Nicholas Mosse "Assorted Landscape" butter dish - photo courtesy AnnMarie.com

For the most part I am a pretty reasonable, logical thinker – that is, unless emotion gets in the way! This can happen with big things, but most often it comes into play over smaller issues, like when I bought a third pair of boots last October, which I simply had to have because they made me feel 10 years younger when I put them on – or maybe it was two inches taller. I really can’t remember now. Another example of emotion trumping logic, would be my drive this morning to Andersonville in Chicago to enjoy the much-anticipated, weekly morning tea time with my daughter at Kopi – even though she had to be at the Theatre School extra early on this particular Thursday morning, leaving us a bit stressed for time. Logic would have told me to skip it this week and wait for a less hectic day, but emotion ruled the day and I gladly refused to miss out on the fun with Kate.

Recently, I made one of these seemingly logic-free and purely emotional decisions with the purchase of an over-priced, yet charming, “Assorted Landscape” butter dish from the Nicholas Mosse Pottery Studio based in Kilkenny, Ireland. On the surface this was a completely illogical thing to do, considering I had it shipped to my home in the U.S. …  only to have to pack it up again so that I can carry it back to Ireland when I make the trip to Kilkee in late March! And, if for some reason you don’t think this decision lacks logic, just ask Declan and he will set you straight. After hearing my explanation for why I would do such a thing he was incredulous to say the least. He simply could not get his mind around it! But at the end of the day, Declan will realize how much better his morning tea and toast will taste in Rose Cottage, with the butter coming from this particular butter dish – as it sits upon our kitchen table next to the Nicholas Mosse “Landscape Cow” milk pitcher and “Landscape Sheep” sugar bowl, which I already owned and will also be bringing with us to Ireland in March.

The emotional aspect of this purchase comes from our current absence from the cottage and my strong need to make it mine, and make it cozy, comfortable and welcoming – yet being unable to do much of anything from this distance. These emotions convinced me that Rose Cottage can only be ours, when the kitchen holds a Brown Betty teapot and this little assortment of country-inspired, Irish-made pottery!

So, logical or not, silly or not, an expensive – yet charmingly quaint – butter dish has made its way across the pond to the States, only to be immediately prepared for its trip back home again in a few weeks. Sometimes a person just has to go with what feels right. Besides, without deferring to emotion every once in a while – life would be a very dull affair!