This week marks the midpoint in the year, and it coincides with the beginning of summer - a good time to see how my year of simplify is going along. When I selected it in January, I had no idea to major twists and turns the year would bring (and we’re only half way done), but it’s been running more or less in the background to everything. I’ve learned a lot about embracing appreciating the good, and letting the bad just fade away.

In January, I had no idea that we would be as close to a Covid vacine as it turns out we were - nor that by my birthday in May, I’d have had the chance to resume my more or less normal life. I have found much joy in returning to routines (summer stitching on the screenporch, pool parties on Wednesday at the neighbors, car rides along the coast) and really just taking joy in the little things.

Last summer, we had one bunny who lived amongst the homes in our neighborhood, and a sighting was relatively rare. I bet you already know where this is going, right - this year there are several, and sightings are more common (especially at breakfast time, when you see momma and babies feasting on my grass). They are quiet, and seeing them is pretty much just fun. I’d have hated to miss this - and I have already, in my mind, decided this is the summer of bunnies. This is my version of stop and smell the roses

Simplify has also taught me the lesson of the benefits of slow and steady progress on a BIG project. This is the Never ending embroidery project I’ve been seriously working on since February - after literally years of procrastination, I just did the work. As of 9:30 yesterday morning, I finished the embroidery, and I wanted to see the whole thing in one photo. It’s curently a hot mess, and I’m certainly not finished - but now I can finally see what I’ve been working towards. Another lesson from simplification…

This is another big change here - the power of unsubscribe. I know many of us complain about email and how hard it is to stay on top of. Here’s the bigger question - do I really need to stay on top of every single email blast announcing a sale? No, I don’t - and If all I am doing is to delete the email, is that the best use of my time? No, it’s not- but it has become the source of frustration, overwhelm, burnout, and just ick. So I’ve opted out of a lot of it, and I can very quickly determine what I need to keep as reference, and what I need to just trash. It’s a bit of a recenter for me, but the sign of a clean inbox (truthfully, I’m hovering about 100 that need to be filed) is something that makes me happy.

And while we’re on the subject of shopping

I think this might be the most surprising discovery I’ve made about me in writing this blog post - and I don’t know if it’s temporary or permanent. I shop very differently than I did before. Have I lost the joy of retail therapy? For a time last year, I was able to shop for groceries via a mouse click, and it was a necessary change - not something I sought out. Now that I have the ability to go into a store - I really am not that into it. More often than not, I ask “do I need this? - and when the answer is no, I walk away. It’s even happened in a quilt shop! I hope that this isn’t a permanent change, but it’s happened enought that I think that this is something that I am working through. We’ll revisit this topic again in the future.

I have to admit to being more or less ok with where I am this summer - and I am off to make some memories.

So now I want to know - how is your year going? Are you happy with where you are?

Hi, I’m Linda Pearl - quilter, teacher, designer and blogger, and I’m happy to have you here. I’d like to tell you a little bit more About Me…