Historic Homes--875 S. 9th St.

Location: 875 S. 9th St


Owners: Mike and Connie Foor, since 2003

Style & History: This American Foursquare home was built in 1912 by Frank and Blanche Bond. Typical of craftsman-era homes, it has wide eaves, substantial brick porch piers, and a hipped roof and dormer. The interior has multiple built-ins and oak woodwork and floors.

What are your favorite features? “We purchased this house because the woodwork had not been painted or stained. It was in its original condition and the hardwood floors with the walnut inlay is great. The kitchen still has the old long farmhouse sink and the windows are still the original with ‘waves.’ The backyard with pond, garage "carriage house" and back building complete with outhouse give the grandkids a fabulous play house. I love to garden and it gives me a challenge because of the huge old trees that create dense shade.”

What work have you done on your house? “We added a two story addition in the back, which gave us a downstairs bathroom and laundry. The upstairs is our family room. We ripped up old linoleum in the kitchen and discovered the original hardwood flooring. We resided the house with cedar siding and took on the painting ourselves so now it’s time to enjoy for awhile.”

What do you like about this area/neighborhood? “The neighbors around us have lived here for a long time which gives the area a stable feel and everyone helps whenever anyone needs anything. It’s safe, family friendly, and only 8 blocks from the square!”

The scoop on poop—manure trucked to Indiana from Ohio

Last month my husband and I went to a swanky restaurant for a Christmas company party/dinner. I only somewhat jokingly wondered out loud where the vegetarian entrée options were as I contemplated whether to order the New York Strip or the filet mignon. I realize that’s an ironic thought since we were in a steakhouse, but I hadn’t had steak in years. I got the filet.


It was good. Delicious really, but I did wonder where the meat came from. I would love for it to be from a sustainably run farm, grass fed and finished, but I doubt that’s the case.

I rarely eat meat for health and environmental reasons, and recently in NUVO I read about one of the issues that the demand for meat, without a responsible way to deal with the waste that comes with it, produces.

Indiana, being the agricultural state that it is, is home to a lot of farms. It’s kind of easy to forget this, being in suburbia, but CAFO’s (Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations) are common in rural areas. CAFO’s are industrial farms defined by having more than 1000 cattle, 2500 hogs or 100,000 chickens.

So the news I read in NUVO was this—the largest inland lake in Ohio, Grand Lake St. Marys, has been severely polluted by manure runoff. The so-called solution from the Buckeye state? Well, import it to Indiana! Unfortunately, our state, not really known for it’s environmental responsibility or prowess, has absolutely no authority to regulate or stop manure importing.

Where does all this, um, manure go? I have no idea. It’s like the old adage, ‘out of sight, out of mind.’ We may not see these CAFO’s, but they exist. So does the waste they produce, and it’s gotta go somewhere.

We really should be invested in protecting our waterways from foul manure runoff. We should care about the health (or lack of) of the animals held captive in these industrial farms. We should lobby against CAFO’s and the trucking in of manure from other states. We should limit our meat consumption for our own health and for environmental reasons.

The Hoosier Environmental Council has some great resources here: www.hecweb.org/issues/sustainable-food-agriculture/resources, and there’s also an Indy Winter Farmer’s Market (www.indywinterfm.org) where you can buy local, sustainable meat.

A long road behind him (Jan. 11)

Noblesville businessman battles back from a brain tumor

dreaming of a 'foam free' world

I had this vivid dream recently in which I visited my alma mater and decided to eat in my old dining hall in this beautiful, classic, historic dorm. I was dismayed to find the wooden dining tables covered with bleached white paper tablecloths. The white china plates, real glasses and silverware that I remembered languished on shelves in favor of polystyrene (foam) plates and cups and plastic utensils. There was no clink of silverware on plates. No thud of glasses being set on tables. Just the quiet, annoying scraping of plastic on foam. Yuck.
I asked who was in charge and (this part is fuzzy) got his name. “Why spend all this money and create all this waste when you’ve got the real deal right here?” I’d tell him, gesturing toward the shelves of dishes. But somehow I woke up and never got to talk to him. Darn.

In the real world, I avoid No. 6 plastic polystyrene, aka Styrofoam™, at all costs. My kids will tell you that when they get the rare Chick-fil-A treat, drinks aren’t included in the deal because, “Mom hates Styrofoam™!”

Avoidance isn’t easy. On the rare occasion when we go to restaurants and order kids drinks, they come in a foam cup unless I remember to ask for real cups. And then there’s the food takeout. You ask for a box, and a foam clamshell appears. Thwarted again.

So, what’s wrong with polystyrene? Everything. It’s petroleum derived, hazardous to make, difficult to recycle, and will eventually end up in the landfill and never break down.

