Cricket’s Hearth

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awards all over the world for their famous Guggisberg Baby Swiss Cheese. I will be giving a wheel of this to one of you leaving a comment to this post. Please check out One World – One Heart to play along and/or to submit more entires.  Save some fridge space for this delicious treat! 

It is now 8:48pm on Valentine’s Day. I choose #84 as the winner of the wheel of Guggisberg Cheese! This person will have until 8:48pm on Friday, February 15th to leave a comment claiming their prize. If #84 does not respond by the stated time, then the prize will go to #48, providing they leave a comment by the same time. If neither checks back to see if they won, then I will have another drawing.

Sunday Scribblings: Fridge Space

As a small child in the mid 1950’s, I remember spending much time in my grandmother’s kitchen watching her bake bread in an oven fueled by burning wood, going outside to pump some water, and store the “cow’s milk” in a wooden cabinet she called an ice box. I liked the ice box because grandma allowed me to pick some ice shavings from the block of ice, which was quite the treat in the hot days of summer. Grandma’s ice box was much smaller than the refrigerator we had at home. I asked her one day why she didn’t get a refrigerator like we had. I assured her she would not only have more room, but she would have a colder box and we could have ice cream any time we wanted it, and, all she would have to do is plug it into the wall instead having George deliver ice every other day or so.  Grandma laughed and said, “Now Cricket, There are all kind of new fangled things that will just clutter your house and clutter your mind. I like keeping things simple. Besides, I would miss seeing George and I think you would miss getting a hunk of ice to lick?”

I recalled that conversation with grandma when I saw the prompt for today’s Sunday Scribbling. As a five year old, I didn’t understand why grandma wouldn’t want to have all the good things that we had in our house. It seemed to me she did alot of extra work that could have been avoided with the conveniences of modern appliances. She had to cut the wood, carry it in, and then fuss with getting the right sized pieces for what she was baking or cooking depending on the temperature needed. And the water being outside was a real pain. A bucket of water had to be pumped and carried in, and then heated on the wood-burning stove before dishes could be done. And then to have just a small area to store necessary perishables, only to have to empty the pan catching the melting ice every morning and every night, well that seemed a bit much to even a five year old. If she would have only gotten a real refrigerator, she would have had less work and more fridge space and a better life. Or would she?

I refer to cleaning my refrigerator as it is time to do “the job.” Why is it that someone, probably the fridge grinch since no human person living in the house ever admits to it, can take the last wrapped piece of cheese but not take the package it came in out and throw it away? How many calories will a teeny tiny dab of mashed potatoes left in a dish really add to your waist line. And I think it would take less time to throw away a milk jug than to open the door and replace the empty back on the refrigerator shelf. Yes, doing “the job” is a real sore spot for me. It seems having more fridge space only provides more space to gather so much clutter. Hmmm. . . clutter in your house and clutter in your mind. . . where did I hear that?

As I think back on grandma’s words of wisdom, I now know what she was trying to tell me. It is not about having more fridge space, as more fridge space only creates the need to purchase more, which leads to making a choice of what is the best use of your time and money. As a child, I thought grandma wasted a lot of time doing unnecesaary chores. But she didn’t see them as chores at all. She loved baking and loved providing hot. and very delicious I must add, meals and treats for her family. Yes, she could have gone out into the workforce to get a job that would pay her money so she could afford the modern conveniences. But that was not grandma’s choice. For her, to stay at home home was using her time more wisely; being with and providing for her family.

Grandma would rather sit with the family on the back porch on a hot summer day and make ice cream than have several flavors waiting in the freezer. She preferred to bake bread every morning instead of storing loaves in the refrigerator and freezer. She only made enough food for a meal that could be eaten in one sitting. There were no leftovers to clutter the refrigerator as she knew her family and knew how much each would eat. I can personally say I am happy grandma made the choice she made. You see, the reason I spent so much time at grandma’s was because my mother decided she needed more fridge space.