Bright Copper Kettles . . . .

In The Sound Of Music,

when Maria sings about her favorite things,

I doubt anyone thinks of this

when she sings of "bright copper kettles:"

 

 Good grief, I can hear you thinking.

What the heck is that?

It is a copper kettle, and it has seen better days.

It was made by hand, and it's been repaired many times,

but by now it's got little holes in its coppery bottom,

and is cracked in the spout (aren't we all?).   It has more boo-boos than I can count.

 That lumpy gray stuff might be old soldering attempts,

or it might be old copper polish left by my mother's attempts to clean up this orphan.

 My Aunt Lillian gave this kettle to my mother many years ago.

Mom loved it, and kept it in the living room, and twice a year

would tackle the much-dreaded job of polishing the monster.

You can get peeks at the original color on the underside of the lid handle.

As it has sat in the beach house, unpolished, for quite some years, it's taken on a heavy

coat of -- shall we politely call it patina?  And now here's my dilemma:

What do I do with this dear old piece?

Should I try and get it sparkling, or will just "not black and icky" do well enough?

The dark look is not left from decades past; it's left from the time my Mom stopped polishing it.

It's not a valuable patina of age.

Any hints as to age?  Blog folk are so knowledgeable!

It can't be centuries old, as it's cut in at the bottom to rest in the open hole of a wood or coal stove. 

But I'd love to know more about it.  I've searched the Internet without much luck.

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Meanwhile, it being Wednesday, let's show off a bit of red!

In our red powder room, the first wreath for Christmas is hung:

 We're getting ready!

Happy Rednesday to you.

Visit Sue at It's A Very Cherry World to revel in more Red.  Click here!

 Have a lovely Wednesday.  If you are in our neck of the woods, stay warm!  -- Cass