Obsession

Okay, okay, it’s been FOREVER since I posted. I have half a dozen blogs started, but not one ever gets finished. Think I’ll take time on this frosty morning and post at least ONE of them!

Good times at the First Annual Le Coudeau Holiday Party of Epic Proportions!

Oh and, by the way, happy new year. The holiday season whizzed by with us hosting our first big party since being in the house. It was a great success to kick off the holiday season. Enjoyed tons of social engagements throughout December, then my dad passed away on December 20, so have been gripped with plans to deal with all that losing your remaining parent brings.

Anyhoo, here’s a quirky little story that I’ve wanted to share. Somewhere along the line, I became obsessed with the idea of finding some vintage fish plates. Call it a ‘bee in my bonnet,’ a ‘bug in my ear,’ or my ‘panties in a twist,’ but the hunt was ON. Sometimes in the slloowww months of winter, one has to manufacture things to get excited about around here, and so my obsession in “needing” some fish plates overwhelmed me.

Theo is learning. He spotted these!!!

Well, Theo and I popped into a local Brocante one chilly weekend—think we were the only warm customers in the whole place! After scoring a set of hand-painted tables that Theo spotted, I sniffed out a fabulous set of fish plates on our way out the door! Smelling blood, once I showed the slightest interest in the set, the selling began. The vendor was convinced to send these dishes home with me.

These were some beauties, Longchamp, she showed me, made in France. In the 11-plate “set,” notice how there are 6 different designs, all in flawless condition. There is even a gravy bowl and a platter to match! Boy was she doing the hard-sell. All in lightning-fast staccato French, of course, with me understanding about 30% of it, but I smiled and nodded. Did I mention the gravy bowl? When she started dropping the price like a bad habit, I started listening and when the price got too good to be true, I conceded and starting digging for my pocketbook. She was thrilled and started wrapping each piece like it was Flora Danica! And, one more time, be sure to notice the nice gravy boat (which now resides in my winter garden as a catchall for sorting seeds, soaking things, and a doggie water bowl. If she only knew!!!).

Had to get a quick pic for those of you who would ask…you KNOW who you are!!!

When we got home and I was ready to wash the plates and put them in the cupboard (have had them for over a year and don’t think I’ve used them once! oops!! don’t tell Theo), I took the price tag for the set, which was on the edge of the platter, off. And under the price sticker was a huge round chip. Oooh, that witch! So dishonest! I was really upset. Well, for at least 5 seconds anyway. Then we started to laugh hysterically at the tricky old cow. After all, I had gotten what I wanted, the stupid vintage fish plates and didn’t give a damn about the platter or the holy gravy boat!

So now what was I going to do with the damned chipped platter? It was winter. We have so many lovely birds on our property and food was getting scarce, so I decided to concoct a bird feeder and put it outside my kitchen sink window so I could watch the little oiseaux. So I dug out some twine, a wood curtain ring and got out my handy-dandy Hilti cordless drill from America. Was certain to get my ‘beton’ bits for concrete to drill the holes. I figured chances were high that I would end up breaking the plate by drilling all these holes, but figured what the hell?

Pretty fishy, doncha think?

And so I drilled holes for the jute and knotted it on the underside so it could swing from a branch. After the first soggy rain, I realized my holes for the jute were not sufficient enough for the rainwater to drain, so I proceeded to drill more holes…small enough to keep the seeds on the plate, but big enough to allow the rainwater to drain through. And so it went. My crappy little cheater lady’s platter ended up as a joyful place for the little birds in the yard. And I get to enjoy watching them flit about getting some goodies.

My finished masterpiece!

Obsessions. They’re good, right? Is this like making lemonade or something???