Christmas at Alma's 2002, passing my own global test in welcoming the world into her home, two exchange students; Leo (from Germany) and Juan (from Argentina), enjoy a rare white Christmas in Kentucky cooking a post-skiing adventure dinner for us. They had two questions about the USA as a war was about to be launched: "Why does the US always have to have an enemy?" and "Why does the US want to dominate the world?" When they watched broadcast news they often called it "infotainment"... talking heads but no NEWS. Alma would have loved this. She and Ted would only watched the evening news on TV and some ball games. Then I recently learned that half of our founding fathers in Philadelphia (which we visited during their school year) were bankers writing the constitution and protecting their interests. 

Autumn view in Indiana of Ohio River from the Overlook Restaurant off I-64, Alma would stop at during trips to Evansville Museum of Arts and Science in Evansville for annual 8-States Exhibitions. 

view at front bay window, pine shelf I made to hold cobalt collection (books removed), and is designed without nails to be knocked down and removed if necessary... 

originally installed by Alma and Ted, light remains 

cabinets remain, doors will be retored and rehung in future... 

detail of fiber work of Kathleen Loomis, awarded the first Alma Wallace Lesch Memorial Award in 2002, at The Kentucky State Fair (see KET/ MIXED MEDIA program info) 

wall behind the kitchen stove area with kitchen door swung open into the livingroom...2002 

ceiling fans are added upstairs in the north bedroom, the main bedroom on the first floor and in the kitchen...photo 2002 

bathroom walls, south window, before I stenciled Shaker tree motif as border pattern in dark gray paint, subtle effect that merges with the blue... it too inspired by Shaker color... 

front entrance, early 2002, at Alma's 

South Union, Shaker Village, KY 

The ultimate basket, the nest, inspires me in a view from a south window at South Union Shaker Village... and the robin's egg blue color may have inspired the Shaker craftspeople in their interior work as well. 

South Union interior, Shaker Village 

English Ironstone now used at Shaker Village, South Union, Kentucky were once in the corner cabinet of Alma and Ted's kitchen. 

center island, sink 

closeup 

After constructing Shaker-style peg rail, the kitchen and south walls in the living room were lined with peg rail. Chairs and art rotate from the track. 

Center island counter top during repairs... 

view from rear entrance, during painting... 

kitchen, rear entrance to back porch on right top in photo, redirected plumbing to a new island and sink away from the rear window wall where the original sink stood just below the window. 

kitchen and bathroom areas are joined in a continuous ceramic tile surface, baseboard found in the garage, removed from a demolished house across the street that Ted and Alma owned, was used to surround the kitchen walls where tile and wall meet. 

restoring Alma and Ted's home 2002 

become a blogger 

bearded iris, April-May 

June in bloom 

at Morrison Gallery, Elizabethtown, KY until Feb 3, 2005