Mother of Pearl Flatware and Flowers

Hello there bloggylanders!



Time is no longer it seems! Just turn around and things are upon us, and one of those "things" is Christmas....wow. I remember clearly putting everything away.

This year I want a White Christmas. It will be my first ever...... light, elegant, bright and so very pretty. One nice green balsam tree out on the front porch for all passers by to see lit at night, some good cheer....nothing like a lit and decorated Christmas tree outside for all to see to make one feel something is right. Inside, I will have several wreaths, and lots of garland even if I have to make it myself which I probably will with all the cut greens they throw away from tree trimming. I used to make them as a florist and I could not get the sticky balsam resin off my hands for a week, but then in New York, we had all kinds of greens, not just Fir as they do here....here there are no choices in types of trees, only Fir. 

But right now I wanted to share something I've been in love with for a while.....the kind of love that makes your insides do a flip and a flop, you know? :D
Well I decided life is only getting shorter and I want these because to me they are so beautiful....and that is Mother of Pearl Flatware or cutlery. I have seen these always and loved them but it never really registered in my own head as to acquiring any.....until recently. Then I searched and searched online, etc, and found them sold only on ebay or in very very expensive auctions! I think they don't even make them anymore. And based on what I've seen on ebay, people are literally grabbing these all up to make them a "collectors item", a money thing. I have literally watched these sets of Mother of Pearl or MOP, being snatched up by aggressive buyers only to find them relisted again for twice the price! I've seen this! I compared pictures from what I had been "watching" and soon what was bought was rephotographed and auctions began at twice the price. I just checked today for the recent listings and they all begin in the hundreds of dollars!!! People are crazy greedy and I find this an ugly trait.

Yet I do believe I got a couple, or rather several sets at good prices before this happened.
But on to beauty.

What is very cool, is that my housemate also bought a couple of sets, and I bought three. What is NOT cool however, is that they don't tell you most of those sets are Fairy sized flatware!...and not human sized! I had received my first purchase in the mail and the forks were smaller than the average American fork. I thought I misread something but did not. The 2nd package I figured would definitely come in the "normal" size. But it did not....it was actually smaller! I began to panic now, because what on earth am I going to do with these tiny forks? I bought them to use, not just to collect and store! I'm not a collector, I use everything I have. Collecting seems a waste to me, and I don't have the space.
So surely the next package would be "normal".
Are you ready for this?
They were smaller yet again.....and I'm talking a steady graduating shrinkage in size, definitely shrinking people! What ever will I do with them? good thing I did not pay alot!
But by this third package I was distressed....so much time online, watching and bidding, and hoping and what have you, only for flatware I could not use because they were tiny.....if anyone knows what they make these for please tell me!

K, these are the sizes....Tiny person....Hobbit....Fairy......

 

Anyway, after a couple more tries on ebay and me asking for measurements etc and reading descriptions more carefully, I got a set that are basically normal size and useable and one set did come in "normal" sized too, and they are lovely and I keep them on the table.
The one on the far left is "normal"....yet still a bit smaller than average American forks.

 


I have 8 forks, and knives which are not fit to cut anything really, but more like butter knives,  I think they call a Fish Set....and if anyone can explain that one too I'd appreciate it very much.
It is the set on the left. You can see how tiny that little fork on the right is....barely enough to grab a strawberry! unless of course you are Hobbit or Fairy sized as mentioned. This tiny set came in a box of 6 forks and knives for $20.00. Some have Stirling Silver bands, but is it for strawberries or not?? Honestly do we need different forks for every fruit and food there is? What WAS the point? Pammie?? :D


 



Recently we had guests and sat at our tiny square table, and once I served the food, they asked for forks and I pointed to the container sitting there free to be grabbed and then napkins too, just casual.....free to grab and use and yet they were the most treasured and exquisite flatware one could use, Stirling Silver in some cases, and Mother of Pearl brilliance, and beautiful cotton Shabby Napkins......Silver and Pearl, free for everyday use, so casual and yet so luxurious.

But here are the pics and I have some very pretty flowers too. I do love the Mother of Pearl, they sit in places where the light and candlelight hit them and they  DO glow! If we're going to work with utensils they may as well be so beautiful we love handling them all the time. I leave them on the table on top of napkins or simply in a crystal or mercury jar.....to enhance reflections and sparkle.

 

 This was not a clever idea as much as it was necessity....I needed space, and both these cloche's were empty and I put one inside the other and they fit, and I added this time the white pumpkins. Love!

rehydrating my limes.......I added the leftover flowers.....tarragon and baby's breath.....and whatever else was left went in here too.....it looked nice! But I think almost anything in nature looks "nice"...lolol...

 do we ever get tired of pink roses???
I don't think so.

My room has one place I can "play" with in moving things around and changing things. This bureau top is the place. I like it because it is just low enough and just high enough and gets the morning light.

 still loving my gray pearl walls.....

daisies love mercury glass too :D

Thanks for visiting, I always love to blog my flowers and the changes. This helps me to remember all the beauty and bounty there is from Mother Nature, and how much I have to embrace.

sharing this with Shabbilicious Friday 

and with Home and Garden Thursday

and with Rose Vignettes: Fresh Cut Friday   

and with The Charm of Home  

Loungewear, Spiritual Sensitivity and Flowers

Hello Everyone,

It is rainy, cloudy, noisey, breezy, ..... undecipherable, really, but bougainvillea's are blooming!

