My afternoon.

Yesterday (and by that, I mean Saturday), I was considering why I have been in such an out-of-sorts and generally grumpy mood of late. I realized that it was because I hadn't spent any real time outdoors all week. After two months of hardly ever being indoors, that weighs heavily on my soul! Auburn, for all her glories, is simply too hot and humid right now to enjoy any prolonged out-of-doorsedness.

However, I firmly resolved to spend a portion of my blessed day of rest outside.

So I went here:

And spent the afternoon with these friends:

A worthy afternoon, in my mind. Since returning from camp, I am much resolved to read more. I devoured any book I could get my hands on as a kid, but I let that passion slip away from me as I grew up. I am rekindling that love by making an effort to be constantly reading something either new or beloved.

Today, I was lost in the words of Sheldon Vanauken's A Severe Mercy, one of my favorite books. I think I love this book for a couple reasons: 1. It is a story, and I love stories. 2. It is a true story-- even better! 3. It is a story that is good and beautiful and thought-provoking; that engages the mind, heart, and spirit. (No, seriously.) 4.  It involves C.S. Lewis. Do I need to say more?

So, I won't. Goodnight!

The difference between talking and singing.

Read this: http://www.teacherlove.org/nadine-cole-academy-of-ballet-arts/

I had the privilege of receiving two years of ballet training from Ms. Cole. Two years that would shape me from an awkward dancer, who, as the article mentioned and we all heard so often, didn't know how to simply stand up straight, to a dancer who, through rigorous and meticulous training, was somehow deemed worthy enough to be Cinderella. (It should be mentioned that much of this is also attributed to the thrice-weekly classes I took from her daughter, Claudia Oates-- incredible dancer and incredible woman.)

Me and "Prince Charming". About 20 minutes before this, we ended the show in an unforgettable moment-- he put me down from a lift of top of a little girl's head. Traumatic. (c. 2007)

Ms. Cole was very straight-edge and unwilling to compromise when it came to her art. While she was never unkind, she wasted no time with sugar-coated niceties-- something that I believe to have made me not only a stronger dancer, but a stronger woman.

I remember her classes being hard, and I also remember many girls quit because they simply wanted to have "fun" and couldn't handle the strictures of Ms. Cole's ballet classes-- the strict attire and class behavior. The article puts it perfectly when it says "she was beloved by all who could endure the commitment, for she opened the door to an elevated and beautiful world we would otherwise never have known."

Sometimes, her classes were hard to endure. Really hard. But you know, I am proud that I persevered. Especially after reading this article. Because I understand now that sticking with her class is something not everyone could do. But I did, and I got to experience something really beautiful and rare because of it.

Ms. Cole and me at her farewell gathering. (c. 2008)

I am thankful for this article, because it has made me view my time with Ms. Cole with a renewed appreciation. It also makes me miss dancing very, very much. In Colorado, I was blessed beyond belief to take a class with Mrs. Mary Lynn Powell (co-director of Camp Wojtyla Scott Powell's mother). Taking with Mrs. Powell brought to mind many memories of classes with Ms. Cole, in that both women possess incredible experience and knowledge in the world of ballet.

I had not danced in 2 years. It was rough, but how my heart sang! The movements, though lacking in strength and finesse, were nonetheless familiar and beloved to my body and spirit. My friends who were with me told me they'd kill me if I didn't get myself back in to classes. Maybe... maybe not.

Me and some of my sweet dance friends who stuck out Ms. Cole's classes with me. This was taken at Auburn Ballet School on the last night of classes before it shut its doors for good. (c. 2008)

So what I want to know is... what will glorify You, Lord?

Auburn Oddities.

A headline from the Opelika-Auburn news. What on earth?! I hope they at least got some good bacon out of this.

The window in this picture is my living room window. This is what I came home to. Apparently the guys who lived above us had quite the raging end-of-summer-classes party, so much so, that Christmas came early. 

Poor little guy.

There and back again.

"Now I know what a piece of bacon feels like when it is suddenly picked out of the pan on a fork and put back on the shelf!"

-Bilbo Baggins 

In the throes of my post-camp agony and woe of what-to-do-with-myself-without-a-schedule-and-35-of-the-coolest-people-in-the-world, I decided to re-read The Hobbit. I did not realize how long it had been since I had read it-- there were parts that I didn't even remember.

The book is awesome (and an easier read than the Trilogy) so if you haven't read it, you should. I just wanted to share this quote that had me laughing to myself for quite a while.

And in case you didn't know it: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0903624/

Posts about my Camp Wojtyla adventures should be coming soon at Letters From a Teepee.

Also, props to JRock who captured the incredible image in my header.