Monday, November 28, 2011

Walking the 5K!

Click here for this week's column!


Hi Folks,

Hope you enjoy this column on walking the 5K!! It was fun and my first big walk for a while!!

Thanks for reading, always a pleasure!

Lou Ann

Wednesday, November 23, 2011

Girl's Night Out




Every Thanksgiving vacation I take my three daughter-in-laws out to the Hatchery for an evening for dinner.

The Hatchery is a locally owned restaurant just down the street and make the best appletinis!! It is fun to have dinner, chat, catch up with these young ladies.

From left to right: Karen Homan married to Aaron (they live here in town), Kristin Homan married to Abe (they live in Phoenix), and Tonya Homan married to Adam (they live in St. Pete, Florida).

We had a wonderful time leaving the men with their own dinne and the kids!

The Hatchery always has a special table saved just for us!

We had a great time!

Tuesday, November 22, 2011

Family Story Night



Last night was family story night at my house. It was actually a planned event because of so many activities during this week.

My sons and their families are here for 10 days. It makes life very interesting and busy with children and their wives and personalities!

Each night is a different activity and I love all of it. I made a chore list this year so that everyone could help out with the work. (It is not quite working out as well as expected, however, it is a big help!)

I have been writing for NaNoWriMo. I have over 67 pages. These stories are all from the farm from which we all 'grew up'.

I made copies for the boys in notebooks and they read the stories before story night.

There were hundreds of stories I had forgotten or details. We set the tape recorder in the middle of the room. For two and a half hours the stories just poured out. We laughed, we cried. I took notes. Stories of which I had never heard about the farm....growing up, hunting, all of their activities on the farm.

I could only think that it is a wonder that all three survived those years.

I was oblivious to some of these stories as I lived in my wonderful world of writing, and romance and my own imagination.

So, what a great night of story. This is an important event for all families; turn off the cell phones, the TV and anything else that plugs in and tell those stories!

Lou Ann



Monday, November 14, 2011

Working the polls...

Hi Folks,

It is a cool and rainy day here in the Midwest...a great day for hitting that 25,000 mark for my NanNoWri project!

I have the coffee brewing, the candle lit and my writing shirt on as well. (I will take a celebration picture of me in my studio when I hit 50,000!)

In the meantime, here is this week's article on working the polls on Tuesday. It was such a wonderful experience for me.

Just click on for the article!


Working the election polls.

Thursday, November 10, 2011

Happy Birthday to my Dad!

My dad would have been 82 years old today. I could tell so many stories, but this one I just recently came across.

My mom has been cleaning and re-organizing her life as well as nicks and crannies in her house. Every once in a while she sends me a box of wonderful treasures. The last one arrived with a pink boa, flashlight, candles, my dad's tape measure...well you get the picture.

In that box was also a copy of a poem my dad wrote for me years ago when I lived on the farm with Bob and the boys. I had a small cookstove that I used for cooking, but oh, I so wanted a bigger one (which I eventually got!)

My mom and dad came to visit and my dad wrote this poem for me. There is a picture of the two of us holding the poem and I pasted the original copy of his own handwriting on the back.

We were both so young then!

Here is the poem my dad wrote for his homesteading daughter!


Lou Ann


The world around her kitchen turns
With lots of love and sometimes burns
But nothing is so downright purty
As my daughter with her apron dirty.

I see her in the pantry spicy
With all those things that smell so nicy
But I declare, it's hard to take
An apron black - as chocolate cake.

The old wood stove with the whistling kettle
Is hard to work and tests her mettle
But you know she has that special knack
When she ties on that old black sack.

I guess she wants a stove much bigger
Why she does I don't much figger
But black as tar that apron shows
A labor of love from spring to snows.

Happy Birthday Dad!


Monday, November 07, 2011

Out my Window..



This morning I was up early getting ready for my day. After a weekend in Indy with Ellen and all our activities, it was good to be back into my routine. My studio has become my favorite place to be, to write, read, think. I am up to 10,000 words on my writer's project, but need to gather many more on this day.

But days will filll up with activities...tonight all the girls come over to talk and gossip and share our potluck, breaking bread together as friends.

This photo was out my front porch. As you can see, the reds are not firey red yet, hopefully soon. There is a forecast of the first flakes of snow of winter, but just a hint or a tease of things to come.

Anyway, its Monday, let's all get to work and do our part

Tomorrow I won't be blogging or facebooking as i am working the polls in my town. This will be a new experience for me, and I am looking forward to it.

So, until Wednesday.

Sunday, November 06, 2011

Bob Seger!

Click here for this week's article!

We had such a great time at the Bob Seger concert. I hope it brings back memories while reading!


Spring break in St. Pete...

  Adam and his pups! The late-night flight is full. Everyone is heading out for spring break. Students and teachers, moms and dads, kids and...