chez pez

a peek at nora at the austin city limits festival.

2009-10-12T09:55:00.004-04:00

Two Weeks' Hard Labor: Day 5, Austin City Limits Festival, Austin, TX

I'm sorry I've been missing in action. I'm back in Indiana working and working and writing with the occasional nap thrown in.

I feel compelled to point out that I was wearing the bandana out of necessity, not as a fashion statement. It was 87 degrees with 98 percent humidity. I'd totally given up on what I looked like.

See you soon!

cash for clunkers

2009-09-29T12:44:00.003-04:00

We’ve been harping on my dad to get rid of his old Suburban. It’s the Titanic on wheels. It’s big and heavy and drives like crap. And Dad loves the damn thing - it has plenty of room and besides he’s got the radio tuned, knows how to use the tape deck and his electric razor is in the console.

We thought the Cash for Clunkers program was the perfect time for him to get a new vehicle. Trade in the Suburban AND get his GM discount. How could it go wrong? Clearly we should have paid more attention.

Dad traded in the 1988 Chevy farm truck. The one that used to be red, but turned in to more of a mauve-ish color in the last decade. The one that moved all of us kids to various schools and apartments. The one that we all borrowed when we came to visit. The one that has hauled thousands of dozens of sweet corn. That one that dad made his own wooden box console with a place to store stuff (the spare electric razor, a rosary, cough drops and paper towels) and cup holders cut out of the top.

He got a fancy new GMC bright red 4-wheel drive truck. It’s beautiful and has all of the bells and whistles including the OnStar navigation system. Dad took me to the airport today. I was looking up the directions --Indianapolis has a new airport terminal, when Dad said he wanted to use the OnStar. Sounds like fun I said.. Ha – famous last words!

It stared out fun. Dad punched the button and the nice lady asked our destination and sent the route to the truck. Magically the directions appeared on the radio console and a voice told us to turn left out of the parking lot. Then the trouble started. Dad decided to go off route – “The highway is quicker.” As soon as we turned the voice told us we were going off _-route and asked if we’d like to re-route. I wasn’t worried; I’d already looked up the directions and knew what exit we needed. The new OnStar directions look us another way, but I didn’t question it. I have the sense of direction of a donut. If I think we should go right, invariably it is left.

It took us on interstate 465, that is heavily under construction and there were no exits for five miles. Still no [visible] panic on my part. We turned around, headed for Highway 70, I assumed. Then Dad called back the magic voice. The voice that told us to take Exit 12 on 465, which didn’t exist. That didn't stop Dad from slowing down and looking and the voice telling us to turn and the trucks and traffic whizzing by. That didn’t lower Nora’s blood pressure either. Even though I kept suggesting that we should just head to Highway 70. We followed the long-winded directions. In OnStar’s credit, it eventually led us to the airport. THE OLD AIRPORT!

We’re now about an hour from my flight time. And I’m not at the airport. We followed the signs and arrived just in time. And I was smiling as I got out of the truck. Because Dad is using his old wooden homemade console, even though the new truck has all kinds of storage compartments and cup holders. It’s hard to be mad at a guy who is willing to mix the new with the old.

leavin' on a jet plane

2009-09-28T12:41:00.002-04:00

I’m headed to the Austin City Limits Festival. It’s been the usual scramble getting ready for the trip. By the time I pack, get the house clean enough to let someone in to feed the cat, get my shifts covered and work organized I’m ready for another vacation.

I think that half of Indianapolis will be there – I’m making plans to meet up with friends that live a few blocks from me that I never see. I’m also looking forward to seeing people that have moved from Indy to Austin and one to NYC.

This will be my third trip to Austin, the first trip I was only there for 36 hours for my Aunt Bernadine’s funeral. I took a taxi from the airport to the church to pull up just in time to see the mourners coming out of the church.

I went to the Austin City Limits Festival (ACLF) last year and loved every second of it but only stayed for four days. This time I’ll be in Austin for a full week. Watch out!

pants

2009-09-27T22:39:00.005-04:00

I have not gone farther than my front porch today. Or put on pants or spoken one word and I don’t intend to. It’s a good day to be wearing a cozy robe.

I’ve had a productive writing day. And been blog surfing. And getting one step closer to being a crazy cat lady.

Too bad I’m allergic to cats.

college friends and cucumber sandwiches

2009-09-26T03:18:00.004-04:00

I crashed North Central High School's pre-reunion party last night. My friends Carol and David graduated from there 30 years ago (my 30th reunion was this summer also). North Central is so big that Carol and David didn't meet until Purdue.

Carol and I were roommates in college. Off campus even. In fact I'd probably still be living in a dorm if not for her. Carol introduced me to so many cool people and exposed me to lots of new things. Those days seemed so much easier.

As a shy kid I was not emotionally prepared for college. I went to Purdue without a typewriter. It was not that my parents would not have gotten me one, it just never occurred to me to ask. My freshman year also started a long history of not being able to say no. Somehow I was named the representative for my floor in the dorm. Which lead to being the recording secretary for my dorm. Which required a typewriter. I learned that I could type the minutes in the student government office. Soon I was sneaking down to the office in the evening to type papers, often sitting in the almost-dark.

A punk rock band, Dow Jones and the Industrials slated Chris Clark for student government president to promote the band. Much to everyone surprise Chris won, ending a long reign of fraternity men in the post. When Chris and company went to check out the offices I was there, in the empty offices, typing. I was instantly recruited to the team and it changed my life - in a good way. And my friendship with Carol is the best thing that came out of that time.

The summer after my freshman year Mom and I were on campus to sign me up for the next semester classes (no online registration then!). I remembered where Carol was living for the summer and we stopped to say hello. She invited me to stay for a few days so I did - the good old days of sharing clothes and buying a toothbrush at the drugstore and not worrying about anything else.

