Field Dreamer

Tribute to Byron Herbert Reece

I till these fields where crops will be
With naught but dreams to walk with me.
Where men beat plowshares into swords
To fight the fight of ancient wars.
Yet, I am sure that what I dream
Is not as grand as it may seem,
For war must need a braver man
Than one who simply works the land.

And dreams do not repay the loan
That bought the seeds I have sown.
So I am left to walk this field
And take some thought about its yield.
I have no cause for bitterness
For mule and plow have taught me this:
What farmers and poets learn from Earth
Is how to grow the Universe.

Terry Kay

Getting Close

Because my mother loved pocketbooks
I come alive at the opening click or close of a metal clasp.

And sometimes, unexpectedly, a faux crocodile handle makes me weep.

Breathy clearing of throat, a smooth arm, heels on pavement, she lingers, sound tattoos.

I go to the thrift store to feel for bobby pins caught in the pocket seam
of a camel hair coat. 

I hinge a satin handbag in the crease of my arm. I buy a little change purse with its
curled and fitted snap.

My mother bought this for me. This was my mother’s. 

I buy and then I buy and then, another day, I buy something else.

In Paris she had a dog, Bijou, and when they fled Paris in 1942 they left the dog behind. 

When my mother died on February 9, 1983, she left me. 

Now, thirty years later and I am exactly her age. 

I tell my husband I will probably die by the end of today and all day he says, Are you
getting close, Sweetheart? And late in the afternoon, he asks if he should buy enough filet
of sole for two.

From a blue velvet clutch I take out a mirror and behold my lips in the small rectangle.

Put on something nice. Let him splurge and take you out for dinner, my mother whispers
on the glass. 

Victoria Redel
American poet/fiction writer
1959 -

Reunion Etiquette

Primarily reminding myself of these guidelines as our annual gathering begins this Saturday, I share these *ten commandments* with my blogging buddies.

The list is copied from Jennifer Crichton's informative volume.

A reunion isn't controlled by protocol, as a wedding is. And each family cultivates its own idiosyncrasies.

Still, a few laws do govern reunions - natural, underlying laws that must be followed lest the world be thrown into chaos and confusion.

And we dont want that.

So, with the help of Judith Martin, aka Miss Manners, we've drawn up the following commandments.

1) Thou shalt not forget thine ordinary manners nor thy common civility, just because thou art amongst thy brothers and sisters.

2) Thou shalt tolerate the tiresome relative (at least for a little while).

3) Thou shalt not play footsie with a distant cousin or thy cousin's spouse.

4) Sniping and carping about a reunion's lack of organization is an abomination.

5) Thou shalt orchestrate spontaneous praise unto the reunion organizer.

6) Thou shalt not talk about everything under the sun. Agree to disagree, and steer clear of such topics as the war in Afghanistan, parenting styles, gay marriage/clerics, public education, and the Federal Vision.

7) Parents shall not use intimate details of their children's lives as conversation fodder. (Boasts of children's accomplishments are acceptable, but parents shall be discreet in their phrasing and timing.)

8) Thou shall not reveal devastating family secrets about thyself or others unless thou hast arranged therapeutic support systems.

9) Thou shalt not publicly criticize the bad manners or poor behavior of any child not thine own.

10)Thou shalt flatter thy kinfolk - falsely or not. All nieces tap dance divinely, all babies are beautiful, and all aunts look as wonderful as ever.

Read more about our family reunion by clicking on the CWAC label.  Or my Xanga tabs.

Hidden Art Book Club: Chapter 10

Drama

Reading aloud is Edith Schaeffer's answer to fulfilling the needs of the inner drama queen in us homemakers.

She's right.    And there's a bonus ~

Reading together 

is one of the most important factors

 in a growing family relationship.

However, the last time I remember reading aloud to my young girls, I fell asleep sitting up!

My solution?

We listened to a lot of stories on tape while riding in the car.

Fortunately, we had an hour-long one way commute to school and I capitalized on feeding the minds of my captive audience.

Just queried 23 y o daughter who allowed that her favorite from this time period was the Let's Pretend Show.

To live through these books together,

 to experience them as a family,

 is something quite vivid and real,

 much much more real than reading alone.

Book club hostess Cindy is the queen of *Morning Time*, a daily routine that follows Edith's formula for reading from three classifications (plus hymn singing.)  It sounds like the Schaeffers did theirs in the evening.

I admit that we were no where close to achieving what is described in this chapter, but I believe I've reared a group of readers (as well as some drama queens.)  That should be encouragement to the young mothers out there who think they're not doing enough.

It doesnt take as much and as long as we think.

