This past week has been the first in months that didn’t contain a huge number of extra “have-tos” on top of my normal activities that keep our lives functioning. I’ve allowed myself to slow down a little…but just a little, because there are sooo many things in progress that need to be moved along now that I only have one house to manage. We’ve lived here six months today (!), and 99 percent of the boxes are unpacked. Some of the remaining boxes are waiting on additional storage we need to add to the house (laundry room cabinets, for example). Not bad, but not finished, either.

Finishing can be hard

I’ve noticed that I have a hard time finishing larger or more complex projects, and unpacking is no different. Sometimes one small hurdle will derail me—it doesn’t have to be a major obstacle or unexpected event, just something that requires extra time or thought. Sometimes it’s decision fatigue. Where should the photo albums go? How about these puzzles? Where will I keep the extra pet food and toys? I’ll get one area of the house unpacked and organized, only to find piles from another part of the house stacking up there while I work on that other area!

So this week I devoted my spare time to finishing as much unpacking as I can. And I’ve discovered that there is definite joy in finishing. It feels so good to walk into my bedroom and no longer have any boxes stacked on the floor, and to be able to actually close the closet door in my office!

A work in progress

This week, not only have I (re)learned how good it feels to finish, I also (re)discovered that finishing often takes a lot less time than I think. Sorting the box of art supplies and putting them into the new storage containers I’d bought probably took less than an hour, for example.

It helped to break things down into small tasks, use a timer, and give myself permission to change activities when decision fatigue began to kick in. I also kept at it all week even when new and necessary projects appeared. I’ve rewarded myself with cold drinks and reading a book, but also with the vision of what it will feel like to be done. Completely unpacked and settled.  I’m not quite there, but getting close.

Closing the tabs in my brain

When too many things are in progress, I joke about having too many tabs open in my brain. I don’t feel internally peaceful when multiple things are undone or in progress. Eventually it’s more uncomfortable to leave things as they are than to actually finish. That’s what this week has been all about: finishing what can be finished.

If you’re not unpacking (lucky you), what projects do you have in the works? Are you making progress or are you stalled? Are you good at starting but not so good at finishing (raises hand)? What step could you take right now to move forward? 

Photo by Anna Demianenko on Unsplash

I know it’s not technically summer yet (it officially begins June 20), but it’s summer in Florida. (It’s almost always summer in Florida, but that’s another story.) I’m bracing myself for getting ready for summer by planning things to look forward to, simple pleasures and everyday adventures to make this season bearable, if not actually happy.

We do summer in Florida the way those who live in cold climates do winter: we spend a lot of time escaping and working around the weather.

We’re not here yet, but it’s only a matter of time:

CleanMemes.com

Summer fun for the weather-impaired

First on my list is: coordinate a California visit to see my aunt, my stepmom…and my mom’s grave.

Watch Mission: Impossible—The Final Reckoning in the theater with my husband. Looking for other movies to see in the theater as well. 

Take an in-person yoga class.

Stay at the beach for the weekend with my husband—we’ve been trying to do this for a couple of years, but I’m confident we’ll actually get there this summer. When you actually stay at the beach, you can get out early before it’s as hot as the surface of the sun, or watch the sunset at night, then go back into air-conditioned comfort.

Make key lime pie ice cream.

Do at least one jigsaw puzzle.

Try some new recipes because I’m sick of what I make for dinner. Though I wouldn’t normally class this as “fun,” I’m trying to find ways to make feeding ourselves more enjoyable.

Rewatch some of our favorite movies on the new TV we bought when we moved.

Celebrate my father-in-law’s 90^th birthday!

Check out our new neighborhood pool. Maybe with a cold drink and a book if they have umbrellas (I can’t remember if they do).

As always, I’ll be getting together with friends, eating summer fruit like crazy, and, of course, reading. Which brings me to…

What I’ll be reading

I finally finished the Agatha in Order project that I started back in August of 2023. I thoroughly enjoyed my leisurely trip through her work, rediscovering favorites, and acknowledging that a few simply didn’t appeal. Now that I’m done with that, I’ve decided it’s time to get a handle on my TBR shelf again. When we moved, I lost the space I used to store my bought-but-as-yet-unread books and let’s just say, my new TBR shelf location is overflowing. Despite the fact that I’ve slowed down new purchases considerably since this post, one of my 25 in 25 goals was to read or otherwise dispose of half of my TBR shelf. I bought these books because I wanted to read them; maybe it’s time to, you know, read them? 

