Stories Collected While Living in France

French la Vie

Loving Spoonfuls

                                 

…Opening the drawer in my Mother’s kitchen, I found the measuring spoons that have added a little of this and a lot of that over the years. The largest is the tablespoon, it brought a smile to my face to see that the word has been worn away.

What do you give of yourself? Do you measure it little by little, or with heaping spoonfuls? What words are worn off from being your whole-hearted self? Do you ever add a pinch for good measure, does it make your cup runneth over?

My Mother’s measuring spoons hold many moments of heaping spoonfuls.

My life has been made full by that worn off word.

photo: My Mother’s measuring spoons, given to her on her wedding day July 1950.

Note: A re-post from last summer.

Comments

67 responses to “Loving Spoonfuls”

  1. Shannon L

    I give a bit of salt with a bit of sugar…balance.

    Reply
  2. expatraveler

    Beleive it or not, we still don’t have any measuring spoons. We need some but haven’t broken down in desperate need to buy them. 🙂

    Reply
  3. herhimnbryn

    Today I should have given myself a whole TBS. Today I gave myself half a TSP. It wasn’t enough.
    Note to self…….You deserve the whole TBS, you’ve earned it!

    Reply
  4. Kara

    I have a tablespoon that is heart shaped. It says “a heap of happiness” – which I put into my pizza dough each week. Thank you for the exquisite postings always.

    Reply
  5. Paris Parfait

    The old measuring spoons are the best. Isn’t it wonderful how these things stay in one’s family forever? Lovely post, Corey. As for me, I try to find a balance of sugar and salt, although usually there’s more sugar! 🙂

    Reply
  6. julie

    There are no appropriate words for that that photo (and your accompanying story) means to me…Much love to you, Corey!!!

    Reply
  7. susan@artstream

    beautiful memories, everyday tools, lovely lovely photos.
    a spoonful of sugar and a pinch of salt!

    Reply
  8. Jeanne

    Balance is the key my sweet friend and like you I love heaping spoonfuls of love and kindness always.
    I am so happy you are enjoying your California trip.
    It all begins and ends with family!
    God bless you real good!
    Love Jeanne
    x0X0

    Reply
  9. katie

    this is a sad-around-the-edges, poignant kind of day for me. when i read your spoon post i immediately went to my kitchen and dug out my measuring spoons, ones that belonged to mother, ones I grew up with. They look exactly like your spoons, except the word tablespoon is not worn down. My mother did not like to cook much but she enjoyed baking. I remember her using these spoons most often when she creating her mouth-watering apple pie, her crust was just the best! I like that I have her spoons now that she’s gone; i do like to cook as well as bake, and when i reach for these spoons, i think of her.

    Reply
  10. annieelf

    I get the sugar and the salt mixed up sometimes. It’s always an unexpected surprise for good or not.

    Reply
  11. susan

    my mom’s measuring spoons are exactly the same make/model. Next time I visit, I’ll check to see if any of the words have worn out!

    Reply
  12. isabel

    yes! those are the exact same measuring spoons as my mother has had since 1949!
    xox

    Reply
  13. Dawn

    Sweet illustration..
    I have those same spoons..AND my grandmother’s…I will never look at those spoons the same way again.

    Reply
  14. Cat

    I will remember this. Too often I use the teaspoon when I measure out what I give.

    Reply
  15. Gena King

    Your way of looking at everyday items is a lesson to us all Corey! I too look at my Mothers cooking utensils,rather worn with age,but able to produce the most delicious food that feeds my soul,because it is made with a Mothers love.I am happy that you are clearly enjoying your trip home!

    Reply
  16. stephanie s

    it is a testament to these spoons that only in the last several years has anyone even tried to ‘improve’ upon the design. i have the same ones, not worn yet, but plenty used. they work so darn well, the new and fancy ones just sit in the drawer.

    Reply
  17. Anne

    These bits of your past are so inspiring…I think they make us all stop and think about the things around us, and the people who give even a simple ‘tablespoon’ life.
    It is so healthy to stop, and concentrate on the so often over-looked things…instead of taking the next step into the future, we pause a moment and value what is past and what is now.
    Thank you for yet another wonderful post. Somehow, your posts reach me where other couldn’t hope to.
    I do hope you are having a wonderful visit, Corey. =)
    ~anne

    Reply
  18. mary ann

    i give my love by the heaping spoonfuls!
    sweet story behind the charming measuring spoons!
    🙂 mary ann xo

    Reply
  19. diana

    I love the way you look at things ! I tend to give gigantic spoonfuls of both sugar and salt !

