I have lived in several and varied homes in a variety of towns. The first as a married woman was a dark and somewhat depressing basement apartment. The second, a tiny front unit in a duplex. This home was bright and light, full of windows. Here we welcomed our first son. And our second. Then we moved on, to the first home we would call our own. Purchased with hard earned money. From our savings and the savings of Rob’s parents. Generosity! This was the place we brought our new daughter to. Next, we moved to a quaint town not far away. To a home with more space for us. After a few years we moved to a sprawling house in the country. Lots of room for our family of five and extra space for folks when we felt the urge to entertain. Now, after nearly 32 years of marriage we find ourselves in a house in the big city. Will this be the last? I couldn’t say. How long will we be city people? I wouldn’t know. After all, there is only one who arranges the future and it isn’t me.
What I can say is, after five homes and a lot of years, I have come to realize how much people enjoy the warmth of the kitchen. We have shown hospitality to large numbers of people and guess where everybody likes to hang out. Yep, it’s without question the kitchen. No matter the size, regardless of the number of people, all will cram into the kitchen. It matters not that they may need to stand shoulder to shoulder and chat with raised voices while the food is finishing its time in the oven. It would seem that nobody is bothered by half chopped peppers, a sink of soapy water or sieves of berries ready to be sliced. The kitchen is the best for entertaining. When I have a crowd I just excuse myself and move from oven to fridge to sink to pantry and often along the way there are offers of help to cut this or wash that.
I love the kitchen. It is a place of creativity, good tastes and of course, hospitality!