Carol and I lived in four different places over the years, including a memorable semester about the popular bar, Harry's Chocolate Shop. You might think that was a cool place to live, but it was horrible. Friends would come up to use your bathroom, when the line was too long downstairs and there invariably were guys urinating under the back steps. The whole building shared a heating system, so the bar smells would waft upstairs and worse yet, they split the heating bill eight ways! We were paying as much as the bar and a huge record store/card shop in the same building. When we moved in the previous tenant asked if she could stay another month, we agreed - she never moved out! Carol and I shared my bed for the whole semester - it's funny to think about it now, but didn't seem like a big deal at the time.

Not only did Carol introduce me to so many great people, but two of my favorite meals. Cucumber, tomato and cream cheese sandwich on wheat toast is the perfect taste of summer. And baked beans on toast (or some times we'd substitute potato chips) reminds of our poor, but fun college days.

Carol moved to California almost twenty-five years ago. I rode with her for the cross-country trip. In her Pontiac Fiero. Can you imagine driving that far in such a small car? We had a great trip, and after sharing a room and clothes for so long it was a breeze.

pez and porch packages

2009-09-25T23:38:00.000-04:00

Sometimes I forget that collect PEZ dispensers - even though I walk past hundreds of them in my hallway several times a day. I came home yesterday to a find a package on my porch from Amazon. My dear friend DM sent me the new Wizard of Oz PEZ set. I have so many wonderful thoughtful friends and DM is right on the top of the heap.

I love getting mail and used to be great about sending letters and remembering birthdays and leaving thoughtful gifts on on friends porches. I miss doing that sort of stuff and I don't know when I got too busy or lazy to keep it up. In the meantime I'll just add it to the list of stuff I need to get back to.

For today I'm just going to worry about whether I should keep the Wizard of Oz PEZ in the box or not. Thanks DM.

cut (and let's be honest, color)

2009-09-24T19:52:00.003-04:00

Michael cutting my hair today.

There are a lot of things I tackle on my own - mowing grass, shoveling snow, light plumbing, hand-washing things that say 'dry clean only' and computer repair.

I can live without central air-conditioning, cable and a fancy car. I'm happy to buy generic brands and shop at the Dollar Store.

I will not compromise on having my hair cut and colored professionally. I first got my hair colored before a trip to New Mexico to meet my then boyfriend's friends. Aaron is seven years younger and I was very nervous about meeting his friends and didn't want to look old. It was pre-cougar culture.

I thought my hair looked too dark and too big, but the greys were gone so I guessed it was okay. Plus I have a really hard time breaking up with people, be it the people who cut my hair, bagel or pizza. I'd sooner move then change dentist, doctor or hair dresser. Plus the woman who cut my hair bought coffee from me every day, so it would be awkward to break it off and I hate awkward.

We had another hair dresser that also came in for coffee each morning. I shyly started asking him questions: Where did he work? Did he have room for another client? How far out was he booked? I finally asked if he would cut my hair, and he said he'd been waiting for me to ask! He also coached me to write my current hairdresser a note to tell her that I was ready for a change.

Michael is great -- and he knows what I look like first thing in the morning. When I first started going to him the rotation was cut, cut, cut and color, cut, cut. Then it changed to cut, cut and color, cut. A couple of years later we moved to coloring my hair with each haircut. Sadly, now the routine is cut and color, color, cut and color, color.

I wonder at what point I should quit coloring my hair. Probably when I'm too old to have a second job to help pay for it!

what i did this summer, part one

2009-09-23T19:06:00.006-04:00

It really was a busy summer. Germany, house guests, seventeen days of the State Fair, working three jobs and writing and an occasional day at the pool made the last three months fly by.

One thing I did this summer was get my name/photo in the paper an embarrassing number of times. It started with this:

My recipe for "cheaters" salsa was in the Indianapolis Star. The article is too old for the free link, so here is a picture of me showing the piece to my family while were in Baden Baden.

I didn't realize that I would be photographed, I thought they were just going to shoot photos of the salsa. I always hate the way I look in pictures so I asked my friend Joni, who used to teach modeling classes for tips. She she had me practice standing with my weight on my back leg and doing some complicated shoulder roll for good posture. Once I realized that I was being photographed holding the salsa I tried to remember my modeling moves. I'm not coordinated on a good day, so you can imagine my awkwardness in trying to hold a bowl of salsa in one hand and a basket of chips in the other as I tried to pose. I must not have had the swanky look I was going for, because the photographer said, "great, look like you're walking in the door." I do like the way it turned out.

A few weeks later I was in the social column...wearing an apron!

The link for this is expired too, so here is a photo of the article on my fridge (if I wasn't so damn lazy I'd scan it). I love it that Cathy talked about Second Helpings Culinary Job Training program and my friends Linda and Kristi and her daughters. And you might also note that Fuzzy Zoeller is wearing an apron in the same article - I think we're starting a trend!

NUVO did a great cover story about Second Helpings: Serving Second Chances and a video about line cooking: Line Cooking at Second Helpings (you get to hear me being bossy, see my sister Beth training the servers, Ann Mitchell, Mrs. Herr and Kristi and her daughters).

I made the social page one more time with our Harvest event - here I am with the chairman of our board of directors. Click!

My favorite thing was that I got to fulfill a long time dream and write about my Top Ten favorite things about the Indiana State Fair. Click! NUVO also used several of my photographs, including the one of the corn and the Ferris Wheel.

Thats enough for tonight - I have dishes to do....

little beulah and winemaking

2009-09-22T22:16:00.008-04:00

I heard that dad had a new cat. I should say that I overheard that dad got a new cat. I heard him ask another Second Helpings volunteer about low cost spay and neutering and I assumed that he was not asking for himself.

Little Beulah is named after a long line of farm cat Beulahs. She sure is cute.

I went to the farm to help make wine. The basic recipe is to de-stem Concord grapes, squish them and add sugar water and stuff it all in a barrel.

My timing was perfect! The work was done and the brats were on the grill when I arrived. I had a fabulous dinner of Dad's soup, corn, brats, veggies and apple pie. And lots of laughter.

Dad poured "new grape" - last year's wine. Which will be bumped to "old grape" when the new wine is ready. We're very clever in naming things at the farm, be it cats or wine. It's part of the reason that going home is so darn comfortable.

p.s. Happy birthday Ralph!

six pack...

