My Bits and my Pieces!

 I spent most of Tuesday morning taking down all my bits and pieces off my dresser to give it all a very good clean. Some lovely memories as I looked at the different items, it was quite emotional too.

It houses gifts and pieces with special memories. On the very top shelf are 3 blue patterned plates that I bought after my divorce. We had a dinner service that my ex decided he wanted. His mother had bought it for us when we married. I didn't mind, because I didn't like it and I didn't like her, so good riddance I thought. But it meant my four grown up children and I only had odd dishes. 

That first Christmas 1987, my Aunt sent me some money, so I went to an Antique centre and bought an old dinner service, 6 large plates, 6 medium sized and 6 bread and butter plates, you've got to have bread and butter plates, don't you and 2 veg tureens, one with the lid missing; total cost £23, the stall holder took pity on me and dropped the price from £30. It did us well over the years and I kept those 3 plates just to remind me.

The rest of that shelf are all blue items, mostly gifts, except on the very right side is a small gin filled Delft Blue china house, it was from KLM airways that my ex was given. He had tossed it away and I rescued it, thinking it might have some monetary value, but I didn't sell it, but kept it all these years.

I've mentioned all that shelf has blue items, because the very first clearer I had, Fran,  after my divorce was lovely. On her first day she stripped and washed everything on my dresser, not something I asked of her, but she put everything back mixing up the shelf colours. I obviously noticed straight away when I got home from work, and before I did anything else, I put everything back as it was.. I made sure my next week's note to her said, 'no need to do the dresser, thank you!' I'm a bit OCD about it!

The picture on that blue shelf is a painting of Boysie, my dog I had years ago, it was painted because Boysie and Dh had been hit by a car that had mounted the pavement. Boysie was killed and Dh was pushed into a hedge, such a blessing that it was a hedge and not a wall.. the poo bag he was carrying was flung up into the tree. This was a great story for my grand children, who had to go to see the bag which was still in the tree months after. I was so relieved that Dh wasn't hurt, just bruised and shaken up. He was taken into A&E but was ok so allowed home. Elaine who had painted it, a lovely lady has since died. So a very precious painting.

The round shaped jug at the back on the bottom shelf was my mother's, one of a pair painted with blue birds, my parent's wedding present in 1936! There are 4 cats on there, I used to collect cats! There are presents from my G/daughter, my son who doesn't talk to me any more, nik nacks from friends, and a hand made little broach from Lilian, who is a Christian working  in Laos, a photograph of my middle son when he was in Play Group, he's 55 now and my grand daughter age 18mths, she's 30 in August.. a heart from Dh bought one Valentine's day. I love them all.

And a lot more; so many precious things, which will be just stuff to some one else one day, but to me they are memories, very, very precious memories.

Chrisxx