Hi Mom and family,
Wednesday morning I spent more than two hours on bills and catching up with my planner. I think I'm finally caught up enough that each week's bill-paying session should go quickly.
I went down to the travel agent's to buy tickets. By this time the sun was out, coming through the clouds. I had a sandwich for dinner at Panera, went to deposit a check at the bank. I took a photo with my phone of the sun coming through the clouds, but I kept coming up with "Picasa uploader has stopped". (I'll get the phone photo process down eventually, but not yet.)
So, naturally, I was really pleased when I went up to check my post office box, and found that the photo card from Nancy had arrived. In the evening I called Nancy, as she'd asked me to do when the photo card arrived, and she helped me format it using the camera. I have never done this before, but was enthusiastic about doing so because of the way my previous card suddenly became semi-dysfunctional. From now on, I will never remove the card from the computer without checking the little icon which tells you whether it's safe to remove it from the computer.
Saturday was long and eventful. I stressed out during the morning, looking for the various pieces of my Renaissance Festival costume. I found the long bloomers first. "Oh good," I said to myself, and flung them aside with relief. However, in looking through all my costumes for the other pieces of the one costume that fits me at this weight, I flung all of the other costumes on top of the bloomers. I was so relieved to find all of the other pieces, and then couldn't find the bloomers! I had to fish through the huge pile of costumes again!
The costume check was early in the afternoon. It was actually both interesting and easy. The new costume committee, reportedly more strict, liked my costume, and while waiting in line I had lots of people to chat with. Some of them I've exchanged hello's with for years out there, but didn't know much about them.
The weird part was the place where the costume check was held. My kids' former elementary school where I did my first is now a large Evangelical church complex. (The Renaissance Festival rented space from that church for the Saturday costume check.)
I came home, had a quick nap, and changed into the clothes I planned to wear to the dance event in Phoenix: a gypsy-style dance skirt and top and beads. I went to Laure's house to pick up her roommate, Vic, and we drove into Phoenix. We checked into our motel, and headed over to the restaurant where the dance event was held.
Vic, more Laure's friend than mine, was very excited to be at the event, and great company. She liked watching the dancing and seeing the different costumes.
The event was run like a karaoke session; people who wanted to dance would bring their music CD's and give them to the MC when they signed up to perform. There was a whole range of ability, from excellent dancers to very poor ones. Even the poor ones received yells of encouragement from their friends, so the room was filled with excitement and high energy.
Vic ran into several people she already know from participating in drum circles years ago. She was down from some sort of blood cancer this year and last, and now that she's feeling better she has really wanted to start getting out more. Several times she leaned over and touched my arm, saying, "I'm so glad you brought me, I'm so motivated now."
It was really nice to have the new photo card in the camera. However, it seemed to focus less well on the moving dancers, when using the zoom and without using the flash, than I remember before. Nancy, is it possible that the way the card has now been formatted is better for close-up subjects but worse for subjects who are moving, seen from across the room with regular overhead lighting and without the flash?
I also ran into a couple of people whom I know, including my former Arabic music teacher's former girlfriend, Helen. A group of drummers played three times during the evening, and she was one of them. That's Helen smiling in the photo below.
She had invited me to stop for breakfast at her home the next morning, and to bring Vic.
I really enjoyed this little girl in the center of the photo. She had an excellent sense of rhythm and seemed to take to dancing like a natural. I later found out that she is the daughter of one of the well-known dancers in the valley.
The event ended around 9, and we were soon back at the motel, a couple of blocks away. It was so nice not to have the long drive back to the East Valley, late in the evening. My night vision has gotten poorer, and it's hard for me to judge how far away the lights are on a multi-lane freeway, especially a swerving downhill one, which is what you get at the intersection of the I-17 and Thunderbird. (I don't mind doing the drive back from Tempe in the late evening, as it's pretty much a straight shot.)
We both fell asleep pretty fast. I'd woken around 5 AM because I was nervous about getting my costume together, and she'd also risen early, to go on a fishing date. I found her very easy-going and easy to share a motel room with.
Love, Lennie
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