Tuesday 4: Your Kitchen

 Your Kitchen

Per our hostess Annie: "Howdy friends and welcome back for another of Toni Taddeo's Tuesday 4.
I need renovations throughout my home and that includes the kitchen. So, I've been collecting pictures with ideas on painting my cabinets, replacing my 1957 kitchen window, my cracked tile floors and my rusty sink and damaged counter tops. Could be talk about kitchens for a bit?"

1. Is this kitchen in the photo one that you would enjoy working in? Did you have one of those step stools in your home growing up?

I love the homey-ness of that kitchen, although I would not like that stove in the corner like that without any countertops around it. (I love the old fashioned vintage stove, just not in the corner!)  And yes, we had a step stool just like that, except it was red, in my family home growing up. Or was it yellow? Now I'm not sure. Maybe I had a yellow one at some point, oh I don't know now and I can't find any pictures, but it was the same style! LOL. It's tough getting old and not being able to remember things. That's why I rely on pictures so much!

2. What appliances are absolute necessities in your kitchen and what can you do without.

Well, of course we can't do without a refrigerator and stove. And I am quite attached to my microwave too. I don't have a dishwasher anymore and since it's just the two of us, we get along fine without it. When we have company there are always volunteers to help wash the dishes, and it is a good time to stand at the sink and visit while we wash and dry and put away the dishes together.  Of course, we have a coffee pot and a toaster and a toaster oven, a mixer and an electric can opener. I am a lefty, and I cannot use the hand-type can opener at all. Oh, and I have an electric tea kettle for heating water. I used to always use a teakettle on top of the stove, but I burned up too many of them, so hubby bought me the electric one, and it shuts itself off when it boils. 

It's fun to watch it light up as it comes to a boil!

3. What items are always in your pantry?

Well, besides the usual spices,  flour, sugar, brown sugar, confectioner's sugar, I also keep things like cooking oil, vinegar, molasses, and other baking necessities...oatmeal, shortening, baking soda, and baking powder. 

 There's always tea bags of many varieties, and coffee.

And of course we keep things like canned vegetables, soups, chicken broth, beef broth, dried beans and canned beans, spaghetti sauce, canned fruit, cereal, pasta, and rice, peanut butter...all the basics.

My Pantry closet that my son Benton built for me when we moved to this house.

4. How about your counter tops... filled with things or empty?

Well, my countertops are pretty full. So are my cupboards. I like to keep things that I use often handy.

I shared these photos of my kitchen in a recent post, but here they are again. I didn't bother to take any new pictures, because it still looks pretty much the same! LOL.

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

Proverbs 24:3-4 NKJV

"3 Through wisdom a house is built,

And by understanding it is established;

4 By knowledge the rooms are filled

With all precious and pleasant riches."

I hope you enjoyed this Tuesday 4 post about my kitchen. Now let's go see what others are sharing about their kitchens, shall we? Have a blessed and beautiful day, my friend.

Tuesday 4: Kitchen Dreams

Monday night:  I realize this post is supposed to be about Kitchens, but we had this beautiful rainbow show up in our sky this afternoon, and it wasn't even raining here.  I believe it is a sign of God's promises to us and it was especially wonderful today.

You see, on Saturday morning, our beautiful 17 year old niece Shannon was in a very bad automobile accident, and for a while it looked like her injuries to her hip, pelvis, and back were quite severe.  They first thought they would have to put multiple rods, pins, etc., in her to hold everything together.  But when they got into surgery they found that they only needed to put one small rod in the back of her pelvis, and the rest they felt would heal on its own.  However, she will have to stay in a wheel chair for 4-6 weeks, without putting any weight at all on her legs until it is healed.  That in itself will be a major challenge for this very active young lady.  But we deem it to be somewhat of a miracle that this was the extent of her injuries. She took a direct hit in her driver's side door from a driver who ran a red light. Truly God had His angels surrounding her and protecting her from much more serious harm.  We give glory to God and praise Him for what He has done on her behalf.

However, I would still appreciate your prayers for this lovely young woman...physically as well as emotionally and especially spiritually.  May she fully realize that God has saved her life for a very real purpose.  Too often we don't get that second chance in life.  We thank the Lord that He has spared her. Oh, and as of this evening, because she did so well on her physical therapy today, they are releasing her to go home tonight.  It will be a challenge for her and her family, so again, your prayers are appreciated. 

