off the wall part 24

I saw that

Another bazaar find

Made by someone I should remember 

but I don't

and I could stand on the counter

and take it down to check for a name

but I won't

mostly because while I am up there I should dust

off the wall part 23

 Miscellaneous pictures on the wall upstairs.

 These were very inexpensive and bought years ago.

I like this one, it is entitled 'Fishing Lesson"

A mill from somewhere in a very cheap frame.

A teddy bear picnic that was sort of Monet-ish 

off the wall part 22

These hang on the wall in our back entrance. 

I think we got them from my parents.

When Alexander was little he was fascinated by them. 

When he would come through the door he insisted 

that we let him walk around with them.

It is nice when it takes very little to make a kid happy.

off the wall part 21

This hangs in our living room.
It is a print that was pretty popular in the 90's.
It is a depiction of a mill in winter.

I have seen it other places - one was in the Blewitt's home.

I like it best on a hot summer day.
Just looking at it makes me feel cold.
So that probably means that I should take it off of the wall in the winter.

It is a similar thing to the fact that when I read
"The Long Winter" by Laura Ingalls Wilder
the scenes that described the cold cold winter always cooled me down.

Should I walk around reading the book
instead of putting on the air conditioning?

off the wall part 20

This woodburning design piece was created by Vladimar Gutkin.

I got it at the International Marketplace event held at our church last fall.

It was good to meet and support this hardworking immigrant artist.

I paid way too little for this work of art.

off the wall part 19

I like hanging pictures of my family in my home.

Me and hubby

Our kids

Our kids

The graduation and wedding pictures of our kids. 

 A family picture from the summer of 2009

  

The extended Eleveld clan from the summer of 2009

An updated family picture that is already out of date

there are five more we will include on the next one.

 A picture of Martin and me with 

Laura and Jeffrey Wright

and George and Susan Wright.

off the wall part 18

A poster selected years ago. It is by Monet

and the title is the pond at montgeron 1876.

It, in large part, started my love of art and my appreciation for Monet's work.

I like it because it reminded me of the forest behind our house in Caistor Center.

It hangs in our family room and spent a brief repast hanging elsewhere 

because of the mocking that was heaped upon it.

The mocking was in large part to a non-credible interpretation of the figure to the right.

It was returned to it's rightful place when I decided that, 

mocking aside, 

we best live life when we display what we truly are.

Interpretations will have to be left up to the individual.

The framing cost multitudes more than the art.

And it seems to have faded over the years as the jpeg below attests to.

off the wall part 17

Made by one of my children in woodworking class in high school.

I think it was Karen.

Don't think it keeps time too well

 but then again it just may be a battery that it needs.

The face also doesn't sit straight.

Still it hangs in the office over Martin's desk.

===============================================

Below is the Jesus clock that graced our walls for a month or two.

I received this clock years ago 

as a reward for turning in a lost wallet to a variety store owner from Brantford.

I was in the nursery during the evening service and 

during the Korean service earlier someone left their wallet with 300 in cash in it.

I had a hard time locating the owner

 as the names and phone numbers in the wallet were all in Korean.

I finally tracked them down through a hospital blue card

and we drove out to their variety store.

She wanted to reward me with something from the store but I declined.

I saw the clock on the wall and was looking at it 

with well concealed horror which she must have mistook for appreciation

and she removed it from the wall and handed it to me.

It came into our house with a story 

but even the story was not good enough to keep it on our wall.

It was donated somewhere 

where I hope it now graces the wall of someone who does appreciate it.

off the wall part 16

 Some cross stitching masterpieces

The one below is a sampler of sorts 

made by my daughter Shirley

She used to make little framed cross stitches

similar to a Christmas ornament size

some were Christmas themed and used on our tree.

These are just a variety of patterns that she found somewhere.

==================================

Another by Shirley

I really do treasure these works of the hand and the heart.

==================================

Made by my sister Jennifer

A poem about a piano and a child

It is lovely

 

================================

I made the one below one years ago. 

I am particularly fond of family trees and family history

so enjoyed making this one.

I didn't have a pattern and 

I started with a piece of cloth and a little design in the corner. 

