A Word About the Visual Arts

"How important are the visual arts in our society? I feel strongly that the visual arts are of vast and incalculable importance. Of course I could be prejudiced. I am a visual art." 

-- Kermit the Frog

Dennis Reinke painting Quiet Place watercolor during Rockies Plein Air Quick Draw competition in Estes Park, CO August 27, 2011

As the wife of a painter, I admit I'm prejudiced when it comes to the importance of visual art in our society. I know that a painting can do more than bring pleasure to the viewer, it can also inform. A work of art can act as a historical document. Before cameras and videos, artists captured entire cultures with their painting. Think of cave art and hieroglyphics. 

Dennis has been painting the Rocky Mountain National Park for quite a few years. Some scenes he previously painted have changed dramatically, either through natural disasters or ecosystem restoration and management. A part of the Park's landscape history lives on in his paintings. Of course, Dennis will tell you that his art is first and foremost his spiritual connection. And that is of "vast and incalculable importance" to him.

This year's Plein Air Rockies event came to a close on Saturday. But not before the 90-minute Quick Draw competition in the morning at Riverside Plaza. About 30 artists painted  under the beautiful Estes Park sky. . .

Dennis was the first to finish with his watercolor Quiet Place.

His interpretation of this scene. . .

The artists framed and hung their "wet" paintings for the auction, which immediately followed the Quick Draw. . .

I helped our friend Jeff keep track of the auction sales. . .

The Cultural Arts Council of Estes Park sponsors the annual event, with the help of many contributors and volunteers. I'm glad I live in a community that supports the arts, but all the glory belongs to God the Creator. Without Him there would be no arts, visual or otherwise.

Praise the LORD! 

Praise the LORD from the heavens; 

Praise Him in the heights! 

Praise Him, all His angels; 

Praise Him, all His hosts! 

Praise Him, sun and moon; 

Praise Him, all stars of light! 

Praise Him, highest heavens, 

And the waters that are above the heavens! 

Let them praise the name of the LORD, 

For He commanded and they were created. 

He has also established them forever and ever; 

He has made a decree which will not pass away.

Psalm 148:1-6 

Nancy

"Good Morning, General"

"I do not fear failure. I only fear the 'slowing up' of the engine inside of me which is pounding, saying, 'Keep going, someone must be on top, why not you?'" -- General George S. Patton

One of the things I find interesting about my husband is the way he interacts with animals.Take his relationship with our resident chipmunk, for example. On a beautiful July morning, Dennis came into the kitchen from the backyard. . .

Dennis (smiling broadly): I talked with the General this morning.
Me (looking puzzled): The General?
Dennis: Yup.
Me (racking my brain for a clue, coming up with zilch): Uh, who's The General?
Dennis: The chipmunk who lives under the big rock by the shed.
Me: We have a chipmunk living under the big rock?
Dennis: Mm-hmm. He comes out every morning and chatters at me. I call him The General.
Me: Why do you call him "The General"?
Dennis: Because he poses on top of the rock, looking like Patton.

I thought Dennis was exaggerating the Patton resemblance, until a few days later when he pointed out The General standing upright on the rock's peak. And guess what? He does look like Patton. Look at the photo above and see for yourself. No, no. . .look closer. Oh, okay, maybe he doesn't look exactly like the famous American general in this picture. But put an Army uniform and five stars on him, and the chipmunk is a dead ringer for Patton. 

Dennis talks to most of the animals that come into our yard. Bunnies, squirrels, birds, deer. Call me crazy, but I think the critters may be talking back. Trust me, if a skunk shows up. . .I'm outta here.

Between you and me, I feel like I'm living with Dr. Doolittle.  Right now in my mind I can see and hear Rex Harrison crooning "Talk to the Animals". . .

"If people ask me 'can you speak rhinoceros?' 

I'd say 'of courserous! Can't you?'"

Somebody puh-leez make Rex stop. I'm starting to crave animal crackers.


"Pairs of all creatures that have the breath of life in them came to Noah and entered the ark. The animals going in were male and female of every living thing, as God had commanded Noah. Then the LORD shut him in."
Genesis 7:15-16 (NIV)


Nancy

A Most Extraordinary Morning

"They found that they were looking at a most extraordinary face. [. . .] But at the moment the Hobbits noted little but the eyes. These deep eyes were now surveying them, slow and solemn, but very penetrating. They were brown, shot with a green light. Often afterward Pippin tried to describe his first impression of them." From J.R.R. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings: The Two  Towers


Last Sunday Dennis grabbed his painting gear, and I my laptop, and we headed for Allenspark. While he painted, I settled in to write. Fingers poised, ready to tap out some rare and wonderful phrase, I glanced up to find an aspen surveying me. I was sure that at any moment the mime-like face would begin to speak as Treebeard the Ent had in Tolkien's story. But, sadly, he remained silent.


