dreams do come true...

I may have mentioned it many times before...

I was raised mostly in NW ON by a father (aka the fadder)
that was an Ontario Provincial Police Officer
much of who and what he is and where he came from
was a focal point in my life for many years

our lives (and holidays) revolved around
trips to Toronto
to allow my father to re-connect
with his mother, and his rather large family

I grew up knowing intimately
all my aunts, uncles and cousins on my father's side of the family
and not so much the family of the VOD (my mother)
who lived in Saskatchewan or British Columbia

Visiting my Grammo (aka grandmother Brown)
was like stepping into a story book
for a child with a romantic nature
like me

see...
when my father came on the police force in the 195o's
he made $2000.00 a year
and as his father owned a large funeral directing firm
that he'd started from scratch
and nursed into a large, respectable, moneymaking concern
the family had some monetary value
not huge wealth by today's standards
but they didn't go without
that's for sure

there was real butter on the table
not that white margarine you had to burst
the colour button and squeeze thru to colour
there was real fruit juice
not crystals
there was real roast beef for sandwiches
not chubs of baloney
and at Grammo's house even the kids
got real jam and fresh veggies
spare no expense at Grammo's house!

so because Grammo would tuck a buck er two
into an envelope when I was quite little
and we lived in Perth ON
there was an obligation to travel towards them
when holidays were due...
an obligation that may have become habit
but stood some of us in good stead
for developing kin ships with extended family

Grammo lived in (what at the time seemed to me to be)
a huge house on Lakeside Ave in Scarborough
and old neighbourhood, even then
with large oak trees
off the Scarborough bluffs
when I was quite young there were
houses between Grammo's and the bluffs
but over the years those were moved
or moved themselves
down the bluffs
as the bluffs eroded....

Grammo had more money than we did
and when she first met my grandfather
not wanting to embarrass this "gent" in public
took lady lessons.
as a result
there were always Irish linens
table cloths, napkins etc

(I believe I've also mentioned previously
that I spent my formative years
in Grammo's basement
ironing said linens...cos that's what
"young ladies" did for punishment)

Grammo had 2 kinds of china patterns
one pattern was a Royal Doulton pattern
called Ainsley Durham Moore
lovely white with a burgundy ribbon
around the edge
and trimmed out in gold leaf
used only on special dinner days
IE Christmas, birthdays etc

Grammo's everyday pattern
was a Simpson's pattern
from before Simpson's and Sears became one
a 50's pattern called Belle Fiore













and there was tons of it
every kind of dish, platter and plate
saucer and pitcher, teapots of all shapes and sizes
one could possibly imagine
and there were even
little double ended gizmo's called egg cups

imagine...cups designed just for holding eggs!

in our extended family
over the years
we developed a routine
of the "elders" moving from the dining room
to the living room for "afters" and coffee
whilst the elder of the grandchildren
did the dishes

When we used the regular stuff
we just piled it all in the dishwasher
usually more than 3 loads
due to the amount of people
and extra stuff in a place setting
but we were indulged to a degree
and plenty of times
members of the adult portion
of our family
would use the Belle Fiore
as discs for target practice
over the bluffs

Grammo always smiled
and ordered more plates from Simpsons

it was a heady time in my life
and over time I've come to realize
both the financial commitment
and emotional value of my Grammo's
smiles over us turfing her china
over the bluffs....

fast forward years later
(12 yrs this past April to be exact)
I moved to BC..

the reason's were myriad
I was sick enough at the time
that I didn't think that I'd live
to see the first full year on the Island
but I moved
and started working at getting well
and being more "normal"

less dramatic, romantic,
less hiding, more living...
no drugs, no drinking, no fistfights
no dealing, no bars, no more full on crazy.

eventually I decided to
mark important moments
in my life
with a piece of Belle Fiore china
in honour of my Grammo
and all that she represented
in making me the adult
I strive to be.

