vale of evening fog

autumn update

walks are always rewarding.

especially as the sun begins to set.

homemade monday

i am slowly beginning things. this is my first soft block.

the perfect squares did not remain so once stitched. but it's my first and i hope that the next is better. i can't wait to make more!

thing thursday

an autumn walk is the thing. today tristan and i stepped out into the wind and onto the turf. flowers, leaves, fungi and fabulous mountain views were the thing. i don't think the baby has ever had quite the sensation of wind hitting his face that he did today. it was exciting, but a little too much after a while. so we scooted back home for an afternoon nap. it's been a day of normal naps and an early bedtime for the baby. sleep is the thing, and a very good thing at that. goodnight!

sunday round up

just a moment of catching my breath. . .

life has felt very hectic lately. events, guests, big changes in second half of baby's first year, workplace demands, beginning of the holiday season, late night conversations & music jams. the blog has been on the back burner, unfortunately. baby's nap times are generally committed to my job, which leaves late night and weekends for everything else.

i am trying to squeeze in time for art & craft, among loads of laundry, shuttling back and forth to commitments, sweeping the floors, cooking, cooking, and, oh, cooking. the leaves are up to our knees, and as usual, the spring garden is still a theory. all is mostly joyous, with a little bit of sharp edged stress thrown in, my creative impulses often slipping away like wet noodles.

but i also feel driven, and the creative impulses are strong, which i find exciting.

samhain, the ancient celtic new year, has not passed in a day. i am still processing endings, looking toward beginnings. a new year is dawning; it's time to evaluate what has come to pass.

* it is just over a year that i've lived in this house in the trees and the hills.
* this past year the baby inside me has become a person in the world.
* my baby daughter is a beautiful blossoming sixth grader.
* dan and i celebrated our 10 year wedding anniversary and our 15 year courtship anniversary.
* george bush is no longer president

it's been a monumental year, and as i look down the path of the new year, i see a wide trail and lots of possibility. this is a good feeling.

i would love to hear from anyone (anyone out there?) reading this blog: something that has come to pass this last year. and if you feel like it, another thing that may be dawning.

may your samhain -- and your autumn -- be warm, delicious and blessed.

color week: brown

browns & blues together are a favorite combination. there is so much brown right now in the dying season. my mother always wore a lot of brown in my childhood. as now so do i. baby clothes in browns are oh so pleasing. brown eyes. brown hair.

one could go on and on with brown. the dirt the leaves. so much that adorns our household. brown rice. wood floors. wood furniture. walking sticks. trunks of the beloved trees.

ceramic insulator. shells of what once. pieces of a stem.

brown earth.

* thanks tifanie, for bringing the week into focus *

color week: blue

life has been oh so busy, leaving me little time for blogland. this morning i found a moment to peek in on tifanie and discovered some * amazing * photos! she's declared color week, and while i missed white, yellow & purple, i thought i'd try to jump in on blue and brown. so here are some photos in blue from around the house today. looking at them now, i see there is plenty of brown as well!