Olly's BACK!! (aka "Mr.Betsy")

Hey guys! You'd never believe what happened two nights ago. After being gone for 6 weeks and eventually settling with the fact that he wasn't coming back, we got a phone call from a woman across the street that has had him for the past 2 weeks! We couldn't believe he'd survived this long. That means that he somehow survived these neighborhoods for about 4 weeks on his own, and Olly's not the bravest of cats. We think it was his caution that saved him. Especially being mostly white in color, he must have hidden himself pretty well from the coyotes. He also miraculously crossed the busy street of Washington Blvd. in front of our apt and reached the porch of the lovely woman that returned him.



We weren't sure if he'd remember us or our home, but sure enough, within 30 minutes after bringing him home, he found his litter box, his favorite place on the couch, and was immediately up on the table again while we played cards. And yes, he still spoons with me at night with his head right on my pillow. It is such a special little blessing to have Olly back home with us. I still can't believe he's alive!

The "Mr.Betsy" name was the lady's name for him when she had him. Because of Olly's beautiful markings and sweet face, she thought he was a girl. So, she named him Betsy and then when the Humane Society told her he was a boy, she called him Mr. Betsy. =) Olly's definitely lost weight since he's been gone and is a little bit dirtier than before, surviving all the dirt and rain we had for those couple weeks straight. In the picture Olly is playing with his new homecoming toy we bought him. =) So good to have him back!

Trip to Kentucky!

This is the company of women that I dance with in Benita Bike's DanceArt Company (from left to right): Laurie, Tiff, Teya, Kim, and myself. We were invited to Louisville, KY to teach and perform for middle school students plus the surrounding community. This pic was takin' after performing in a classroom for a small class of 6th graders and the director of the county's arts center treating us to lunch.


This next picture is from our second day in KY when we performing on a small piece of marley floor they put down for us in their gym to perform for all the school's 8th graders. The unique thing about our company and Benita's vision is to educate the audience about modern dance as we perform. So, she talks in between each of our pieces (to allow us to change of course) but to ultimately interact with the audience and allow them to share their reactions from the previous piece.















The pic below is of us performing for 6th graders on their little stage in their gymnasium. It was funny because they initially wanted to have the stage closed off with a curtain and a small group of students with us on stage while two classes played dodge ball for P.E. But, we insisted that the P.E. simply join the audience and watch us dance instead. It worked out, the teacher was flexible, and we got to reach a lot more kids that way.





































This is me on stage during our tech rehearsal doing my solo to "Jimmy Crack Corn" in our dance titled "A Few American Songs." Teya's knee has been bothering her so I was asked to learn her solo before we took this trip. It has a lot of jumping in it, so I'm enjoying it. Plus, its a joyful solo, so I get to smile.

Below is the beautiful space we got to perform in for our Saturday's full evening length performance. This is Oldham County's Arts Center stage, but it used to be a church (obvious by the pews still there). It was pretty cool with its unusually shaped stage, high ceiling, and audience seated at different angles.















If you wanna see more pics from our incredibly fun trip, you can click on the link below.
We did go out to a Kentucky bar Saturday night after our show and danced the night away until 2:00am. Mind you, Benita was picking us up at 5:45am for our flight home. =) I'm still catching up on my sleep.

Link