November is....

November is........

....long,lonely stretch of train tracts
....cold, wet rain on my umbrella
....John McCutcheon on the CD player
....my Grandma's hand stitched quilt
....wispy strands of smoke
....yellow lamps in the neighborhood
....Orion's belt in the corner of the sky
....vegetable soup in a clean, white bowl
....frost on my porch windows
....chapstick three times a day
....leaves piled high at my back door
....a good book on a foggy night
....someone to share a cup of tea with
....woolen socks in the early morning hours
....family photographs
....missing someone you love
....stories around the fire
....my favorite month

Foggy Night...

It is such a foggy night in northern Indiana...really no one will be traveling...well, a few will, I guess. My daughter in law, Tonya, is driving from St. Pete, Florida and should be here by the middle of the night to join Adam.

Aaron, Karen, Adam and the boys (my baby is now 14 pounds..and while he hasn't quite mastered French, he does coo a lot!) have been here all evening for supper. They called while I was at school and invited themselves over for supper...my only request...you bring the food, I said.

It was a long day at school..spell bowl at 7 a.m....school all day...then taking tickets at the elementary boy's basketball game after school. It is Indiana, you know, they start early.

Winter is beginning to close in with frost and darkness
coming so early..time for writing, for painting, for visiting, and for curling up with a good book. I am currently reading The Wild Irish, an historical fiction by Robin Maxwell about Elizabeth I. Hope you have a great book for this cold, foggy night.

Alarm Clocks

It was so hard to go back to school today...albeit my sister, Jo, lives for alarm clocks (even on vacation!)..but just to get up and have breakfast and the coffee was already made...so this morning at 5:10 I truly stumbled into the kitchen...it was dark and cold.

The kids at school always want to know where I have been...I like sharing maps with them. They think I am rich because I get to do so many things..ahh, this is my opportunity to teach them about hard work and studying and reading..teacher stuff.

Adam is here visiting with me this week..well, he is at his brother's house (new baby Jonah and Matthew) even so it is nice to have company in the evening..darkness seems to come so early. It is clear tonight..Orion's belt is visible.

Several teachers asked me today what was my favorite part of the trip...without hesitation I recall the evening we watched The Wizard of Oz on the big screen outside. It was just growing dark...the sky was filled with colors of scarlet and rose...we all sat together and sang along with Dorothy and the Lion and the Scarecrow and the Tinman. Dad quizzed us periodically during the movie asking us if we knew how it was filmed and who had the original parts..my Dad knows more about everything than anyone I ever met....So with the sun setting over the Caribbean Sea we sang Somewhere Over the Rainbow..ahhh, don't we always want to know what is over the rainbow?

Senor..Senorita..Welcome back

It is Sunday morning in Northern Indiana...there was a frost last night covering my unraked yard..skies are blue..and the neighborhood is already bustling about working in their yards geting ready for winter.

I am unpacking a week's worth of memories..photos, trip prizes that we purchased for each other..clothes that will need two washings.

A week at sea with my sisters and parents. It is amazing how different we all are on so many levels...political, economic...yet we could travel together...dine together..laugh, remember stories from our childhood and respect each other's differences.

We swam in the crystal waters of the Caribbean, watched movies by the pool side...shared rum and vodka...slot machines..dancing..and sisterly secrets. It was a hurried good bye at the ship's docking...all traveling to our respective homes with families waiting for us..and even though it is always good to be home...I,of course, am wondering when and where will we go next time.

So, here's to my sisters and parents stretched out across the USA...those who shared my youth...and to a week in Paradise.

Four Sisters and their Parents...

So, I just get started writing, and I an off again. This time with my sisters (there are four of us in all corners of the U.S.) and our parents. We try to get together for sister's week once a year, and this is it.

We are meeting in Houston, driving to Galvelton and then board the cruise ship, The Princess. We will spend the week at sea and in ports such as Belize, Costa Maya. I am sure we will be the last ones off the dance floors, sing the loudest at the new sing along version of the Wizard of Oz and spend many hours telling stories from long ago and from our current lives.

No spouses or sweethearts or children will be going...just four sisters and their parents.

So, with bags packed, I bid you all a Bon Voyage.

About Cats

It's funny how our mind works, isn't it? I mean, I have been thinking about cats....stray cats, neutered cats, wild cats, domestic cats...you know every color. When you think about it cats really have made it into the world of art, yes? I mean...what about e.e. cummings and Andrew Lloyd Webber...they sure made Cats famous. And then there is Carl Sandburg, The fog comes on little cat feet... Even Shakespeare talked about the Runcible Cat...even Charles Dckens plays a word game about cats in his Christmas Carol.

Folks are always using cats as metaphors...she is the cat's meow, hunched over like a cat, cat's cradle, playing cat and mouse, claws like a cat.

And then how much work is a cat? A can opener, a litter box...you can be gone for weeks and your cat will entertain himself by just dozing in the sunlight and watching out the windows. They never need their shirts ironed and don't even care about fresh baked cookies.

Yes, I have definitely been thinking about cats.

The closing curtain..

I stayed late after school to tidy up (how does everything get so messy in a day??) when one of my former theatre students showed up at my door. She is now 18 and had just voted for the first time. She was still a little shaky, very proud of herself, but needed to talk.

She joined my production company when she was 10 and was with me for three seasons..a wonderful actress.

She began to look around the room at the Playbills..costumes..newspaper clippings. She said that voting today made her feel old (grown-up) for the first time ever. She sat down and shared her fears about growing up...college...paying her own bills..being responsible..finding someone wonderful.

Then she stopped, looked right at me..."Was I really good in theatre or did you just tell ne that?" It was with all honesty that I could say, you were really wonderful. She jumped up, thanked me, started to leave, then turned around and said, "You know, I will never forget you and all you taught us even when I am old..like 45!" I hugged her...scooted her out the room as I knew I had to go and vote. I smiled, shook my head, and locked my door on another curtain call.