Saturday, March 6, 2010

Imperfect and Perfect

There are some things in life that we just have to overlook,

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however the obvious is sometimes difficult to ignore. Can you ignore the not-so-perfect? Take for example the crack in this old pottery bowl. Would you pass it up for a dollar? Or would you take it home with you and find a cozy niche for it to call home. I think the imperfect is perfect. Hey, kind of like us. We all have our little imperfections – but that is what makes us all unique. Like these two vintage bowls. If you can overlook the cracks, pits and crazing in the glaze you can see that they are so sweet with pretty pastel stripes. They are quite useful, too,

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as they hold these wonderful eggs that my dear friend Barbara (hey, Barbara…that is YOU!) gave to me. Barbara lives in the country (lucky lady!) and has a lot of chickens that run around her yard. These sweet chicks provide an abundance of fresh eggs for Barbara and her hubby. She was so sweet and shared some of her eggs with me. Aren’t they gorgeous? I love the soft green and brown colors. Barbara taught me something that I thought I’d pass along (you may already know this – but I sure didn’t). To check to see if eggs are rotten, just place the eggs in a sink and cover them in cold water. If an egg rises to the top, then it is rotten. We don’t want any rotten eggs, now do we? That is one imperfect thing that just cannot be overlooked!

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I had only one floater…

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…and the rest were PERFECT for my IMPERFECT bowls!

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Hey Barbara……care to fill these up, too?

…..insert a smile here….

Just kiddin’...thank you for the eggs and for your friendship!

48 comments:

BALLET NEWS said...

I love these bowls. Gorgeous.

Anonymous said...

Perfection is totally over-rated! Those bowls are precious and so are you! Thank you for your sweet comments you left on my blog a few days back when I was having such a hard day! It means so much to me when people care enough to reach out. You really are a sweetheart!
Marcia

Joanne Kennedy said...

Well if it's a crack I can live with that, but if it's a break and someone had glued it together then I pass it up. I don't like that look at all.

But your bowls are something I couldn't turn down.

Hugs,
Joanne

Anonymous said...

I buy imperfect pottery pieces and adore them. It's not about what they are now but rather where they have been over the past 60 years. Wonderful post!

Di
The Blue Ridge Gal

Rocky Creek Scotties and Rocky Creek Ramblings said...

Becky, I love things that other people have loved like aprons with teeny little holes where someone has worn it out by leaning against the sink or cabinets with peeling paint or rusty stars. Imperfect is perfect for me.

xo
Lynn

Anonymous said...

The bowls are lovely.

I personally consider my imperfections to be part of my charm but others have been know to disagree:-)

hugs,

Kate

Sandy, Sisters of Season said...

What a sweet posting . . . I like the imperfect too! Enjoy your Saturday!

p.s. nothing like the taste of fresh eggs!

Tales From My Empty Nest said...

I love old things too, so I don't pass up things with imperfections. I'm like you, I just find a way to use it. Aren't fresh eggs the greatest? Nothing better for a pound cake! Have a great weekend! Love & blessings from NC!

Vee said...

Beautiful eggs...beautiful bowls. Do you always keep eggs in bowls? I know that some gals like eggs to be room temperature before they'll cook with them.

Kathleen Grace said...

I love your bowls, I have a collection of oldies with cracks, crazing, and other imperfections. I don't mind at all, I can still find beauty in the imperfect. It would be hard to find hapiness if we couldn't!

Elsie said...

Becky~ I love your bowls,I have
a lot of crock bowls and some of
them had cracks when I bought them.
I love imperfect items,it adds
character. Yes,I knew that about
eggs,I grew up with chickens and
eating yard eggs. It was fun to
go get them out of the nest and
come back to the house and throw it
in the pan. Yum! I still have the
last eggs from Mom's house that I
blew out and put in my wire basket.
That was 20yr.ago,would you call
them antique.LOL.:O)

The Green Pea said...

Hello Becky, you are a lady that sees the true beauty in something. Even with its chips and cracks, I call them beauty marks. Love your post today. Have a nice weekend. sandi

myletterstoemily said...

what a darling lesson on imperfection
and eggs, to boot.

i'm with you on that lesson. i do not want
a perfect anything. flaws make everything
and everyone much more interesting and
lovable.

blessings,
lea

ps. my friend, who let me blog about her
special valentine surprise, has started her
own blog. her first post was about the same
event, but much more poignantly written.

i felt i should pull mine out of respect to her,
but have worried a bit about you coming to visit
and wondering about it, since you had your
own sweet valentine surprise this year.

myletterstoemily said...

what a darling lesson on imperfection
and eggs, to boot.

i'm with you on that lesson. i do not want
a perfect anything. flaws make everything
and everyone much more interesting and
lovable.

blessings,
lea

ps. my friend, who let me blog about her
special valentine surprise, has started her
own blog. her first post was about the same
event, but much more poignantly written.

i felt i should pull mine out of respect to her,
but have worried a bit about you coming to visit
and wondering about it, since you had your
own sweet valentine surprise this year.

