O Happy Day!

Happiness is . . . .
Today I stopped by the dance studio in Durham and FOUND my missing Cuban-heeled, black dance shoes in the flannel shoe bag; along with missing silver earrings. And yes, a pair of dirty hosiery. But I'll take all of it - after three weeks of looking high and low, my belongings are back home and I have a newly found peace of mind.

Happiness is . . . .
Headed to the UNC Wellness gym at Meadowmont this morning for Thursday's 10:30 am dance/exercise class with Claudia. I loved it. In spite of the fact that I had missed routine #1 entirely and routine #2 was begun two weeks ago - I picked up the Rockettes-style routine in no time. More than an hour of jumping, huffing and counting (...5,6,7,8), all in good fun. I have found a new dance mentor and am relieved that someone else is teaching the class and all I have to do is dance. This will become Thursday's priority exercise. That means my regular hair appointments have to move back to Tuesday and the previously tried 'dancerCIZE' class at Astaire Studios on Tuesday is history.

One term of dancerCIZE class was harder than pulling hens' teeth (my Missouri background shows up periodically), half the class thought it was too hard and half found it too easy(??). But the death blow was found in the OLLI catalog for Winter '08 term. Due before Thanksgiving but delayed because of some printing problem, I got my first look at the catalog last night at the OLLI/New Horizon Holiday Band Concert. To my dismay the resuscitated Duet with Space class has been scheduled for the same day and the same time as the studio class. Since half the dancerCIZE students were the Duet students in search of a class time - they've found it.
Speaking to the Astaire studio owner and director this morning we both agreed to cancel the dancerCIZE class. One FADS dance teacher is without a Tuesday booking but she will make it up with new students.

The good news is the studio is hosting a pot luck holiday party on Friday, 14 December and we have nothing scheduled for that evening (the only free night for two weeks). So dear hubby: I found my dance shoes, where are yours?

Happiness is . . . . . .
Sending PDF files of our Holiday Letter to girl friends far and wide, some have responded with gleeful news. Debbie Kong is Chicago surprised me with news that her baby girl is now SEVEN (?), Ursula in New York invited us to come north (not happening any time soon). And locals who have not seen much of me this year due to increased workouts at the gym and far fewer coffees out with the girls do tell me they miss me. Yea! I am not forgotten after all. Good friend Susan is living in western NC this year and sent me her latest project: making 50 aprons. Susan's Project link will explain the upcoming Apron Benefit Auction.

Happiness is . . . . .
Last night I got a pleasant night's sleep after a hot pot of Tempura & Udon Noodles; my dining out treat after DH's band concert. This was in lieu of eating at the band party where fudge, nuts and salty chips were in abundance. I refrained from snacking and got a delicious dinner at Sushi Yoshi instead.

AND Happiness is. . . . .
Able to wake up early and refreshed, this morning I tackled the CorelDraw techniques that had been put off until the last minute. I'll explain.

A friend of mine asked if I would help with a color scheme for her home. Living for a decade in their retirement home, the couple felt that the off-white walls were getting too boring and they needed to paint the interior walls to freshen the house.

So after a consultation last week I made a paint color chart and then started to do an interior perspective in CorelDraw. Of course knowing the difference between 'Extrude' and 'Perspective' and when to apply and when to draw does matter. This was something I learned to do in school forty-years ago with a T-square and triangle. I know what to do, just not what tool does what. After a couple of nights with the CorelDraw manual (about 900 pages), and thinking how-to in my sleep (?), this morning was trial time. Yes, it worked. Well after about two hours it worked - I was nearly late for dance class. But I can do it! And the schematics of her living room walls look tremendous if I do say so myself. A few more minutes at Lowe's picking up extra paint chips and I think we're done here.

That is why today is Happiness Day. I hope things are working for you too!
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