What comes to mind when you see this kitchen? What does it do to your imagination? How would it be a different experience if you had been in the kitchen, met the woman in the picture, smelled the food she was preparing and heard the rain coming down the mountains? How would it be the same? What features did you concentrate on and what memories did they recall for you? How would it feel if you had lived there all your adult life? What about childhood? The reconciliation of worlds, even if just for a moment, happens all the time. That is the most important lesson I learnt ever so recently.
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The kitchen reminds me of the old Abbot family cabin in Moncton, New Brunswick. I only saw it the one time before it burned down, but I remember the very 1950s decor and how proud Uncle Howard was of the tile job he did. I was a young one at the time, running around while Aunt Evelyn and my Nana made a fine lunch from the stuff they picked up at the small farmer's market in the capital. By this time, Nana was wearing a scarf similar to the woman's. I'm sure it was something that used the little red potatoes so prevalent in the region.
Looking past my childhood, I see somewhere to learn about much more than cooking. In more traditional societies, I can see the kitchen being where older women would be more comfortable teaching their ways as well as the lessons of a long life. In these areas, the goings-on of the family and village were their life's work.
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