Today, as I was filling the dishwasher, I was struck by the woeful collection of dinner plates that grace our table during meal times.

Why is it that as soon as ONE plate breaks, the rest all seem to quickly follow suit and you are left with using all the dregs that you normally keep at the bottom of your plate pile?

We are a family of five.  In order to set a matching table, I need FIVE matching plates at any one time.  Naturally, these plates all need to be clean...dirty ones don't count!

It was not too long ago that I had a lovely, MATCHING collection of black and white Corelle dinnerware.  I bought two sets, so that I had EIGHT of everything, plus I had some cute plastic bowls and plates that the kids normally used.  So, I could easily set the table for five and have it all matched, but if I wanted to 'stretch out" using the good plates, then I'd use the plastic ones for the kids.

But, now?  This is what I currently have in my plate pile (even when every single one is clean at the same time!): 

4 lovely Black and White Corelle dinner plates.

4 cute plastic plates with animal motifs - 3 of which are cracked and about to die.

1 nice aztec motif dinner plate which my husband got in a fruit basket, or something like that, from a hotel.  I bet it actually belonged to the hotel restaurant, but he thought it was his to take home and as they never came after him or billed his Visa we have kept it - guilt free - ever since.  This plate is slightly bigger than my other dinner plates, and though it is nice to look at, it does not match my black & whites so it is always relegated to the bottom of the plate pile.  However, we are currently needing to use all the plates right down to the bottom of the plate pile at every meal time, so this plate gets set on the table quite a bit these days.

1 old and ugly green flowered Corelle dinner plate that a friend once brought over to hold a bunch of cookies.  I don't remember the cookies, but as I had a falling out with this friend shortly after she brought this plate over, I never managed to get it back to her.  And now, given our dire plate situation, this particular item is used regularly during meal times and so is now a regular part of the cupboard, meal, counter, sink, dishwasher, cupboard cycle.  Anyway, she never ASKED for the plate back, so I figure it's mine now.  Beside, it's the exact same pattern that my own mother had when we were children and that has to count for something doesn't it?

So there you are.  Now, I ask you, how can a decent woman make a nice, matching table setting from that list?

I *could* just buy more plates, but all the Corelle open stock ones are just in plain white.  Now, I am not opposed to plain white, but at $4.99 a pop it seems a bit extreme!  Seeing as how I'd need at least two table settings (the kids are getting to old for the cute animal themed plastic plates), I would need 10 plates, and that would come to $50, not including taxes!

I *could* just buy 2 or 3 new sets of dinnerware and start over again from scratch which actually is cheaper than buying them all separately, but I cannot find the crucial combination of pattern & price that I am happy with.

I *could* just hop on over the Value Village and pick up a few more plates just to get us through, but have you SEEN the plate piles there?!?  I simply cannot bear to purchase any, even though they are only $0.49 a piece, for the simple fact that I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that those plate piles just recently graced someone else's cupboard and have now ended up on the shelves of VV for the simple fact that said person now has a brandnew set of MATCHING dinnerware.  It's just too depressing.

Paper, anyone?