More changing of the china.

So we're marking the seasons by packing up the Christmas decorations and bringing out the birthday china. As Grace said to Peter, "Whose birthday are we *celebrating* with this china? MY birthday, that's whose!" We keep it out through Peter's birthday at the end of March, or Easter, whichever comes first (it sometimes gets a little dicey, depending on whether we're hosting Easter, how organized we are, and when the dates fall). The pattern by Hazel Atlas (sold in the 40's-60's) is variously called "Crinoline," "Ripple," "Lasagna" and probably a few other things (on a Very Bad Day in our house, the non-china lover in the family called it "grotesque." But we assume he was kidding, more or less.) The cup and sugar and creamer handles come either in beaded or plain - we have the beaded version, which to my way of thinking is a bit prettier. The pitchers and glasses were manufactured as go-along pieces, so they're not marked (actually, none of it is marked) and they're sometimes tricky to find. I have a sneaking suspicion that I have a third pitcher around here somewhere, along with a few more plates, but I can't imagine a scenario where I'm short on either. The pattern also comes with pink bands or completely white, but the pink is maybe a bit garish and the white is a little too plain. I found some really fun vintage linens that match nicely, and I'm hoping that as the kids get older they'll look back on their birthday party pictures and remember having this china every year.