A few days ago, as I was clearing dishes off the dinner table, my daughter looked up and said with a laugh, "Mom, who are all these little people joining us for dinner?"
It took me a minute to pick up what she was referring to, when it occurred to me she had finally noticed the collection of miniatures I had put on the kitchen counter, for lack of another place. "I don't know," I answered, "I was as surprised to see them as you were."
I was indeed surprised and somewhat baffled by the discovery of these. I had been hunting for some autumnal pieces, and in pulling out boxes of Halloween decor, finally found a bag I believed to have a few Thanksgiving pieces. It was a plastic freezer bag with a bunch of wadded paper towels inside, my usual packing method for smaller items, and I proceeded to unwrap. The first pieces were my Thanksgiving mice, which I was expecting to find.
Okay, they're rather silly and somewhat ugly cheap little resin pieces I had procured many years ago when my kids were very small and my budget was miniscule. I remembered them with fondness tho. I have put them out several Thanksgivings years past, but they remained hidden more recent years, when my enthusiasm for decorating for any holidays not involving a large tree dominating my livingroom was at an all-time low. These other items were......unexpected, to say the least.
In fact, my thoughts as I unwrapped them was.... WHAT...... THE........ HECK! progressing to DID.......I.......... ACTUALLY......... BUY.............. THESE? and culminating in WHAT......... WAS.......... I........THINKING?
These things are crows. Not penquins, which you could imagine the one being, but a pair of crows, notice the handle on Mama Crow? She is meant to be either a tea pot or creamer, I don't know. And she is holding what looks to be a pie with baby crows in it! Cannibal crows!
I believe these are miniature tea sets. Very ugly and cheap miniscule tea sets. On the order of 'Was I that desperate for fall decorations, or did I imagine tacky character tea sets to be 'cute' once upon a time? Did I perhaps buy them with my small girls in mind, something I wouldn't mind them picking up and playing with? Yes! That must be it! Good mom! In fact, maybe the girls got these for me as a Christmas gift! Even better, I can't be held accountable for such extreme lack of taste, bwahaha!' Okay, not according to my daughter. These must have been my own acquisition, tho I'm still holding with the girls playthings theory.
Obviously my taste has changed, and my girls have outgrown the tiny toys stage so long ago no one relates to doll-sized anything. In fact, I considered throwing them away. But they've sat on my counter top for a week now, and somehow look very comfortable in their surroundings. I do have a window sill they can occupy for the rest of the season. And if the cats knock them down or carry them off Thumbelina-style, so much the better. Otherwise I know I'll eventually wrap them up again and put them away, to be rediscovered some other autumn day.