Just a little bit every.single.day.

Summer in the South

The oriole sings in the greening grove
 As if he were half-way waiting,
 The rosebuds peep from their hoods of
 green,
 Timid and hesitating.

 The rain comes down in a torrent sweep
 And the nights smell warm and piney,
 The garden thrives, but the tender shoots
 Are yellow-green and tiny.
 Then a flash of sun on a waiting hill,
 Streams laugh that erst were quiet,
 The sky smiles down with a dazzling blue
 And the woods run mad with riot.

Paul Laurence Dunbar
1872 - 1906

Before & After

Fifteen pounds, fifteen inches and one year:

That's the difference.


Helpful tools?

1)  MyFitnessPal app on iPhone & desktop
2)  Counting Calories (weighing & measuring food)
3)  Curves Circuit Training
4)  Zumba classes
5)  Diet Buddy DD#4 (who as of today 8/1 has lost 30 lbs since this time last year)

Hidden Art Book Club: Chapter 9

Writing - Prose and Poetry

Well-known in family circles for saying the wrong thing, I purposefully made my blog public.

By keeping an online diary I was hoping that a *fishbowl-type moleskin* would help me think before speaking.


Edith Schaeffer addresses these very issues as she encourages us homemakers not to forsake writing.

It is important for people to communicate their thoughts, feelings, gratitude and expectations in such a way as to build a bridge over the *break* which is true and meaningful, rather than leave a misty gap of unsure hurts and undefined emotions.


Chapter 9 contains a plethora of examples for exercising the written word:  developing human relationships through communication.

She uses letter writing as a spring board and I heartily endorse this starting point.  Usually it is easy to write to a child, parent or friend.  I have even written a letter to myself.

For further inspiration, I highlight Alexandra Stoddard's The Gift of a Letter and Dorie McCullough Lawson's Posterity:  Letters of Great Americans to Their Children.

There is no reason for apology here.

Just do it.



PS  With my own children  I required that they write thank-you notes, even to direct family members who may have been thanked at the time the gift was opened.

  Here's an example of one of my thank-you notes to my parents.

  Here's a link to one of my sister's creative thank-yous.

Another link to my thoughts on thank-yous.

Hidden Art Book Club: Chapter 8

Food

Probably my favorite chapter in Edith Schaeffer's book Hidden Art, I summarize my thoughts with three quotes, four photos, and links to previous blog posts.

A (dinner) plate can be thought of at times as a kind of 'still life.'

Routinely I take pictures of my dinner plate.  Above is this year's Mother's Day Sunday Dinner of baked chicken, brown rice, steamed green beans, and a fig-chutney-stuffed sweet pepper.

Below is a main meal shrimp salad enjoyed last summer with a glass of chardonnay and a slice of french bread.

Here's a link to a 2006 post wherein I describe the dinner plate and reference Mrs. Schaeffer.

Photo collage of 2010 Fall Sunday dinner.

Food and meal-times shared have always been thought of as a closer kind of communication than simply talking to people, without eating together.

Sixteen for dinner one evening during our family reunion at Callaway - complete with tablecloth, napkins, flatware, but no centerpiece.  ;-(

This link highlights a 2007 Sunday dinner for sixteen, half in the dining room, half in the kitchen.  Georgia peaches are the centerpieces on each table.

Being challenged by what a difference her cooking and her way of serving is going to make in the family life gives a woman an opportunity to approach this with the feeling of
 painting a picture or
 writing a symphony.

Not afraid to wear an apron, I take my homemaker job seriously.

Another post from 2006 when I coached our daughters in omelette-making.

Join in the fun of book club blogging with Cindy and friends at Ordo-Amoris.

Schaeffer Chowder

In anticipation of tomorrow's book club discussion of Edith Schaeffer's The Hidden Art of Homemaking, I submit my rendition of one recipe mentioned in the chapter.

2 med  onions chopped; 1 stalk celery, chopped; 7 med all-purpose potatoes, peeled and diced

6 cups chicken stock and 3 cups warm milk

Saute onions/celery in 2 Tbs butter and 2 Tbs oil.  Add diced potatoes.  Cover with 6 cups chicken stock and bring to a boil.  Turn down heat and simmer for 15-20 minutes or until potatoes are tender. 

Meanwhile, warm 3 cups milk in the microwave.  (I used 2 cups skim and 1 cup heavy cream because that's what was available in the 'fridge.)  Very slowly add the warm milk to the cooked potatoes.  It's better to allow the potatoes to cool because it's very easy to curdle the milk, if it's added too quickly to a hot mixture.