    Reply
  20. amber

    Wow! she has had these sense the 50’s?! That is neat.
    I think a little bit of sugar and a little bit of salt are best together, don’t you? That’s me.
    😉

    Reply
  21. suse

    I like to buy all my kitchen crockery and utensils at charity shops. The old metal, brass, copper and glass things are so much nicer than the plastic things sold today.
    Every time I use my ancient glass juicer I get a little thrill! I will have to look out for old measuring spoons now 🙂

    Reply
  22. snowsparkle

    these are the exact same measuring spoons my mother owns. your post makes me cherish them now in ways i never would have imagined. you are such a gift to the world. thank you.

    Reply
  23. Mrs.Staggs

    This was a lovely post Corey. It is nice to hear you sounding so very happy and at home with your folks again. Give Ulla and Lauren hugs for me when you see them!

    Reply
  24. Lee

    I’m more a dollop man than a measure man. Tablespoons, dessert spoons and teaspoon are the bane of my cooking life, no two of them are the same size. And how do you realistically do a tablespoon of honey, for example? Dollop!

    Reply
  25. carolg@ParisBreakfasts

    Boy you really know how to put a smile on my face Corey 🙂 I have those same old spoons, my mother’s too. I use them to measure out pigment when I’m making watercolor pans. I hadn’t given a thought to their former use for making gingerbread & all manner of goodies…THANKS!

    Reply
  26. angela

    oh corey…
    how do you do it. always finding the perfect words, and a story, that reflects so much of life, the essence and the soul of things.
    i want life for all of us, to always be measured with the tablespoon. in abundance. plentiful and generous abundance.
    beautiful you. and i can hardly wait until you’re back again.
    coffee anyone?
    yes.
    oxo
    angela
    http://www.omondieu.blogspot.com

    Reply
  27. naturegirl

    Are we “the salt of the earth”…a good way to measure oneself!!

    Reply
  28. vicci

    Corey…I have the exact set of spoons from my Mom…they were really popular in the 50’s…hope you are having a wonderful visit!

    Reply
  29. deirdre

    How nice it must be to be home, surrounded by long loved and well used items. What do I give myself tablespoons of? I need to think about that, aware that I sometimes don’t trust life enough to take that big a bite.

    Reply
  30. Kit

    Poignant picture. The spoons from a lifetime of living and loving.

    Reply
  31. Gina

    loving that you stop to notice the meaning that lives all around us.

    Reply
  32. andrea

    This post was so full of warmth and love and a strong sense of home.
    Beautiful!
    Thank you for sharing your mothers love.
    a.

    Reply
  33. Willow Grace

    I saw your photo and immediately went to my kitchen to retrieve my mother’s measuring spoons, very similar to your mom’s. Alas the tablespoon is missing but there are 2 teaspoons!

    Reply
  34. wishes&Heros

    I love that spoons! I am a Balanced one to, but some times like to go crazy 😉

    Reply
  35. gracia

    Worn cooking spoons… there are few things as beautiful and loaded with history to me. I have a collection of my Grandma’s wooden cooking spoons in pride of place in the kitchen. I use them today, though sadly, they have not made me a better cook.
    take care, gracia

    Reply
  36. marita

    i guess we measure our whole life through. sometimes using the smallest spoon of your mom’s collection or just keep overfloating the largest one. measurements can be very usefull as well as needless!

    Reply
  37. freefalling

    I knew there was a reason I have stayed away from your blog for so long (well, a couple of weeks anyway)! My brain is hurting after this post – must I ponder these questions?
    Yes-yes, as is always the case with Corey! I shall be thinking about these questions all night! I’m worried I’ve been miserly with my spoonfuls!

    Reply
  38. Jeanne

    I give heaps of everything…..no little bits for me…….
    Treasure your darling Mother while you have her…….and all those you love as I know you do.
    Love Jeanne

    Reply
  39. rochambeau

    Your Mother has made your life sweet with a heaping tablespoon of her Loving Kindness, not to mention her delicious chocolate cookies!!

    Reply
  40. Mo’a

    I look forward to your post each day…I am learning to look at things around me differently…even the humble measuring spoons look elegant with your way of photographing them and your thoughtful words.
    I try to live my life by not measuring out the love and appreciation I have for those that I am lucky enough to have in my life.

    Reply
  41. Sue K.

    I have this EXACT set of measuring spoons, one of the things I had to have when my mother passed away. She was married in ’48, so they were always part of my life, too. When my 28 y/o daughter came to visit this spring, she was thrilled to see me using them. I know where they’ll go next.

    Reply
  42. Beverly

    The spoon with the missing words…it also reminds me of how much love and dedication we moms put into every thing that we do for our family. Can you just imagine how many times your mom used that spoon to cook or bake for her children? Wow!

    Reply
  43. tut-tut

    I think this is the reason old cooking things are so popular as collectibles: there are so many memories right there, just for the feeling of the bowls, spoons, measuring cups.

    Reply
  44. angela marie

    ‘Another beautiful post!
    🙂

    Reply
  45. cd&m

    Measuring spoons and such wise words. Your posts are always amazing and inspiring.

