Splendid Distractions

I took this picture this afternoon from the sidewalk in front of our house. It's looking into our front yard if you can actually call what we have in the front of the house a yard. That azalea, which did not get pruned last year, is blooming and has buds all over it. Azaleas all over our area are having a spectacular year. Driving around Tallahassee is just a joy right now. In some places the wisteria is vying with the azaleas in a contest for showiest display. The Cherokee roses are blooming too. The older neighborhoods are awash in purples, pinks, magentas, lavenders, and also white. It all reminds me of the first spring I was in Tallahassee and how surprised and amazed I was at how incredibly showy everything became. 
It is beautiful. 
Of course we are the pollen capital of the world here. Pine pollen, oak pollen, flower and grass pollens- over half the people I know are commiserating with each other over their symptoms and the treatments they are using to try and mitigate them. Our cars are covered in pollen as are porches, outdoor furniture, leaves of large plants, and even things inside. The stuff is everywhere but you can't have such glorious growing things without it. 

I got up VERY early for me this morning. Like- it wasn't fully light yet. It really wasn't that hard but Maurice appeared to be baffled that I had gotten out of bed and was turning on lights and brushing my teeth and all of that other stuff because IT WAS THE WRONG TIME! 
I swear, that cat (and probably most pets) know our schedules as well as we do. 

I was going to pick up Lily for pottery but Gibson and Owen both picked up some horrible bug either on a plane or while they were in Washington, DC and Lily was worried that Maggie was going to come down with it at any moment and need to be taken home from school or one of the boys would need her so she drove herself. This virus seems like a flu but they've tested negative for that and for Covid. Lots of gastric distress, fever, general weakness, etc. 

So I picked up Jessie and we met Lily at the studio, and for the first time ever we got there on time. There are nine people in this class, including us. Same teacher. They had rearranged the tables and wheels during the break and it was a little shocking. I mean, not terribly so, but a little. And I learned more today than I have learned in the past two seasons of classes. Our teacher actually explained a whole lot of stuff that if I had known, would have saved me a great deal of time and trouble. Even just simple things like what "slip" is and where certain things are kept. Basic, basic things. I was glad for the information. 
Lily jumped right in with the rest of the class and made a very beautiful mug, not on the wheel but by hand-building. She is going to rock the clay. Trust me. And Jessie went directly to the wheel and started making bowls that made me so jealous but mostly, so proud. Me? I started doing a pinch pot bowl and the best thing about that project is that once again, I learned a lot in the doing of it. Like just about everything else I've made it looks like something you could bake a pie in and I guess that's where my heart lies. I think my next project is going to be a vessel for flowers. Yes. Yes. What some might call a vase. But with a frog built into it. I have a sort of design in mind. 
We shall see. 

After class we met Lauren for lunch at the place where I always get the chopped salad with ahi tuna and I told Jessie that I was thinking I might get something else today. 
Guess what? 
I didn't. 
God, I love that salad. The seared tuna cut into beautiful rounds, sliced avocado, hearts of palm, mandarin oranges, crispy whatever-those-things-are, lettuce and maybe a few other things. The dressing is light and citrusy and so very, very good. 

Home again where I almost, almost succumbed to the temptation of a nap. But I did not! I finished the embroidery around the letters of Levon's name on his blanket and pinned and sewed that panel to the whole which was the last machine work I needed to do on it. 

I found a movie on Netflix that I am enjoying called "The Miracle Club" and I have passed it by before, thinking it would be yet one more women-leave-their-routines-and-roles-behind-and-do-amazing-things-and-come-home-changed sort of movie and yes, it is that but Maggie Smith, Kathy Bates, and Laura Linney blow right out of the stereotypes, each one a powerful woman in her own way. I am half way through it and I do like it. As I watched the movie, I began doing another bit of hand stitching and before I knew it, forty-five minutes had passed. I have got to stop myself before I go completely mad with the blanket stitching around the borders so that the poor child will indeed get his blanket before he's old enough to vote. 

Mr. Moon called. HE got up at 4:30 this morning to go fishing with his friend and I think he could have used a nap too. 

Here are a few more pictures.

Hard to get perspective here but that's about a third of the outer border of what we call the bamboo jungle. 

And here is how thickly it grows. 
Oh well. It's a good swath of our property that I don't even attempt to keep civilized. 

I picked a few of the remaining camellias that I love so much and brought them in to make me happy. 

I'm going to go cook some eggplant. Pretty excited about that. 

Love...Ms. Moon