Open our eyes, hearts: today is the day...

Open our eyes, hearts: today is the day: It is graduation season. My mailboxes (both tangible and electronic) are full each day with invitations to parties and ceremonies. Each one, in turn, makes me think of my own graduating days.

Here is my great-nephew, Jake, at his graduation party!

My friend, Neriman, went for the both of us to Hailee's party!

Here is Brooklyn right after the awards program.

 

 

 

 

 

Here is the link to this week's column. I think it is my commencement address. Enjoy, and thank you for reading! Just click on the above link.

Lou Ann

T.C. Steele

The Studio Centennial Party Is Tomorrow!

Saturday, June 4, 2016, 12:00-4:00pm

Rain or shine! Come celebrate the 100th birthday of Steele's Dream Studio! All programs will take place INSIDE the Large Studio. Regular tours of the House and Studio included in admission price but available on a special schedule: 9:15am, 10:15am, 11:15am, and 4:15pm.

Free to Friends of T.C. Steele State Historic Site and members of Indiana State Museum. All programs included with regular site admission for the general public.

Here's the schedule for the day:

12-1 pm, Storyteller Lou Ann Homan from Storytelling Arts of Indiana, sponsored by Indiana Historical Society, will share an original story about Steele, appropriate for all ages

1-2 pm, Cake and ice cream will be served

2-2:45 pm, Rachel Berenson Perry reads from and discusses her new introduction to The House of the Singing Winds

2:45-3:30 pm, Book signing and light reception for Rachel

3:30-4:00 pm, Amanda Biggs and Krista Detor perform songs from “The Breeze Bends the Grass,” sponsored by the Brown County Playhouse, the Duke Energy Foundation, and the Indiana Arts Commission and Brown County Community Foundation.

Veterans sacrifice so we might live free...

Veterans sacrifice so we might live free: The rake and hoe and packets of seeds fill my Jeep, and I head out to the community gardens to begin summer planting. It is my first visit, and I am excited to find my patch. I park the Jeep and head down the rows and find I am at the very end. I laugh out loud thinking I have been put down at the end because my pumpkin patch always spills onto other gardens.

Crosses on the mound in my hometown.

Here is the link to this week's column. I hope you enjoy it. Just click on the title or the first line and it will take you to the site. As always, thank you for reading, and don't forget to remember on Memorial Day.

Lou Ann

‘Lock your doors, Nannie’ ends with wonderful adventure

‘Lock your doors, Nannie’ ends with wonderful adventure: I pull down the red blinds, put “The Phantom of the Opera” on the CD player, and look at the letters and the newspaper clippings one at a time. (I always did like a flair for the dramatic!) In past days, Jonah and I scoured these letters even visiting the police station and the United States Post Office. “We think these are real,” they both said. Jonah (who also has a flair for the dramatic) says, “Lock your doors, Nannie.”

Letters, cards and the wooden box from the mysterious story!!

Here is the link to this week's column. I hope you enjoy it! It has been a marvelous adventure thanks to one of my theatre students, Brandy Shaw!! I do love a good mystery. Please just click on the above link and the story is yours!

Full moon on the Ohio River...

RiverRoots LineUp 2016

I love music and folk festivals, and the season has just begun. Ellen and I are off to southern Indiana to Madison on the river for this spectacular festival. The weather is going to be perfect for the weekend and my old Jeep is packed up with everything I need for a great weekend. I have my ukulele, of course, for all the jamming sessions. I will check in now and then especially with the moonlight on the river for the full moon on Saturday night. As for you, my friends, go outside and play!

Visiting Lou Ann's Airbnb...

"Another lovely stay! LouAnn is such a fantastic host. This was a return visit for us having also stayed back in November. She even went above and beyond to save an extra copy of the local paper for us since it contained information about Trine University's Commencement exercises, which was the purpose of our visit. And my husband felt right at home since he was able to read the paper and drink his coffee in his sweatpants. We highly recommend The House at White Picket Fences for your next Angola stay!"

Last summer's morning glories on my fence.

 Send all you friends my way for a terrific stay this summer. I do have two weeks blocked off as the little granddaughters are coming for a visit, but other than that...open for business.

I have a five star review with all my guests. The one at the top is the most recent. The folks came for the Trine graduation.

Lou Ann