2009-09-21T22:56:00.006-04:00

...of socks. Or in this case, sox.

I'm a bowler now, or at least in a bowing league. Bowling requires accessories, and generally I'm down with that. But I can't seem to get it together. You can rent the shoes and borrow a ball at the bowling alley, but you have to bring your own socks.

I even managed to find two white socks that matched this morning and left them on my coffee table. Next to the cat. And an empty popcorn bowl. I can either blog or keep the house picked up, okay people? Since this is my second round of bowling I've learned some tricks. Like you can buy socks at the drug store.

This evening I was clever enough to buy a six pack. I left the other five pairs in the truck. That will hold me 'til Halloween at least.

Not that I needed one more thing to add to my busy schedule, but bowling has been good for me. I've met a whole new group of people and gotten to know others better. It keeps me from working too late, at least on Mondays.

I thought I'd just be a sub this round, but two really fun people I met this summer asked me to join their team. Julie is in an MFA program for writing, which I think is the coolest thing ever. Kathleen and I bonded over the fact that we're both single and have to share a room with our parents on vacation. She is a career coach and has given me great advice on some workplace issues.

Now I just need to improve my bowling game -- there is no where to go but up, my average is 95.

And yes, I'm usually (okay, always) wearing a dress.

cheating

2009-09-20T21:57:00.002-04:00

I have to admit that I feel like I've been cheating on this blog with Facebook. Facebook makes it so easy to post photos and give quick updates. If I could have invented a way for me to communicate it would be Facebook.

And I get to keep up with Rachel, Lacy, Jamie Dawn, Gette, Kim, Jerry, Cara, Teresa, Elizabeth, Crabbydad, Kirsten, Kent, John, Terah, Jenny and Annie there.

For a while I was cheating on Facebook with Twitter - Monica is over there too, but I couldn't keep up with that very well.

Here is my Facebook page: NORA -- if you're in the neighborhood.

[Hostel] John and Karen's wedding

2009-09-19T23:46:00.001-04:00

My friends John and Karen got married this afternoon. The wedding was beautiful and romantic and meaningful. The minister made all of us part of the ceremony - including having us all tell the bride and groom that we loved them.

The wedding and reception was in the backyard of a friend - and the spot of John and Karen's first real conversation. I remember John telling me after the party that he'd met someone he really liked. I've enjoyed watching their relationship grow.

The first time John and Karen met was in the kitchen of the Hostel. I had booked Jason Wilber for a concert and Karen came from Chicago to visit a friend who took her to the show. Jason played at the reception - I love how they tied at all together.

We all know how I love to tie things together too -- I wore lots of heart jewelry, including the flashing ring on my finger. I wish the photo showed my pretty skirt - I don't want you to think that I wore all black to the wedding!

Cheers John and Karen!

Click here for more photos.

hello....anyone still out there?

2009-09-18T23:15:00.007-04:00

Um, hi. Is there anyone out there? Can you hear me? I don't blame you if you're gone.

I've been busy doing boring life stuff - keeping all of the balls in the air and trying to be a good employee, daughter, writer and hostess. And keep the house picked up and the basement clean and the grass mowed and the truck from falling apart and the weight off.

I got to write about one of my favorite things this summer - the Indiana State Fair. Read my Top 10 picks by clicking here.

I also went to the State Fair each day. It almost killed me! You can follow that here.

I'm committing to checking in here more often.

Pinky swear

munich

2009-06-22T11:54:00.005-04:00

Annie and Beth

Guten Tag!

I'm sitting in the lobby of a hotel in Munich, Germany typing this. I'm so far behind on blogging that I didn't even share the news of the family trip to Germany. I still want to go back and do a May wrap up (you have to see the photos of all of my birthday cakes!).

I'm traveling with my parents and both of my sisters and their husbands, Beth & Ron, Ann & Tim.

We arrived around 9:00 this morning. We were proud of ourselves for figuring out how to get from the airport to the hotel - I love traveling by train and the 40 minute ride was a perfect way for us to sit down and get a grip. Mom and I stayed in Munich this afternoon while the rest of the group toured a castle.

More later!

auction

2009-05-17T18:21:00.002-04:00

I loved going to farm auctions when I was young. It was a good chance to mill around adults and have free rein to look through boxes and explore tables lined with stuff. I didn't have much interest in looking at tractors or kicking the tires on a Buick, but I did love opening the lid of a cigar box to see what treasures were waiting. And wondering how people could part with exotic things as salt and pepper shakers that looked like dogs or butter churns or old shop calendars. I could usually talk Dad in to bidding a quarter or fifty cents on a box of match books or stack of old magazines for me. Eating from the concessions trailer was also big news - and about as close as we ever got to fast food.

When I was older I realized that that farm auctions happen around life events: someone died, retired or moved to town. It took some of the fun out of it, but I've come to appreciate how the auction ties things together, almost like the funeral all over again.

As sad as I knew it would be, I was looking forward to the auction of Uncle Cletus and Aunt Mary Alice's (she is at an assisted living facility in town) household goods. All of their grandchildren were coming to town.

Dad and I drove up together in the rain and discussed what we'd like to buy. Dad really wanted one of the stainless steel stock pots and I knew that I wanted a rake or shovel or something that family hands held.

Here is dad picking out his pot. The auctioneer was great and funny. I'm not sure whether it was the rain or the economy, but things were selling really low.

My trusty rain boots came in handy, once again. Cass County got some crazy amount of rain, too much rain for the newly planted crops.

Cousin Judi and her daughters Rachel and Brandi.

Buck and Cousin Cynthia

I wound up with the Nativity scene. It was an accidental bid, but I'm happy that I have it.

These safety glasses were in a box of treasures that Buck bought.

