Last week was a bittersweet, whirlwind one at our house–so busy I didn’t have a chance to post!

First, I learned of the death of my childhood dance teacher, Dorothy Rainer Sellars at age eighty-six. She closed her studio last year after fifty-seven years of teaching. Fifty-seven years, folks! She was one dynamo of a woman and almost single-handedly brought the arts to the rural area where I grew up. Her twin sisters were concert pianists and she took students to NYC almost every summer to study dance and explore. There’s no way to measure what an influence she had on my life even though I studied dance for only a few years. I was her assistant from the time I turned sixteen until I graduated from high school, I spent almost three weeks in NYC with her, and I graduated from her alma mater. My roommate was even one of her former students. She will be sorely missed.

 

 

Throughout the week, we had eight house guests, six overnight, though four was the maximum at one time. One arrived Tuesday, five arrived Wednesday and two left, one arrived Thursday and two left, and one came on Friday. It was a revolving door and I loved it! Wednesday’s outing was lunch at Miss Scarlett’s tea room–a special treat for our Chicago guest. On Thursday we did the NashTrash tour, a must for out of town visitors. I think my Canadian friend almost overdosed on “Southern.” As my hometown newspaper, The Florala News (an eight page weekly) would say, “A good time was had by all.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Then on Friday, my youngest stepson (twenty-five) had surgery. He’s fine, but it was still surgery which meant anesthesia and waiting and spending the entire day at a hospital.

Writing? I didn’t post on my blog, but that doesn’t mean writing things weren’t happening. Good things. Creative things. Because they were. Yes, indeed, they were.

~Kay

I did it! I went a whole week without blogging. Sure, I felt guilty, but it quickly passed. I had plenty of other tasks to keep me busy. And with the creative juices freed up, I started a new novel which is exciting. So, for the benefit of my other writing projects, I’m going to a once a week blogging schedule. Probably on Mondays, but maybe not. I’m trying hard not to put pressure on myself that isn’t necessary.

My last blog was June 1st which was also Day One of my dance recital. It was held at the Tennessee Performing Arts Center (TPAC) where all of the Broadway road productions that come to Nashville run. I was surprised at how nervous I got. I’ve danced before crowds before; that wasn’t it. The venue freaked me out. I’ve seen big-name stars there and peruse hallways filled with photos of Broadway and Hollywood legends before shows and at intermissions. I seldom get star-stuck, but to be on the same stage as these performers messed with my mind. But, I survived and after the I got on stage for the first time all was well. Our dressing room was two flights of stairs below the stage and we had quick costume changes for our five dances, so once the show started there was no time for jitters.

Videos of  ”I Feel Like A Woman” and “Mame” have made it to Youtube. Remember, most of us are in our fifties, sixties and seventies!

Tap N Dolls — I Feel Like A Woman

 

 

 

 

 Tap N Dolls – Mame 

MAME

 

Our other dances were:

ROCK AROUND THE CLOCK

 

DOWN ON THE FARM transitioning into IN THE MOOD

 

NEXT BIG THING

                         

 

 

 

Until next week.

~Kay

 

This is my 300th blog post and I’m going to take a little break. Whew! I said it.

I started this blog to prove (to myself, to agents, to publishers, to readers) that I could keep a consistent posting schedule of (hopefully) entertaining and/or educational posts. So, every Monday, Wednesday and Friday (almost without exception) I’ve kept to my schedule. If you don’t believe me, just check that pretty little calendar in the right sidebar and look at all the boxes around the dates. If you read my blog via subscription, you’ll have to go to the actual website to see it, or you can just trust me.

Why am I stopping? I’m tired.

Maybe I’m tired because my old ladies tap group had a stage rehearsal for our recital last night “under the lights” and ran the show without breaks. Twice. Or maybe it’s because Hubby and I are in the process of replacing our roof for the second time this year due to hail damage and I’m dealing with contractors for the roof and gutters and siding and new windows and… Perhaps it’s that I picked this time to get some interior painting done, and while entrenched, decided it would also be a good time to reorganize my study. Really reorganize it to give me space to practice my tap (will need new flooring; can’t tap on carpet) and a place for all my books to surround a newly designed workspace. My goal is something very zen-like, but to accomplish that I’m going to have to major-league cull and consolidate .

In addition, I have six girlfriends coming to visit in a couple of weeks. Then, two weeks later, we are hosting a reception for Youngest and his bride who had a destination wedding (in Mexico) last December. The event won’t be at our home (or I’d be institutionalized), but we’ll have a house full of weekend guests. And, I have to get the house ready for the grandbaby’s first visit ever though he’ll be less than three months old and won’t need it childproofed yet. See why I’m tired. I need a nap just typing this.

Not to mention I haven’t queried my book in ages. It’s gone through my critique group and a couple of beta readers. Revisions have been made. It’s time to get serious about querying it. I have two others I need to focus on writing.

I’m not dropping the blog altogether. I’m only giving myself permission to relax the thrice-weekly schedule. The three hundred posts mark seems like a logical point to make a change in frequency but it was a surprisingly difficult decision. When I discussed it with Hubby, he couldn’t understand why I’m struggling with this. After all, this is all self-imposed. It’s my blog. It’s my schedule. I proved I could do it, so what’s my problem? I don’t know why I’m reluctant. Any ideas? I’d appreciate any insights.

~ Kay