Winter has Come

I was reminded this evening that I have a blog. 

And then I noticed it's been nearly two months since my last entry. 

So a few words, and few scenes from home.

We gave Tristan and Tashi bows and arrows over the holidays, and then Dan surprised me with my very own. So we have some serious archery practice going on around here. Well, sort of serious.

Being a product photographer is fun (especially when the product is fun), and it is also very helpful in that it forces me to tidy the house sometimes. Tristan's room had major rehab one day before I took some shots of unicorns. 

And our room is always far more romantic when the bed is made and there is heart buck on the wall.

Skye dog continues to be awesome.

And particularly awesome in the snow, which we got a lot of last week. She seems to have some arctic blood. She chooses to leap through the snow banks like a fox, rather than walk on the road. And the cold damp doesn't stop her from tunneling her snout through the depths seeking unsavory treats.

The kids made a sledding slope out of our deck stairs.

There is nothing like a good snow dump to make you slow down, play, sit by the fire, appreciate the light, savor the silence, and accomplish some overdue indoor tasks. 

There was the first storm, which shut schools down for a couple of days and caused delays all week. And there was the second storm, where a couple of expected inches turned into several hours of unexpected accumulation. 

Alas, we truly have had a winter experience and spring is now most welcome to arrive!

And finally, we watched the Oscars, which was a good excuse for making these Cheddar Stars.

Yes, these are some scenes from deepest winter in our home. 

Here is a dreamy song called Winter is Coming by Australian singer, Matt Corby, non-official snowy video found on YouTube.

2015 is a bridge

i had the best intentions for regular posts in december.

yet a few sleep cycles after my last early december entry i found myself at solstice.



what happened in those weeks?



dan, tashi, tristan and i each fell ill at least twice. there were choir assemblies and orchestra concerts and craft shows. a winter bazaar unwound. work was engaging and intense with the final push into the buying season. and there was my own buying season. checklists. holiday parties. a few missed engagements.







then in the post christmas daze; languid and luxurious down time at home. we played, napped, ate, walked the dog, allowed ourselves to  let go of duty or necessity outside of the immediate. a relaxed suspension.

and now the suspension has snapped, leaving us falling headlong into the maw of 2015!

in our usual fashion, the yule tree remains up to remind us that the wonder of life in the coldest season continues to be a wonder even after the commercialism dies down. the growing light is just beginning to grow, and we continue to nurture and savor it. winter is here, the baking has begun, the hearth fire blazes, and there are long spells ahead of indoor family time while the cold licks at our windows.

2014 was an amazing year of creative and professional growth, a year of feeling challenged and alive and mostly healthy. it's been a magical year of attention and intention. it's been a year of music, the senses, and small journeys. it has not been without its darkest moments, but i'd have to say the light continues to win.



what are some of the highlights of 2014?

in 2014 i wrote. early in the year when cleaning out my desk i came across an older poem that inspired me to continue. while the commitment and opportunity ebbed and flowed, i became much more regular in scheduling writing time. as a result i have a body of work that continues to call me.



in 2014 i became a product photographer. i do hesitate to call myself a photographer, as the learning curve continues to arch over me, sometimes daunting, sometimes taunting. but it's been an amazing experience of growth and fulfillment, combining the technical with the creative, and doing something i never dreamed i'd do. or perhaps i did dream it, but never thought i'd get there, get to the place where art and career merge.

in 2014 my doula work brought many amazing births, each one teaching me something new about endurance and sacrifice and pain and surrender and surprise and acceptance and infinite love. i feel honored and fortunate to have worked with such sweet individuals who invited me to share in their biggest miracle. i can't begin to encapsulate in a few sentences the feeling in that space, where a mom does what she can to tolerate the waves of pain that deliver new life, where i do all that i can to help her feel supported and heard and comforted. how did i find my way to this astonishing path?

in 2014 my husband turned 50 and foxy. need i say more?



in 2014 one child began their journey into grade school, while the other began to investigate colleges. it is unbearable and unbelievable.

in 2014 my daughter self published a book of great wisdom, vision, and emotional insight (and a very clever story to boot). can a mother burst from pride? she also started driving, went to africa, worked, and took tons of cool photos. she is one of the funnest people on earth to hang out with too. 

in 2014 we took some little roadtrips, visited the beach a few times, camped, went to new york city, and discovered asheville, nc. road trips are life blood, even short road trips have the power to renew.



in 2014 we adopted a border collie from the atlantic central region border collie rescue. she has brought us so much joy, exercise, and introspection. there is nothing like late night walks in the cold clear night under an infinity of stars. and with skye, power walks are the only option.





there are many other things. small things, and large, like learning how to work a hula hoop up around my neck and back down. winning tickets to all sorts of concerts, including the festy. deepening friendships. the awe and fear of being mother to a boy. the pleasure of having my own mother nearby and the challenge of her health. these are lessons and experiences that 2014 offered up.



what are my resolutions, so to speak, for 2015? well here are some. . .

* learning all that i can about photography!
* keeping my creative vision fresh and alive
* health! continuing to exercise in ways that strengthen my core and bring out the youth that remains!
* boundaries
* openings
* having more confidence
* balance between work, family, internet, intellect!



And so I close with the last of the secret reading series for now. Maybe someday my manuscript will be published and you can read the poems in between this most recent piece, written just a few days ago, and the previous, written last spring.

secret reading series 8 from Zoe Krylova on Vimeo.

Nightshift 32

sea sunk

into the sequoia 

circus fish and dancing tentacles

anchored

advanced cheese with musk uncorked

tarka added to lentils

fried onion 
fruity compote

thin black lines

folded in knots 

wrapped in a glyph

under drop cloth

moth alights from palm

trail of effort in windswept parchment

breath bottled in summer shell exhales

sentence left to fry tumbles

unsettling the damp

taste this rare sliced organ

blush still the remaining life

sweet red cara cara orange

in a season we call ripe

he will study honeycomb 

extracting shadow halls and glinting stone

there is a bullet ridden cottage in an old box camera 

on a sea bluff once called home

through pipelines of couch upholstery and hell red coal

through stiff sad memory in bones

sluicing the salt water slip

lowering the buckets 

~ Zoe Krylova, January, 2015

around the house and into the holidays

things have been beyond busy around here. when there are small late night breaks i find myself a bit comatose in front of a movie, book, or the internets. it seems we have all managed to lift away the seasonal blanket of malaise after a series of coughs, fevers, heavy heads, and sore throats. and so we turn toward the holidays and think about food, gifts, crafts, and road trips. mostly i can't believe how quickly the days are passing!

autumn days around the house are cozy

there was indeed a halloween with my teenage viking and shy pirate

aunt sue visited

yia yia showed us a great trail behind her housing community

i saw abby epstein, co-producer of the business of being born speak at 

the birth matters virginia award celebration. she was fantastic. 

and it was a beautiful day at the lewis ginter botanical gardens.

i've been slowly making things for the holiday market. i am overwhelmed by 

ideas and inspiration but seem to just keep making the things i know how to make best.

i've also been working a busy couple of days weekly, helping with order processing and social media content at a local crafty business called cardboard safari. "like" their facebook page for fun posts and new product updates by me! here is tristan's billy the bison:

the trophy heads are packaged kits that you slot together. dan has a bull and tashi, a rhino. there are a number of creatures to behold - including a unicorn - as well as wreaths, trees, and even an end table. it's a been a fun (and busy) place to spend some time and works out well with my doula schedule. 

as i write this post, tristan is pulling down the winter solstice books from the seasonal book shelf. as we enter the time of darkness we make sure to embrace all sources of light. may a steady flame warm your days this season!