October campfire in August???

Campfire in Indianapolis!

The Fringe ends, and I cannot get enough of it. My last show was yesterday at 3:00 with a lovely audience. I had a late lunch with a friend to discuss the possibility of another new show, and then I attended one more. Without counting, I know I attended over 25 shows besides doing my own and spending time with friends in the pub until the wee hours of the morning.

 

Still I could not go home. By 9:00 last evening five storytellers gathered to participate in the filming of a documentary featuring ghost stories. I was thrilled to be invited, but last night in Indiana was not the night for a campfire. It was exceedingly warm (hot!!) and we were dressed in Autumn clothing such as boots, jackets, scarves, etc. One of the film makers kept us supplied in paper towels to absorb the huge amounts of sweat while Ellen kept us supplied in cold beer.

 

We finished a little after 11:00 and were glad to reduce the clothing and get into air-conditioned cars. Luckily I was with Ellen as my car has no air-conditioning.

 

This morning was packing up and coming home. What a lovely drive it was and how nice to pull into my drive way. I was greeted by a blooming garden with sunglowers smiling everywhere. Ahhh...home.

 

Until tomorrow.

Fringe is fun, but my hometown is calling - KPCNews: Kpcnews

Fringe is fun, but my hometown is calling - KPCNews: Kpcnews

Good Morning! Today is my last post from the IndyFringe. I have two shows left and am filling in for one of the characters on "Jacked!" which should be quite fun as we have had no rehearsals.

The Fringe has been great fun, and it has also been the hottest week of the summer! Thank you for taking this journey with me. 

Just click on the above site for my weekly column. I thank all of you who joined me in Indy whether in the audience or in your thoughts. The above is the stage door...you know the old saying...six steps and a door and you are there.

Until Monday.

The Monuments Men

http://harvardmag.com/media/monuments_map.html

My days have been pretty low key while in Indianapolis. The Fringe shows do not start until six in the evening so I spend my days in my make-shift studio at Ellen's. 

Most of the time, I answer emails or work on proposals for storytelling. Some of my time is spent getting ready for my classes which begin next week at Trine University.

This year the composition classes are reading "The Monuments Men." This is also our county read, and my book club read for September.

The book is fascinating. Perhaps you have read the book or seen the movie with the same name. There is another movie that is wonderful, "Rape of Europa." I would like to suggest you see that one as well.

I must plead some of my ignorance when i say I did not know of these men and women until the book was brought to my attention. It is an amazing story of their grit and determination to save and bring home the art work of Europe. Some of it is still missing.

I have copied off the interactive map at the top, we shall see if that works or not. 

Please take it on my recommendation to read this book. Let me know what you think.

"The Monuments Men" written by Robert M. Edsel with Bret Witter

"Hoosier Roots" receives a four star rating!! Yippee!!

2014 IndyFringe Festival Review Guide

I must say I am a little giddy this morning after the reviews have come out. I am so happy that my show received four stars in the Nuvo review. I know I shouldn't be that much into reviews, but we, the artists, must be. To read the review of my show and others, please click on the above festival review guide.

Nervously, nervously (sounds so like Poe, doesn't it?), we wait and wait for the reviews to come out. They seriously can make or break a show.

I have had several other reviews as well so I am happy with the overall ratings of my show. My audience attendance has not been high so that has me a bit worried, but my show times have been quite strange. Hopefully the attendance will pick up this weekend as I have three more shows yet to go. My show times are listed on the side of this post.

If you come to Indy or are in the area, please come see my show. See the other shows as well. There are so many great ones.

OK, now on to the happy dance!

The Quiet Within Us...

I loved spending a day at home. It was quiet and reflective and the kind of day I needed before heading back to the IndyFringe.

My gardens called to me, and I went outside. I practiced all my homesteading skills...watered my garden using the water from the rain barrel, checked my compost heap, picked tomatoes and zinnias, hung out laundry, and built a campfire under the stars. What more could a person really want?

Well, apparently, I do want more as I am now loading the car and heading to Indy. I hope you get a chance to catch my show. The review from Nuvo will be out this morning, and I am, in fact nervous. But here is another review that just came out that I love:

 http://www.indyfringetalk.org/2014/08/back-land-hoosier-roots/

Until tomorrow.

Bees and flowers and butterflies and Emily Dickinson, who else?

Knock-out Roses

Have I neglected my Indiana garden this August? Today I meandered around the garden noticing a few more weeds than average and perhaps a little watering should be done as well. In spite of that, the flowers bloom, the bees buzz and the butterflies are everywhere.

It is good to spend a day at home after so much preparation and work and then shows at the IndyFringe. Tomorrow I head back to the stage, but for one day, let the weeds grow and the sun shine as I will just spend the day whiling away in my garden.

THERE is a flower that bees prefer,
And butterflies desire;
To gain the purple democrat
The humming-birds aspire. Emily Dickinson

Black-eyed Susie I do not know the name of this lily, but they are all over my garden This is an orange Cosmos.

On with the show! Let the stories begin!

