homemade feature of the week: more yia yia knits

there is always yia yia to save the day when i've got no homemade goodness of my own to show off. she recently sent us a box of hats. the stripey baby hat makes me drool as much as tristan.





and the hat that tashi is sporting, adorable. we think it looks like an acorn cap.





and another sporty hat, on my girl who just loves to tease me.



and the sweater too, so lovely.



thanks yia yia, for keeping our days warm and stylish.

gather round the fallen yule tree

this was the scene in our living room this morning.



our tree was not yet fully decorated, though we had hung up the majority of our fragile ornaments. they were mostly in the front of the tree. we were expecting to find the worst of the wreckage under the tree, but were pleasantly surprised to discover that much had survived.

we suspect the cats, but don't have much evidence.



once we swept up a few piles and righted the tree, things didn't seem all that bad. we vacuumed and mopped, but are still finding little shards of glass in the far corners of our living room.

these were some ornaments a friend gave me as a wedding gift. the bride survived, but the groom is toast.



it is possible the tree was leaning forward a bit, and simply toppled. what surprises me the most, is that we didn't hear it!

so tonight we tucked the lights back in, and started from scratch. it was ok.

and tristan played the guitar a little too.

gather round the yule tree

i really can't believe that christmas is less than two weeks away, and solstice, just around the bend. i'm not sure what happened to the time between now. . . and september. suffice it to say, i'm really not prepared. i wanted to make by hand a lot of gifts, but as it stands, i'll be lucky to complete one project.



we did manage to cut down our tree this past weekend at the same farm we visited last year. there were many perfect but tiny fir trees, and it seemed that all the other trees were short and fat and lopsided. but we managed to find the only one (i'm certain) that was tallish, and fat and fairly symmetrical. this year we have a white pine.







it is a beautiful presence now in our living room, sparkly with lights. we are slowly getting the ornaments up, savoring the delights. tristan is equally fascinated and irritated by the tree. he looks at it and is consumed with temptation to pull each sparkling thing off to be tested against his gums.



yesterday as i was hanging lights on the tree i overheard tashi explaining christmas to tristan. at one point she looked up at me and mentioned how fun it was to share this with him. my heart exploded. it really is amazing that this christmas we are a family of four, that tashi has a sibling to share the rituals with.



i hope that amongst the frenzy and anticipation you find a few calm moments to focus on the light that this season celebrates.

work wednesday (the day after)

::before::



dark winter mornings. . .

::during::


does bringing my baby to work mean he'll become addicted to coffee?

::after::

a window, on the way out. . .

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

peace is

orange chocolate chip cookies

a white weekend

we were blessed with snow on saturday. it fell on the waldorf school holiday bazaar, making it all the more festive, though i'm not sure how it might have affected the turn out.

here is tashi playing song of the kelpie at the bazaar. she taught herself this song by ear. notice, no sheet music. also, if you look closely, you can see some of the fat flakes falling outside the windows.



yesterday was take two on our attempt to make it to the green valley book fair (last week we had the flat). we made it! books, books and more books. and some great snow views as we climbed up and over the blue ridge.











today it has all melted, at least in our neighborhood it has. but it was a nice reminder that december is here. are you aware that we are well into december? i'm still getting used to the idea. . .

thing thursday (a little late)

some finds from my last greenwood country store visit.

vintage "butterprint" pyrex, lovely for coffee cake.



and more. . .



also, this little table runner, i couldn't resist:



there are a couple of other things, but they are holiday secrets.

finally, the thing for thursday, this little boy, sitting solid, and enjoying pots & pans time on the kitchen floor while his mom made said coffee cake:







we also got to take a walk with aurora, and her mama, blossom. aurora gave loki some love.



and then she did a little shopping. . .



yes, some very nice things for a thursday.

work wednesday

::before::


dropping tashi off at school

::during::


a phat burrito for lunch

::after::

in the pick up line at tashi's school, watching the rain fall

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.

homemade monday

even though it's past midnight, monday continues. i can't at this time show the homemade i've been working on, so i will share more of my mother's work.



