Sunday, September 30, 2007

Dancing under the stars...

Last night was our yearly hoe down at Pokagon State Park. Actually we call it the Autumn hoe down. I have been attending this dance for as long as I can remember. When the boys were little we all worked at the Fall Fest and then attended the dance. They spent their younger years hiking up to Hell's Point...anything to get out of dancing! They eventually spent time in the trees watching the dancers before they were brave enough to join all the dancers on the dance floor. Oh, those days are long gone...those boys of mine are grown and have their own lives now.

Last night I went to Erin's house for a chili party and then headed off to the park. The evening was cool and clear and the parking lot was full of folks of all ages! The caller did a great job teaching dances to the masses! I danced every dance even a staggering try at the waltz with a few friends. (Philip left so he couldn't go with me!!)

Part way through the evening the moon rose over the trees. It was lovely and romantic and so beautiful to be outside for the evening. The bonfire kept us warm if we were dancing and the boy scouts sold popcorn and coffee and coney dogs!

I didn't leave until all the folks had left and I bade my farewell to the band.

It was a dark and quiet drive home. My house was warm and inviting when I arrived back at midnight. I lit my outside pumpkin and just read a while before a 2 a.m. sleep took me into the darkness.

Lou Ann

Lou Ann Homan-Saylor lives in Angola, Indiana which is nestled in the hills of Northern Indiana and spends her summers on the wind swept island of Ocracoke. You can find her gardening or writing late into the night under the light of her frayed scarlet lamp. She is a storyteller, a teacher, a writer, an actress and a collector of front porch stories

Monday, September 24, 2007

Monday Morning Thoughts..

It is early Monday and the alarm went off like a siren....I was in a deep sleep and not anxious to return to the conscious world. But, alas.

The week end was a glorious...full of family and friends. Philip arrived on Friday afternoon after his 1,000 mile driving adventure. It was good to see him after several weeks. Tonya also arrived and with family all around we had a welcoming cook out complete with homemade apple pies and Karen's famous potato salad.

This week end was the fall fest and we enjoyed every moment of it. It is so nice to be able to walk to all of the events. I said to Philip yesterday that the joys of small town living are so wonderful. I can walk to the community center, the library, the downtown (antique shops, art galleries, coffee shops), the University...and other interesting little side jaunts.

This was the first year we hosted a Civil War Reenactment on the Commons. It was interesting, and I learned a great deal. The evening dance was the best. We did not leave the dance floor. Afterwards we walked through the camps. They were quiet with folks just sitting around playing the dulcimer, talking. The only lights were that of candles and campfires.

We ended the week end with a cook out last night and a campfire. We sat around talking, toasting marshmallows for s'mores and listening to Philip play the harmonica. It was just as magical.

What wonderful memories I have of this week end to send me off to school for another week!

Lou Ann

Lou Ann Homan-Saylor lives in Angola, Indiana which is nestled in the hills of Northern Indiana and spends her summers on the wind swept island of Ocracoke. You can find her gardening or writing late into the night under the light of her frayed scarlet lamp. She is a storyteller, a teacher, a writer, an actress and a collector of front porch stories

Thursday, September 20, 2007

Orion..........

It is 2:30 and sleep appears to over for the night....the breeze just barely blows gently through this old house. It is not cool enough to close the windows, but not warm enough for fans either. It is a time and space of limbo....early morning cool darkness. I look out my window as I begin this day and Orion appears before in the Eastern sky...bold and bright. I cannot stop starring at it...the beauty and the wonder. In this moment I feel I hold in my heart all that has been and all that will be. Sigh.

I switch the lights on, start the coffee, and settle down to the laptop for the early morning write. Alice Hoffman once said that one day she just sat down to write and became a writer. So, I too shall sit down to write and become a writer.

Lou Ann

Lou Ann Homan-Saylor lives in Angola, Indiana which is nestled in the hills of Northern Indiana and spends her summers on the wind swept island of Ocracoke. You can find her gardening or writing late into the night under the light of her frayed scarlet lamp. She is a storyteller, a teacher, a writer, an actress and a collector of front porch stories.

