Packing list: [] Good directions [] The willingness to be sidetracked by wonder [] Comfortable shoes [] A garment that is wildly impractical but feels fabulous [] Plenty of snacks [] An appetite for adventure

Finished things, finished things! First off the needles, in time for my trip, was this full rainbow Loving Color . Because one of my very limited use super powers is knowing exactly how far I can get with the available yarn, I determined for completely inexplicable and intuitive reasons that if I made each stripe section one stripe set narrower then that would account for the increases as I went down and I'd have enough yarn to do the whole thing, and I was completely correct. All but the purple is Blue Sky Woolstock Light, but they didn't have a purple that spoke to me so I grabbed a pretty SpinCycle for that and the texture difference isn't too disruptive - if anything, because it fell at both ends, it's stabilizing. It was also a perfect early spring travel garment, because I was able to wear it as a scarf with a jacket in the cool mornings and then pull it over my shoulders later to transition from jacket to t-shirt temperatures. I also finally finished this Pi'

Friday morning I got up at 4:30 in the morning and started driving east . I watched the sun rise over the rice fields. I smiled at the Memphis pyramid, a landmark of my childhood drives to visit grandparents. I got gas in Mississippi. I clutched the steering wheel as I navigated Birmingham (my least favorite city I've ever driven in, and I've driven in NYC). And mid afternoon I rolled into Atlanta. My first stop was the Georgia Aquarium. They added the mini ocean with whale sharks less than a year after I went to Atlanta as a kid with my dad on a business trip, and I've been salty about it since. I appeased my inner child and also commended myself for planning a two hour walking activity to follow a seven and a half hour drive. After the aquarium I visited a little metaphysical shop I'd heard of through their podcast and expanded my tarot and crystal collections. But the real reason I drove to Atlanta was for a Crowded Table gathering. I've shared somewhat about my

Tulip sculpture seating, recently installed in downtown Little Rock March was an extremely redemptive month for me. Two years ago it felt like things were finally beginning to fall into place... and then I was trapped in place by the pandemic. In retrospect, I'm grateful, because that gave me the space to really figure out who I am and what it is that I want and then move in a completely different direction than I was then, but at the time it was crushing. But this time was different. I had online gatherings of various sorts (classes, moon circles, tarot gatherings, a spiritual practice cohort, I played a TTRPG - first time ever - with an internet friend) multiple times each week, and in person things too. I drove through a blizzard for an aura portrait, went to yoga, crafted and created and went on lots of walks, and took the kids shopping for new clothes and new bedding. It was incredibly refreshing for my extroverted soul. Today I'm on my way to Atlanta for a mini conference