a field trip to our nation's capitol

in retrospect, november has been a remarkable month.

one of the gifts the month brought was a trip to washington dc with tashi's 7th grade class.

not only was it great fun to be in the u.s. capitol with these kids, the art that we concentrated on at the national gallery spoke deeply.




it was amazing to watch the classmates move through the day, lunching on the lawn, moving through the fancy halls of the amazing museum, seeing the work of hugely famous artists, sketching, climbing capitol hill as the sun at day's end began to play on the dome, rollicking (a bit too wildly) in the elizabethan garden of the folger shakespeare library and then peeking in at the theater.

we returned to union station under a glorious sunset and ate dinner in a busy food court where the children wanted to scatter to the four winds and try on hats.

these seventh graders on the brink of maturity are each a well of great beauty and significance. it was such an honor seeing them through the day and sharing in their awe.

yia yia strikes again

the reason i don't knit? because yia yia does it all. here is a fine selection of autumn infusions knit by my mom.

classy classroom

while i'm on the subject of the waldorf school, i thought i'd add some images from tashi's 7th grade classroom.











and just outside the door



to learn more about the charlottesville waldorf school, please go here.

a green school in golden autumn

in early november there was a great grand opening celebration of a new environmentally progressive building on the charlottesville waldorf school campus. the long awaited library, music room and performance pavilion was finally open to our children, their teachers and the community at large. this was a huge celebration for all of us in the waldorf school community, as we have not had a gathering or performance space of our own since we moved to the new campus in town. there were lovely performances, delicious treats and a wonderful gathering of adults and children in the new space. it was a gorgeous autumn day, as well.






















thanks to the magnificent architect, ted jones.



and to all the people who have worked so hard to make this dream real.

to learn more about this project, please visit here.

apple saturday

the cold days are settling in. i've finally pulled the winter clothes out of storage, and put most of the summer clothes in their bins. yia yia has been supplying us with an ongoing collection of sweaters. i'll post some pics of those soon. in the photos below, tristan is sporting a hat, vest and cardigan that she knit.this weekend we checked out the vintage apple festival at albemarle ciderworks. it was a beautiful day to be outside, listening to music, tasting apples and eating fresh warm organic donuts.

there was also a fun hay/tractor ride that went up a bumpy, steep, winding road into the hills. tristan was really digging the big tractor wheels while tashi was digging her caramel apple covered with chocolate chips.

our driver was a very capable tractor man.
beautiful leaves, stunning sky.

we returned home tired, refreshed and with a big bag of apples.

i continued work on another blanket. i've been on a bit of hiatus, but the holiday market is just around the corner.

here's hoping that your finding warmth, inside and out.