KITCHEN THOUGHTS - Any where I hang my apron is home

View from our kitchen

In fifty-six years of living, one could say I've had a few kitchens.  Some, like my present one, have been spacious, well lit, with plenty of room to work.  Others have been little more than closets, with one of those combination fridge, sink, two burner stove and cabinet thingies.

There have also been a number of campfires, wood stoves, electric skillets and hot plates in my day, each with its own limits and merits. One learns quickly to adapt or one goes hungry.

Other than our present kitchen,  my favorite was actually built in converted school bus. This vehicle was our home for about three years, a 1958 GMC 38 feet long wonder. The roof had been raised by a previous owner. It was spacious, had tables that folded out from the wall and, combined with the great floor plan, was comfortable enough to feed 11 people in one sitting without crowding.

Rumor was that it had been the Coffee Bus on one of the Grateful Dead tours.  If those walls could talk!

As they say, that was then.....

My present day kitchen

We now live in one of those San Francisco Victorian (actually Edwardian) flats; been living here for about a million years so the rent is still reasonable.  Considering it was built in 1926 and  has only had so much updating through the years, the place still has all the original built-in cabinets, shelves and so on.

The kitchen is my favorite place, next to the studio of course. Considering the studio is our former dining room it actually is next to the kitchen....right next to it.  But I digress.

The photo doesn't do it justice.  Jack did his usual magic and transformed a kitchen with no counter space into something that's not just functional,  it has plenty of room to work, spread out cookies to dry, set up photos for cooking blogs and feed kitties.

Kitchen altar

This is the place where I feel safe...at peace....no matter what's going on in the world, I have a sanctuary. A Kitchen should make people feel like that.  Like what goes on in it is good....is right....is blessed.  But it needs to be a fun place, too.  Where friends can gather, talk, cook, laugh, cry....where secrets can be shared and memories made.

Will we stay here forever?  Will my last meal on earth be prepared in this kitchen? Who knows?  I'm happy here....the neighborhood is great and so's the landlord.  But life has a way of stirring things up when folks get too comfortable. What ever the case may be, as long as there's some sort of a kitchen, be it hearth or jet aged stove,  where ever I hang my apron is home.