A Beautiful Touch

I wrote and wrote and wrote on this post. And then I erased and erased and erased.

I want to simplify words as well as possessions.

I used to be a big collector of things. Then came a time I had to downsize almost everything. It was a great lesson to learn not to hold things too tightly. And to be sensible and frugal.

I still love certain things, but I try to avoid the trigger to collect them or buy them if they're not needed.

Sometimes something lovely will come along like a grace note, unexpectedly, and that happened last weekend. It was a tough weekend in some ways, but the mail arrived, and that favorite thing...a box wrapped in brown paper and string (who doesnt love that??) was opened, and I found this inside:

And this:

The sticker says "Handmade in Portugal"...I'll peel it off now that I have a pic. Why does this gift mean so much? It's a talisman for the friendship with one of my longest-standing friends, who knows me so well, and I her. She's a nurturer, and she nurtures in many ways. This time, it took the form of a very personal gift she'd bought some time back, but thought it was time to send.

It couldn't have arrived at a better time. When I've pared so many things down to the functional, the beautiful and graceful seem extra gracious. I'm a girl, what can I say? I feel like Ma Ingalls dusting off the china shepherdess to put on the mantel.

These are heavy, functional, AND beautiful...I love them! They have some detail, but are not fussy...I'm not a ruffles and frills sort of woman. It's not mass-produced...you can see the variations in the shapes, such as in the slightly-uneven edge of the stand. I could not love it more! You can see some of the detail here, where the raised part is thick with milky glazing.



Both items are the color of fresh milk...and did I mention they are handmade and heavy??

Something else is pretty neat in the timing of this...we're drinking a lot of real milk these days. A LOT. The pitcher is PERFECT (it's useful AND beautiful!) for serving cold cold real milk, and the stand is just the right size for a few homemade cookies. HOW neat! It's something we can enjoy on the table and not just from a distance.

I'm humbled and grateful for L's thoughtfulness! I told her this will do me for good...the only gift I want from now on is her at my table, sampling things from them :)