Tuesday, March 22, 2005

Stuffing a backpack...

I can stuff a turkey, really I can...and I used to be able to stuff a Volkswagon (remember those days???), butI am having a hard time stuffing my backpack.

I will be leaving on my Carl Sandburg trip in just a couple of days and have been getting everything ready...black and white film, new mastercard to replace the one I lost at the fund raiser on Saturday night, cash from the ATM, charging the phone, stopping the mail, washing the jeans, finding sandals..raincoats, getting the new journal ready, books to read on the train, hair barretts, sweatshirts, business cards (never pass up a great opportunity!!), glasses...both distance and sunglases, sunscreen, t-shirts, socks, underwear, camera, clothes for Portland.

And then there are the travel arrangements...there are six folks involved in my getting to the airport and back from the train station..I feel a little like a bag of potatoes...but as long as everyone remembers their part, I should get there and back OK!!

So now comes the stuffing part...it just won't go, plus I forgot to put toothpaste, shampoo, hairbrush and all of that on the list.

The big question of the night is this? How in the world did the hobos do it?? Of course, they didn't photograph their historic journey (how did they know it would be a romantically preserved time period...and they didn't journal..again same reason. I am quite sure they didn't need sunscreen or sandals or their ATM card or business cards to drop along the way...here, Kansas City, have a business card, give me call if you have any work for fifteen cents an hour.

OK, ok, I am trying to duplicate the trip...but doesn't anyone out there want to go along to carry this big, stuffed backpack???????

Thursday, March 17, 2005

Happy St. Pat's to all...

I love St. Patrick's Day...it is right up there with the Solstice and Robert Burns Day..

I love the wearing of the green...dusting off my brogue...and drinking green beer....(that comes later tonight!!)

Tomorrow night (at Rachael's) there will be a great St. Pat's celebration with singing (we made our own songbooks), and stories (that is my job!) Hopefully we will have folks from wall to wall..so if you are in Angola tomorrow night, come on over!!

Which reminds me..I best go brush up on those Irish tales, take my walk, and oh yes...have that green beer!!

Monday, March 14, 2005

Still winter according to my fourth grade writers!!

Haiku for Winter by Fourth Grade Students in Northern Indiana

blustery cold winds
blankets of snow falling down
gleaming snow glows bright

snowflakes still falling
animals want snow to leave
arctic winds blowing

Spring is a traitor
betraying us in sharp March
adios Winter!!

Winter, be gone now
take off your dreaded white coat
you've stayed long enough

cold frosts evenings
winter's sweet maple syrup
wondrous tree tapping

deer bound across fields
like snowshoe rabbits in snow
which are both awesome

longer March sunsets
warm air melting it's cold ice
geese swimming in ponds

snowy freezing days
cold, chilly, raw March evenings
people wanting spring

Wednesday, March 09, 2005

The way it is...

Philip left this morning.

Coming home at the end of the day to an empty house was difficult. It is always like that when he leaves. He spoils me when he is here...cooking, washing dishes, having a lovely pot of tea ready for me when I walk in the door. Oh, how lonely my house is tonight.

I called my sister. She always has a way of listening to me...I read..I cooked dinner...and I walked in cold, dark tonight..the temperature is 21 degrees, but the stars are like diamonds. It was a good night for walking and thinking.

I think I'll just go to bed early with the electric blanket...a cup of herb tea...and a good book. Sigh.

Monday, March 07, 2005

Life has a way in interfering....

Sometimes I think I am on tract with my journal writing and then...life just happens right in the middle of everything. (If you are only a blog reader go to my website www.louannhoman.com and click on Sunday Passages for the full story. Also check out the new photos on the scrapbook page.

It is a rainy, dark day in Indiana. The rain is to turn to snow towards evening with another blast of cold, arctic air....but the promise of spring is somewhere???

Tonight is dinner at a friend's house..simple, cozy...soup for a cold night...a bottle of wine to share..and stories...always stories.

Spring break in St. Pete...

  Adam and his pups! The late-night flight is full. Everyone is heading out for spring break. Students and teachers, moms and dads, kids and...