an interesting balance . . .

Since our move to Ohio, I have been in quite the creative mode. Sure, I made art before moving here, but mostly I made it at school as examples for the students to get motivated by. Here, I have been making ART and stretching myself in my creativity. It reminds me of my undergraduate days working on pieces, critiquing, and striving to create unique art that was different and refreshing. As well as making art to post here, on my school blog, on Drawspace.com, and my NEW etsy acount, I have been dabbling in a little photography. Years ago I took a photography class back when we actually used film. Now, with my new digital EOS Cannon, I am able to take pictures and manipulate them in the GIMP program I downloaded from the interent. I worked on school yearbooks taking lots of pictures of people, but now I am interested in learning the art of capturing the portrait of someone that makes people cry. Here is my first attempt at family portraits. The Allens needed updated photos for their family album they display on the wall of the living room. I used a zom lens hoping to create an interesting balance between the clear focus of their faces, and the items in the background. For these shots I had them sit in the pew of the church they are pastoring and look back at me. Two great things occured for me as a photographer. One, the cross and some of the relics of the pulpit where blurred into the background. Two, the three stained windows that were behind me reflected in the children's eyes. I am still working trying to figure all the buttons out on this new camera, and the tools available on the software.

trick of the trade . . .

It's REALLY cold here now. -14 with a wind chill factor of 30 below. WOWSY!

A couple of new tricks of the trade and that I have learned when dealing with the cold weather.

1. Stack bales of straw around the base of your house to deter the weather from freezing your pipes.

2. Put a heat lamp, or a light bulb, on the well pump to keep it warm and working.

3. Take the drier hose off, blow out the lint, turn the dryer on to warm up the washing machine pipes when they freeze.

And most importantly

4. Don't try to spray paint anything . . . the paint only sprays out like GODZILLA spewing a stream of fire. :)

It is so cold that Wednesday our school let out early and was canceled Thursday and today. Monday is a recognized holiday so that makes a five (5) day mini-winter holiday for me. Makes me want to shout out some "it's so cold" jokes.

get through the crowds . . .

My brother made the boys two gun racks for Christmas to house the GUNS I BOUGHT. You bought WHAT you ask? Yup, I bought me some guns. And that is plural. Not just one.

WOW, what an experience I had at the gun show. It is a whole new world of people that I really never thought I would be rubbing elbows with. We (Weihrocky and his older boys, and Patrick and one of his sons) went last Saturday to the gun show in Allen county. The have the gun show the first weekend of the month around here. I was actually planning to go to the one in December but had a conflicting schedule with looking at houses. So, we decided to make it for the January show.

We got there around 9:30 am and the parking lot at the fair grounds was packed! We proceeded to get in line to pay our entrance fee, and after we secured that we would be able to look at all the weapons everyone brought, everyone just followed the leader around, up and down the isles looking at all the guns, knives, pistols, and hunting gear that was on display for sale. Having lived in Los Angeles for years and dealing with large crowds of people, I broke rank and scanned the the whole room to find the traffic pattern. Asher, Nolan and I used our big city navigation to get through the crowds and find what we were looking for. We were there for two things. A 20 gauge shotgon, and a 22 caliber semi-automatic rifle. The men that went with us went mostly to look, and to sell a couple of guns, but to help me find the right guns to buy. They were REALLY helpful in that I know nothing about guns and would not know which ones that were right for us. Worked out that I got exactly what I wanted, for a fair price, and am really happy about our choices. In fact, twelve people offered to buy the rifle from me as I walked around the gun show with it. On Sunday Steve helped us "scope it in" and we spent the afternoon shooting. I really had more fun than I planned!

making guests at ease . . .

