The chill of winter is perfect for certain poetry

The chill of winter is perfect for certain poetry: It is the end of the semester, and time to say farewell to my students. I know I always say this, but this year they were extremely wonderful … friendly, smart, and interesting. We finish our final projects and I tell them to bundle up and meet me in the courtyard behind Taylor Hall. This week has been cold with snow and the beginning of icicles hanging on old buildings and gutters. It is the perfect weather for reading poetry although the students are doubtful. It is not as if it is a surprise; I have told them about this all year so they knew it was coming. “Bundle up,” I say. “Let’s go.” And out we go.

Here is the link to this week's column. As always, thank you for reading and enjoy! Just click on the title or the first line!

Lou Ann

Music is alive, well this holiday season

Music is alive, well this holiday season: Sitting in a shaft of sunlight in Irene’s café is a delightful way to spend the morning.

Irene's Cafe or Caleo Cafe is located on Maumee Street in Angola.

Music is definitely in the air here in my hometown. Just spend a bit of time with us...walking around the mound or in our cafes and you will agree. I heard a rumor that a certain someone with a ukulele will be playing at Caleo next Friday at noon. Hope to see you there.

As always thank you for reading. Just click on the title or the first line for this week's column. See you around town.

Lou Ann

Time sits in a capsule of joy in Waterloo

Time sits in a capsule of joy in Waterloo: I put the kettle on for tea, pack up canned goods, gather together winter paraphernalia and wait for a group of friends to gather at my old house. It is dark and the hour grows late, but we are on a mission to see the Canadian Pacific Holiday Train in Waterloo as it passes by on this night. One by one, they arrive … Kathy, Jan, Judy, and Mary (the bat girls, if you remember!). We all talk at once and head out to the shiny red Jeep. We toss our canned goods in the back and we are off. It is only a 20-minute drive, which is lucky, as they are all back seat drivers. Too much heat, too little heat, watch out for deer (and, yes, there were several on the side of the road), do not go too fast, do not go too slow. I just laugh and drive.

Canadian Pacific Holiday Train

 

 

Or it could be titled, The Night the Train Came Into Town. Here is the column of greeting the beautiful midnight train in Waterloo last week. It was a wonderful experience, and if you weren't there, you can read all about it here!

As always, thank you for reading and enjoy!

Lou Ann

Love helps put together the Thanksgiving table...

Love helps put together the Thanksgiving table: I love knowing on Thanksgiving morning that I am just one of the thousands of cooks up early baking pies, drinking coffee and thinking about the day along with so many other women (and men).

I do so love baking pies!!

 

 

Here is the link to this week's Thanksgiving column. As I post this today, I am getting ready to put apple pies in the oven and go over my list for tomorrow's dinner. I love Thanksgiving so much. I love folks around the table...family, friends, and those who need a place to be.

This week I looked into the lives of three women that have inspired me in many ways in my life...not just homemaking.

I have included an Irish Blessing which I will be saying at our family dinner. Maybe you will want to read it also at your celebration.

Just click on the title or the first line.

 

Enjoy and Happy Thanksgiving to everyone.

Lou Ann

Some stories live on forever...

Some stories live on forever: One of these days I am going to board the Amtrak train at Waterloo and head over to North Platte, Nebraska. I have been wanting to do this for a long time.

Union Pacific Railroad 1940's.

 

 

Here is the link to my Veterans Day column. I hope you enjoy it. Please just click on the link of the title. As always, I appreciate you reading. 

There is a great surprise twist at the end...something I wasn't expecting.

Enjoy it here!!  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4lf2cGIRqVo

Thank you to all the Veterans for taking care of us.

Until next time,

Lou Ann

Home is where we begin our chain of kindness

Home is where we begin our chain of kindness: The walls are still bedecked with spiders and ornaments of Halloween. I never like to take them down or make the change to the next season, at least until I do make the change.

Jacob McNeal reading Shakespeare on the square.

 

 

 

Here is the link to this week's column. Jacob's family suffered a fire on Halloween night, and we are here to help. There is a gofundme page on Facebook. If you can help, that is great. If you just have a kind word for the family, that is also great.

Just click on the title or the first line for the story. As always thank you for reading and for being part of my life.

Lou Ann

Love of the land still lingers in memories

Love of the land still lingers in memories: My homesteading books still fill an entire shelf in my library. The subjects are varied and all point back to the ’70s in regard to Mother Earth … cooking on a woodstove, raising chickens, building a greenhouse, shearing sheep and the list goes on.

My homesteading books!

Here is the link to last week's column...the first frost on the farm. I really hope you enjoy it and that it stirs up some of your own memories. As always, thank you for reading. Just click on the first line or the title.

Happy Harvesting!

Lou Ann