Birthday parties and sparklers...

What do we do in the cold Midwest during January?

The other night I was invited to Mackenzie's 15th birthday party. She is my neighbor, friend, and fellow writer. The party was dinner and a sharing of stories and poetry, everyone being asked to bring their favorite winter piece to share in the warm home she shares with her sisters and dad. With dinner cooking on the stove and glasses of milk (wine for the grown ups) in hand, we sat around the kitchen table sharing stories and poems. Most were of the winter season as the wind and snow blew around this old house. I took my beloved copy of "A Child's Christmas In Wales"by Dylan Thomas. Other poetry pieces included Mark Twain's letter to his daughter about Santa Claus, "The Mending Wall" by Robert Frost. The conversation also shifted to Wendall Berry, Donald Hall and Scott Sanders...all writers and poets.

The evening included singing all the words to "Fiddler on the Roof" from an old LP album that Lee has collected on his small suitcase style player. The girls had never heart "Matchmaker" so it wasn't long before we had our head covered with scarves and were singing to the top of our lungs.

Following the red velvet birthday cake, we presented Mackenzie with her gifts. I gave her a box of sparklers. Yes, an unusual gift, but perfect for a snowy night in January. At midnight we gathered up all our snow gear and headed outside to end the perfect party. Will she ever forget her 15th birthday? I think not.

So the cold winds blow, and I conclude that sparklers are wasted on the July 4th celebrations. Indeed they should be shared on a cold winter's night in January in the north country!

Lou Ann

A Winter's Day

This winter storm in the Midwest has left the world with amazing beauty. My garden has been full of cardinals, blue jays, chickadees and woodpeckers all afternoon. When I went out to fill the feeders this morning, there were deer tracks all around my feeders. Apparently, they jumped over the fence, ate the leftover corn and sunflower seeds and jumped over again toward the neighbor's house. It would have been a beautiful sight to see them in the snowstorm in my yard.

I have a blue bottle garden as well. It is an old southern custom which is to keep out the haints and ghosts. Needless to say, I do not believe I have any haints or ghosts so it must work. I learned of these garden bottles by my friend Katherine Windham from Selma, Alabama.

The above photo was taken at dusk. The bottles are lovely in the summer, but absolutely striking against this fresh snow. Enjoy and stay warm. Until tomorrow...

Sitting in my library...

It is a cold winter's night as I sit tucked away in my library. It really is a lovely room for me...slate blue walls, black and white photography and overflowing bookshelves.

My Chicago calendar on the wall still says November. My life stopped just as November ended with the illness of my dad. The month of December with shopping and carols and Christmas trees were all put on hold to spend the month with my dad in Texas. It was a memorable month of spending time with my brothers and sisters and my mom as we held dad's hand, stroked his head.

There was no where else in the world I wanted to be but with my dad as he made this passing journey.

My dad and I shared such love of art, music, literature, poetry, theatre. I did indeed grow up to be my dad's daughters. This room is reflective of that. I even have two wonderful framed photos of my dad in his young acting days.

Life has a strange way of catching us off guard as if caught in a photo by surprise or just spinning around and finding our world has changed. So many things have I learned this winter, some I will share and others will just get tucked under my pillow.

So, tonight as the snow begins to fall again and the wind picks up, I bid you a cozy evening of firelight and story.

Happy New Year and small changes...

Dear Friends,
The past two months have become a blur for me...starting with the huge Houston celebration for my parent's 80th birthday parties and ending with the death of my dad on December 26.

Emotions have flown high and every time I get ready to start a blog, my mind has felt cluttered and yet empty of words. So within this promise of a new year, I bring many thoughts and ideas and resolutions to the table.

One is to write daily on my blog, even if no one but myself reads it...it is the process of writing.
Other resolutions...do a daily crossword puzzle (OK, my friend Bill has influenced me on that one!). of course the obvious resolutions...yoga, pilates etc. three times a week.