Before, and at the early part of our marriage, Ildi and I both worked in the restaurant business as service staff. Waiting tables and working with the public to meet their food and beverage needs. (it is a job that each person should experience for a least two years; compulsory service to one's country:) Ildi worked at both Mimi's Cafe and the Olive Garden, and I worked at the Olive Garden and the Claim Jumper. All places we worked ran differently as companies, and all prepared us to work hard and develop a sense of "hustle" while we worked. In fact, in several conversations we have had since our "slinging hash" days, we recognized that those experiences we had while serving in that business has helped prepare us for parenting, hosting, and for life. In many ways it has also helped me to see the larger picture and to work more efficiently in the classroom as well. In today's post, I want to share a practical practice at our home that has drawn on those experiences and has become a standard way of of providing for people who come to our home.

When you go to a restaurant, invariable you are greeted, seated, and for the most part, taken care of. The same thing should apply when people enter your home. I find it makes people at ease when you greet them, welcome them, and then TELL them what you want them to do. Most of the time people greet and welcome visitors alright, but then there is the awkward time of a few minutes while the guest navigates what he or she must do based on hints from the host. They stand, sit, or follow the host around getting clues along the way as to what to do with themselves. Instead, what we do is to explicitly tell our guest what we want them to do. The sooner the better. For example, if you are finished with all the work in preparation for your guests, say something like "let's go sit and talk for a bit" and then give them a choice of places to sit. "You can sit either here or there" pointing to the places you would like them to chose from. It might seem like you are bossing them around, but remember your visits and how comfortable it feels when the host tells you what to do. Nothing is left for you to navigate through. It's easy just to follow the directions. In addition, it is also good to get them something to drink right away. Not because they come to your house parched and are expecting to get refreshed by entering your home, but when they are thirsty, they will already have something waiting on them to drink. What we usually do is give them another choice. "Would you like coffee or water to drink?" as an example. We assume that they will have one or the other. We never ask them IF they want something to drink. Why? Because they always say "No" to be polite! So we just assume, and give them the choice. If they say they want nothing to drink, again being polite, we just give them a glass of water. Always.

using my room . . .

Having guests and where to put them (a reprint of a comment I left on a blog today)

Years ago we started having all our house guests (and their children if they had them) take OUR room as a guest room. Since the Master was bigger than the rest of the bedrooms, it was large enough for everyone to fit. We put the children on the floor with air beds. The family stayed together. It was really easy for Ildi and I to find a place to sleep since it was our house, and we knew where everything was.

The advantage of having guests in YOUR room is that it is usually prettier than normal (makes it like a hotel stay), there is usually a bathroom attached (people who are staying hate to be in public until they are dressed and ready to be seen), and it makes a quiet place they can retreat to if they want to be away from the common area. For example, if they are sleeping on a sofa bed and others want to watch TV in the same room, it makes them wait to retire for the night.

It seems to be a shift from housing people in guest rooms, to letting people use your room, but once you do it, the benefits outweigh the costs. And besides, when they leave your home, they feel like you have treated them like KINGS AND QUEENS. I still have people tell me they can't believe I let them use MY room.

We have had countless great experiences with people staying with us, and as an example experience I'll briefly tell you one. A friend just visited me a few weeks ago and I showed him to his room. He asked if it was my room and I told him that it was the guest room. He probably did not want to make me or Ildi feel "put out". After he returned home, in a phone conversation, he asked if I had let him sleep in my room. I told him all the benefits of doing what I did, and he agreed that it was a good thing. All this to say, tell them it's the "guest room". Even though it is YOUR room all the other times. :) He was another one that felt "honored" when staying with us.

still on the cob . . .

Our most recent adventure has been shelling popcorn. A couple of weeks ago we noticed the field behind the woods was filled with corn that was left behind from the combine. The children asked if they could "glean" the fields and bring it home. Before this, we had never seen popcorn still on the cob. The corn cob is as long as regular sweet corn, but not as big in diameter. We shelled probably 20 cobs and got a gallon jar FULL of popcorn. This harvest is only one third of what they picked up from the field. The picture shows the children's hands BUSY at work shelling!

note to self . . .

When the ground is frozen, then you have a few warm days, and it rains, don't drive on the grass . . . If the owners did not create a circle driveway through the grass, there was probably a good reason for it!

