Picture This

When I wrote about cleaning my refrigerator, I had a thought that turned out to be quite prophetic and so now I am writing to warn my readers to be careful about their thoughts, for they can be powerful indeed! I wrote "that if I procrastinated long enough, perhaps my gourmet-blackened-oven would just be carried out of the house" instead of cleaning it…Well, it almost happened, but just in the reverse, and today I am going to blog about it, so my readers may profit from my experience. Unlike my children, I know that you, my friends, will want to learn from me and NOT go through this yourselves!

Apparently I have decided that being the owner of Little House Home Arts should entail a certain domestic image, and so I have embarked on a house-cleaning frenzy. Documenting my refrigerator's disgusting condition and writing of my oven’s gourmet-blackened-bottom, was like a cleansing confession. With great resolve, I decided to tackle the job of cleaning my oven next and even had my husband purchase a can of Easy Off, knowing it would be anything but easy!

Too many quilts to sew as well as too many diets have caused me to avoid cooking which has led to my kids cooking instead.  Rule of thumb at my house, “if you make a mess, clean it yourself or better yet, call in mom or dad to clean it”—anything and everything, except the oven (and refrigerator).  Perhaps we have just acquired a taste for smoked foods, just like my husband has acquired a taste for burnt foods prior to my kids taking over the cooking! (I did not take pictures, and so this is when I ask you to picture the bottom of my oven-- all black.)

Mind you, I never raised my children to NOT clean up after themselves.  That is simply the curse that follows the declarations of someone so brassy as to tell everyone that “my kids would never__________”.  You fill in the blank.  My mouth was so hinged that I said it all, BEFORE having kids of my own, and I am now paying for it, though my kids aren’t kids anymore, but “alien adult children”, developmentally arrested when it comes to cleaning at home, though one is temporarily a professional house-cleaner. I do have pictures of my adult alien children, but just in case someone in our small town reads my blog, I had best NOT post their pictures, so again picture them big and above-average-intelligence (you can tell by the look in their eyes) and  one dressed to kill, with a mop in her hand! Yes, my youngest dresses up when she cleans others houses!)

But I digress—back to the oven.  After so many years of not cleaning it, I quite forgot that it is a self-cleaning oven and The Brycer reminded me when I proudly showed him my clean refrigerator and commented that the oven was next, and boasted of having my can of Easy Off ready to go.  “You can use that if you want, but I would simply push the self-clean button and open all the windows to keep the house well-ventilated.”

His helper added when viewing the bottom of my oven that looked like the bottom of a BBQ pit, “It might smell like the house is burning down, but just let it run its cycle and you will have a clean oven”! Then The Brycer smiled and said that if I did it while everyone was gone, I could brag about how hard I worked to clean it when they came home. (Picture The Brycer holding my can of Easy Off and pointing to my oven's self-clean button. Here again, I am protecting the real identity of The Brycer.)

It sounded perfect to me, a clean oven, a nap and bragging rights later!  This would indeed be my style of cleaning!  I wondered if there was a button that would work to clean my house?  Maybe if I got a big red Staple’s Easy Button, and push it when The Brycer comes, I could feel that sense of magical control over my house.  There are some things that The Brycer doesn't clean and I was sad to think that there were no self-cleaning closets, basements, or garages.  I especially needed that feature now in my craft storage room to make room for my new wools!  I couldn’t help but think of the possibilities, especially since I did, once upon a time, see a special built house that had whole walls of storage shelves and closets behind the antique looking paneled walls. Special bins were also included for collectors like me!  Dream on Jane girl! (Picture a big red Staple's Easy Button. I will request one for Christmas--do they still make them or am I, per usual, seeking the obscure and obsolete again?)

Still, there was something to be mistrusted.  A self-cleaning oven is simply too good to be true and how many times did I learn about things or people too good to be true?  Well, add my self-cleaning oven to the list.  Oh, it all worked well enough and my oven is now clean all right, but my push-a-button-clean-job became no secret or cause for bragging! The oven door wouldn't open long after it cooled down, and my husband had to trip the circuit breaker which only made my oven flash “lock” on its screen.  I also cannot set it to bake or broil and it doesn't heat, but it is nice and clean!! ( Picture this: my husband with smoke coming out of his ears as it wasn't safe to take his picture at this moment besides which it might have been all the proof that was needed to have him committed, but then how would he go to work?)