I had thought of become a vegetarian, but then again, I will fail on that one, but I do want to become less of a meat consumer and that I can do, easily.

There are other resolutions within myself, but for now, I will just keep them to myself.

As for the blog title change, I decided that I want to focus on the small town life of America, where I find myself most of the time anyway...enjoying it, preserving it, and living in it. I hope you enjoy the small changes that this will bring.

Happy New Year to all who read. Don't forget to say Rabbit when you go visiting!

Happy Halloween

Happy Halloween!

I woke up this morning with gray fog covering the outside of my windows. It looked as if someone had painted the world with an airbrush. I tried wiping off the fog and or rubbing my eyes (it was early), but alas only time would change the atmosphere.

From a balmy 60 yesterday with torrential rain and wind, today is cold and leaves fill every cavity of the earth in this part of the country.

Perfect for ghost stories! Last night I took this photo at the Fremont Public Library. I was situated at the fireplace surrounded by pumpkins and orange lights. If the kids were scared, I can tell you I was!!

Tonight is my last Halloween show. I will be sharing the stage with good friend and colleague, Steve Etheridge. The performance will be our annual ghost stories at Pokagon State Park; kids show at 6:30, adults at 8:00. We will be performing in the old pavilion with pumpkins and again another huge roaring fire. Steve and I have shared this stage for, oh say...20 years!

Dress warmly tonight and don't look behind you!!

A happy, happy birthday to my Mom...lucky her with a birthday on Halloween!!

Lou Ann

Swirling Autumn Leaves...

Everything swirls for me in October..spell bowl in the early morning...theatre rehearsals after school and storytelling in most of the time in between.

We had a great book club this month in which I brought the author, Katherine Howe, into our lives through Skype. We all loved the book, The Physick of Deliverance Dane, a perfect book for the Halloween season.

My columns and photos are appearing regularly in the paper, Jonah and Matthew come and tumble in the leaves, Adam and Aaron just returned home from 3 weeks in the Idaho mountains.

Swirling leaves with a canopy of stories fill my days including reading The Raven by Poe to all my classes at school, including Kindergarten. They can't wait every day to hear the story of the great black bird.

My house is decked out for the Halloween season with lights and all kinds of things that glow in the dark. Life is good, sweet and full of chocolate at this point.

Photo at Sunset

I happened to be strolling around my town at sunset with my camera in my bag and caught this shot. It was a lovely quiet night with no one around so I could just stand in the middle of the street and take the shot. A nice way to end a beautiful Autumn day in Northern Indiana.
By the way, never leave home without your camera!

Today at 1:00...Pokagon is featured!

Indiana State Parks: Treasures in Your Own Backyard

Sunday, October 18, 2009 01:00:00PM
Station: PBS39: Fort Wayne Public Television
Feed Common Name: PBS39/39-1, Fort Wayne
Channel Number: 39.1

Autumn in Indiana

Photo by Tonya on Monday

Snow and ghost stories swirl around as swiftly as do the falling leaves. Yes, the snow did fall yesterday and the temperatures will be in the 20's tonight. This cold weather has definitely ended the garden although I have a few items to tend to. There is rosemary to bring in, tulips and daffodils to plant. There is still the furnace and cellar to clean and the garage to prepare for winter.

I am, however, in love with Autumn. Candles burning. Tea kettle humming. Stories brewing.

Here is a verse from one of my favorite poems I always recited to my children:

October

The summer is over,
The trees are all bare,
There is mist in the garden
And frost in the air.
The meadows are empty
And gathered the sheaves--
But isn't it lovely
Kicking up leaves.

Rose Fyleman

Scary Stories Week-End!

In the pouring rain, I drove down to Indianapolis late Friday afternoon to the History Center on the Canal. The show had been moved inside due to the weather and Lily Hall was festive for the evening. There were a line up of four storytellers: Bob Sander, Celestine Bloomfield, Cynthia Changaris and myself.

