Ten on Tuesday

The Ten On Tuesday prompt for today is an interesting one, 10 Favorite Things You Have That Are Made Out of Wood. I can think of a few off the top of my head, but let's see if I can manage to come up with ten.

1.  Our kitchen table - it's old and has some burn marks and scars, but it's one of my favorite things because of all the family dinners that have been served there, all the homework that was done there, all the coloring and games that happened after homework was done, and the many, many good memories it holds.

2.  The desk in the corner that John refinished - I wrote about my desk a few years ago.

3.  My cutting board - We have a woodworker friend, and 26 years ago he gave John an extra hunk of oak that he didn't need. I claimed it as a cutting board and have used it ever since. It's not pretty or fancy at all, but I'm not afraid to cut bushels of tomatoes on it and scrub it well.

4.  My rolling pin - John wondered what I wanted one year for Christmas, and I asked for a rolling pin. I wanted one that was one piece, without bearings because I was tired of digging dried dough out of the cracks in my old one. He made one that was even better than I had imagined, just the right heft and weight for rolling out crescent roll dough and pie crusts.

5.  My salt bowl - My brother-in-law heats their house with wood and when he is fueling the wood stove he often comes across pieces of wood that tell him he should not toss them into the fire, but should use his woodworking skills to release the item hidden within. He saw a bowl and spoon in this piece of wood and I was the lucky recipient. He meant it to be a salt bowl, to hold sea salt, but I can't bear to put salt into its satiny smoothness.

6.  Trä spridare (wooden spreader) - My mother loved investigating our genealogy, and found Swedish relatives on my father's side. When they visited the United States, they gifted us with beautifully useful wooden spreaders, perfect for spreading butter on fresh-baked bread and toast.

7.  The crochet hook that John made for me - He started out making a pen, but somehow it turned into a crochet hook, very smooth and comfortable to hold.

8.  The spinning wheel on the front porch - This is my great-grandmother's great wheel. Parts are missing, and I don't have room for it inside, but it has a home on my front porch. If I have to give someone directions, I always say "it's the house with the spinning wheel" and they know just where I'm talking about.

9.  Sewing cabinet - We bought our house from an older woman who was going into a nursing home. While this was a bit sad, she left behind several items that she couldn't take with her, encouraging us to use them with happiness. This sewing cabinet was one of those items, and I think of her every time I look for thread and needles.

10.  My rocking chair - Another piece of furniture that we got with the house, this one holds many happy memories of reading bedtime stories and rocking the boys to sleep.

Thanks, Carole (and Dale!), for providing me with a reason to look around my house, really see, and appreciate many of the handmade wooden items I'm lucky to have and use. Wood is good!