What is to become of my beautiful clean stove?  As yet there is no resolution to my story except to say that I have the perfect excuse for not cooking dinner now and unless my kids feel like cooking with sticks over a campfire in the back yard, no more pizzas baked on the racks that drip and re-blacken my oven! I’ll be making “quilt sandwiches” to be served with mini tomatoes or other fruit, with cakes and ice cream sundaes for dessert and all made with felted wool, stuffed with crushed walnut shell and a sampler on my kitchen wall that reads “Careful what you think, like silent wishes, they might come true”.  I could, however be onto the best weight loss diet ever--felted wool whatever with crushed walnut shell stuffing--easy, no bake, calorie free, stitch-only, recipes!

But the rest of the story has already been lived out.  Picture this: a Sears repair man, complete with white paper booties over his shoes so he didn't track in my house and leaving me with his repair bill for $75 for diagnosing the problem and another estimated bill for $404. Yep, the automatic door motor that keeps the door shut during self-cleaning burned up, and the repair man jury rigged it so I can cook with it, but it will never be a self-cleaning oven again....and there you have it, self-cleaning ovens ARE too good to be true, at least for me!!

Apparently the self-clean was a one-time feature and for only $404, it can be fixed to clean again, at least once?  Now it does seem that the next time it gets it gourmet-blackened-bottom, that can of Easy Off might be just the thing? And does anyone know where I can get paper booties to go over shoes in all sizes.  They would be perfect to keep my house clean for longer than a day AFTER I push the red button and The Brycer cleans my floors! (Picture my family: The Brycer (yes, he is adopted and now part of my family), my husband, me, my alien adult girls, the dog and the cat all in white paper booties.  Perhaps they could have a polish in them to make my floors shine?

Computer Crash = Cleaning the Refrigerator

Every morning I go to my computer and check my e-mails.  It's my way of procrastinating.  I am not a morning person.  It is my substitute for a cup of coffee. Excepting chocolate, I don't do caffeine.  My computer is my stimulant.

But yesterday morning my computer didn't start right, and instead gave me a bizarre message in some sort of code.  The only readable part had to do with being unable to boot.  I called my daughter, Hannah, my computer guru.  I wanted to call my husband as well, for this was serious, but he has been too distracted at work and others have noticed.  We have had several weeks now of one crisis after another. Fortunately they are not health crises, just financial ones, but they too can take their toll, stretching us too far!  My husband always said that if it weren't for bad luck, we'd have no luck at all and it seems as though we had hit another streak of bad luck, except for the Labor Day Sale.

Hannah, my daughter directed me to shut off my computer and restart it.  I did as she said.  My machine made a whirring noise like it was going to start and then simply clicked itself off, and the screen blacked out.   Both Hannah and I concurred this was not a good thing.  "Try it again," she said and I tried it, not once, but three more times.  Insanity is when you do the same thing over and over, getting the same results.  I was no doubt, certifiable!

Hannah said, "I'll be home early today and will check it then".  My response was in keeping with my mental state--I panicked.  I had spent my week writing and imagined it all gone.  I freaked and whined into the phone, and then I tried to console myself and muttered something about having lots else to do.

My habit of procrastination means many things don't get done. I made myself a piece of toast and sat down to collect myself and made a short do-list from my master do-list.  I am a list maker in the extreme.  My short list, however was very short: sew a flower pot pincushion and clean out the refrigerator.

My mood was dark.  I was still freaked out about my computer.  It was brand new and my data had just been transferred over a week before, but still, I feared, days of work down the drain, along with my mood.

I couldn't help it....I called my husband, "Don't be distracted!" I commanded him, "but my computer just appears to have crashed!" I then added, "And don't panic!"  I felt better already.  Its an old trick I learned years ago.  When my broad shoulders cave in under pressure, call on him to share the burden. I had made a perfect choice in picking Tom as my life's partner. Except for his luck, he is my savior on earth and it is a big job! "It ain't me babe, it ain't me you're looking for..."  isn't Tom's song!

His response was predictable. As always, he'd do what he could to take his Saturday to work on rescuing my new data, and check into what was ailing my new computer!  With this burden safely resting on Tom's shoulders, I could now get on with my day with no more procrastinating. What's next? Still bummed, I was anything but creative and so at last it was the day to clean out the refrigerator...

