Trivet : late Middle English: apparently from Latin tripes, triped- ‘three-legged’, from tri- ‘three’ + pes, ped- ‘foot’.

Every day as I look around my small Kitsilano home I am overwhelmed by the stuff in it. That the stuff is all high quality does not help me. Rosemary and I had a penchant for acquiring beautiful ceramics, antique furniture, rugs, a 120 year old Chickering baby grand piano, books (expensive ones) and added to all that many expensive and rare plants for our garden.

 Every wall in the house has a framed photograph or painting. I keep thinking as I have since Rosemary died on December 9 2020 what will happen to all of this? What will my two daughters do?

 I have made sure that my life insurance no longer has Rosemary as my benefactor. It has been changed so my daughters will get the money when I meet my oblivion.

My worst concern and worry (somehow becoming less important as I mature into real old age) is what to do with my extensive photographic files (digital and analog). I know that donating it all to an archive is fruitless. I believe that an archive is where documents and photographs die.

 But I cannot proceed here without some levity. What you see here are 7 ceramic trivets and four Mexican woven ones.

Rosemary always wanted to have a Victorian crank table. We had one for our Athlone, Kerrisdale home. She made sure that the lacquered top was protected by a plastic under tablecloth and over that a collection of nice tablecloths. Whenever possible she would buy a trivet.

In Spanish a trivet is a trébedes and even though the word is in plural it is used as singular.

 Its definition by the RAE (Real Academia Española) is no different from its etymology in English.

 RAE - Trébedes: Del lat. tripes, -ĕdis 'que tiene tres pies'.