A golden week of transforming students into actors...

A golden week of transforming students into actors: Monday morning. There are 15 eager students sitting on the floor around me each with a nametag and each wearing a sailor’s cap. They range from 10 to 14 years of age including 13 girls and two boys. My job is simple, really. My job is to transform these students into actors and actresses by Thursday noon. No big deal. I have done it before, but sometimes I worry the magic will go missing and the show will not come and there will be no show.

My students in Drama Camp!!

 Here is the link to this week's column. We had a great time in Drama Camp as you will see from the column. The students were spectacular. As always, thank you so much for reading! Just click on the above link!

Lou Ann

The Hendrys are here in Angola

The Hendrys are here in Angola: The note came in the middle of January. At first I thought it was a scam email offering me a million dollars if I were to send out my social security number and my bank routing information. The subject line was in large print: MEREDITH.

Here we are celebrating at the Deli! From left to right: me, Claudia, Peg, Yvonne and Meredith.

The Hendry family in front of Hendry Park Elementary School.

Here is the link to this week's column. What fun we had when the Hendrys came to visit! Enjoy, and thank you for reading. Please just click on the top line and you will get the whole story.

Lou Ann

Life is good in our small town

Life is good in our small town: You know you live in a small town when the headline news is about the hedgehog stolen from the Carnegie Library. You know you live in a small town when the dinner table talk is about the hedgehog stolen from the Carnegie Library. And you know you live in a small town when everyone at the breakfast table cheers because the hedgehog has been returned.

Jonah's friend, David, took this photo the night before the family left. Adam and Tara are missing from the photo; hopefully we will all get to spend time together soon.

We all know that stories come and go; books begin and end; family celebrations also come to a close. I was able to spend an entire month with my Phoenix family. I call it Full Moon to Full Moon. This photo was taken before our last family dinner. Lucky for me Aaron and his family live here. So, cheers to a wonderful month of stories and memories...

As always, thank you for reading. Just click on the title or the first line. Thanks also to KPC for always printing my column on Saturday!

Lou Ann

Ukelele comforts travelers on momentous trip to beach

Ukelele comforts travelers on momentous trip to beach: The waves wash over me like a song or a dance. The sun fades and I sit inside of that time … the time that belongs to poets or storytellers or musicians of the world. It isn’t light. It isn’t dark. And the day light fades to night shadows. I rise up from the beach with my camera, make my way back to the old beach bicycle and bike back up to the cottage.

This photo was taken on our last night!

 

 

 

 

 We had a fabulous trip, and here is the column to prove it! Just click on the above link in the title or the first line, and there is the story.

As always thank you for reading and enjoy!

Lou Ann 

The garden is blessed and the fairies will play

The garden is blessed and the fairies will play: It is midnight. My house is quiet except for the sound of the ceiling fans in the bedrooms of all my sleeping family. The neighborhood is so peaceful even with the occasional barking dog here or there and the sounds of night, which I love. My campfire has fallen to glowing embers, and with its protective screen, I can leave it as hearth and bed lure one and all back inside. Yes, tonight ends the Solstice, one of the most magical days and nights of the year.

Fairies will be abundant in my garden this summer thanks to the Solstice Princess. It was a wonderful celebration. Enjoy this column and as always, thank you for reading. Just click on the title or the first line and there is the story!

Lou Ann 

The gifts were usually simple...

The gifts were usually simple: The gifts were usually simple. The six of us pooled our money together and walked down to the local drug store to see what we could find for Father’s Day. Once we bought a card that cost a whole dollar. We argued over that one. And once we bought a shaving mug with a brush. Everyone agreed on that one, and we just couldn’t wait until Sunday morning to give it to our dad. Sometimes, and more than once, we spent the money on cherry Cokes and ended up with homemade cards. We always felt bad afterward, but we loved sitting on those stools drinking those Cokes in the summer.

My dad loved all theatre shows. Here we are singing with "Mama Mia!".

