hiddenart's Xanga

Christmas Cards & Letters

Wed, 16 Dec 2009 11:51:21 GMT

Over the years I have enjoyed sending Christmas cards and/or letters; and now can produce a nice scrapbook of such - both ones sent and those received. Re-reading them is part of my decorating. This year's epistle is still in production.... if you know what I mean

This family *portrait* is from 1992, a time when I was still sewing. Looking at this picture makes me want to re-establish a sewing station. Plus I have some quilted fabric (holly pattern) that would make a striking tree skirt. I probably even have enough for an apron!

Handcrafted gifts are precious.

What's going on in your workshop?

A Merry Literary Christmas

Fri, 04 Dec 2009 11:50:10 GMT

Alice Low's classic poem describing the cherished tradition of giving and receiving books as gifts is conjures up fond memories, providing all kinds of fodder for conversation. Say, who is that relative of yours who charmed or annoyed you with b.o.o.k.s.?? Or which books did you receive and then give away. Nay, which do you still own and prize?

I, myself, could be the referenced aunt.

Alice Low (1926 - ) is a noted anthologist and the author of many books for children.

Enjoy her verse!

When Christmas shopping time
draws nigh.
And I am faced with gifts to buy,
I think about one relative
Who always had one gift to give.
And every year her present came.
And every year it was the same.
While other gifts were round and fat,
(Their secrets hidden) hers was flat.
Rectangular, the corners square,
I knew exactly what was there.
I'd pass it by without a look---
My aunt had sent another book!
I'd only open it to write
A "thank you" that was too polite,
But every year when Christmas went
I'd read the book my aunt had sent,
And looking back, I realize
Each gift was treasure in disguise.
So now it's time to write her here
A thank-you note that is sincere.

So---thanks for Alice and Sara Crewe,
For Christopher Robin and Piglet and Pooh,
For Little Nell and William Tell
And Peter and Wendy and Tinker Bell.

Thanks for Tom and Jim and Huck,
For Robinson Crusoe and Dab-Dab the duck,
For Meg and Jo and Johnny Crow
And Papa Geppeto's Pinocchio

For Mary Poppins and Rat and Toad
King Arthur and Dorothy's Yellow Brick Road,
For Kipling's Kim and tales from Grimm,
And Ferdinand, Babar and Tiny Tim.

I loved them all, I'm glad I met them.
They're with me still, I won't forget them.
So I'll give books on Christmas Day
Though I know what all my nieces say--
I know it from the way they write
A "thank-you" that is too polite.

One of the earliest receipts (1960) for me was indeed from an aunt/uncle who were with the U.S. State Department and lived abroad. Hence, Elizabeth Coatsworth's The Children Come Running. But I re-discovered Low's poem in The Family Read-Aloud Christmas Treasury given to my children by my brother and S-I-L, the proverbial donors.

Turkey Tetrazzini

Sat, 28 Nov 2009 11:28:30 GMT

How are you using your leftovers? Here's one of my favorites!

5 Tbs butter
1/3 Cup flour
2 Cups broth
1 Cup milk

Melt butter over medium heat in a large skillet. Add flour, using a whisk to blend, and cook until light brown. Add broth. Cook, stirring often, until thickened. Add milk. Cook three minutes longer, stirring constantly. Season with salt and white pepper, as needed. Divide in half and set aside.

6 oz cooked spaghetti
2 Cups chopped turkey
1/2 Cup sliced mushrooms
grated parmesan

Prepare final casserole by tossing the spaghetti with half the cream sauce, and the other half with the meat and mushrooms. Into a 9x12 baking dish alternately layer the two. Top with grated parmesan cheese.

Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

Serve with steamed green veggie like spinach or broccoli.

Fine Art Friday:Pommes

Fri, 27 Nov 2009 12:00:35 GMT

Honey Crisp Apples have been my favorite this Fall. Apple experts at the University of Minnesota discovered the variety by cross-pollinating two exceptional varieties: the Macoun and the Honeygold. They received their patent in 1990.

Artist daughter delighted me with this oil painting in 2008. It matches my kitchen wall paper. Dimensioned at 6.75 x 8.5", it's not as large as her first oil painting, also of apples. That one hangs in our living room. Note to self - now that you know Photoshop, edit that picture and repost!

