“Faerie-folk gather in the woodland glades, and frolic beside moss-banked streams; the fires of summer burn green and gold, and everywhere there is high magick afoot!”
– Michele Morgan
It’s August. W00t.
I realised I’d missed the first weekend of July, so decided to just go back to that two-monthly review in August. And here I am!
Summer is truly here, and I have settled into a new dayjob which has me beaming even on a Friday. Let’s dive in.
Key Events
In June, we had our first holiday in 3.5 years. I was ridiculously excited, and it was a 9.5 out of a 10… Even though H sprained his ankle on the first activity. So yes. Likely a 12 or 13 out of 10 otherwise. We went to the safari park (see Rainbow Lorikeets above) and I got to try archery again. We swam a ton, and had pancakes for breakfast 4 mornings in a row.
I also got offered a job in a different team, and gave my notice. Insert scrambling to get things tied up in time. Then in July, I moved over to the new team. I knew 25% of the people, and I’m loving the environment. The work itself has it’s challenges, and I’m definitely still learning, but I truly believe that with a supportive team, even a more challenging job can be better for us than an easy job without the support.
I attended a talk by author of Remembered Forever (which I’ve now started reading) and spoke with him after about how little is truly understood about domestic abuse. It was incredibly moving and in its own way, an inspirational moment to explore what is often not questioned.
Reflections on the Journey
i. Read 12 books: 1/12 – Hah. I’m currently reading Insurgent (fiction, 2nd in series), Ikigai (nonfiction), an introduction to DBT (nonfiction therapy workbook), and Remembered Forever (memoir about 2 brothers surviving their father murdering their mum and sister before killing himself)… Yeah. I’ve always had multiple books on the go at once, but I’ve really outdone myself this month…
ii. Edit The Felled Gods: I added another 300 words across June and July. It’s not great, but I have been looking over the plot outline and exploring shifts, so in the background, cogs are turning. I’m actually considering a total, from-scratch re-write for NaNoWriMo.
iv. Level-up my Wellness Routines: I actually feel like myself again. For those who aren’t aware, I tried to reduce some medication Jan-Mar, which went very badly, and it’s taken all of Apr-Jun to ‘undo’ that damage. Then I shifted dayjobs and now we’re at the end of July, I finally feel like Katy again. Huzzah! My goal for August is to get my daily meditation habit back, and then from September I’ll look at the other aspects.
v. Connection Evolution: New colleagues, coaching calls, my friend came down from Manchester to visit and we had pancakes for dinner… It’s all good. My new dayjob team are hilarious and supportive and human. I miss my old team, but I definitely feel like I’m settling super easy with the new group.
Smoke and Ember
The cats are adorable, and I managed to have one uninterrupted night’s sleep this whole 60 days, wihtout having to shut them out. I also had one blissful night which did require shutting them out. I now understand why sleep deprivation is considered torture. *sigh*
We’ve had a heatwave so the cats got a bit lethargic, but today Ember’s bounding around with her little chirps, and Smoke is lazing on the garden table. so all is well.
This month, I’ve also been rat-sitting for a colleague and this has resulted in some fun snuggles.
Jumping the Wall…
- Oh, we finished painting the living room. Feels so long ago now.
- True to my form, I’ve reinvented myself yet again (this is my life, accept it) and this now shows in my website design… The official re-launch will be in September, but the sneak peek is here.
- Had a job interview. Got the job. Gave my notice. Started the new job. Yeah. It’s taken a lot of my mental energy.
- Still coaching. If you know someone who is always looking to better themselves, do send them to the in-progress site.
- I met up with Celine and we had pancakes after work. T’was awesome.
- I got a new desk, and we got a new mattress. The combination are definitely helping with my back pain.
- The vacuum cleaner died after 3.5 years of cleaning up after 4 long-haired beings, so we replaced that and the carpets look so clean!
The Path Ahead…
- August is full of birthdays, preparing for the new site launch, re-building my meditation practise & some general household projects.