Welcome to my Kitchen

One of my favorite bloggers, Kelly, is encouraging her readers to participate in a "tour" of their homes. Great way to get decorating ideas from one another - and Kelly has shared some really neat ideas in the past about decorating on a budget, etc. But, I've gotta confess - no one has ever accused me of being stylish or savvy in either my fashion sense nor home decor. So, at first, I thought Kelly's invitation would be fun to see but definitely not something I'd participate in.

Roy and I built our home in 1984 and with the exception of repainting a couple of bedrooms and replacing some carpet, not much has changed. It still has all the original wallpapers, drapes, etc. from when we built. Yep, that's right - we pretty much live in an '80's time warp! To say we are creatures of habit and not given to change may be the understatement of the year!

Christmas is about the only time I'd think about posting a "tour" and that's because I'm such an over-the-top bonafide Christmas junkie. Click here to see what last Christmas was like at our house and here to see a close-up of the personalized ornaments.

Okay - so Kelly begins today with, of all rooms, the KITCHEN. When our kids were growing up I used to say that if I ever wrote my autobiography the title would be "Cook and Clean the Kitchen" because that's all I ever did. Those days are LONG gone! Now it's just Roy and me and since he retired five years ago, he cooks more than I do. And, he's a better cook to boot! Who knew? Bless his heart - I think his culinary skills were birthed from self-preservation. GRIN!

Since the cook and the flooring are the only two things that have changed in my kitchen in 25 years, I decided to share some of my favorite kitchen snapshots over the years. Yes, folks, decor may not rank high on my list of priorities, but you'll see what does . . . grandchildren!



This is our oldest granddaughter, Mallory, in May 1991 just before her second birthday. Today she is a senior in college and engaged to be married. Guess she'll be playing with her own measuring cups soon. She's changed A LOT since this picture was taken. But Gran's kitchen hasn't!

Second born granddaughter, Hillary, spent lots of time with us and was a fixture in Gran's kitchen. This was her favorite cabinet - the one with all the plastic ware - it was great fun to scatter on the floor! Would you believe some of that same plastic ware is still in that same cabinet in the same spot some 17 years later?

Here she is (circa 1992) investigating the pantry. Thankfully, she was never too bad about pulling out the canned goods. When her mother (our youngest daughter) was this age, she and our son, pulled all my canned goods out of the pantry one day and tore the labels off. We had "surprise" dinners for weeks!

This precious little redhead will graduate from high school this month. Where have the years gone? She's changed A LOT - but Gran's pantry looks just the same!

Here, in 1994, Hillary and her little brother, Hamp, help unload the dishwasher. I'd hate to think what would happen to my dishwasher door today if Hamp stood on it. He's a sophomore in high school and a hunk of burgeoning manhood. These days he'd lots rather drive Gran's car than unload the dishwasher!

The twins in 2003. They are six years old now and Hallie thinks that bottom drawer is still HERS! And, yes, I still keep plastic measuring cups there. Now, instead of teething on them, she has tea parties with her dolls. Race has pretty much outgrown playing in the cabinets. BUT - both these munchkins have learned how to get a step stool and reach anything thing they want in any cabinet. Nothing is safe any more!

Children grow. Life changes. And some things stay the same. But, best of all, memories of fun times shared in Gran's kitchen will live in our hearts forever.