The Old Fruit Bowl

Oftentimes, Tricia watches the Chip and Joanna Gaines "Fixer Upper" show where the couple work together to renovate an older home into something that is more modern and decorated nicely.  They talk to the buyers and find out what they like and will often incorporate something old and meaningful into the home.  Do you have things like that in your home that you've reclaimed?

I like things like that.  For instance, in the house I grew up in, my mom and dad incorporated old bricks from some landmarks from their childhood into the fireplace.  Things like that have a nostalgia factor.  It creates a great conversation piece and helps personalize your home and bring back memories.  It doesn't have to be part of the construction.  It can be a piece of furniture or a decoration or an old keepsake.

This evening I was looking at something in our home that brings back memories.  It's an old fruit bowl.  Not that it necessarily only contained fruit.  This bowl was my grandmother's.  We called her Bumby.  This bowl was in her kitchen on a countertop right next to an old International Deep Freeze.

Bumby normally had a few bananas in this bowl that were on the brown side.  Shortly before they turned completely brown, she transformed them into banana bread or banana pudding.  Let's see, what else was in this bowl?  Well, if I close my eyes and try to remember, there was also a pack of Juicy Fruit Gum in the bowl, a Baby Ruth Candy bar, a Snicker bar, various nuts, Bumby's car keys, the day's mail, the bulletin from Sunday Church Service, some butterscotch candies and a cinnamon disk candy or two.

Bumby passed away years ago, but seeing her old fruit bowl on the island in our kitchen reminds me of her and brings back good memories of spending time with her.