The Starry Plough

Lst night I went to the Starry Plough for the first time, for some lovely Irish music and dancing. Quena was kind enough to take the beginner's lesson with me, even though she's something of a regular, so I got a nice 2-hour introduction before the 2-hour dance. I didn't dance any of the "for those who know" dances, of course, but they were sure fun to watch! And my new dance sneakers did a fine job, despite the hard concrete floor and fast waltzes.

It was really fun to go somewhere I'd never been, and yet know a whole bunch of people there. Shortly after we got there I came out of the bathroom, and who should I see standing in front of me but Richard Powers! Now that was a person I didn't expect to see there. Apparently his new wife, Tracy, is a regular at the Plough, and he's been a couple of times. So I didn't get to see him at FNW, but I did at the Plough. Funny the way the world works. He invited me down for their wedding reception/dance/party in November, which was very nice of him. In addition, there were a bunch of morris people I hadn't seen in a long time, and a couple of people I'd met once or twice before, several years ago, and recognized but didn't quite remember. It took Siannan to tell Forrest and me that we had met at Lark something like four or five years ago -- neither of us had a clue! Anyway, it was fun to dance, and fun to see some familiar faces. Hooray for the wonderful socialness of dance communities!

And now I'm in Davis, all set to start a wonderful few days with Quena and her lovely kitty cat Lucia. A beautiful dark grey cat, vocal on a par with Alice, but far quicker. :P It's wonderful being in Quena's lovely J Street co-op house, with all the happy colors and delicious-looking jars of home-canned pasta sauce and corn and salsa and honey. Truly inspiring. Hooray for happy houses and Quena time!