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MY MOM'S KITCHEN TREASURES


After my Mom passed away (almost 3 years ago now) us 4 daughters had to go through her home and take all the memories we could with us. Each of us has in our possession things that mean a lot to us. I have many things, most of which I grew up with.

Let's backtrack just a bit first though. My Dad passed away a long time ago, in 1976. He was only 49 years old. When that happened we lived through heartache for quite some time, of course. But we could always still "go home" and Mom was there, and all of their things.... all the things we grew up with. All of those "things" that surrounded us while we were at Mom's still had their place, their home.

But after Mom passed away, suddenly all of those meaningful items didn't have a home anymore. They had to be cleared out, sorted through.... some kept and some given away. So we each sifted through everything and left with some memories that made new homes within the walls we live in.

As strange as it may sound, losing the "place" that housed all those goodies hurt almost as much as losing our parents. For me anyway, going to Mom's and laying my eyes on all the treasures from my childhood was a comfort, a sort of "going home" each time. After she passed away and her home was emptied, I also mourned the fact that all of those items were as displaced as we daughters were.

Not to make this post so sad, it wasn't meant to be that way... but just to give you an idea of what these little goodies mean to me. They are all things that I literally grew up with around me. They were my Mom's and Dad's, and they meant "home".

Yesterday I pulled out some things to make some squares for some company I had coming over. I always use my Mom's old baking pan for those. I got very nostalgic and thought I'd post about this.


There are some others, but here are some of the items that were from my Mom's kitchen. They are all old and well used. And they are sitting atop a kitchen tablecloth that she embroidered and made for me 24 years ago.



This sugar canister is part of a set my Mom had from the 50's. The set always sat out on the kitchen counter... sugar, flour, tea/coffee, and cookie canisters. They were so beautiful and bright, none of the paint was chipped off then, and there were no dents. Bright red lids. How many times did I open the lid to the cookie canister during all those years! How many dinner times did I open the tea canister to make a pot of tea for us? (that was something I did nightly after I was old enough)

I can't remember just how many pieces of this set survived, but I know the cookie canister did and one of my sisters has the pleasure of owning that now, just as I have the sugar canister. I keep my sugar in it faithfully, up in my cupboard.



These cookie cutters remind me entirely of Christmas. The top ones Mom always used to cut out the dough for her butter tarts. The flower shaped on under those she used to cut out her shortbread cookies, my favourites. That's the shape of shortbread cookies in my mind!! The bunny I honestly don't remember what she used it for, but it sure looks well used!



And of course there is an assortment of Mom's measuring spoons.



Ah yes, now here is the baking pan for squares. I can't even begin to fathom how many batches of brownies she made for us in this thing! What gets me are all the cutting lines you can see in the pan.... this is SO old and well used, and I simply adore using it.



And what do I cut the squares with? This knife. Mom and Dad had a set of these, I don't know what they are but I always assumed they were like an ivory handle. Back when I was a young teen, this one knife had a hole in the handle. For some silly reason I always liked to use that knife, it kinda became "mine". I made sure I got that after Mom passed away. And the only time I use it is like a ritual, for cutting squares out of her old pan.




I grew up eating off of this set of dishes. These are SO full of memories! My older sister Linda and I always had dish duty, so I can tell you we washed this set of dishes WAY too many times! (Back then there was no such thing as an automatic dishwasher!) This pattern is Royal Swan's "Blossomtime", made in the U.K. Some time after I grew up and left home, Mom got new dishes, but still kept these. By the time she passed away, there were only a very few pieces left. We each made sure we kept a couple or few pieces. These were the only remaining fruit nappies.



Sort of off the topic of "kitchen".... but see this lunch box? This was MY lunchbox in elementary school. There used to be a matching little wide-mouth thermos for soup. Mom packed me more lunches in this thing than I bet she'd care to think about. Back then there was no "plastic wrap", sandwiches were always wrapped in wax paper. I tell you in all honesty, I can bring to mind right this minute the smell of lunch when I opened this box up at school..... I can smell peanut butter, apple, and tomato soup. No kidding!!!



I remember very well this lunchbox had a black plastic handle. Somewhere along the way the handle broke, and my dad made this new nylon one for it. My dad could fix ANYTHING! Apparently after I left home, at least one of my two younger sisters used this lunchbox as well.



Now at Christmas if I make any Christmas cookies, they will be shortbreads. Mom's recipe. Using her shortbread cookie cutter shown above. And where do I store them once baked?

Inside my old lunch box.

Yes it's rusty inside, but I line it with good old wax paper, the very same thing that used to keep my sandwiches fresh in there. I line it and then store the cookies in it. How nostaligic.

And how comforting!

I love using my Mom's things. It makes me feel better inside knowing her "things" that are my "treasures", are still useful. And when I am holding these things in my hands I imagine Mom's hands doing the same thing before me. I love that.

"Things" aren't as important as people, of course not. But it sure makes me feel good having these in my kitchen.

Maybe I'll dream of Mom and Dad tonight..... my heart is so full of them right now!

Take good care of each other, and until next time PEACE be yours....

Love Jude