Of course I don't remember getting a bath in Grandma's Kitchen Sink, but I remember that window that looked out at the side yard, the wash house, the pump and the driveway. I remember the holly hocks and the little dolls grandma taught me to make from the blooms and the buds. I remember the little toy soldiers that sat on top of the sill. I remember watching people wash dishes, cook and can in that kitchen. I remember "helping" grandma with her pies, mostly eating "mistakes" and leftover scraps! I remember her sifter, a well used tool for someone who baked as much as Grandma did. I think one of my cousins got that sifter when we had the estate sale before moving grandma into the nursing home. This is the kitchen where all those delicious meals were prepared, all the jars of preserves that were kept in the storm cellar were filled and processed. The walls were covered with wall paper and there was a half wall between the kitchen and the dining room.This is the kitchen where my mom learned to cook and probably fought with Aunt Carol and Uncle Jon over whose turn it was to do the dishes. Oh, maybe not.I can't imagine Grandma making Uncle Jon do dishes!
I also remember these plates. They hung on the wall above that kitchen window. When Grandma and Grandpa moved into town after he retired I asked Grandma where the chicken plates were and when I found that she still had them but did not hang them in her new kitchen, I asked if I could have them. They have hung in all my kitchens since the day she gave them to me sometime in the early 1980's. I love them. They are chipped (before I got them) and they collect kitchen dirt so must be washed a couple of times per year but I can't imagine working in a kitchen without them.
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This little piece of furniture was my Grandma's telephone table when she lived on the farm. It was in the dining room and was one of the pieces of furniture that I had to dust. Her button box was in one of the drawers and I used to play with all her fancy buttons. Seems like the cage with her parakeet was next to this table and of course the phone was on top of it. After she moved into town, I asked about this table and she gave it to me. Since then, I always have it tucked into a corner of a room. Today it is in the dining room. I have treasures in the drawers but not button boxes!
These camels are in a Christmas Card box with a note saying they are from the holy land. I don't remember how I got them. One of the chains is broken and held into the camel's pack by a thumbtack. I don't remember if that happened before or after I got them. Memories are selective and mine is not as reliable as it used to be.
This is the last set of tea towels I received from Grandma, She made others for me and she made pillow cases for my kids. She always said we should use them, that's what they are for and that is what I tell people when I give them tea towels or a quilt-It is made to be used. Sorry Gram, I couldn't bear to ever use these tea towels. They stay safe in the drawer of your telephone table. I take them out once in a while to hold and remember.
The blue bowl is one of Grandma Scott's. It is carnival glass and has a chip in it. I have had it for a very long time but I don't remember how it came to be mine. The glasses next to it are a recent gift from Aunt Carol. They were Grandma Bisher's glasses. Grandma Bisher was Grandma Scott's mom.
This is the gravy dish that my Aunt Beulah (Aunt B) kept on top of her refrigerator for cookies. Whenever kids came to visit she would take them out of the cookie jar for us. I do not ever remember getting a home made cookie from Aunt B. She was a diabetic and always very strict with her diet. Aunt B made the very best red chocolate cakes. She always brought them to holiday dinners. probably because she knew everyone would eat the whole cake and she would not have to be tempted. My mom got this dish after Aunt B died. Mom had it for years in a display shelf above her refrigerator. I have had it now for many years. For a while I kept it in my book case behind glass doors but recently I have moved it to a place of honor on the refrigerator. Sorry to all kids wanting a cookie, it no longer contains any sweet goodies. I wonder what happened to the ladle. It seems like it should have a matching ladle. I wonder where she got it from. Was it a gift or an heirloom? Oh, well, I never thought to ask about it before Aunt B died so I will just have to wonder.
I have a picture that always hung on Grandma's living room wall at the farm. It is a picture of fishing boats at night, mostly grey with a bright yellow lamp of candle light coming from one of the windows on one of the boats. Again, I remembered it from the house on the farm and asked Grandma for it after she moved into town. It hung on the wall when you first entered the living room, right next to the big heating stove. I am grateful to have these things to remind me of the past, to keep me connected to my loved ones who are gone. I am not including a picture of it because it is currently in storage but not for long.
I have been cleaning out my off site storage unit and I have bins full of pictures to go through, pictures of Grandma, Grandpa, Great Grandparents, etc. I know I am going to wish that we were more diligent about labeling the pictures. I will be peering at old black and whites wondering who they are and what the connection to me could be. Then I will come upon the first color prints slowly fading into obscurity. I will find pictures of me and my brothers and cousins and wonder it that Jean? Is that Uncle Irvin? I think of all the work it would be to actually label all those pictures and wonder if anyone will care after I am gone. Is it worth the trouble? I was actually thinking about taking them to one of those places that will digitize the photos and give you a CD or a memory stick or what ever. But, 50 years from now, will we have a machine that will read that CD or memory stick? Will the cloud still be there? Somehow I wonder if bins of old pictures might outlast the computer files. All you need to access the data on a photo is your eyes and your mind.
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