Tuesday, June 12, 2012

25 Years in my Kitchen

Written for the 30-day creative writing challenge hosted by Nicky and Mike of We Work For Cheese.  Today's prompt is In the Kitchen.  This is the 12th mind-blowing day of this challenge.  Check out the Linky at WWFC to see what everyone else is cooking up.

A lot has happened in my kitchen.  This has been my kitchen for over 25 years, and it is pretty much the same as it was the day we walked in for the first time.  There's a new fridge, that is it was new in 1992, and a new dishwasher about 13 years ago. In our house new is a relative word.

I learned to cook in this kitchen, something my Mom wanted to teach me years before, but I said "I'll learn when I need to"  Foolish me.  I did absorb more than either of us thought, which gave me a good background for learning.  I've learned a lot in my kitchen, like how to handle a knife, and make a sauce that doesn't break.  I've learned about herbs and spices and how to create my own dishes.

The cats are fed in the kitchen so there's always cat food on the floor.  When our cat, Missy, was sick and wouldn't eat, I made cat food smoothies and hand fed her, seated on a chair with a towel pinned around her neck.  She stoically accepted the food - until she had had enough.

Games have been played and friends entertained at the kitchen table.  Wine has been drunk and many conversations had that lasted long after the food was eaten and the plates had been cleared.

There have been messes and spills, broken glasses, and many experiments.  There have been cuts and burns and, yes, a few curses.  There has been laughter and tears over the years in my kitchen, which means there has been a lot of living in my kitchen. 

If your home is your castle, the kitchen is it's heartbeat. 

What's the story in your kitchen?

18 comments:

  1. You can visit my blog today to read about my kitchen. Yours has seen a lot of action over the years. Last year we renovated ours.

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  2. Our kitchen also doubles as a hair salon. I've cut many a head of hair in there :)

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  3. My kitchen seems to always have been where the kids chose to play as I so frequently had to say: Get out of my way, this is hot!
    Oh, and one son thought the cat food was his too eat. And yes, he remembers this.

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  4. I love this "the kitchen is it's heartbeat." So true. Part of why we built our current home was that the kitchen is open to the family room so that we are always connected.

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  5. The kitchen is definitely the heart of the home!!

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  6. I love this post, Linda. Really, really. I feel the same way about my kitchen. I've often thought the kitchen should be called the living room, because that's where we do most of our living. 250 points for you today!

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  7. nonamedufus- We've talked about making changes, but changing this would mean we'd have to change that and that and so on...well not much has changed.

    Babs- Actually, that has happened in ours, too.

    Anonymous- Hi there! Glad you stopped by. We have cats (no kids) but I still warn about hot dishes, etc. "Don't touch that, it's hot". I do this because I have picked up a frying pan that just came out of a 400 degree oven - without a mitt. Ouch!

    laughingmom- I like the idea of the kitchen opening into the family room/great room. Everywhere we go, the kitchen is definitely the gathering place.

    Nicki- It is. That is where families spend time together.

    Nicky- It really is. If we had recliners at the table, we'd probably never leave.

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  8. I spend a lot of time in our kitchen, which is big, but not very attractive. We need a "remodel" but I don't have the patience for having it torn up for months. Our house is 130 year old Victorian and always a "work in progress" in one area or another. On day, that will include the kitchen. (Probably.)

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  9. Sounds like a good kitchen and one that harbors many a story. The cat portion was touching.

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  10. Aw... Now see, if I'd grown up in a happy kitchen like yours, I might feel a lot differently about spending time in there.

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  11. We bought our current 135 year old house five years ago and 2 years ago we gutted the entire kitchen and dining room and re-did it ourselves. (it really really needed help). Hubby and I work well on projects like that. Every time I step in the room, I smile. It's just as beautiful as I imagined it would be when I designed it :)

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  12. The kitchen is the centre of the home. And it sounds like the centre of yours.

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  13. Wow, this post REALLY moved me. It made me think of all the things that went on in my mother's kitchen. Her mother's kitchen. And in my own. The kitchen really is the heart of the house, isn't it?

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  14. Great post! I love the story of your kitchen. Our kitchen is small, and I don't do a lot of cooking, but it's still where my husband and I do a lot of our talking. And the kitties have their places in there too.

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  15. Linda- I'm with you on the lack of patience. Improvements take place with agonizing slowness around here.

    P.J. - There is a lot of cat history in the kitchen, as well as learning and living.

    Talon- I can imagine that it's beautiful, and you are a patient and hard-working woman.

    Shawn- For just 2 people and 3 cats, it does see a lot of activity.

    Katherine- It is indeed the heart, and gathering place, of the house. Your kitchen post is proof of that in your house.

    Tina- Kitchens aren't just for cooking - there's talking, playing games, entertaining, nursing kitties, etc. Our kitchen isn't large either, but there's room for a table and two people to maneuver without bumping into each other...too much. It's stepping on the cats you have to worry about.

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  16. Oh I love this post! And you're 100% correct: "If your home is your castle, the kitchen is it's heartbeat." Indeed!

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  17. Hi Linda .. sounds like a good kitchen - with lots happening .. I've always loved cooking - but never quite do as much as I'd love to cook - perhaps one day!

    Cheers Hilary

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  18. Meleah- Thank you!

    Hilary- It's an OK kitchen, but I've done a lot of learning and a lot of cooking in there.

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Hi, thanks for visiting my humble abode. All comments are read and appreciated.