Sunshine

Peter and I used to ride our horse through the Idaho country-side, and sing, "You Are My Sunshine". A sunflower seems like sunshine one can hold in the hand or arrange in a bouquet. Maybe that's why I like sunflowers so much, and why they remind me of Peter, and the wonderful days on our horse.

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People Scenes

"I love Paris in the summer when it sizzles... " That was Paris during our visit one July.

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One of my favorite places is Amsterdam, and The Netherlands. There's a spirit there that makes me feel free.

The Delft is a quaint old city that we visited on our way to Scotland. There is an amazing number of bicycles in The Netherlands.

This painting of Islay might be classified more in the seascape or harbor category, but children playing on the beach is too irresistable.

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I've been tagged

The photo was one of a few taken for a newspaper article. These people were instrumental in making the entrance to 'der Wall' safer and easier to manage.

I tag Tami. 3rd file, 3rd picture

Velcro

The woman at the store showed me some velcro and asked if that was what I wanted. I said I wanted something a little bigger so it would be strong. Bad idea! Velcro is very dangerous. To begin with, I could hardly pull the two pieces apart so that I could sew the soft part onto the fabric for my roman blinds. Wearing a sweater was an additional problem. The loopy one kept flying to the sweater, and I was afraid of becoming a velcro mummy. I usually avoid using the stuff, and as I was putting the loopy section one onto the piece of wood, trying to measure the two parts without them touching and becoming forever one crooked piece, I thought - this is why blinds are the only reason I use velcro. Immediately, about five ideas flashed through my mind of what I could do instead of using velcro. Hmmm.... It's possible I might never use velcro again. But this time, I won. The blinds are hanging up, and I'm not.

In Germany, my husband and I like to pack a picnic and go find a spot to eat, paint, draw, and take pictures with a camera. When we're driving for picnics or on business, we often stop and take pictures, collecting impressions.

The barns and pastures are different in Ostfriesland than the western United States. The older ones are made of brick and attached to the houses. There's more a problem of getting water out of the fields than in to, so the pastures are quite green.

My daughter and I love to grab our cameras, jump in the car, and ride around looking for pictures waiting to happen. We drive around the neighborhood, and out onto small dirt roads. *

Heart and Soul

"The kitchen is the heart of the home." I always thought so, but there have been times I wanted to hide the kitchen that might have a sinkful of dirty dishes, and busy (or messy?) counters. It's not so easy to keep it presentable, when there's a lot going on there, and everywhere else.

I really do miss having five busy, spirited children running around. It's supposed to be easier to keep the kitchen clean now, but when my husband and I began talking about plans for our new kitchen, I was still a bit concerned about having it so exposed. Did we really want people to be able to see into the kitchen from the front door? It's the tail end of the kitchen, but then if they come into the house, and go into the front room, they go through the kitchen. And there it is in all its glory. (The sink happens to be tucked into a not so visible corner.) The alternatives would be to close off the rooms more than we wanted to.

Putting my beliefs to the test, and deciding to actually live the saying that the kitchen is the heart of the home, and actually be willing to invite people into the heart of our home, dirty dishes or no, we began the remodeling.

The walls are not straight, the floor slants towards the frontroom, which caused grief to the men putting in the countertops. But we love it! My husband and I both like to cook, whether together or by ourselves, and with the arrangement of our kitchen quite a few people can work comfortably with us.

We've spent enjoyable hours with those who have come for tea, a meal, and maybe to stay a night or two, and look forward to more. The kitchen is the heart of the home, with food for body and soul.

The Barn

One of the best things about my daughter moving to Idaho, is that she moved into the house across the road from a wonderful barn. There are now three paintings, one drawing (by my husband), and many photos (with and without kids, dogs, lawn mowers, horses, in the foreground) of this barn. The painting with the view from my daughter's front yard is called "Gegenueber" (opposite side of the road).

"Gegenueber" is a small painting.

"Barn"

This isn't usually what I picture as fall harvest, but when it was time to trim the rose bushes before winter, I decided to collect the last roses for my own rosewater, and harvest the rose hips. The timing wasn't perfect for either, but I decided to at least learn how to do it. I bought a pan and made my still. The rosewater is mild, but it's rosewater.