Gratitude

Last week I had the chance to go to a Pohiri at a local Marae. One things we learned there is that the Maori culture and language organizes time differently than the English. The word for front (as in front of the room) is the same as the word for past. The word back and future are also the same. The instructor explained how this relates to the culture looking to the past to guide future decisions. Also, the inside of the Marae includes many carvings representing various ancestors. The oral history and genealogy is taught by bringing students into the Marea and using these physical cues to guide the instruction.

This was on my mind tonight  as we dealt with the fall out of a mountain of brownie making.... A huge pile of dishes.

And as I was working through them I began to realize how many lovely gifts surrounded me.  I realize how these objects serve a similar, albeit more personal and less sacred, function.

The Peru Plate from Mark and Kristin is beautiful and exceedingly good at making dessicated fruits and mushrooms look less neglected.

The salad bowl my family gave me after one of their trips to Hawaii. I have a whole collection of wood kitchen goods from their trips, and it always makes me smile.

My favorite serving bowl which was a wedding gift from the Parieras. It also serves as a great back up mixing bowl when you are working on your second batch of brownies but still too lazy to wash out the first bowl.

I have no idea who gave me this little green bowl.. but it is my favorite place to store garlic. Sometimes I think its fromone of  my high school girlfriends, sometimes I think it was a Christmas present, sometimes I think that Roy gave it to me... I guess its magic is that my forgetfulness lets me imagine that its from everyone I love. It's something I touch nearly every day, and that connects me to so many people and past apartments.

I do know that Laura gave me my bowls, with the exception of the blue one which is from Emma. I still eat off the plates I gave myself from my parent's kitchen. Well, by the time I took my childhood plates they were probably already being stored in the attic. These are the plates my father referrenced in his classic Cadillac calculation: Basically, the tonnage of lifting the family did in a year with these plates equaled lifting a Caddy or two, according to his rough calculations conducted outload around the dinning table.

Then there are the parting gifts and thank you gifts that change in meaning over time. One such treasure is this photo of Eric who has since passed away. In the photo is Rivka who is an amazing girl I met in Chicago. She then moved to Israel. I can only hope that she and her family are safe. My rudimentary knowledge of the Hebrew alphabet is thanks to these two.. Rivka 'lent' me a Hebrew abc book one Friday as giving things isn't allowed on the Sabbath. I still have that book, and once I get a book case it will be coming out of its box.


My friend Aiden has never seen any of my dwellings.. and yet she somehow gleaned that I have a thing for dish clothes.

Now that I no longer have to go to the laundromat to wash them, my tea towel usage has become a bit crazy... I often have one to catch sink drips, a couple for drying hands, a couple for drying dishes (a new thing I'm picking up from my British friends here), and of course the ones I use for pot holders... She somehow knew my need for a pretty one, and sewed me this one as a part of a care package.

Which was put to good use tonight by my lovely fort mate