Near Glass Casualties - the Fixins Plates

The day before the Glass Catastrophe, I cleaned out a lower cabinet as the initial phase of a kitchen purge. Inside that cabinet, behind a bunch of (you guessed it) CRAP we had hastily moved off counters in order to plaster and paint, I recovered some family tradition glass items. I like a pretty table, especially when I'm having folks over for noshing ... thankfully, I had safely stored these lovelies and they went unharmed, uncracked, unmolested and otherwise INTACT! See this stack of plates and saucers? This is 'the fixins' stack, used at every buffet, family gathering, friend nosh fest, or whenever Toni Cooks Mexican Food (which is pretty often!). To lose these would have been beyond catastrophic!! The white coats with the straight jackets would need to have been summoned! Kiss Me! This little vessel has been moved onto my studio desk top, to hold my calligraphy pen nibs. It's one of the treasures I found while purging in, on, and around it! This leaf plate is home to my tiny serving forks, and on the plate with the cut-out edge, I sometimes crisscross a stack of pretty cocktail napkins. Most often, though, this largest plate holds assorted olives. My male children and I SCARF us some serious olives -- but Double BB won't touch the thangs. Rings of red onion are served on the iridescent plate to the left. Usually, I lay sliced avocado on this small plate in front, as only two of us like that. The colors of my soul, I guess ... roses, creams, some glimmer and sheen, touches of green ... and blooming!

The thing about being the only woman in a house of men is NOT to lose those gentle touches. I doubt my guys notice the dishes, but they notice the FEELING of the dishes, a meal somehow elevated, a sense of occasion, a special touch. This is a woman's hand. And I've been obsessing the last 5 days about my hands, but that's another post for another day.