The Horrors Persist

...but so does the knitting.

On Saturday evening I was all prepared to write a newsletter about a particular knitting topic that bothers me… but then I felt like I needed to open Threads to see what was happening. Well, that was a mistake. Of course, the news that a particular idiotic orange menace had started a war had just come out. The knitting topic that I wanted to comment on suddenly felt unimportant, as I felt like I had a pit in my stomach.

I joined everyone else who was worried and scared… and I am also scared for a particular reason that I do not want to voice, as I don’t want to speak it into existence. But of course, the horrors have been coming at us daily, if not hourly, for months now. Staying informed, while also dissociating enough to function in daily life, is a skill we’ve all unwillingly had to practice. Apparently, the rent still needs to be paid.

I thought I would share what has been helping me greatly to regulate my nervous system the past few months, aside from knitting.

Unfortunately, knitting on its own doesn’t help me as much as it should. I am really good at both stressing and knitting at the same time, unless I have something else to distract me as well.

I have grown really fond of knitting while watching the eagle family that lives in Big Bear Valley since the babies hatched in early March: Jackie, Shadow, Sunny, and Gizmo. I’ve been especially fond of watching the babies, Sunny and Gizmo, learning to fly and explore their world! Luckily, they’ve still been coming back to the nest some days, to have fish feasts and occasionally stay overnight. Nothing has helped calm me more than watching these sweet babies! They have a great bond. While they may play a serious tug-o-fish when Jackie and Shadow bring fish deliveries, they will often sit next to each other or even fly together at times.

There is a nest cam (Cam 1) and a wide view cam (Cam 2) and you can search for them on YouTube with “fobbv live eagle cam 1” or “fobbv live eagle cam 2.” There is a link to a Live Recap page in the chat for Cam 1, which has all the info, including timestamps for all the sightings every day. There are other accounts such as “Cali Condor” and “Lady Hawk” that put together interesting clips of the day into smaller videos.

I don’t know what I will do when the babies eventually leave the area to begin their Grand Journeys, but checking in with the eagles daily is getting me through the chaos right now!

So, what have I been knitting on?

This was my latest WIP pic for Flawless Flowerbeds. This pattern is coming out this Thursday, June 26, and as usual I will send out a newsletter with a coupon code that morning!

I have also been working on a shawl. I already ripped back the beginning about seven times, trying different shapes and edges, but sometimes as it turns out, simpler is better. I am aiming to make this an easy, tv knit, but not completely boring. I am still going to be experimenting with the shape of the rest of the shawl, so this may change, but this was where I left off the other day:

I hope you find some quiet comfort in the days ahead.