Should I part with this, what will I do wtih that?

Well I am sitting here getting ideas.

Debbie's home (an old girlfriend from Dayton in the same line of work as me) is so upscale. Tile, baskets, wood, pool and a white couch! I swam in her pool at midnight last night and loved the idea.

So...

If I make the move to Florida and they want me to work for them in St. Pete'...

what will I bring with me in furniture?

I have some really nice pieces and a lot of junk, but even my junk has great potential in the right setting, but there is just too much of it. For years I have been collecting blue and white china,

you know willow pattern, courier and ives, old english scenes and even some chinese blue pieces. Now you can buy this stuff in any decorating shop, but when I first married this was very hard to come by...(China - where the china blue dye first came from - was in the outs with the world in 1975.)After collecting it for some 32 years I want to keep it, but I think I will have to be

selective. This is hard because there are so many memories attached to the pieces that I feel like I am destroying that memory if I get rid of the piece.

And, what about pottery? (And Andy's bowls)I have Rachel's plate (that I love) and vase that she made in high school and Ben's jar (that I cherish) and all the other "stuff" as well as some really well made pottery pieces. Well I will be looking at places to live in the next few days, and I think I will look at nooks and crannies and be very very selective about what I bring.

And I still love quilts and cannot get rid of those,

they just look so colorful in the wintertime and to cuddle up in front of the TV with....

but how cold does it get in Florida? Still a cotton quilt will freshen up a room even if it is 100 degrees outside.

And then there is cookware?

Who am I going to cook for? An army? The army has disbursed with families of their own, perhaps they have need of five and ten quart pots. Yes, I used to cook like that all the time. Every day! I love to cook, there is such pleasure in adding a little of this and a little of that!

Mainly I like to eat well, so I cook well :) So, I shall just have to have the missionaries over.

Those boys can eat home cooked food like an army and bless their sweet souls I am just the girl to feed them. And I could have parties with new friends from work and Church and feed them too! Better keep the cookware, but perhaps be a little selective in what I keep.

And books?

Oh my goodness! I love to read...what will I do with all the books? Morgan lives too far away to come and share them with him! He took a couple home when he was here so I know we have similar tastes in reading matter. I get this reading gig from my mother. Thank you Mum! Well Friends of the Library can have some of them to raise money for new books. But I have some first edition Jack Higgins, whom I love (and by the way so did Dad). I think he was Dad's favorite author. But I have read all his books that I have about ten times and Maeve Binchy has been read and reread ad infinum.

And so it goes.

So I am sitting here making lists of those things that I must have to live (bed, dresser etc) and some things that I must have for the soul (blue china, quilts, etc) and some things that I just can't part with (Ariana's and Sariah's artwork, etc.) This is going to be a long list and I am going to have to erase items several times.....

What fun!

I love the excitement of a new adventure.