Nothing tastes better or warms our insides better in the cold winter weather than a delicious bowl of homemade soup, at least for most of us.
Our dates fill up so fast sometimes, so I’m hoping you’ll mark your calendar now for Feb 16 and the Hilltop Neighborhood House annual soups dinner. Besides soups to warm their tummies and a dessert buffet, visitors will enjoy hometown entertainment and live music by local musicians. The place to be is Christ Lutheran Church (across the street from Valparaiso High School on Campbell Street) from 4 to 7 p.m.
The $25 ticket does more than feed you — it goes toward providing scholarships for children whose families cannot afford child care while they are working to improve their family situations. What could be better than warming your insides with delicious soup, and satisfying your sweet tooth, while warming your heart by doing something special for little people and parents who want to contribute to their community?
Tickets can be purchased at Hilltop House, 460 College Ave., Valparaiso, or at the door. For more information, call 219-477-4222.
If you are a parent of any age child, Porter County Substance Abuse Council director Beatrice Owen is hoping there will be an overflow crowd at the council’s office at 65 Valparaiso St. at 7 p.m. Jan. 25. A special program, “My Kids Matter Home Hosting,” is to encourage parents to host, on a date chosen by them, a meeting at their home with other parents in an effort to keep children safe from substance abuse by sharing listening and learning techniques — before it’s too late.
We are blessed to have those involved in the program sharing their knowledge so fewer children take the wrong road to adulthood. To register, go to www.eventbrite.com/e/my-kids-matter-tickets or call 219-462-0946.
If you care enough to give your kids the very best knowledge, please be there.
When we left here, it was raining, and it sure didn’t seem like we were going to find snow in southern Indiana, but the Special Olympics athletes from Lake and Porter counties were excited and ready to take this once-a-year winter trip. The closer we got to Indianapolis, the more white stuff was visible. Then, when Perfect North Ski Area came into view, there was snow, snow and more snow as the snow guns were blowing full force. There was a big roar inside the bus–everybody knew there would be skiing, snowboarding and snowshoeing on Monday and Tuesday.
There was nothing but good food waiting for us at Higher Ground on Sunday evening to start a good Indiana Special Olympics Winter Games competition. Although the weather forecast called for nasty conditions for Monday, it didn’t stop the positive, cheerful attitude everyone was feeling. Surprise! Monday was a beautiful day for winter sports with very little wind, and a perfect winter day. Our athletes kept themselves warm by working on their snowboard and skiing skills, and snowshoers kept their bodies warm by running with funny things strapped on their feet.
A dance on Sunday night, and a movie the next night after another delicious meat had happy smiles all around. The competition was set for Tuesday with all the athletes doing their best at preliminaries. But the forecast for Tuesday sounded ominous, and we might be going home early instead of competing. Ha! After enjoying homemade cinnamon rolls and eggs, the rest of the day was spent competing to the best of their abilities and coming home with medals proudly hung around their necks.
The nasty weather waited until it was time to head home, and, yep, a good time was had by all. Our prayers work.
Give a little silent cheer for a joyous group of athletes and coaches, and then I hope you have a great day because you deserve it. Thanks for reading. Fly your flag.
Lorrie Woycik is a freelance columnist for the Post-Tribune.