But.                                                                                        

(There’s always a “but.”)

When I looked through my TBR books, I realized many of them are non-fiction, very long, or one of a series that I’m not ready to read yet. I still hope to make some progress.  

Here’s a tentative list of what I want to read this summer in no particular order (TBR shelf selections marked with *):

*Kristin Lavransdatter, Sigrid Unset. This is a chunky book I’ve wanted to read for a while, and I bought a copy so I wouldn’t have to worry about library due dates. I’m going to start it soon, and if I don’t like it, I’ll put it aside. If I do like it, it might take me all summer to read!

*Death and the Dutch Uncle, Patricia Moyes. A book series I enjoy that the library doesn’t have. I’ve collected most of my copies from Paperback Swap. 

Native Nations: A Millennium in North America, Kathleen DuVal. I have a growing interest in learning about the United States’ indigenous people, and this book won the 2025 Pulitzer Prize for history (tied with Edda L. Fields-Black’s COMBEE: Harriet Tubman, the Combahee River Raid, and Black Freedom During the Civil War). 

Run for the Hills, Kevin Wilson. It’s described as “a touching and generous romp of a novel,” which sounds perfect for summer reading. 

Ordinary Time: Lessons Learned While Staying Put, Annie B. Jones. I’m all for honoring the ordinary. 

Heartwood, Amity Gage. Suspense on the Appalachian Trail. This sounds so good! I’m number 69 on the hold list at the library, but hopefully it will come in before the summer ends.

*Daisy Miller and/or Washington Square, Henry James (both books are in the edition I have). According to Goodreads, “Each work weaves an intricate tale of marriage, money, and manners.” 

*Travels with My Aunt, Graham Greene. I’ve not read anything by Graham Greene, and this sounded interesting. 

*Small Victories, Anne Lamott. Lamott’s essays are always thought-provoking and often hilarious. I haven’t read this collection, and I found it in my library’s book store for $2. 

*Bruno, Chief of Police, Martin Walker. Because WHY NOT start a new mystery series?? This one is set in France, so oui, s’il vous plait.

I’m a fairly fast reader, but we’ll see how this goes.

And that’s it so far. I’m not feeling all that ambitious after moving and unpacking. I’d rather relax with a cold drink and a book than do anything. Maybe I need another Summer of Kathy?

What summer fun are you planning this year?

Wow, May sure went by in a flash! Here we are, on the doorstep of June. Of summer. Summer’s not my favorite, but this year I’m really going to make an effort to enjoy it as much as possible. While I’m making up my summer fun and summer reading lists, I hope you enjoy these links I’ve collected recently. 

What makes people flourish? The Global Flourishing Study is an interesting look at how respondents from 22 countries rank their well-being based on six dimensions of a flourishing life.  

I want to travel to Iceland, but after reading this article, maybe I want to move there? 

The book nerd in me enjoyed watching this short video on how to properly break in a new hardcover book so that it’s easier to read and the spine is protected. 

This will surprise no one who loves to read: “Why Reading Is a Form of Therapy.”

Psychologist Rick Hansen has developed a method of building resilience and improving emotional well-being. Read about it in “‘Taking in the good’: A simple way to offset your brain’s negativity bias.” 

Have you heard of “shine theory”? 

Watch this if you’re afraid you’re falling behind:

Happy Friday—and see you in June!

A quick update: the last couple weeks have been a flurry of activity—our previous house was under contract, then it wasn’t. And then it was again. And then it sold.

Since we put it on the market in February, I’ve been going there at least once a week to check on things, run the dishwasher, flush the toilets, pull vines and weeds (etc.) to keep it looking presentable for showings and open houses. Lately, I’ve been going more often because we had some minor repairs to do before the sale and we also wanted to dig up or take cuttings of a few of our favorite plants. This helped me continue to detach emotionally, but it was wearing me out.

Also, we had planned to hire someone to build a built-in cabinet/bookshelf at our new home, and it just so happened that this week he was available to do the project. The unit is gorgeous (see below), but it has been noisy and nuts at times, and difficult for me to concentrate.

Before:

After:

This whole week has been chaos, but we are done with two big things: the sale of our house and the construction of our built-in unit. Two steps forward toward our new life! 

We have a three-day weekend to unpack the final boxes and fill our beautiful shelves. 

So that's what I've been doing lately. What's new with you?