Do what you can with what you have | 5

Over at one of my favourite blogs, assortment, Carmella runs a weekly series called "Do what you can with what you have" and it's all about contentment and resourcefulness. Here is my addition to the series. 

After years of onions and tomatoes, of cakes and quiches, of beef and pork and chicken, of apples and strawberries and lemons, of mint and chives and parsley, of eggs and cheese and butter, of peppers and aubergines and beans, they had lost some of their sharpness. After being used every day, sometimes by many hands, they weren't as good as they had once been. After years of being shoved in a drawer, their edges were chipped and their handles a bit scratched. 

"They have character" we used to say. 

After months of "we should" and "remember to get ... ", and after months of forgetting to do so, we finally got a ceramic knife sharpener. With rhythmic movements, first a bit awkward and then smoothers as time went on, they got their edge back. With rhythmic movements, they acquired a few new scratches, when the unpracticed hand slipped. 

Now they have bite and character, to keep them going for many more years of onions and pears and bits of beef that need to be sliced extra thin. Now we have a ceramic sharpening rod, waiting in the drawer for when they start to blunt again. Do what you can with what you have.