The Bowl on the Shelf

Cold but bright morning. I see smoke coming out of the chimney across the street. The kids were bundled at the school bus stop. Little birds are here first for some seed. I have to fill the feeders today. Joe has a project to do and I am thinking about making vegetable soup.

My daughter is on her way home to DC...always a little worrisome for me. She emails me along the way with little messages, so I can follow.

Years ago, I would have made bread on a day like this. It might have been a cold day, or a day when I had things on my mind. I loved the smell of yeast dough rising in a bowl on my counter. I have the bowl up on top of my cabinets now. I don't want to take a chance of breaking it. I bought it from an estate sale in the little town where I used to live. The family was having a sale to close up their Grandma's house. When I picked up the bowl, the grand daughter said that her grandma had used this to make bread. She used a starter and this bowl held the starter on her counter top. She said it gave the kitchen that yeasty smell that she loved so much. I kept turning the bowl in my hands...not a mark or chip anywhere. It was a bit pricey, so I put it down and went on looking. I went home without it, but something told me to go back later in the day. They were starting to close up for the day. The bowl was still there. Now, I'm not very good at haggling over prices, so I just stood there with the bowl in my hands. I would never ask someone to come down in price. The grand daughter came up to me and asked what I would pay for it. I told her what I had in my change purse and she said "SOLD" I was delighted. It came home with me and had a choice spot on my open shelves in the kitchen. I thought about what the grand daughter had told me...how it was used in the past. I decided that this bowl would only be used for bread making. And so it was...many, many times I have put warmed water, sugar, and yeast in this bowl to start my loaf of bread. It's only big enough for dough for one loaf. As I wash the bowl, I hold on carefully. I'm always afraid that it will slip out of my hands and chip. Do you have a favorite bowl in your kitchen? Is there something that you cherish and are afraid to use too much? I hope that in writing this post...that my kids will know what was precious to me and the story behind it. With Joe trying to lose weight, it wouldn't be nice to tempt him with homemade bread, so I'll just have to get the kitchen smelling good with homemade vegetable soup.

Balisha