What Do You See Outside YOUR Open Window Today?

What Do You See Outside YOUR Open Window Today?
Remember: "When God closes a door, He always opens a window!" You never know what might be out there waiting for you!

Saturday, September 29, 2012

Today's Gift-A Blessing for My Kitchen


My Kitchen...Picture taken by my sweet hubby, while he was cooking our supper
one weekday afternoon. He was so proud that he had cleaned up the kitchen as he
cooked that he wanted to take a picture. This was while I was at work. I chuckled
when I found this picture on my camera.  Obviously, if I had taken this picture, I would have removed
the baseball cap and other clutter from the island before taking the picture. I would have hidden the waste basket...I mean, who wants to see my trash?   I would have made sure
that no glasses, dishwashing liquid, or other sundry stuff was left on the counter. But it wouldn't have been an honest picture then.  You would think that it was some "Country Living" or "Better Homes and Gardens" kitchen (maybe) Ha! Not.  This is how it is most of the time, except Hubby had really
cleaned up the dishes, and what is on the stove is still cooking! (Gotta love that man!--his early retirement has it's benefits for me!)

I found this little poem "blessing" for the kitchen and wanted to share it with you.  I had heard it years ago, but couldn't remember all the lines.  Thankful for "Google" to help me find most anything I can't quite remember anymore!

My Little Kitchen Prayer
"Bless my little kitchen, Lord
I love its every nook
And bless me as I do my work,
Wash pots and pans and cook.
 
May the meals that I prepare
Be seasoned from above
With Thy Blessings and Thy Grace,
But most of all, Thy Love.
 
As we partake of earthly food,
The table Thou hast spread,
We'll not forget to thank Thee, Lord
For all our daily bread.
 
So bless my little kitchen, Lord
And those who enter in,
May they find naught but Joy and Peace
And Happiness therein. "
 
Author Unknown
Here are a few more pictures of "every nook" of my kitchen...these are the places that I love in my kitchen and dining area:


This little high-boy chair belonged
to my husband's Grandmother, Nanny Martin,
along with the Hoosier Cupboard beside it.
My little boys used to fight over who would
get to sit in this chair when we visited
Nanny's house for special dinners.
When she passed away, it became a part
of our home, and has come in handy for other
little children wanting to sit up to the table with us,
as well as a great chair for giving haircuts to the
boys when they were little. I've displayed
some other items from Nanny's kitchen
on the chair...one of her cookbooks, an egg beater,
and an embroidered tea-towel.




The best part of my kitchen is when family is gathered
to enjoy home cooking...in this particular picture my son Scott
(on the right in front) was baking a batch of Orange Cookies
for my son Matt, (left in back), who was visiting from
Maine and getting ready to go home. Scott baked these
special family recipe cookies for Matt to take back home
with him on the plane. 
The "Reading Nook", a corner of my dining area. "Baby Elva" always enjoys reading time with me.
The Tea Book Shelf, also a great place for my cookbooks.

This corner of the kitchen counter is where I prepare our
morning coffee and tea. That is a very important part of our
kitchen...to start our day off just right!  Hubby gets the coffee, and I get the tea!
 
 

I hate that this picture makes me look so fat (it's the shirt...lol), but this is a good
picture of how I love to work in my kitchen, preparing something special
for my family  (in this case, an apple pie).  I love to watch the birds and other wildlife
outside (bears, bunnies, butterflies, bees) while I cook.  It makes the chores seem less mundane when you
can commune with God's creation right from your kitchen window!

And I LOVE the happiness on my sweet Hubby's face while enjoying something I baked
especially for him (and all the rest of us enjoyed it too)...Coconut Cream Pie...my Mother's Recipe.
 
Friends and relatives helping serve and clean up...what a blessing for me!!

Birthday Parties...


 I really love it when family gathers from near and far to share a special dinner...birthdays,
4th of July, celebration just becauuse we want to...and we gather at the sink to clean the
dasher from the homemade ice-cream maker and sample the first spoonfuls as we lift the dasher from
the freezer.  This is why I love my kitchen...




 
People laughing and talking and taking pictures after we've shared a meal together...
Happy Family times...treasured memories...

