Near my easel I have a old secretary desk I use to organize my paints. Above it I place things from my collection that I want to paint. Often times they will hang out there for some time, as I place more and more things around them. Having them there allows me to see them, think about them, and imagine with them. Imagine what kind of scenes I can set up with them, imagine what kind of story they have to tell. I was sitting looking at a painting on my easel and a thought hit me when my eyes fell on one of these horses standing near Old King Cole.
When I walk along, and I see acorns, I can't help but pick up one or two.When Fall comes along, and I get a jacket from the closet, most often than not, I will feelan acorn in the bottom of thepockets. In the little dish below the car radio, you will find acorns.
I have little bowls in my studio with acorns along with marbles. I can tell you which ones my daughter collected,
which ones came from my parents land,a friends farm, or local park. When I was a little girl, I thought their caps were used as fairy hats, or bowls that fairies drank dew from.
On me and my husbands first date, I picked up acorns and gave them to him. Later, for an anniversary he took one and had it set in silver for a necklace.I have loved acornsfor as long as I can remember.
I grew up with a family of gardeners. Tomatoes were and still are a big deal. Starting the seeds, warming the ground so you can get them out early. Tying them up, caging them, or staking them.
When I was old enough to not be squeamish, my Dad would pay me to pull caterpillars off the plants, called hornworms. They cause a lot of damage to tomato plants. They were big and green, with a scary curved horn on their back end. I would get them to crawl on a stick, then I would put them in a coffee can to give him.
I first learned about heirloom tomatoes when my Mom brought home some Brandywine tomato plants. I thought it was a big deal because it was all about Beefsteak tomatoes growing up. I still remember the first time I saw one sliced, how it's cross section looked different than the tomatoes I was used too. The seed patterns were different, the colors were different. They were not perfectly shaped, and that was ok, it was expected.
Stacked
detail
Now it seems you can find heirloom tomatoes more readily. I am grateful to live in an area that grows many many varieties with farmers markets in every little community and farm stands a plenty. When it is tomato season, it's like fireworks with all their shapes, sizes, and colors. Names like Black Krim, Vintage Wine, Amana Orange, Heart of Compassion, Green Zebra, Black Zebra, Chocolate Stripes, and Abe Lincoln. To learn more about the hundreds of varieties now available to growers check out Gary Ibson's TomatoFest website to learn all about the heirloom varieties. TomatoFest
Experts believe losing one’s marbles originated in the United States in the late 1800s. Marbles — those little glass or metal balls
children use to play a variety of games — were popular toys long ago.
The word “marbles,” though, was also used to refer to one’s personal
belongings or “stuff.” Some people believe “marbles” eventually came to be associated with
one’s mind or wits or common sense, too. Since marbles were important
playthings and one’s personal belongings or “stuff” would also be very
important, one can see how one’s mind or wits or common sense could be
associated with these other important things. One can imagine a young child playing with his favorite marbles
around the turn of the 20th century. Marbles could be carried easily in
pockets, so he could take the game with him wherever he went. If he
were to lose one or more of these prized possessions, he would certainly
feel a sense of loss and likely a sense of anger or despair. He might
even appear crazy as he searched frantically for the missing marbles.
Since the late 1800's the phrase has appeared in literature.
In the 1954 film The Caine Mutiny Humphrey Bogart linked
insanity with marbles when he showed his character, the demented Lt.
Cmdr. Queeg, restlessly jiggling a set of metal balls when under stress
in court.
