30s houses

30. A Stillness in Time

/ Apple Hill Cottage / 11 Comments

I’ve been experimenting with black and white photography these past two weeks. Perhaps it is a bit ironic that as autumn’s colors are at its most glorious, I’m choosing black and white. It could be that my camera can’t capture the beauty of fall; but I think it is more of a mood. I hear friends say how much they love fall and its coolness, but I miss the sun and the warm. The last gasp beauty of the bright, God-painted trees can’t make up for the gray, cold rain.

Is it just the absence of color that creates the different moods of black/white/gray photos? Is it the lack of color that makes the observer focus on form, line, and shape? What gives the dreamlike, still, unearthly qualities to black and white photography?
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As I was reading about the feelings that black & white photos evoke, one phrase keeps rumbling in my mind — that it creates a sense of stillness in time. Being here at the cottage does that for me as well, so the two have merged in this post. It is a stillness, a peace, a quietude that is not in my “other” life. It is almost as if time is standing still when we are here.

There is something else that a black and white photo implies — simplicity. I’m not sure why… Is it because it reminds us of a simpler time? Or is it that the colors don’t get in the way of what we see? Details and shadows all become clear, yet at the same time, shrouded in mystery…a metaphor for life, for God.

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Life is simplified here at the cottage: work and jobs are left behind; meetings and responsibilities are rare; we don’t have much technology, just our cell phones and a television to watch Steeler games. We are focused on here, today, now, and what we have to accomplish — our purpose, for now. To everything there is a season, and a time for every purpose under heaven.–Ecclesiastes 3:1.

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In Mere Christianity C.S. Lewis writes,

The moment you wake up each morning, all your wishes and hopes for the day rush at you like wild animals. And the first job each morning consists in shoving it all back; in listening to that other voice, taking that other point of view, letting that other, larger, stronger, quieter life come flowing in.

Simplicity,
Stillness of time,
Season of quiet,
Circle of life,
Listening to that other voice —
Black and white photos fit Apple Hill Cottage well.

(Don’t worry, I’ll be back to colors next week.)

29. Being Thankful for Failure Takes a Better Man than I

/ Apple Hill Cottage / 7 Comments

I don’t fail very often any more; and it certainly isn’t because I’m great at everything I do. No, it is much more because at age 59 and 11/12 I’m fairly aware of my limitations, and I stick to what I do well, or at least, what I’m pretty sure I won’t botch badly. I don’t try high diving or skateboarding or basketball; I don’t try to fix my own computer or my leaky roof; I don’t do my own taxes (although I’m tempted) or read Nature magazine. (What a misnomer that title is!)

But as the laborer at the cottage, I’ve been trying some new things, with a modicum of success. My confidence was up (inflated, even) until this past weekend.

I’ve been sanding the old windows that will go above the kitchen sink. I took out the glass — pane by pain (no blood though) — scraped, sanded, and primed. Eventually it was time to replace the glass; the correct term is reglazing and there used to be people who did this as a profession. They were called glaziers. They have my utmost respect.

I was about to do a real DIY blog post entitled, “How to Reglaze your Old Wood Double Hung Windows.” Notice that is not the title of this post. I took lots of photos and even cleaned my fingernails. I had visions of About.com contacting me and asking me to do regular DIY posts.

You might be asking “Why would you be so sure you could do this?” A very good question! Here are some random answers:

  • I am fairly good at artistic endeavors: I can sew, knit, and scrapbook. I have made a couple of quilts. I can do passable graphics, and I’m really good at using scissors and coloring.
  • I am particular and neat about my final work, tending toward perfectionism. (This could have been a warning sign…)
  • I am very good at reading directions.
  • I nailed the first part of the glazing process.

I have about twelve good photos from that first part, which is called the back bead. In effect, it sets the glass in place and seals the inside. It is easy. You just make snakes of the glazing putty, push the glass in, put in the points to hold the glass, and scrape off the excess putty. Would you like to see my pictures???

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I worked on the second part of the process, which is the outside of the window (I kept reminding myself it was the outside and hardly anyone would see it)  for two hours. This is one pane; there are 6 panes per window and 4 windows = 24 panes. I pulled up the snakes and started again at least three times. I angled the glazing tool 100 different ways. When Michael came in from his own window project and asked how it was going, I’m not sure I answered him. Yes. Juvenile. He took the glazing tool from my hand and said, “Well, let’s see…”

When the going gets tough, the tough go take a nap. Two hours of napping and the longest, hottest shower I could take, and Voila! Michael has the entire window finished.

Technically, I am delighted that he could do it, and it looks great. I am glad to have a talented husband. The thing is, I’m supposed to do the unskilled labor and leave the jobs that only he can do (and there are a lot of those!) for him. I was supposed to be able to do this… This is a lesson in humility.

Oh, I know that Dr. Seuss sent his first book in and it was rejected multiple times. Madeline L’Engle‘s book A Wrinkle in Time (which later won the Newbery Award) was rejected 29 times. It took Thomas Edison 10,000 times to get the filament right on his first light bulb…I KNOW ALL THAT! And these failure quotes that you are about to read — I’ve read them all a dozen times. They are platitudes: boring, insipid, and … true.

