Summer 2022 was the first year of Summer Lists. I hope it’s the first of many to come. As I mentioned in my post explaining what Summer Lists are and where I first saw them, I talked about how I look forward to seeing these change as I do.

This year’s list was oh-so-fun, the most fun I’ve allowed myself to have in quite some time. I also did not finish it, and that is an accomplishment for this recovering perfectionist. Even fun must be measured, achieved, completed. But not this time. This time, I went with the flow and allowed the lulling rhythm of the summer months to make the decisions.

I’m carrying it into fall, carrying it as long as I can. Because to slow down and savor, to live into a rhythm that is actually sustainable, feels like progress.

Highlights were:

Reading Where the Crawdads Sing. I’ve had my copy since Black Friday 2019, when I bought it on a rare shopping spree at the Amazon Books on the nice side of town. That bookstore is gone now, courtesy of locals that support our small, independent bookstores. I’m glad I got this hardback for $11, but even more glad to be from a place that stands up for its own.

Baking lemon blueberry bread, courtesy of Pinch of Yum.

Changing the name of my business to Love Plant Foods and expanding it to more than just a seasoning blend. I’m a full-on CPG entrepreneur! Who would have thought? Certainly not I.

Spending two weeks at grandma’s in Palm Coast, FL one month apart. She moved down there this summer after living on The Ranch since the early 90s. In her tumultuous, crazy life that can only be understood by knowing my grandma, this was the house she lived in the longest by far. It was a symbol of stability. When Big Danny left this world just before Thanksgiving 4 years ago, she struggled to let go of the place that meant so much to all of us. She took her time, and now it’s the new home of a kind couple from San Antonio with twin girls. They even agreed to keep the horse.

As Labor Day approached, I was ready to say goodbye to summer, as amazing as it was. With September comes Nashville at her finest, and I welcome the change with warmth. Wherever you are in the world, I hope you can say the same.