We had a little holiday party over the weekend, and as many of you might have been following, my gingerbread rendition of Castle Black was to be a centerpiece. I fell behind in my architectural ambition with all of the other party prep and cooking; it’s currently 3 towers short of the frosting snow phase.

Then, the night of the party, disaster struck. From the kitchen we heard an almighty crash and breaking of glass that seemed to stretch on for an impossibly long time.

Some of the party guests had apparently blown the Horn of Winter, and the shelf holding ALL of my blog dishes came hurtling to the ground. A few things were miraculously unbroken (unbowed, unbent), but about 90% of the dishes were smashed to smithereens in about a 15′ radius. Most of what you’ve seen in the cookbook and on the blog is now gone, save the newer pewter, wood, and metal acquisitions. Most of the dishes were not that expensive, but I had A LOT of them, and had been stockpiling for over a year.

It’s a serious downer. I’m sure in the coming months I will turn to pick up just the right item, only to remember that it’s gone. After the holidays, I’ll start building up a collection again, and look into some much sturdier shelves…