Archives
 By  Staff Reports Published 
2:32 pm Sunday, March 30, 2008

Kitchens lessons learned

By By Suzanne Langcuster
When you are in the kitchen anything can happen.
We try to make our kitchens safe for ourselves but also for the younger members of our family who love to play under the cook's feet. Fire is something that can happen so quickly, and having an extinguisher nearby is a must and may save your kitchen.
There are many funny events that occur in the kitchen also. It can be the hub of activity.
I recall a summer when we were busy making jelly. It was a busy summer day. We had a piano tuner tuning our piano and we had just finished peeling and cooking our apples to make jelly.
I put the paraffin on the stove in a small pot to melt and seal the jars. For some reason I walked out of the kitchen, down the hallway and went to another room in the house.
In just minutes my youngest son John came running down the hall and said, "Mother, don't get excited but your kitchen is on fire."
We had just painted the kitchen. Running was all that came to mind. Instead of grabbing the extinguisher I grabbed the pot with the hot paraffin, which was on fire and tried to get it to the sink.
It napalmed on me and burned my hand badly.
Fortunately, thanks to the Good Lord and good doctors, I was okay. I walked away from that having learned two lessons:
1. Keep those extinguishers handy.
2. Put your paraffin in the microwave to melt.
One of the more humorous events in Mother's kitchen was with my sister's cat. This cat was a jumper. It would high jump from one thing to another. Our family had been gone and when we returned we could hear the cat hollering in the most mournful sound you could imagine. We began to search and followed the noise to the kitchen.
After some brief searching, Dad walked near the refrigerator and said, "That crazy cat has jumped down in the back of the refrigerator." Laughter filled the kitchen, but Dad wasn't too happy.
He had to remove the whole back of the refrigerator to get the cat out. That cat shot out of there, uninjured, like a bullet.
Kitchens are a very important part of the learning process.
It is there we learn to cook with safely, hang around long enough to gather what is left, and to never leave a jumping cat loose in the house while you're gone.

Also on Franklin County Times
Thorpe to play at Blue Mountain Christian
High School Sports, News, Russellville, ...
Brannon King For the FCT 
July 16, 2025
RUSSELLVILLE – Brennon Thorpe made his plans official to attend Blue Mountain Christian University and play baseball for the Toppers during a recent s...
Russellville High Class of 1967 gathers, reminisces
Columnists, News, Opinion, ...
HERE AND NOW
July 16, 2025
You can’t really go back to the good old days of high school, but you can pay them a visit now and then. That’s exactly what the RHS Class of 1967 has...
Former Cypress Lakes official to lead Guntersville State Park
Lifestyles, News
Bernie Delinski For the FCT 
July 16, 2025
GUNTERSVILLE — Heath Puckett had an Auburn University degree and golf course superintendent certification in his pocket when he arrived at Cypress Lak...
European travel builds bonds across cultures
Lifestyles, News, Russellville, ...
María Camp maria.camp@franklincountytimes.com 
July 16, 2025
RUSSELLVILLE -- A group of Franklin County travelers spent nine days this summer walking through catacombs, exploring castles and standing in places w...
Little Free Library welcomes readers in East Franklin
Lifestyles, News, Phil Campbell
María Camp maria.camp@franklincountytimes.com 
July 16, 2025
PHIL CAMPBELL — Eleven-year-old Aiden Hall is an avid reader, but he doesn’t just want to read books. He also wants to share them, and the way he deci...
King becomes elementary curriculum director
Lifestyles, Russellville
María Camp maria.camp@franklincountytimes.com 
July 16, 2025
RUSSELVILLE — Molly King says every child can learn, though not necessarily in the same way or on the same day — a belief she plans to carry into her ...
New Junior Leaders begin their training
Franklin County, News
María Camp maria.camp@franklincountytimes.com 
July 16, 2025
FRANKLIN COUNTY — Forty-two high school students from across Franklin County are beginning 10 months of hands-on leadership training and community ser...
Fire destroys 2-story garage, guest suite
Main, News, Russellville, ...
Kevin Taylor For the FCT 
July 16, 2025
R U S S E L LV I L L E – Jason Gist leaned against the wall of his home with a look of disgust while dozens of firefighters worked to extinguish a fir...

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Latest Stories
July 4, 2025Augusto Simon Diaz, 42, of Russellville, passed away July 4. Visitation and funeral were held at Spry Memorial Chapel on July 12 from 2pm ...
July 16, 2025
July 8, 2025Jamie Kerby Cummings, 41, of Russellville, passed away on July 8. Visitation took place July 13, at Spry Memorial Chapel from 1 pm to 3pm....
July 16, 2025
July 11,2025Julie “JuJu” Welch Black, 63, of Russellville, passed away on July 11.Graveside service was held at 1pm on July 13, at Belgreen Cemetery w...
July 16, 2025
July 9, 2025Scott Noel Benford, age 58, of Muscle Shoals, passed away on July 9. Visitation was held at Pinkard Funeral Home in Russellville on July 1...
July 16, 2025