One Year later...

Last dance with Liz.

• The shoulder finally healed and I finished the Heirloom Shawl (currently being test-knitted).
  
• The kayaking trip was a success (only I needed to jump into a random and have our male guide paddle me the last 500 metres back to the beach.
• I finished my novel, "Love and Terror" - currently being edited by someone who knows what she's doing and does it well.
• I took the first of many university courses and got an A- (I know, boastful, but at 50, and thinking I forgotten as much as I've learned, I was chuffed).
• Speaking of 50, I celebrated on my new favourite place on earth, Kauai and the Napali Coast; the night of, drinking Mai Tais with my eldest daughter and watching half-naked men dance at a Luau.
• I embraced my grey - whew!
• Hosted the first Writer's Retreat at the cottage with my writing group.
• Began submitting short stories (what I should have done BEFORE writing a novel).
• My needlepoint kits are available at The Needle Gnome and here.
• Most recently, I began designing knitwear again for myself and yarn companies - yippee!!! (TBA this Fall).  The knitting world has been so welcoming since my hiatus; such a warm bunch of people is our wooly world.
• Last week we sold the house we designed and built (and lived in, for a year and a half, just for fun). We move in 2 months - agh!
• And I renewed this blog.

...let me explain...

A year ago this June 13th, I watched my sister die of ALS. We were close. Nothing takes the stuffing out of you quite like losing a loved one. I still cry when I think of Liz and I still miss her, as I do my brother Richard, who died four years earlier. Grief stunts creativity - unless, of course, I was writing about Liz. Those words flowed. I watched as the Ice Bucket Challenge took the world by storm last summer. I peeped through the bushes to see my neighbour's family scream from the icy water. It warmed my sad heart. This month is ALS month. Here's how you can help: ALS CANADA