Oom Pa Pa - Oliver!

I love Broadway shows, especially musicals. The week before my injury Kathy and I spent a weekend in Chicago to see "The Phantom of the Opera." 



So this morning I awoke and did my menial chores, the ones I can do. I can make coffee, make my downstairs bed, send out the cat and the dog (neither are mine), and other tasks. I can even run the vacuum from the wheelchair.



My world has been just the downstairs of my house for one and a half moons now, and needless to say, I am getting restless. I decided I was in the need of oom pa pa. I often use that word with my students. They look up at me with that "huh" kind of face. Hmmm...I am an oom pa pa kind of person and it is hard to describe. 



So today with plummeting temperatures and the same routine with the same walls, I needed a refresher course in enthusiasm.



I love "Oliver" the book by Charles Dickens, of course, and the musical. Maybe this video will brighten your day as well.



Is it possible to dance in a wheelchair??



Enjoy and until tomorrow,

Lou Ann

Downton Abby from my living room...

It is Sunday evening and Kathy comes over to make dinner with me. She works the oven while I set the table and get other things ready. We drink a great Pinot Noir as we work. It is amazing how many chores can be accomplished from a wheel chair. Earlier in the day I vacuumed and neatened up the house. 

I also cooked the chicken earlier in the day, baking it in orange olive oil from Queens Creek at the Olive Mill. Kathy cut up the left of the winter squash mixing it with onions and potatoes for baking. Salad was a mix of whatever was in my salad drawer.

It is almost 9:00 before dinner is ready so we carry our plates (and wine) to the living room and turn on the television. The music begins for Master Piece Theatre. We will be sharing dinner with Downton Abby.

I find my place on my downstairs bed to eat and watch. Kathy sits on the couch with a small kitchen stool as her table.

The show was splendid. We cheered and jeered, and applauded Mary for throwing away Mr. Bates' ticket. We clapped when Mrs. Hughes and Mr. Carson held hands in the water. 

So how is it these folks get into our lives? Facebook is full of conversation this morning about the characters who ARE NOT REAL!! But we love them.

Anyway, what a great way to end the season as compared to leaving us with Matthew's death last year. Hurray for the writers of Downton Abby. We will be waiting for January of 2015 to start all over again. 

Until tomorrow,

Lou Ann

Olympics rekindle skating memories with friends...

Olympics rekindle skating memories with friends - KPCNews: Kpcnews



Here is the link to this week's column. I loved ice skating as a kid and knew I would be a famous skater one day! I hope this story brings some memories for you as you read!



Until tomorrow,

Lou Ann

"I'll Tell You How the Sun Rose"...Emily Dickinson

Indiana sunrise by Bethany Hasselman

Indiana winter sunrises are spectacular. This photo was taken by Bethany Hasselman. Bethany and her husband, Curt, have taken to the land with their children. They raise chickens and beef...vegetables and fruits...and children, of course. Bethany cause much reflection in my own life remembering the farm days with my own children. It is much work to live off the land. I miss it every day. Until then, I keep a small farm in my own backyard...minus the chickens, of course.

This photo makes me think of the lovely poem, "I'll tell you how the Sun Rose," by Emily Dickinson. Enjoy.

M

I'll tell you how the sun rose

A ribbon at a time

The steeples swam in amethyst,

The news like squirrels ran.

The hills untied their bonnets,

The bobolinks begun.

Then I said softly to myself,

"That must have been the sun!"

But how he set, I know not.

There seemed a purple stile.

Which little yellow boys and girls

Were climbing all the while

Till when they reached the other side,

A dominie in gray

Put gently up the evening bars,

And led the flock away. 

Emily Dickinson

Farmer Jane by Temra Costa...

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Dear Friends,

This important book and talk has come to my attention and thought you should be aware of it. If you are in Indianapolis of Thursday, March 13th you should plan to attend. If not I think the book is definitely worthy of reading.

Tonight my own book club meets at my house to discuss Ann Patchett's, "State of Wonder." I am excited to see the smart women in my life and to discuss this wonderful novel. Have you read it? Or what are you reading during these cold winter months?

Until tomorrow,

Lou Ann

March Slow Food Indy Book Club

When: Thursday, March 13th at 6:30 PM

Location: Indianapolis Museum of Art Cafe

Cost: Free to attend. $5 parking fee. (Some free parking also available.)

Book Title: Farmer Jane by Temra Costa

Free online registration required. Sign up today!

Join us for a fun and friendly discussion of Farmer Jane by Temra Costa.

About the Book

Women are passionate advocates for sustainable food and farming and have been changing the way America eats and farms for decades. Farmer Jane tells 30 such stories of some exceptional women leaders that are working on this change by farming, educating, advocating, and/or transforming how we eat through their food businesses.

But it’s not just about being a woman. It’s about the impact that femininity has in changing businesses for the better. Women lean towards relationships and long-term strategies that prioritize future generations, and the good news is that this viewpoint is starting to become valued in the emerging green economy. It’s all about systems thinking and perspectives of what the new (triple) bottom line should be – that of environment, people, and prosperity (health, and economic). Beyond their role in shifting business, women are raising the next generation of leaders, of farmers, of gardeners, of aware human beings that will care for this place long after we’re gone.

Winter Piece by William Cullen Bryant

Photo courtesy of my neighbor, Rhon Van Erman

Winter is still deep in the Midwest. The nights are cold with either snow or wind or the stars of winter.

Because of my injury, my bed is downstairs by the windows. It is lovely in the day as it overlooks all my bird feeders and side yard. When darkness falls, I close the shades before the cold begins to seep back into the house.

It is cold sleeping under the windows, but on times I open the shades to let the night lull me to sleep. I pull the covers up and wait til morning.

One of my classes from Trine University was here this morning. They walked the five blocks with Brandy DePriest. She is teaching the English class in my absence. The students filled the house with their presence and their silence. Perhaps that is the first time they have visited a teacher while she holds court on her bed with her foot propped up in the air.

I started the class with poetry, as usual. Here is the poem I read to them:

from A Winter Piece

...Come when the rains

Have glazed the snow and clothed the trees with ice,

Into the bowers a flood of light.

...You might deem the spot

The spacious cavern of some virgin mine,

Deep in the womb of earth--where the gems grow,

And diamonds put forth radiant rods and bud

With amethyst and topaz--and the place

Lit up, most royally, with the pure beam

The dwells in them...

William Cullen Bryant

Make sure you read the poem out loud, it is best that way!

Until tomorrow,

Lou Ann

Love has a way of weaving many stories -

Love has a way of weaving many stories - KPCNews: Kpcnews



Hello Everyone,



Here is the link to this week's column on love stories. Maybe you would like to add one of your own? Love to hear it...



Until tomorrow,

Lou Ann