Welcome to the very heart of our home. This is where it all happens, the arguing, the laughing, the cooking, dancing, negotiations. It is where people come for comforting hugs, sound advise, great food, good wine, and fun times. This room and this picture tell an awful lot about our lives.
Live well, Laugh often, Love much Those are the words on the bulkhead - the family mantra.
The tiny sign just above the sink says "Families are Forever" I keep it there as a reminder to the person mad as heck at the rest of the clan for making such a damn mess that we're not going anywhere.
You may notice the knobs are missing from the stove. That's us too. 3 dozen kids have been raised in this kitchen and not one managed to turn on the gas not even accidentally. Nope it took a curious cat a few weeks back to begin filling the house with gas. Now we keep the knobs in the drawer beside the stove.
On the right, that is my beloved dishwasher. It has been through the war in our home, a little battered and shaky but we talk nice to it and it keeps performing.
In the corner is my favourite small appliance - my Kitchen-aid mixer; sturdy, reliable and dependable. Next to it sits my not so favourite appliance, our fancy shmancy new toaster that sometimes toasts bread, usually burns bagels, refuses to cooperate without being plugged in and ignores the lift toast request on a regular basis. I should throw it out the window but I'm determined to work through the growing pains to a place of toasted understanding.
The sign on the wall beside the toaster is "A Recipe for a Happy Marriage" it has been hanging in my kitchen for 20 years and hasn't failed to produce great results year after year.
Difficult to see is the monstrosity hanging on the window. It's a little bit Martha Stewart, a little bit Hannibal Lecter. Its a wire hanging vase of sorts with everything but flowers hanging in the vials. There is a shoe shaped cookie cutter and a butterfly one. At the top is a stuffed bumblebee gifted to me by KJ many years ago. There are also 6 years worth of Thanksgiving & Christmas Turkey wishbones drying in the sun. We are saving them up for a really big wish, so far we haven't had to make a really big wish, I'm hoping we never have to.
Also in the window ledge are Michael's tea timer and a little Mexican Lego Man with a poncho and maracas. One day we are going to take him back to his homeland.
On the ceiling are memories of grape juice and hot sauce. The hot sauce was me the grape juice I have never gotten a clear answer about. Every time I bring it up the kids bust into laughter so hard they can't speak.
We keep butter on the counter because I detest holes in my toast.
Some things you can't see in this picture are the calendar and the telephone and the I give blood sticker stuck on the wall. You might not be able to read that the rooster says "fish tacos" although it usually say 'Kate is a Butt' if we forget to hide the chalk from E-man. There is a candle buring on the table because we did have fish tacos for diner. You don't see the ever present broom tucked behind out industrial size garbage can or the leaning tower of cookbooks that don't fit in the cupboard. The fridge is magnet free because magnets don't stick to stainless steel...but fingerprints do! Everyday I ask myself "what were you thinking?"
The other thing I should probably mention about our kitchen is that it NEVER looks like this! I hid the wine bottle, put the recylcing out to the garage and I swept the floor. Oh I suppose it does somewhere under the dishes, empty cereal boxes and toast crumbs look like this, but we rarely see it. Then every once in a while I loose my patience and do a kitchen teardown. This usually has the effect of terrifying the kids into cleaning up after themselves for a few days.
Gratitude courtesy of Michael today who is very grateful that he is still walking upright after asking if I was going to do the same thing to our bathroom
Today is Let's Talk Day (Bell's Mental Health Awareness Campaign) - I hope you enjoyed my kitchen, there is less hidden in there then the post I'm working on. Talk about Mental Health.
Gratitude, Hope and Smiles are meant to be shared.
Michelle
