Tea, anyone?

Today I finally got rid of the old recliner (it's only taken me a few months!) and I could see and use my little dining table, which has been hidden behind it.  So I thought I would set it as if for a tea party.  The dinnerware is Swedish, in a pattern called Jenny, and I've had it for about thirty-five years.  You will notice that the cups are not a match.  I know I still have Jenny tea cups somewhere, but I couldn't find them.

There is an interesting story behind my Jenny ware.  At that time, being well set into my first post-doctoral professional job, I was thinking about buying myself some china.  I've always loved looking at china patterns in department stores, from the time I was able to get myself to them alone.  I spent a ridiculous amount of time deciding, and finally chose a lovely Mikasa pattern.  Before I had a chance to buy them, my parents came for a visit.  My mother was so appalled at the notion that a single woman would buy china (which only married people are supposed to have, I guess) that she insisted on buying me stoneware from Crate and Barrel instead.  Having that, there seemed no point in getting the china.

I don't know why people think that a single person setting up a home for herself should not be given the sort of gifts that married couples get when they marry.  I had just as much need of a blender, pots and pans, bath and bedroom accessories as any couple starting out in life.  But I got nothing.  I used my older sister's old flatware until I decided I could choose my own, and bought myself a beautiful set at Marshall Field.  My move here to Seattle was the first time I bought furniture that wasn't hand-me-down and could have things that made me happy to look at.  The little drop-leaf table in the photo is one I bought last year, and I absolutely love it.