We’re almost halfway through summer, and I once again find myself having so much to cover since my last post that even beginning leaves me overwhelmed.

Yet start I must if I’m going to finish.

That’s so often the solution to a problem, isn’t it? Just start.

Anyway. Now that the life lesson is out of the way, here’s a quick catch up since my last post.

Family News

Jude went to basic training in early June. He’ll actually be finished next weekend, if all goes well. The worst is behind him now, so that seems likely. Then he’ll be on to his specialization training as a combat engineer.

I’m very proud, and also relieved that he’s come this far without major mishap. But this is only the beginning—so my brain keeps reminding me. Still, I’ll take the blessings where I find them.

Speaking of kids, Jabin has been working as a camp counsellor all summer, so we’ve barely seen him either. He’s currently home for only his second short visit of the season. He’s loving it, but being suddenly down by two has made things pretty quiet around here. (Especially since the one who remains is the quietest of the bunch.) We’re not quite empty nesters, but it’s felt like we are some nights as Jason and I sit down to supper by ourselves for the first time in twenty years.

Jason and I out for supper alone while on our vacation earlier this month.

My Secret Wish Knitting Website

I’ve spent most of the last three months putting in long hours on my new knitting website. And as of this week, it’s finally open (at www.mysecretwish.ca). I’m beyond excited.

And, as I dragged myself through the final tweaks this week, I thought I’d give myself the weekend before I made changes to my author website (that would be this one) to lean more into my author branding, but I couldn’t wait.

For one, I love playing with fonts and such. My trouble is deciding what to go with from all the ones I love, so I’m likely not finished playing with it yet. But I’m getting there.

For another, once the moment arrived when I felt like my knitting business had mostly set up camp over in the new place, I was itching to get rid of the vestiges of it here. Like a roommate who has too much stuff and has overstayed their welcome, my knitting business has really hampered the ways I could brand this website to appeal to my readers. This brand separation has been an excellent thing for my ability to fully express myself in these two unique aspects of my business and myself.

So the new website was a lot of work, and the project has put me seriously behind on my writing, but in the end, it will be a very good thing.

I’ve also reaffirmed how difficult I find it to focus on two areas of my business at once, especially with a major project that has an urgent deadline. Now that the knitting website is open, I’m going to experiment with shifting my focus back and forth between books and knitting on a weekly basis, but I’m not sure how it’s going to go. I expect I’ll have to give myself a lot of grace when I’m on a project deadline, but that I should be able to manage reasonably well the rest of the time.

However, after the extended break from writing fiction, I’m really ready to start again. It’s been good for my mental health that way. (Even if this project is posing some other mental health challenges which I’ll likely talk about in a future post.)

Family Vacation

Anyway, I haven’t only been building a website. In the first week of July, Jason, Noah, and I went to Radium Hot Springs for a family reunion for my mom’s side of the family that was also a memorial for my grandparents and my Uncle Bob. It was lovely, even if my two missing kids were the only two family members who couldn’t make it.

Selfie we took while hiking at Marble Canyon.

Noah looking cool next to me and Jason while we pose near one of the pools at the Paint Pots.

On the way home, though, we were caught in a wicked hailstorm near Calgary (one of many extreme weather events Alberta has experienced this year), and it was one of the more unique experiences of my life. It sounded like sitting inside a tympani during a performance of “The War of 1812”, and it looked like we were sitting in a river of hailstones.

Fortunately, the hailstones were not quite big enough to dent the vehicle, but stacked up fast enough on the windshield that our efforts to keep it clear with the wipers were somewhat in vain and ended up damaging one of the wipers a bit. (It’s fixed now, but we did end up driving through Calgary in the rain without functioning wipers, adding to the memories.)

Besides that adventure, we also got to see some gorgeous mountain scenery, hang out with my sister, meet her girlfriend, and realize we could have used at least another week off… and a permanent move to a mountain town (lol).

Company at Home

Last weekend, we also had a surprise visit from our friends Mark and Colleen, which meant a couple of lovely days visiting and relaxing. Colleen has a way of seeing the beauty of life that always leaves me inspired and rejuvenated. She reminds me to slow down and be in the moment… and during the final lap on that website project, it was a reminder I desperately needed.

View while drinking fancy iced mochas on the deck with Colleen. (Coffee supplied by Jason.)

I managed to do a little reading this month, too, finally diving into the Grishaverse. I read Shadow and Bone a couple Sundays ago, and I’m super excited to start on the next one. It’s so well written, and it’s making me very anxious to start on my next Grigori book… which is a good thing.

My copy of *Shadow and Bone* on a new knitting design I was working on during our holiday.

And, speaking of writing, I’m looking forward to diving back into it in earnest next week. I’m still working on Every Bell that Rings, and now that the website project is wrapping up, I finally feel ready to give it the focus it needs. After that, I’ll get to write some mermaids again.

Anyway, that’s my news for now. I’m enjoying that feeling of having finished a major task, which is a big deal for an Enneagram 3 like me.

I hope your July is going well. What are you up to this weekend?