The Blue Bowl and Checkered Tablecloth

  Two of my favorite kitchen items are a blue crockery bowl and a blue and white checkered tablecloth.  Neither of these are new.  Neither are expensive.  As matter of fact, the tablecloth is quite tattered and the bowl has several chips.  This does not detract from their charm, though, and, as I said before, they are favorites.  Years ago, Mark's grandmother gave the bowl to me.  She knew I loved to cook and that my kitchen was filled with antiques.  I use these old but useful utensils on a daily basis.  Momie (his grandma) was staying with us for a few days when she sent Mark back to her place for the bowl.  "I know you will take care of my bowl for me and love it like I do." she told me as she handed the prize to me.  She knew that the words were true.  I do love it and do take special care of "Momie's Bowl".  The lady was dear to me as we shared many of happy times together.  The bowl represents those times and I am quite honored that she chose me as caretaker of the crockery piece.  She knew...she just knew.

  The tablecloth has just as much meaning as the bowl.  It, too, came as a gift but in a much different way.  Down the road from our place, lived two sweet, little old ladies.  Their names were name Eura and Vera but everybody in the neighborhood called them "Miss Twin".  (This kept us all from having to distinguish between the two identical ladies!)  Anyway, both Miss Twins were the "givingness" ladies in town.  If you stopped in to see them, you always left with something in your hands.  Most of the time, you arms were loaded!  One time, I pulled into their driveway with a few crabs from the Bayou.  The ladies were so happy to see those crabs that they immediately hunted for something to "exchange" for them.  One grabbed a batch of fresh-baked, homemade biscuits and the other grabbed the blue and white tablecloth.  The biscuits were tied up in a bundle using that tablecloth!  Wow!  I sure came out far ahead in that deal! All the way home, those biscuits tempted me!  Later when I tried to return the cloth, they would not hear of it!  I became the proud owner of a small checkered tablecloth.  Like I mentioned earlier, it is now quite tattered. This merely shows how often I use the thing!  Since my kitchen table is quite large and the cloth is small, I use it to cool cookies or during canning but I do use it almost every day!

  Earlier today as I was drying dishes, I thought about Momie and both Miss Twins. I wondered if they knew that I would find the items so useful even now, some twenty years later. I, also, thought of how unusual it was that both gifts are blue.  According to legends, blue is the color of reliability and trust.  This makes sense on both accounts.  These items, like their previous owners, are/were reliable and trustworthy.  All three ladies were honest til the day's end and then some.  They were loving and giving.  I will cherish both gifts as long as they are in my possession as they represent a love passed between us. These items are not just kitchen utensils, they are family heirlooms!  Funny how doing dishes makes the mind wander.