Clarity is what my sabbatical slow living simple summer gave to me. I was skeptical at first. My mind, body, and soul was craving it, but I had my reservations that it was the right thing to do. I had no idea that what I began in June would be so beneficial.
In June, when I decided to jump off the busy train and put my life into slow motion for the summer, I hadn't given any thought to what the end of my summer sabbatical would look like. Focusing on the present and enjoying the easy living days with no routines, or deadlines, or mandatory schedules was the only agenda. And here it is already gearing up for the last week of August.
Life continued on as expected. But just the other day, after coming home from the Atelier, and I literally felt all caught up. I felt that I should be doing something, that I was possibly forgetting to do something. But no! Peace filled me up from all the wonderful days I enjoyed over the summer.
The garden is still growing, and Zinnia and Straw flower seeds were just planted for the fall. Fall in my growing zone is like a second spring before the frost sets in. I'll be very curious to see how they grow. The Zinnia seedlings are about 2" tall, but barely any of life on the Straw Flowers.
Reading my 8" stack of books is what I enjoyed catching up with the most. I'm always reading about 4 - 5 books at a time, and I'm ok with the fact that none of them were completed. This time in my life I read mainly for inspiration and contemplation. Currently in the reading stack: Beauty, What It Is and Why it Matters, The Creative Act: A Way of Being, Theology of the Home IV, and The Poem of the Man-God; Volume 5. Reading a good novel is also something I like to do, especially when its historical fiction. Earlier this year, I began reading the Scandinavian Masterpiece, Kristin Lavransdatter, a medieval trilogy and I actually just finished the first book in the series.
Another thing I was able to do was clean out some space in the garage, where I finally found my favorite recipe booklets that were misplaced for over 10 years! Everyday Food, by Martha Stewart, was a monthly publication that I collected in the 2000's. Every recipe turns out great and they are so simple and easy to follow with easy to find ingredients. I cook fresh, clean, healthy dinners just about every night and after awhile, I was getting bored with cooking and started using new recipes that didn't always turn out that great. However finding these long lost recipes allowed me to really enjoy cooking creative dinners again. I love to stop by my local Whole Foods (I know😉 , but it works for me, and I still read all the ingredients to make sure it's healthy and organic), which is on my way home, to pick up a few missing ingredients that I may need. Shopping for just the ingredients I need, eliminates so much waste for my family. I used to go shopping once a week or twice a month and stock up on food and snacks. However, recently I switched to shopping just for what we need and it is more economical for us now, and alleviates buying a lot of unhealthy snacks and excess fruits and veggies that tend to spoil.
As far as my business goes, over the summer I worked on drafting a production pattern for my Bardot Shorts, and a few special orders were completed. Plans for the upcoming autumn and holiday seasons were also tentatively planned. Mainly, I just wrote things down so I would remember all the plans and ideas that I was thinking in my head. My goal was to fine tune what I was already doing and really pay attention to what my clients were looking for, what was working, what was making me happy, and how I can best serve all my customers with what I offer them at the Atelier and on-line.
I really wanted to get into dying fabric over the summer as I have the supplies ready to go. However that did not come into fruition. On the other hand, I did stain some fabric by using the hammered flowers technique. One of the things I made using this technique was a lovely white linen fabric square with dark red violet flower petals.
It feels really good going into the fall season. I am energized and focused and excited for a great end of the year. Summer sabbatical of 2024 was the best thing for my whole person. Gaining the quality of clarity as a result is an unexpected achievement and is a most surprising and excellent outcome.
