The Bird Sings

When I first moved to Carlsbad, CA it gave me a chance to unpack boxes from when I lived in Mount Washington (a suburb in the Los Angeles Hills).  One of the things I was most anxious to find was my Alessi teakettle.  The teakettle was designed by Michael Graves.  He was honored in the Kennedy years for his contributions to kitchen designs.  The teakettle was pricey but I managed to purchase one.









It was so special to me that it always sat on the Kitchen stove.






Sometime after the purchase I found a quirky kitchen clock depicting the same teakettle.  Unpacking one of the last boxes, I found the teakettle and the clock.    The actual name of the kettle was "the Singing Bird Teakettle".  When the water boiled the bird "sang".    The only problem was the lid to the kettle was missing.  I thought I would find it in another box but it never showed up.  I put the kettle on my stove anyway but the bird could not sing without the lid. 

To backtrack a little, in 1987 I purchased a town home in Mammoth Lakes.  Eventually I sold the home in Mt Washington and moved full time to Mammoth.  Meanwhile, Alessi came out with a less expensive version of the teakettle to be sold exclusively at Target stores at a more affordable price.  In this case the kettle did not have a bird but it did have a "whirl" attachment that spun when the water boiled.  I couldn't resist having it as well for the Mammoth home.  It also sat permanently on my kitchen stove.

I am now the proud owner of two kettles by Alessi.  They are like fraternal twins: one who is fancy and one who is plain.  Both are special in their own way.