Cynthia and I both had our sights set on these chairs - the one I got used to be in my great-grandfather's tavern. It is painted the same grey that my table and two chairs are. I wonder how many gallons of that utilitarian grey paint the Spitznogle's went through over the years - or maybe I just have the four things painted that color. The chair did have one minor problem. The legs were cut off about six inches, making it really short. I'm sure it was used for some chore and it made sense at the time. I also bought the double wash tub behind us. It will be a great drink cooler for backyard parties.

Dad told us that his dad paid twenty-five cents for this "sled." That was dad's opening bid. Cousin Leo bought it.

Luci, Sydney, Leo and Nina.

I can't imagine how hard the sale was on "the kids." It was fun to have some laughter near the end. Dad and Nina were bidding on the same item. It turned out that Dad wanted the horse shoes and Nina a coat that was in the same lot, so they shared. There was a lot of trading going on. I bought a chair and Virgin Mary artwork. I really wanted the art and Angie wanted the chair - it was fun to be able to give it to her.

I think all of the grand-kids and nieces and nephews that were there bought a garden tool. I got a potato fork and hoe.

Dad got the pipe organ parts and other miscellaneous church stuff. That screen is from a confession box. I was starting to wonder how we were going to fit all of our treasures in the Suburbian. Dad also bought several lots of lumber.

At one point Dad bid fifty cents for something. The auctioneer told him he'd pay him the difference if Dad would bid a dollar. Here he is making good on his promise.

Loading the truck was a little tricky. We stacked all of the lumber on the folded down back seat and wedged everything else in the back. There was no room for the pot so I held it the hour and a half home.

Which was ironic, when I discovered my beloved MacBook was squashed under the load of wood. I'd worked on my column on the way down and left the computer in my bag on the front seat. At some point in the day, Dad decided it would be safer under a blanket in the back. He forgot about it, until I asked where it was.

To my credit, I didn't yell or freak-out or cry, although I sure wanted to. But it was a long ride home with that damn pot rattling on my lap. And all's well that ends well. I'm writing this post on the laptop.

For more photos click here.

published!

2009-05-15T09:57:00.002-04:00

I am a writer for a nationally published music and film magazine -- Ghettoblaster.

I hate to sound so unenthusiastic - I'm thrilled, really I am. It just feels a little anticlimactic. I was dying to talk about it earlier, but didn't want to jinx it. I wrote the four CD reviews this winter, one of them references getting stuck in the snow. They are my first CD reviews, ever. I am not good at being critical -- I'm amazed by anyone who can put themselves out there, so I hate to say anything bad about them. Nor am I good at obscure references: they sound like a cross between Jumbo the Elephant and Cindy Brady during a category 4 hurricane. Huh?

When I turned my piece in I fantasized casually walking by the music magazines at Northside Newsstand and saying, "why look, the spring issue of Ghettoblaster is in." I'd flip through the mag and say, "hey, who is this on page 42?, why it's me!" And then I'd dance around the store like a total geek.

The newsstand was the place I went to see my first column in the Broad Ripple Gazette, it was where I went to grab the NUVO with my first article. It was where I went to run my hands over the stack of NUVOs with my cover story - and made Joe take six pictures of me holding the paper proudly.

In my early days of writing, pre-wireless Internet, I'd write in the cafe side. If the shop was closed, I'd park in front and transmit my columns from the truck. In fact I started this blog late one night parked outside.

My writing success was directly tied to the newsstand. I'd produce it there and I'd get to grab the tangible product from a rack inside just days later. I can't even link to all of the times I blogged about (and from) the newsstand, but it does have its own sidebar label.

The magazine process was a little longer. I submitted the piece in January for the spring issue. Knowing it would not hit the stands before April did not stop me from walking by the spot where issue 20 was standing up proudly in it's slot surrounded by Spin and Paste and No Depression almost every single day.

Then the unimaginable happened. The big magazine distributor for Indiana went out of business. And there was not much reason to keep the newsstand open without magazines. They announced it with a sign on the door. As you can imagine I was getting phone calls and text messages right way. I contact one of the owners and offered to put a piece in my column, to let them tell the story in their own words. Something I would have appreciated with the coffeehouse closed (This post ties the relationship of the coffeehouse and newsstand together).

I was stunned when M. said "No!" I pointed out that I could read the sign from the sidewalk, so it was public knowledge. In an exchange of heated texts he asked me not to write about it. Ultimately I respected that, even though every other publication and several bloggers (Kirsten wrote a beautiful tribute) did. After I backed off and examined my feelings (something I'm not good at doing), I realized that I considered the newsstand a continuation of the CATH era. One more thing to let go of.

The newsstand closed the first week in March. The News Cafe continues to flourish and has expanded in to the extra space. You can still buy newspapers, candy and smokes there. Just not magazines.

I combed bookstores and the only other newsstand in the city I knew of for the latest copy of Ghettoblaster, but with the distributor gone, no one else had it either. I finally subscribed to the magazine - after ten years of buying all of my magazines at the newsstand, subscribing to something seemed like a foreign idea.

The day it arrived in the mail seemed anti-climatic.

And I'll admit to being a little nervous. What if I sounded like an idiot? I looked at the Photo magazine (a Christmas gift from a friend) and left the Ghettoblaster in the envelope until the next day.

When I finally read it I was happy with the blurbs - and thanks to my dear brother-in-law, Ron for editing them. I listened to the CDs in lots of situations; work, in the truck and at home. I think I did a good job, managing to say nice stuff even if I didn't love the music. The rating system was hard for me, but I know that everyone can't go home with a trophy. I loved Horse Feathers and gave them the highest rating. The other three were good, but not gold star worthy.

I showed it to mom and we made fun of some of the naughty band names. It felt more real when Tammy and Cara read the magazine when we were out one night.

Getting their stamp of approval means a lot. The fact that we could be silly made it all the more fun.

And, not to jinx it, but I'm doing twice as many reviews and maybe a feature story or two for the next issue. Maybe.

goals, goals, goals.

2009-05-02T14:52:00.012-04:00

I've never been a goal setter and I think that is most of my problem. Oh sure, I'm good a short term goals - earn enough money to buy a camera, finish my column by the deadline, don't be late for work all week, don't punch anyone in the nose during a waitressing shift, don't snort in a committee meeting....but mostly, I suck at goal setting.

