Solstice Letter 2006 ********** Red Roof Farm
Hello everyone, Well, the resident letter writer of this household is getting a very late start this December, but it really doesn't matter, as warm greetings are appropriate at any time. We wish you all the best for the coming year. The Evans family has had a very busy year. The local PBS television station recently did a short piece on Harold and our violin shop, and it will air in January on WTIU. As it is a local production, it will probably not be viewable on TV outside of Indiana, but we will have a link to it on our web site after it becomes available. You should be able to see the program on your computer after January 18th. It is well done, and you will get a glimpse of our beautiful property, as they filmed it entirely at Red Roof Farm. Michael and Dawn are well settled into married life. They took a belated honeymoon trip to Disney World and environs this summer and had a great time. Michael has been doing a wonderful job running the retail side of Evans Violins, and will soon be principal owner! Dawn's Suzuki piano studio has grown and prospered, and her students are showing such promise under her expert tutelage. The happy couple have taken up a new activity, much to our surprise. Ballroom Dancing! The original intent was to take enough classes so they would not embarrass themselves at a friend's upcoming wedding. That wedding has come and gone, but they are still dancing away and enjoying it as much as ever. In March, Jewel auditioned for the Jazz Studies program at the IU School of Music and got perfect scores across the board. We thought we would soon have another IU music student playing on the stage of the Musical Arts Center, but she decided to do her first couple of years of college at IVY Tech Community College instead. All IU music majors have to take a heavy load of general education courses as undergrads, and Jewel preferred to tackle them all at once and separate from music studies. Those general classes at IU are huge auditorium lecture hall events, and as a formerly home-schooled kid dealing with ADHD, she prefers the small class format at IVY where the student isn't a just nameless face in the crowd. This past semester, her English and Psychology classes had fewer than 20 students in them, and IVY has been a great experience for her so far. She will probably get a General Studies degree at IVY first, then go on to IU in a couple of years. She is continuing her jazz and classical cello lessons, and her piano teacher is thrilled that he is not losing her to IU for the time being. Jewel is also apprenticing in the violin shop, and will someday be an expert repairman and violinmaker. She seems to have quite a talent for the work, and her dad loves having her as an apprentice. After all Mom's home-schooling, he enjoys having the job now as her teacher. When she is not practicing, studying, online, or in the shop, Jewel spends time with her long-time boyfriend, and doing art, both on the computer, and the old fashioned way with pen and ink. When Jewel enrolled at IVY Tech, Harold took a tour of the school and found to his delight that like many community colleges, IVY had a number of courses in technical and vocational fields that he could enjoy. He quickly enrolled in a welding class, and he had a ball this semester learning that very useful art. He liked it so much he has volunteered his services as an assistant to the teacher next semester. Harold recently acquired a 1952 Farmall tractor, and he plans to restore it to its former glory and take it to antique tractor shows. The welding class is all part of his plan to acquire the skills needed for such an undertaking. Along the way he discovered he could make metal art with his newly achieved welding abilities, and he plans to create whimsical little sculptures using the tools of this trade. He made Beth the most beautiful Celtic Pentagram, and it sits on our mantle attracting positive attention from everyone who sees it. Red Roof Farm offers Harold lots of projects and activities for his retirement, and everywhere you go, you can see the results of his loving care and attention. Beth is having a tough time adjusting to losing her job as a full-time home-schooling parent. Fortunately, Jewel doesn't mind Mom checking up on her homework for her college classes. It is kind of hard to take the teacher out of the mother, and as long as Jewel tolerates it, Beth will probably read her papers and quiz her for tests well into grad school!!! Beth is enrolled in a University distance-learning class in Classical Mythology, and enjoys reading the Greek plays and sagas relating to the course. Her big passion now is belly dancing. No longer the beginner, she has branched out a bit, and is doing solos in recitals, and writing choreography as well. She takes classes with two different teachers every week, and practices at home trying out new moves. The dog hates the zills (finger cymbals) and voices his disapproval loudly, but Beth just cranks up the Lebanese, Egyptian, and Arabic music and ignores the protests. A recent medical appointment confirmed a slight arthritis problem in a hip, but Beth's doctor said belly dance is an ideal form of exercise to hold it at bay, so she will be dancing until she drops. Beth is still participating in local pagan circles devoted to Earth-centered spirituality. She leads ritual whenever asked, and feels serene joy at being involved in the Wiccan community. The Evans family hope that you find 2007 a year of blessings and happiness, and please feel free to seek us out if you are ever in southern Indiana. Bloomington is a wonderful town and worth seeing. Please visit our website: http://www.his.com/hevans You will find pictures of our beautiful land, our PBS production, and maybe even Beth dancing at her last recital. We would love to hear from you as well. May the blessings of the Goddess, and the Love of the God, be with you at this time of light and peace. Blessed be. The Evans Family