Paws and Reflect...Wet Dogs in My Kitchen!

The culprits!

Salie and Stanley

The phrase "Wet as a Dog" comes to mind

I was told Catahoulas were water dogs.

Stanley would just go outside and sit in the rain as if it were the warm sunlight.

Off to cleaning...

Got a mop...come on over

Island Paradise...the rest of my drawers

This is some of the copper sauce pans...

most are unpolished or not used since they have been re-tinned...

My knives, 4 sets of 24.  I wanted these for years and have several other sets.

These, of course, are my favorites

It is interesting to think that a kitchen of this size can work without any upper cabinets.  Thank goodness we had many months to work on it's storage needs. 

Inch by inch I remember measuring everything I had and making sure there would be room.

Our next "project" will be a 14ft iron rack which will hang above the island centered beneath the copper skylight.

I am jazzed.

Martha Stewart has often had 

huge racks over her islands.  I want one too! 

With all of the extra copper sets or pots, pans, colanders and other various cookware. I think it will make the kitchen more finished.  There are a dozen or so boxes of unused kitchen collectible that have not seen the light of day in years...

I think it will add a visual balance to the kitchen.  The pantry and the china room both have a since of order, I would like to add that to THIS kitchen, not just the hidden parts  

then again there are times it looks just fine with me...

Next stop...My pass-thru fridge and a game called what's behind that door?

A peek inside my kitchen cutlery drawers...

The 18ft walnut island was where we decided to store
all of the necessary cutlery and such.

"The basics" for the kitchen.
If you haven't already noticed I am a bit of a hoarder,
although I am rather systematic & specific in most things I choose to collect.

Let's take a Look-See in my cutlery drawers, shall we?My mother's wedding pattern
Pewter International Fairfield.
This is the fork I use for my Foodimentary symbol.Top drawer "A place for everything and everything in it's place, I say!"

Lots of serving spoons & forks
Yes, chop sticks are serving pieces Ancestral pattern cutlery is a bit of an obsession of mine.

About 15 years ago I went to an estate sale and bought two boxes of "junk" cutlery.
After sifting through hundreds of aluminum
and plastic forks I realized the bottom of the boxes were filled with
bundles of something wrapped in 1940's newspaper.

Those bundles turned out to be 16 place setting of Ancestral silver.
I have treasured them ever since.

I have hence learned that the pattern was rather popular in
the 20's through the 40's.
The pattern was advertised in magazines with
"Custom" monograms

After 200 place settings of unmonogrammed
"T" said I might want to slow down

So occasionally I will come across a monogrammed set

Let's see...I have
"T", "F", "J", "B", "S", "H", & "I" so far...

Wouldn't it be neat to find "X" or "Z"?

"Be specific" right?

My hands are up, Copper...You got me!

I found this set of copper containers at a thrift show over 15 years ago. It makes me feel good to know the prices are still scrawled on the bottom of each one. .99 cents for each I believe.
Worth every penny

My Aunt who lived in Crestwood always had copper pots in her kitchen.
Coming to Birmingham to visit was like going to the big city.

Something about her perfectly polished pots and pans still resonates in me today.
Sophistication and permanence...I knew that one day I wanted that for myself...
even as a child.
I treasure every one of my pieces. Hand made, polished, and a perfect fit for 11 Bonita.

Found object...