Saturday, October 9, 2010

BACK TO THE FUTURE: REPLACING PLASTIC






It all started at a souk in Bahrain. When we lived there as young marrieds, John and I would wander the market stalls on the weekend, just for entertainment. One day I came across a shop that had a bunch of giant mason jars with clamp lids, in pristine condition. I decided they'd

be the perfect thing for keeping bugs out of my rice and flour. To me, they epitomized the marriage of beauty and practicality.

Later, when my grandmother passed, I was shocked that no one else wanted her cute little square, tempered glass, refrigerator storage containers, that were just right for storing leftovers in. You could even microwave in them! Why would anyone prefer Tupperware to these?

And so it went over the years, with me picking up one piece of vintage glassware here, and another there, from various relatives who were eager to replace them with shiny new plastic. No one, least of all me, had any clue that one day the tables would turn, and we'd discover that storing and heating our food in all that plastic was making us sick.

Isn't it fortunate then, that I just happen to have cabinets full of vintage beauties, ready and waiting to step up to the bat?

4 comments:

Teri H said...

I love using glass! And am on the same road to getting rid of my plastic containers! I love finding vintage containers!

Hill Country Hippie said...

Yes, somehow I knew we probably were on the same track here! By the way, David left a comment the other day on my post about "creating new farmers". I told him to just give me a ring whenever you guys are ready to start selling your produce through Bountiful Sprout ;)

said...

I am so glad there are others out there who find vintage glassware as awesome as I do. I'm a total vintage Pyrex freak. My (now) husband bought me a set of pink Pyrex dishes when he decided to propose. It was great.

Hill Country Hippie said...

Granola Girl: What a smart man. He definitely knew the way to his girl's heart!