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Posted on January 22, 2009 by Dawn
Last night as I was emptying my dishwasher, I stepped back from my opened cupboard and paused. I looked at my ivy-design Corelle plates, saucers and bowls. Some of the bowls are from another Corelle pattern, and two saucers have violets painted on them. I have a platter with a silver rim that doesn’t match anything else, two mixing bowls in a shade of yellow that screams the 1970s, and a serving bowl and platter with a blue Dutch china type of pattern on them. I used to have a set of matching juice glasses and matching salt and pepper shakers which have since broken; I think two of the juice glasses from the original set of six or eight are still in my cupboard of drinking glasses. That cupboard is its own entity of mismatched items. The individual mugs all have a memory or story attached; the glasses are pieces from at least four different sets, including the Batman promotional series from McDonald’s.
I smiled and shook my head as I gazed up at my cupboards full of mismatched items. When I was studying at University, I started to occasionally purchase dishes, pots and pans and other kitchen essentials so I would be prepared to move into a home of my own. I was very particular about having matching items. This was to avoid having a kitchen like my parents had. One of my chores growing up was drying and putting away all the dishes after dinner, so I knew every cup, glass, dish and piece of cookware that my parents owned. My mother once purchased a set of plates and bowls but instead of replacing what she had, she decided to use them in addition to what we already owned. None of them fit together but I had to find some way of stacking them in the cupboards every single night! Whenever we had dinner guests, we never had a consistent table with a set of matching dishes, glasses and cutlery. Everything was mismatched and haphazard. Our table never looked pretty like the ones in the magazines and catalogues.
I opened my cupboard of casserole dishes and serving bowls and my smile broadened as I viewed the ivy casserole dishes alongside one round casserole with a beige-and-brown design, and set of two smaller casseroles with red roses painted on the sides. They belonged to my great aunt; the beige-and-brown to my husband’s grandmother, who also was the owner of the two yellow mixing bowls. The blue Dutch china set and the silver-rimmed platter that matches nothing belonged to my own mother, and the saucers with the violet design had been a gift to me from her. I am not sure if it is maturity or necessity that has resulted in my use of these items in my kitchen, but I am suspicious that it is something more than that. As pretty and elegant as a matching table setting can appear, I seem now to find them somehow lacking in warmth and meaning. So I think it is more of choice (and possibly a need) to include some simple family history – small representations of past experiences and of those who no longer physically sit at my dinner table – that not only makes me keep these pieces, but makes me enjoy using them.
So I find myself giving thanks for the fact that my kitchen does not perfectly match because I am able to comprehend that these mismatched pieces bring to my home a sense of love and warmth through family history. What could be more beautiful and valuable than that?
Posted in Random Ramblings |
Tagged Family, Home, Kitchens, Random Thoughts
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Posted on January 20, 2009 by Dawn
I am thrilled that the morning of the inauguration of Barack Obama has arrived. But not for the reasons you might think.
Don’t get me wrong. I am happy that America has elected its first African-American President. I sense that the Obama family has a unique and very positive energy to bring to the White House, the office of the President, countries around the World and to the citizens of the United States, who I’m sure are in need of positivity right now.
I am thrilled though that this day of inauguration means that it will, at long last, be OVER. I have found the hype and lead-up to the pomp and circumstance of this perfectly orchestrated inauguration even more annoying than the hype surrounding the election itself. Not that all this ceremony doesn’t have meaning. The tradition is, of course, a desirable thing to continue. It is, of course, appropriate that Obama will be sworn in one day following the annual celebration of the life and works of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Obama will take the Oath of Office while placing his hand upon the bible used by President Lincoln, a poignant detail. But please, let’s just get the man sworn in already and let him go about doing his job. And let’s hope that the pressure to live up to the expectations so many citizens of multiple countries has for him as a result of the unyielding media coverage and doesn’t prove too much for him to handle. So far, it has seemed that Obama has been able to rise to the occasion and I will be hopeful that this will continue to be the case as he transitions from the hype and ceremony to the day-to-day requirements of holding the office of the President of the United States of America.
Even the title is full of pomp.
Posted in Random Ramblings |
Tagged Barack, Barack Obama, Inaugaration, Obama, Politics, President Barack Obama, President Obama, Ramblings, US Politics
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Posted on September 5, 2008 by Dawn
It isn’t very often that I go out to eat. There are varied reasons for this. Packing everything the kids may need and attempting to gauge in advance whether or not they will be well behaved is the first consideration. Then there is the drive of at least 20-minutes from our home into the city. A decision of which restaurant to go to must be made and in the end, of course, money will be spent. But the half-a-dozen times I have ventured out as a restaurant patron in the past eight months or so have made me consider that there may be another reason that my husband and I choose to dine at home more often than not.
I completely understand that more customers will equal more sales, resulting in higher profits, and more tips for the restaurant staff. As customers who are paying for this “luxury” of dining out, I believe we should be appreciated and cared for during our dining experience, not treated like we are part of an assembly line. Why am I expected to know what I would like to drink and whether or not I would like to order an appetizer when I have hardly been given the opportunity to sit down, much less open the menu? When the waiter next arrives at our table, he will be sure to mention, while we are still perusing the menu trying to choose a main course that we can certainly substitute a Caesar salad in place of a garden salad, but that such an upgrade will be at an additional charge.
Maybe the concept – or the carrying out of the concept – of customer service really is dead. In all but one of my recent experiences in dining establishments, I felt as though the diners at my table were viewed as an annoyance to be dealt with, as quickly as possible. At the most recent location, not only was I supposed to know what appetizer my family wanted before we were settled into the booth, but I was expected to know if and what I wanted for dessert while I still had half of my dinner sitting on my plate. In fact, I was taking a bite of my meal when the waiter inquired about our dessert choices.
I thought the idea of going out to eat was to relax – to be served instead of cooking yourself, to have different meal options to choose from, which would require a belief that what you choose to order will arrive as is indicated in the menu. But apparently even this is too much to expect. Again, at the most recent chain restaurant we attended, a choice of desserts was offered on their menu for kids. My son excitedly ordered “three mini ice cream cones.” After they arrived, I checked the menu to verify that is truly what is indicated on the menu, which it is. What arrived at our table was two mini ice cream cones with ice cream on top, and one mini cone topped with chocolate flavoured whipped cream.
Do they just think we won’t notice? Is it okay because heck, it’s just for kids? Maybe the kids won’t notice, or won’t care. Well, guess what? I, the paying customer, noticed. And I do care. Did I say anything? No, I didn’t. I figured it’s not the waiter’s fault he’s been trained to rush people in and out to improve everyone’s bottom line, or that the menu is printed one way but the food presented differently. Yes, I could have asked to speak to the manager, but who has time to make a fuss while dealing with young children, or trying to keep time with busy schedules? Maybe that is what these people – these businesses – count on.
Maybe lack of my patronage alone won’t make any difference. But I will appreciate when I next decide to stay at home instead of going out. Sure, I may have the stress of preparing a meal, and cleaning up after it has been eaten. But I will be able to eat what I want without any additional costs; I will be able to enjoy eating my meal at a leisurely pace instead of being rushed, and I will be allowed time following my main course to decide whether or not I want dessert.
I think I’ll have some ice cream.
Posted in Random Ramblings |
Tagged Food, Ramblings, Random Thoughts, Restaurants
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