Fiesta Ware

Every time I visit West Virginia, I admire the Fiesta Ware that all my Beckett relatives use. And what would not be to love about colorful dinnerware that is actually made in my home state???? As much as I think it's all beautiful and as much as I think I need some when I'm seeing so much of it in St. Albans, I've always let my practical side remind me that I already own everyday dishes and I don't need more.

That reasoning always worked... until this February when I went back to stay with my Aunt Jan for a few days. Our meals were served on Fiesta Ware and every night the two of us would share ice-cream in Fiesta Ware mugs. I had to be trained on this nightly ritual. When Jan told me how she scoops her nightly portion as soon as she wakes up in the morning I eagerly set out to help her, only to find out I hadn't packed the ice-cream nearly tightly enough in the mug. Who would've thought someone so frail and thin would want to scarf down about a gallon of ice-cream packed into such a small space???

Events transpired this year such that my birthday got kind of lost in the shuffle of Emily's Yale career. Turns out she defended her doctoral thesis on the very day of my birthday. This was a thrilling family event that I wouldn't have missed for the world. I was more than happy to let Emily take center stage on the 20th but once I'd returned to San Diego, I now had the perfect excuse to help Martin buy me a birthday present that turned out to be...guess what?.... Fiesta Ware. Lots of it.

I worried that the practical side of me would feel guilty for chucking perfectly good dishes (read: give to Salvation Army) for all new Fiesta Ware...but I'm still waiting for that guilt to set in. Truth is, I LOVE using my new dishes and I even love looking at them in the cupboards. The colors make me happy and, more than that, I treasure the feeling of being part of the "cult" of Becketts and their Fiesta Ware.

Sometimes I even scoop ice-cream into a mug and eat it at 8:15 pm, just so I can feel kindredness with my sweet aunt. And I make sure to cram as much as I can into the mug!