goddess mother

we had a blast with our friend (and tashi's goddess mother) mara! the days were packed. there were drives, walks, picnics, outdoor concerts, markets, a photography exhibit, a few films, some delicious meals and much conversation.








it was great fun sharing our world with a san francisco comrade!



mara also shared her world of raw and vegan eating, and i must say, sliced fresh vegetables with some avocado spread or zucchini hummus wrapped in a gluten free tortilla is a terrific way to start a day!



tashi and tristan had a lot of fun with our visiting poet.





the full on photo documentation of mara's visit is of course posted.

today is tristan's three month birthday. on monday i return to my part job, working from home and the office, tristan in tow all the while. tashi, who has been begging to babysit, is going to help out over the summer by coming with us to the office and entertaining tristan. he soooo loves his sister, especially when she sings to him her pretty songs. wish us luck!

days of summer

sorry for the long delay in blog updates. our days have been full. i should at least post a photo a day. . . a small poem. three lines. something.

below are some photos from last weekend. we went to fridays after five where we had a delicious picnic of vegetable biryani and samosas. we had to spread out our blanket on the concrete under the pavilion since the grassy hillside was saturated. i just can't believe how much rain we've been getting. the band was called forro in the dark and they were very, very fun. we're pretty sure tristan was digging it. our big girl tashi was in virginia beach at a friend's cottage.





and what is a weekend without the lovely farmer's market?







tonight mara is arriving! we have been anticipating her visit for some time now. we can't wait to show her what life in ol' virginie is like! hopefully there will be several drives, some picnics, and certainly some downtown jaunts.

happy solstice weekend to all!

rose petal jam, monsoon, and insomnia

i had every opportunity to be well rested today. but after waking at 4:30am to nurse the baby, i couldn't get back to sleep. what does a mom do? wash her hair of course! then tinker around the house a bit. try to go back to sleep. fail. waste time on facebook. eat some toast with delicious rose petal jam. drink chai. try to go back to sleep. fail. upload photos. make a blog entry.

well, hello.

it's been rather monsoon like around here lately: seriously humid with spells of torrential rain. i'm quite enjoying it, though it makes taking a walk outdoors very challenging. it's either oppressively hot or there is thunder rumbling down the road.





the big fun around here: tristan's smiles. it's hard to capture a photo that is not blurry, because he is always moving while he's smiling and i hate to zap him with the flash.





last weekend we visited humpback rocks for their sunday bluegrass series. humpback rocks is an old homestead in the blue ridge with a view of a granite outcropping in the mountain. it was good fun.









this weekend tashi gets to go to virginia beach with a friend (i already miss her), while the three of us remain landlocked at home. we will probably take advantage of some local weekend events: the festival of the photograph, fridays after five, the farmer's market and perhaps another drive in the blue ridge. along with all the little chores around the house, of course. if you have many chores to accomplish over the weekend, don't forget to take a breather and have some fun in between!

to be handed glam on a spoon

the very gifted tina witherspoon, creatress of the glam.spoon fashion line, had the mother of all giveaways recently and i was a runner up! as runner up, is still received a halter dress, and in a color that i adore. i feel very lucky indeed. please check out ms. witherspoon's etsy shop as well.

this morning my talented daughter put her eye to the camera for a fashion shoot.





i accessorized the dress with an amber necklace from dan, some amber drop earrings from my mother, and a bracelet from my godmother.



the shoes i've had for ages. i wore them to the barbecue the evening before our wedding, and maybe a half dozen times since.



i'm also sporting the lovely vietnamese hair stick my friend mara ann gifted me with.

pretty nice for a girl who lately has been walking around with leaky breasts and spit up stains! thanks for reminding me of what it's like to feel glamerous, tina!

hello june

witness some of tristan's first little smiles in the above video! he shares more of them with us each day. yesterday he was even smiling at some of the photographs we have hanging on the walls. he seems to have passed a threshold in cognition. now if only he would stop being so alert between 8pm and 1am (or 2am, as it was last night).

life is spinning into summer. tomorrow is tashi's last day of school. it's hard to believe our first baby is a rising sixth grader. here she is as the golden nymph in her class production of king midas and the golden touch.



nanna and grandpa haig came to visit recently and fun was had by all. they got to see tashi's class play and attend her little league picinic. we ate some great food at monsoon and beer run. they got to see surfzilla play an acoustic set at beer run. there were several games of parcheesi, the construction of a small teddy bear, and a viewing of hidalgo. and of course, they got to meet their ninth grandchild.



here are some shots from beer run:

family

pasta

surfzilla


thanks for all the nice comments on my whiny post about going back to work. i know that really i have the best of situations at hand, and part-time is a great way to go. there once was a time when, working full time, i dreamt of having a great part time job that wasn't in retail. and now i have it. so really i have a lot to celebrate. i just have to jump the first few hurdles and hopefully land on a smooth path, baby securely in my arms, daughter by my side and husband relieved of some pressure.

it will be an interesting summer for us all.


tashi's class made the origami cranes on the day of tristan's birth and then fashioned them into a mobile.