This post is a mix of several things, but here I go anyway.
Today I was sent a post to read this afternoon by my friend Ka, and it was sooooo appropriate and well written, and rich with Spirit, that I was blown away at how much I've missed this conscious interaction with it.
What is Spirit? how do we interact with our own?

I am on a journey and this article seemed to be written just for me. I will link it here called Being A Highly Sensitive Person and Survival Tips by Monica of The White Bench blog, in case link doesn't work google it..

I have to say I follow all those "tips" which I've figured out on my own by now, and several I've added too.
It was very well written by a woman who lives with full blown senses, and could only be written about with that kind of beauty of deep experience.
Synchronistically, while I was bathing this morning, I realized I needed to write that article finally, on what it means to be an Empath, HSP, and Living Transmuter....this has been on my mind to do for 2 years and I don't want to put it off any more. This article being sent to me today was a reminder after this morning's inspiration which I had already forgotten about.....again! But now I will remain inspired and put my thoughts and spirit to action.

Bloglandia, or bloggywood :D:D:D as my friend calls it lolol, doesn't speak to the Spirit too much and I believe I need to find more bloggers who do because I want to spend my time more richly, from the inside out and I'd love if anyone can send me those blogs who speak with poetry, experience and Spirit! thank you!

I'm again realizing on yet deeper levels that I need to nourish what so very delicately calls for attention, but which can cause great discord if ignored, and that is the Soul/Spirit. I also want to immerse myself even more into a Higher Octave of Beauty......how to do that remains to be seen, but this one must come from the inside out, rather than the outside in. I think spending long seasons in "loungewear" is conducive to learning this language of Soul Speak and finding a fun way of expression in my outer world. Even though some people think I live in a monastery, I still need a different kind of quiet that reaches far more deeply than merely lack of sound to do some spiritual retrieval, or soul retrieval. But my dearest friend Pammie went through it, and I'm sure many many other people are, and she is still in it but on the better side out of it and wiser for it too.
 
Anyway, I am making this post for a couple of people who asked me to literally take pictures of my new pj's, or as I prefer to call them ''loungewear''.
What is great is that I received my Kimono's today in the mail all the way from Japan. I bought them on ebay, even John bought three! for himself, and actually wore the one that came in so far. But they are being sold so cheaply it is heartbreaking really that such unique and hand made garments rich with culture, history and dignity are being sold for so little!......I've always loved them and it is so much more beautiful in person! I'm in love with it.

Hand painted detail......I do wonder who sat and painted this, what she was like, what her thoughts were as she sat for hours working on this garment? how was this garment used? were they happy?

on one shoulder, more flowers.......such beautiful Spring colors.....

Last week I went to TJ MaXX and found a couple of things, and with what I already have, I should be good for 6 months in ''lounge clothes'' LOL..... so here are a couple of slightly blurry pics, and some lovely flowers.

I'm calling this my "gray suit" because it is that tailor male style which I generally abhor, but I got it because it was gray which I'm loving alot lately, with flowers and a touch of lace, and I could wear the pieces differently. I added a flowing nighty of course.....can't have all square lines!

My next piece on the blogger runway, :D, is something I thought was so sweet, but looks entirely Granny!!!
I almost returned it but decided to keep it because it is soft and I do love the print....its so cozy and prairie like, and I can wear a skirt under it. In this case I have some gray pants with crochet trims I added myself for interest.

I tell you people, excepting for the Kimono, I cannot think of anything more boring than my ''loungewear'' but to make those beloved soul sisters of mine happy, there are your pics LOLOL......K' now??

I did finally get my hair trimmed, and the hair guy nearly choked when I told him I wanted a full 10 inches taken off! He kept asking if I was sure, and I said yes! My hair is still very long, to the middle of my back, so I'm good.....it was really really long, to my derriere and now I can wear it in most of the styles I prefer anyway, and 90% of the time, its a Messy French Bun, which looks alot like this one

   but I like to wear a few flowers tucked in. 



last preview of the now ''famous gray suit'' LOLOL !!!!

But my Kimono rocks.....I have one more coming....

Now on to the beautiful flowers I got this week, blue delphinium!

 

But Wait! there's more lolol! John JUST brought home some
                   P E O N I E S  !!

I just added them to the delphinium......I took the picture with flash because it was dark by now...... but the blue shows up alot better!

 I wonder if anyone has noticed that I keep some Mother of Pearl flatware in a crystal vase?? I will have to tell that tale soon.....ish.......but I am very much in love with my Mother of Pearl cutlery!

I got up late in the middle of the night and saw THIS !!!

 one of them blasted open!

 I'm in love with electric blue delphinium and white peonies together..........sigghhhhhhhhhhh  

In my room, I cut some of the bougainvilleas which are all in bloom again, not entirely filled out, but I have many in various colors, and they work well in vases, much to my delight and joy!!!

 magenta, purple and white/pink blend look beautiful

 with flash.....

 love the sparkles in this one.....

Peace and Candlelight in the living room.........feels very serene in here:

Thanks for visiting, see you soon.....ish....and wishing you all Spiritual Serenity.

sharing this with The Charm of Home 

and with Home and Garden Thursday