Lou and her husband Dale live in Vankleek Hill, which is a small town of about 1800 souls in eastern Ontario. I used to live there, in a lovely old victorian house on a corner near the middle of the village, but alas, that didn't last. Don't get me wrong: I love Montreal. But I also loved living in Vankleek Hill. 

Anyway, a few years ago, Lou took up Zumba. Soon she was training as an instructor, and soon after that she had a increasingly successful business called "Zumba on the Hill" — providing not only fitness classes, but a burgeoning community that over time has come to call itself the "Zu-Lou Tribe" (Zumba-Lou, get it?)

Lou!Louise Stevenson is also a lot of fun. Did I mention that? I love this photo, even though it is a bit blurry.

I was at the opening, taking pictures. Lou and I set up what we called an "empowerment photo booth" where people wrote positive messages about themselves on a white board and posed for a photo in front of the giant mural at the front of the room. You can see some of my favourites from that photo booth at the bottom of this entry. People had a blast.

So this blog post is really mainly to celebrate my friend Louise. I wish everyone were like her, and the best thing is... I think we all can be. 

(By the way, the mural at the top of this post was designed and painted by Lou's artist husband, Dale Eaglesham. You should definitely check out his work if you don't already know it).