Another neighbor has a Halloween spooktacular in their front yard. It isn't very scary but it is comprehensive. That's a lot of blow-up decorations! I wish I could go scoop up LC and OJ and bring them over for a look but that won't happen. OJ, in particular, is a big fan of skulls and skeletons. What little boy isn't?
Dad's roses are the showoffs in my front yard. They're still opening up new flowers.
One of the Bluejays came around today but there weren't any peanuts left so he didn't stay long, not even long enough to get a drink from the birdbath.
I knitted a little on the Warm Ragg Beanie after my walk but stopped when my hand started to ache. Then I remembered that I need something with that level of simplicity for tomorrow night's Friday night knitting Zoom. I'm a slow enough knitter that I don't really need to worry that I'll finish too soon.
08 October--Barbara Malcolm, Better Than Mom's.
When the six lessons were finished neither Norman nor Fay were ready to quit learning. They signed up to repeat the class but also checked out the local ballroom dance school and signed up for a beginners’ class. In the first ballroom class they found a well of gracefulness that made them look like they had been dancing together for years. The too tall policeman and the skinny waitress were the envy of the other students.
“Where’d you learn that?” one of the women asked.
“Oh, we took the Park and Rec classes; that’s where we started,” Fay said, her face glowing at the praise.
At the end of the session the instructor announced that couples might think about signing up for the regional amateur competition being held in town in a month. He made a point to speak to Fay and Norman about it. “You two should definitely sign up. You’re both so tall and slender, you look like something out of the Great Gatsby. Sign up. I’ll help you get ready.”
Norman looked at Fay. “What do you think?”
“Can I have a dress with feathers around the hem?” she said.
He smiled at her enthusiasm. “You can have a dress with feathers if I have to sew them on myself. Let’s check the thrift store after work tomorrow to see if we can find something that will work.”
They danced hard the next month, working on a couple routines for the competition. The instructor was as good as his word, stayed after class, and scheduled extra rehearsals to help all of the students get ready.
At the thrift store Fay and Naomi found a rose-pink dress with a full skirt and rhinestones on the bodice that fit Fay perfectly. They bought pink and silver feather boas at the craft store that they hand-sewed around the hem. On the night of the last rehearsal before the competition Fay took the dress along to practice in it.
When she came out of the changing room, Norman was speechless.
Fay smiled. “Do I have dirt on my face?” she said.
“No,” his voice came out in a croak. “You look like an angel.”
She walked over to stand in front of him, reached up to touch his cheek and said, “Sweet.”
Norman was a bundle of nerves at the start of the competition, but Fay was calm. “All we have to do is dance like we did last night at rehearsal, Norm. We know the music, we know the steps, let’s just dance,” she said.
And they did.
They came in second in their division and resolved to continue taking lessons and entering competitions. “Next time we’ll really kick dancing’s butt,” Fay said.
Today's toss was a stack of too-big shirts and skirts. I tried on some pants that I haven't worn in about 10 years and they fit. My lower half is shrinking more slowly than my upper half but that's okay. As long as it keeps shrinking instead of expanding.
--Barbara
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