“Mist blankets the morning garden and the empty fields; a last rose blooms slowly over the arbor by the backyard gate. Paintbox leaves fall to the ground under galoshes and the wheels of slicker-yellow school buses. Sweaters come out of cedar chests, soup pots simmer, and wild geese make their mercurial journey southward across the pale autumn sky.”
– Michelle Morgan
September brought Autumn with it: that brisk, freshness that wakes you up without too much of a shock. The sun still shimmers down, warming your face. Crisp leaves, sunshine, the last of flowers and crops: it’s that magical transition between Summer and Winter.
In short, it’s my favourite month, with my favourite festival: the Autumn Equinox.
Reflections on the Journey
i. Read 12 books: 4/12 – I finished reading books! This got me so excited, ha, but each staircase starts with the next step. I began doing an Alpha read too, which is slower going than a normal read, but I LOVE doing them, and uncovering the potential beneath the surface.
ii. Edit second novel for submission: 1/1 – Made decent progress on my #NaNoWriMo planning.
iii. Track my wordcount and aim for 100,000 words: 43,911/100,000 words – I wrote 9,420 words across September, hitting my aim of 278 word a day [being a 30 days month].
iv. Build upon my wellness routine: September focused on reading in my spare time, and meditating when I remembered. The routine definitely fell off-track, and I tried to be okay with that. I focused on reading and listening to stories, as well as meditating where time and energy allowed.
Damh the Bard released a beautiful album, speaking and singing the first ‘branch’ of the Welsh mythology tales of the Mabinogi: focusing on tales of Pwyll, Prince of Dyfed.
September’s Experience Collected
- 200/200XP
- 175/350XP
- 300/300XP
- 350/400XP
Total XP for September: 1,025/1,250
Total XP towards Level Up: 6,500/7,500
Smoke and Embers
Things were pretty stable leading up to the cat’s birthday (30th), but at the end of the month, I spent 2 days watching Smoke cough/sneeze/splutter a few times an hour, then look perfectly fine for a couple of hours. I took him to the vet, who said he’s got Man-Flu and sent us home with anti-inflammatory medication.
So a stressful end to the month, but he’s on the mend, and it was reassuring to find out that in the middle of his ‘bad patch’ his heart rate and temperature were “perfect.”
Ember’s been pretty standard, loving her catnip-hedgehog more each passing week.
We celebrated their 3-year-birthday with treat sticks and another attempted family photo.
Jumping the Wall…
- Secret project launched a little more ‘officially.’ As with any new business, it takes a good few months to get the right combination of offers, services and web-copy to really explain the full details, but we are up and running. Although the wording may change across the next few weeks, the essentials are consistent: connect with your inner strength, manage stressors and map out your next steps to empowerment. Want to know more? Check this out.
- I didn’t quite finish the third module of the storytelling course, but I’m working on it.
- I had another guest post published at Thrive Global on Mantras: Thoughts To Grasp In Times of Turmoil.
- I got my official certificate from University, so I’m no longer an official Mature Student.
- I continued preparing my NaNoWriMo novel… with an update of the progress so far.
- We made the bedside tables I mentioned last month *makes note to take photographs*
The Path Ahead…
- I’m aiming to finish reading another book, and continue working on the NaNo project.
- I’ll be working on the beta group I launched in September across October.
- Work has required some changes, so shifts and roles may alter and I’m trying to be flexible to that.