~Our Susan’s Opinion of a Kitchen, “The Home Cookbook”, Canada’s first community Cookbook
No doubt about it, to me at any rate, the kitchen has always been at the heart of my home. I am not sure if that is because it is the one room that I have spent the most time in, or if its because it has truly been at the heart of all my homes!
For me, the ideal kitchen would be an "eat in" kitchen . . . one with a window over the sink so that I can gaze out at the world whilst working at the dishes. I would also love one large enough to hold a table and chairs, even if it is only a small one and two chairs.
There is something really warm and friendly about being able to host a friend in your kitchen, sitting at the intimacy of a small table over a warm cup of something and a bite of cake to eat.
Because my father was in the Canadian armed forces, most of the kitchens I grew up in were not large enough to hold a table and chairs, neither were most of the ones I spent my married lives in. All the kitchens of the women I looked up to and admired in my childhood however had them . . .
June Cleavers did. She even had the gingham curtains I so love in hers.
Along with the lace nets. I can just imagine that a chrome and Formica table is hiding beneath that table cloth.
Aunt Bea had a table right smack dab in the middle of her kitchen. The kitchen table was where people ate breakfast and started their days off together. In Aunt Bea's kitchen many a problem was solved or sorted out whilst sitting at that table, even the Russians were able so solve a problem sitting at it whilst eating a midnight feast of cold fried chicken at that table.
Donna Reed had a fairly large table sitting in the middle of her kitchen.
And so did June Anderson on Father Knows Best.
There were two kitchens with tables in them on Everybody Loves Raymond, his own and his mother's. And yes, once again, the heart of both homes.
And who did not love the warmth and love that flowed from the kitchen table in the Walton household . . .
My first mother in law had a table in the center of her farmhouse kitchen. It was smack dab in the middle of the room. It had an old linoleum floor, and a wood fired/electric cook stove as well. There was a window over the sink to gaze out of as well as a large window in the corner by the table with a rocking chair set right next to the window so that you could sit and rock and look out the window past the veranda on the other side into the drive.
I learned a lot about cooking from my first mother in law. As a farm wife, Lois knew a lot about thrift and cooking. She had to be a good enough cook to feed farm hands and to make wise use of all the things they grew on the farm. She lived to be over 100 years of age.
It would be lovely if my home when I get one has a kitchen I can have a table and a few chairs in, or even just a window over the sink. For the most part, almost all of the kitchens of my adult life have been large enough to hold at least a small table in them and a few chairs, as well as a window over the sink. The last one did not, but there was a table just outside the kitchen door at the far end of the lounge. There was also no window over the sink, but to the side.
Most of my best thinking has been done at kitchen tables. Every letter I have written for the most part, with the exception of recent months has been at a kitchen table. Every menu planned, every list written, most catalogues perused. Report cards signed. Plans made. Conversations held with much beloved friends and family members . . .
It is indeed a very important spot. The pulse of the home. The heart of the home. And as I write these words this morning, it occurs to me that it is not the table itself that is the heart of the home, but the people who sit at these tables . . . writing lists, making plans, writing out cards and letters, paying bills, solving problems, playing games, loving others . . .
So it isn't really the table or the window over the sink that matters the most, but . . . I'd still like both.
Oh, I am a greedy Gus am I not?
Not a lot planned today. I might start that Second Coming Course I signed up for. I might make some biscuits or something and tidy my room. It always needs tidying and organizing. At the moment it is my whole domain, and it doesn't take much for it to feel/get cluttered. But first . . .
A thought to carry with you . . .
° * 。 • ˚ ˚ ˛ ˚ ˛ •
•。★★ 。* 。
° 。 ° ˛˚˛ * _Π_____*。*˚
˚ ˛ •˛•˚ */______/~＼。˚ ˚ ˛
˚ ˛ •˛• ˚ ｜ 田田 ｜門 ★
* Life is unpredictable,
it changes with the seasons.
Even your coldest winter
happens for the best of reasons,
And though it feels eternal,
like all you'll do is freeze,
I promise Spring is coming,
and with it brand new leaves.
~ e. h. •。★★ 。* 。
In The English Kitchen today . . . Old Fashioned Lemon Icebox Pie. Only three simple ingredients. Deliciously refreshing.
Have a wonderful Wednesday! I hope the sun shines, if not on your face, at least in your heart. Don't forget!
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