Dont suppose you have any apple portraits?

As the apple is not the cause of the apple tree, but a fruit of it: even so good works are not the cause of our salvation, but a sign and a fruit of the same.

Daniel Cawdry, English Clergyman
1588 - 1664

Hidden Thanksgiving Blessings

Thu, 26 Nov 2009 12:35:09 GMT

This year, I am particularly thankful for judicious friends. George Whitefield describes them as ones into whose hearts we can pour our souls, and tell our corruptions as well as our comforts. They are very great privileges.

They are few and far between. They know who they are.

Jesus is obviously the model judicious friend.

From Isaiah 60:19&20 -

The sun will no more be your light by day, nor will the brightness of the moon shine on you, for the LORD will be your everlasting light, and your God will be your glory.

Your sun will never set again and your moon will wane no more; the LORD will be your everlasting light, and your days of sorrow will end.

Read more of Whitefield's sermon on these verses in this newly republished version of his memoirs.

The Screwtape Letters

Mon, 23 Nov 2009 10:23:52 GMT

Devilish on-stage drama delighted my imagination on Saturday, when DH and I watched actor Max MacLean and his faithful sidekick, Karen, bring to life C S Lewis' classic correspondence, The Screwtape Letters. No doubt this fiction is well-known to my readers, but perhaps the Fellowship for the Performing Arts, the producing company is not.

Take note.

Success in New York and Chicago prompted the group to take the show on the road and my two-year wait to see this theatrical adaptation ended in Chattanooga's historic Tivoli auditorium. If I lived there, I would have taken in another show, inviting more friends. As it were, we did see fellow members (and Facebookers) of our church there.

My favorite part was the sound-effect sizzling noise that accompanied the signing of each of Screwtape's letters to his nephew, Wormwood. Secretary, Toadpipe (Karen) enthusiastically raised her hand and emphatically stamped each document: a fitting seal from the hotness of hell.

The constant background noise from a light humming to loud crashing reminded me how annoying Underworld Life is without blessed silence and the voices of angels. Furthermore, MacLean's engaging voice energized the words and illuminated C S Lewis in a way that cleared my eyes.

Finally, *Bring me food or be food* was one of Screwtape's warnings to Wormwood, especially when he was falling down on the job.

He was serious.

Spiller, Filler & Thriller

Mon, 26 Oct 2009 10:15:54 GMT

Here's what I see when I look out the window while standing at my kitchen sink. Any minute now I expect to see a chipmunk hopping up those stairs and filling his cheeks with the seed from the platform feeder.

Over the weekend I acted on the inspiration I garnered from this AJC article on container gardening. Ladyslipper Nursery is not far from my home and they had all the plants I needed to adorn the deck. While I had full intentions of creating my own chair container, I found this pre-filled metal concoction irresistable; and I am relieved not to have had to sacrifice the antique chair I had targeted in my basement.

Here are the details: Spiller = varigated ivy Filler = parsley, dusty miller, and pansies, Thriller = ornamental grass

I did create the clay pot in the foreground with spiller of creeping jenny; filler of pansies and moss; and thriller of decorative kale.

Since I was particularly drawn to the caramel-colored pansies, I bought half a flat of them and complimented them with the lighter purple ones.

There's a pot of thyme on the third step.

And a combo pot of parsley, rosemary, and pansies at the top.

What you cant see are the cylindrical birdfeeders which hang on either side of the kitchen window. One contains safflower seeds, the other thistle.

Then there's a block of suet attached to the railing at the top of the stairs - on the left.

And a flat tray of clean water to the left of the black chair. Last year not only did the birds drink from it, they even used it as a bath!

The bird house was made from materials recycled from the destruction created by Hurricane Katrina. SIL gave it to me last Christmas and I'm hoping for some nesters this season.

The Carolina Wrens have already claimed their spot underneath the deck stairs. And the Brown Thrashers nest in the mammoth Cherokee Rose that cascades down our back yard.

What do you see when you look out your kitchen window?

