Margaret Arnold • December 21, 2024
Hush, No Rush: Slowing Our Pace

While listening to a podcast at the beginning of the this year's Advent and Christmas season, I heard the phrase “Hush, No Rush.”  The message arrived just in time to make the perfect goal of holiday simplicity. Despite entertaining, attending parties and running errands (mostly groceries), I found ways to embrace this mantra this holiday season.


Living in a small rural area naturally lends itself to a slower pace, with fewer retail and entertainment distractions. Still, I intentionally looked at our home and calendar for small changes but keeping the festive and fun spirit. 


... A merry and silverish christmas!

For the past three Christmas seasons, I’ve taken a more deliberate simplistic approach, and this year was no different. Here are ways I have found a “Hush, No Rush” mindset during this holiday season.


  • Reduce holiday décor and bring in natural greens – Frequently advocated by minimalist experts, this practice has become an annual goal. I have reduced my holiday décor to only a few boxes, and will evaluate them again in a few weeks when I put them away. While some of the artificial décor went out the door, I brought in more foraged greens from my woods.
  • Choose simple entertainment for gatherings – This year, I hosted a holiday/retirement get together with a small friend group. I asked my friends to bring a childhood Christmas photo of themselves (under the age of six). Following my own rule, I shared one picture. But my friends went through their historic photos or printed them and brought dozens of pictures. We spent the evening laughing and marveling at our younger selves and our families.
  • Walk whenever possible – A regular walker, I combined exercise with errands – visiting the library (so festive during the holidays!), the bank and dropping off holiday cheer for friends. Beyond exercise, there is no better way to find natural quiet and slow life’s pace.
  • Enjoy calming holiday music – Our public radio station has a beautiful holiday stream. And years ago, my sister introduced me to UK's Classic FM years ago, and this year to the popular classical music new channel  “Classic FM Calm” (thanks, sister number one!)  Between this and Minnesota Public Radio’s “Holiday” 24-hour streaming option, there is calm music around to slow the pace while enjoying the holidays.
  • Embrace a new tradition – A favorite holiday party to raise money for an outdoor arboretum introduced me to Swedish Log Candles. Every few years, we celebrate the holidays or the Winter Solstice by creating Swedish Log Candles. This year will be one of those years. Bringing us outside, the simple, self-contained fire creates a beautiful contrast on one of the longest nights of the year.


As I write this a few days before posting, our first winter snowstorm has arrived – nature’s way of slowing our pace. The holiday errands are complete, chores nearly finished, and family is arriving to celebrate Christmas on Winter Solstice weekend. A perfect ending to a “Hush, No Rush” season. Merry and Silverish Christmas!

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Past Blogs

Downsizing Without Losing Memories

By Margaret Arnold • August 23, 2025
With the State Fair and the new school year here, memories flood back — once captured on a paper calendar pinned to the bulletin board, then in spiral-bound weekly calendar (still my favorite, pencil only!), and later on desktop electronic calendar. When we decided to downsize while preserving memories, I organized nearly 35 years of family dates into a single Google Sheet called "Family Important and Fun Dates from Margaret’s Calendars." This simple digital chronicle of our family’s journey, from our children's milestones to the activities and adventures my husband and I now enjoy as empty nesters. tODAY, THERE IS JUST ONE GOOGLE SHEET ...

Saying Goodbye to Boxes, Keeping the Memories

By Margaret Arnold • July 26, 2025
Thirteen years, seven rental properties, and countless storage boxes later, my oldest daughter finally has a home of her own. Through college, medical school, and residency, we continued to store belongings that didn't fit or belong in the cramped spaces of her temporary living situations. Passing along her belongings felt like closing one chapter and opening another—most of all, it represented the end of her grueling training years and the beginning of truly settling down in a lovely home and neighborhood. Her move got me reflecting on my own relationship with storage and my journey toward "Silverish Simplicity." In our former family home, we had one large storage area and two guest bedroom closets filled with plastic totes and banker boxes (see picture below). I even stored empty totes—a sure indication I was planning to accumulate more rather than less. With our move nearly four years ago and the natural process of downsizing while launching our children into their first homes, the number of boxes and totes has dramatically decreased. More importantly, I have no reason to purchase new totes, and I celebrate each time I empty a box or bin and it moves on to family members who need them. ... THE NUMBER OF BOXES AND TOTES HAS DRAMATICALLY DECREASED ...
Flower container pot with a bag of tools

Next Needed Thing: Grandpa's Summer Visits

By Margaret Arnold • June 28, 2025
My spring and summer to-do lists fondly remind me of my father. When my husband and I started caring for our long-time family home and 30 acres, spring's excitement came with overwhelming feelings. Early there with four young children ages six months to five years, I found myself in tears facing all that needed to be done, including a large pasture that needed mowing. My dad — a master gardener and hobby farmer — saw my tears and what was needed and stepped in. This began a 15-year summer routine to help with pasture mowing. Our family fondly remembers those early summer mornings when Grandpa arrived in his little tan truck, sometimes before 7 a.m. We'd chat over coffee at my kitchen table (youngest daughter remembering him sitting in "my chair"), then off he'd go to mow his adopted pasture. He loved to mow and, like everything our energetic father did, approached it as if he were running out of time. Oldest son recalls: "I'd bring him lemonade, and he'd drink most of it quickly. Then, without stopping, he'd throw the almost empty cup back at me and keep mowing." Oldest daughter added: "He was so focused that when we delivered lemonade, I was scared he might run me over." ... SPRING'S EXCITEMENT CAME WITH AN OVERWHELMING FEELING ...