Dancing with my man in Chattanooga, TN

Neither Jeff nor I consider ourselves public dancers. We've never been into the nightclub dancing scene. At friends' weddings, we'd rather sit and chat with people rather than go out on the dance floor. It depends on the crowd, though.

I dance in my office in private sometimes. I know I'm not a good dancer; I'm awkward and chaotic BUT I do find it liberating to sometimes just crank up my favourite privateofficedance tunes and do my flailchaoticdance. I also love to draw people dancing; it's one reason I was so tickled to illustrate the RUBY ROSE picture books written by Rob Sanders. The first one, RUBY ROSE, OFF TO SCHOOL SHE GOES, comes out from HarperCollins Children's on June 21st, 2016!

Anyway, Jeff and I had a wonderful time this past weekend in Chattanooga, TN visiting friends, and during an evening stroll on the way to Clumpies Ice Cream, Jeff stopped me and pointed out the dance steps on the sidewalk and grabbed my hand.

"Come on," he said. "Let's try it!" I was floored. Jeff, WANTING to dance? In PUBLIC?

And a little voice inside my head yelled Go for it, girl!

So there we were, me and my man, dancing the waltz on Frazier Avenue that night beneath the stars in Chattanooga, Tennessee. And I remember thinking: Life could not be finer than this.

Fort York Regency Dancers at Montgomery's Inn

Hope all you Canucks had a good Canada's Day! I spent the afternoon watching the Fort York Regency Dancers perform at Montgomery's Inn, a historic stone inn. My friend Cathy has been rehearsing with the group for years now, but this was the first time I'd been able to make it to a performance.

Watching the costumed dancers move gracefully across the grass beneath a clear blue sky, fiddle and Irish flute in the background, I could almost imagine what it must have been like, back in Jane Austen days.

The event was part of the City of Toronto's Free Weekends at Toronto's Historic Sites in July and August, and I had also fun browsing the Montgomery's Inn Farmer's Market. Munched on some venison on a stick, bought some Empire Cookies, and enjoyed the Canada Day tea:

The Fort York Regency Dancers are always looking for new members, but you have to be willing to commit to attending regular rehearsals (on Sundays, I believe). Or if you'd just like to learn a few steps for fun, you can always attend their Dance and Danceability public events; keep your eye on the Upcoming Events list on the Fort York website for info.

In the subway on the way home, I asked Jason if I could take a photo of him with my iPad. He kindly agreed, and put in his headphones to add to the anachronistic effect:

Heh.

To see other photos I took at the event, feel free to visit my SmugMug Gallery.