Belle Fiore can now only be found
at replacement shops and china shops
around the world
mostly from the UK
but as there was a huge migration
of Brits to the Island
there's been a bit here and there
over the last 12 years.

so over the years that I’ve been here
I’ve not become a regular antique crawler
just for special occasions
cos that’s all I can afford…
and they are getting harder and harder to find…

One year for Christmas
my cousins Colin and Roberta
gave me a tea cup and saucer
I’ve a couple of medium sized milk pitchers
I bought one when I got my job at the U
and one when the nefew graduated
my aunt Mal
(short for Marigold - which is a kind of indication
of the era I'm talking about)
and her son Colin and his wife Roberta
got me a cream and sugar set on a wee tray
last year for Christmas
and in June I bought a coffee cup and saucer
when the Princess graduated..

It’s luck of the draw
and not like I get to choose what I buy
but mostly
if I find it and can afford it at the time I buy it

when the Princess graduated
I stopped at 2 or 3 different places
and then found the coffee cup and saucer
at a place quite by accident....
the manager was just telling me
that a couple had been in the day before
and “cleaned them out”
when a seller walked in
with a box of stuff
and the cup and saucer were right there!

Kinda like providence if ya ask me…

anyway...I tell you all this
so that I can tell you that a few weeks ago
I mentioned my passion for Belle Fiore
in an email to the whole family
which of course
started a round of "remember when's"
which prompted my Aunt to forward
to the family
a real estate listing
for the Lakeside Ave house
(for $2.1 mil no less)

the listing included pictures
and while the outside sort of looks the same
gone is the interior of my memories
replaced by wood painted white
and the grand interiors
of luxury homes in the 2000's

however, since seeing the changes
wrought in those pictures of Lakeside Ave
I’ve been dreaming of the past a lot
a lot more than I have in a long long time….

I’ve had this recurring dream
since just before my birthday
about Grammo sitting in “Father’s chair”
in the kitchen…with a bunch of us….
me, the bother, the blister, and 2 cousins
and we were all very young…
the blister was about 4 or 5 methinks…
there was a general milling about of adults
at the other end of this huge kitchen…
there was brown toast
and real butter and crumpets,
jam in pots and juice and milk…
such luxury…

The part of the dream
that has been so vivid to me
was my intently watching Grammo
with her egg in an egg cup
and her strips of toast for dunking,
and the tinkling of her family bracelet
(that she rarely wore at breaky really…
remind me to tell you of that bracelet another time)

….the focus for me was the egg cup
– it was, at that age,
completely fascinating to me
that there was actually
a dish
specifically for holding soft boiled eggs
and nothing else…
and it matched all the other dishes in the kitchen…

And Grammo’s act of tapping
around the top of the egg
with her butter knife
to take just the top of the egg off
to allow for dipping
strips of toast
was methodical and musical
and when watching
I’d often hold my breath
to see if it actually worked…

I was always amazed
that only the top broke
and not the whole thing…
wasn’t that just the height of classy?

I was mesmerized.

(jeez I do drag out telling a story eh?)

As I said earlier….
I’ve been dreaming about said egg cup
on a regular basis since before my b'day
(which I might have mentioned
was more than a great day for me this year)

Anyway….

You will now imagine my surprise/shock/tears
when I went to my mailbox today
(something I’ve been forgetting
to do daily since the VOD moved away)
and discovered a box…
a smallish box with the return address of my aunt Marigold
in handwriting that looks suspiciously
(and more than anyone else in the family…)
like Grammo's

I rushed back to my kitchen
to open the box
(no small feat considering
the amount and caliber of tape…
but hey!....it was precious cargo)

inside I found a wee card
in that same handwriting...
a little red calico mouse
that Marigold says she got
in Salsburg Austria last year...
safely nestled
in a beautiful Belle Fiore egg cup!



















…just like in my dreams!

that I'd not mentioned to anyone
even when I told the family
about my Belle Fiore jones...

Marigold says that she was at
the big downtown Toronto Market
and there it was
meant for me

so yes...contrary to what many other say
I do believe....
dreams do come true.