Hope you all are also "having a good day". We are working on adding a few potted flowers to our patio area. And late last week, Ward tied up (don't panic! - NOT ME!) a purple clematis vine to the privacy fence shielding our little patio. While we are down sizing on almost everything, we are still supporting the national economy by "buying a few select things", and now knowing about this lovely PURPLE clematis that Bill and Ella Male planted, I vote that we make another trip to our local Loew's , to buy another cheerful lawn chair - one the same exact PURPLE as the clematis blooms. Now, don't you think that is a really good idea? In my mind's eye, I can see you nodding "Yes, Yes!"
Just before last Thanksgiving, we began our trek to this peaceful home. Naively, I expected to be fully settled long before Easter. Forgot about how slow my older body pokes along, and I say now that we are "making progress." And I'm finally painting watercolors again.
No photos, no fanfare, just little ole me saying hello from Painter and Poet's new home base at Winona Lake, IN. I'm a slow learner on my new fancy cell phone. Remember you can order unmatted prints from our same web site: www.painterandpoet.com All set up for paypal. Visits to our Winona Lake studio by appointment.
From Esther (Ward says "Hi")
Sunday, May 6, 2012
Wednesday, April 18, 2012
OPEN HOUSE Saturday here at 307 N Main St., in Culver!
Our Culver home and gallery is now officially for sale. And we will be holding an open house this coming Saturday, April 21, from 1 till 5, and look forward to showing our property to you.
This charming Mission style home will delight you, and its location on an easy to maintain lot, within easy walking distance - only 2 blocks to downtown and about 3 blocks from Culver's public beach and park, makes this home a wonderful choice for many. And if you are interested in running a small shop or business or professional office alone or from your home (as we did our art gallery), then this place is it. It is in a small 2 block long area with C2 zoning, which allows many uses (details at Culver's Town Hall.)
Ward and I are both experienced in real estate sales and appraisal, and are offering our property for sale by us, the owners. Details on this property will be available at our open house.
Almost 60 years ago, I moved to Culver, raised a family, and became a Realtor and thus was in many different homes. Had the pleasure of selling this home twice for other people. I always LOVED this house - its "vibes" were darn near perfect!
Later, Ward and I met and married, and we worked, retired and had the joy of then "living our dream" with painting and poetry. To make a long story short, we looked for an ideal house to live in and set up a gallery. And when we were 70 years+ we bought this "my all time favorite" house and added the gallery, and kept improving and improving, making it easier for us to live in as we aged. We thought we would stay here until we "dropped", but as we entered our eighties, and walking has become more difficult for me, we realized that with children scattered, we needed to move to a retirement complex that had facilities where we could more easily continue to live out our Painter and Poet voyage with more help when we need it. Grace Village Retirement Community at Winona Lake is truly an answer to a prayer. And we are only 40 miles from Culver!
For your info, vital statistics: 2000+ square feet mostly brick, excellent quality one story Mission style bungalow with 9 rooms. 1.5 baths. 2 bedrooms + 2 other private sleeping areas, spacious living room with fireplace, sun room (was my studio - possible sleeping area), large dining room, kitchen with lots of cabinetry, former gallery (wonderful heated sun room/porch/family room - your choice) laundry/computer room between kitchen, hall to bedrooms and attached garage, 60% basement - with crawl under the other areas. Lots of extras - again details available at the open house, or by mail. Only $249,000!
Ready to move into with immediate possession upon closing. For other information, please contact us at our Winona Lake home, 574-372-6339 and leave a message if we are not there. Looking forward to seeing or hearing from you!
Esther and Ward
Wednesday, March 14, 2012
MOVING SALE at our Culver home!
Hi Friends,
We have been "working like little beavers" to get everything prepared for our large moving sale.
Here is the info - straight from the sign that will be in our front yard tomorrow.
HUGE MOVING SALE
MARCH 16 & 17
FRI & SAT 9 TILL 5
3 Areas and Entries
Front Garage Gallery
Front and garage. Lamps,
baskets, dishes, books, toys,
furniture, TV, bed, & surprises.
Esther's prints half price in gallery.
