I am filled with a swirl of thoughts and feelings. Maybe you are, too.

These days. They’re hard. This year has been hard. It continues to be hard.

I was chatting with a customer yesterday. Acknowledging how challenging this year has been, I asked her how she is. She told me that she gets up each day with the intention of having a good day.

I could learn a thing or two from her.

I feel like I’ve been moving in slow motion. Painting is taking me longer than ever. And yet time is speeding past.

A recent watercolor painting of vining nasturtiums by Anne Butera

September is nearly over. Autumn is officially here. I can’t really keep up. And so I’ve let go of trying to.

Finding joy in my studio with string lights and flowers

Instead I’m trying to savor each day as best I can.

My garden, although messy and a bit worn and battered at the end of the season, fills me with joy each day. In some ways it looks more beautiful to me than ever.

The Japanese beetles are nearly all gone and I’ve gotten to enjoy a couple late roses.

The marigolds are looking magical.

Magical Marigolds, There’s Magic in Even the Most Ordinary Things

I planted so many varieties this year, each with its own charms. I think they’re underappreciated flowers. They look beautiful well into the fall each year, some of the last flowers to still be blooming.

Even the plants that have finished and are in their final decline are beautiful.

I’ve been thinking a lot about the beauty of endings. About the celebration of what was as well as what is. Because it’s autumn, yes, but also because my sweet cat Pepper is in his own final decline right now. I love the photo of my studio near the top of this post in part because he’s there, asleep in the chair. His body is failing and we’re making him as comfortable as we can for as long as we’re able. It hurts. But I’m also grateful he’s been a part of my life, spending so much time in my studio with me, bringing me laughter and joy.

For me this month was supposed to be about self-care, but I haven’t been very good at it. I’m not going to berate myself for it. Instead, I’m being gentle, letting myself try again. Acknowledging, again, that these days are hard and I’m doing the best I can.

These last few days I’ve been typing out messy joy lists on my typewriter. Not quite poems. Not quite lists. Just a string of words. Reminding myself to slow down. Few things are slower than typing on my vintage typewriter. And it’s fun. Are you making time for fun?

I’m letting myself reside in these slow-motion days. If time swoops past me faster than I’d like, so be it. I’m finding joy where I can. Looking for beauty. Creating beauty.

I’m realizing, again and again, how important beauty is. It’s not frivolous or insignificant. It brings me so much joy to know my art brightens people’s days. That it brings them joy. Just as creating it brings me joy.

One of my most recent projects is this year’s tea towel calendar design. It’s my fifth year creating a calendar (all my previous designs have been updated with this year’s dates).

My tea towel calendars are created to coordinate with my other fabric designs. This year’s coordinates with a few from the Garden Delights collection, and most directly with Monarchs in the Spring Garden.