Every year in my house, spring cleaning begins in the kitchen and with the pot rack. I guess that's because I have been collecting copper for over 30 years now and this is the one time during the year it all gets polished and the rack gets a good cleaning. My husband never dreamed that he was giving birth to this collection when he visited the back alleys of Turkey and brought me home some wonderful pieces. We were living in Greece, on the island of Crete when this all began. He introduced me to the wonders of raw copper and the men that tin the insides if you want to use the pans for cooking. I then began my journey for more, you can never have enough of a good thing, can you. I would walk the streets of Athens looking for unusual pieces to add to our home. This collection is a lot of work, but to me, well worth every minute. There is not a piece I could give up, believe me, I have thought about it. Now on the the copper on the walls.
It's a little too bare for me, needs more stuff, don't you think!?
I've got a friend
Not quite there yet, somethings missing.....
It was a lot of work, but well worth it. Now on to the copper on the walls, see ya later. Mission complete for another year anyway......well, maybe, if I'm lucky.
Have you ever seen a Turkish lunch box in copper? Spoon and fork screw on the sides and hold it all together.
There are three compartments for food storage in this box.
Look, there's even room on the top for salt!
I also have one in brass.
A cute little French lunch box.
Just a little room in here for one, a tiny someone!!
I have a set of my grand-mothers bowls on the island. The only two left, one blue and one orange. They mean the world to me. I have cleaned and polished until I have no skin left on my fingers, but it was worth it. The kitchen is clean and ready for another year. On to the dining-room. I will post pictures of that too.
Some pieces of Polish Pottery and other collectables sit on an oak cutting board that my daughter made for me while she was in school. That is the best gift of all, something from the heart. 
I am crazing for cookbooks and this is just a sample of a few that I keep in the kitchen. I love Southern Living cookbooks as well as William Sonoma, my favorites.
This is a view from the stairs into the kitchen eating area. The old crock that sits on the floor, holds my potatoes and onions. It was a great find at an auction.
This is the kitchen eating area. The bowl on the table was a find from ebay, an antique wooden trough. It is full of grapefruits from our tree in the backyard.
Another collection I have is hearts. When I saw these chairs, years ago, I knew I had to have them. Each chair has a heart cutout on the back. I can't give them up.
We bought this hand woven rug while we were living in Greece. It sits under the kitchen table. I love the colors and never tire of them.
When a sandwich shop in VA was going out of business, they were selling two solid butcher blocks for $50.00 each. I had to have them both. Now one sits under one of my kitchen windows.
An antique egg crate from a flea market in San Antonio sets under the butcher block.
I wanted a french country pattern for the windows and fell in love with this fabric, love the roosters.
This is an antique breadboard and knives that I picked up at a flea market in England years ago. It sits on the cabinet below.
You can never have enough cabinets in the kitchen, can you?
Just a bit of my polish pottery collection, but I will leave that for another blog post.
This is the look around the pantry door.
Not only am I a weaver of baskets, but I am also a collector of them as well. These are some of my minis.
When you live in the Southwest, fresh chili peppers are a must for the kitchen.
Wreath and peppers along with a bit of my mini basket collection