Our angel friend Darlene and her sister, Dolly, have set up a sale inside our front door. We could not have done this without their wonderful help, and Ward and I are very, very grateful for all of their effort. Lots of terrific buys, as we have downsized as we go into another phase in our lives. Ward and I will be at the sale, probably mostly in the gallery.
And we appreciate Chris and Candy Chambers' assistance in making our recent move to Grace Village. They will have our garage chockful of a wonderful and wide variety of things.
This is going to be my shortest blog to date. Am really tired and
looking forward to a busy weekend.
Remember our web site: http://www.painterandpoet.com
and here is the info so you can subscribe to our blog, if you want to. Blog site is http://www.painterandpoet.blogspot.com
After we get the Culver house back in order and carpet cleaned, etc., a sale sign will go up and our beloved Culver house will be on the market. Hope to have information sheets at the sale with details about our Culver home.
We have been "working like little beavers" to get everything prepared for our large moving sale.
Here is the info - straight from the sign that will be in our front yard tomorrow.
HUGE MOVING SALE
MARCH 16 & 17
FRI & SAT 9 TILL 5
3 Areas and Entries
Front Garage Gallery
Front and garage. Lamps,
baskets, dishes, books, toys,
furniture, TV, bed, & surprises.
Esther's prints half price in gallery.
Our angel friend Darlene and her sister, Dolly, have set up a sale inside our front door. We could not have done this without their wonderful help, and Ward and I are very, very grateful for all of their effort. Lots of terrific buys, as we have downsized as we go into another phase in our lives. Ward and I will be at the sale, probably mostly in the gallery.
And we appreciate Chris and Candy Chambers' assistance in making our recent move to Grace Village. They will have our garage chockful of a wonderful and wide variety of things.
This is going to be my shortest blog to date. Am really tired and
looking forward to a busy weekend.
Remember our web site: http://www.painterandpoet.com
and here is the info so you can subscribe to our blog, if you want to. Blog site is http://www.painterandpoet.blogspot.com
After we get the Culver house back in order and carpet cleaned, etc., a sale sign will go up and our beloved Culver house will be on the market. Hope to have information sheets at the sale with details about our Culver home.
Sunday, February 26, 2012
Almost Unpacked!
Here is a photo of the front of our condo home. The one car garage is ours - with a door right into the kitchen - all very convenient and senior helpful. The covered front entry leads into the vaulted main living area, with bedrooms off a hallway to the left. Toward the rear there is a small sun room with sliding doors to the patio. Just behind the kitchen, my studio has a bank of windows toward the back yard. An easy to live with floor plan.
Yesterday, I enjoyed looking through and organizing photos I've saved as ideas for new paintings, and got really excited about some of them, and I also went through the "to do" commission list. I'm eager to start in, and my new studio is a very inviting room.
A little over a week ago, we stopped over at the Assisted Living building to visit a dear former Culver friend, Dollis Studebaker. She was getting ready to attend a music program in Grace Village's Fellowship Hall, and invited us to join her. We did, and enjoyed a wonderful program - a very talented group of seven - six of them singers who doubled on instruments - a piano player, a jolly fellow alternating between a harmonica and an accordion, a drummer,a mandolin player, and several banjoists. (The harmonica player reminded me of an older and more portly version of my son Terry, with his jolly bass voice). They played all kinds of music - jazz, country western, old songs from the 40's, as well as some Christian songs. Lots of funny corny jokes, and our old gray heads were bobbing with pleasure. Dollis tells me that different groups come in to entertain on many Thursday nights - so we will look forward to enjoying more of these programs. There are all kinds of activities here - Ward just finished participating in a 10 week get-together on poetry writing (led by a dapper gent who has retired from teaching English etc.), and Ward became better acquainted with the 11 or 12 residents who participated. At the music program, he introduced me to Darlene, who is one of his poet friends.
We sold a whole bunch of our inventory at our before Christmas half price off sale, and Gail has some of the remaining inventory, but we still have some gallery stock, so will be offering some here. First offering today are two framed prints - One of Great Doors, which is in a frosted silver frame, and matted in off white over maroon, and the other is a mini Black Horse Troop framed in shiny gold with an off white mat over bright blue. You can tell the approximate sizes by looking at the photos of Ward and me holding each holding one of them. Check our web site for image sizes and descriptions of both of these prints. www.painterandpoet.com
Below is the other framed print - Mini Black Horse Troop, in a shiny gold frame and in an off white over bright blue mat. $38 + $10 toward UPS shipping cost.