    Reply
  46. Beachy

    Thank you for these words. One can’t “measure” the magnitude of Love, so I find it fitting that the word has disappeared from your Mom’s measuring spoon! =)

    Reply
  47. Genevieve

    Dear Mrs. Wordsmith –
    Your musings on “Old Home Week” are a treasure and resonate with my own experiences of revisiting my childhood at the home of my parents. Those measuring spoons! My mother was married in June 1950 and they are the same set she used for 31 years – the time it took to nurture us all to adulthood. Give your mom an extra hug this instant! Mine is gone and I miss her every day (even though I talk to her quite often). Measure for measure, these amazing women have lead us to where we are today. A great place to be, indeed!

    Reply
  48. naturegirl

    I remember this post from last summer it moved me then and moves me today. hugs NG

    Reply
  49. Franca Bollo

    I can’t believe a re-post on measuring spoons may end up eliciting equal or more comments than your cleavage. I say bring on the décolletage, ma cherie. (I’m growing into a dirty old lady, I fear.)

    Reply
  50. Pam Aries

    I can only say that the pleasure I get from reading your posts is immeasurable! Sounds corny..but I mean it with all my heart!

    Reply
  51. Lisa Oceandreamer

    My mother used the exact set of measuring spoons. Funny of all the various items that made me say ‘I MUST have them’ when sorting through…those were it. For years I saw her take them out for bake sale items, dinners, countless desserts and years of family meals. Funny the what items become heaping spoonfuls of memory making.
    XOXO

    Reply
  52. Carol

    Oh gosh, I use those exact measures every day. Does that date me?
    I LOVE your posts … LOVE them. Have a wonderful day Corey.

    Reply
  53. Amber

    Your posts are often so simple…and not simple at all. What a beautiful post.
    🙂

    Reply
  54. Fledgling Poet

    Your blog is pure joy. What a gift today that I discovered it. :~)

    Reply
  55. carole

    Hi Corey:
    How cool.
    Good standards
    carole

    Reply
  56. angela

    You end up with so many comments to read that I don’t know if you will ever get to mine but, I wanted to tell you that I think God really uses you thru your blog. There are some days that I pray for God to send me something and your blog (I know this sounds crazy)is the way he answers me. I somehow got to your “About Corey” post today and after feeling completely stressed for the past week and feeling as tho’ I can’t handle one more thing, first my Pastor’s sermon hit on how God told Gideon he was a Mighty Warrior in Judges and we are because God doesn’t see our past and our failures, he sees what we are capable of and then your post really summed it up. Thank you so much for sharing yourself!! And that is my sappy comment for the month.

    Reply
  57. Rosemary

    I love your post. It’s so great that she still has the measuring spoons after all this time.
    Spoons of love.
    Rosemary

    Reply
  58. Marilyn

    Every woman in my family had those spoons when I was a child. Wish I had a set. I did find the matching measuring cups about a month ago at Stage Road Shops in Pescadero.

    Reply
  59. Elaine

    Dear Corey, my grandmother had those spoons in her kitchen. They added love to everything she cooked or baked. Today is my birthday and your post reminded me of all the heaping spoonfuls of love, wisdom and patience she poured into my life. Thank you for this repost. Although you are so far away, you have a special place in my heart and my life now.

    Reply
  60. snowsparkle

    ah, these are my mother’s measuring spoons too! next time i go visit mom, i want to check them out. this is a vintage tongue in cheek post. thank you for reminding me to heap my love an kindness instead of measuring so carefully. big hugs, snow

    Reply
  61. eb

    late nights with Corey
    before my hot bath
    how do we measure
    this or that?
    my Father was
    and is one for
    MEASURING…
    I went the way
    of the immeasurable
    my tablespoon word
    is also illegible
    xox – eb.

    Reply
  62. tinker

    This post measures up to be one of the best I’ve ever read!

    Reply
  63. cruststation

    I love that you re-post your earlier entries. I feel like I am reliving history with you and learning new things everytime I re-read them.

    Reply
  64. Laura at Blame It on Paris

    How beautiful! They remind me of my mother’s. What a beautiful image and post.

    Reply
  65. Di Overton

    I have 3 tablespoons that belonged to my grandmother. I can only make Yorkshire Puddings when I measure the flour with those spoons. A few weeks ago I gave one to my eldest daughter and one to my son – they were ecstatic.

    Reply
  66. ParisBreakfasts

    I have the same old measuring spoons – my mother’s. I use them to measure out pigment to make delicious paint now…
    But normally I don’t measure.
    I just grab with both hands and then start running 🙂

    Reply
  67. Liz Ness

    Such a great memory captured with that post and those spoons! Plus, I love the next post, too. Brought back some of my own memories…it’s never a good idea to make a herd or a bull angry. Thank goodness these memories end the way they do!

    Reply

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