Discovering more about old customs.
Bob and I have somehow always called it our Summer Kitchen and perhaps we heard it referred to as such or we got a sense that it was one. Look, there isn't any running water nor electricity but of course that was where our useful aga like stove came from. We rescued it from this tiny building albeit one with a seasoned chimney attached and transplanted it into our kitchen.
As much as we tend to grumble when we do use it ( the wood needs to be fed every twenty minutes or so ) we have gotten a lot of use out of it. Just today I was visiting a neighbour and as often happens, another neighbour came as well and we had a nice long conversation about this that and the old ways.
In winter talk usually skirts the topic of heating and that was when I told about our oven. Not our main source of heating but a nice backup. A backup that helped us dry out our house once we had plastered and laid new floors. So easy to forget what a marvelous work-horse it turned out to be.
Well, it so happens that back in the day the Summer Kitchen was exactly that. During the summer months, when everyone was busy toiling in vineyards, fields or stables they would come home for lunch, a lunch made and eaten in this Summer Kitchen. Usually small as can be but still big enough to somehow accommodate the whole family for lunch.
The reason being and which I find so amusing because similar has happened all over the world, was that one didn't want the house to get dirty from all the clumps of dirt stuck to shoes etc. And here comes the clincher and proof that we are all the same;
the house was kept clean and tidy just in case a visitor decided to drop by!Ah, how many have a second lounge they never use except for when important family or friends come over for a cup of tea...and sadly, it is often the most amazing room of the house but hardly ever gets seen or used...
Biggi
No comments:
Post a Comment