96/365: Barcelona

Remembering my Mother!!

My mother went to Barcelona, Spain in 1963 and this is one of the things that she brought back with her.  It hung in her kitchens for almost as long as I remember and when she passed, I got to hang it in my kitchens too.

It is a lovely spice wheel.  I dare not use it, it is fragile.  Hard to believe but some of the spices that are in those jars are the ones that were originally put there.  I don't believe that my mother used it either with a few exceptions.  (you can tell which are full and which are empty)  The photo is deceptive, this wheel is very large, I would guesstimate about almost 2' in width and height.

As a kid we used to spin it when we would come in or leave the kitchen and it really burned my mother to no end.  A few of the jars came out - wooden tops and pegs - she glued them in and from that day if we got caught spinning the thing....well, you don't want to know.  So we didn't get caught.

I love this as a piece of my mother that I have with me and will pass it on to my nephew when I depart.   This spice wheel is 48 years old.  Hard to believe all the jars have survived all her moves and all of mine too.

Jules