To the china cabinet

We host the big family dinners. Usually 11-17 people a couple times a year. I try to keep the presentation special... So I bring out the China and the serving dishes.

It's fun, and feels good to do something over and above the every day meal.

But as it happens, families grow up and apart too. The sister in law that used to come over with her husband and three kids rarely makes it (because teens think family functions are lame), and my parents don't live in town in the winter. 

I still love the grandma's China pattern. I still love the wedding present pottery serving dishes too. However, I have kept other things out of habit. I don't need 7 champagne flutes or every single obscure bit of the China, or 3 different coloured glass cake plates or a half dozen candle sticks!

So I looked closely. I weighed the emotional value and I purged some stuff! Yay!

A friend has taken the crystal champagne flutes off my hands, and the rest will be off to a new life from the thrift shop. 

Not pictured: 3 hats, 2 nickel plated candle sticks and a couple more shirts!