April PaD: Blue

Today's word is blue.  I have a strange fascination with blue and white pottery.  You will find it in every room of my house.  OK, wait, not the bathrooms but it is hanging on the walls of my office.  Plates are displayed on the wall and in the china cabinet in the dining room.  Two tiny plates hang in the kitchen.  Various blue and white objects are on display in every book shelf in my house.

I know when it started.  I worked for the Dutch electronics giant, Philips Semiconductors (now NXP Semiconductors), from 1981 to 1992.  As a part of my job, I HAD to make several trips to The Netherlands (Holland).  On one of these trips, they gave me a Delft plate made specifically for Philips.  That did it.  I have been hooked ever since.  On every trip to Eindhoven, I would pick up some piece of blue and white pottery.  Some are plates like the one above but some are windmills or Dutch shoes.

Any one who knows me well knows about my obsession.  A secret pal (Flo Waddell) years ago gave me a complete set of Willow dishes which is an English pattern depicting an Asian scene.  I cherish them and remember her every time I set a blue and white table.  My eye is always drawn to new pieces but, honestly, how much blue and white pottery does a person need?

It is crazy really.  I don't wear much blue.  I don't decorate with blue.  Another hobby of mine is geneology so I am always looking for a Dutch connection.  I do have a many English distant relatives though.  Maybe that explains my blue and white pottery fascination.