Thank you, and Thank YOU, Jesus!

Tuesday morning:

So now we can move on to today's Tuesday 4 topic of "Kitchen Dreams"...

Kitchen Dreams

Welcome to Tuesday 4 in memory of  our blogging friend Toni Taddeo!

This week's questions were provided by Pamela Steiner who has the Closed Doors Open Windows blog.

Hey, that's ME again!! Thank you, Annie of Cottage by the Sea for putting this together for us each week.

So here we go:

1. They say the kitchen is the heart of the home...tell us about YOUR kitchen. 

Those of you who know me know that I believe in the adage "a picture is worth a thousand words".  So here are a few pictures of the basic parts of my kitchen...the sink, the stove, and the refrigerator.  I do spend a lot of time in my kitchen, and for the most part I enjoy being there.  At least in this house I can hear the activities in the living room, which is just around the corner, and I am not so isolated from the rest of the house as I was in our last home.  The kitchen actually is in the center of the house.  Probably the only thing I don't really like is that I don't have a good view out those three big windows. They look out front to the street, and the sun is really bright on that side for a good bit of the day, so I have to keep the blinds shut, and besides, I don't want people watching me in my kitchen as they drive by. If I could redesign this house I would have put the kitchen on the back side of the house, with windows looking out at the pond.  But other than that, I am content and happy here in this kitchen.

 

You can click on the pictures to enlarge if you wish.

What is your favorite part of your kitchen?

    

Where do I begin?  The wonderful part of this kitchen is all of the added little nooks and places that make it homey and cozy and a pleasant place to visit or just sit and read while I wait for something to cook... 

This is the coffee/tea area, where I fix our morning tea and coffee every day...

This is the tea/coffee cup cabinet just above, that we use for every day.  If you want fancy tea cups, you have to go into the other room where the china cabinet is to find them...but that's a subject for another day.

If you noticed the island where the sink is in the pictures above, well, this is what you see on the other side of the island.  There are plenty of seats if you want to come and visit with me while I am cooking...

 Or, you can "Come into my kitchen and chat with me while I prepare a pot of tea."

My paternal Grandmother did this needlepoint many years ago, and it was on the wall in her kitchen for as long as I can remember. I was quite honored and thankful to receive it when she passed away.  She also had done one for my mother that said, "No matter where I serve my guests it seems they like my kitchen best."  I don't know what happened to that needlepoint after my parents died and their estate was settled.  No one seems to know who took that home with them.  That makes me sad. But, I digress. I am very happy to have this one.

And then there is this wonderful old painting of the two old ladies sitting in their rockers and knitting or just visiting.  The caption that used to be legible on the frame said "The Gossips".  That wore off in time, but you get the idea.  This used to hang in my maternal Grandmother's home, and so I am very honored and thankful to have this as well.

Over in this corner I have my rocking chair. This is the rocker my parents bought for me when I was expecting our first baby,  so I rocked all three of my babies in this chair. It is very very special. It is also a good little corner to sit and read a book while I cook. Or you could sit there and visit with me, if you prefer!

Or you could visit with Lily Grace and her little friends while you wait on me.  They are having a perpetual tea party here, while Lily Grace entertains them with songs on her guitar.  They can sometimes be heard singing "Jesus Loves Me", or "This Little Light of Mine, I'm going to let it shine...", or just some other fun little song.  Never a dull moment in this part of the kitchen!

Speaking of Lily Grace, she has already shown you parts of the kitchen all decorated for autumn

I love this cabinet with it's open countertop where I can decorate for each of the seasons.  I know, it looks kind of cluttered. I realize that, but I have such fun decorating it that I sometimes don't know when to quit.  I guess that is part of what I love about this kitchen too...

I also love these little Scripture cards that I can change often. They are good reminders of God's promises to us.

Perhaps you've seen this before?  

2. If money were no object, what would be your "dream kitchen"?

Wow,  I don't really know.  I  might expand this room a bit so I can put the Hoosier Cupboard in here, and have a little more open space and open counter space.  This kitchen is a bit crowded when we have a group of people,  and the cooking area is definitely a little tight when we start trying to cook, wash dishes, etc. with more than one or two.   And I would definitely situate this room to have the windows overlooking the pond or some other such view.  

3. Tell us about a favorite memory from your kitchen, or from a kitchen in your past, perhaps your mother's kitchen or your grandma's kitchen?

