New dishes from Daddy!

So the other Saturday night, I was going to visit my sister in Tallapoosa, and when I called Daddy to see if he would be home, too, since he lives next door to her, he said no, he already had plans that evening, but he’d found “some old dishes” he thought I might like and for me to run by and take a look. He said if I wanted them, they could be my Christmas present, and if not, he could "probably find somewhere to get rid of them." Naturally, I was intrigued, and I am now the happy owner of fifteen place settings of Warwick Old Abbey china!

Last week, I was super busy finishing my latest book, which had to be to my editor by that Thursday, so I didn’t even have time to unwrap everything, which was in four banker’s boxes. I waited until my little neighbors came over one day and got them to help me with the unwrapping, and they were great!

How funny that there is fifteen of everything. Did someone drop the entire sixteenth place setting (because you just know there were sixteen to begin with)? And while I have plenty of sets of four plates/cups/saucers for teatime visitors, I have never actually had dinnertime place settings for more than that. I have eighteen turkey plates for Thanksgiving, but if you’re not coming for Thanksgiving or tea, I could only host a small group—until now! I will be hosting a tea for six later this month, and I plan to use as much of this lovely stuff as possible.

I wonder if perhaps someone received these dishes as a wedding gift and never used them. There are no chips, cracks, or crazing, and the gold accents are so perfect that I just don’t think these pieces were ever used. That is going to change. Oh, and in case you’re wondering, Daddy said he was at an antique mall where the booth was going out of business, so everything was half off, and he thought I might like these. He was right! (He and my mother used to be antique dealers, so I think he still has a good eye. He's eighty-six and just bought himself a new antique bedroom suite, which is lovely!)

I have: dinner plates, salad plates, bread-and-butter plates, berry bowls, soup bowls, cups and saucers, a creamer and sugar, two oval trays, three oval serving bowls, and eleven butter pats. (Upon closer inspection, I decided the butter pats aren't actually a part of of the original set because the roses aren't the same pale pink and they've got more of an etched design, but they're awfully close, so these are still a treat to have.) So, do fifteen of you want to come to dinner and/or teatime sometime soon? I’m ready!