When I just go with the flow with no pattern it does not usually work out well.

 

This time I think that it did.

off the wall part 15

This owl sits atop of a bookcase in the office.

 It guards the pencils that I have sharpened.

It was created by a dear friend - Lynne Hogeterp.

Karl and Lynne have been friends of ours for umteen years. 

Martin has known Karl from the early years of grade school. 

We don't get together as often as I would like 

but when we do it feels we haven't spent all that time without seeing each other.

I have a tremendous amount of respect for them both.

 They are people who you just want in your life because they make you a better person.

Lynne is very creative and she made a number of these owls 

and a whole lot of other crafty creations.

My owl makes me happy because I think of them when I see it.

off the wall part 14

On the topic of artists that we know. 

One high on the page in my books is my cousin Arlene. 

Multi-talented in a variety of mediums 

Arlene has always been able to capture beauty and replicate it . 

Whether she works with a needle or a brush 

I am always impressed by her craftsmanship.

The item above is our home painted onto an old saw 

that came from the Boven cottage

It is a Christmas gift I will always treasure.

 Arlene works with rocks and trees and sticks and things and 

she turns them into a thing of beauty.

 Below is some needlework that we received 

the first year we were married.

Being the recipient of a number of her creations I truly count myself blessed.

off the wall part 13

This is another CCS bazaar find.

I believe we got it in the auction.

It was made by Bill Prinzen who goes to our church.

He is a most skilled wood craftsman. 

And I am happy to own anything  he has created.

It hangs in near our back entrance and 

used to hold coats and jackets that 

do not make it all the way to their hangers.

Since our main entrance is not located by this door 

anymore, the coat rack gets less use.
Still, the occasional hat or flyswatter will dangle from the wooden pegs.

One winter day a goodly number of years ago it held Laura's scarf 

and when she picked up the scarf 

she noticed it was heavier than before. 

After examining it closely she discovered a bat clinging to the wool. 

Quite a shock for a cold winter morning.

The white object on the shelf is a mitten drying rack. 

It is presently July and extremely hot but I left it there - what - just in case?

I also once found perched on the shelf 

a used punch cup from our last party.

Problem is that the last party when I served punch

 had been 2 months earlier.

Maybe I should try cleaning a little more often.

off the wall part 12

Although this is not technically on the wall 

 it is more like leaning up against the wall

I will include it anyway.

This was another bazaar find. It is old.  It is Dutch.

What I like about it is the two trees are out front but in the background is a church.

It looks like a print of a pencil or charcoal piece.

No colour to it.

It is a print that I want to find out more about.

I haven't even had the words translated.

What is the title?

Who is the artist?

It is a mystery waiting to be solved.

off the wall part 11

Another artist whom we know.

Sena Bisschop from our church painted this a number of years ago.

The colours are still quite crisp despite sitting in sunny locations throughout the years.

We bought it at a Calvin Christian School bazaar auction.

I can't remember what we paid for it. 

Perhaps when we get a piece of art we should put some particulars on the back.

Where and when we got it and any other information 

that we might enjoy remembering years into the future.

off the wall part 10

A real painting and we know the artist.

In fact we are related to her. 

Karen Baarda was Martin's aunt.

I don't know if she painted the painting above 

while she was still Karen Joldersma 

but I cannot ask her that question as she passed away a number of years ago.

Aunt Karen (or Tante Klaasje) married late in life and they never had children.

When naming our fourth daughter we thought of a few names 

but settled on Karen because of a few reasons

-we really liked Aunt Karen

- at that point we didn't have any boys to name and so my father was not going to get a namesake

since my father's name is Charles Klaas (known as Chuck) and Aunt Karen was actually Klaasje we thought that might be as close as he was going to get for someone to be named after him. ( we eliminated the option that was suggested for us - that we have a daughter that we would name Chuckalina )

-we liked the name Karen

I feel honoured to have Aunt Karen's artistry hang in our home.

off the wall part 9

We picked up these sketches years ago 

when we used to go to the Agriculture Museum with the kids 

during one of our outings during the summer and fall. 

