictures, then give it away..or at least some of it...

Now I am going to eat lunch...I have some leftover peas from last night and I know just the perfect little bowl to use....

Thank you for stopping by today...

Love, Mona


This weeks parties..come and see what is going on around blogland....I am so excited we are entering November....

Let's Dish

Tablescape Thursday

Home and Garden Thursday

Seasonal Sundays

Inspire Me Tuesday

When memories surprise us

The other day I decided for some unknown reason to make myself a cup of instant decaf coffee.  I had ordered this instant coffee during one of my online orders of our favorite coffee..Community Coffee....we always drink the dark roast but I saw this new item..decaf instant and thought it might be nice to have if I needed a quick coffee taste to something I was cooking......well, that was more info than you needed..grin..

Anyway, I had a sore throat and wanted something hot to drink so I thought this might taste good.....

As I poured the boiling water into the cup and the smell of that instant coffee filled my senses..I am telling you I was transported back instantly to a time of simpleness....a time when all my mama drank was Sanka coffee......and this memory became bigger than life.  I hope I can do it justice in sharing it with you......I was sitting at a table in a restaurant in Atlanta with my Mama and Mamama and she had ordered coffee..I am sure my grandmother did too...and I can remember them bringing her a cup and saucer, a pot of hot water, and a little orange packet of Sanka coffee....and oh, the dramatics of opening that little packet of instant coffee and then pouring that hot water in that cup...and then....THE SMELL of instant Sanka......yep..it was right there with me just like it was when I was a little girl...........just the simple memory triggered by a simple smell of hot water being poured over instant coffee.......

well, here I am ...my own self...Mama and Mamama are long gone.....and I find myself doing the things they did...without even a thought of where this came from....yes, generational lines are powerful things......I just proved this to myself.....drinking instant decaf coffee is absolutely something I NEVER thought I would be doing as a grown woman in the day of fresh brewed coffee with big expensive home brewing systems...but ..........
there I was...making a cuppa joe.....and it was of the instant decaf kind.......

the memory of those times are sweet....like a little gift... the good times of admiring my glamorous mama as she sipped her Sanka.........

cherish your good memories..they are fleeting and wonderful....don't live in them...just visit with them and send them on their way..until the next sweet unexpected gift of a memory comes floating into your life.....

and live a life of making memories with those in your life........it is the simple things that I find I remember the most..the everyday stuff.....like a hot cup of instant coffee in a restaurant in Atlanta....and we were all dressed up in our finest too...because that is what you did in those days when we ate lunch in  the Magnolia Room at Rich's.

thank you for coming along today...I am so thankful for all of you that read my words.....and follow my blog....I hope a good memory comes your way today as you absolutely live this life fully in the present and pressing on toward the future....see you again soon...