Sweet Bee Cottage said...

I really like the way you think. It's not about getting the perfect look, the perfect house, or whatever. It's about using what you have and tweaking it here or there so it's perfect for you.

Your chicken eggs are beautiful and so are your bowls. What a sweet friend you have and I'm sure you are a sweet friend back.

Denise said...

Growing up my Grandmother would go to the feed store every spring and by 50 baby chicks. We kept them in the well house for a few weeks and then put them in the chicken yard with the older hens..... It was so exciting to go and gather eggs in the evening and then to find a "little" egg that you just knew was a first! Grandmother always put them in water first to make sure they were good and then ALWAYS let me have that one for breakfast...... That is perfection for a little girl in an un-perfect world.....

Love your bowls!

Rebecca said...

Love your bowls Becky! I don't mind some imperfections if the price is right. I'm like Joanne though. I don't like it when it has been glued back. I got a Watt's bowl with the apple motif for $10. I loved this pottery but it was way out of my budget--over $100 for this bowl. So when I found that apple bowl, I snatched it up. The small crack on the back side didn't bother me in the least! Enjoy your pretty bowls. And thanks for the tip about the eggs!

Hugs,
Rebecca

Tanza said...

Hi Sweetie,
I just LoVe all your gently used, much LoVed bowls .. yep !! just like us, little cracks, and imperfections, that's what makes us all soo unique, and fUn right ?! LoVe when you share .. Sooo hoping you are doing well, and feeling happy on this cool, pretty Saturday ~
hugs ~tea~xo

Anonymous said...

Oh, I just love imperfect! I'm full of imperfections! :) I would certainly not pass up a cute little bowl like that even with a crack! I love the blue and pink.
How nice to have fresh eggs too! They look so sweet sitting in your imperfect bowls.
Be a sweetie,
Shelia ;)

Penny from Enjoying The Simple Things said...

Lucky girl! Having a friend with chickens for those beautiful fresh eggs! We used to live in Tennessee and had the best neighbors. They had chickens and we had all of the fresh eggs we could eat. We still are friends with our previous neighbors and even though we are a couple of hours apart we still get together a couple of times a year.
Hugs,
Penny

p.s. the sun is shining here! How about where you live? This is the first weekend with out snow in a month. Yahoooo!

Susan Freeman said...

I love the imperfect. I think of it as well loved and having it's own special history. Your bowls are just wonderful! As far as the eggs are concerned, my neighbor has four chickens and the eggs are beautiful and delicious. Sometimes I wish I lived on a farm with chickens running around, a big garden for vegetables, herbs and flowers and lots of vintage bowls in the kitchen, cracks and all!

Love,
Susan and Bentley
xxoo

Rhondi said...

Hi Becky
Very pretty bowls. I wouldn't pass them up either!
Hugs, Rhondi

alissa said...

i tend to pick things for my house that have a crack or two. i just think that the cracks show that they were well loved. adding character. love the eggs. i have never seen eggs that color of green before. may have to raise chickens just so i can have that color of eggs!
blessings to you!

Blondie's Journal said...

A wonderful post that says SO much about us. Thank you, Becky. I am proud to say I am perfectly imperfect!

We get a lot of fresh eggs up at the lake. I learned fresh eggs should not be used for boiling and peeling...the shell sticks to the egg and tears chunks off. The egg should be a couple of days old if you want to make an egg salad or something boiled. Just a little hint... ;-)

xoxo
Janie

Anonymous said...

I am one for the imperfect. I own a lot of imperfect things, even furniture I have has dings, cracks or something. That's what makes it perfect to me.

Hugs,
LeAnn:)

Miss Jean said...

Patsy Clairmont has two books - All Cracked Up and God Uses Cracked Pots - that sound like exactly what you are talking about.
xo

bv said...

'there are some things in life we just have to over look' righto. and when we figure out how to do that we will find peace....i always love things that are imperfect. i tend to be drawn to them. life is not perfect and i don't want the presure of trying to achieve perfection. 14 eggs today! oh dear. the road side stand is being readied...
xo bv

Sweet Cottage Dreams said...

Oh....!!!!!!!!! You all are the very best! I have never in my life had fresh farm eggs! My friend shared with me my first dozen of farm fresh eggs. I don't keep them in bowls all year, however I think they ARE pretty enough to do so.