The room was full of adults and children and we all had a wonderful time. The stories were not too creepy or scary as they were geared for children.

After the show we went to Bob and Nancy's for vegetarian chili and fresh baked bread. Bob and Nancy brought out their guitars and played after the late night supper. It was a wonderful evening.

It was in the wee hours of the morning when we arrived back at Ellen's and I took to my scullery room up under the eaves.

Tonight's show will be outside as the rain has cleared even though the temperature has dropped!

Come on out, 7:30 on the Canal, but dress warmly!

Lou Ann

Bewitching Garden

My Scarecrow

OK, so a couple of topics here in rain-sodden northern Indiana. My daughter-in-law, Tonya, flew in last night from St. Petersburg. She left 95 degree temperatures and landed in this rainy, almost frozen tundra. Alright, I am exaggerating.

To all of your dismay, I do like this weather. Oh, not for gardening or biking or driving for that matter...but I think artists love the forlornness of cold and rain...sitting by a fire, writing a story, reading a tale or two.

I did hike out to the garden to find the witches hat which blew off in the night. I really should tack it up, but for now I just hunt for the hat every morning. Maybe it is in search of what else I might find in my bewitching garden.

Enough prattle, I am off to Indianapolis to tell ghost stories on the canal. I believe we shall be inside tonight, but tomorrow night I am sure we will bundle up for the adult stories.

Hope to see you there!

Beginning of Autumn

A display in Jonesborough, Tennessee

Ellen and I made the mecca to Jonesborough for the annual Storytelling Festival in the mountains. It was a wonderful five day adventure for us and I wrote it all up on her blog this time. To log on and read about the journey, go to: jhttp://cs01.gzo.com/~storytel/blog/ourney.

I have moved my writing desk indoors as the cold has been driven down from the north country and there has definitely been frost on the pumpkins.

James Whitcomb Riley was born on this day in 1849. He was born and raised in Greenfield, Indiana and is known as our Hoosier poet.

Jame Whitcomb Riley is best known for poems such as Little Orphant Annie, When the Frost is on the Pumpkins, and The Raggedy Man. It was my Dad who introduced those poems to me when I was little and I have never forgotten them. I was hoping to have a celebration for JWR, but as it is, I will just drink a nice hot cider and go off to bed!!

Happy Autumn!

Angola Fall Fest and the Civil War

Abe Lincoln awaiting early morning speech.

Union Soldiers listening to the President.

Gun Salute

President Lincoln leaving for the battlefield.

Every year the last week end of September, Angola rolls out the carpet for crafters and musicians, civil war re-enactors, and yes writers and photographers.

It is one of our chances to connect with our community, visit with folks, and eat German almonds along side pork sandwiches and cotton candy.

This year had a new twist as Abe Lincoln came to town early on Saturday morning. To be exact, the carriage rolled in at 8:30. It was a foggy, misty morning as the streets were all blocked and waited for the President. The Union troops were gathered around the Civil War monument for Steuben County as they were preparing for battle.

I took Matthew and Jonah with me and spent a great deal of time telling them stories and helping them understand that the real Lincoln was killed and this man was a storyteller Lincoln.
They were also a bit worried about the guns. However, they didn't move as the event began. The fog pulled the noise level down to a hush as we listened to the speeches, the gun salute and taps. It was a very moving experience for all, and I believe not a dry eye on the town square.

Following this event, the Lift off for Literacy sent off thousands of balloons in the air in our fight for literacy in our county.

The stages were full all days of local performers. I had a one hour show on the children's stage along with the pie eating contest, which I did not win. I didn't even come close!

The evening ended with a square dance out at the park. It was the perfect night with just a sliver of the moon peaking through clouds...warm enough to dance without gloves or hats, cool enough to add sweaters. There was a group of us dancing until the last waltz. Later that evening I visited the camps. Today was another full day. I left my house on my bike early and really just barely walked in the door. I could not pull away. Tomorrow's blog will feature more photographs. Until then...