Last year when I slogged my fat ass through the 500 Festival 5K walk (I was too out of shape to walk the half-marathon 13.1 mile race I'd signed up for) I vowed that I'd be in better shape the next year. I also thought it was be fun to highlight the 40 + bands that play along the route. It wasn't until July, when I needed a boost to get on a horse in Nebraska (and saw a photo of myself on that horse) that I came up with a concrete weight loss goal - 25 pounds. I almost fainted when I figured out that I had 25 pounds to lose! Me? Skinny kid Nora? Yikkes!

I joined Weight Watchers online in August and it has been wonderful. I haven't been to a meeting but I faithfully record everything I eat and weigh myself at home. I reached the goal in March and have not gained any weight in the last three months. I would like to lose five more, but I'm pretty proud of myself.

I walked the Mini-Marathon in 3 hours, 42 minutes and reviewed and photographed all of the bands along the way. I had a blast! You can read my article here. Note my sports byline - wheee!

Now I need a new goal. Any ideas?

doris - 100!

2009-05-01T22:51:00.001-04:00

My friend Doris turned 100 years old on April 27.

The neighborhood gang got together tonight to celebrate with pizza and presents.

Jeff and Doris

Jeff painted the Dogwood tree in Doris' backyard. Jeff used to live right next door (and I lived in Jeff's house for almost a year).

I love hearing her stories. I was able to take a lot of great notes.

Doris roller skated in her kitchen as a child, wearing her mother's skates, she'd also walk up and down the stairs with them on. Doris' dad was in the grocery business. She remembered two stores he ran. One was in Fountain Square on Sanders Street (very close to Second Helpings). She remembered a neighbor boy, Howard. One time they walked across several busy streets to get to the grocery store to retrieve a toy. Doris' dad could not believe they made it by themselves. In those days when people died the calling was at the home. A neighbor died and Doris and Howard picked a bouquet of dandelions and solemnly delivered them to the home.

When her mom died they were living above a store on Tacoma Street, so the viewing had to be at her grandfather's house. Doris remembers that house being at the corner of Michigan and Davidson streets.

Doris attended and boarded at the Saint Mary of the Woods Academy (now closed, there is a rule that a campus cannot house a high school and a university) from 1923-1927. There were very strict rules about dress - you could not walk though the Academy wearing pants. If they were horse back riding they would put a skirt on over the riding pants and drop the skirts at the door. If they were in a play cast in a male role, they could dress as a man but had to put a skirt over it.

In the pool they had to cover their arms and legs. They wore grey wool swimsuits and would put on white wool sleeves and black cotton stockings. After a few minutes the sleeves and stockings would be floating and the nuns would give up on having the girls wear them.

Doris' aunt and uncle took Doris in after her mother died. Her father remarried, but her stepmother would not let Doris live with them (hard to imagine now), so she stayed there. Her aunt and uncle adopted a foster child, Jimmy. He was adopted in 1914 or 1915 from the Sisters of Charity, who ran Saint Vincent's Hospital (where my grandmother and aunt lived and completed their nurse's training). She remembers the big wing-like hats and the light blue robes the nuns wore.

Jimmy had Fetal Alcohol Syndrome. They started noticing the symptoms in the first grade and he made it though his sophomore year of Cathedral High School. He never worked, but loved to ice skate and was part of a hockey team at the Coliseum. Doris remembers that Jimmy never liked to wear a hat, she finally got him to wear earmuffs when he was older.

Doris took care of Jimmy his whole life. He was alive when I moved in next door to them. He was suffering from dementia by then, on top of the FAS. Doris was heroic in her care of him. I was with them when he died. His funeral was full of laughter and stories. For years Doris had given Jimmy money to put in his envelope for offering at the church. The church secretary told her that for years Jimmy had written, "no thank you." Doris was mortified when she heard that! Neighbors told to Jimmy throwing trash and falling in to the mulch pit next door.

Doris had the full funeral package for him, including the viewing and a limousine to carry the family from the funeral home to the cemetery. Since most of Doris' contemporaries had died by that point I invited friends to come with us. My friend Kassie walked in to the wrong viewing at the funeral home, signed in and chatted with everyone before she realized she was in the wrong place. She got a thank you note from that family!

Christ the King Church has a great funeral ministry, proving singers and readers and people to attend the funeral mass. Doris' step-sisters were there also. It really was a lovely day.

And for the first time ever, Doris was living alone. She really thrived, gaining weight after the stress of taking care of Jimmy. She got her hair done every Friday, picking friends up that couldn't drive (you can imagine the crew, if Doris at 90 was the best driver) along the way. For a few years I was able to meet Doris and her gang for lunch. I need to dig out the photographs that I made poor Doris pose for in an old fashioned photo booth. It was a stand-up one and Doris had to stand on my stack of library books in order for the top of her head to be seen in the photos -- she was 4'11 at her tallest and I'm guessing that was in 1932. We both laughed so hard we were crying. I can't believe I made a then 93 year-old stand on a wobbly pile of books. Anything for the photo!

Doris moved out of her house six years ago and I'm ashamed to admit that I don't see her as often. Back when I worked at the coffeehouse I'd stop several afternoons a week. When I broke up with AVS, I sobbed and slept her sofa for days.

Doris is well read and up on current events. Swine flu was a big topic of conversation and it reminded Doris of the flu epidemic of 1918. Helen's grandparents died of the flu. It was fun to dive in to Helen's memories also. Helen was born in 1942 and was a teenager when Doris moved in next door. After Helen graduated from high school they often rode the bus downtown together. The street they lived on (Kessler Avenue) is now a major four lane thoroughfare. Helen remembers when it was not paved. The neighborhood kids would all gather on the only cement driveway on the street to skate.

Helen and Doris

Helen's mom, Bessie (who I also had the pleasure of meeting) was born in 1908. Bessie's uncle was a photographer in Fountain Square. We had fun thinking about the possibility that he photographed Doris when she was a child.

