fall fiber festival and montpelier sheep dog trials

i've been hearing about the fall fiber festival for years and we finally managed to 

make our way there this past weekend. 

what a paradise of wooly animals, knitting supplies, colorful yarns, and border collies! 

there was an informal picnic gathering of tristan's waldorf kindergarten, so we enjoyed some noms while watching the very entertaining herding dogs do what they love most. 

this is our border collie:

this is someone else's:

it was a beautiful autumn day full of family, friends, and fibers!

and tashi drove the whole 28 miles home from the festival. my heart stopped only twice. 

once out of nervousness and another time because my girl is so grown up!

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in a good way

it's been a busy time, but in a good way.

we started our weekend off with a visit to charlottesville's city market.




tristan has been shy the first few saturdays we stopped by the family drum circle, but this time he jumped right in.




we paid a brief visit to the midtown fair, a great street festival that will continue to grow in years to come. stores along the main street corridor are featured. there are a couple of stages featuring local music. and there are a variety of vendors selling crafts and food. i hope more crafters join in next year.






after our morning in town we motored out to the shenandoah valley where there was a party celebrating the betrothal of our friends molly and scott. it was a marvelous setting on a stunning day with a huge moon blessing us all, an auspicious affirmation for the happy couple.












we couldn't have asked for a more peaceful day on september 11, 2011. tashi and i had a date: indian buffet lunch followed by a really sweet production of the phantom tollbooth. and then in the late afternoon we took a walk in our lovely neighborhood, enjoying each other and nature's gifts.








yes, it is a busy time, but in a good way. busy celebrating. busy appreciating. busy planning. busy focusing. busy working. busy growing. and oh so busy hoping.

what are you busy with in this new season?

handmade monday: not by me

one of the biggest rewards of blogging is making virtual friends in the blogosphere. one of those friends is maria muscarella of dirt under my nails. maria gave birth to her adorable little boy a short while before i gave birth to mine. we shared with each other a little bit of handmade love to celebrate our offspring. pictured below, maria sent the super cool dragon hat to tristan. she also sent a lovely knitted hat to tashi, which we can't locate at the moment, but i will show it off as soon as we do.

oh my, there's a dragon on your head!


big boy fears not


examining the beast


hat doubles as teething cloth!


thanks maria, your gifts are lovely!

sunday round up

the camellias are blooming



our neighbor horse (nickname: sparky) was moved to the closest pasture along our road. we like this because it is almost as if we have a horse pet. the grass is so good in that pasture that he ignored me when i came by with a bag full of apple slices .



autumn. yes autumn. i love it. yet it is so bittersweet.



yesterday i went to a nice baby shower. great food, friendly people, and an awesome mama to be.



also yesterday, tristan had his first meal of solid food. he has recently attempted to intercept our food and drink before it reaches our mouths. that, combined with the looks of extreme longing and envy he gives us when we eat, convinced me it was time to give him some tastes. i mooshed up a wee bit of banana and mixed a little breastmilk in. i think he was pleased, what do you think?



today i am feeling a little blue. i'm not sure why. could it be the seasonal change? talks of escalating war in afghanistan? too much flu, too many ticks? sadness for those who have lost babies? fatigue? the weekend concluding too soon? miserable dreams? my own babies growing too fast?

i can't quite pin point it. thus, i will bake. when feeling sad, make a coffee cake i say. onward. . .

work wednesday

every wednesday after work i pick up tashi and her pal rachel from school. sometimes we go to the thrift store. or a cafe. or straight to rachel's house. but yesterday we went to the library. and then we had: cupcakes! i didn't manage to take any before or during pictures on work wednesday. but here is what we did after.