Kitchen

[LTT1]

@house_cat

This is pretty much what my mom looked like in our kitchen!

[fancy pantsy]

what i remember more than anything was family dinner, every night at 6 ... at that little kitchen table.   there were 6 of us altogether, with an occasional guest.  the table was always full of stories, and laughter.  also, my mother was the oldest of 9, and one or another of her brothers or sisters (and their children) were ALWAYS dropping in on random days/times for coffee.  again, around that little kitchen table.  lots of very good memories. 

now that i think about it, we did have a living room, but when family came over, (which was often!)  they always congregated around that little kitchen table.  

[jlkz]

My mother had to go to work to keep her sanity after an early age hysterectomy as prescribed by her doctor.  I can remember her stamping her feet, eyes closed and just screaming in a corner of the kitchen.  She worked there until she was 70.

Since I was the oldest by 2.5 years, I cooked dinner during the week.  I was 9 years old and in the fourth grade.  On the weekends I would bake a cake for Sunday.

What I hated: scrubbing the floor of both kitchens ( one became the dining area ) on my hands and knees.  

The house was originally 2 row houses with the shared wall removed.  It had been floated up the river to its then location before I was born.  Today, there are many townhouses constructed on the large plot of land.

Before it was torn down, I agreed to go through it with one of the twins.  I disliked that house and all the dreary memories it brought back....couldn’t get out of it fast enough !

[LUVNLIFE]

The huge bottom cabinets that we would hide in.

Eating all our meals together. We never ate in any other room.

[house_cat]

Once again, thank you all for posting such poignant memories.  I love reading them.

My mom and her sister, my dearest aunt, lived next door to us when I was growing up.  They had coffee and Entenmann's cake (she didn't bake) together every morning after the men went to work and the older kids went to school.  My earliest memories are of my cousin Lesie and me playing together while they chatted away in the kitchen. They were not just sisters, they were truly best friends.  The set of vintage 1950s percolators are featured prominently in my house because they bring back the warmest memories.  

My mom cooked every night, but never enjoyed it as I do.  When she decided to cook anything more complicated than the day-to-day stuff, she and my aunt would get together in my kitchen and prepare a big batch of stuffed cabbage rolls or lasagna.  Sometimes my heart breaks because I so miss those times, but then I remind myself how blessed I am for having had such a loving childhood.

[drizzellla]

My Mom (did not work outside the house) did not care for cooking. But our meals had to be well balanced. So when she cooked our meals consisted of a protein, a starchy vegetable and a green vegetable.

BUT on the other hand my Dad (after working all day) would spend many evenings cooking. He started out making vegetable soup. Then he started collecting recipes from friends and neighbors. Then he bought Better Homes and Gardens cook book. Well he was off and running. Many evenings and weekends he spent much of his time trying to make all kinds of things. Sometimes he failed so he would keep trying until he got it right. 

And once he perfected a recipe he would make big batches and give some to friends and neighbors. Sadly he had a stroke after a charity bike ride in the middle of the street while he was on his bike. He lost the use of his right arm/hand and the lower part of his right leg. While in rehab they asked him what he wanted to do for his first physical project. Of course my Dad said make a pecan pie. So my one armed Dad rolled out the dough and made a pecan pie. It was delicious. 

[house_cat]

@drizzellla

What a precious memory!  My mom also did not enjoy cooking. My dad retired at 62, stepped into the kitchen and the rest is history! He became a phenomenal cook and baker. My mom was thrilled to relinquish that responsibility. 

When he lost his eyesight in his 80s, due to macular degeneration, the thing that bothered him most was that he couldn't cook.  We cooked together, whenever I could, but other health issues eventually made it impossible. 

I was recently going through a box of documents he and my mom left - it held everything from their birth certificates (1923 and 1925) to marriage license, you name it. In the middle of it was a recipe he clipped for linguini with clam sauce.  I got a chuckle out of that.

[Peaches McPhee]

A long time ago, we got carpet in the kitchen.  This was common (a fad maybe) in the 80s.  I remember my mom saying, she'd punish the first person who spilled something on it.  

You guessed it, my mom was the first to spill something on it.  Tuna fish salad, when she was making a sandwich.  

[Still Raining]

None of us were ever welcome, at all.  Not even to do dishes. We were merely summoned for meals.  So I entered adulthood not even knowing how to boil water.  I still can not understand the whole process and grocery shopping can cause panic.

[Mary Bailey]

My mom's parents & my parents playing cards (Sheep Head - whatever that is!) all night long.

I also cooked when my Mom worked. My dad's parents lived with us, so it was 4 adults and 4 kids.