Cupboards of days gone by

It's raining today and I'm changing up the cupboard again.

My grandmother had two kitchens; one for summer and a small one for the winter months.
The summer kitchen was large, had a floor to ceiling cupboard, a small ice box, a wood-stove and a kitchen table and chairs. Two windows looked out to her tall flowers, holly-hocks being one that I remember and geraniums. Another window, over a small table where we washed the dishes, looked out to the road.
The winter kitchen had a wood-stove, kitchen table and chairs, the ice-box was brought in for the cold weather and over next to the stairs to the second floor was an antique dresser/cupboard with a mirror.
It was that cupboard that I remember the most along with the floor to ceiling one in the summer kitchen. It was full of kitchen things and nothing matched. It held every colour of the rainbow. This is where you found the china, glasses, tea-cups, cutlery, paper and pencils and best of all, the candy.
What grandchild doesn't know where the candy is kept?

                                There were cookie jars, cookie tins and biscuit barrels to fill.

But I do remember, as young as I was, that I was fascinated with her dishes. Nothing was fancy but she had pretty tea-cups and saucers of every shape and colour and we were allowed to have our tea and coffee in them. Yes, we drank tea and coffee at a very young age. I believe I was 7 when I would have coffee or tea around the wood-stove. That would be so wrong these days but most of my tea drinking was done when my mom was at home and I was at my grandmother's farm. She knew it wouldn't kill me...I'd live to tell the tale.

Every time I fiddle around with my step-back cupboard I think about her cupboards and how all the grand-daughters had their favorite cups and saucers and loved to grab a cookie from the cookie tin, lined with waxed paper, that was kept full and high up on one of its' shelves.

They were either hermits or chocolate chip and they were amazing.

My grandmother would love my cupboard and she'd understand why I like to play in it. Today it's decorated with a little bit of everything with her in mind.  There were usually lilacs sitting somewhere in the kitchen, too; most likely in a drinking glass and not a beer bottle like I am displaying. I just love this bottle.

She always had her china placed in a way that was easy for us to reach and I know she had a favorite tea-cup, herself. I remember it had dark pink flowers on it. How I would love to hold that tea-cup today.

Good memories are what gives us roots and fills us with strength when we need it.

                                                                  "Right,  Annie?"

I'm joining Sandi at http://sandimyyellowdoor.blogspot.ca/ for 'Home'.
hugs, Deb