A Kitchen

Thanksgiving is past.  The kitchen is quiet after being filled with cooking activity.  The family has scattered again to dwellings near work and school.  A sense of calm permeates, yet anticipation fills the air.  Christmas will be here in a few short weeks.  Soon Christmas baking will begin.  The scent of sweet doughs, warm breads, and cookies will entice the family to embrace the holiday.  Grandma's Steamed Christmas Pudding, Dad's favorite Christmas Bon-Bon cookies, and the traditional doughy Munlie Men will be prepared and tucked away for the traditional holiday.  The kitchen may not be the most glamorous room in the house.  In fact, it is often forgotten in the quest to decorate for the holidays.  But the service it provides as the center of family function cannot be ignored!  Without it, a void would be most evident to all the occupants of the household.  

In 1884, a woman named Mrs. S. D. Powers captured the essence of "kitchen" in this sweet quote:

"When the western sun shone broad and merry over the sparkling window, yellow floor and white tables; when a savor of sweet marjoram and lavender from the window boxes was in the air and the shining stove with its bright teakettle and simmering pans was a shrine of good cheer,

I have taken portfolio and books out into my kitchen to the lightstand and little Shaker chair to enjoy the sparkling humor, the warm home radiance, the neatness and seemliness which made the place akin to poetry and clear thoughts."

The simple, utilitarian kitchen.  Source of centering and joy.