When my mom and dad first got married, they had so little money. My mom would have loved to have had a set of fine china, but they couldn't afford luxuries like that. I don't remember exactly where she got this plate, but she had this one single piece of Lenox china, Kingsley pattern, a salad plate. I love this plate because it reminds me so much of my mom and on days when I'm feeling down, I sometimes have lunch on it to cheer myself up. It works! When I'm done, I wash and dry it really, really carefully by hand. No dishwasher for this plate. I would never want a whole set of this china, though. The fun, for me, is the 'specialness' of it. It's just one small, inconsequential item, but it has the power to bring happy thoughts.
I'm about to put shrimp cakes and arugula salad on this plate. Maybe another day I'll post a picture of that. I don't often make croquettes and patty-type dishes, but these were so good, completely worth the effort. :)