Hair, shoulder pads, and nukes.

Well, as seems to be becoming the pattern, it’s once again Friday night and I’m trying to record a quick personal update while watching Doctor Who with my family. We’ll see how far we get. I haven’t seen this episode before either. :-)

And, speaking of, here’s a gem of a quote: “Hair, shoulder pads, nukes. It’s the eighties. Everything’s bigger.”

I love this show.

Okay, enough of that.

Over the last two weeks, I was participating in a course by author Bryan Cohen to learn how to use Amazon Ads. It was very intense and took hours every day over the eight days of the challenge, which put me a bit behind on other things. Such as blogging. Which is why I’m once again doing it after hours on Friday.

Again, enough of that.

Other than that, I have two or three positive things to report.

1. Spring has arrived in the north, and with warmer temperatures, I’ve actually managed to get a couple of walks in.

2. I managed to get past the scenes revising the first part of Robert’s story line in The Sphinx’s Heart manuscript, and have actually started moving forward again. Last weekend, I was frustrated and depressed about writer’s block, and this week, I’m excited to keep exploring forward with new words.

3. I’ve been brainstorming for another series that I’m excited about, though it’s still very early days. Think a Fate who knits the pattern of events trying to solve the mystery of man who shouldn’t exist. Sound fun?

4. Probably because of all those things combined, my mental health is much better this week. I’m feeling more productive (whether I actually I am or not, I doubt it, I just feel better about it). It probably doesn’t hurt that I have spending less time looking at what I can’t control (the spread of the virus) and focusing more on things I can.

And that’s all any of us can do right now, isn’t it? It’s like this whole pandemic is one long lesson about internalizing the Serenity Prayer:

Lord, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.

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During the pandemic, I've been having a hard time focusing on complicated knitting projects. But I'm on my fourth washcloth. I even crocheted one of them. 🙂 . What have you been making lately? . #knitstagram #amknitting #knittersofig #knittersofinstagram #knitweardesign #mysecretwishbytalena #mswbtprojects

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Tonight, I had the realization that there is something that I will miss when the restrictions are lifted and life returns back to normal… the opportunity to go through a whole week that stays pretty much on schedule, because no scatterbrained child forgot their lunch or bonked their head or forgot their instrument at home. It will be a small price to pay for all of us to have our lives back. But still, I’m finding things to be thankful for and enjoy in the moment where I can.

One sad piece of news—the continued restrictions on mass gatherings that will extend through the summer in Alberta mean that Skipper’s graduation has been cancelled. I mean, we all have life things we’re missing out on, but there are some life things that only happen once. And Skipper will forever look back and remember that coronavirus stole his graduation.

Still, as I heard in a podcast today, “We’re all still alive, and that’s the main thing.”

I pray that remains the case, for us and for you.

(And another plus: Monkey has been completing Foods 20 at home, which means a fair amount of baking not done by me. :-) I helped with the whole wheat bread, though.)

Monkey’s first loaf of bread.

Happy Friday!

P.S. I finally posted the cover for The Sphinx’s Heart last week. Look at this beauty. Like wowza, am I right?