It was best Friday night I've had in ages.

april wrap-up

2009-04-30T14:29:00.043-04:00

Holy guacamole! Only one other post in April? *Sigh.

I wish I could tell you it was because I had some big life-altering news, but nope, nothing out of the ordinary. Well, maybe a little bit - I joined a bowling league. Yeah, you read that right, I'm bowling, dude!

Might as well grab a snack, I'm going to recap the whole month in this post.

April 3: Dad and I ran up to Peru, Indiana - "The Circus Capital of the World" for cousin Lynne's surprise 50th birthday party.

Dad and Lynne

Part of the surprise was on us - I had the wrong time and venue.

Elk.

Luckily the VFW, Elks Club and Legion are all with in a blocks so we were in the right lodge in no time.

Lynne.

I've gotten to know Lynne much better in the last few years. Even though we are pretty close in age, I was always shy around her. I thought she was so much cooler, funnier and self-confident than I was. I discovered last year that she also loves Johnny Cash. For Christmas I gave her my autographed photograph of Johnny. I figured it helped make up for all of the gifts of underwear and crocheted tissue box covers she got as a child from her godmother, Aunt Eleanor. For her birthday I gave her a postcard that was sent to Grandma Nora in 1909. Lynne is a postal carrier, and I guessed (rightly so) that she'd appreciate it.

Lynne and cousin David. Dave and I are just four days apart in age.

It was a fun evening - I need to spend more time with the cousins.

April 4: Extreme Makeover: Home Edition wrap party. There is not much I'll get my Red Key shift covered for, but this was one of them. My friend Anne-Marie Dezelen puts on a hell of a party and she was in charge of this one (here's a reminder of the birthday party she threw for her husband).

I had fun rubbing elbows with the beautiful people. Anne-Marie did a fabulous job. You can see more photos here.

April 5-8: My house used to be a stop on the underground railroad of touring musicians. Hundreds of singer-songwriters have slept on my sofa. Seth Horan holds the record for the longest residency. I was thrilled that he stopped in Indianapolis for his three day tour gap between Saint Louis and Chicago. We had not seen each other in five years! In that time CATH closed, I started working at Second Helpings and writing. Seth had even bigger life changes - he's now married and is moving to California.

I had a blast having him around. We fell into our old friendship in a matter of minutes. And I forget how fun it is to have someone to do something with. As comfortable as I am doing stuff by myself, I enjoyed eating out and seeing music with him along. We heard everything from a guy with a playing a solo set on a Farfisa organ to Todd Rungren.

April 8: Dad's 73rd birthday. Dad's birthday fell on his Wednesday volunteer day, so we all sang Happy Birthday to him.

Dad told the group that Wednesday is his favorite day of the week.
Mine too.

April 11: Easter. I went to J.R.'s parish. My brother always "buys" the front pew at a church fundraiser and I sure do enjoying knowing where to find them in the church. Mass was at 9:30, which makes it a challenge to be all fresh and pretty after an ending at 3:00 AM smoky waitressing shift. I left my house at 9:00, which should have put me at the church with five minutes to spare. But I zigged instead of zagging and walked in at 9:33.

The doors to the church sanctuary were closed and there was an usher giving us latecomers the stink-eye. When the everyone stood up for the Gospel reading a family of four and I decided to make a break for it. The usher/security guard hesitated and chose to chase the family - they were moving slower, weighed down by the baby. I was able to slide in to the pew with J.R.'s friends and family.

June Bug and her little brother brought up the offerings. Those kids make my heart swell.

June Bug and Anna

We had a lovely brunch afterward. My friends were playing in the lobby -- thereby confirming my family's suspicion that I know every musician in town.

Circle Trio

Mom

There were plenty of games and things to keep the kids occupied.

April 12: Dyngus Day, or Easter Monday is also called Wet Monday in honor of the water based pranks that are traditionally pulled off on that day. I'm so happy we didn't know about that when we were kids. It was raining that day, so we got a good dose of the wet part anyway.

Bethie and me.

My dear South Bend-born brother-in-law Ron Trojanowski introduced our family to the holiday.

We've enjoyed the polka music and kielbasa at the Chatterbox Jazz Club the last several Dyngus Days.

Ron and Beth

Polka!

And proving that I cannot be left to my own devices, even for a minute I joined the Chatterbox bowling team (The Chatterbowlers) while I was there.

Thursdays: The Golden Gloves boxing matches are held at the Tyndall Armory.

This was the fifth year that I've had season tickets, and I tagged along with my friend Novella Nedeff for a few years before that. I have a hard time articulating why I enjoy the matches so much, but I think this photo helps sum it up. I get to sit behind two retired fireman, watch kids from the Christamore House box, eat popcorn and soak in all of the diversity our town has to offer.

April 16: CAR (Community Awareness Reception) turned in to a van for Second Helpings. J.R.'s friend Greg Eddy handed me the keys to a one-ton van at the reception!

A conversation in the cow barn at the Martin Luther King party led to a tour and the donation of a van for Second Helpings. I'm continually amazed by the generosity of my friends and the community. You can read more about it here.

April 16 and 17: Christamore House Guild Book and Author reception and luncheon. I went straight from the Second Helpings reception to the Christamore House Guild Book and Author reception. It was hard to know how to dress that morning. Sometimes fashion magazines will have pictorials of clothing suggestions that will go from "board room to ball room." The photos are of unnaturally beautiful woman wearing a designer suit that they whip the jacket off in the back of a chauffeured Town Car to revel a shiny beaded camisole. They add diamond earrings and even higher heels and step out of the car on to a red carpet.

They never write about how to dress for a nonprofit job and fancy-smancy party with real-live authors. And changing clothes in a S-10 pickup truck with manual transmission. I wore a top over my little black dress and boots. I whipped off the top added heals and raced to the party. I was so late the shuttle bus was bring people back to their cars. The grounds and house of the party hosts were amazing. The house was so big I had to send my sister in law a text to find her. And I never did run across a bar (apparently there were four).

