Found things

Ever since I was young, I've collected bits and pieces of nature. I enjoy taking walks, tramping through woods, and keeping my eyes peeled for bird feathers, interesting twigs, bark, and of course, acorns. I've loved acorns all my life.

One of my favorite spots in our house is the living room bookshelf. On it sits an antique cabinet that holds my treasures.

Here's a peek inside. Of course, not all of these are outdoor findings. Some of these things have belonged to me since childhood.

Look at this spikey husk. I think it may belong to the chestnut family, but I'm not certain. If anyone knows, please tell me. Okay, now let's flip it over for the most amazing bit...

Can you see the little landscape--a grove of trees? God's art.

Counting Blessings

I found this amazing blog called Holy Experience. I was knocked over by the post The Beauty Challenge: Because God's Everywhere. I found myself saying yes, Yes, YES with everything she wrote. One phrase in particular grabbed me - His Daily Art. The questions were asked, does beauty hurt? can the discarded become vessels for beauty? do I have the eyes to see? I'm thankful for her sharing this conversation. I wish I could have been a part of it. So I decided to join the challenge Multitude Monday - a Thousand Gifts. It's simply a way to count and list your blessings up to a thousand.

1 - Sharing the past 28 years with this wonderful man (pictured here holding our first grandchild)
2 - The blessing of seeing your children's children

3 - Light through a window

4 - Apple trees and the people who grow them

5 - Hands

Women in Art

SIGH.........incredibly clever

An Experiment with Egg Tempera

"If I hadn't taken up painting, I would have raised chickens...it's all art."
Grandma Moses

I agree. Finding the same beauty in a clucking hen that you would in a great painting is one of the joys of life. I've been fortunate to enjoy both painting and raising chickens. My two sweet hens pictured here produce a lot of eggs - A LOT of eggs. All summer long we get about a dozen a week. That's more than enough for a family of three, so besides what we eat and give away, I got the idea to make egg tempera paint, the type of paint used in the days of ye olde knights and damsels. Which led to my next idea - to attempt a medieval-like painting (emphasis on LIKE, since I don't quite know what I'm doing). But I've never let that stop me.

I sent away for some pigments and did some research on how to make the egg tempera emulsion. I found this site to be very helpful: All the Strange Hours
Gosh, I love that name...

The recipe I used was recommended for beginners: pigment, egg yolk, and distilled water.

I found from experience that it is best to use all of what you mix in one day. On day two, it will smell revolting. A week later, you could kill someone with it (or it smells as if you did!).

This is a small section of a painting that I'm currently working on. It's in its very early stages. I took my inspiration from a French stained-glass window from the 12th century.

Guest artist

In this house live some very talented and dear friends. One in particular - Mary - is quite a gifted young lady, and I asked her permission to feature her as a guest artist on Curious Acorn.

Isn't this beautiful? A few months ago, Mary gave this as a gift to our family. She admired this prayer that she had seen in a church bulletin and reproduced it in handwritten italic. I love the illuminated style of the initial letter. In an age of scanners and copiers, I appreciate the time and patience it must have taken to make something so lovely.

This is the family's art studio. Many exquisite creations have come out of this room.

I was happy to receive a mini-lesson from my young friend.

Mary also made this charming box. It's an example of Pennsylvania German folk art using milk paint. Their mother Joan taught her and her sisters this technique. Joan is a woman of many talents. I hope to feature her and her work in an upcoming post.

Fyri's Cake, or using up the apples

I absolutely love this cookbook. Not only does it have delightful recipes, but it has beautiful, clear, and instructional photos throughout. Any seasoned baker would find Swedish Cakes and Cookies most enjoyable, yet this book would not be intimidating to the beginner. I made Fyri's cake, also known as Apple Sponge cake. Who knew something so pretty could be so easy to bake.

Oh my gosh, the inside color of the Hidden Rose heirloom apple just kills me...

This and a pot of tea - a perfect autumn afternoon.

The Orchardist

It's been a privilege for my husband and I to meet and get to know Wayne and Toni Myers, the owners and operators of Faith Orchards, in Douglassville, PA. They remind me of Tolkien's Samwise Gamgee and his wife Rosie--humble, quiet, salt of the earth world-changers. The orchard is an amazing place to visit, and unique in that they grow over 70 kinds of apples, some of the most interesting being the heirloom varieties, such as the Roxbury Russet c.1640, perhaps the oldest named apple in the US. I also learned of the Esopus Spitzenberg c.1790, reportedly Thomas Jefferson's favorite; and Ashmeade's Kernel c.1720 from England, my favorite, especially with peanut butter and bacon on toast. Trust me - it's good.

Wayne is so knowledgeable about the history of the apples he grows, and hospitably slices one open for you as he tells of its origins. Last February, he taught us how to graft an apple tree. As we were leaving, his wife gave us a large bouquet of pussy willows from her garden. Not only are they generous to their customers, but all of their profits go to various missions throughout the world.

A delicious slice of "Hidden Rose", yellow-skinned with gorgeous pink streaks on the inside.

So hard to choose...

Some of the apples go into making the best all natural cider we've ever tasted.

Thanks, Wayne and Toni. We'll be back soon.