Today when we were leaving the house, we drove on the grass in our usual fashion. (even though there is no circle driveway) It did not occur to us that the ground would be so wet, and slushy, that our van might not make it through the pretend circle we had been using. Long story short, lots of straw, wood planks, and rocking the van back and forth finally got us out of the rut. One hour later! Not to mention that the wind was a gusting 20 to 30 miles an hour. Notice the towel in my right hand. Looks like I picked up a piece of debris from the ground. And it is sopping wet. And I do not have a belly either. It's the wind catching my shirt. Promise. :)

ornaments of paper . . .

Here is an example of the cards we made for this year. I love making things, and really enjoy including the children's creativity into projects. Here their paintings break the standard "keep everything in the lines" mentality that I have and makes the piece look loose, creative, and beautiful. The children drew and painted the circles with watercolor, then added salt to create a crystallized texture and pattern. I then added the gold paint pen extras to finish the design.

. . . and this is what the tree turned out to be when it was finished. It has that "folk art" look being pieced together. Over the years we have made ornaments out of paper and have kept them to adorn the tree. We mostly recycle old Christmas cards and use them to make "little" pieces of art. We have silver painted pine cones, several shapes of birdhouses made from white cards, geometric balls made from cards, some purchased handmade paper ornaments, and raffia as our garland. A few years ago I made a rustic looking tree skit out of some old green burlap. In addition to making the tree (this year), and the ornaments, we usually make most of the gifts we give as well. I am working on some Family signs for a couple of friends, as well as a "piggy-back massage" tool that I was inspired to do this year. During my Christmas break from teaching, the house usually feels like an elf factory with the amounts of things we have out and are working on.

scratching it out . . .

Here's an example of some of the artwork I have been doing at school. This year, I have been experimenting with various styles and mediums and feel like I am on the brink of making some HUGE changes in not only my students work at school, but also in my own work. This piece is done by drawing with crayons, washing it with ink, then scratching out the design. I had the students do 2 x 2 inch small pieces of work then mount them on larger paper. It is a great project to do, and it is a very limited time commitment.

skimming off the cream . . .

This dial-up has got to go. I just took a small nap while my picture was loading!

Update on some things around the Fout home.

Thanksgiving was a wonderful time spent with family and friends. My brother, sister, and mother came over for our very first Thanksgiving together.

We looked at a house again today. Everything was going well, the house was FULL of character, outbuildings, creek, woods, and it was even snowing making our visit seem unbelievable. When we left I decided to drive down the road opposite the way I came as is my usual habit. You know, look around the neighborhood a bit. Low and behold, a turkey COMPLEX right in the back yard! Of course, not really right in the back yard, but close enough that each spring and summer we would be up to our ears in FACTORY FARM FRESHNESS. And then on a positive note, a home we looked at a few months ago has drastically come down in price. It's an Amish home that needs work . . .bathrooms, plumbing, electricity . . .but is sitting on 21 acres and is in the most beautiful surroundings possible. I am hoping to go see it again now that there is snow on the ground.

The picture above is of a weekly ritual now, the transferring of milk from the container to gallon jars for the refrigerator. Each week we pick up 10 gallons from a Amish family farm. We bring it home, along with twelve dozen eggs, and sometimes other items, and start the process of skimming off some cream for our coffee, and then filling the jars to be stored. The nice part about the weather being cold is that we can use our mudroom as a refrigerator. We can set the milk, or any other item that needs to be chilled, out in the room without any worry of it spoiling. When working with the milk I have developed an efficient system. I dip a half gallon jar into the container and then strain the milk into gallon jars. I think it is God's way of preparing me for when we get our own cow.

And can you notice the small green shell on the table? That was the shell from my first and only shot at a deer this morning. Several of us when out hunting and there was only one deer seen, and one bullet shot. It was my first time hunting and my first time shooting at an animal. Kind-of exciting I might add. A year or two ago I would have never believed I would have been doing this. :)