Grandma Hawhee's Pantry

My love of kitchen antiques and primitive pantry wares all started with visiting Grandma Hawhee's farm. It was a trip in the way back machine even then, she still had the hand pump at the kitchen sink (and the most horrible rust colored water, we were always thirsty at grandmas--that water was awful!) and the old wringer washer on the back porch, clothes dried only on the line, no fancy clothes dryers. Her front garden was filled with hollyhocks, the lace curtains in the parlor where the upright piano stood were so pretty. My favorite place was the pantry, though, a walk in off the kitchen with shelves of preserves and kitchen staples. My dream kitchen of someday will have just such a pantry. Now grandma was a no nonsense woman who was not always appreciative of the dozens of noisy grandchildren that descended upon her (my family alone is 7 girls and 1 boy), so it wasn't all cookies and milk, but I learned to admire her hard working ways. She was a sharp contrast to Grandma Huntsman, all squishy and flowery, and taking to her bed in need of her "nerve" medicine. I often think I'd like to get a quart of that nerve medicine. God love her, she was the worst cook on the planet, and when I visited my sister and saw grandma's china in the cupboard, a vivid memory of boiled roast beef, boiled potatoes and boiled green beans that looked more gray than green flooded back. It was the standard Sunday dinner that I will never forget. Those two women had the cleanest houses on the planet, though. Well, their granddaughter may not have inherited their tidy genes, but I think I do a little better at setting the dinner table!