Childhood Flashback

Isn't it funny how a memory from decades long past can come flashing into our minds?

One such recollection is of my mother using an old-fashioned iron meat grinder. She kept it in a chilly pantry off the kitchen.

She always pulled it out on holidays, particularly when making turkey stuffing. The meat grinder had metal clamps that Mom screwed onto the kitchen table.

It was quite a contraption. She'd stuff the heart, giblets, liver, and so forth into the cup part of the grinder and then turn a big handle.  The squished innards came out and were caught in a bowl.

Sounds horrible but her stuffing was so absolutely delicious that no store bought boxed stuffing could even come close to it. Just thinking about it gets the taste buds going. 

Now how did that meat grinder memory ever come back into my mind at this time of year?  There's no Tom turkey ready to be cooked in the oven.

Well, here's how. The other week, I went to an estate sale. The woman whose home was being emptied apparently loved dollhouse miniatures. 

Upstairs on a table of miniature furniture and doodads was a plastic bag filled with a variety of dollhouse accessories. I bought it on the spot for a buck.

Once home, I emptied the contents out onto the kitchen table. There, before my very eyes, was a tiny, perfectly formed meat grinder. It was an exact replica of the one my Mother used!

Well, wonders never cease!  Happily, no miniature sized giblets will be going into it.  It will just be part of an old-fashioned  dollhouse kitchen.

WHAT WAS THE LAST OBJECT YOU SAW THAT MADE YOU THINK OF YOUR CHILDHOOD?