If you own beautiful things, is there a point to saving them 'for Best'? That's the theory. Save it for a special Occassion, and use the plain stuff for everyday. Only trouble is, there are times when you may never see a Special Occassion for months on end. The Good Stuff gets left up in a cupboard collecting dust and when those special times do come around you may not even remember that they're there.

This morning I pulled out the good china. Painted in wildflowers with a gold rim. It wasn't new when we got it; handed down from a friend who was replacing her Everyday China... this lady (she's a Lady, if ever there was one) doesn't even have plain old everday dishes. She had everyday China. Anyway, I ate my breakfast off a dainty salad plate, and am drinking my tea out of a teacup and saucer. I didn't make anything special, just a hunk of bread and butter, and some herbal tea. But it does taste better, and I feel special this morning even though it's just another Monday. Later on I'm going to paint my toenails, even though no one will ever see them beneath my thick white socks and sensible shoes. The person I usually paint them for isn't here now. I'll still know that they're there, and I also got out a little travel bottle of scented shower gel to put in by the bathroom sink to wash my hands with. Soap is soap. My hands smell fruity and I feel perfectly decadent doing this. It's transformed my attitude from a boring Monday into something else. I am treating myself as though I'm as special as my guests. It's different, it's unusual for me, and I feel slightly naughty for doing it.

I also feel sweet and feminine and like a Lady. Not a bad way to start the week. Not a bad way to feel, either. It makes me feel like anything else that will happen today is survivable and livable. Nothing will be awful after a start like this.