the smaller moments 6

also, self portrait: tuesday

print by le papier studio

self portrait: tuesday

it was wonderful to take a walk with tristan today. it was mild & sunny, a welcome change to the freezing temperatures we have had around here recently. it was also very blustery!

self portrait: tuesday

self portrait: tuesday

my boy and i, running errands

self portrait: tuesday

i go into the office a couple days a week but i also work from home. some of the nice things about working from home include:

* i don't have to comb my hair in the morning
* i can work while coffeecake bakes in the oven
* i can work bra-less in my pj's before i've brushed my teeth
* i can drink home brewed coffee
* when i take a break i can lie down in bed with my sleeping baby
* i can burn incense and candles on my desk
* i can walk out onto the balcony for some fresh air and watch the deer graze
* the cats can sit on my lap, or on my desk, or sometimes on my hand
* there is no asbestos in the walls of our home

self portrait: tuesday

i love antique stores that are thick with old decrepit things. i prefer a dusty old shop where the paint is chipping off objects, the ceramics are craizing, the lace has yellowed and there are various shades of rust. one can find several such shops in our area, located in old houses, at the foot of the beautiful hills. virginia is full of the aged and the historic. i'm happy our personal histories, at least in part, are unfolding here.

self portrait: tuesday

do pictures i've taken of someone else's pictures of me count as self portraits? today they are going to have to!



it's been a rather unusual day, beginning with a camera man from channel 19 coming to my house to interview me about my blog, and culminating with two clips on the news. when i started keeping this blog five years ago, i never really thought anyone would take notice. and so i feel truly honored.



but if you've come here to read about "exotic travel," i'm afraid you won't find much more than stories about walks in my neighborhood! it's been almost two years since we last visited cyprus. and the only bits i've featured about my year in india (which took place almost a decade ago) are excerpts from my unpublished manuscript. but if you care to read about either experience, you will find links on my sidebar.

as for homemade monday, i'm not sure how much i'll be able to share as the holidays approach. but here is a little preview of something i'm working on now.



happy thanksgiving eve, ya'll.

self portrait: tuesday

i have a similar photo from the cupcake shop below. but i fancied this one up a bit on picnik. just a little something for today. . .

self portrait: tuesday

this is old photo was taken on the rivanna trail one day in late autumn. a foreshadowing of leafless trees & days still warm enough to wear short sleeves.

self portrait: tuesday

morning on the porch swing with tristan, sipping coffee.



and then choking on it as i scoot to take my place before the self timer snaps the photo.



we both survived.

self portrait: tuesday

it was almost 10am and i hadn't eaten a thing yet. there were two peaches beginning to round the bend toward inedibility. chai was calling. so what could be better for breakfast than a slice (or two) of ginger peach cake with my chai? tristan snuggled in the sling comfortably while i put it all together. he was asleep when it was time to slide the cake into the oven. when a warm slice was on a plate next to my full mug of chai, he was awake. i had to apologize several times to him as i consumed cake and he scrutinized it with extreme interest.

lately, when tristan is having a peaceful moment of snuggles, he sucks his thumb, and presses his opposite hand to the back of his head. such sweet tiny fleeting gestures of babyhood.

self portrait: tuesday

not that i think this a particularly good portrait. but i took it yesterday on a really nice labor day hike near white oak canyon, in the shenandoah national park. the earrings i am wearing were given to me by a college friend many years ago. i decided to wear them yesterday, and today, for the first time in at least 15 years, i heard from the friend who gave them to me!

it was a lovely hike, though, due to a late start, we didn't get as far as any of the waterfalls. but the trees spoke to us, and the big rocks mumbled. the flowers nodded at us, and the fungus babbled. and at the very end of our hike, a friendly doe approached us, and then followed us down the trail for a while. tashi snapped lots of photos with the small digital camera (yet to be uploaded) and tristan was blissed out the entire time. it was a great dose of chlorophyll for all.

here are some not self portraits from our day:

tristan's favorite position



and tashi's



checking out a leaf caught in a web



flora and fauna



the doe saw us off at the end of our hike

self portrait: tuesday

for lack of anything else, a picnik polaroid.

things that are new this week:

* tashi is a sixth grader. do you remember being a sixth grader? i do. i won't go into all the "new" things i tried as a sixth grader. suffice it to say my daughter is well adjusted and far wiser.

* i am 42. that is 31 years older than i was when in sixth grade.

* tristan has found his giggle. especially when i say, "kaboom!"

* suddenly, it is autumnal. sweaters in the morning. pj's with footies for the baby. leaves beginning to yellow. a certain crisp in the air that is unique only to autumn.

* dan gave me an external hard drive for my birthday. that means i can continue to download photos without being warned that i no longer have disk space. that means i can put music back on to my i-tunes. that means i can empty the contents of my flip camera onto my laptop. thank you awesome techno hubster.

* i have a new hair cut. i think it must be a foot shorter. i have layers for the first time since. . . i was a teenager.

happy new month to you!

self portrait: tuesday

tomorrow, i'm getting a haircut~







goodbye butt length braid!

self portrait: tuesday

this afternoon i used some dark belgian ale in a marinade and proceeded to finish off the beer in a goblet. the dress i've had for ages, a vintage find when i lived in san francisco. this photo was manipulated in picnik and i love how the tree is the focal point.

self portrait: tuesday

i decided to play along with the flickr group. perhaps you will as well?

i am having a quiet little creativity crisis here. lacking time & energy to transmute. lots of little projects in my head, jotted on lists, but always at the tail end of what is required in my day.

i hope to blog more frequently as a form of creative exercise. my entries might become shorter. i may post single photographs. word experiments. scraps. but if i post at least something daily, i will manage to briefly touch upon my planet. and right now, that is important.

perhaps some days will have their own theme. i am hoping to create more suitcase poems. suitcase saturday, perhaps. sunday may be a round up of the week's most excellent moments. and so on. there has to be room for spontaneity of course.

so i begin this process with self portrait tuesday. cheers!