"Think how good it will feel to have this job done," I reasoned, trying to psych myself up to begin the task.  I've learned that beginning any dreaded task is truly the secret.  Once I am committed, its as good as done. Cleaning the refrigerator has been on my list for years it seems.  I already felt too tired and thought of taking a nap....but it wasn't nap time! But a nap, I decided would be my reward and with that reward in mind, I jumped right in, clearing the counter tops, and pulling everything out of the refrigerator. I had given up waiting for the food to be eaten down first.  No, this was a serious job with lots left-overs that were now green and gross!

As I cleaned, I thought about all the jobs in the house that needed doing as The Brycer only does a monthly surface cleaning.  I wondered if prior to computers, people had clean houses?  What came to me is my mother and how she had tasks for all of us, and specific days for various tasks, just like the tea-towel, iron-on embroidery designs with the days of the week and their tasks to match: Monday, washing; Tuesday, ironing; Wednesday; dusting and vacuuming; Thursday, baking and so on until Sunday, church and rest. I don't remember not having to clear the table and help with dishes on any day except when we had popcorn and apples or popcorn or ice-cream sodas for dinner. I remembered my "Cinderella childhood" and remembered that resting didn't happen often enough, even on Sundays (good thing my mother is no longer around to consult on the accuracy of that statement)!

Yep, all sorts of bizarre thoughts like that crossed my mind, but then I remembered a TV interview I watched with my husband about an author who recently published a new book about procrastination being a good habit.  We were suddenly all ears. "Sometimes", the author said, "procrastinating leads to getting other jobs done and is good"...  "and some jobs just go away and don't need to be done if you wait long enough". I thought about the stove and wondered if I waited a bit longer perhaps its gourmet-blackened-bottom could be hauled out with the stove?  Then the author added that some jobs are more creatively done if the task is allowed to simmer in your head for a long while first?

Is there a more creative way to clean the refrigerator? I then  grabbed my camera...perhaps documentation of the before and after  of this task would keep me fully engaged, so strong was my temptation to step away from the task at hand.  Perhaps my pictures would qualify us for expert cleaners to come and clean our disgusting messes as on one of those reality programs, where they feature those that are challenged in the house-keeping department? We will, no doubt live a healthier life when I finished and the germs were eradicated?

I thought about all the tasks that I put off as I procrastinate on my computer.  I was missing it for sure and decided that I would order the new book on procrastination when it is up and running again. It had a lot of good things to say, and while I don't remember the author's name or even the title of the book, no matter with a computer.  Research is my hobby, and having a computer has made me a lot smarter, though any practical application of my knowledge is rarely used for I put off using it for a time and then forget.

After finishing the refrigerator and the gross things all disposed of and the food back in the refrigerator, I went over and pressed my computer's on button, and there it was, working again!  A total menu awaited me.  Clearly this new computer was smarter than the last and had read my mind and knew that by shutting down for a while, I would have to clean the refrigerator!

Fall in Vermont

Living in Vermont is a real treat this time of year.  Fall begins slowly and then moves more quickly as the evenings get colder.  Leaf peeping peaks around Columbus Day Weekend or mid October, and then all gets brown for Thanksgiving and by Christmas it is usually white with snow.

I love the seasons and am typically ready for each one.  I wish winter weren’t so long here, but by Mud Season I am ready for spring.  Yes, Vermont has a fifth season called Mud Season, and we even have mud rooms here to step from the outside into a home and shed our muddy boots.  The door on the side of the house usually leads to the mud room as no one uses their front door here.  Some houses don’t even have steps to their front doors.

When we lived on the farm we actually had a wood-barn on the side of the farmhouse, which was really nice to keep wood in for the wood stoves, and we could leave our boots right outside the kitchen door in the wood barn.
 
Last winter was a very mild winter, but typically we have snowplowed roads with walls of snow on either side.  But I am ahead of myself.  It is only fall and will be for at least another few weeks, though I will be sad to see the leaves come down and many are already on the ground!

The Winner of the First Common Threads Give-Away is..

RACHEL--Congratulations on winning the handsome pair of potholder's created by Maria of Full Moon Fiber Arts.  The next Common Threads Give Away Contest will begin November 5th and will be a piece of Nancy's jewelry from Spinning Glass Studios.  Do check her out on line (just click on her box under my list of favorite places) and mark your calendars to be sure to be one of the first to leave a comment on her site on Monday, the 5th or Tuesday, the 6th for a chance to win! Thank you all for participating!!

Ozark Hens, an Ode to My Heritage

These past weeks I have been working on my doorstop hens.  This is one of my favorite patterns that I purchased when I took a trip to the Ozarks as a young woman some forty years ago now.

