Whistle while you work!

For the past few days, the old wood-burning stove has sat idle.  No blazing fire was needed..not even a few smoldering embers dared grace the hearth.  The weather on the Bayou has proven fickle once again with temperatures soaring into the mid-seventies!  With all of this warmth comes the dampness of heavy fog and an occasional downpour of rain. Only the chores that are of necessity call me outdoors.  Even Ms. Ez has decided her bed is much easier on the old bones and hangs around inside.  After a morning of yard work in the dense fog, I spent the afternoon piddling around the house.  Since the woodstoves were not in use, I decided to clean them for the next go 'round of wintry weather.  After emptying the ash bins, the tops were given a good wipe-down.  On the top of the large stove, I keep several antique kettles and coffee pots. These are filled with water on a daily basis and are allowed to steam away while the woodstove burns.  The kettles act as humidifiers keeping things from getting too dry during the winter.  Not that we have had to worry about that this winter!  Most of the days have been either rainy or foggy!  Fog on the Bayou is usually that pea-soup-thick type stuff that never allows the sun to pop through to warm things a bit.

 One of these is my grandmother's old copper teakettle.  It has dents, scars and is highly tarnished but that does not matter!  I would not change it for the world!  Even when the moisture is not needed in the air, I try to at least keep this kettle full of water.  When it heats to a boil, the teakettle starts to whistle and brings back memories of nights spent at Grandmother's house. This is not the normal whistle that one associates with a teakettle but more of a gurgling sort of gasping whistle!  Every evening, she would brew me a cup of tea!  The tea was served with plenty of milk and sugar with the an added treat of two cookies!  This nightly snack would not only warm my little tummy but would also give us a "girl" time!  Grandpa was usually involved with studying some woodworking plans for the next day's workshop time and did not join us in our "midnight snack".  I always wondered why she called this a midnight snack since it was never later than seven in the evening!  Still, it was special time!

Now, I wonder just how the two of us never wound up with some sort of copper poisoning or something.  This is one of those old, old kettles that have the copper throughout.  There is no stainless steel lining..just copper!  I have heard tales that such kettles and pots are unsafe and should be discarded.  I will keep mine! Since I do not plan on using it to make myself a cup of tea, I should be safe!  Besides, that whistling teakettle evokes sweet memories!  It cannot be that toxic!  Whistle on, Little Copper Kettle, whistle on!  (Even if your whistle is a gurgle/gasp/sputter instead of a true whistle!)