Even though I held no conversation with the tree, our trip to the charming hamlet of Allenspark did not disappoint me. I've written before about the Meadow Mountain Cafe, and the Fawnbrook Inn where we were married. The Fawnbrook is surrounded by delightful gardens (and an all-knowing, but mute aspen), lovingly tended to by Mieke. I am grateful to our friends Herman and Mieke for allowing me the pleasure of lingering, and photographing their very special place . . .

After Dennis finished his painting, we ate lunch at the Inn. Refreshed spiritually and physically, we returned to our homestead. 


(The Fawnbrook Inn,  a beautiful restaurant with first-class cuisine, is currently for sale.)

"God, my shepherd! I don't need a thing. 

   You have bedded me down in lush meadows, 

      you find me quiet pools to drink from. 

   True to your word, 

      you let me catch my breath 

      and send me in the right direction." 

Psalm 23:1-3 (The Message)

Nancy

The Joy of Little Things

"Enjoy the little things, for one day you may look back and realize they were the big things."-- Robert  Brault

It's Palisades peach time again in Colorado and my tastes buds are doing the happy dance. There's only one thing better than a luscious, juicy, fresh peach, and that's a second luscious, juicy, fresh peach.

Little things always seem to rev my motor more than big things. Today has been filled with the pleasure of little things.

A young buck in our back yard early this morning. . .

Watching the horses from my kitchen window while the coffee brews. . .

A visit from our resident wildflower-eating bunny. . .

The American flag Dennis hangs on our barn every morning (yes, we're hopeless patriots). . .

Geraniums in my window. . .

I enjoy spending time with friends. We've invited a couple of artist friends over for a cookout tonight. We'll share a simple meal and conversation. Mostly we'll talk about little things.

"I am beginning to learn it is the sweet, simple things of life which are the real ones after all."

-- Laura Ingalls Wilder

Nancy

Make Time for the Hummingbirds

"And make us happy in the darting bird

That suddenly above the bees is heard,

The meteor that thrusts in with needle bill,

And off a blossom in mid air stands still."

Robert Frost, A Prayer in Spring

Getting things done is fine, but sometimes you have to make time for the hummingbirds. After dinner Friday night at our friends' home, we sat on their deck watching the petite birds drink from the feeder. It took several tries, but I managed to get a descent photograph of one darting bird. 

Here in the mountains most people keep a feeder near their house to attract the tiny creatures. Unfortunately, the sugary liquid in these feeders attracts bears too, so conscientious residents, such as our friends, take the feeders in at night. 

Hummingbirds fly at approximately 25 mph and flap their wings 60-80 times per second. (Yes, you read that right. 60-80 times per second.) They've been clocked at speeds in excess of 50 mph during courtship dives. This gives a whole new meaning to the phrase "falling in love."

Even with time out for the hummingbirds, we still completed several projects here at the Reinke Homestead this past week:

When we designed our kitchen, we made room for a wall mounted pot rack. The one I had my eye on retails for $60 -$90. I found the exact one I wanted on Craigslist for $20, hooks included. It was a gray color that didn't really work with our oil rubbed bronze hardware, so I spray painted it with RustOleum ORB. It looks great and saved us at least $40 (spray paint included). . .

The money I saved on the pot rack paid for the kitchen cabinet pulls and knobs Dennis installed. . .

Several months ago I ran across a very cool DIY project at the Serendipity Chic Design blog. Lisa had made nightstands from an antique vanity she found at the Salvation Army Thrift Store. They were tall and narrow, just what I needed for our tall bed and small bedroom. One day I wandered into Furniture Connections, our little used furniture store here in Estes Park, where I found a small 1940's vanity for $25. It looked similar to this one. . .

I bought the vanity, took it home and stored it in the barn. While we were moving things around in the barn a couple of weeks ago, we came across my find. I knew I had to do something with it, so I asked Dennis to help me take it apart. He graciously obliged and I went to work. First I lightly sanded the pieces. Then I mixed up some colors from the miscellaneous leftover paint we have, ending up with a pretty close match to the buttercream and pink in our bedspread. Several coats of paint later, my nightstands were ready for their new home. Since there's no room for a nightstand on Dennis's side of the bed, I placed both nightstands next to each other on my side. Each one is only 12" wide, so there was plenty of room. I think they turned out pretty cute, and I like the extra drawer space I have now. . .

The Plein Air Rockies 2011 event has begun and Dennis is once again participating. I can't wait to see what he paints this year.

"Let every skillful man among you come, and make all that the LORD has commanded" Ex 35:10

Nancy

Deerly Beloved

"The mountains are never so far apart but the animals find one another." ~ American Proverb

Every time I see the above photo of the deer outside my neighbor's house, I smile. They seem to be in a confab, don't you think? What could they be talking about?
Which neighbor has the tastiest garden?
Best spots to bunk for the night?
The challenges of fawn-rearing?


