Following my husband's death in 2008, I moved from Tennessee to Florida to look after my parents. Now I'm living in a retirement community, making friends and trying new things. The most fun I've had has been ballroom dancing. So far, I've taken intro lessons in all the dances and now I'm starting intermediate. I hardly have time to read anymore but I manage four or five dances a week!

Monday, September 28, 2009

My New Passion

Well, it's nearly October and I've had the full complement of ballroom dance lessons - intro to fox trot, waltz, cha-cha, samba, bolero, salsa, merengue, East Coast swing, West Coast swing, two-step and rumba. One each month. The little group of singles I hang out with has been going to four or five dances a week lately although not all of them are ballroom dances so I've been getting a lot of practice. Then lo and behold I've acquired a "primary dance partner." He's way more experienced than I and we dance very well together.

Last week USA Dance, Ocala chapter, hosted a dance exhibition in the shopping mall just outside Belks Department Store. We were trying to get more people interested in ballroom dancing. So here my partner and I are just getting ready to do an East Coast swing. Perhaps one day I'll get someone to take a video of us dancing. He's a wonderful leader and he makes me look better than I am.

Ballroom dancing is so much fun and it's really great exercise. What more could you ask for?

Sunday, September 13, 2009

The Morning Walk

I got a little wet. Took a gamble and lost big time. Sheesh.

It was pretty dark when we (the dogs and I) left the house for our morning walk so I couldn't see the clouds. After we got out from under the trees near home, I noticed a lot of cloud cover but since I could also see some stars I figured we'd be okay. Not this time. We got, oh, about a mile from home when it started misting, so I figured we should turn around and head back. Then I heard the rain as it moved toward us. It was a downpour. Yikes. I tried to take cover under a tree but, while it helped some, I still got drenched. And had to walk home soaking wet, water dripping in my eyes from my hair *shudder* - cold, wet t-shirt. I'm just glad I decided to wear a bra this morning. LOL Oh yeah, and puddles everywhere. I'm not sure my tennies will ever be the same.

I guess I'm pretty lucky that I've only been caught three times in the rain since I moved to Florida. I was lucky the first two times because I was near houses and could take refuge on someone's porch. This is the first time I've been caught out in the open with no place to hide. Oh well, it's not like I'll melt. And after all, it is Florida so it's not all that cold either. *grin*