A Bull in a China Closet

St. Wayne's mother, Gertrude had a great collection of Candlewick and I inherited it when she passed away. It's all in a cabinet in our kitchen eating area. A few years ago when we remodeled the kitchen, I decided it could look alot more dramatic if I put black foam core in the background and added rope lighting. And it does look great until the lights burn out, which is about once a year.

The top picture is of the cabinet in the dark. You can't see anything inside. The second picture is St. Wayne up on a ladder replacing the lights. It makes me so nervous for him to be on a ladder in the first place, not to mention up there handling that delicate crystal. Each piece has to be moved out so he can get to the back to lay the rope, and then all put back in again. It's just "clink, clink, clink" the whole time and I can't stand to watch. In his defense, he's very careful and I've probably broken more pieces than he ever has, but I just can't watch it. So I decided I would snap some pictures while he was working and that seemed to help ease my nerves.

The final picture is back to normal and lighted...with no broken pieces! Isn't it gorgeous? If you're not familiar with Candlewick, it is simple, clear glass that has the little bubbles or dots on the edge and the way it catches the light inside the cabinet, it reminds me of ice sculpture. It makes me happy to look at it. I cherish the collection and I use it alot because it goes with everything. And the best part is it reminds me of my mother-in-law who collected it while she and Wayne's dad Al were newlyweds living in Chicago.

Ahhh, everything's back in its place and now I can relax and enjoy how it looks again! Thanks, St. Wayne, for being so prompt when those lights burn out...