Today is cold, it’s rainy, and I’m not sure that any of this is actually a good idea. I hate driving in the dark here because it can get really dark, I mean, like dark. When you are from the city you don’t understand the darkness that comes from long stretches of farm land without city lights, street lights, or, um, other signs of life. Now, bear in mind that I don’t even live in the country-country. We thought we did but when we referenced living in the country during our first year here, we got laughed at and corrected. We are actually townies as we live in town and the town we live in is actually considered a medium sized city with lots of shopping and places to eat despite the fact that virtually nothing is open on Sunday. Also, deer. I really really really do not want to hit a deer. We have tons of deer in our neighborhood, we like to leave corn and apples out for them and they will walk right up into our backyard. It’s brilliant and I love it. And I’ve been instructed by those who know to never ever turn the wheel or try to swerve away from a deer in the road, that’s how people get killed. Not swerving to avoid them is how deer get killed, that’s for sure. When it is cold they tend to run around to get warm. I love seeing them run around our lower backyard but I do not relish seeing them run across the road. So driving at night, in the cold, makes me really nervous. My first class, which was tonight, Carboy decided that he would be the prince that he is and he drove me and waited in the car park. I don’t expect him nor would I ask him to do that regularly but it was a lovely thing for him to do and since I was on the verge of backing out, I accepted and we headed out to the studio.

To my surprise when we got there, there were lots of ladies! When I first started taking class in LA, they were pretty empty. After that (dumb and unwatchable) movie Black Swan, things picked up and then ballet classes started to really trend in LA so toward the end, classes were packed. Everyone was really friendly and helpful and our little lithe ballet teacher was all smiles and happiness and even though I felt like my feet were made of lead and I could barely touch my toes, it was great to move to music, with other ballerinas, in a big lovely studio, and I was happy. The beginning ballet class was before Christmas so this was more of an intermediate class. No worries, I just dug into the movement and the music and followed along as best I could.

Tomorrow, North Carolina is battening down the hatches for a storm that will be passing through on its way to New England. Schools are closed and everything is cancelled so we will hunker down and pray that the rain and the wind are gentle to our much loved homestead. Sometimes when a ton of rain soaks the ground and then wind whips around the tree tops, it can bring them down. So that’s not fun. And there is an outside possibility of tornados as well. Perhaps that is my least favorite thing about living in NC is that we do get an occasional tornado warning and we have to head down into the basement. But I am grateful that we have a nice basement that we have set up and stocked for these events but I do hope and pray that we don’t end up there tomorrow. Tonight I am still glowing in the light of a really fun cello lesson trying to find 4th position on my A string and a great ballet class trying to find my legs again. So, I guess, here I go. Again.

x Lorry