Add 16 oz cooked corn.  I used a bag of frozen because that's what was available.  Then I added 12 oz creamed corn ~ again because that's what I was trying to use up from the freezer.  I had cooked both of those items in the microwave, so they were added warm to the warmer mixture.  

This concoction is resting for the day (29 March 2010).

This evening I'll come home from work, cook a couple of slices of bacon in the microwave, crumble them up and use them as a garnish for this easy dinner.

Enjoy~!

Branded:Sunday, June 8, 1958

How is our baptism to be improved by us?

The needful but much neglected duty of improving our baptism,
 is to be performed by us all our life long,
especially in the time of temptation,
 and when we are present at the administration of it to others;

by serious and thankful consideration of the nature of it,
 and of the ends for which Christ instituted it,
 the privileges and benefits conferred and sealed thereby,
 and our solemn vow made therein;

by being humbled for our sinful defilement,
 our falling short of, and walking contrary to,
the grace of baptism, and our engagements;

by growing up to assurance of pardon of sin,
 and of all other blessings sealed to us in that sacrament;

 by drawing strength from the death and resurrection of Christ,
 into whom we are baptized, for the mortifying of sin, and quickening of grace;

 and by endeavouring to live by faith,
 to have our conversation in holiness and righteousness,
 as those that have therein given up their names to Christ;
 and to walk in brotherly love,
 as being baptized by the same Spirit into one body.


Col 2:11,12
Rom 6:2, 3-5, 4, 6,11,22
I Cor 1:11-13
Rom 4, 11,12
1Pet 3:21
Gal3:26,27
Acts 2:38
1Cor 12:13, 25-27

Larger Catechism Question 167

Link to baptism posts on http://hiddenart.xanga.com/tags/baptisms/.

Links to children's baptisms.

Hidden Art Book Club: Chapter 7

Flower Arrangements

Allow me to be the first to admit that I have not always followed Mrs. Schaeffer's advice when it comes to beautifying the ordinary meal.

It's not that I dont agree, I just didnt make it a priority to have a centerpiece at the dinner table.

Now that my children are grown, there is more time to spend expressing my creativity.

Here's one example, not in the kitchen, but in the front hallway from a couple of summers ago.

But in an effort to *keep it real*, I will share what is currently on the dining room table - a basket of wooden pears on a silver platter;  on the kitchen table - a basket of white chrysanthemums.

Practicing true Hidden Art (aka Schaeffer) style this year, I have planted a row of mammoth sunflowers along the backside of the house.  Just ran outside and took a *before* picture of the area.  We'll see how they grow.

Briefly though, in individual posts, I want to highlight three separate sparks that helped light the dry wood of my lack-luster talents in the area of flower arranging

First, my mother.

Second, a neighbor.

Third, an employee.

Whoops!  Make that four ~ because Mrs. Schaeffer contributed soundly to the planting, fertilizing, watering, warming, and general over all caring for my hidden talents ~ like the story from her high school years.

The bread becomes a different thing 

when eaten at a table with a lily in the centre.

More over the course of the week.

Hidden Art Book Club: Gardens

Visiting and supporting public gardens both fall into the purview of tending our patch of ground, if we take seriously Edith Schaeffer's encouragements in The Hidden Art of Homemaking.

*Human beings were made to interact with growing things*

So, it is with great pleasure I draw your attention to Callaway Gardens where we will gather for an annual family reunion for the 22nd time in just a few weeks.

In my blog's sidebar there are links for CWAC (Cousins Week at Callaway) where you can read about our family tradition.

More links here, too.

But dont miss the opportunity to visit Callaway's website.

Originally conceived in 1930, after owner Cason Callaway wished to preserve the eco-system of the native plumleaf azalea, the family established the 6500-acre resort in stages.  There are more horticultural opportunities than I can take advantage of each year, so I never tire of returning.

Of course, visiting with our own adult children, my 25 nieces and nephews, various in-laws, plus some first and second cousins is the primary focus.  What a beautiful place for nourishing relationships.   I think the journalist who just published this op-ed about siblings in the NY Times might like to make a reservation.

Next, allow me to bring to your attention Gibbs Gardens located where I live in Cherokee County, GA.  

This landscape designer purchased over 300 acres about 35 years ago and has been developing them ever since.  Last year he opened the grounds to the public and wow!  What a refreshing place to visit.

In my first visit this year, I was taken with the red rhododendron, the fern dell, and this charming trillium (turned upside down for photo.)





Gibbs Gardens, like Callaway Gardens, sparks the dry wood of my lack luster talents and gives me just the right amount of inspiration to come home and try something myself.

What garden are you visiting?

