The DNS shape is the first thing I would fix before trying to re-trigger issuance. I checked the public records today and found:

NS    ns1.turbify.com / ns2.turbify.com
apex  A 185.199.108.153 only
www   CNAME davidalwayslearning.github.io
CAA   none

So CAA is not blocking Let's Encrypt, and the www target is correct. The two weak points are the single apex A record and the wildcard CNAME. GitHub recommends all four Pages A records for an apex domain, and explicitly warns against wildcard DNS records because they can expose unused subdomains to takeover risk.

I would use this deterministic layout:

www  CNAME  davidalwayslearning.github.io
@    A      185.199.108.153
@    A      185.199.109.153
@    A      185.199.110.153
@    A      185.199.111.153

Remove * -> davidalwayslearning.github.io. If Turbify truly cannot store four A records at the apex and offers no ALIAS/ANAME flattening, move authoritative DNS to Route 53, Cloudflare, or another provider that can represent GitHub's supported apex configuration. Keeping only one of GitHub's four addresses is not the documented configuration.

After public DNS reflects the new records, remove and re-add www.smittenwiththemuses.com in the repository's Pages settings to restart certificate provisioning. Do not enable HTTPS until the certificate is issued.

GitHub's DNS and certificate guidance:

• https://docs.github.com/en/pages/configuring-a-custom-domain-for-your-github-pages-site/managing-a-custom-domain-for-your-github-pages-site
• https://docs.github.com/en/pages/getting-started-with-github-pages/securing-your-github-pages-site-with-https

I'd first check the DNS configuration rather than assume the certificate is stuck on GitHub's side.

GitHub recommends using all four apex A records, but if Turbify only supports one, I'd try a www-only setup:

www CNAME → DavidAlwaysLearning.github.io
Remove the wildcard * CNAME.
Set www.smittenwiththemuses.com as the custom domain in Pages.
Remove the apex domain from Pages until HTTPS is working.

GitHub recommends avoiding wildcard DNS records, and the www subdomain is generally more stable than an apex domain. If you want the apex domain to redirect to www, check whether Turbify supports domain forwarding or ALIAS/ANAME records.

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