This may be familiar to some

I finally have Grandma Crowther's china and stemware, the dining room set and china hutch, and the time and motivation to do something with it all.

I had Chad's brother help me set up the hutch (Jacob was handy when the thought occurred to me). Then I emptied all three boxes my parents lovingly transported from Utah. I was surprised at how many dishes there were. I didn't expect so many. Then I hand polished (if you can do that with Windex and paper towel) each piece. Next I had to find a place for everything in the hutch.



These are all of Grandma's hand embroidered napkins and other linens that were used to cushion and protect the dishes. Also, the plastic envelope cushions that were used. It's a pretty big pile.



I imagined the china hutch as a display case, not merely storage. I've learned, though, that for Grandma it was all about storage. After I had all her plates, bowls, teacups, etc arranged, I didn't expect to have so many dishes left over and nowhere to display them. The leftovers are neatly arranged in the cabinet beneath for now.