Fine Art Friday:Maphet

Fri, 23 Oct 2009 11:41:01 GMT

It pleases me to highlight a local artist friend of mine in today's FAF: Linda Maphet. This personal portrait of the artist's mother playing the dulcimer recently won first place in a juried exhibition. Furthermore, Linda's work is on display at a new art gallery here in Canton: Vantage Point Studios. Owner Mike Brown and others are working diligently to increase exposure for our local artists. Here's a link to the Cherokee Tribune article.

Continuing with the local theme, after the opening reception this evening, we have reservations to dine at Partake. Chef Lauri Grizzle opened this intimate (6 tables) only 6 months ago, after owning The Mustard Seed in Ball Ground for many years. Working to use locally grown fruits and vegetables along with organic products/meats, Lauri leads the way for fine dining in Canton.

Topping out the weekend, I'll be hostessing my parents for their combined birthday celebration with a special meal after church on Sunday.

Stay tuned for details.

Fine Art Friday:Pioneer

Fri, 16 Oct 2009 11:31:27 GMT

Hillsdale's Grand Old Man By Sam Knecht
Oil on Canvas

A licensed minister at the age of sixteen, the "boy preacher" Dunn had left his New England home two years later for the frontier. With eight borrowed dollars, the young evangelist told a friend, "I give my life to the West." This fearless professor, more than anyone, was responsible for building and managing the small, enterprising college at Hillsdale.

This time last week I was standing in the President's Office at Hillsdale College taking a photograph of this painting. We were there for Homecoming (30th) and to see our daughters: one is a senior majoring in biochemistry, the other a sophomore majoring in biology.

But before the festivities began (brunch, football, and tent party), I wanted to remember the pioneers of higher education, especially Hillsdale's Grand Old Man: Ransom Dunn. For decades he traveled (on horseback) to raise money and promote the College, all the while preaching, teaching, and rearing a family. He lead congregations in both Michigan and Massachussetts; held a professorship in theology (but taught a total of thirteen subjects); married twice and fathered five children.

Recognized for four decades of teaching, Dunn had been Hillsdale's chief fundraiser adding over $100,000 to the college endowment; served as its interim president; and been a trustee from 1855 until his death in 1898. It's no wonder that he's considered Hillsdale's Grand Old Man.

My former history professor and now College Historian, Arlan Gilbert, has written a short biography of Dunn, entitled Hillsdale's Grand Old Man: Ransom Dunn; and much of the information is also contained in his earlier volume Historic Hillsdale College: Pioneer in Higher Education: 1844 - 1900. Both are available for purchase at the Hillsdale College Bookstore, where one of Gilbert's daughters now works.

Furthermore, Gilbert commissioned art professor, Sam Knecht, to paint this historic portrait in honor of his wife, Carolyn. Knecht has been at the forefront of the revival of representational painting in our nation's culture. Two of his egg tempera paintings are included in the second edition of Ben Curtis's Drawing From Observation: An Introduction to Perceptual Drawing.

Pioneers are all around us. They're not just in history books.

Which pioneer(s) are you supporting?

Woman Holding A Balance

Wed, 14 Oct 2009 10:25:29 GMT

Between dark and light,

Between this world and the next,

Between maidenhood and motherhood

She pauses, held in balance

Like the balance she holds.

Her focus not the gold or

The weighing, but the justice

Of her scales, settling to their still

Point in a steady hand,

And she herself unadorned,

A lily that needs no gilding

But the points of light that lie

On her veil like jewels in a crown.

If she raised her eyes, she would see

This luminous beauty, drop the scales,

And, like a blushing Eve, break

The balance and forsake

The innocence of her task,

But she does not.

If she turned, she would see

The Last Judgment, saints and sinners,

Weighed in the final balance, and,

Called to think on ultimate things,

Lose this moment –

But she does not.

Trained on the object, undistracted,

Patient while the instrument swings

To its center and is still, she turns

This little task to prayer - if mindfulness is

Prayer – to an exercise of love – if it is love

To be attentive to the thing at hand.

By Marilyn Chandler McEntyre
In Quiet Light: Poems on Vermeer’s Women

Marilyn is my new favorite poet and these verses seemed to illustrate my applications of Josef Pieper's Leisure: The Basis of Culture, Chapter IV. Unlike the goddess of Justice, our model is not blindfolded. She is guided by light.

Ever mindful of her calling.