More Dishes Learn to Fly

I am still into down sizing. Today I donated two sets of dishes to the Goodwill. I had been holding on to them, hoping that Cliff or Phil would want them. Or, better yet, I was hoping that they would have girlfriends who would like the sets and want them. I decided to get realistic. My friend, Florence, a successful downsizer, gave me the good advice not to move any dishes that we weren't using. After I let go of the Spode china that my mother gave me, I decided it was time to teach Mikasa and Denby how to fly out of the nest. First I had Phil help me come up with an estimated values for them. Both patterns are carried by Replacements Limited and show up on ebay at times. We used the price lists from Replacements Limited to establish the value for tax purposes, then photographed the pieces for tax records. The final step was to box the dishes up and take them to the Goodwill. This time I didn't have to write up the history and significance of the donations, but think I will for my blog.

Dish history: We got two sets of dishes for our wedding, Spode from my parents (see earlier blog for history) and Noritake for everyday. The Noritake was a nice, neutral stoneware that was popular in the 70's. There was nothing wrong with it, but it didn't have pizazz. It turned out to be just right for son Phil, who is attending WWU.



I bought our third set, Denby Twilight stoneware, at Frederick and Nelson's warehouse sale in the early 1980's. These sales were something special that neither my sister Suzy nor I could miss. They'd have terrific bargains. I'm sure I only paid $1-2 per piece for service for 8. I had always wanted some Denby and was swayed by the status of the name. Unfortunately, I tired of the pattern after a couple of years. By then, F&N had closed, so I had to look elsewhere for new dishes. I boxed up the Denby and stuck it in our garage. I pulled it out for Thanksgiving when we needed more dishes.



Larry and I stopped at discount malls on road trips now and then. We started looking for dishes together at Mikasa outlets. Our tastes clashed. We bought one set, a compromise. When we got it home, I really, really hated it. We took it back for a store credit. After 2 years of more looking, and some marriage counseling by our friends J&M, we came across the San Marco pattern. Although I didn't love it, I decided it was good enough. We used it for many years.


About 7 years ago, we decided that we needed a new set of dishes because the San Marco set was too chipped. We started looking again. This time we found an expensive set that we both loved--Dune by Villeroy & Boch. We invested in it, thinking that would be the last set we'd need.

However, shortly after we got the V&B home and settled, I discovered Corelle. I started by getting a few white pieces, which coordinated with the V&B. I liked how light they felt and how chip resistant they seemed. I slowly started adding more pieces. I discovered that Corelle also comes in cute little pieces and has handy serving pieces, so I kept buying. Before I knew what was happening, we had accumulated a large collection of Corelle. I love the Corelle. I'm not sure if Larry does. However, when a V&B plate is next to a Corelle, he will choose the Corelle. I'm sure he doesn't hate it. I will use our V&B for special occasions, but Corelle wins for every day. I do plan to keep and move the V&B. We still love the pattern. I feel I am entitled to keep that even though it has light use because I let go of our other 4 sets of dishes.