This post is written and shared in conjunction with my participation in an online book club where we are reading Edith Schaeffer's Hidden Art.  Consider reading along.

Hidden Art Book Club: Chapter 6

 Gardens and Gardening

Spiller, filler and thriller is a mnemonic that fertilized my anemic horticultural skills recently.

See the faded pink bucket?

Formerly used as a toy bin and now gracing the view from my kitchen window,

this makeshift planter exemplifies the  aforementioned design.




Spiller = varigated ivy cascades down the side.  I probably need to add a few more sprigs around the perimeter so that they will eventually hide the bucket.

Filler = orange zinnias and white begonias occupy the center.  Additional pots on the left are ready to provide decoration indoor or out as circumstances arise.

Thriller = ornamental grass in the center leftover from a previous project.

Here's a link to one of the first times I tried SFT.   It started with the black metal chair that now holds a young hydrangea that is being nurtured for Fall planting.

I have so many thoughts about Edith Schaeffer's advice that I'm planning to break up my commentary over several days.

More in a day or two ~

Added later:
Where Garden Meets Wilderness by E Cal Beisner

Hidden Art Book Club: Chapter 5

Interior Decoration

Early Attic and Late Basement describe the mixture of furniture in our home.

 Over the course of 32+ years of marriage I have been fortunate to be the recipient of hand-me-downs.

Most, if not all, remain in their original state, since I do not paint.

Edith Schaeffer's ingenuity sure puts me to shame.

From candle-making to furniture-making, from dumpster-diving to toy-making, there really are so many opportunities to decorate that we have to admit to being creative.  If nothing else, I suggest that orderliness counts.  My children always played better when the toy room when it was picked up and organized.

Schaeffer's most significant and over-riding point continues to be *communication.*   This word keeps cropping up and I finally realized that she's talking about non-verbal communication.

Whether you admit it or not, what you buy or what you forgo, what you keep or what you toss, what you repurpose or what you overlook, all express your style, tastes, and interests.

In other words, we cannot ignore our talents.

My goal is to make sure mine are speaking accurately.



Photo of my living room taken March 2012 ~

Link to interior decorating post written in 2004

Hidden Art Book Club: Chapter 4

Painting, Sketching, Sculpturing

Commenting on this week's reading assignment for book club, I propose that illustrating falls into the category of hidden art that Edith Schaeffer is promoting.

While she includes some of her own sketches in this section, which are very good and helpful, especially for keeping youngsters attentive during church,  I found myself curious about the illustrator of Hidden Art.

So, who is Deidre Ducker?


Nee Haim, Deidre encountered the Schaeffers while enrolled at the English school in Champery (1948-52).  She attended Francis' little church and together with classmates would enjoy the Schaeffers hospitality.  She married Richard Ducker in 1960, and together they were some of the first official students at L'Abri.

As an artist, Deidre had the privilege to illustrate not just the Hidden Art of Homemaking, but also L'Abri.   Only one additional title shows up when searching for her work: The Reason Why You Need Christ.

But back to the topic at hand which is developing creativity, aka practicing undiscovered talents, I am encouraged that there could be something artistic buried deep in my bones.

For years I'd never seen my mother do anything other than doodle, generally while talking on the telephone.  After her children were grown/gone, she started taking art classes.  For 25 years she painted.  Here's a link to her website.  Now (almost 80 years old) she *paints* with Adobe's Photoshop program, creating greeting cards, scrapbooks, and photo albums.

She's definitely a spark lighting fire to dry wood.




Photo taken after this past Sunday's dinner when we enjoyed this menu ~


Baked Chicken Piquant
Brown Rice
Steamed Green Beans
Chutneyed Sweet Peppers
French Rolls

Strawberry-Rhubard Pie a la mode

Hidden Art Book Club: Chapter 3

Music is the first of a dozen disciplines addressed by Edith Schaeffer as she challenges Christians to honor God in every area of their lives.  She goes so far as to say that music should be a part of the life of any family.

No talent, you say...

No excuse, she says...

Learn to appreciate music. Collect music or musical things. Support musicians.  Mrs. Schaeffer's book provides a host of examples of how the talented and the untalented can develop this creative aspect of our nature.

In our family we like to sing.

Here's a photo of our daughters practicing the anthem they sang at church one Christmas.

John Rutter's Candlelight Carol

 Here (below) the girls gathered around the piano after Thanksgiving dinner when we enjoyed a mini hymn sing.

Join in the fun of learning how to tap into your God-given talents by following along with our online book club.

Cindy Rollins is the hostess/moderator.

She blogs at Ordo-Amoris where she advocates singing, even if  one cant carry a tune  ;-)

Sing to the LORD, all the earth!