If you are close enough to pick up your purchase, there will be no shipping cost. Contact details at the end of this blog. And do remember that we have our unmatted prints here in our Winona Lake studio - and you may order them through our web site. We have given up matting and framing, but are still active with me painting and Ward conjuring up more poetry.
And now again we want to thank all of you for being such wonderful friends and customers, and remind you that we are so very happy to know so many of you. Technology is wonderful, and we are grateful that it is easy to continue to be in touch. Bless you, one and all.
Visitors welcome by appointment - to our Winona Lake working studio. Call 574-372-6339.
Tuesday, January 24, 2012
First Blog of 2012
When we first arrived here - just before Thanksgiving, I was always talking about going back home - which meant Culver. Now when we are at the Culver house, I find myself saying - "maybe it's time to head back home."
About a week ago, Darlene came to visit, and she took several pictures of Ward and me, so I am posting one of them. It was very cold and we are in front of our Winona Lake home, and soon I will post some more inside shots, so you can get a better idea of where we now live.
Randy is working on web site changes, and those will soon be finished. In the meantime, our phone numbers are land line residence phone: 574-372-6339 and our answering service is working there. Our Painter and Poet Gallery cell phone number is 574-842-8888. If I don't return a message you left there, please call me back on our land line. I confess - I'm having trouble learning how to get my voice mail messages. I know, I know - you say it's easy. Well, let me remind you - I grew up on a farm where my Dad plowed with a team of horses - and we had no electricity and no running water (and an out-house). How can anybody expect me to be a fast whiz on a cell phone? C'mon, Give me a break!
About a week ago, Darlene came to visit, and she took several pictures of Ward and me, so I am posting one of them. It was very cold and we are in front of our Winona Lake home, and soon I will post some more inside shots, so you can get a better idea of where we now live.
Monday, December 5, 2011
Second Blog of the Day - Our mailing address
Dear "All of You",
Just opened our mail, and there was a nice Christmas card addressed to our Culver address with a message inside that they "hoped we would receive this at our new address", so thought some of you might like to have our new mailing address. Here it is:
Ward and Esther Miller
1415 Avalon Court
Winona Lake, Indiana
46590
Back to unpacking just one more box. Fortunately, we have an attached garage with room along one side for open metal shelving and several roomy metal enclosed cabinets. Those areas are fast filling up and many of the boxes are simply labeled "memorabilia". I feel as if it will take us 5 years to sort all of this out, but it is comforting to know that we can take our time, to pitch, save, give away or sell.
I'll tell all of you a secret (and I guess then, it will not longer be a secret): Some of the memorabilia boxes were packed when my mother died in 1988 (24 years ago). Wow! Our Painter and Poet journey began in 1989, and I've been more fascinated by enjoying our wonderful art "trip" with all of the hard but enjoyable facets of envisioning, then making the painting and poetry come to life, then marketing, traveling, etc. etc., than I was by delving into the contents of those boxes - they moved along with us -
to our first condo, then to our peaceful log cabin, then to our recent beloved Culver home with attached gallery, and now on to our retirement condo - a peaceful and secure haven. I'm sure this new spot, without the gallery, the matting and framing, and with other people responsible for many of the tasks we tried to do for ourselves, will give us an easier life with more time to create and to relax. So the journey goes on..........
Ward hung a Christmas wreath near our front door, and our 45 year old nativity scene (from Marshall Field's catalog) is in its year round place, an antique commode right next to our front door. Later this next week, we will put up a few old favorite Christmas decorations.
from Esther
Just opened our mail, and there was a nice Christmas card addressed to our Culver address with a message inside that they "hoped we would receive this at our new address", so thought some of you might like to have our new mailing address. Here it is:
Ward and Esther Miller
1415 Avalon Court
Winona Lake, Indiana
46590
Back to unpacking just one more box. Fortunately, we have an attached garage with room along one side for open metal shelving and several roomy metal enclosed cabinets. Those areas are fast filling up and many of the boxes are simply labeled "memorabilia". I feel as if it will take us 5 years to sort all of this out, but it is comforting to know that we can take our time, to pitch, save, give away or sell.