If you notice the paint damage at the top of the photograph 

it is explained by a malfunctioning aquarium pump 

located in the room directly above the wall that these are hung on in our entry way.

One of my aunts had visited and looked at this collection and said

'I guess someone has to like stuff like that'

Well, we do like stuff like that. 

It brings back the fondest of memories.

We were tromping through those buildings 

and at the end of our trompings we ended up in the gift shop. 

There were some prints of sketches that someone had made of the buildings 

and they sold for about a dollar a piece.

The framing cost about 100 times the amount of the framed.

We picked up four of the buildings

the log cabin was a favourite of mine.

Enjoy

off the wall part 8

In our family room there hangs a calendar within a wooden frame.

We bought the frame years ago - I think at a CCS bazaar - but then again not for sure about that.

The calendars that are made to specially fit the frame tend to be expensive
so I was very happy that I saved them and was able to reuse one of the past years.
A little sticky note over the year and we are set to go.

One of my most thoughtful presents from my kids was the Christmas that
Shirley made me 12 pieces of black heavy cardstock
to which she added some pretty pictures for each month and
then printed off a page for each month to hang below each seasonal picture.

off the wall part 7

A Trisha Romance print that hangs 

in our room 

above the chair 

that I toss the clothes 

that are too dirty 

to put away 

but 

too clean

 to toss down the laundry chute.

off the wall part 6

Again I have plates on my wall.

 

These are Delft blue plates and I cannot remember where I got either of them.

I still like them and if they were not on my wall
I just might get a nice piece of whole wheat bread put it in the toaster
and once it popped up I would add a slice of gouda cheese
put on my dutch slippers and my dutch cap
and eat the slice of toast
from off of one of my pretty blue plates.

off the wall part 5

These wall hangings with bible verses on them were the rage in the late 1970's. 

This one was for my profession of faith - a verse that I selected.

This one was given to Martin - I don't remember from who or what the special occasion was.

This was our wedding text.

off the wall part 4

Now I do know when we got this one.
It was a wedding gift from Eric and Dorothy Miles who were neighbours of Martin's family.
So that means it is at least 30 years old.
The signature says Benson but that is all.

Eric and Dorothy picked out this particular painting for us because they said it looked a little bit Dutch.
I don't know what about it made them think Dutch but I appreciated it anyway.

It was in our living room for years and now hangs in the computer room at the top of the stairs.
It is a little sun damaged with the paint a tad crackly here and there.

I do like it when something on my wall makes me remember and smile.

off the wall part 3

No really on the wall but always displayed somewhere in my home...

this is a picture that was taken a long long time ago

I believe it is on RBG grounds or by Dundurn Castle

it might be fun to go to recreate this one

although we might need a wider shot

I fell in love with him then

 and I am still very much in love 

with that man 

who sits beside me still

off the wall part 2

Made by Mrs. VanKeulen, this was given to us after our wedding.
Mr. VanKeulen was Martin's elder during our dating years
( I think - my memory is a tad foggy on that )

I think of the hours of care that went into it
and what it most brings to mind is how very much
I appreciate the church family
that I have had through all of these years.

off the wall part one

Thought that I would go through the house

 and take pictures of what things are gracing the walls of our abode.

Some will have a history or a story of sorts. Some will probably not. 

And so I begin...

This Currier and Ives plate graces the wall upstairs just outside of our bedroom. 

I can't recall exactly when we got it. 

Probably very early in our marriage if not it may have been when we were dating.

We had also had a bell and a very small water pitcher with nesting plate of the same series.

They portrayed the seasons of the year.

I still like it after all these years.

ready aim fire

Now if I just had a laser beam 

that I could aim at the neighbours who have been 

very noisy 

very late 

last night it was 

the talking (shrieking rather) until 2am

the night before it was 

annoying music (really loud) until late 

(my brain collapsed at about 1am)

Don't want the laser beam to hurt anyone.

Just zap all electricity dead

and all voices stricken with laryngitis.

Ugh

enough with the rocks already

 Well one more.

Or actually two more.

Maybe the same rock...or not.

I figure that one or more of these pictures are photoshopped to one degree or another.

Still one heck of a rock.

Don't ya' think?