My best friend from nursing school drove with me to Kansas where her brother lived on a farm, and we saw fireflies for the first time. From there I drove myself to Branson, Missouri using a map.  This was a first and last experience to be sure, as with my map reading skills and directionality it was lucky that I made it to my destination and the trip brought more than I expected.

My mission of this side trip was to meet Mrs. Brown, my paternal grandmother and great grandmother’s friend.  My grandmother had died when my dad was just a boy and not many years after my dad’s father passed away as well.  He then went with his grandmother, my great grandmother to France to live for a short while. When she returned she placed my father in The Masonic Home for Children in Fremont, Nebraska.  Mrs. Brown extended her friendship to my father through these years and would have adopted him, but he was to carry on his father’s name.

Mrs. Brown was in her 90’s when I visited her in the early 70’s.  She was so pleased that I had made this special trip to visit her and surprised me by giving me my great grandmother’s thimble. When I got home I offered it to my father as he had so few things that had belonged to his grandmother, and he instead told me to keep it and gave me her little antique wooden thimble case that he had, completing this treasured set.

This was truly a special gift! My grandmother and great grandmother had been French milliners. Knowing that they made their living with needle, thread and thimble, along with my mother’s love of sewing and her teaching me to sew at an early age made me feel proud to have such a heritage.  I was convinced that I had the proper “genes” for needle arts (though I didn’t seem to acquire any special genes when it came to learning to speak French).

I now am privileged to have my mother’s special silver thimble as well, complete with a hole worn in it from quilting her beautiful quilts. These Ozark doorstop hens are special as well for their pattern came from that memorable trip when I became physically connected to my precious heritage of women who lived by their needles.

About Maria Wulf

I first met Maria Wulf at the East Poultney Historical Day a few years ago.  This is a lovely annual outdoor festival held on East Poultney's village green and commemorates this lovely old Vermont town. Being a fabric artist myself I was drawn to her booth filled with unique and colorful primitive/modern quilts using recycled materials. I appreciated their true historical quality, as quilts in past days were mostly made of left over or recycled fabric of whatever kind was available and made to provide warmth. I thought her combination of materials in her quilts were bold and more interesting than those made with special quilt-store, color-coordinated materials. I love textiles and her quilts showcased her love of them as well.

This was the beginning of our relationship.  Maria and I purchased a sample piece of work from each other and exchanged cards, and emails, fully intending to get together, and I had promised to keep Maria posted regarding Vermont's regional quilt shows, as she lived in upstate New York.

Our next in-person connection, however, did not happen for a couple of years, when she invited me to participate in her Pig Gallery Functional Art Show.  Maria featured one of my pincushions on the invitation and she and her husband, Jon came to my house to photograph some. Jon and Maria were drawn to my dog, a very young  pup that I crated during their visit.  She shyly mentioned Jon’s love of dogs, though I did not know about Jon or his well-loved stories about his dogs and farm animals.  My dog, was a young rescue pup at the time and a very out-of-control dog with boundless energy ready to rudely assault anyone new to the house.  Jon had simply brought Maria and had come with his camera in hand to photograph my pincushions and my dog, Cassie remained in her crate!

Her sale was one of the most successful events I had ever participated in. It was held in their refurbished Pig Barn on their Bedlam Farm. It was a scenic location, made more beautiful by the changing colors of fall, but Maria’s quiet and hospitable nature was what made this sale so successful!  She was there to showcase the artists and their work and her own creations took a quiet place among those of her guest artists.  That is Maria.  She is modest about her own work, and truly out to support others. Her work however, was not to be missed.  She had a lovely quilt in this show along with her free-motion,  intricately designed quilted pillows (that she refers to as her "streaming pillows") and her handsome and colorful potholders. (Click here for Full Moon Fiber Art Website).

Click here for to read more about this pillow "Life is a gift, death is a doorway".

I had tried free-motion quilted designs and learned first-hand how hard they are to get nice even stitches.  It must be done with a relaxed and free flowing motion.  Machine work is faster and so a person needs to be very fluid indeed and be ready to quickly and confidently guide their material to stitch their designs.  I would immediately freeze and wish I had lines to follow and even then, I found it hard to relax and let the designs and stitching flow freely!

Click here to read "Sheep Got Out" on Maria's blog

How interesting that this quiet woman who ran the best sale I had ever participated in was master of this sort of art medium.  Like the rest of her life, it seems she flows freely and expressively, making the hard look simple and easy!