Someone I know spearheaded efforts to rid their college campus of polystyrene. Their campus is now 100 percent “foam free.” He was happy to detail to me their efforts to make it happen, and I’m adding it to my list of “causes” I’d love to have a part in changing. I would love to see our local coffee shops and restaurants commit to finding alternatives to polystyrene. It can be done!

In the meantime, what’s the solution, besides avoiding it? (A). Save it and make a unique (and buoyant!) sculpture. (B). Drop it off at Arthouse Noblesville, 195 S. 10th St. where it will be recycled in art classes. Or (C). visit www.earth911.com and type “polystyrene” in the search box and your zip for Indy locations that will recycle it. Unfortunately, Noblesville doesn’t recycle No. 6 at this time.

Constantly Creating--Artist Adam Parsons depicts his world and imagination in many ways

Adam Parsons : http://issuu.com/currentpublishing/docs/cin_010411/1

Looking back, forward as a new year begins

I’m grateful for these women in my life—pictured are some of the members of our Women Who Run with the Wolves bookclub at our end-of-the-year gathering.

Now that I’ve been doing this regular writing gig for over a year, it’s fun to look back and see what I was writing about a year ago at this time. I looked back at my first column of 2010, and it was titled ‘Create the life you want this year,’ which is just what’s on my mind again. Some things never change.


Since the calendar page has just flipped over to another fresh, new year, I wanted to share a New Year’s Questionnaire with you. I didn’t write this, but I wish I had!

Filling these out and looking back on them from year to year will become an annual tradition for me. I find it useful to put down on paper how I want to live more authentically. I hope it’s meaningful for you, too. (The full version of this questionnaire is posted on my blog.)

Completing and Remembering the Past Year:

What was your biggest triumph this year? What was the greatest lesson you learned? What are you most happy about completing? Who were the three people that had the greatest impact on your life? What was the biggest risk you took? What compliment would you liked to have received? What compliment would you most liked to have given? What else do you need to do or say to be complete with 2010?

Creating 2011: What would you like to be your biggest triumph? What advice would you like to give yourself? What would you most like to change about yourself? What are you looking forward to learning? What about your work are you most committed to changing and improving? What is one undeveloped talent you are willing to explore? What brings you the most joy and how are you going to do/have more of that?

Full Version
Completing and Remembering the Past Year:


What was your biggest triumph this year?

What was the smartest decision you made this year?

What one word sums up and best describes your 2010 experience?

What was the greatest lesson you learned in 2010?

What was the most loving service you performed in 2010?

What is your biggest piece of unfinished business in 2010?

What are you most happy about completing in 2010?

Who were the three people that had the greatest impact on your life in 2010?

What was the biggest risk you took in 2010?

What was the biggest surprise in 2010?

What important relationship improved the most in 2010?
What compliment would you liked to have received in 2010?
What compliment would you most liked to have given in 2010?
What else do you need to do or say to be complete with 2010?


Creating 2011:

What would you like to be your biggest triumph in 2011?

What advice would you like to give yourself in 2011?

What is the major effort you are planning to improve your financial results in

2011?

What would you be most happy about completing in 2011?

What major indulgence are you willing to experience in 2011?

What would you most like to change about yourself in 2011?

What are you looking forward to learning in 2011?

What do you think your biggest risk will be in 2011?
What about your work are you most committed to changing and improving in 2011?

What is one undeveloped talent you are willing to explore in 2011?

What brings you the most joy and how are you going to do or have more of that in

2011?

Who or what, other than yourself, are you most committed to loving and serving

in 2011?

Historic Homes of Noblesville--1008 S. 10th St.

Location: 1008 S. 10th Street


Owners: Rob and Jenny Fisher, and children Emily, Ethan and Aiden, since 2006

Constructed by: George W. Heiny, a Civil War veteran, circa 1889. The home was one of several Heiny owned in Noblesville, all were probably investments, since no evidence suggests that he lived in the home.

Style and features: The home is a 2 story T-plan vernacular with a porch along the north side. It features tall, narrow openings with simple trim, with original ornate front and back doors. 10 foot ceilings, and four bedrooms.

What work have you done on your house? “We built a new garage about 6 months after moving in and added all the landscaping and fence. About a year ago we added new hardwood floors to the downstairs and a new staircase. The original hardwoods had been damaged and replaced with laminate flooring before we bought the house.”

What are your favorite features? “Our favorite features are the two doors which seem to be original to the house (and if not, we just like the ornate work on them!). We have transom windows upstairs that we love and I love our laundry/mud room - it is surrounded by little windows that swing up to open and it gets great light. We really just like the whole feel of our house.”

What do you like about this area? “We like the diversity of our neighborhood.”

Parenting 101: What's Your Parenting Style? (Indy's Child/Cincinnati Parent)

Although not in the January print issue, the Parenting 101 features I wrote for Indy's Child  and Cincinnati Parent are online (same article, but different quotes for each market).  This is my official debut for another writing venue and I look forward to other writing opportunities for 2011.