Hidden Art

Furniture hand-crafted by family and friends....

Come sit awhile and enjoy our old but newly-recovered loveseats.....

 

Love, beauty and "hidden art" everywhere......

 

Many years ago when I was a young wife and mother I stumbled upon the writings of Edith Schaeffer.  Meeting Edith through her books such as L'Abri, What is a Family? and Hidden Art was like discovering a kindred spirit.  Here was a woman who embraced life to the full and found time to behold and create "hidden art" in so many different places.  I devoured her books and longed to be like her...this woman who served alongside her husband and worked hard to make their home in Switzerland a place of rest, refreshment and rejuvenation for the many others God brought their way.

When we flew to Hungary in September I brought the book L'Abri with me and read it while flying eastward.  Then how amazing to discover that the young man seated next to me on the plane was Swiss born and headed home after some months of English study in Canada!  We enjoyed many hours of conversation re his homeland and how life in Canada compared to that in Switzerland.  It was a rare meeting with a fine young man... and only the first of many friendly Europeans we've been privileged to meet and talk with during our months here in Hungary.

Not only have we met friendly folks but so many with an eye for beauty as they observe the world around them.  Ron and I felt and experienced this at the fine arts school here in Tapolca....we see it every day in the carefully designed pansy beds bordering the roads; in the patterns of the paved walkways; in the ornate architecture of the buildings; in the stained glass windows of the churches; and even in the amazing array of fresh flowers displayed in each and every cemetery.  Everywhere we turn there is so much beauty....so much "hidden art" in each home we have entered.

For today we wanted to tell you a bit about the wonderful weekend we had
one week ago when English teacher Erika and her husband Sylvester (who has very limited English) took us into their hearts and their home.  This all began with an invitation to supper with them on Friday evening.  So off we went, past the fine arts school and Christian Reformed church here in town, on to their home a short walk beyond the school and church.  The meal was totally and truly Hungarian with homemade wine; pickles preserved by Erika's mother; a big pot of galushka and a savoury beef goulash stew.  While  Hungarians tend to use pork or chicken most of the time, Erika had purposely bought beef as a treat for her Canadian friends.  The stew was delicious as was the zucchini and cheese side dish she served as part of this first course.  And then there was a plate of her own homebaked sweets, and more wine......

 

 

Following supper we enjoyed a "show and tell" time as Erika brought out a beautiful tablecloth that her students had secretly made for her as a gift.  The huge white cloth was bordered with bright red cherries that had been carefully hand-embroidered, along with the names of each of the students who had taken part in this long-term labour of love!  Also we had a house tour as we heard about various friends or family who had re-upholstered furniture for them; painted pictures for them or built cabinets, tables etc.  Erika also loves to shop in thrift stores for clothes, accessories and other bargains so always we had much to talk about!