a new path

yesterday morning i felt a little glum. we had spent our entire saturday tending to house rearrangements and hadn't really set foot outside but for the occasional shaking out of a rug or a dust rag. we accomplished a lot, but i woke up sunday feeling a bit depleted and uninspired. luckily dan saved the day by expressing a strong desire to take a hike. i did a little looking around online to see if there might be a new path out there for us to step on, and found one. it is in fact quite close to us, closer than the usual destinations. 

we arrived at patricia ann byrom forest preserve just a short while after tristan fell asleep in the car. so we hung around a bit under the pavilion by the parking lot, reading the postings.

and relaxed on the rocks, doodling

there were fantastic views of fox mountain across the way

and there was foliage in various stages to admire

eventually tristan woke up, but took some coaxing to get in the spirit of a hike. 

he liked sitting on this dragon egg.

he was the first to spot this massive hornet's nest. and while i was snapping a photo of it, warned me of a big black snake that slithered by and disappeared into the woods. 

he's got an eye for nature, that boy!

as does she

and we set out for a hike on a steepish path through a sweet 

forest in the blue ridge mountains

just when tristan had had about enough walking, we came upon a creek. 

nothing like a creek to kindle a kid's joyful spirit!

some horses passed by with their people

we snacked, chatted, relaxed, and explored the creek

tashi completed her "doodle"

and then it was time to head back

but the beauty never ends in the blue ridge. nor do the surprises.

and all that rearranging we did on saturday? it had something to do with this:

tashi has been wanting to move into the downstairs guest room/office/playroom for 

some time. so she is there! and tristan, after four and a half years in our room, 

now has his own room. he's pretty happy with it, and slept in it for the first time last night.

big changes around here! 

it's all still a bit of a work in progress, but coming along! 

photos of tashi's room once she is set up!

digging in

now that our high schooler is back in the grind, our days will find a new rhythm. i will miss having tashi around, and i am not ready for the languid days of summer to end, yet it will be good to bring a little order back to my time with tristan. playgroup will resume, we'll settle on a library story time, there will be craft projects, adventures with friends, and visits with yia yia once she's settled in. tristan will continue to attend preschool two days a week while i work.

looming before me is the holiday market and the fact that i have to start sewing like crazy to build my stock of blankets, bibs, and hopefully some new additions (i keep thinking mother/daughter aprons would be fun). i would like to avoid a repeat of the many late nights i spent sewing last autumn, but i fear it is inevitable. of course this is all dependent on finding one of four sewing machines in the house that actually works well!

the house purge that i embarked on this summer is not yet complete, though tashi has moved into the downstairs room, and her old bedroom is now tristan's room (not that he sleeps in there just yet). i am going to have to be really disciplined to accomplish what i hope to this autumn, and that includes some regular exercise. discipline, it's a life struggle of mine!

today i was looking forward to meeting a friend at mint springs and having a nice swim, but alas, we arrived and discovered that the lakes are now open weekends only. grumble grumble grumble! we considered going to a pool and then the thunder began, so we headed over to my friend's lovely abode and relaxed among the flowers, the harvest, the humidity, the breeze, the butterflies, the children, the snacks, the albemarle vistas, and the storm threat that never transpired. 

i have to say, her home is one of my favorite places in the county! and tristan's! 

how are your days changing as autumn approaches? 

what are your goals as we move into the busy season?

sophomore

first day of school, second year of high school. what adventures will this year bring? 

wishing our sweet girl a smooth sophomore journey!

the season of subtle changes

summer is winding down. and what an odd summer it's been. so much rain. such cool days. not such a bad summer for the air conditioning to be broken in my car!

tashi returns to school tomorrow. it feels too soon. i'm hoping we can squeeze in one more camping trip in the next weekend or two. 

and then, come mid september, yia yia will be moving here! it will be much easier for her to give tristan bread baking lessons, and tashi greek lessons, and to measure us for all the amazing sweaters she knits, when she lives in the same county, rather than a third of the way across the country. and so a new horizon unfolds in front of her, and us! 

  

wishing you a bright and beautiful season of endings, and new beginnings.