If you were to sneak a peek into our kitchen cupboards you would find – amongst the utilitarian nesting stainless mixing bowls, the variously-sized modern black stoneware stove-to-table bowls, and the ornate glass serving bowls – a well-used, scratched and worn, slightly-yellowed white plastic bowl from days gone by.
This plastic bowl was manufactured at some point in either the late 1960s or early 70s – long before any kind of knowledge of leaching chemical toxicity had seeped into the awareness of the general public, long before the need for dishwasher- or microwave-safety standards.
To anyone else, this plastic bowl might be looked upon as a dated eyesore, a piece of junk, a health hazard… something that should have been tossed long ago and replaced with something prettier, something up-to-date, something safe.
Yet since its first appearance in my life, wrapped in bright Christmas paper and torn open with squeals of delight – “It’s a grown-up mixer!” – it has survived.
It endured enthusiastic baking sessions – “just like Mom!” – and produced wee cakes devoured with milk and accompanied by girlish giggles.
It served as an emergency cereal bowl when everything else was in the dishwasher.
It was the occasional receptacle for fresh fruit, or tuna salad fixings, or a half-dozen hardboiled eggs.
It escaped the ruthless purges of around a dozen house moves and, most recently, traveled across the country with me to my current home.
It survives, because I remember, and refuse to let go of this small snapshot of my childhood.
Written for GBE 2: Blog On –
WEEK #66 (8-19-12 to 8-25-12): Snapshot
WOW you wrote this description of your little bowl so PERFECTLY, i even
saw scratches at the bottom of the bowl ((hugs)) well done!!!! And so
thankful you loved your childhood!
Thank you so much! 🙂
How cool that you still have it. Brilliant story to go with your snapshot!!Kathyhttp://gigglingtruckerswife.blogspot.com
Thank you! 🙂
Adorable
Thank you! 🙂
Of course you can guess how delighted I am by this story and the photograph.
Thank you! I’ve taken a leaf out of your book. 🙂
I love this picture and I love your grown-up mixer! (As I write this, a flash from my own past just drove by my house in the form of the ice-cream truck!!)
Nice! I love childhood memories. 🙂
What a wonderful keepsake from your past. Great story. Love the pic.
Thank you! 🙂
I still have the tiny electric iron I had as a child. It didn’t really get hot enough to iron clothing, but warm enough to make me think I was really ironing.
Angela Parson Myers recently posted… Snapshots in My Memory
Twitter: alphabetsalad
August 24, 2012
Oh, how fun! I wish I had the whole mixer set, not just the bowl!
Laurel Regan recently posted… Bloggy Housekeeping P.S.
This little story made me smile. 🙂
Twitter: alphabetsalad
August 25, 2012
I’m glad! 🙂
Laurel Regan recently posted… BlogHer ’12: Voices of the Year
What a wonderful photo!
Beth recently posted… Misty Water-Colored Memories
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August 25, 2012
Thank you! 🙂
Laurel Regan recently posted… BlogHer ’12: Voices of the Year
Wow, this is so cool. I relished reading it. Wonderful take on the weekly prompt.
Twitter: alphabetsalad
August 26, 2012
Thank you very much!
Laurel Regan recently posted… 100 Words Replay 31
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