Hello to you from a sparkling summer!

Time has moved differently at different times in my life. A few years ago, it was too fast, buttered-up plastic flamingos slipping down a hot slide, because of work. I was learning how to coach. I was building my business. I was hitting my $20K and $30K months. My life was falling apart in a whirl of pink, me doing my best to run from my postpartum depression.

This time it's going too fast because of kittens. Pool day Fridays at 3 PM. A part-time work schedule complete with sleeping in and midnight bedtimes (for me, not the kids 🙈).

This wasn't easy. Letting go of my work ego was letting go of my identity — dropping back into a warm pool with a blazing sun, melting my muscles, falling apart, and letting go. Dissolving. Letting go always feels like dying.

But time is crazy. One minute you're running around drunk on Natty Light, wearing half a watermelon as a hat; the next minute you're hiding two computers and a TV remote from your 8-year-old like a deranged Easter bunny.

In a lot of ways, I'm living in a vision of normalcy. But I thought I could live in this place without giving in to my need to express and share and reflect. But I can't just keep it in.

My best self is sitting quietly, reading, and thinking. I don't get as much time for that as I did in college. But to be fair, I use that time to drink beer and put fruit on my head. So let's just say these two old kids are my new watermelon hats.

This month the new pens are Franklin-Christoph, and two kittens named Nacho and Cinder.

Here we go.

New Pen Shout Out

I tried out a Franklin-Christoph 45 in Glass Antique. I like it just fine, but once again — why would I pick this up when I have beautiful E95 Pilots waiting for me? So I'm going to resell this one.

I also picked up an 823 in brown with a fine nib that's on its way from Australia. Shipping is taking about a month. At first I worried I was being scammed, but I decided to trust my instinct.

There's a couple of things I think about when I'm buying a pen from a stranger online. I buy pens in two places: PenSwap, private Slack, and eBay. For PenSwap and eBay, it's all about ratings and trade numbers, and then instincts about how they communicate with me. On eBay, I stick with reliable sellers, and I've secured a few pens that way — it's been a great experience.

Come to the DC Pen Show!

Of course, we've got the annual DC International fountain pen show coming up next Friday. I was going back and forth on whether I wanted to go, but of course I do — I was just feeling tired. So I'm definitely going Friday or Saturday, or both, with or without my family, not sure.

I don't have any purchases in mind, but I do want to be on the lookout for a Pro Gear Sailor x Wancher Matcha, and just about any nib — it's just gorgeous, and I love it. Otherwise, I love soaking up the vibes of people who love what I love. There's nothing like it.

If you're a class type person, you definitely want to check out my friend Thien-Kim Lam's classes if there are still spots left. Do yourself a favor and pick one up — there are three options. Creative drawing for journaling, ink mixing, and creative reading journaling! The class experience is a really great one to try.

I know personally that she's a great teacher because I took her ink-mixing class two summers ago. She's also got the perfect combination of actual artistic talent that has a mood and a vibe, but it's not so technically perfect that you feel like you can't make art. Class is a great way to force yourself to sit down, pay attention, and use your pens. Really think about it! :)

Art in progress

Most of my art took place at the beach. I shared a house with 12 family members, and I probably finished a whole page every day. It was amazing to be inspired by my family members, look around, and see the beach — just experience it all.

The ink I enjoyed was Birmingham Pen Company Bell Jar, which is a deep purple I didn't appreciate until I put it in my Sailor 1911L with a medium-fine nib. I love that it looks black until you give it a second look, and then it looks like deep purple. The pens I took with me I loved most were these—Waterman Carene with Diamine Writer's Blood, Sailor Pirate's Life 1911L, and my new Decimo SE from Itoya.

Getting home to a normal schedule

Getting back from the beach, I wanted to hug my desk (and my new cats!). I continue to settle into my closet office.

I'm looking forward to a more regular routine in the fall. I'm working less, but I would love longer stretches of quiet and peace. Even though we've reached a wonderful point in our family life, with's just a bit less physical demands and a bit less screaming, fighting, and nearly dying. It will be really nice to have longer school days and hopefully happy children who are learning, maturing, and growing up.

It will give me more time for the hobby I finally picked up... transcriping The Hobbit into this gorgeous notebook my brother got me a couple years ago from Venice! I decided to go with De Atramentis Doc Black (so I wouldn't worry about fingerprint smears) and my Pilot e95S

Some pages from recent sketches

Here are some of the lovely pages I've worked on in the past few weeks. The flowed so easily, especially with the 1911L mf and —surprise—my very first pen the Lamy Safari!\

Farewell from Miss Kyle in the garden...

Love ya,

Sarah G.

P.S. if you like the emotional atmosphere here, invite a friend to join us. Here's to more time chilling and resting among friends.