Wednesday, January 28, 2009

With a Little Help From My Friends

It's snowing softly in New York City. I have a nice big cup of tea, and as I sit typing, I can look out my window to the gardens that are between the houses on my street and the next street over.

 

The only sound I hear is the scraping sound made by the man shoveling snow as it collects on the garden paths. It's quiet and cozy, and I'm exactly where I want to be on this early winter morning, even though I know eventually I have to pull on warm gloves and waterproof boots and head out to work. I love my little apartment where the living room has yellow walls and a pale blue ceiling, which on this gray day are a reminder of the sunshine and blue skies that will return to the City for good in April.


I spend most weekends in the country where I have a lot of room to cook and a table large enough to feed eight people. But here in the City, everything is tiny, especially the kitchen.

 
I don't have much storage space, so I choose what I have here carefully. I must love - and use - everything. Every single thing. So when I recently decided it would be a good idea to use only white dishes here, I knew when I packed up some of my completely plain Wedgwood White bone china upstate to bring back to the City, I would have to take the dishes I have been using for a very long time, Spode Queen's Bird, upstate in its place.

My plan was to pack up the Spode this week so I could load it in the car for the trip on Friday. But when I took it out of the cupboard, the trouble began. I started having second thoughts. The question, literally on the table (sorry), was - am I a creature of habit and don't want to get rid of what I'm used to, or is what I had to begin with really the best in this space?

 
After a little too much deliberation and pestering all my friends for help with a decision, I stuck with the Spode. After all, that little bird, like my walls and ceiling,  is also a harbinger of spring.

1 comment:

  1. Hi Wick.
    I think it's great that you want to share a bit of yourself (being your apartment-which is VERY you)with your readers (afterall, they think you are a turtle in a chefs hat!). I know your apartment in all seasons and you have described it beautifully and exactly.
    Re the plates quandry, I have to say I am very used to seeing the birds when I visit, BUT,having said that, the birds are going to go very well with the tiles you have behind the the hotplates at the Victoria House upstate, as well as the colours in your dining room. It is a tough one, but my suggestion is, as you probably cook at Dils more than you cook at your own apartment, maybe you should put the white plates at his place, and keep the birds at your apartment?!?!
    Mandi

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