It's been a great summer for deer watching. A few weeks ago, I caught this doe nursing her twin fawns in our driveway in the early morning. . .

After breakfast the fawns went exploring. . .

and ended up in the dirt pile next to our house. . .

I'm pretty sure they were the same frolicking fawns I photographed a month earlier behind our barn. . .

When I snapped this photo of one of the twin fawns, I thought of the joy of the redeemed of which Isaiah wrote: 
"Then will the lame leap like a deer,
   and the mute tongue shout for joy." 

May the joy of the redeemed be yours.

Nancy

The Reinke Homestead Extreme Makeover

“Home, the spot of earth supremely blest, A dearer, sweeter spot than all the rest” -- Robert Montgomery

Four months ago we closed on our homestead. I remember holding the house key in my hand that day and thinking, I really hope the hardwood floors under the carpet are in good shape. Little did I know then that the floors would be the least of our concerns. If you've been following this blog, you know the challenges that came with ownership of this 85 year-old cabin. After getting bids from contractors to do the renovation, we decided to do all but the plumbing, electrical, roofing and insulation ourselves; and pay our friend Will to help us. Financially, it was our best option. If we had contracted all the work with a general contractor, we would have ended up with about half the renovation we have now. All in all, a good investment. And Dennis swears he had fun doing the work. I did hear him whistling most of the time as he labored, so it must be true.

We moved in July 1, even though we still had work to complete. Except for a few small projects and decorating, the interior work is now done. If you've been anxious to see photos, you can relax. Following is a photographic tour of the cabin. I'm including some before photos taken on closing day. 

Here's a larger photo of the West Entrance. Dennis picked out the pretty door color. . .

Before...

Walk through the Rolling Hills Green door and you'll find what we laughingly call The Great Room. . .

Before. . .

It serves as Dennis's office. . .

Before. . .

as well as our pantry (Dennis designed and built the pantry himself), laundry. . .

and closet (across from the laundry). . .

Before. . .

A french door gives Dennis privacy and opens to the kitchen. . .

Before. . .

Since we didn't have room for a dishwasher, I opted for a large sink. Dennis and I both like to do dishes, and with this sink it's a pleasure. . .

Here's a close up with the cabinet hardware we added. . .

When you have a small home (624 sf), you have to make good use of all space. We got a great deal on showroom display cabinets from our cabinet guy, but we needed to slightly adjust them to fit our kitchen. He cut down a double door wall cabinet to create one cabinet, with shelves for my cookbooks . . .

He designed a pull-out spice cabinet to the left of the microwave. We moved the stove to the exterior wall so we could vent the stove hood (part of the over-the-range microwave) outside. 

The refrigerator is located directly across from the range. Our kitchen is narrow, so the door swing of most fridge models posed a problem. On top of that, we only had a width of 33" and a depth of 30" for the fridge. Thank God for the internet. After a good deal of research, I settled on a Samsung french door refrigerator with bottom freezer. It fits the space and our needs perfectly. . .

To the right of the refrigerator is a prep counter. 

We installed a pot rack between the sconces.

The cabinet under the counter -- purchased at a used furniture shop and repurposed as an island in our apartment -- is now a project waiting to happen. Dennis is planning to add shelves and new hardware. A two-day stay in Taos last week gave us plenty of inspiration for a make over. . .

Kitchen before. . .

The new bead board ceiling, and the attic access panel -- which Dennis made from an old door in the cabin -- make the kitchen ceiling fun. . .

On to the living room.  .  .

Before. . .

Did you notice the antique trunk and the tall cupboard in the living room? My grandfather brought the trunk on the ship from Belgium to America. The cupboard is the old brown cupboard we found in the barn. . .

After two days of sanitizing and sanding, it found a new purpose in our home.


The dining room also serves as my writing area. . .

Before. . .

Earlier I mentioned that we made some adjustments to the kitchen cabinets. A pantry came with the unit, but it didn't fit anywhere in the kitchen. We repurposed it as a small closet in our bedroom. . .

Before. . .

Finally, the bathroom. If it's possible to be in love with a shower, I'm in love with ours. . .

Getting clean was never this much fun before. I love the niche. . .

The color of the tile in this close up photo is truer to life. Dennis did all the shower tile work himself. I'm so proud of him. . .

The bathroom is much more spacious now. We have 30" to the left of the sink for storage. We're using a small bookcase for storage until Dennis builds something for us. . .

Before. . .

So there you have it. The Reinke Homestead Extreme Makeover. I hope you enjoyed the tour.


Last Thursday night our church small group came over to bless our home. They are the most beautiful decoration our home could ever have. . .

"For just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. " Romans 12:4-5

Nancy