January Snows and Bitter Cold - introspection

January brings changes. Northeastern Indiana has had record cold temperatures and snowfalls. 29.6" of snow will break January records, and as of today we are almost there. Schools have also had record cancellation rates, and in my area this is the eighth day they have been out, making us all wonder how they will catch up and get everything done. Also, how long in June will they now be in session?

We are slightly immobilized. We think twice about getting in the car to go to the grocery store or anywhere. Wind chills make it nearly impossible for kids to play outside. One risks frostbite just going out to clear a driveway.

Yet we plod forward cheerfully as good Midwesterners, going out to work, to the YMCA, to the grocery store. Some things are different in this new year. It's time to change things up, make plans, simplify.

Some changes for the new year:

Exercising differently. Think about trying more outdoor exercise, like skiing and walking. But concentrate on different muscle movements than one has always done. So if someone has always run, she should switch to something else like swimming or dancing.

Pick up a new (or old) hobby. I have been playing the guitar again. I need more calluses on my fingers, but an old hobby such as this comes back fairly quickly. Music is great in stuck-indoors weather. I can entertain myself or lead a sing-along.

Get the kids to work on their science fair projects and experiments. This is easier said than done.

Cook like crazy. Bake a whole chicken and then later, make chicken soup from the carcass. Make an old-fashioned meat loaf. Splurge on hot chocolate.

Get out that new board game someone got for Christmas and has forgotten. Learn the rules and play it. Or play dominos - runaway Mexican Train has been popular the last few years.

Start organizing a tax file. Put bank statements, receipts, earnings forms and other documents together in a folder.

Write a letter to a penpal. If you don't have a penpal, write a letter to someone who might write you back.

Reattach buttons, repair holes and do other clothing repairs.

Draw, knit, crochet, make crafts, do craft kits such as shrinky-dinks. Order supplies online to be delivered if getting out is a problem.

Library branches are closed today - all kinds of offices and businesses, because of the cold. The high snowfalls drift and blow over the county roads, making travel dangerous and somewhat frightening. Yet it's beautiful also -

Indiana Winter

No longer do I see every detail in the grass, every leaf, every stick

It's the blanketing of white nothingness; serene calm and quiet snow.

Each snowfall is unique. This one is very fine and small; yet deep, dry, and still.

Each light, each sun and moon, brings a muffled oasis - brilliantly bright, clean, glowingly dark and luminous.

Moonscapes. Teen terrorists with sleds. Yard boundaries undefined. And when dark, suddenly sleepy cold.

The pines in the forest are sharply defined, the ground beneath them swept away with a white brush stroke.

Squirrels are digging for walnuts in the snow. Red tablecloths are found inside.

Fuzzy pajamas crackle with static electricity. Childhood memories of an old house, scuffing socks along shag carpet and shocking the adults with a finger touch. Sparks bright in the dark.

Now we've found the childhood art: traced small fingers cut out and made into reindeer antlers, cotton glued onto construction paper for snow and snowmen, painted, glittered treasures stuck with magnets to the refrigerator.

The summer sounds - common sounds, insects, motorcycles, are gone. The quiet is peaceful. The sky quickly goes from brilliant and bright to gloomy, with flashing moods that pierce brightly again. It cycles back to dark, and then gets ominous.

Bone-chilling cold. Beautiful is the pure white snow. Precious is life, and is love.

Essay, or Poem, for a November Day

Leaves of locust tree and Japanese maple lie mingled on the ground.

The gold and red leaves on green grass glow bright in the crisp cold air. I feel stunned by the intensity of their colors - it contrasts with my stomach, which is dull and full from lunch of chicken, potatoes and slugs of chocolate milk. I almost reel with the scene flooding into my eyes.

I'm ashamed to say I've always disliked the weedy locust. Now on the ground, the spider-like branches make an intricate pattern. Looking up at the tree's sprawl, I wonder if I may have it cut down next year.

No leaf blowers for me. I want the exercise of wielding the rake. No mosquito whine of motor spoils the air, and gentle quiet goes unheard. I refuse to rake up the carpet of scarlet Japanese maple leaves - they are too glorious.

Holy Earth scattered with the tree's ash; old fire of life.

Couples whisper like young lovers strolling down my street. They pay homage to the town's best trees, which rule in my yard. Walkers look happy, like dating courtiers.

"What kind of tree is that?", a voice calls out behind me. I reply without looking up. "Magnolia." She's my prize, and beneath her is where I'm raking. Then I look up and see a woman pointing. "Oh, that one. Japanese maple." Luminous red, alas, yes, this is her season. Magnolia, magnificent and pungent in the spring when she displays her tulip-orchid flowers, she now only drops sad brown leaves. I love her no less. But Asia is the beauty contest winner of autumn, and commands all the attention: it is her turn now, her season.