“There are no secrets to success. It is the result of preparation, hard work, and learning from failure.” — Colin Powell

“Failure is only the opportunity to begin again, only this time more wisely.” — Henry Ford

“I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.” — Thomas Edison

“All my successes have been built on my failures.” — Benjamin Disraeli

 “If you have made mistakes, even serious ones, there is always another chance for you. What we call failure is not the falling down, but the staying down.” — Mary Pickford

“Failure doesn’t mean you are a failure…it just means you haven’t succeeded yet. ” — Robert Schuller

“I’ve missed more than 9000 shots in my career. I’ve lost almost 300 games. Twenty-six times I’ve been trusted to take the game winning shot and missed. I’ve failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed.” — Michael Jordan

and my personal favorite:

“Success is the ability to go from failure to failure without losing your enthusiasm.” — Winston Churchill

Yes, that’s what happened; I certainly lost my enthusiasm and never regained it.

The ironic thing is that we had just had a discussion about fear of failure in church the day before! God asked Moses to lead his people out of slavery, and Moses politely declined at first. “Send someone else, God. I’m not really good at what you want me to do…” We all fear failure, but as those quotes above point out, failure is always a lesson. It could be a lesson in hard work, or lack of preparation; it could be an opportunity for a second chance, or to encourage creativity and enthusiasm;  it could be a lesson in losing gracefully or developing patience; or it simply could be to learn humility.

Moses went to Pharaoh to ask for the people’s freedom. Seven times (at least) he went. Can you imagine what he was feeling that last time? “Oh no, Lord! Do I have to go again???” God chose Moses, so His strength would shine through Moses’ weaknesses and failures. Failure is not only all those lessons above; it is a God-given gift! So we won’t live proud. So we can be thankful for those failures.

I’ve got three more windows to work on. I will certainly do the inside seal, but I’m not sure if I’ll try the outside bead of putty again. Perhaps I just need to practice…or perhaps it is a skill I won’t ever master. I need to know for sure, though, don’t I?

In the meantime, I’m sewing some shelf liners from this great apple fabric I ordered. No fear of failure with this project!
Apple fabric

27. Door # 1 : The Price is Right

/ Apple Hill Cottage / 10 Comments

When Joe and Clara remodeled the cottage in the 70s (see 1. The Story of Apple Hill Cottage) they put in 5 (five!) sets of sliding glass doors — one at every entrance except the basement — and 2 (two!) opening into the kitchen. Correction:  there were 2 (two!) going into the kitchen; now there are 0 (none!)

It was a very gratifying weekend. We had spent months dithering about the front entrance door. There is one good point to sliding glass doors and that is: glass. They let in light. This is a very good attribute if the room is dark and has only one other window. We didn’t want to lose the light; and there were 4 (four!) giant panels of glass to turn into real doors.

A door such as this would be lovely. Yes? This door is on clearance from Door Emporium; the clearance price is $1995 plus shipping of $150.

Entry doors tell the story of your house in ten words or less. Grand or simple, painted or wood, leaded glass or rough hewn, windowless or all glass, they are the topic sentence in Chapter One.  Everyone who comes into your house goes through those doors, and most will form an opinion of their character as they walk through. Are they ostentatious (Faulkner) or humble (Emily Dickinson)? Do they have style (T.S. Eliot)? Can you see through into the bright, cheery house (Alcott), or is the door stark and unfriendly (Poe)?

I wanted a good, old-fashioned, Wendell Berry kind of door. But those old farmhouse doors don’t let in much light, plus we had a six-foot doorway to fill. I kept finding all these lovely old doors at the Restore places, and Michael kept telling me they were interior doors. “But can’t we use them as exterior doors???” I would ask. The short answer was No. Michael’s concern was for the seal. Keep out winter. Keep out water. Keep out critters.

New entry doors are pricey. Very pricey. Pella wouldn’t even sell us a wood entry door unless we were installing it with six feet of protective porch and a roof. (Not to mention that their wood doors are in the Three Thousand Dollar range…) So when Michael called from the Restore saying he had found an entry door, I said, “Send me a picture…”

But before he sent me the picture, he told me the price: $189 + tax. Free delivery. (That would be us wearing delivery hats.) So, I can compromise. It is a metal door; but it has lots of windows and not so much metal. And it can be painted. Sold.

Yep, free delivery. Did I mention heavy?

The old (the doors, not Henry) …

and the new!

The sun was beginning to set by the time the lock and handles were in place. We were delighted just to be able to turn the knob (the knob is on the inside) and open the door!


And when we left on Monday, we locked the door just as if we lived in a real house. Those Price is Right contestants don’t have any thing on us — such excitement behind Door # 1! We were so excited on Sunday night that we ripped out the other sliding glass door that goes into the kitchen as well.

On to Door # 2…

 

Post Script: As I was publishing this post, my wonderful husband came back from Home Depot with perfect matching trim for adding horizontal muntins to the plain sidelights of the door.  Add $5 to the cost of the door; but the new look of it? Priceless!