And yet another week slips by, but there are blessings among the mess.......

 No matter all the crazy things that are going on in the news another week has slipped by.  I am a bit overwhelmed by all the news, more mass killings, police shootings, much needed protests and a huge trial that everyday has been fraught with stress.  Mounting Covid cases, continued Covid deaths, vaccine deniers and those who still perpetuate the Big Lie that has turned our Country into an even bigger mess.  It all seems a bit much and yet I know I am lucky.  I don't have to worry about my very white sons when they drive home being pulled over for something senseless and getting shot.  I know I am privileged beyond belief, yet I am still worried.  Worried for the world we live in, the world Little Buddy will grow up in, the country I live in that think guns are much more of a right than voting is.  The country that thinks it is okay to carry assault weapons with the potential to kill so many in just a few seconds, yet they want to squash the ability of people of color or people who don't vote like them to vote.  Voting is a deep and personal right for all of us no matter how you chose to vote.  It is disheartening and sometimes it just gets the best of me.  I know turn off the news, don't listen.  But I can't put my head in the sand or my fingers in my ears and not hear or see what is happening.  That in and of itself is a privilege.  Being able to turn things off for a while because my life or the life of my son's is safe for the moment, but I might feel to overwhelmed about the state of affairs here is a privilege. I know I seem to drone on and on about all of this mess but it is especially in the forefront this week in the United States.  A mess that needs so much help.  A mess that is frankly just so screwed up.  Anyway, I will get back on blog topics that are safe for everyone even though you all know how I feel about these issues.  

 Today is support your local yarn shop day.  And while I couldn't technically make a yarn store visit today I did yesterday.  I missed out on fun raffles and seeing samples but that is just fine.  I ran errands far from my home yesterday morning so I could end up at my favorite yarn store.  I got there when they opened and I was the only one there.  I knew what I wanted, more of this wonderful Berroco Summer Sesame yarn.  This will be for Harebell number 3.  I know, I know, what am I doing planning yet another one.  Here is the thing, I don't like pullover sweaters.  I am a cardigan girl all the way.  And this has been the best cardigan pattern I have found.  It is interesting enough to make you think but easy enough to take with you for a quick row or two when you are out.  The yarn creates the drama, not the pattern.  The silhouette of the sweater is perfect, an elongated round neck and adjustable length.  I like my sweaters long because I am tall.  And this yarn is light weight and gorgeous, perfect for Florida in all seasons.  Who knows there might be a number 5 on the horizon.

Speaking of Harebell, this is number 2.  Again made with Berroco Summer Sesame yarn in the colorway mint.  I am now at the increase part of the body after decreasing to the waist.  It is a fast knit if you get a chance to knit, that is always the tricky part. 

This morning I dropped off Little Buddy at his social gardening club and made my way to the bayou where I sit and knit in my car while I listen to my audiobook.  This is time I treasure, I will no longer allow myself to run ragged doing errands while he is there.  I need to just sit and relax for the 90 minutes I get before pick up time.  Well today was amazing my friends.  While I was knitting I saw a disturbance out in the water, usually it is manatees rolling around.  They are usually in the center of the bayou so you can't really see them.  But not today, nope this water disturbance was caused by a fin that kept popping up.  There was a dolphin swimming around.  I watched and found her here and there.  But suddenly I saw waves at the very side of the water near the wall coming right at me.  I popped out of my car just in time to see this gorgeous dolphin swim on its side right past me.  I knelt down and looked over the wall and it swam back and forth right under me.  It was gorgeous!  I was so close I could have almost touched it.  I saw its beautiful eye, its blow hole the scratches on its head, the beautiful coloring that went from darker on its back to a lighter on its  belly.  It was just incredible.  And on its final ride by me it popped out of the water and gave a big spray out of its blow hole.  A few yards down from me it caught a fish and came out of the water twice with it in its mouth, then threw the fish in the air and caught it in the water.  Poor fish, but that is the circle of life.  What an incredible moment to experience.  I did not run to my car for my phone to get a photo, I felt this experience was such a blessing I needed to be wholly present.  I have felt this way when I see big owls near me, just so blessed to have the opportunity to experience their majestic beauty.  This unexpected dolphin encounter was just what I needed to see after all that is going on in the world.  A message to be still and appreciate the beauty and wonder the world still has to offer.

More blessings this week are my gardenias just starting to bloom.  When I first moved in this house 20 years ago I had this bush transplanted and I had others planted on the side of my house.  This bush is ginormous and flowers first, then the bushes on the side of my house, so I have blooms for a few weeks. Last year a young yard person cut almost all my flowers off because it was time to trim the bushes.  I was so mad I could have just spit, those are the words my mother used to say.  I yelled at him and luckily it must have stuck because this year the blooms are intact so far.  I can't have them in the house because they cause me headaches, but I can walk outside and smell their intoxicating smell and look at their exquisite beauty. 

Luna Tuna the granddog is here for the weekend.  I would like to tell you she is calming down but she isn't.  I would like to tell you she has stopped pooping on my back patio but she hasn't.  And I would like to tell you she is not as bossy but she is.  Still she is loved and we adore her.  The boys are tired from entertaining her but they adore her, too.

The biggest blessing of all is this guy.  Oh how my heart is full when he has had a good week.  He had great behavior in the beginning and end of the week with just a few glitches mid week.  He did his work for the most part, well not with dad on Thursday and I had to fix that when I got home from work.  We got math testing results back and he ranked in the 96% for all third graders taking this standardized test.  This week they have a big standardized reading test that I am not even sure he will pass.  Oh he can read like crazy he just gets stuck on the wording of the questions and what might be the most important point by the author will certainly not be the most important point to Little Buddy.  I don't really care that much what the tests say, including that 96%, I just want him to learn to the best of his ability and FOCUS!!!!!!

After his gardening club he asked me what we were going to do.  I told him we could snuggle, smooch and I could eat all his freckles and he told me no way, that is Mom stuff and I don't want to do Mom stuff.  He does make me laugh.

Mr.27, Mr. 23 and Ms. L all got their first vaccines this week.  No one had any side affects for which I am thankful.  Ms. B, who is paired up with Mr. 27 got hers last week and did great.  We are on our way to a safer life, safer from the rages of this pandemic that has senselessly killed so many people. That is a blessing, a big one.

Stay safe my friends.