I'll tell all of you a secret (and I guess then, it will not longer be a secret): Some of the memorabilia boxes were packed when my mother died in 1988 (24 years ago). Wow! Our Painter and Poet journey began in 1989, and I've been more fascinated by enjoying our wonderful art "trip" with all of the hard but enjoyable facets of envisioning, then making the painting and poetry come to life, then marketing, traveling, etc. etc., than I was by delving into the contents of those boxes - they moved along with us -
to our first condo, then to our peaceful log cabin, then to our recent beloved Culver home with attached gallery, and now on to our retirement condo - a peaceful and secure haven. I'm sure this new spot, without the gallery, the matting and framing, and with other people responsible for many of the tasks we tried to do for ourselves, will give us an easier life with more time to create and to relax. So the journey goes on..........
Ward hung a Christmas wreath near our front door, and our 45 year old nativity scene (from Marshall Field's catalog) is in its year round place, an antique commode right next to our front door. Later this next week, we will put up a few old favorite Christmas decorations.
from Esther
Still in the Midst of our overwhelming move!
Hi friends -
Had hoped to be posting by now, but realty has set in, and we continue to pack, tote, and unpack - with an occasional half day off to recuperate. Shortly before Thanksgiving, I tore a tendon in my left wrist (the good news, -it was not my right hand), so am being careful and doing lots of sorting but very little lifting. Am in a fiberglass cast (waterproof) and very light weight. Relatively comfortable.
We had planned to be moved before snowy weather - the furniture and heavy boxes in our final major load was put in place about 20 minutes before Warsaw's first snow of the season - no snow in Culver. Excellent accidental timing.
Most people here seem to be kind and friendly. Our next door neighbors dropped in several days after we began sleeping here - they brought some good cookies, and a warm welcome. Tomorrow we are going to a Christmas dinner at the community building for Robin Hood Condos - dinner is being catered by Grace College.
My drawing table is still buried in boxes, but our limited edition prints are safely in order on shelves along the back wall of my studio - thanks to expert and careful handling by Chris Chambers. As soon as that area is in order, I'm determined to get a brush in my RIGHT hand- I can feel it twitching now. We'll soon take some photos of our condo to share with you. Trying to port our 842-8888 land line to our "waiting to be programmed" cell phone. As of now, the safest way to call us is on our home land line - 574-372-6339 - or email a message to us at info@painterandpoet.com
After we have our new cell phone set up, we will disconnect the Painter and Poet land line in Culver, and will have the cell phone programmed to receive messages. We'll then immediately post our correct and active phone number for Painter and Poet. Thank you all for your patience during this transition.
Hope you all are on schedule to welcome Santa. Peace. from Esther
Had hoped to be posting by now, but realty has set in, and we continue to pack, tote, and unpack - with an occasional half day off to recuperate. Shortly before Thanksgiving, I tore a tendon in my left wrist (the good news, -it was not my right hand), so am being careful and doing lots of sorting but very little lifting. Am in a fiberglass cast (waterproof) and very light weight. Relatively comfortable.
We had planned to be moved before snowy weather - the furniture and heavy boxes in our final major load was put in place about 20 minutes before Warsaw's first snow of the season - no snow in Culver. Excellent accidental timing.
Most people here seem to be kind and friendly. Our next door neighbors dropped in several days after we began sleeping here - they brought some good cookies, and a warm welcome. Tomorrow we are going to a Christmas dinner at the community building for Robin Hood Condos - dinner is being catered by Grace College.
My drawing table is still buried in boxes, but our limited edition prints are safely in order on shelves along the back wall of my studio - thanks to expert and careful handling by Chris Chambers. As soon as that area is in order, I'm determined to get a brush in my RIGHT hand- I can feel it twitching now. We'll soon take some photos of our condo to share with you. Trying to port our 842-8888 land line to our "waiting to be programmed" cell phone. As of now, the safest way to call us is on our home land line - 574-372-6339 - or email a message to us at info@painterandpoet.com
After we have our new cell phone set up, we will disconnect the Painter and Poet land line in Culver, and will have the cell phone programmed to receive messages. We'll then immediately post our correct and active phone number for Painter and Poet. Thank you all for your patience during this transition.