Out of all my memories in many different kitchens throughout my life, this picture and memory is perhaps my very best and happiest.  Having all three of my precious little boys in the kitchen with me, baking cookies, and licking the batter off the beater.  There can be no more precious memory than this, especially since one of these dear boys is now in heaven...the one in the forefront, Matthew. 

And you can read more about this old house in the following post: https://pamelasopenwindow.blogspot.com/2010/06/alarms-sirens-whistles-bells-and-things.html

Here is a link to cookie baking time with our boys many years later. More precious memories in our kitchen...

4. If you could invite anyone in the world (either past or present) to come visit with you in your kitchen, who would it be, and why?

I don't know why I wanted to ask this question, because there are so many people, mostly from the past, that I would just love to have sitting with me in my kitchen again.  Of course, those three little boys above, just like that once again, would be marvelous...and then of course my mother...Here she is in her kitchen, doing what she did best...making something wonderful for her family, most likely a pie or some cookies...

And here in this link is a picture of her visiting me in the Interesting old house and kitchen we had in Maine , many years later.

Also, I would love to have my mother in law, "Nanny", visiting with me again in my kitchen. 

 Here is a link to a recent post about her visits to my kitchen.  We made many memories together while she was staying with us.

Here is a Link to a post about my previous kitchen, which was probably my most favorite kitchen ever, except for the fact that it was so isolated from the rest of the house.

I hope you enjoyed this little journey down memory lane in my kitchen memories. I know I added a lot of links, but those are also for me so I can find them again more easily.  Also, if you click on the word "kitchen" in my labels, you will find a lot of stories that came from my kitchen memories.  

Yes, I do believe the kitchen is the "heart of the home".  It is amazing how many happy memories flow out from that one place, no matter how humble or how modern...it is where you can find love in the home.

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

Now let's go see what our other friends are sharing from their kitchens: http://tuesdaysplace.blogspot.com/2021/10/kitchen-dreams.html

Friday Foto Friends...Come into my kitchen...

Well friends, it is time for Friday Foto Friends again...and I was thinking about something all week after one of our friends made a comment in last week's Friday foto Friend's post that I should show more of my kitchen...and my response to her was that I feel like I've shown a lot of my kitchen through the years in various posts,  all you have to do is type in the search bar on my blog page the word "kitchen", and it will pull up anytime the word "kitchen" was used in my posts. But that could take a long time to read through all of them, because it seems like my kitchen is a prominent place in my home and life and writing...much of our real living takes place in our kitchen!


(No cleaning was done in the preparation for this post...this is the real deal...) You may recognize that window and sign above from my header. The sign was created especially for me by my son the builder/sign maker.  Why that particular verse? Because  that is what it seems to be outside that window...all of heaven and nature are singing every day!

Anyway, that got me to thinking that this week I would show a few kitchen pictures, but then I would like to challenge the rest of you to do the same in your future posts.  It would be fun to see your favorite spots in your kitchen...and maybe even some of your not so favorite spots...things you'd like to change...or things you have recently changed.  I know another of our friends, Creations by Cindy, is currently doing a kitchen makeover at her house...and she's been sharing the progress...so why not do this?  Sound like fun?  It will be fun to see how many of you read this and accept this challenge sometime in the future!!! Please let us know when you do!

I shared this little poem in one of my previous "kitchen" posts, but thought this would be a good way to start off these pictures today:

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

So...why don't you "Come into my kitchen and chat with me while I prepare a pot of tea?"  (needlepoint created by my Grandma Mursch many years ago, and given to me from her home after she passed away since I was the one who also liked to drink tea!)

How about a Blueberry Bran Muffin to go with your cup of tea?

  I used the recipe on the Publix BranFlakes box, but I didn't make the topping that is on this recipe...and I also substituted 3 tablespoons of applesauce for the 3 tablespoons of oil in the recipe...other than that everything was the same, and they were delicious! I also used the large muffin tins instead of the usual normal cupcake size.

So now that you have a muffin and a cup of tea...let's start the tour...

I will start in one of my favorite spots...the rocking chair and reading corner.  Actually, my kitchen and dining room are connected, separated only by an island, so I can't very well show you just my kitchen without including some pictures from the dining room as well.  

This little corner is my favorite spot to sit and read, sip a cup of tea, look through cookbooks, or even visit with a friend while waiting for supper to cook...or after supper is over and I just want to hide away from the rest of the "world" for awhile. I love that this window looks out onto our front porch and front yard, where I can watch the birds, deer, and possibly see a bear now and then walk by!