 
These are some of the reasons why I love my "little" (not really little) kitchen, Lord...
Why I love its every nook...
This is the heart of our home...
the place where love overflows with thanksgiving to the One Who made it all possible..
"Come Lord Jesus, Be Our Guest...
and may all that we partake of be blessed..."
Amen.

12 comments:

  1. I just love, Love, LOVE this post and the pictures. Back in the day, the kitchen was the hub of the homefront. Growing up in an Italian family, the kitchen was where ALL the action was. My grandmother's house had a dining room, but we always seemed to enjoy gathering to cook, eat and talk in the kitchen most of all.

    The pictures of your kitchen are beautiful and it sure looks like such a welcoming place, especially the reading nook and the tea book shelf (loved that cute bear honey dispenser on your kitchen counter-- I have one of those in my kitchen, too!)

    Thanks so much sharing this and giving us all out here in bloggyville a peek into your home. <3

    Blessings,
    Pam

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    1. Oh! I didn't know I had so many comments here! I guess this really struck a note with all of us...myself included! Thank you, Pam, for stopping by this Pam's kitchen to brighten my day! Come on over sometime for a cup of tea and a real visit! We'll sit in the kitchen, of course!

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  2. I love your kitchen too! It's nice and big with lots of counter space to work on and it's bright and "happy"! I have a tile that I found somewhere, maybe in Dad's garage--and a little framed picture of another "The Kitchen Prayer"
    Lord of all pots and pans and things
    Since I've not time to be
    A saint by doing lovely things or watching late with Thee
    Or dreaming in the dawn light or storming Heaven's gates
    Make me a saint by getting meals and washing up the plates.
    Although I must have Martha's hands, I have a Mary mind
    And when I black the boots and shoes, Thy sandals Lord I find.
    I think of how they trod the earth, what time I scrub the floor
    Accept this mediation Lord, I haven't time for more.
    Warm all the kitchen with Thy love, and light it with Thy peace
    Forgive me all my worrying and make my grumbling cease.
    Thou who didst love to give men food, in room or by the sea
    Accept this service that I do, I do it unto Thee.

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    1. Dear Little Big Sister Doris, Thank you for sharing this poem prayer. I love this. I think I've seen that somewhere too. Can't wait for you to come back and visit in my kitchen again! Someday we will actually sit down and have a cup of tea! Love ya, Sis!!

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  3. I love this pictorial post so much Pam! I feel like if I visited I could open up a cupboard and feel right at home! Really lovely and cosy!

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    1. Yes, Susie, you would be more than welcome to open my cupboards and help yourself. How I wish we could reach right into each other's homes and visit face to face! Who knows? Maybe we will some day! Thank you for visiting here today!

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  4. I love your kitchen and reading areas. It's always a blessing when husband's help out in the kitchen, even if they don't do things the way we would.

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    Replies
    1. Yes, Sylvia, it IS a blessing! This is a new thing for my hubby, as he always worked before and never really had time to help much in the kitchen. So now that the tables are turned, he is becoming a wonderful helper. It's so good to come home and say, "What's for dinner?"...and know that there will actually be something there already! Such fun! Thank you for stopping by for a visit today!

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  5. This is a nice glimpse into your family Pamela. Thank you. The picture of the white-ish chair. That's the chair we always had at Church when I was a kid. What memories that brings back! Hugs

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    1. So glad you stopped by for a visit, Mary! I wish all my new friends here in Blogland and Facebook could really step through "the looking glass" and drop in for a real visit! Wouldn't that be fun? I'm happy that the white chair struck a familiar and happy memory for you. This particular chair has been around for a long time, and has so many layers of paint on it (and years of grime from little hands), that I'm not sure what color it is supposed to be. I have wanted to strip it for ever, but somehow I can't bring myself to strip away all the years and memories of it just the way it is. It's just too special. Strange, huh? ((((HUGS))))) back to you!

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  6. ...ha, here I am how many years late? (the story of my life, rofl)

    Beautiful...I love folks who are real and authentic, and you my friend are truly precious. I am so blessed to have you in my life, even though we have never met in real life. smiles.

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    1. I hope that someday we WILL meet in real life. I feel like I know you already too, and I hope that God will bless your life with many joys and happiness...and enjoy your own little kitchen with all its precious nooks!! Never too late...

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