A TUSCAN KITCHEN SINK

As promised, more from the interior of the condemned house. This is the kitchen sink. It is made of stone, quarried locally. They are still made but this one is very, very old.

It looks to be a very sorry sink but it is, in fact, a cook's delight and a thing of beauty once cleaned up. One day an interior decorator or an architect will discover these traditional sinks and they will become a must have. They are the cook's equivalent of a child's jumping in puddles. Joy! The first time I was obliged to use one I was horrified. By the second time I was smitten.

This one has only a cold tap/faucet but earlier on it would not have had even that. There is a hole under the lantern on the left leading to a drain pipe, a remnant of which can be seen near the floor. A marble slab has been attached on the left for work space.

An attempt was made to modernise this house by cosmetic improvements. These tiles look to be 50 to 60 years old. The charcoal stove/cooker remains under the kitchen window, however. I will do that another day.

If I had the space in my kitchen I would negotiate for this one and have it in a flash. As it is, I have one just outside under the porch. It is in use now, unfortunately, for washing dog bowls and assorted olive oil containers. It has a magnetic attraction for plastic objects. In the summer, however, I use it for washing and preparing veggies and what a smashing, splashing time I have.

I resisted the urge to tidy up for this pic, but have left it exactly as it was.

For the record: Broken cloud, + 11 C. Two diggers are parked at the bottom of our drive, ready to tear down loose rocks and earth on Monday. It is still menacing the road. We will have to build a retaining wall, too. Fedora has made her cliff face "regular." The wild boar hunters are out, the dogs are going bonkers. The season ends with the month.