Peony, I think Polo and I are Type 1.5 painters. I actually have never picked up a paint brush because I am always busy keeping a toddler from sticking his foot into the paint can. My husband would very much like to be a Type 1 painter, but time restraints make it so you have to cut corners whenever possible remember he works 14 hours a day and has to paint when it is least likely a toddler will stick his foot in a paint can. The only time he paints is late at night to very early in the morning.
We are also in the process of painting our kitchen, and well, the whole house. The inside if the house is off white with aqua blue trim. Hate it. apparently the Amish are only allowed to use colors found in nature, and aqua is the most colorful of those colors, so that is what they used for the trim. So he had to wash walls (they are quite sooty), prime it, cover holes, you know the routine. I will say I am always amazed how a nice a fresh coat of paint can make something look.
We also just bought a new stove. The Amish use something called a Perfection Cookstove which is kerosene fueled, portable and expensive for us, especially since it has no oven. We bought a very simple propane gas range, but had to do a bit of searching to find one with pilots as opposed to an electric ignition. I seem to remember all gas ranges having pilots. Maybe that is the old ones?
Hey, Lapis Lazuli, indian red, naples yellow, cadmium red (sort of), raw sienna, all of these are found in nature, without any manipulation required. In fact, most artists' colors are found in nature (or by burning natural stuff). The reason for this is that natural pigments are more stable than coal-tar ones (although we have been getting some more stable lakes and dyes recently). I wonder where they get their guidelines for "colors found in nature?" Someone should send these poor Amish a copy of a good artists' materials manual.
I do not understand the natural color thing to be honest because you can find just about any color in nature. Actually, I could be wrong, but aqua blue is the only bright color I see in Amish homes.
Somebody ought to point out to the Amish that before the eighteenth century, all pigments were derived from natural sources. I suppose the aqua color is obtained from copper? Sounds inconsistent to me. On the gas oven question, ours has an electric ignition and thermostat, so we couldn't use it during the hurricane and subsequent blackout. I ended up doing the turkey in a deep covered pan over two low burners on the stove top, with broth and carrots and onions, rather like a big pale pot roast. To my surprise, it was fabulous, and we consumed it utterly, as well as the potatoes. I wish I'd been able to bake, however, not least because Son #4, in a clear bid to secure September's Einstein Of The Month award, left two gallons of milk in the back of the van for three days, rendering it useless for drinking but perfect for biscuits and bread.
The stove of my dreams is an Aga cooker with 4 ovens and 6 burners----drool.
Even with the electronic ignition, the stovetop is usable without power, but not the oven.
Personally I would love to have the igloo shaped wood burner that was shared by my relatives, when they all lived on the same block (imagine a situation like the Four Corners, with this brick and plaster igloo right in the corners, producing bread, roast meats, etc.). Unfortunately the older generation passed away, and the younger ones already had houses, so the lots were sold off to outsiders and the oven is gone. Wood ovens are the best. Wood stoves, on the other hand, are a major pain, produce uneven heat, and are more difficult to control than even electric. My godfather had a cabin in rural Oregon with one, and it was a headache and a half to use. You never have a cold burner, you have to regulate heat with all sorts of improvised measures, if you neglect your coals, you have to stop cooking until you can get the thing up, and there is no real cooking benefit, unlike a wood-burning oven.
My ideal would be a Wolf range with griddle, a convection oven and a wood-burning brick oven. A large kitchen fireplace would be great, too, as there is something pleasant about a whole animal roasting on a spit in the kitchen. Yum.
Meanwhile I make due with four small gas burners, a neurotic gas oven, and my Weber.
I came within a hair width of purchasing an Elmira Oval cookstove, but a better deal came through at the eleventh hour for a plain ole wood/coal heating stove.