Well, summer is in full swing and the last few months have flown by! It never ceases to amaze me how quickly the time goes once spring hits and summer gets rolling – it’s as if I blink and the busy season is over, even though there are times when it seems excruciatingly slow, like when you’re pouring concrete for the foundation of your homestead cabin, or when you’re writing, then re-writing, a chapter because it just doesn’t seem right. This summer has been so busy, such a whirlwind, yet all of what has been going on is wonderful and I wouldn’t have it any other way.
I’ve talked in the past about letting go of things that aren’t important and focusing on what is. That letting go, saying “no,” and learning to sift the noise from your life is terribly important. It is even more so in the busy seasons of our lives. Where I live, late spring and summer means building, planting, preparing, all for the winter ahead since winters can be very brutal here. Bitter cold is a big part of our winters, sometimes with a lot of snow, sometimes not so much snow, but always very cold, which means building, planting, repairing, and improving are all vital to being prepared. If we’re prepared, winter doesn’t seem so harsh and brutal. If not, winter is something to be reckoned with! I’m pleased with our homestead progress so far this summer. We’ve begun building a cabin, off-grid, and hope to complete it by winter. Fingers crossed! My tomato plants (remember I mentioned how EVERYONE should grow at least one tomato plant?) are holding their own and I hope to see some fruit of that labor in the coming month. I transplanted two rhubarb pods that originated at my childhood home here at our homestead and it is growing and flourishing after only two weeks. Some might think I’m crazy at the excited pleasure I feel from watching it grow and maybe that I was crazy for wanting to carry this rhubarb hundreds of miles to my new home, but it has sentimental value. My father planted that rhubarb at the home where I grew up and it brings me a quiet sense of peace to know that it is here now, growing and thriving. It’s like bringing some of my childhood to my new home – memories of growing up and memories of my father, gone now for nearly twenty years. It makes me smile and I picture him working around the homestead, thrilled with how life is so simple and sweet so far away from towns and people, chaos and drama. I think he would have loved it here.
Building the cabin, starting the garden, working hard to get everything done in the short time we have has kept me busy, along with the time spent with family that is so terribly precious. There is never enough time with family. Getting those beautiful moments of time spent laughing and sharing memories is THE MOST IMPORTANT part of my summer story this year and I’ve been very fortunate to have them. Combine all of these things with my writing and herbal studies and there is just not enough time in the day! I am NOT complaining, though! All of these are, to me, the most important things in my life and making all of them a priority at the times that they are presented has been exhilarating. I know what’s ahead – winter, with its challenges and new projects, such as learning how to knit socks. I’m already making plans for winter projects including new socks (hopefully they will turn out nicely!), creating new medicinal products (I’ve been encouraged by those close to me to start selling my healing bars and products both online and in farmers markets), and I’ve learned some basic crochet stitches that I’m dying to try. Combine those with finishing my current book and (hopefully) book three in the series, and the winter ahead is filled with excitement – so much to look forward to! Have you guessed that the more you say “no” to, the more you can say “yes” to in your life? And that freedom, borne of choosing how you spend your time and energy, is what gives life meaning and joy.
My good friend, Deaken Ehlers, introduced me to a new website called dictionaryofobscuresorrows.com recently and I found a word that fits with my daily goal of being completely present in my life instead of being so rushed that life passes by without being truly seen and experienced. The word is:
ambedo n. a kind of melancholic trance in which you become completely absorbed in vivid sensory details—raindrops skittering down a window, tall trees leaning in the wind, clouds of cream swirling in your coffee—briefly soaking in the experience of being alive, an act that is done purely for its own sake.
Such an amazing word that really helps remind us that life is meant to be experienced, even the little things. I’ve put the word into my weekly planner to remind me as I plan out my time and weeks of such a simple thing as actually seeing the world as I move through it.
I guess I’m a little long-winded today, perhaps because I have had to set aside my blogging for a few months while all of these other wonderful life experiences have been taking place. I’ll end this now with one last little bit of news: I’ll be launching my new book, Soul Carving, by the end of the year and I CANNOT WAIT! I’d love to share a free copy of it with anyone who might be interested in an ARC. I’ve been making slow progress and making decisions about marketing and doing a proper launch, which has been interesting but frustrating, also. So much to learn and SO MUCH information out there! Soul Carving is precious to me so even though I’m excited about setting it free for others to read, I’m also a little afraid, truth be told, but it is TIME. The second book in the series should be ready for launch not long after Soul Carving, and I have to say, it is such a huge thrill writing book two! I’m in love with this story and these characters and I just hope others will feel the same. I’ll have a definitive date of launch for Soul Carving soon, and if anyone is interested in an ARC, please feel free to reach out to me through my website and I will get you set up! Also, if you know of anyone who might enjoy my newsletter, please feel free to share it and point them to my website. I’d love to include them.
Alright – time to get to work. Laundry is waiting and my characters are beckoning! Thanks for your patience with my rambling and I hope that as you move through your day, you’ll have an opportunity to experience ambedo. Don’t let the beauty of the world around you, and your life, slip away unnoticed. Breathe and immerse yourself in it. Revel in it. Every day.