One Step Forward, Two Steps Back

70 this morning and pouring rain. The rain finally ended about noon.

The world outside our doors is some kind of soggy. So much rain, beginning yesterday evening and continuing all morning. I am sure some places are seeing flooding. I worry that all this dampness will bring the blight with it to the gardens, but as my mother would say no sense borrowing trouble. We shall see soon enough.

It's been one of those days where we seem to be spinning our wheels, not really able to get ahead on anything. For example, Larry tried to fix the small leak in the new bathroom sink--three times he tried, and I think the last time was the charm. It took quite a while, and he kept stopping work on the Hoosier cabinet he's repairing to work on the sink. I am sure he was pretty frustrated. I just tried to stay out of the way. And quiet!

I planned on some garden work in the morning, but the rain put the squelch on that idea. So I ended up listing things on eBay for the first time in over a month. There really hasn't been time for it. I actually wanted to paint furniture but have no get-up-and-go in me today. So I made banana bread, which needed to be done or the bananas would be too far gone, cut up a cantaloupe, cleaned up the cookstove...you know, procrastinating. Maybe I will paint later on, or maybe I will just allow myself a little downtime.

One of the things I have been researching, trying to decide if I want to keep it or re-sell it, is this odd vase. It says it's by Blenko on the label, but looks nothing like any Blenko I have ever seen. I've put it on a Facebook Blenko group, hoping someone can shed some light on it.

I finally decided to list this piece, which I really like but don't need. Apparently it's by Austin Studios in the UK. The company is no longer in production. I have not been able to determine if this is bronze, a material the company worked with a lot, or if it is some other material. I've tried all the tricks I know to try to discover what it is. A Facebook discussion with my friends did identify her as "The Breeze". 

So now I am procrastinating again, sitting here writing this post. Time to get back in the kitchen and get the banana bread out of the oven. Stay well, friends.

Copyright Susanna Holstein. All rights reserved. No Republication or Redistribution Allowed without attribution to Susanna Holstein.

Pilgrimage

Two and a half years ago I found a website that told of a sculpture located deep in the country at a little country church. According to that post, the sculpture was seen in France by a soldier during World War I. After the war he came back to the US and raised money to buy and relocate the sculpture to his church in West Virginia. We had been on the little gravel road that led to the church but had turned around before reaching it, having no idea that such a treasure waited a little further down the road.

This past week we were again in the area where the church and the sculpture are located and I was determined to find it. I was intrigued that a statue would so inspire someone that he would go to such lengths to bring it into his daily life. So we retraced our steps.

It seemed that my memory was wrong at first. The road narrowed to two tracks with grass growing in between. We kept going because the gravel was well kept and we reasoned that road had to go somewhere. The all-wheel-drive is not working in my car right now so I was a little worried that we might end up in a place where we needed it, but suddenly the gravel turned to asphalt, and there on our left was a little white Catholic church. Was it the right place? My memory of what I had read said the church was a Lutheran one. Then I saw it--high on the hill in the cemetery. We started the climb.

We passed graves old and new, most with German names and a few with Irish. Some stones have evidently been replaced over the years, evidence of continued care. Flowers bloomed and a soft breeze rustled the leaves of the quiet valley around us.

I wish I had words to describe this sculpture, but perhaps my photos will say it for me:

I tried to find the post that originally sparked my interest in this sculpture but it is no longer make available online. I have also not been able to find any other information about this sculpture online and I wonder about that. I have not said in this post the exact location of the church in case there is a reason for the lack of information (like trying to protect it from vandals). If you would like to make your own journey, please send me an email and I will be happy to send directions. It is an experience I will not forget. A place to lay down troubles and to realize that our sufferings pale in comparison; a place to bow your head and let peace surround you. It was a place I needed to be, and the time I needed to be there.

Copyright 2012 Susanna Holstein. All rights reserved. No Republication or Redistribution Allowed without attribution to Susanna Holstein.