On a recent trip to visit my parents in Florida, I came across this charming little artifact of my youth. Sitting on the back of the stove was the mouse and cheese salt and pepper shaker of my childhood.
I remember playing with this at the table as a little kid. I never tired of how the little mouse fit so sweetly in the cheese. And that goofy little pose was always just perfect.
I put this on the counter and took an Instagram shot, then showed it to my brother. I told him this was the only item from the estate that I would ever really care about. My still very much alive mother looked at me and said, ‘Why don’t you just take it home now?’
I admit I did think about it. But there was something about taking it out of their house that did not seem right. For now, this picture will do for me. It is both bizarre and comforting at the same time.
I know, I am most comfortable amongst the bizarre.
Of course I had to do a little searching to see if I could find these anywhere. Sure enough I found them on Mood Indigo and Mr. B’s Attic. These suckers are going for between $40 and $45. Perhaps my brother may fight me for them after all. We thought about a Solomonesque answer… one of us takes the cheese and one the mouse. But really, who wants a mouseless cheese or a cheeseless mouse?
How funny. I also had little salt and pepper shakers that I remember playing with as a child. Since I’ve been more health conscious than the generation before, my children have never heard of salt shakers. 🙂