Addendum:  Read John Wesley's instructions for singing.  I blogged about it here and here.





If you're interested in reading more about my family's singing, notice the *singing* categories/labels/tags in the sidebar of both blogs.

Or click here for a similar post.

Hidden Art Book Club: Chapter 2

Definitions are important.


That's the reason for focusing on the short title of our book club selection.  Hidden Art.

Author Edith Schaeffer knew what she was doing, when she chose those pregnant words.  Aside from the obvious stated at the beginning of chapter two and which declaration is my mantra (see masthead), I am challenged to look more closely.

Most words have more than one meaning.  Context governs both denotation and connotation.  So, further examination of Mrs. Schaeffer's choice should improve our ability to apply her message.

Straight from the dictionary ~

Art is the exercise of human skill (as distinguished from nature).  It was such a relief when I first finished reading Hidden Art years ago to see myself as an artist.

Hidden means concealed, but not in a secretive sense, or out of sight, but in a foundational sense.  Like the basement walls in my home:  hidden, yet crucial to the structure of my house.

Again, what encouragement I felt as I read example after example in each chapter of how to tap into what was already there.  The atmosphere (intangible) of a home jumped to the forefront.

Furthermore, when Mrs. Schaeffer referenced discipline - the time, energy, practice, and routine all required to produce art.  Those words defined my life, especially when our children were very young.  For a long time, knick-knacks were non-existent.

All this to say that I began to realize that the orderliness that was so important to me, that which made my day go more smoothly, is art.  The First Artist is orderly.  That is the art of pattern.  That must be His Image in me!

Now that the meanings of hidden and art are fully defined,

the real training can begin.

Let's shed the cast and exercise.

Hidden Art Book Club: Chapter 1

Art/Artist was a bad word for me for a long time, conjuring up unorthodox images and anxious feelings. Edith Schaeffer's The Hidden Art of Homemaking: Ideas for Creating Beauty in Everyday Life resolved my hang-ups.

As an elementary school student, I squandered much of my art class-time by wringing my hands over what to draw, paint or mold.  In middle school, I got kicked out of art class because I couldnt draw a picture of pollution.  I sensed manipulation and political-correctness in the assignment.  That was the last time I ever took *art.*

The first time I ever felt artistic was May 9, 2003 (age 45), even though I was creative before that.  I just didnt recognize it.  Here's a link to that story.  It's my very first blog entry, after coming up with the title for my site.

Before that, in the mid 1990s, I spearheaded an art appreciation program at the Christian school where our daughters were attending.    It was called Picture Parent and there was a 2-hour training program for volunteers.  I was called upon by the museum-trained docent to select a painting from a stash of prints on the table and explain why I liked it.  A mild panic attack set in.  I couldnt think of anything to say.  Thankfully, I spotted two prints, both head studies of young girls.  In front of the group, I held them up, stating that they reminded me of my own daughters and what type of artistic expression I wanted them to emulate.  That's why I wanted to be involved.

What did Edith write and I read years ago that cleared up my view of art and artists?

Chapter One, The First Artist.

Specifically, the Amos reference ~

For behold, He who forms mountains and creates the wind
And declares to man what are His thoughts,
He who makes dawn into darkness
And treads on the high places of the earth,
The Lord God of hosts is His name.

Therefore, because God (The Creator, The First Artist) knows me (called me), I must be artistic.  By definition, I can create and be creative.  Look for it.  It's there.  He tells me what to think.  That's how I know what to do.

Furthermore, the first chapter is an appropriately-placed apology, a defense of doctrine that is Truth, vital to daily living and worldview.  It lays the groundwork for implementing the practical aspects of the following 13 chapters.

Schaeffer's reference to Isaiah 61 is the call to action.

What would Edith have us do?

Let's get busy.


Artwork Credit:
"Bouquet"
Acrylic on Canvas
10" x 14"
signed *DJ*
Sunday, April 28, 1968

Link to related blog entry

Sue Lucey Cookies

Cream together:
1/2 cup peanut butter
1/2 cup butter
2 cups brown sugar

Add to creamed mixture:
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla

Sift together:
 1 3/4 cup flour
2 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp salt

Add dry ingredients to creamed mixture, stirring to combine.

Then add:
1 1/2 cups oatmeal
1/2 cup chocolate chips

Drop teaspoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheet and bake in preheated 350 oven for 12-15 minutes.

Cool  on racks or brown paper.

Makes 3 dozen

RIP Edith Schaeffer 
1914 - 2013

Middelmann tribute

Tim Challies' tribute

Son Frank's tribute

Christianity Today (article link)