There's been a hairy woodpecker visiting the birdfeeder near the kitchen window regularly for several weeks now, and he was making his routine visit there this morning. While I was measuring and watching, a little downy woodpecker flew over, but Mr. Hairy wouldn't let him land. This went on for about a minute I suppose. Mr. Downy would fly in, about to land, and Mr. Hairy would chase him off. I was thinking that maybe Mr. Downy should just fly around the corner to the other feeder where he could easily have some breakfast without all the hassle. But no. This was a battle of the wills. Mr. Downy certainly was a persistant little thing, give him credit for that! But Mr. Hairy soon got tired of the chase and decided enough was enough. He would just sit ON the food rather than NEAR the food. Take that Mr. Downy, you little pest.
Mr. Downy didn't get his breakfast. At least not at this feeder. And Mr. Hairy?
He was quite satisfied. He didn't eat. Didn't peck. Just clung to his little treasure, daring any other hungry little feathered foe to try him. No one did. So he flew away.
And this is what it got me to thinkin': Some of the best gifts I've ever gotten are right here in my kitchen. (I know. My brain just tracks that way sometimes. Seems to take a hard left to something seemingly unrelated. ) It's a short list, and I'm sure if I spent some serious time thinking it over, the list would be quite a bit longer. Each one has memories and a story that could rightfully be a post all by itself. But I have cookies to bake, so I'll try to be quick.
It was a Mother's Day in the school house when Hubby and the girls got me these. I had just begun to take an interest in all the little chirpies that flitted about the yard there.
They've held a prominent place near a window in the three houses since then. Here, they hang on a nail near a kitchen window and I ( we) use them often. To go along with the binoculars, my family got me these:
Hmmm. Normally the book on the right sits on an open shelf in the kitchen, near the binoculars and my camera. I had to go looking, and found it in the school room. I'll have to take it back to its rightful perch!
Also in the kitchen is this:
My mom and dad got this for me at Christmas the first year we were married. I still love it. The cover is not the original, and is a gift in itself. Years ago I ran a daycare. I had taken the plunger out then and put it away because the kids were always messing with it. One day, a child stood on the churn to reach the light switch, the cover slipped and the whole thing, child and all, crashed to the floor and the lid was broken into many pieces. It was lidless all these years until 5 years ago when we lived in Underwood. Hubby's uncle Craig was doing some construction work for us, and without mentioning to me that he had taken notice of the poor thing, showed up one morning with a lid for it! How wonderful is that?
The whole-again churn sits right next to this:
A pine hutch, built with his own hands, as a gift for me from my dad while we were living in our first house in Wadena. It is well loved. This piece has been in every kitchen we've lived in since, and I'm sure would have quite the stories to tell if it could speak!
Behind the glass doors of the hutch are these:
Dishes that belonged to my Great- Grandma, Inga Augustson, given to me years ago from my mom. I remember the tiny apartment above an eye doctor's office in Fergus Falls where she and my (step) Great- Grandpa, Hjalmer, lived. She served us coffee in saucers so that it would cool, and sugar cookies. She wore dresses, hose, and thick-heeled black shoes and had the softest hands. We use these dishes every year at Thanksgiving.
And in the drawer, in a box, are these:
A beautiful, heart-shaped opal (my birthstone) given to me on my 4oth birthday from my Hubby. The gold band was broken in half by the weight of a heavy box I was trying to carry out of the house to be moved from Bertha to Underwood. And my Mother's ring with a stone missing, given to me the year that Joshua turned one.
Also in the kitchen, you would find this:
A glimpse of who we are, the Hubby and me, 25 years after saying "I do"! A gift of photos taken and given to us for our 25th anniversary from Hannah. She captures life in frames, too.
And last, but not the least in my kitchen, are these:
Christmas came a little early this year. (Smile) Although I had no way to take a full picture of my camera, which is always right here in the kitchen, I have this. Hubby, my good man, knows the way to this woman's heart!! This year, a zoom lens, because he knows I like to see the stuff life is made of up close. And music, always in the kitchen because when we bought this house he put a speaker right here where we always are. So we can sing!
And already I have zoomed in on the beauty around me and sung loud to every song on this cd. These are a few of my favorite gifts from the kitchen.
What are some of your favorite gifts?
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