On with the show! Let the stories begin! - KPCNews: Kpcnews

Another Saturday morning and another Saturday column. My first Fringe show was last night, and as always, I truly am a bundle of nerves....until I take the stage.

There is something so magical about telling stories. I think the roof could cave in and I would still be standing there telling stories. One time I was in a school and the fire alarm went off, and I seriously did not hear it. The principal had to come up on stage and stop the show.

Tonight my show in IndyFringe is at 10:30. We shall see how that goes!

Tomorrow I will be at Chautauqua Days as Gene Stratton Porter in Rome City at the historic site. This will be a lovely event (all kinds of events) for the entire family including a birthday cake for Gene. Come on out and say hello and enjoy a family day.

Today's column is at the top of the page, just click on and enjoy. As always, I thank you for reading.

Until tomorrow.

Hoosier Roots and then some...

Morning glories around my old fence.

Tonight at the IndyFringe I will be performing a new piece. When I say "new piece" I actually mean new to the stage. I have been telling my homesteading stories for years.

For those of you new to my life, my family and I went to the land to homestead years ago. We went without indoor plumbing and electricity and made our living selling goat's milk, eggs, and vegetables. It seems a million years ago, yet it was not that long ago. 

We made this huge decision and went for it full time. I will publish this week's story about that process.

I love telling those stories. Perhaps I want to re-live them or encourage others or just like to hear myself talk. (That is always a possibility.)

I do not live like that anymore, although I have taken a lot of those ideas and values and use them in my every day life. Those of you who follow my blog know that I always hang out my laundry, compost everything possible, use a rain barrel, garden, and make do.

My carbon footprint gets out of shape because of the way I travel and that I live alone in my lovely old house.

Be sure to tune in this week end for the column, and if by chance you are in Indianapolis, stroll on by to take a look at my show. 

Until tomorrow.

Happy Birthday

Happy Birthday to my twin son, Aaron and Adam.

Today is the birthday of my twin sons, Adam and Aaron. This photo was taken a few years ago (quite a few years ago) when we were going through some big life stuff.

The twins have been close all their lives and, even though, they do not live close to each other geographically they talk every day.

Aaron was diagnosed with testicular cancer his senior year of college. This photo was taken a couple of years later when he and Adam moved to Florida after college graduation. Adam was Aaron's caregiver during all that time putting his own studies on hold.

As things often do, my marriage took a turn for the worse then and this photo was taken just a few months after my divorce.

How do we survive and manage is always the question. But we did. I also have a younger son who came along two years later. All are now grown with their own families.

As I look at this photo I think about all the things that happened to us and how our adults lives have evolved, mine included.

Happy Birthday to these sons of mine. They are my rock. The following photo was taken of all three of my sons on Ocracoke!!

 

Until tomorrow.

"Dead Poet's Society"

I would be remiss not to speak of Robin Williams. The news is everywhere and Facebook is full of comments, quotes, and video clips.

He was, in my opinion, the most talented man in Hollywood. It seemed as if he could do anything and that he was bigger than life. I guess no one is bigger than life when it comes down to it.

As a romanticist and a poet, my favorite is "Dead Poet's Society." I think I patterned much of my teaching and my life after that movie. I didn't realize it until last year, my second year of teaching at the University. I begin each class with a poem, although I did not stand on the desk.

One day last year I forgot to start the class with a poem when one of the freshmen students raised his hand. "Professor Homan," he said, "you forgot to read us a poem."

At the end of each semester I take my students outside and tell them we are having a dead poet's society. I read poetry to them and then send them on their way. Last year at the end of the first semester it was dreadfully cold, and college students do not always dress for the weather. They stayed with me though listening to each word.

Oh, how lonely our world will be without Robin Williams in it.

Until tomorrow.

IndyFringe 2014

 

NEED I SAY MORE???

 

 

 



Come, sit a spell.

 

 Working on stories is a labor of hard work and of love, of course. This past weekend I spent most of my time in the studio putting the final touches on my new show, "Hoosier Roots." I can sit at the laptop for an hour at a time lost in thought and then the need to stand or move calls me out into the open. During those times I peruse the garden or even lift a few small weights just for a break!

 

During one break I meandered over to Aaron and Karen's new house. They purchased the old Hendry home in Angola this past year and are still in the midst of a complete restoration of the home. I will do a story later on when they move in with photos to show you what this young couple has accomplished.

 

The porch had been enclosed but they tore it off to bring it back to its original state. It is stunning. I took a few moments to reflect on their porch on Saturday. It was wonderful to sit in the rocking chair thinking about their old house wondering about all that happened there since 1876. I am proud of them for keeping the integrity of this home for themselves and for our community.

 

So, back to the microphone for me.

 

Until tomorrow.

The road takes me back home to Indiana...

The road takes me back home to Indiana - KPCNews: Kpcnews

 

 

As you know, I am back home again in Indiana. Just click on the above link for this week's column! I think you will enjoy it! I took the photo below last year when I arrived home. This woods is a short bike ride from my house, and we all love to go there. Marion's woods was named after Marion Eberhardt, a beloved naturalist and gentle woman in our community.

 

Until Monday.