Silver Spoons....I Love Them....

Can anyone tell me why silver spoons are such a delight? I never realized until the last 18 years how much I love spoons. Actually, it isn't just spoons, I love silverware ... I have some of my husband's Grandmother's silverware. When my Mom~in~law was going through her own things to sort and trim down the number of items she was going to keep, I just could not stand to let that silver go. It was so pretty and belonged to my hubby's Grandmother ...I have a VERY sentimental heart. I have been hoping for years to make bracelets for my daughters with it. I am so happy there are so many more options with jewelry making now than there were 17 years ago when I got those pieces. (Pretend you didn't read that here, daughters....please feign surprise when you get your jewelry! ; ) )

I still have my baby spoon...somewhere, I will have to find that....I am sure I put it somewhere "safe".... Safe even from ME for the moment! These are some of the spoons I have found myself drawn to at antique stores or at the "flohmarkt" in Germany. Most of them are small at least....some of them are salt spoons....and I am afraid I might just collect a few more of those. My daughters adored small ....anything, actually, when they were small girls. My eldest, Daughter#1, as a two year old began referring to her tiny treasures as her "Honey ~ whatever item it was." Question from me, "Gigi, would you like something to drink?' Gigi, "Yes, ...in the Honey~cup!" What she referred to as the "Honey~cup" was a little glass, smaller than a juice glass even, that she preferred. Question from me, "Would you like the light on?" Gigi, "The Honey~lamp!" She loved the lamp in her bedroom. I am not even sure where she learned the expression "Honey". It was not an expression I used for anyone in the family, but somehow she picked it up and only used it for things she adored. 

This beautiful spoon is a "Sugar Sifter" that I found at the "flomarkt" in Germany where Gigi took me this summer, when I was there for the birth of their second child. I had never seen one of these in the United states, I guess I have not gotten out much in my life! Liz from Lululizinlalaland was sweet enough to Skype with me after my trip and explain to me about some of the items I had purchased in Germany. It was she who confirmed my suspicion that is was a spoon used to sprinkle sugar on things... This spoon is the size of a regular teaspoon, maybe a bit bigger.  The spoon below is a 2 inch (5 cm) in length salt spoon, and I adored it when I saw it! I can see Gigi and her younger sister, Daughter#2 ~ Cici, using this as a doll, it has a cute little head and face after all. Oh, ..... I am reminded of the times when the girls had a hard time getting their toys picked up in their rather small room, we lived in a 14 ft x 70 ft mobile home then. When time spent in their room to clean on Saturday went on for a few Saturdays, without successful cleaning due to distraction, my hubby and I would take a big black garbage bag into their room and they would have to help us put all their toys in the bag.

We would keep that bag for a week or so and they would have a completely clean bedroom for a time. We hoped that maybe putting the toys up might motivate them to clean their room. "Wouldn't it have been easier to just put your toys away and then you could still have them?" we would ask. So, they were bored without their toys,.........right?.........No, they would get out the silverware and play with their silverware families... We decided that we didn't really need to purchase toys, they only needed silverware to be happy. They still received toys however, when we realized that they would tell their teachers at school that all they got to do for Christmas was play with the silverware we already owned....
A few years later, when my hubby and I went on a trip over a weekend to Seattle, we purchased some small demitasse spoons for both the girls to use.  They ate breakfast with theses spoons, used them to stir their hot chocolate and used them for....you guessed it, the children in the silverware families....and each child born after that also received their own little spoon to eat and stir or dig in the dirt with...we do live on a farm and there is only so much you can do to keep spoons inside....

So, now I have begun my very own "Honey~Spoon" collection.
I have not even thought about all of this for awhile....I was only going to post about my spoon collection! I love the wonderful memories of my children and their creativity... I have so much more to post that includes them, because everything memorable and joyful in my life includes them and the fun we have had together through the almost 30 years of raising children... I think I was so grateful to have playmates in my life again! Being the youngest of 10 siblings, I watched everyone grow up and get to do so many things I thought would be so much fun to do with them. We did MANY THINGS together as a family, but I longed to go the the formal dances and all of the exciting things they did....and when I finally was old enough to do them, most of my siblings were married and having children of their own. I always had this sense of being left behind. So, after we were married, I gave birth to the next 5 of my dearest friends, who have laughed and played and cried and loved with me.....all the while stirring hot chocolate with their own "Honey Spoons".

Here are the spoons I showed you above plus a few, in the Dishes Cabinet I got for my birthday in December! Two of the salt spoons are new, and they are not silver, but they were so cute, I just had to get them! The smaller spoons are lying on a depression glass dish that belonged to my Mother. The small spoon with the vintage hemming lace bow was a gift from Liz when I purchased some mini wine cooler/toothpick holders from her in her LaCroixRosion Etsy Store. The Silver spoons in the cream pitcher I also purchased from her (and can be seen more clearly in the pictures at her link above as well,) to use as gifts for a special event that is yet to happen. . .(so I cannot say! shhhh!)  The large silver plated spoon belonged to my Mother as well as to her mother.  The silver plate is very worn on the serving spoon, but I have some very fond, funny memories with my sister that included Ice Cream in an ongoing prank we did to each other....**he, he, he**.... I wonder if she still remembers it? SOOO many memories included in this one post....memories of family and friends, of Grandmothers and children, of love and generosity and it is all held in a few dishes and spoons!  WHO would have thought that dishes and spoons could evoke such powerful feelings......they are beautiful reminders of joyful memories that will always be in my heart ....I am so silly........Just wait until you read my posts about the dishes in this picture and the Birthday Dishes Cabinet!
What is tugging at YOUR Heartstrings today? Please tell me, I'd love to hear YOUR thoughts!!
Hearts to you,
Betsy