The glass rolling pin used by my mother. Our icebox with its
big block of ice. The churn located on the back porch. These things are part of
my childhood memories. They are also things I see often in antique stores. I
classify them as “old” but understand that the designation, “antique,” is now
used when something becomes a collectable.
While writing a novel set in the 1930’s, my memories of old
items made it easy for me to design the homes for that period. The cast iron stove as central heating for the house is one of those items.
When I was a child, our stove was located in the dining room
and was placed perfectly to serve as shelter for a shy little girl. When
someone knocked on our door, I would run and hide in the corner behind the
stove. From there I could hear everything that was going on, but no one could
see me.
In Child of Desire, the pot bellied stove in
Amanda’s Colorado home was located in the living room. Most recently I have
seen these cast iron heating stoves used as patio decorations, but during the
1930’s and 40’s they kept us warm on cold winter days.
I will always be grateful for a dad who rose early each
morning to stir the embers and add fuel so his family would wake to a warm
home.
Dad was a master at banking a fire.
ReplyDeleteRule of thumb: An antique must be older than the observer. Thus when you look at me you see an antique, but you will never be an antique in my eyes.
Vanilla, Dad's skills were many and we benefited from them.
DeleteI'm so happy that your rule means I can't be an antique, at least to someone. If determined by aches and pains, I would have qualified long ago.