King Gyros does Ribs

I'm sorry I can't give you a better picture of this meal. I admit I ate much of it before I made it home to take a photograph. It was excellent! The half rack BBQ rib plate came with fries and slaw, and everything was really delicious. I find King Gyros' food to be consistently good.

I can't find a story on the internet to tell me the history of King Gyros in Fort Wayne. I do see locations in different places in Indiana, such as Bloomington, Indy, Marion, LaPorte, and Valparaiso. There also seem to be locations in Chicago and Ohio. Whether they are the same group of restaurants I can't tell, but I will vouch for the food at the locations in Fort Wayne.

For the most part, the atmosphere in the Fort Wayne restaurants is pretty plain. They don't seem to invest a lot of money in fancy decorating, so don't eat there if that is important to you. The Greek gyros sandwich itself is excellent. (Remember, don't make a hard 'G' sound when pronouncing this word if you want do so correctly). Served on pita with onion, tomato, sour cream sauce and feta cheese, it is the traditional gyros. The meat is tender and slightly spicy, the sauce and bread are cool and creamy. It's just how you would want it to be.

The ribs are great too. The sauce is slight sweet and tangy: plenty of it. It's not too dark and heavy. The meat is nice and done, not too dry, and comes easily off the bone. Owners and workers are generally nice and conversational; many seem very loyal and have worked in the business for years.

There is much of the traditional fare of this type of restaurant on the menu. I'm talking about varieties of hot dogs, Italian beef sandwiches, burgers and a variety of fried fish. The location on Jefferson Boulevard, across from Parkview Field, lists ocean perch, Alaskan whiting, shrimp and catfish fillets among its fish dishes. There are also quarter and half cuts of chicken, both BBQ and Greek style.

You can order Greek salads and chicken Caesar salads. I'm glad to see they offer traditional Baklava, the honeyed layered pastry, and also a plain or chocolate chip cheesecake - something I have never tried. I'd be curious to know how far away from Indiana I could find a similar King Gyros. Maybe there are locations all over the USA. Regardless, I'm glad they are here in Fort Wayne and northern Indiana, so I can go back and see the large meat composite being sliced on the rotisserie and sample some sweet Baklava.

Wet Leaves on Halloween

Yesterday, in the autumn sunshine, I raked leaves.

Maples had stained the driveway brown. Green grass shone through the lawn adjacent, and leaves were borne on a tarp litter for a royal ride. One last grand trip it was, before their end in a pile, breaking down.

It rained through the night. At four a.m., I woke after dreaming about hidden tunnels winding through school locker rooms. Sleep disrupted, I rose to check the outside wind. There was a new carpet of wet leaves on the green grass. Corseting the sash on my bathrobe, I swept the driveway with a long-handled squeegee.

The rain pours. How will little skeletons walk the streets in this weather?

The unhappy clothes dryer stops. I have to restart it again and again. The dryer is too tired to work. It attempts to do its job, and then gives up.

The Cardinals lost. My friends' prayers didn't help. People post incessantly on Facebook, hoping and living for one more like.

The dryer stops again, and I drape clothing all around the basement - off knobs, boxes, exercise equipment. These are the new trees now, with socks for leaves.

Country Heritage Winery lets you tip a glass just a short drive north of Huntertown

The Lutter family, many of whom are long-time fixtures of LaOtto and Noble County in Indiana, opened their first winery alongside rural farmland in April of 2011. Since then, the place became quickly, even surprisingly popular, and created a need to expand with a bigger production area in 2013 - and the adding on of a large banquet and meeting room as well.

The Lutter family owns huge tracts of farmlands in the county, and runs other businesses such as the nearby Blueberry Acres. Some of those fruits are used in the productions of the local wines. I find Illinois and Indiana wines to be not quite up to standards of California wines, but it's good to see wine makers trying in the Midwest anyway. Things can get better with experience and knowledge - I just don't know about the Indiana climate and soil. I'm also picky about good wines.

The new large hall is great for events. The night I was there recently, a three-piece band performed for a pre-Halloween event. Guests showed up in costumes, and the mood was very festive. It was not the winery experience I usually expect - much more bar-like. I did see a few folks tasting and having cases hauled to their vehicles, but there was also a lot of ordering single glasses or bottles at the bar for on-site consumption. More surprising to me were all the wine "cocktails" being ordered and served - namely the wine slushie. Maybe in the summertime - but it was chilly out. I wonder if a lot of folks are beer drinkers and don't like the taste of wine. That's ok, I guess.

