Some days, it doesn't matter which instrument I play. Other days...the guitar seemed to know how I was feeling today.

Yeah... it's ALL screwed up. And it has been. It doesn't have to be, but that's what people keep choosing. I'm always afraid and always hurt. So I need to have fun and joy. I need to not burn out. I need to have the rage and also have reasons the rage can't swallow me. We all do. Burnout is part of the strategy. Make people burn out and they can't fight.

I don't talk about news online much. It doesn't mean I'm not paying attention. I appreciate that CoSo lets me have safe and fun space here. I don't get criticised for not expressing constant rage about everything wrong in the world. That's been an issue at times in other places.

Y'ALL! My niece doesn't play her violin anymore, so she's sending it to me so I can learn! It's a beautiful instrument. I helped her change the strings on it once.

It's a fiddle on Saturday night, violin on Sunday morning.

I lost an argument with a skink today. Family members came outside to find out who I was yelling at. And yet...yeah, that's probably going to be one of the best conversations I have all week. The skink was very opinionated.

I've been watching to see if my Sea Monkeys would release babies, or if eggs would pause development to be dropped in the water and finish at a better time. There are two babies today! This means I am giving them an environment to thrive in!

https://youtube.com/shorts/bIYLtf9yt6I?si=sBbdsgChWplwBiTB

I spent some time drawing today. I seem to be in a "draw weird stuff" mood. There's a major trauma anniversary for me in a few days. This is a good time to just do any healthy thing my hands want to do. I also spent some time outside playing my ukulele for the birds.

@smittycanada1 It was an absolute honor to have lived in the same space as her.

@HealingHobbit Somebody always has to go get tissues when we tell stories about her. She taught us how to love.

@Pennyformythoughts A potential VP candidate wrote a book and advertised just how cruel she can be by writing about the way she decided to handle a hunting dog who didn't hunt the way she wanted the dog to.

I'd say she was loved to her last breath, but that last breath was six years ago and I still love her. I always will.

When we got another dog, I told her about Angel. That dog listens to no one... except me. And she always looks out for me. Angel would be proud of her.

She chose to spend the night in our room that last night. The next day, I shared my cheese with her during lunch. I share cheese with NOBODY. And then it was time for the last appointment. And I keep a bottle of her ashes on my shrine to Hekate.

When I refused to let people be near me, she came and put her head in my lap. When I felt worthless, she demanded I look at her. When I walked off in rage in the middle of a blizzard, she tracked me down and refused to go back without me.

I told her every secret except one. The day before her last vet appointment, I sat out on the front porch with her laying on me and told her that last secret.

Dogs were being pointed out and identified, rooms being pointed out and directions given... I asked where Angel was.

She was the one jumping on me and wagging her tail! Everything about her said, "You're my best friend I never met before! I'm so glad you came home!"

She was very protective of the farm and every creature who lived there. So when my sister-in-law was driving me across the country to go live on the farm, she warned me that I may need to be properly introduced to Angel.

We got there around 2am. I hadn't seen my husband in two days because he flew there. We had left my home to escape the trauma that had happened earlier in the year. I was exhausted.

And then he went to prison for something...I never got the whole story. Angel lived on an empty farm. The man who owned the farm would go by and leave food, but Angel didn't want to leave the farm. There were concerns when people moved in that she might not take well to them. Actually, she loved having a family on her farm again!

I've stayed away from social media for most of today after seeing the news going around. But now it's the end of the day, and I want to tell you all about Angel.

Angel was a pitbull who was rescued from someone who was considering a very wrong decision because they thought she would be too much trouble. The guy who rescued her put a lot of time and love into training her.

@PaganMother YES! The vibe of readings fits with the art. It's like, "I'm calling you out because that is simply what things are. Have an apple and then get yourself together."

@MookyTroubadour I can understand being disappointed by the limits on what a President can do if she thinks Obama has the power to create racism. Given how long racism has existed, that must also mean he can time travel. 😄