Singapore Bird by Adams!

I like new dishes, old dishes, dishes for children, sets of dishes, and partial sets of dishes. The more fragile the dish…the more I like it. I don’t know exactly when this situation started. It may have happened when I was born. My mother totally loved dishes of all types. I  thought that every mother had dishes and more dishes in every single cabinet. Every mother surely had a pantry filled with sets of dishes. There were two shelves reserved for canned goods and such. No problem! Brookshire’s Grocery Store was just five minutes away if we needed anything. No need to stock up when you could fill that food space with a creamer or pitcher or…the best…a gravy boat.

My mother’s Avonlea by Minton.

I do not have a gravy boat at all and I have no idea what happened to the ones that my mother had. Did she let a friend borrow one? Did she give a gravy boat to one of my aunts? Did we pack a gravy boat or two in a box and put it in our attic instead of unpacking it? I guess that it doesn’t really matter.  I am not so good at making gravy, but I put out my best effort. I need to gain some expertise in making cream gravy for Chicken Fried Steak. I really have no need for a gravy boat.

 Singapore Bird Gravy Boat.

 Nevertheless, if you happen to find a gravy boat in the pattern Singapore Bird by Adams…let me know right away! When I was choosing china and pottery patterns before we married, I could not look any further than Singapore Bird. You might not have ever heard of it. My friends thought that I was quite crazy. My cousin thought that I was quite crazy. My mother loved it. My dad stayed out of it. He knew better.

                            Singapore Bird Cup and Saucer!                             

My husband-to-be didn’t blink an eye. The Singapore Bird decision is most likely the only major decision that I made on my own for the first two years of our marriage. He had a difficult time having dinner with those blue plates and little birds. Imagine that! I now have the entire set except for that gravy boat. Or a gravy boat in Francisco Desert Rose would be very nice.

Stanwood by Minton.

I couldn’t stop with the Singapore Bird. I needed a formal set of dishes. Remember…this was in 1976. Never mind that I didn’t have a formal dining room for five years. I chose Stanwood by Minton. They were for the china cabinet that matched my estate sale dining room table and buffet. And that china cabinet is where those beautiful dishes have remained all these years. Of course, there is not a chip to be seen. They have never been used. I guess that they are for viewing only. I finished out buying most of the pieces in the set three years ago. A china replacement store was going out of business and they had what I needed. It was like finding a rare diamond in the middle of a forest. Remember…they are for viewing only. I really need to use those dishes right away!

Friendly Village by Johnson Brothers.

Rounding out my dishes I have my mother’s pretty set of Friendly Village by Johnson Brothers. I have used those at Christmas several times. In addition, I have my great-aunt’s set of Franciscan Desert Rose. They are too high up in the cabinet to reach and anyway, some are missing. I haven’t found replacement pieces. A project!

Franciscan Green Ivy

At our farm, I have my mother-in-law’s set of  Franciscan Green Ivy. Our daughter loves these dishes and I most likely would have never chosen them. They are just too traditional for me, but they have very nice glasses to match. To round out my collection, we have the fabulous…

Three Sets of Brookshire’s Grocery Store Dishes.

You probably know the deal…you spend $25 or so and you get a plate for an inexpensive price…or something like that. My mother had one set and my mother-in-law had two sets. We still use them at the farm. They will not break. I can’t tell you how many times that I have dropped a plate or a cup on the way from the dishwasher to the cabinet. They are totally indestructible. There is absolutely nothing fragile about grocery store dishes. They are my husband’s favorite dishes. Go figure! Choosing grocery store dishes over Singapore Bird!

 

One of the grocery store dish patterns!

 

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