Vintage Kitchen Linens, Fun Recipes and Memories – EllynAnne Geisel Book Review

The Kitchen Linens Book: Using, Sharing, and Cherishing the Fabrics of Our Daily Lives by EllynAnne Geisel is my kind of book. She combines reminisces about her mom, her mother-in-law, her friends, with excellent made-from-scratch recipes and care tips for vintage linens. The linens in cupboard become the vehicle for memories, much as we find favorite glass or china pieces do.

EllynAnne includes gorgeous photos of all sorts of kitchen linens, from elegant heavy brocade table cloths to jolly 1950s travel souvenir towels to my favorite, cheerful prints with cherries and flowers. She invited several friends to add their memories and pictures and the combination is fun and a book you will remember.

I was very glad to see the care tips and even more glad to see her great attitude towards vintage kitchen items: Use Them! Her point is that even if the cloths get stained, so what? They still have memories and you can still enjoy them. There isn’t much purpose in having a cupboard full of unused towels and table cloths.

I feel the same way about glass and china. Use it. I hear too many stories from families who are left with Aunt Sue’s treasured crystal who see it only as a nuisance. Truly, take a moment, savor the beauty of the pieces you have, enjoy the memories.  Use the glass and the linens from your family to create new memories with your own children.  You’ll be glad you did when they ask “Where is the relish dish we always used, Mom?  That’s the dish we have to use today.”