Dinner Plates

The holiday festivities continued today with a big lunch in honor of Head Coach, my younger brother who was in town briefly. Of course he was travelling with Mrs. Head Coach and his son and daughter, but we were surprised to meet Mrs. Head Coach's cousin's son who was with them. He is a sweet four-year old boy, and I mention him because his name is actually Lawyer. I couldn't make that up. His family is having a rough patch so my brother and sister-in-law have him for a long visit. Lawyer!

We had a big ham, new potatoes and green beans, salad, whole wheat rolls, and raspberry jello. Whenever we have a big casual group I am so grateful for my restaurant dishes. These were my mother's brilliant idea back in the mid-80's. We eat off these plates every day, and I have about twenty of them. They are thick but not coarse, cream color with a wide pale green band around the outside, and unbreakable.

We got them at a fabulous called Johnston's Salvage. This place was a giant Quonset hut filled to the brim with disorganized junk. A determined seeker could find lots of salvaged restaurant ware there. I've got Buffalo china bowls, saucers, serving platters, and dinner plates. Some of them we had to literally dig out of the ground outside, where they were displayed on and under tables. And had been for years. None cost more than a dollar. Sadly Johnston's is no more, but my plates will never die.