Here is the link to my Father's Day column...one day late! I had a wonderful day celebrating with two of my sons who are wonderful fathers so this was postponed a day! 

Just click on the above link, and as always, thank you for reading!

Lou Ann

Invader evades the bat patrol at the house with a picket fence

Invader evades the bat patrol at the house with a picket fence: I tiptoe downstairs and find my guests sleeping on my living room floor. I stop on the stairs and wonder why they are not tucked away in the bridal suite where they are supposed to be sleeping. They hear me on the stairs and sit up and stare at me bleary eyed. David, the husband, looks at me through bloodshot eyes and says, “There was a bat.”

Here is the photo of the bat patrol team!

Here is the link to last week's column. Just click on the title or the first line and you will find it on the KPC website! 

As for the bat...nope, naddy, zip.

As always, thank you for reading!

You can never have enough tucking in at night

You can never have enough tucking in at night: Jonah is mine for the night, and nothing could make me happier. I love that he can walk home from school to my house. I have the usual after school snacks ready … pretzels, apples, Route 66 Orange Pop!

Jonah and Graham in last year's cornfield!

Here is the link to last week's column. As always, it was written with much love. Just click on the above link, and as always, thank you for reading!

Lou Ann

Adventures always find a way to the door step

Adventures always find a way to the door step: With warm days and cool nights upon us, my phone starts lighting up with bicyclists requesting a night’s provisions. I joined Warmshowers.com a few years ago and have become a popular host because of my location. Folks traveling across the U.S. on bicycles know that hosts provide a safe clean bed and always a warm shower. There is no exchange of money with hosting, just good will!

Jenny signed the wall before they left the next morning.

Here is the link to this week's column. It was a great adventure just sharing an evening on my front porch! Just click on the above link and there it is! Enjoy, and thank you for reading! Lou Ann

 

Jenny and Neil on my front porch!

Now that the babies are gone, the clock ticks on...

Now that the babies are gone, the clock ticks on: A Letter to Young Moms:

This photo is from the farm days, of course! Haircuts were done at home...no shoes and plenty to do to keep three little boys busy as they grew up. From left to right: Adam, Aaron, and Abe.

 

 

 

Here is this week's Mother's Day column. It was written with great love to all the young moms (and the older ones). It is especially written for my three sons who breathed life into me when I was so young. They gave me the stories to tell.

Enjoy, and, as always, thank you for reading. Just click on the above link.

And, yes, the clock ticks, and they grow up. Aaron, Abe, and Adam.

 

 

A friend from London falls in love with Angola...

A friend from London falls in love with Angola: One of my favorite words is “serendipitous” which means occurring by chance in a happy or beneficial way, according to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary. This is exactly what happened last week, and here is the story.

Graham is contemplating the walk.

 

 

 

Here is the link to this week's column. It was a very interesting week with Clive who came to us from London. Enjoy the column and, as always, thank you for reading. 

 

One at a time folks walked the labyrinth.

This is Clive holding a small, hand carved labyrinth.

Poetry and music are meant for one another...

Poetry and music are meant for one another: The deluge of the April rain catches me off guard as I ride my bike home from school. Gardens empty, school children scramble and I ride furiously with one eye to the sky.

Here is the link to this week's column. Please just click on the above link and there it is. I spent the evening listening and watching the Wailin' Jennys and it was marvelous. Enjoy this piece from Youtube. They ended the show with this as they stepped away from the microphone. It was stunning...not a breathe from the audience. As always, thank you for reading.

Lou Ann

Hope for the future — trees — get planted by our future

Hope for the future — trees — get planted by our future: My doorbell rings even though the hour is still early. Coffee sits on my dining room table with the newspaper spread out in front of me to read about folks I know and those I don’t. I scramble to the door knowing who is there before I answer.

Scott Hottell's class on Arbor Day at the
White Picket Gardens!

Here is the link to this week's column. As always, it was a labor of love to write. Thanks to the city of Angola, the Tree Board and this exceptional group of 7th graders for a job well done. Thank you also for reading. Just click on the above link and there is the column!!