Hope you all are on schedule to welcome Santa. Peace. from Esther
Saturday, October 22, 2011
Saturday evening - BIG SALE is progressing!
We are still having the BIG 50% OFF SALE on all prints! New extended hours: 1 PM till 6 PM, Wed, Thurs, Fri, Sat, & Sun. Our sale will continue until Nov. 12. The walls are getting more and more empty, but many nice bargains remain. Christmas is coming!
After we move, Gail's Shop here in Culver will be selling our prints. And we also will be selling un-matted prints on line. www.painterandpoet.com
Ward and I are sad to close our little Painter and Poet Gallery and will miss our wonderful friends and neighbors in Culver, an amazing small town. But we do look forward to our new home at Robin Hood Condos., where we will have a more stress free life and the help we are likely need as we age. If curious, check out their web site: www.gracevillage.org
After we are settled in our new digs, I will be setting up my membership in Daily Paintworks, a very active site where many artists sell their originals. And I am looking forward to working on many of the commissions some of you have requested - I will have the space and the time to paint, paint, paint! For the next few weeks, our email address and phone number will remain the same, and we will be posting on this blog www.painterandpoet.blogspot.com to let you know of changes.
Once we are settled there, we will be sending a card to each of you on our active mailing list, giving you our new address and phone number and details on how to contact us.
Now I must get back to packing. Looks like many of our "memorabilia" boxes will be unopened and transferred to shelves in our new garage. To you who have moved in the last few years, does this sound familiar?
From Esther and Ward
After we move, Gail's Shop here in Culver will be selling our prints. And we also will be selling un-matted prints on line. www.painterandpoet.com
Ward and I are sad to close our little Painter and Poet Gallery and will miss our wonderful friends and neighbors in Culver, an amazing small town. But we do look forward to our new home at Robin Hood Condos., where we will have a more stress free life and the help we are likely need as we age. If curious, check out their web site: www.gracevillage.org
After we are settled in our new digs, I will be setting up my membership in Daily Paintworks, a very active site where many artists sell their originals. And I am looking forward to working on many of the commissions some of you have requested - I will have the space and the time to paint, paint, paint! For the next few weeks, our email address and phone number will remain the same, and we will be posting on this blog www.painterandpoet.blogspot.com to let you know of changes.
Once we are settled there, we will be sending a card to each of you on our active mailing list, giving you our new address and phone number and details on how to contact us.
Now I must get back to packing. Looks like many of our "memorabilia" boxes will be unopened and transferred to shelves in our new garage. To you who have moved in the last few years, does this sound familiar?
From Esther and Ward
Tuesday, October 18, 2011
Wednesday, October 5, 2011
HUGE SALE! Exciting news from Painter and Poet
Change is in the wind! Ward and I want to let you in on our plans. We are 98% sure that we will soon be moving to a condo in Robin Hood Condominiums, associated with Grace Village Retirement Community at Winona Lake, Indiana- right next to Warsaw. While we are both "young at heart", Father Time has a nasty habit of sneaking up on us, and this move will make it easier for us to continue to pursue our creative life and our personal life. All exterior maintenance will be done by someone else, and our lives will be easier and simpler. Grace Village is lovely, and a very friendly and helpful place, and we are looking forward to happy, productive and safe years there. It is very hard for me to leave Culver - I have had a home or property here for 58 years and I appreciate all of the amazing generosity and kindness that people in this town have given first to me and my children, and then to Ward and me. Grace Village is only 45 minutes from Culver and we plan to return often!!
While living in Grace Village, we will not have a retail outlet, but you may purchase our unmatted prints, cook books and Ward's books online through our web site www.painterandpoet.com . We are delighted to report that Painter and Poet prints will be available here in Culver at Gail's Shop. And Culver Academies' Bookstore will continue to carry our Culver Academy Series of prints.
