I have to tell you about an experience I had last week that unexpectedly connected some pieces of my past to… who I am.

I want to bore you  tell you about it because something really significant was created because of it.

But I have to tell you in parts…in order of how it came to me.

So, here’s…

Part One. 

 Bright colors, bold patterns and whimsical flowers, painted on everything, from our clothing to those abandoned bunkers, on the beach in Galveston that the hippies turned into housing; those wild prints are just part, of what was wonderful, about growing up in the late 60′s and 70′s.

 I can not remember a single home from my childhood that was decorated from a neutral palette and I will always remember; the day that the new carpet was installed in my parents bedroom; wall to wall in lemon yellow–so mod!

During the lemon yellow carpet era, there was also a chandelier; it hung above the glass table in the breakfast nook and I loved it! In fact, I’d be tempted to trade one bossy ShihTzu to have it hanging in my home, today! 

(kidding. Just kidding, Muffyface)

So, last week, when I was sorting through some vintage treasures, deciding which, would become part of the Sugar Britches inventory,

I ran across a couple of dinnerware collections that I inherited.

One, is from my mother who, I’m thankful, is quite lively and the other, is from my paternal grandmother, who is now deceased.

I really adore special tableware. 

Plates, glasses, cups, saucers, platters, flatware; I love them all. When they’re mis-matched, I love them more!!

Here’s where the first connection was made…

Family values, just like family valuables; are passed down, from generation to generation. 

Some value systems are intentionally and ceremoniously passed down in the way that family valuables and heirlooms are bequeathed;some are passed down and received, without pomp or circumstance; maybe, even, without words. Regardless of how ceremonial; valuables, values and priorities, are all handed down, and they are what the next generation will consider to be valuable and will guide the next generation, as they decide what has no value. This is how it is done; whether they realize it, or not. 

Until, someone along the line, intentionally examines it, finds it to be outdated or outlawed and then rejects the old value system and replaces it with another.

Before the first grade I was taught to read and write and coordinate an outfit with cute shoes. I also knew how to set a table correctly before I began the first grade. Before I graduated from high school I was confidently creative in decorating and I had begun to develop my own style.

The style was mine; but the rules of style (as in, what’s in good taste and what’s not)…the rules of style, were handed down from my mother and my grandmother and they were non-negotiable; as was, the correct placement of salad and dessert forks.

Are you with me?

Try to contain your excitement.  Tomorrow, I’ll be back, with part 2.