The Reindeer Keeper

That's my grandfather sitting on the doorstep of what was his woodshed. The woodshed was attached to the back of the farmhouse. Inside the woodshed, there was a door that opened up into the kitchen, making it easier when working out in the shed, chopping wood up into pieces. All that the wood chopper needed to do after chopping was open that door, walk a few feet into the kitchen to the wood box sitting by the woodstove and dump the new supply of chopped wood into it. I remember being in the kitchen, able to hear someone chopping wood in the woodshed. I loved the smell of the chopped wood. Loved the saw dust and wood shavings all over the place. Another thing I loved in that woodshed was the wooden platform leading from the door in the kitchen to a set of stairs that took you down to the dirt floor in the woodshed or back up and through to the kitchen depending which way you were going. It was a good-sized wooden platform. Perfect for stacking wood and more importantly, perfect for...

The kitchen in my grandparents' farmhouse was the focal point of their home. The walls were covered in wainscoting half way up. Cupboards were white enamel. The wood stove was the centerpiece and next to it sat a rocking chair and a woodbox. When more wood was needed you'd go out a door leading to the woodshed, load up all the wood you could carry and bring it back inside. You'd keep doing this until the woodbox was full. We loved going into that woodshed. It's where Grampie used his ax to split the wood and it's where my cousins and I would sometimes put on great shows for all the adults to attend and most certainly enjoy! Near the woodstove sat an oak kitchen table with six chairs. Behind the table was a hutch full of dishes and bowls. I think the top half had glass doors so everything was in plain sight. The bottom half was drawers for linens and such. Behind the wood stove was another door. Open it and you found the back stairway. My mother and...