Ward and I have worked hard and lived our dream for the last 14 years operating our own small gallery housed in several locations along Main Street in Culver. It has been such a pleasure to share our artistic work. We will miss the many customers and friends we've met through our painting and poeting, but all good things (and fortunately also - all bad ones) end, and we look forward to the next chapter. Our move to Winona Lake will allow me to concentrate on painting originals, and plugging away on long delayed commissions. My studio there will be larger than the one in our Culver home. And after we are settled in our condo, I will be joining Daily Paintworks site online and posting small originals on that site. Fear not - the art gene is still strong and urgent in my innards! Ward continues with his poetic musings and years back he wrote a wonderful poem called "My Indiana Home" - I am looking forward to finishing the small watercolors needed to illustrate this poem which will then morph into a poster. That will be my first project after we settle in our new home..
We want to reduce our inventory before we move, and so are having a whopping 50% off sale only on all the framed and matted prints now in our gallery. This sale does not include unmatted prints or any of our other gallery inventory. While we plan to stay open as much as possible, our "for sure" hours will be Fridays and Saturdays from 10 till 5. To come at other times, check our open sign or call ahead. 574-842-8888.
We will accept phone orders with credit card payment, and will be glad to mark your purchases and set them aside for pick up. If you want to pay by cash or personal check, we will mark your artwork, set it aside and hold it for up to 5 days so you can arrange to pay for it when you get it. We will accept credit cards and personal checks. All sales will be final. Sorry, because of the confusion of this move we cannot arrange shipping. More details on how to purchase items from Painter and Poet will be posted later. We hope to be settled in our new Grace Village home before Thanksgiving.
As soon as our condo lease in Robin Hood Condos is finalized, our Culver home will be for sale. I'll blog again and give you more information on our Mission style brick bungalow, a house that struck my fancy for many years before we purchased it about 13 years ago. We have loved living in this house and hope the new owners will enjoy it as much as we have.
from Ward and Esther
While living in Grace Village, we will not have a retail outlet, but you may purchase our unmatted prints, cook books and Ward's books online through our web site www.painterandpoet.com . We are delighted to report that Painter and Poet prints will be available here in Culver at Gail's Shop. And Culver Academies' Bookstore will continue to carry our Culver Academy Series of prints.
Ward and I have worked hard and lived our dream for the last 14 years operating our own small gallery housed in several locations along Main Street in Culver. It has been such a pleasure to share our artistic work. We will miss the many customers and friends we've met through our painting and poeting, but all good things (and fortunately also - all bad ones) end, and we look forward to the next chapter. Our move to Winona Lake will allow me to concentrate on painting originals, and plugging away on long delayed commissions. My studio there will be larger than the one in our Culver home. And after we are settled in our condo, I will be joining Daily Paintworks site online and posting small originals on that site. Fear not - the art gene is still strong and urgent in my innards! Ward continues with his poetic musings and years back he wrote a wonderful poem called "My Indiana Home" - I am looking forward to finishing the small watercolors needed to illustrate this poem which will then morph into a poster. That will be my first project after we settle in our new home..
We want to reduce our inventory before we move, and so are having a whopping 50% off sale only on all the framed and matted prints now in our gallery. This sale does not include unmatted prints or any of our other gallery inventory. While we plan to stay open as much as possible, our "for sure" hours will be Fridays and Saturdays from 10 till 5. To come at other times, check our open sign or call ahead. 574-842-8888.
We will accept phone orders with credit card payment, and will be glad to mark your purchases and set them aside for pick up. If you want to pay by cash or personal check, we will mark your artwork, set it aside and hold it for up to 5 days so you can arrange to pay for it when you get it. We will accept credit cards and personal checks. All sales will be final. Sorry, because of the confusion of this move we cannot arrange shipping. More details on how to purchase items from Painter and Poet will be posted later. We hope to be settled in our new Grace Village home before Thanksgiving.
As soon as our condo lease in Robin Hood Condos is finalized, our Culver home will be for sale. I'll blog again and give you more information on our Mission style brick bungalow, a house that struck my fancy for many years before we purchased it about 13 years ago. We have loved living in this house and hope the new owners will enjoy it as much as we have.
from Ward and Esther
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