I missed hearing the authors speak, which is my favorite part. But I did get me chat with Mary McGarry Morris. Her latest book, "The Last Secret" main character is named Nora. I can't wait to dig in to it.

The luncheon the next day is always lovely. It is fun to be a lady who lunches.

April 16-22: Ann was in Indianapolis. My youngest sister Annie was in town for a week. I didn't get to spend nearly enough time with her. We did get to have lunch with Mrs. Herr on Saturday.

Ann, Mrs. Herr, Beth, Nora

April 18: June Bug's First Holy Communion. It was a beautiful day. I can't believe how grown up and beautiful she is.

It was an amazing day. The whole family was together to celebrate this wonderful sacrament.

Beth, June Bug, Anna, JD, J.R., Ann, Ron, Mom, Nora, Dad

June Bug and Aunt Nora

Extreme Food Drive: The food kept pouring in all month. Last count 35,000 pounds!

April 28: Slumber party with Miss Katy. Her twin brother, Evan was having a heart procedure (everything went well, but he still needs a little more fine tuning), so Katy spent the night with me.

We had a grand time. I picked her up at her sitter's, my mom came over and we spent a few hours lovin' on her and then she went to sleep in the pack 'n play next to my bed. She slept for ten hours. I slept in ten minute increments - waking up to make sure she was still breathing. She's a beautiful sweet child. I look forward to watching them grow up.

And that folks, was the month of April.
If you want to read what I did music and event-wise. Click here and here.

extreme makeover: home edition

2009-04-03T23:31:00.017-04:00

This week has been a total blast for me. I was a great way to shake off the winter doldrums.

Being out on the Home Makeover site every day was a real treat. The weather was not perfect (I was knee deep in mud at times) but it was great to be in the fresh air and around a real-live project that you could see progressing quickly. So much of what I do each day does not have an end or is not very sexy -- completing our insurance audit is not nearly as fun as watching a house be built in seven days.

After my Monday volunteering gig and having a media pass I knew my way around and explored every nook and cranny of the neighborhood. The neighborhood in general is in pretty bad shape. Lots of abandoned and unsafe houses.

The area went from a thriving blue-collar neighborhood in the 1960s, to one of the poorest parts of town after the loss of the railroad industry and the addition of two interstates (I-70 and I-65) running smack through the middle of the neighborhood. The highways geography divided the neighborhood. Desegregation of schools in the 1970s meant that kids were being bused outside of the neighborhood, diluting even more the sense of community.

That said, there are still a few neighborhood folks who really believed in the community. The Home Makeover recipient is one of them. Bernard McFarland is a single father of three teen-age boys. He grew up in the neighborhood and returned there after a four-year stint in the Navy. He and his sons were living in a house that needed some structural work and all three boys were sleeping on mattresses in one room.

Bernard started a mentoring group for children in the neighborhood. I had the privilege of attending a fundraiser for the family and hearing first-hand the impact he had on these kids.

One teenager said the most important thing he learned was, "how to dress." Can you imagine not having that parental over site? I swear my mom could tell from three counties away if I was wearing a slip. Other kids shared that they didn't know they could even think about getting an education beyond high school. Bernard was running the program out of a trailer next to his house. He now has a 900 square foot library in that spot.

I was blown away by all of the work Estridge Homes did in the neighborhood. They really went above and beyond for the community. Even the production crew that travels with the show said it was more than they'd ever seen done. One of my favorite coffeehouse customers and uncle to Ben and Kirsten was in charge of the peripheral work. I spent an evening following him around to see the projects.

By the time it was all over, Estridge (with the help of several vendors and donors) accomplished this:
Planted 1,200 trees.
Free internet access to 450 homes.
Donated 100 computers to neighborhood students.
Cleaned 30 streets of trash as well as yards, alleys and vacant lots.
Landscaped 22 homes.
Redressed 16 alleys.
Put new roofs on 2 homes
Demolished 2 abandoned homes. Put new siding on a church.
Worked with the city and local funders to create a community center from an empty school.

Brother J.R. This view is from the back of the house and library.

It is no wonder I stayed at the site until after dark every night. I was soaking up as much of the community spirit as I could. And I decided that I feel fairly at comfortable in a hard hat and boots.

And watching this guy (assistant director of the show) work didn't hurt matters any.

For more photos:
Home Makeover site Wednesday, April 1
Fundraiser at Butler's Hinkle Fieldhouse, Wednesday, April 1
Home Makeover site Thursday, April 2
Home Makeover site Friday, April 3

march wrap-up

2009-03-31T21:17:00.007-04:00

Akk! Another month passed by without keeping my promise to myself of blogging more regularly. If only you could read the posts I've written in my head...

One reason that I was out of touch last three weeks is that I had a secret! And it is hard for me to keep such exciting news quiet, so I stayed home and told the cat. And Cliff (I figured telling someone in Nebraska was fairly safe).

The Sunday night, tear-jerker show, ABC's Extreme Makeover: Home Edition came to Indianapolis. And they are holding an Extreme Food Drive for Second Helpings in conjunction with the construction of the house. Any food that we cannot use for prepared meals at Second Helpings will be sent to food pantries in the neighborhood (Martindale-Brightwood) of the makeover home.

Second Helpings provides 880 meals in that neighborhood every single week. We also redirected 131,000 pounds of food in the last six months to the Saint Vincent DePaul Food Pantry that serves the neighborhood. In the first two days of the Extreme Home Makeover we’ve collected over 800 pounds of food.

I am just amazed by all of the behind scenes things on this project. There is a staging area across Keystone (a major street in the city) in an industrial park. All of the trucks are queued up and ready to go. When I left Monday evening they were pouring concrete for the resource/library building and working on the basement for the house. One day later they were putting on the roof, running the electricity and putting in the HVAC system.

The show travels with a crew of 70, a security company and trucks of supplies. The community has stepped up with 3000 volunteers, donated goods and labor. All of the food for the volunteers and crew has been donated.