the cardigan i am wearing was knit by my mom. she gave it to me when i was too pregnant to fit into it, so it's new to me this year. it is beautifully made, and has lovely tight cables, though i'm not really doing it justice in this photo. the hat on tristan's head is mine, also made by my mother. dan thought it looked cute as a floppy beret on tristan, but i don't think the baby loved it every time it slid over his eyes. never-the-less, another great hat, 100% mom made.

oh and the photo. it was taken at the greenwood country store. i asked dan to take it, because, i don't know, it's not everyday you nurse while sharing a seat with an old sink.

sunday round up

can we rewind to wednesday and begin this vacation all over again? i'm not ready to return to reality, at least not a reality beyond board games, baby toys, wood burning stoves and afternoon naps.



it's been a fine stretch of days, eating, eating, relaxing, eating, going on some drives, eating, checking out some live music, and eating. oh, and holding these sweet little dimpled hands.



the only black friday shopping i did was online. saturday i briefly visited the downtown artisan market, and later took a pleasant drive to the greenwood country store, a favorite haven of antiques, kitsch and useful items.





this morning we were en route to the green valley bookfair for our annual visit when we had a blow out on the highway. the car suddenly swerved this way and that several times, and i managed to pull off, thinking i had hit some unusual cross winds. i pulled back onto the highway and felt like i was driving on jello, so pulled off again immediately.

we had a flat.

we had no spare tire, because i had a flat not more than a couple weeks ago, and we hadn't yet replaced that spare. so the tow truck was called and tashi and i scrambled up the steep highway embankment to retreat with the baby to a quiet country road. we ended up in an idyllic setting of cow pastures, hay bales and horses, the sun streaming through groves of trees, as we waited for uncle tom to come rescue us while dan dealt with the car.

it was an unusual ending to our holiday, to say the least.

i feel extremely lucky that we didn't get into an accident, as there was an abundance of fast moving holiday traffic on the highway. i have to admit that sitting in the pasture was incredibly relaxing, nothing but my kids, myself, mother nature and a container of scones to keep us occupied. it was an absolutely stunning day and i felt the beautiful countryside cradled us in safety. i'm sure my attitude would have been completely different if it hadn't been a sunny day of high 60's.

i didn't have the camera with me to capture our magical spell of being stranded. but here is a shot of tashi with some large fungus growing on a dead tree in our yard.



for beauty erupts in the most unusual places.

grateful friday

now that the feasting and indulgence has passed (well, not really, as we have left overs galore!), i find myself thinking about what i am grateful for.

there are so many people and things, that this could turn into a very long post if i mentioned them all. for now, i will mention the people i see each and every day. my life would be nothing without them.

i am grateful for the miracle of our baby boy, who joined us in march after several years of trying and dreaming and crying and hoping for another child. i am so very grateful he is here, and for the joy he brings us every single day with his smile, his laughter, his developing language, his delicious cheeks, his intelligent eyes and his very gentle touch.

and i am certainly equally grateful for our amazing daughter, who has taught me so many things about being a parent, a human and a friend! looking at tristan, i am constantly reminded of tashi's baby days, the magic of being a new mom to such a delightful girl. she has graced our lives with laughter, song, a unique vision, boundless creativity, kindness, sensitivity and heaps of love. my heart is so full with her, that it is hard to believe there could be room for anyone else. but indeed, hearts are flexible this way!

these children wouldn't be who they are without my husband, dan, who every day graces my life with his kindness, his intelligence, his hard work, his patience, his support, his beauty and his loving heart. i never, ever thought i would be so lucky. words are not enough to express. . . thank you dan, for being who you are.

and there are our two cats, who are a perfect example of unconditional love. they make us laugh, and sometimes they make us growl. but they are a presence i can't imagine our lives without.

i am of course grateful for my parents, my friends, my in-laws, and for many friends near and far. i am grateful for this lovely home, for the farm animals and the wild animals, for books, computers, birds, good food & good music! yes, the list could go on and on, but it wouldn't be thanksgiving without at least this mentioning of how grateful i am for this very life that i live.

and now, a few photos from our day of feasting: