My Kitchen
I've been playing all morning with graphics at PicMonkey and with my own editing programs. This poem perfectly reflects my aunt's philosophy and so I have been trying to think of ways to give it to her. I thought of embroidering it, but turns out, I'm too laZy.
My aunt is a very gracious hostess, but the kitchen is small and it's much easier for her to crash around in there with her hubby than to have extra help.
And how do you feel about it? Do you enjoy help in your kitchen or do you prefer to go it alone?
Me? I like help in the kitchen because I need all the help I can get. I just wish my kitchen were large enough to accommodate all the extra hands.
I've debated closing comments as an experiment. Too bad I asked you a question and can't. ☺
A happy Tuesday to you.
Love,
Vee
I better jump in here and comment before you are tempted further to close comments! Ahh...the help in the kitchen question. I like the kind of help that doesn't ask questions. When I'm in the heat of preparing too many questions distract me. If you can see what needs to be done and just do it I find it helpful. I'll always welcome someone mixing up the salad. Not my favorite thing to do. If you are drying the dishes I don't mind if you just stack them on the counter until I can put them in the proper spot. If you know where they go that's a win win for me. But...questions like "where should I put this, or where should I put that, or where does this go" are an extra job at the end of the event that I find wear me out further. So I need to be proactive understanding this about myself and say "Just stack those clean dried dishes on the counter and I'll get to them tomorrow morning!"
ReplyDeleteOk, commenting because I just love to give my opinions lol.
ReplyDeleteMy MIL is like that but after 15 years I think I have proven to her my help is just like she is doing it herself. She and I think alike, kinda anyway. But most days she really didn't like peeps in her kitchen. It is really small and was very yucky - clean but so old and bleh...but she gutted it a year ago and now it is so awesome I don't think she minds the help as much.
As for me, I never EVER EVER EVER like guests to help me in the kitchen. I like to treat them as guests, not hired help...............yes, I am super blessed with a big kitchen, but really don't like guests in there............except for my daughters or sisters, and of course hubs. But never a friend or even other relative. And the ONLY one I let touch my antique china is husband. It is all hand wash delicate preciousness to me and no one I trust to handle it. Well, perhaps not even husband but oftentimes he gets there first because I am more social. I think he likes an escape from the social thing and it is truly helpful. But I recognize it as escape too because it is the truth of the matter.
That poem is cute.
Vee, you always keep us thinkin'. Thanks for that.
BTW cute pic of you in the apron on your top bar. ♥
It IS an adorable photo, but not of me. That is my aunt and the other photos are lovely things from her kitchen. Yes, I do have a young aunt. She is sixteen years younger than my father, her brother.
DeleteI don't have to worry about room in the kitchen. When I fix a meal for the family once it is served and eaten I leave the kitchen and let them clean up.
ReplyDeleteSeriously, I love a crowded kitchen with everyone pitching in. Over the years we have learned each others moves so we do it well. I think if you frame that little picture it would be very nice.
I have a very small kitchen, too. My feelings on help in the kitchen vary. If I've cooked Christmas dinner I more than welcome the guys taking over the clean up (which they do without asking). I'd rather have clean up help than prep help. My family thinks it's a control issue, so I'm learning to have things they can do when they ask - the salad, serving up the food, sauces, etc. It's a tricky balance. Love the poem along with the mosaic.
ReplyDeleteI'm smiling at Lorrie's comment and can totally identify. I'd rather have clean up help then prep help. I'm not so good at working and talking and tend to get totally distracted when I have too much help in the kitchen.
ReplyDeleteBTW...I'm off to work in another kitchen today...prepping with my MGCC friends. We will be working and talking...and I don't care one bit if I am totally distracted! Oh, and I'm wearing the apron you gave me. :)
Vee, I love the little poem. I sure can understand the tiny kitchen, as I have one also. I taught my daughters to always help clear the tables and offer to do dishes and such. My sisters are good about that also. Blessings, xoxo,Susie
ReplyDeleteI too prefer cleanup help rather than prep help, even though I do have a roomy kitchen. Love the poem, and the photos!
ReplyDeleteThe comments on this should be a fun read! ~ I can't think about cooking and/or read a recipe and visit with someone. I prefer solitude, but that doesn't happen. The most fun I've ever had in the kitchen, though, was with my daughter-in-law when her husband (our oldest son) was in Iraq. I still smile when I think of how many times we tried and tried and tried a new strawberry pie recipe. I don't think we ever figured it out. We decided they left out an important ingredient. I guess magazine recipes aren't always perfect. It couldn't have been our cooking!
ReplyDeleteMy mother could have written that poem! She declines help to this day. Her kitchen is very small, but I think if it were huge, she'd still decline help.
ReplyDeleteI love when my girls help...in cooking, or setting the table, or clean-up. Ron often helps with (or directs!) the clean up after a holiday meal. When I have guests, I will accept help in clearing the table and putting away cold food, but I usually don't do a thorough clean-up until afterward. I'd rather spend the time chatting and sipping coffee and enjoying the company.
This question has caused me to think....I believe I am a little like your aunt in that I don't really like anyone helping me while I'm preparing (I too get too distracted). I think I'm also one to "escape" to the kitchen since my hubby is more the social one. I'm like Ellen in that I'd rather put the clean dishes away myself, or I just let them drip dry in the sink till I get around to it. Hmmm - I'm probably too uptight about help in the kitchen - maybe I'll try to work on that!
ReplyDeleteWhether I want help depends on the person.
ReplyDeleteIf it's my daughter, then yes, she is welcome.
If it's a couple from church, I prefer to go it alone!
Why would you close comments? Anyway, that's a funny poem. Our house is so open that it would be impossible to keep people out of our kitchen. In fact, when people come to the door, they enter the eating/kitchen area. Often I'll be in the kitchen working. No one wants to move on to the other rooms. They'll sit at the kitchen counter and watch me work, where I'm always answering their offer to help with, 'Nope, Thanks anyway.' LOL
ReplyDeleteI love the poem! I do not usually like help in the kitchen except for my granddaughter, who loves helping!
ReplyDeleteGreat poem. I prefer to not have help in the kitchen, but I set up a lounge area, where my guest can sit with some appetizers and a glass of wine, while I finish up. The exception to the rule would be big holiday meals with my sisters. All 5 of us have worked together in a kitchen for so many years it is like a ballet.
ReplyDeleteI am so aggravated! Not at you...I'm still having trouble with my comments getting published. I can't remember exactly what I wrote on the first try. Something about not liking help in the kitchen except for last minute things and if I'm cooking for people who aren't family I especially don't want them in the kitchen.
ReplyDeleteLove the poem and photos and I know your aunt will, too.
I will have to come back later and read all the answers as I am curious to see what others think. As for me...I don't do a lot of entertaining that is not family. But if I do I definitely don't want help in the kitchen. They are guests. I like to be mainly ready when they arrive, and clean up long after they are gone. But when it is family, then FOR SURE get in here and help is my attitude, lol. Maybe it's because there are so many of us, and it's family I don't know. I usually do the lions share of the cooking for holiday dinners (or I have in the past) so I have no problem leaving the clean up to my kids, which they ALWAYS do willingly, I guess my answer would be YES I want help with clean up when it's family. And I want NO help at all from anyone else.
ReplyDeleteWhat an wonderful poem. I think you could frame that some way. I've thought of closing comments I'm just not sure I want to.
ReplyDeleteLike that poem. I like it when you ask a question and I'm sure to read the comments for that day to see what others say. It's like a friendly visit with them too. As for help in my kitchen -- in recent years it's mostly our sons and families that eat with us and they bring part of the food. I try to have my part ready to go before they get here and the dishwasher empty. They get in and do what they need to and after we have eaten one or two of us (sometimes one of my sons) loads the dishwasher. I appreciate the help and there is enough area in the kitchen we don't fall over each other.
ReplyDeleteReally for me, you can go in my kitchen and I'll just go sit down! I have always been like that. Of course, I offer to help, but I really don't want to!!
ReplyDeleteI know how she feels my kitchen is also very small of course if they do all the cleaning up I happy to go talk to everyone and let someone do the work.
ReplyDeleteMerle..........
Family company (my own family) we all work together in each other's kitchens. I like that. But when it's other company, relatives or friends, I prefer to do my own clean up after everyone's gone home. Had a friend once who would start making moves to get the dishes cleared from the table and started filling the sink. It usually broke up the good conversation or mood going on at the table, because now everyone felt they should help. (I hated it!)
ReplyDeleteWhat fun stuff you think up to chat about....
Brenda
xox
Hi Vee. Sometimes I think all the comments are fun, but also they can take away from the post! And when there is so many at times, its like really... Now, I never have had that happen, so what do I know :o)
ReplyDeleteWell, I do not mind having help in the kitchen! But what I have done is, fill the sink with hot soapy water and just place all the plates and silver in the sink, till my guest leave! Ta- Daaa!
Oh I do like that poem that is me to a T !! I cant stand having people in my way in my kitchen I am always shooing Papa out when I am busy in my kitchen cat and dog to lol ! I like getting comments , I have them go through my e-mail and I enjoy reading them . Thanks for sharing great post , Have a good day !
ReplyDeleteI love the poem, Vee, and it's great for your aunt. I do like help in the kitchen, but sometimes it's just easier to just get in there and clean up alone. My family is wonderful about pitching in when needed.
ReplyDeleteGood poem! I don't mind help in my kitchen but don't go near darling daughter #2's kitchen. When she lived at home, her and I got into it as I'm a clean as you go person and I told her to do so and she flippantly told me that my way wasn't the only way! I should mention that she worked as a sous chef during university and had underlings cleaning up after her. :-)
ReplyDeleteOh Vee....I love this poem! My kitchen is also very small and although I like the help, sometimes I'd rather be like your aunt go it alone. Sometimes, too many cooks can spoil the broth :) This is an adorable post!
ReplyDeleteThe poem reminded me a bit of my MIL, who had her own ways of doing things, some of which I never understood:) I am more like you, I need all the help I can get, so if you want to help, I will find you a job. However, I am a VERY casual entertainer and lots of times people just sit at my counter and talk to me while I'm working. I find that can be a good way to have a conversation, oftentimes more natural than just sitting there talking face to face;)
ReplyDeleteI don't like help in the kitchen and rather do everything myself when we have guests. I like to have most things done when they arrive and I like to clean up after they leave.
ReplyDeleteI like the poem!!
I'm kind of like you too Vee but I also wish my kitchen was bigger so I could have helpers. Entertaining a few is difficult and a pot luck party is crazy but we make do. The poem is sweet. Nice 'playing around'. :) No baby yet!
ReplyDeleteA bunch of us girls met together in a church kitchen today and made a huge batch of swiss chard and cabbage rolls...and slab style apple pies. We had so much fun....and then we met in my kitchen for lunch.
ReplyDeleteI like working alone in my kitchen....but I must say this past week I've had some parties at our place and I've enjoyed all the help I've received. Lots of hands makes light work...and the visiting is always fun.
I like that poem! Very cute and in many ways it's how I feel. When I am in a hurry I don't want to have to tell people what I need them to do and how to accomplish it in my kitchen. That is why I like to have my girls help - because they know the kitchen and how we do things. I will allow help with the dishes, but not if you are a first time guest to our home, or maybe not until you've been in our home quite a lot. Then maybe. :)
ReplyDeleteYour Auntie is a doll! Love her apron!
Deanna
I LOVE help in my kitchen - or anywhere else!!! I have had ladies come over (in years past ) and help me pull weeds in my front yard. I gave a weed pulling party - would you believe??? and had LOTS of ladies come! I served a ladies style breakfast and lunch and it was fun! Ruth Ann has helped me paint my house (outside) and ALL my friends know they are welcome in my kitchen anytime!!!!!
ReplyDeleteYour lines made me laugh :). Especially when it came to yours :). I might be like your aunt, prefer to work without much help! :)
ReplyDeleteFirst, I hope you don't do the experiment because I selfishly like to comment. Your posts always give me something that I want to say. (Of course, folks have asked me to do the same on Sundays and I still leave them off.)
ReplyDeleteNow, on to the kitchen question: I stand FIRMLY with your aunt on this one and thought about it as I was reading the poem. I actually have a very spacious kitchen, but I still hate it when guests want to help. Actually, it irks me to NO END when I tell them that I will do it AFTER they leave. When a guest is at my home, I want to fellowship with them. Dishes can wait in a sudsy sink while I do. One of my favorite things about our luncheon club is that we stick to that as a firm rule. No cleaning up until we're talked out.
(I hope no one else reads this part and gets all offended because I'm definitely not trying to offend, but we had to set that as a "rule" because southern girls are much, much worse about wanting to clean your kitchen than New England girls. I have that one on authority from my mom, who has hospitality experience with both. They find it a peculiar virtue to get up and head to your kitchen immediately after a meal and will continue to clean it no matter how many times you tell them you do not want to and treat you as if you are an oaf for not doing it.
Yippi! I just tried your italics directions in that very long comment and it worked. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteAnd because two comments were not enough on a post when you weren't even going to allow them, I will add that we always help in the Duchess's kitchen. We help with prep, and we do the clean up. Usually, we do the initial Sunday dinner clean up while everyone else is drinking coffee around the table so we can keep on talking.
ReplyDeleteI have to agree with your Aunt. I wish I had a kitchen large enough and well enough laid out to have the whole family help! The truth is that I can move much faster and with much less irritation if everybody stays out of my way as I move about.
ReplyDeleteMy favorite paying job was as a horseback trail guide in Colorado ~ those were the days !
ReplyDeleteHmm ~ an experiment of blogging without comments ...are you doing a thesis on anti-social .lol
I love this. Help is nice, but I'm with your Aunt ... I know where everything goes! And, with 3 kitties underfoot, the kitchen can be a dangerous spot. I'm used to the furry little bodies!
ReplyDeleteJim's the resident chef - when he is not feeling poorly. I try to help, but usually he thinks I am in his way. So I try to clean up as he makes messes and dirties up the kitchenware. I also set the table and get thing out of the fridge/pantry and put back.
ReplyDeleteP.S. Our kitchen is sized generously, so Jim's complaints about me being in his way are bogus. I think he just has control issues.
ReplyDeleteTurning off comments is a super way to GET SOME REST.
ReplyDeleteI feel so so bad when someone leaves me a nice comment and I don't have the time or energy to go all the way over and visit..But, "it's the code of the Bloglands". And, then, if I DO take a comment break, I miss the interaction of my friends....so it's one of those "damned if you do..and damned if you don't" things.
I enjoyed reading your HodgePodge post. :)
OOO, and I dearly LOVE help in my small, galley kitchen..!!
You have a beautiful blog! I love the contrast of your sharp photographs against the white background of your blog template. I have read your answers to the Hodgepodge questions for today (I participate in that as well), but could not see a way to leave a comment on that day, so I am leaving this comment on your Tuesday blog post. Your friend Pat (formerly of New York and now here in Colorado) recommended your blog to me. Have a good Labor Day weekend!
ReplyDeletePost WWII housing were noted for having "One Butt Kitchens". Perfect description of a cramped kitchen space that is totally blocked if one bends over to open the oven or lower cupboard.
ReplyDeleteI first heard that expression in a documentary on Levitt Town.
My kitchen is tiny and I'd rather be the only one in it. I don't mind if you clear the table but please let me rinse and stack them myself.
ReplyDeleteCute collage and poem! :)