another visit with the Ehri's

Ok, this is what I wanted to tell you about last night but it got too late and I was very sleepy.  I wanted to talk about the house (mainly the kitchen) in south Minneapolis that my mother lived in while she was growing up.  It was owned by her aunt and uncle--Anna and Ed Ehri.  I visited this house very often and knew the house well.  We ate a lot of good meals there and sometimes, as kids, we slept overnight.  The Dutch Colonial style house was built in the early 1900's.  My auntie, as we would call her, and her husband were avid gardeners.  They owned the empty lot next door and kept a magnificent garden.  Fresh produce during the warm seasons and home canned goods during the winter provided almost everything needed for an ample feast.  Ask my brothers and sisters and they would agree with me that one of the best aromas coming out of the kitchen was that of the yeast rolls baking in the oven.  The memory of that aroma makes my mouth water now as I think about it. There wasn't a thing that couldn't be cooked, fried or baked on the old stove.  There was an icebox on the other side of the room.  Yes, it was an icebox.  The inside was coated with metal and a large block of ice lay at the bottom of the icebox and kept everything cold.  The sink was next to the icebox and there was a small table by the window.  There was a pantry off of the kitchen with a door going out to the back yard.  The pantry was not heated or cooled.  During the warm months things like baking supplies were kept there.  During the winter it was so cold out there that you could store anything worth freezing without a problem.  The item that most fascinated me in the kitchen was the built in cupboard that stood between the door to the hallway and the door to the dining room.  It was loaded with all kinds of small containers and metal canisters.  It was a well stocked cupboard.  How do you like the way we were dressed when we came for our visits?  Our Mom made sure we looked very nice.  These were happy times for me while I was young.  Good memories.     p.s. What was my younger brother thinking?