Saturday, February 11, 2006

The kitchen.......

When I was growing up in the forties the kitchen was but a small space at the back of the house.. Tuck away in a corner, dark and look dirty... The stove is made of raised platform, sand filled to insulate and then pieces of big stone or brick are place to make a stove of a sort to put the pots and pans on when cooking..At that time there were only the basic utensil, such as clay pot and Chinese wok for cooking...Of course there are plates but not that many as now, just enough for the family...No one really would be at the kitchen unless he or she is doing the cooking or helping with the cooking.. Firewood were used as fuel so you can guess what the color of the surrounding is like, with soot everywhere the color is from gray to dark. Normally there is an open window near the kitchen to let the smoke and the kitchen air to circulate....Really not a place that one would like to be except when cooking need to be done..It is not a place of enjoyment like now where it is a place where the family would whilst the days of rest cooking or just yarning the days away....Since there was no electricity then, there were no other gadgets that you normally find in most kitchens of today...There were also no running water and the water source is the common well.. Fortunately for us the common well is at the back of our house...Our dad had it built and some of our neighbors would come over to get water or take bath there...But now it is different...To me the kitchen is one of the most important part of the house... A very important department indeed... My spouse who love to cook spend a considerable number of hours at this department everyday and to give the family especially her that great feeling atmosphere while doing her cooking and other chore there, we have added color to the whole kitchen space..Recently we did a total renovation of the kitchen giving it a more modern look. Other then the usual kitchen cabinets and all the electrical gadgets for use in making the process of cooking a pleasure is a huge fridge plastered with souvenir magnetic stickers of palaces that we had visited on holidays. The stickers in all sorts of designs,sizes and color turn the door of the fridge into a mosaic of a sorts....The wall as well is not forgotten...Framed photos that shows images of things related to the kitchen hang on the wall, so are other utilities gadgets as shown in the images above..The kitchen now is a space where the family would love to be, enjoying the minutes passes by..I believe the kitchen space is now the most productive area in the whole house...Just in one generation the kitchen have graduated from a just for cooking area to a place where families members not only cook but socialized as well..A place where everyone love to be and have a nice time. At time we even entertained closed relatives and friends in the kitchen... That my friends is the story of the day...Have a nice day...

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