Jon writes about Maria in his blog and captures her in pictures demonstrating this same confident, quiet and gentle but strong style. Whether she is throwing hay bales or comforting Simon, their blind donkey that they rescued from abuse and in much need of healing, she exudes that quiet strength of purpose and integrity.

So when you go to Maria’s site note the strength of the colors she uses in her quilts, the simple boldness of her designs and the free flowing use of her stitches and free hand designs in her work.  Read about her creations, for each has a story, and see her in pictures on her husband’s blog (Bedlam Farm) as well.  Her humor, and her quiet, gentle personality exudes a kind and intelligent nature that flows through her work.  Truly she is an artist in every project she undertakes!  It is a delight to know Maria and I hope you will enjoy her blog as much as I do…and Jon’s blog adds to what Maria is too modest to say about herself!  Her rural strength will inspire you!

Don’t miss your chance to win these potholders for your kitchen.  Simply add your comment on her website to register your chance!

(Yes, it was Maria's pillow that proudly commemorates  my "Vacation Chair" story and decorates it as well!! Don't miss clicking on the links to read about the stories behind her creations!)

The Great Common Thread Give-Away

I suppose you have noticed the websites listed on the right hand side of my blog?  They have been up now for several weeks, though I have not written about them.  They are all part of a group of regional artists (upstate New York and Vermont) that have come together out of mutual respect and admiration for each other’s work.  Yes, it is a mutual admiration “club”, though none of us seem to be the “club sort” and we have no club meetings.  We simply have met through various gallery shows in our region and each of us is on-line.

We wanted to give each other support and encouragement as well as benefit our readers.  From this has come what we think will be a fun participatory monthly activity for our readers--The Great Common Thread Give-Away.  Each month the featured artist of the month will host a give away that is free to the lucky winner who will be drawn from the list of comments left on the featured artist’s post by readers. So all you have to do to register to win is simply leave a comment for the featured artist.  It is our way of offering to our readers exposure to other artists that you may not be acquainted with as well as a chance to win a sampling of their work.  There is no catch, but only a chance for you to check out our various websites.

This group of artists includes a NY Times best-selling author and writer, Jon Katz, whose books and daily blog offer a wonderful opportunity to experience Jon’s journey in finding meaning in his life on his rural upstate NY farm. His writings include his sensitive and existential reflections about his life, his relationship with his wife, friends, dogs, and animals who have become beloved to all who read about them. Jon’s honest and open thoughts and his beautiful style of writing have endeared many to this kind and gentle soul.

Maria Wulf, Jon’s wife, creates functional fiber art from recycled materials.  Her free motion quilted artwork is among the most creative and expressive of such work I have ever seen.  Truly each piece is sensitive, joyful and whimsical and her quilts are colorful, primitive and each one-of-a-kind!  Maria and Jon’s separate blogs tell of Maria’s quiet, but strong farm-woman attributes and her work reflects her love for her farm life with Jon, their animals, friends and neighbors that they both care so deeply about! If you have tried doing free motion detailed designs, you know how difficult it can be, but Maria’s work makes it look like an easy, free and fluid expression of her free hand and original artwork .  Her talent amazes me!

Nancy Bariluk-Smith does lampwork bead  jewelry.  Her work is guaranteed to be the envy of women everywhere! Colorful quality adornment is her specialty. I spent an afternoon over a cup of tea with Nancy and noted her to be a seasoned artist of many different mediums, and she is a delightful person as well.  She shared many stories of her artistic process that reflect her continued striving to create perfection in her work! Don’t miss checking out her website and beautiful creations!

Kim Gifford is a collage artist who combines photos, artwork and prints with a twist of uniqueness that make her artwork both decorative and reflective. Her meaningful pieces are laced with humor, whimsy, philosophy and heart.  All are conversation pieces not to be missed!  One cannot mention her without her pugs. Her website is after all, pugs&pics.com and through her wonderful writings and artwork, you will see the world through the eyes of her pugs and perhaps see yourself in them as well. (I identify with her ballerina pug with the pearls, but that is a story for another time.)

I hope this will be an added bit of fun and is scheduled to happen the first Monday of each month, simply leave a comment on the featured artist’s blog to register for the drawing that will be announced the following first Thursday. I hope you enjoy these artists as much as I do! To access their websites merely click on the links to their websites.