Saturday, September 15, 2007

Frosty nights...

As quickly as summer comes it leaves just as quietly in the night as Autumn sneaks in around the corner. This past week I have had to pull out the woolen blankets as the temperatures have dipped into the forties. I still sleep with my door to the outside world wide open...I don't want to miss any of the nighttime sounds.

It is the perfect weather for the Johnny Appleseed Festival this week end. If you are around and not busy, come on out to Fort Wayne for a wonderful family adventure. There are craft booths and reenactors....there are bagpipers and dancers...storytellers and musicians....apple cider, apple dumplings and ham and beans from an old cast iron kettle.

I will be performing on the Village Folk Stage both days so come on over and say hello.

Whatever you do this week end, especially in the Midwest, it is definitely a James Whitcomb Riley week end.

Lou Ann

Lou Ann Homan-Saylor lives in Angola, Indiana which is nestled in the hills of Northern Indiana and spends her summers on the wind swept island of Ocracoke. You can find her gardening or writing late into the night under the light of her frayed scarlet lamp. She is a storyteller, a teacher, a writer, an actress and a collector of front porch stories.

Saturday, September 08, 2007

Who Will Fill Their Shoes???

This week three artists of unsurmountable talent have died: Luciano Pavarotti, Madeline L'Engle, and Roy Parsons. Here are my personal connections:

When my children were small and we all lived together on the farm, I would have different types of meals...themed, if you will. I often read stories or poetry to match and had music as well. It never failed that when the evening dinner time turned Italian I would play Pavarotti on the CD player. I played it loudly. I would toss in a dashing of red wine into the sauce as I sang along in my diminished Italian voice. I was there with him on the stage in spirit when, in fact, I was in an Indiana farm house with an old stained apron.

Pavarotti began his fame when he stepped into the limelight as a stand in for Giveppe di Stefano at Covent Gardens in 1963.

In another part of the world, Madeline L'Engle won her Newberry award for her most famous children's book, A Wrinkle in Time in the year 1963. Didn't we all grow up with that novel? As an adult and a writer, I have also enjoyed her books on writing and met her once at a conference.

In still another part of the world, a small island boy, Roy Parsons, was singing his heart out on the vaudeville stages of New Jersey. With his harmonica strapped around his neck and his guitar in place he has continued to win the hearts of folk singers and appreciators ever since on Ocracoke Island. His death did not make the New York Times headlines, but for those of us who knew him, we wept just as mightily as if he had.

Who will take their places? Charm, charisma, humor, and a great love for the arts and mankind were these folks. Farewell.

Lou Ann

Lou Ann Homan-Saylor lives in Angola, Indiana which is nestled in the hills of Northern Indiana and spends her summers on the wind swept island of Ocracoke. You can find her gardening or writing late into the night under the light of her frayed scarlet lamp. She is a storyteller, a teacher, a writer, an actress and a collector of front porch stories.

Friday, September 07, 2007

Don't forget to smell the roses...

The five day trip to Portland was really wonderful. We hiked in the mountains...along the rugged coastline...collected seashells and lovely sanddollars on the Pacific Ocean and just spent time together as a family.

Miss Holly, at three months, did her first fingerpainting. She did not enjoy one moment of it, I might add, but at least has begun her work in the arts. (She has artist's fingers!!) She giggled out loud for the first time (that was while I was telling her the story of The Wizard of Oz using all the voices, she especially liked my lion voice!)

It was great to spend equal time with Abe and Kristin. It was lovely, but as always, too short and I found myself back on a plane heading to the Midwest. Karen and the boys were waiting for me here at the House at the White Picket Gardens with dinner and a lovely bottle of wine. I have such wonderful daughter in laws!!

Lou Ann

Lou Ann Homan-Saylor lives in Angola, Indiana which is nestled in the hills of Northern Indiana and spends her summers on the wind swept island of Ocracoke. You can find her gardening or writing late into the night under the light of her frayed scarlet lamp. She is a storyteller, a teacher, a writer, an actress and a collector of front porch 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...