Moving Tales

[liuzhou]

Some will know I recently moved to a new apartment. It involved the usual stress and trauma. But it threw up some culinary curiosities. I'll mention a few over the next few days.

 

I had hired someone to help me pack 25 years of essential detritus from a dissolute life prior to the move, but my dear friend J also turned up to help.

 

While she was packing some kitchen stuff (80% of stuff to be moved was food or food-related), she found this.

 

 

For years, I've been using this double lidded ceramic pot to store my precious supplies of Maldon salt. She was horrified.

 

I knew it had some ancient Chinese script on the outer lid, but never investigated  I can read modern Chinese, but this is like 6000 years old. J, being a genius can read it!

 

Turns out the pot is a funerary urn designed to hold the ashes of my ancestors. 

 

I told her that a) my ancestors can't read ancient Chinese either and b) Maldon salt is derived from the Dead Sea.

 

Of course, she didn't believe that. Like I said, she ain't stupid!

 

Anyway, I have no plan to change my storage method.

 

 

Edited January 25, 2021 by liuzhou (log)

[KennethT]

Thanks for this.  I needed a laugh lately.  I will be moving in a month or two after living in this apartment for about 15 years - I can't wait to see what "treasures" we dig up as we start packing....

[lindag]

1 hour ago, KennethT said:

Thanks for this.  I needed a laugh lately.  I will be moving in a month or two after living in this apartment for about 15 years - I can't wait to see what "treasures" we dig up as we start packing....

I did the same a couple of months ago.  It was a revelation!  After fifteen years in the same house I was stunned at how many items I hadn't used or even seen in all that time.

[heidih]

I have moved a lot and default to "knowing" "x" is in a storage box. The Obama Hope poster finally turned up but the real irritant was and is the missing cookbook. One of those in the rack at the grocery check-out I picked up in Sydney.  It has great Malaysian recipes with nice photos. Made my first laksa from it among other treasures. I know it did not get sold at  garage sale. Where oh where have you gone?! Oh and the Ulu knife and bowl which I would not have put out at a sale cuz it is sharp and kids touch everything. "Johnny don't touch" is like a directive to in fact touch. 

[Tropicalsenior]

On 1/25/2021 at 1:55 AM, liuzhou said:

I've been using this double lidded ceramic pot to store my precious supplies of Maldon salt.

I don't believe it! I used mine for kosher salt but I feel cheated. Mine doesn't have any inscription on it or I probably would have known instantly that it was for ashes.

[Tropicalsenior]

@liuzhou I forgot to ask, how big is your funerary urn? Mine is 3 1/2 inches across the bottom. I bought mine in my favorite Chinese restaurant supply house, right between the soup tureens and the sand pots so apparently, they didn't know what it was, either. They had two sizes larger than this one. One of them was big enough for the whole family.

[liuzhou]

21 minutes ago, Tropicalsenior said:

@liuzhou I forgot to ask, how big is your funerary urn? Mine is 3 1/2 inches across the bottom. I bought mine in my favorite Chinese restaurant supply house, right between the soup tureens and the sand pots so apparently, they didn't know what it was, either. They had two sizes larger than this one. One of them was big enough for the whole family.

 

Externally, the diameter is 5½ inches and the height the same.

 

Internally, the diameter is 4½ inches and the depth 4 inches.

Edited February 21, 2021 by liuzhou (log)

[Maison Rustique]

I remember at some point seeing a post in a forum somewhere about someone who was looking for a lid for her "soup tureen" which she had posted a photo of with soup in it.  When many pointed out to her that it was not a tureen, but a chamber pot, she was horrified that she'd been putting it on her table to serve soup.

[liuzhou]

Just now, Maison Rustique said:

When many pointed out to her that it was not a tureen, but a chamber pot, she was horrified that she'd been putting it on her table to serve soup.

 

I've had soup that tasted like that!

[Tropicalsenior]

5 minutes ago, liuzhou said:

18 minutes ago, Tropicalsenior said:

@liuzhou I forgot to ask, how big is your funerary urn? Mine is 3 1/2 inches across the bottom. I bought mine in my favorite Chinese restaurant supply house, right between the soup tureens and the sand pots so apparently, they didn't know what it was, either. They had two sizes larger than this one. One of them was big enough for the whole family.

Expand  

 

Externally, the diameter is 5½ inches

Quite a bit bigger than this one. This one is too small to have ever held anyone that had gotten old enough to have become an ancestor.

[Tropicalsenior]

12 minutes ago, liuzhou said:

 

I've had soup that tasted like that!

That reminds me of the time that my brother-in-law and his wife were in Africa. They were served bat soup. They didn't take it seriously and thought it was just an interesting name for a soup. They were with a large group and they were all served from a big tureen in the middle of the table. He was the last to be served and he got the bat.

Edited February 21, 2021 by Tropicalsenior (log)

[lindag]

25 minutes ago, Tropicalsenior said:

That reminds me of the time that my brother-in-law and his wife were in Africa. They were served bat soup. They didn't take it seriously and thought it was just an interesting name for a soup. They were with a large group and they were all served from a big tureen in the middle of the table. He was the last to be served and he got the bat.

Where is the 'hoirrified' emoji?

[Darienne]

Our last move was to the farm almost 26 years ago.  And it was following a house fire (the less said about that, the better).  So everything which was left unburnt, was taken into storage and fumigated, including the contents of our waste paper baskets.  However, I had no work to do either packing up or moving.  Unpacking yes.  But so much was lost.  It was a terrible time and the move was traumatic. 

 

There's a little log house below the actual farm house called the Dog House, because that's the name on the front of it above the door.  Once upon a time, I've been told, long ago, the raw milk was picked up there.  There's stuff in there which has not even been looked at in the almost 26 years.  

 

Ed wants to die on the farm.  (His Grandfather on his Mother's side died in the field behind a horse-pulled plough.  Yes, he could easily have had a tractor...he didn't want one.)  Perhaps he'll get his wish.  If he does die here and I am still alive, it goes on the market the next day and our real estate agent, who was here last weekend for a visit, knows that.  Interesting.  Much as I love it here, I could not do it without Ed.  Our son keeps hounding me about our selling the farm yesterday and moving into the city.  I think he is terrified at the prospect of having to deal with the place and contents upon our deaths. 

 

I haven't yet mentioned the Drive Shed, called that because you could put two 18-wheelers into it.  It's Ed's domain and I never go into it unless forced.  The interior defies description.