The room is attractive with wood paneling and windows. Wood and beams extend across the ceiling. There are also large taxidermied brown and black bears in a pond display, one with a mounted fish in its mouth. It was as if I was in Bass Pro Shop.

Country Hertage promotes events such as wine and canvas (painting parties), ladies night out, and cooking with wine. Much of the year they are open Monday - Saturday 11 am until 7 pm, and Sunday 10 am - 6 pm. Kevin Geeting is the winemaker. As do many Midwest wineries, they offer lots of semi-sweet, sweet and dessert varieties. I'm not used to wines being described in these ways: a cranberry riesling in which they say, 'think sweet tarts!' Heritage Red, 'grape jelly in a glass!' A blueberry dessert wine, 'think blueberry pie!'. I really don't want my wine to induce a diabetic coma.

They do offer a Zinfandel, a Cabernet Sauvignon, and a good proprietor's reserve that is part Cab, part Merlot. These could not be home-grown grapes, but these wines are decent. There is no outside food allowed, and it would be nice if they would offer something more than the rolling food truck I saw parked there last Friday night. But the place was busy, the parking lot looked full, and they seem to have an enthusiastic market. Keep trying - it looks like the bucks are just rolling in.

Embassy Theatre Showcases the Best

'So You Think You Can Dance' quietly premiered in the summer on Fox television in 2005. Since then, we have really enjoyed watching unknown dancers try out at open auditions across the country and rise up in the ranks to become winners on the show. Often, the grand prize has been $250,000; but more importantly, a place for a future in show business is obtained.

The sweat, guts and heart it takes to make it is awe-inspiring. Dancers are awarded airline tickets to Las Vegas to comepete with each other in challenging choreography rounds. The best of the best make it into the country's top 20 and compete in Los Angeles on the televised show.

We love how different forms of dance are showcased. It's great to not only see ballet, jazz, tap and contemporary, but also Bollywood, hip-hop, animation and crump all on one show. The untrained street dancers are very exciting - they bring the future, creative side of performing alongside seasoned ballroom and technically-perfect ballet dancers.

The top ten winners of season 10 recently came to Fort Wayne for a live performance at the Embassy Theatre. We were thrilled to see the male and female first-place finishers - Fik-Shun and Amy Yakima. Fik-Shun is a crowd favorite with his hip-hop animation, street dance and charming 'face' performance. We were also delighted to see lanky, sexy Jasmine and tapper Aaron, who has the size and skill to be a gifted partner.

The dancers performed many of the crowd's favorite numbers from the season, including a bell hop number with rolling luggage cart, a gangsta bicycle crump routine, and a male duet channeling survivors of a horrible car crash. A ghostly group number reminiscent of haunted toys in the attic, and a cool pool table saloon dance were also audience favorites.

The show was terrific. The crowd loved it, and on the whole the audience was screaming, off and on their feet much of the time. It was great to see how popular dance is, and how well-received by audiences in Fort Wayne. Who knew?

Great national choreographers contribute to the show, including Napoleon & Tabitha D'Umo, Sonya Tayeh, Mia Michaels and Mandy Moore. Nigel Lythgoe produces and helps judge the show, and tall Cat Deeley is the supermodel-lookalike host. One mustn't forget ballroom dancer turned pro Mary Murphy, who loudly proclaims hot dancers are ready to board her 'Hot Tamale Train.'

The gorgeous Embassy Theatre is a perfect venue for this type of show, with its plush gilded interior and red velvet main curtain. Originally the Emboyd built in 1928, it hosted organ shows, traveling performers and vaudeville acts until becoming very run down. It was almost demolished just days before a group of volunteers took it over in 1972, raising money to save and renovate it.

In 1975, it reopened and was listed on the National Registry of Historic Places. Now it's one of Fort Wayne's most prized landmarks, and features broadway shows, concerts and other events. The 2400-seat theatre will be the location for a Fright Night Saturday, Oct. 19. The 1925 black & white film 'The Phantom of the Opera' starring Lon Chaney will be screened as Dennis James plays the historic Grande Page Organ. There will be tours in the narrow tunnels under the theatre as hosts describe tales of ghost hauntings and other historic legends about the place.

The Embassy is well worth seeing, even if there is no show happening. Art Deco and sumptuous, it's a jewel in Fort Wayne and one of my favorite places. Don't forget to also tune in to Fox TV next summer - an eleventh season of 'So You Think You Can Dance' has been commissioned.