 The bookshelf is filled with lovely little books about teatime, as well as cookbooks and other kinds of gift books of poetry or devotionals for women.  My son the builder built the bookshelf for me several years ago, and I dearly love it!  The Tea Time Calendar on the wall is an annual Christmas gift from my sister!  Some of my favorite teapots and cups are also on this little shelf.  

Looking to my right from the rocking chair, you can see the antique china closet that belonged to my husband's grandmother, "Nanny Martin", also the picture of her sweet little "pink house", along with part of my doll collection, and other odds and ends. (This picture was taken around Christmas, hence the Christmas tablecloth!)

 When I took this following picture earlier this week, we had just celebrated my youngest son's birthday, so here is the remainder of his birthday cake...  The white china closet is the one I refinished/painted a year or so ago (I've lost track of time). I thought I did a post about this, but I can't find it, so maybe I didn't...anyway that's it...it was a job redoing it! It was an ugly brown formica body, with some real wood on the doors, and I painted it white and distressed it to look old, since it is old. My son added the crown molding to the top to give it more height and style...  The curio cabinet to the right is full of "curios"...I may do a different post on that sometime...

 Next to the china cabinet is my husband's grandmother's Hoosier cupboard, that I also refinished many years ago...now that was a real job!  And speaking of real jobs, please notice the floor...that was another major project...

And speaking of islands:  The island is probably the hub of the whole kitchen/dining room. This is where we bake cookies and cakes, prepare  many meals, and serve buffet style for our many group/family gatherings.  There has been a lot of love and activity around this island...and yet, it is probably the one part of the kitchen that needs to have a major makeover...

 The island countertop is made of painted plywood, and I have added some large ceramic tiles that were samples to use as a more durable surface for cooking and serving hot dishes.  The cabinet base is very old and not in great shape...needs to be redone from the inside out. I am waiting for my builder/cabinet maker son to create a new top for the island and possibly new cabinets as well underneath some day.  I have some ideas for using reclaimed wood for the top, but that may change.  Anyway, until then it still functions and serves the purpose very well. I cannot imagine this kitchen without it!

 As we move over into the kitchen side of the room, here is another of my favorite spots...the tea cupboard and beverage station... This cabinet was the subject of another post years ago...

 This is where I make my pot of tea every morning...(and the coffee pot is next to the tea pot, but that is for my hubby, not me! LOL)

 On either side of the kitchen windows over the sink are these cute little old fashioned corner shelves, which I have loaded with doodads and knicknacks and bird houses and stuff to dust...

 And this cubby hole above the microwave is another place to display bean crocks and an American Flag serving tray...

 Of course no kitchen would be complete without a refrigerator covered with magnets and pictures of grandkids/family and other important stuff... Right next to that is another cabinet my son built for the kitchen...this holds some vintage dishes and of course, "Pinky the Flamingo" cookie jar...

 Looking back to the other side of the kitchen is the entrance to the laundry room, and straight through there goes into our master bathroom, which is also a kind of "utility" area, where I have an extra refrigerator and my sewing machine, in addition to our bathroom!  Definitely a "multi-purpose" room!

My most favorite spots in the kitchen have to be the windows above the sink, and the deep window sills.  This is a great place to display my little "friends", as well as a "fairy bouquet" from the Secret Garden... 

 This little plaque on the windowsill reminds me daily of this blog..."Remember...When God closes a door, He opens a window!"

 This is also a place where I pray for our family and friends, and remember our precious son Matthew... (the fisherman was a decoration on Matthew's birthday cake, his last birthday with us before he passed into heaven at the age of 41.  Matthew loved fishing, and it cheers me to think of him like this. I wonder if there is fishing in heaven?)

I spend a lot of time at these windows, looking out at the birds and bunnies and whatever other beauties God puts on display...  (roses from the garden...)

And look who showed up today (Thursday) for the first time this spring?!!  Yep, "Mrs. Ruby Throated Hummingbird" is back!!!  So happy I had already put the feeder out just in case...

And there she goes!!!

I hope you have enjoyed this little tour of my kitchen. 

It is definitely the "heart" of our home... 

a place where love abides.

Now let's buzz over to see what our other Friday Foto friends are cooking up at  Deb's place, Breathing in Grace