Part One of Three: Lessons from Polish Pottery

Part One: What is going on with me on the outside?

     Recently, I was invited to a dinner party and was asked to bring desert.  I wanted to put the desert in really nice bowls.  Hey, it always makes the desert taste better when the dish is nice, right?  And we all know I needed to make the desert taste better than I can actually make it. 

Years ago, I went to Poland on an excursion and bought some beautiful hand-painted dishes.  I mixed and matched 15 bowls that have been packed up for years and decided it was time to pull those out and bring to the party.  Wouldn’t everyone love eating from those bowls? Along with those bowls, I had purchased plates, salad plates, pitcher, etc. .  I wanted a set of a dozen, of course, but had trouble finding ones that matched.  In Poland, you can hop from store to store and there are stacks to go through.  You can find a pattern that you like, but you might only find two of them.   I spent an entire day putting together a set of twelve plates that I loved.  I wrapped each of those items lovingly and brought them to Washington State when we moved from Europe.  I used them only to make things fancy.  They are irreplaceable.  I’m not going to Poland anytime soon.  Plus, they reminded me of all the women I went with on that fantastic trip.  When we moved from Washington, my Mom and I packed everything up again.  We wrapped each individually and put them in boxes.  I drove them in my van, rather than putting them in the moving truck.  They have been stored in my house in boxes ever since.  Almost six years have passed since I’ve opened those boxes with all my special dishes – all seventeen boxes collected from all over the world.  

Come back tomorrow for Part Two:  What is going on with me on the inside?