I am most impressed by the work that is being done in the neighborhood. Two abandoned houses have been demolished, several houses painted, tons of trash picked up, windows replaced and 1500 trees planted. It warms my heart to see some basic quality of life things that most of us take for granted being addressed. I can’t say enough about Estridge (the builder for the project) they’re doing things right.

view from the golf cart

I volunteered on Monday and had the best, yet most nerve-wracking volunteer job ever. I told them I'd do anything but drive. So of course I drove all day. I shuttled VIPs around the site in a golf cart. It was disconcerting to look over my shoulder and see a cement truck behind me as I crossed Keystone. My next job was driving the shuttle bus. Sarah Fisher was one of my passengers. I think I sweat through all four layers of clothes I was wearing having her as a passenger. For the record, she was lovely and didn't do any backseat driving.

I also have a media pass, so I'll be photographing the progress each day.

Monday, March 30

Tuesday, March 31

The Golden Gloves matches started this month - John Mellencamp's son is fighting this year adding to the excitement. I've had fun playing with the camera. I really need to take a class - in my spare time.

My favorite thing I did this month? Shopping with June Bug, Mom and Anna for JB's First Communion veil. I was searching for the perfect Godmother gift for such an important occasion - the veil was perfect.

shamrock walk

2009-03-18T00:33:00.001-04:00

In my life I've waffled between being a hyper-planner and a not making plans at all. I think I've settled on being a go-with-the-flow sort of girl. And I could not have planned this day any better anyway.

I signed up for the Shamrock Walk months ago and sent brother J.R. a link. I talked Dad in to participating in the walk the day before. It wasn't until Dad and I were on our way downtown that I thought to call J.R. and ask if he was running.

We were able to find J.R., my friend Sheila and ran in to some Red Key folks in the thousands of people gathered on the Circle.

The four mile walk went through the city, around Irish Hill and past St. Patrick's Catholic Church. J.R. ran and Dad and I walked. Our goal was to walk fast enough to NOT get get tossed in to the trolley picking up the extra-slow folks.

We did it!

Here is Dad crossing the finish line (J.R. patiently waited for us) with Mike, Johnny and Dawn (Red Key regulars).

The clock shows 1:17, but I think our actual time is closer to 1:15 since we didn't cross the start line for a few minutes. Not bad for a 73 year-old guy and his daughter!

Dad's never met a stranger, especially one with a tray of post-race brownies.

We celebrated after the race in the swanky Columbia Club with a bucket of (fake) beer. It was a wonderful way to spend a Saturday morning and I'm looking forward to the next walk with Dad.

maurapalooza

2009-03-16T20:26:00.000-04:00

A big bonus to keeping the house tidy is that I can entertain on short notice.

Maura was visiting from Portland so I had a little post-nonprofit event fawn over Maura party.

It was fun to catch up with her, we have that long-time friendship that can be caught up on a few words. We have several things in common. We're roughly the same age, have a history of dating younger guitar-player types and have never married.

I had a secondary motive for having the party - I still had a whole bunch of beer, wine and booze left from the Saint Valentine's Day party. I was hoping to clear some room in my fridge. Instead, thanks to my generous friends I would up with more beer than I started with. I did manage to finish the last bit in a bottle of Jameson.

It was great to hang out with the gang and a great way to get back in the swing of entertaining.

hanging on my ear

2009-03-15T11:04:00.017-04:00

I feel guilty about all of the unwritten blog posts that are floating around in my head. As I was cooking burgers at the Red Key last night, I realized that they were "hanging on my ear." Chances are they won't get written.

I have been writing my ever-shrinking ass off (26 pounds lost - 4 to go). You can read all about the music and stuff here: QueenBeeMusic.

I've also been working on the house. I'm trying to keep things clean and tidy. My old ways of writing in a nest of books, papers and Twizzler wrappers are gone. It is hard work to keep up! I've also sorted though all of my clothes - some to a resale shop, some to Dress for Success, some for a yard sale and some had to be pitched. I had a pretty impressive concert tee shirt collection, but years of waiteressing in them have taken its toll. I can't believe how emotional I got about tossing some of them.

I've also vowed not to walk out of the house looking like crap. I'm obsessive about brushing my teeth, but not so much my hair. I'm working on applying makeup somewhere besides the rear view mirror. In the last month I've worn a scarf as an accessory (not just to keep my neck warm or cover up a coffee stain), worn something besides big silver hoops in my ears and necklaces other than my beloved John Travolta (Sweathog years, not Scientology). And in the biggest fashion news: I WENT SHOE SHOPPING!

Thanks to Kristi's Christmas generosity, I made my first trip to DSW. It was totally overwhelming. I'm glad she went with me or I'm sure I would have run screaming from the store.

Here are the shoes that I got with the gift certificate, they are darker than they appear in this photo - a lovely brownish-ivory color. And yes, that is a leg lamp in the background. I said I was keeping the house clean, nothing about classy!

In my new found quest of self-improvement I fell for some fancy skincare creams. "Look younger! Smooth lines!" Ha! I broke out so badly that my face puffed up (yeah, that smoothed those lines right out) and I my face was covered in tiny blisters (looked like teenage acne, so yeah, younger) and had to get a prescription for magic make-things-better cream.

I've also been making myself separate myself from work a little bit. I realized that I was at the dangerous point of wrapping my identity up with my job. I've been making myself stop on the way home from work and do something - be it a bowl of soup at the News Cafe, dinner at Yat's or a trip to the grocery store. Something to create a division between work and home. It seems to be working.

All of this self improvement has brought some excitement too. The boys seem to be noticing. Nothing close to a date, but fun stuff. For the first time since Joey Ramone gave me a nod in 1983, a musician openly flirted with me on-stage. Lose weight, wear a mini-skirt and cowboy boots, throw a camera over your shoulder and next thing you know you're on a tour bus.

I need to work on my technique from there. Chattering nervously about how we listened to the band while touring Ireland and that we drove through their hometown singing their songs at the top of their lungs was probably not the most impressive thing I could have done. Here is the review and photos from the show.

See you soon!

testing

2009-03-02T08:25:00.000-05:00