Yea, we all have imperfections. Just LOVE all of the insight you all share. Thank God for face creams! The lines on my face seem deeper these days, kind of like the cracks in the bowls. Chalk it up to being nearly 50. I like to call my wrinkles "fine crazing!" - yes, like the bowls.

love ya.
bec

Donna said...

I love the little cracks! I love imperfection ... ask my husband :)
I really love your bowls.
Blessings,
Donna

GranthamLynn said...

I love it. The cracks and the eggs. I so want chickens.
Thanks for sharing.
Have a Blessed weekend.
Sherry

marie said...

Lovely post Becky.
Beautiful photos too!

The Strawberry Mallard said...

We are all just a little imperfect and a little flawed ~ But Gussy Dog is truley a cracked pot ( or is that a crack pot?)
Beautiful post angel!

Love ya~ NEBS & Gus Gus

Elizabeth and Gary said...

Hi Becky,
I didn't know how to tell if a egg was rotten or not, I even asked Gary and he didn't know either. So thank you and thank you Barbara!Tomorrow I am going to put my eggs in the kitchen sink and see what happens. (We have been house hunting for the last three weekends).
Take care and big hug, Elizabeth

My Painted Garden said...

Hi Becky,

Oh my goodness - what a lovely post on the beauty of imperfect. I look a imprefection as part of the charm and history of a well loved piece. Your bowls are so wonderful and are perfect for holding the special fresh eggs.
Thank you for the tip on Diane's vintage website. I am on my way to visit her.
Blessings,
Erin

Linda said...

HI Becky, I love imperfects...I think they are perfect:). The older I get the more I appreciate them...hugs, Linda

Anonymous said...

I love the bowls on top of your cabinet with the green stripe:) Where did you find those and do they have a name? Elma
elma2179@yahoo.com

Wsprsweetly Of Cottages said...

Now that's a real "crack up!"
Oh now don't blame me for that one. Di at The Blue Ridge Gal pulls those little plays on words on me...and I wanted to try one. :)
Love you, Becky!!
Mona
And those bowls are perfect in their own imperfections..yep, like us. :)

Mimi Sue said...

Isn't that what makes life interesting? I have a few little imperfections myself. Just makes things better. Fresh eggs! Lucky you. Mimi

Duke said...

We didn't know that about rotten eggs! Thank you, Miss Becky!
Mom LOVES the bowls - perfect AND imperfect!

Love ya lots,
Maggie and Mitch

Thimbleanna said...

Your eggs are beautiful -- as are your pretty cracked bowls! I don't think I've ever had a rotten egg -- at least that I knew of -- maybe we ate them and didn't know it? Beautiful pictures!

black eyed susans kitchen said...

Becky, Imperfections add character! I will often look for the imperfect at yard sales, and when I had my store, it rarely made me sad to have something chip or crack because that meant that I could take it home and keep it.
♥, Susan

The Old Painted Cottage said...

That's the beauty right there, in the cracks, crazing and imperfections indeed! One of my favorite pieces of ironstone is a large pitcher with a large chunk missing from the top..makes me love it even more.

PS - totally envying those gorgeous fresh laid eggs.

oxox
Jennifer

Unknown said...

Cute Post! I wouldn't pass those little cuties up. But then I'm a little cracked too ;) I did not know that about the eggs! I have to test mine now.

~Liz

Carrie @ Cottage Cozy said...

And just look how our society is so willing to disregard people that are imperfect...more botox, more surgery...my goodness. As Patsy Clairmont's book title says, "God uses Cracked Pots"!

I love your bowls...sometimes those imperfections just must be overlooked for the true beauty they hold.

JG said...

Quite a few treasured objects have imperfections, especially if you create them yourself.

But, the cracked eggs I toss, too. :)

quiltingnana said...

good thought for us perfectionists! Need such a wakeup call once in a while

Signs and Salvage said...

I LOVE the imperfect too!! Chippy, cracked, crazed, tarnished...that is ME!! So funny, because I dropped my favorite little bunny last weekend while decorating for Easter. I threw it away at first...with a little tear. Then...ran for the glue and fixed his little ears! Not good as new...but loved just the same:)

Thank you for your cracked story:)

Kristin

Lallee said...

Some of my favorite pieces are of the imperfect category. I would have come home with that bowl! Don't you love the green eggs? I have one. One single green blown out egg someone gave me for Easter one year in a little basket. I still hold on to it.

OH, I was talking to my son Michael this morning. He is going to buy some chickens! Maybe he will have some green eggs some day.

XO,
Lallee