#52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks. Week 51 Prompt: ‘Nice'

Week 51 Prompt:  'Nice'

I think for this prompt I will write up a couple of 'nice' memories that come to mind. I can always add more later.

When my mother and father were having a house built out on the new orchard in Grahamvale, Victoria the builder asked my mother if she wanted the cut-out piece of timber from the sink space to use as a kitchen board.  Her answer was "Yes please" and the photo shows the result.   

What a great way to obtain a pastry board - part of your own kitchen - can't imagine that happening today

On looking at it I can see that the builder/carpenter also 'prettied' it up a bit by cutting out circular corners, possibly to match the starter holes for sawing the rectangle.

There are old red rubber stoppers screwed into the four corners of the base to keep it from slipping - they are in the early stages of perishing.  

I do not know what timber it is - I thought pine by the colour - but it is a little heavier than I would have thought pine would be.  Will have to look at what timbers builders were using for kitchen structures around 1948.  Did they use Tassie Oak?  I love this board as I can immediately see us kids, all of us girls in aprons - 'pinnies', helping Mum knead dough for bread, roll and cut out scones.  

If it was pastry then the left over bits we could roll in to long sausage twirls with a little homemade jam in the middle - a real treat.  The smells arise straight away and my tummy rumbles.  

The glass rolling pin - these were common then and there is always some flour attached on the inside !  It is heavy glass sealed at one end and with a strong cork at the other - I believe you could put cold or hot water in to assist with the process of rolling that you required at the time. I imagine cold water in Summer and maybe warmer in winter !  I have never tried this - will have to experiment.

I just love the memories that come with these household articles that I have inherited.

Pre-school days I would have been about 3 or 4 years old. We have this beautiful big Collie dog called “Lassie” and she will let me ride her around the yard.  We go up to the gate together, about 100 yards, to meet my older brother and sister in the afternoon when they return home from school. They hop off their bikes and we all walk home together next to the irrigation channel beside the road.  When it is too hot and dusty, we wade through the water cooling  off and squeezing the mud between our toes like happy little piglets.  

Remembering now what it was like as  a child - I recognize that we had a good childhood - living in the country - on an orchard, with our pets, the dogs, cats, hens and chickens.  School was a rideable distance from home.  We all travelled in a posse as the kids from different families turned off to their own homes along the way.  We were the last ones on our road.