hello to lucky 13

our new years eve was quiet. we had some dear friends over for a fantastic spread of greek afelia, winter squash risotto, and black eyed pea salad, all recipes from cookbooks by tessa kiros. our meal was followed by some bubbly, some gifts, and dessert, and then our friends moved on to their next stop. 

 

we brought the midnight hour in lazily, by the fire, watching new years eve tv, munching on biscotti, lined up on the couch with our laptops. my brother danny is visiting from new york city, thus making enough people for a rollicking game of quao.

the next day we slowly woke up and prepared for another celebration with families from our playgroup, and a few other friends with small children. our house was buzzing with the play of children aged almost-four to four weeks! and the food! there was vegetable lasagne, gratin made from home grown potatoes, black eyed pea sausage stew, chili, homemade bread with goat cheese chutney, smoked salmon, guacamole, cake and cookies and stout beer and spiced cider. it was a hearty welcome to 2013.

wishing you all a fabulous 2013 full of positive things. keep smiling!

p.s. today is my daughter's 15th birthday. 

FIFTEEN! 

i can hardly believe it myself. tashi is the bright beacon that paved the way for us as a family. 

she amazes us with her brilliance, her creativity, her groundedness, and her humor. 

we love her beyond language! happy birthday tashi!

more on our celebrations next entry!

days of light

these might be the darkest days of winter, but we are generating great light! it's been a wonderful week of holiday vacation: games, naps, movies, feasts. and there is more to come! i hope you have had time to play and relax and appreciate all the gifts of the season. happy new year!

gratitude by the dozen

12 things i'm grateful for on 12.12.12
(written yesterday, posted today!) 

1. good health, for myself and my family

2. a beautiful home in a beautiful place

3. creativity

4. my husband. he puts up with my moods, my petty desire to watch things like mad men and parenthood, my insecurities, and my endless seeking for self. he is the best co-parent on earth. and he is good, through and through.



5. my children. they make me proud. they make me laugh. they bring deepest beauty to each and every day. somehow, among six miscarriages, i managed to birth two children. i feel seriously blessed.

6. humanitarians, environmentalists,  pacifists. i know that's three but they are the people who will save us from ourselves.

7. teachers, mentors, spiritual guides. i know that's three more, but they all help us to evolve.

8. plants, all of them. except maybe poison ivy.

9. birds & animals: our cats, the squirrels chasing each other up the tree as i type, deer who pass through daily, bears who surprise us once in a while, fox who screech in our woods, supersized woodpeckers, bright cardinals & jays, robins, wrens, sparrows, hawks, the eastern bluebird, and owls. all wild life. except maybe ticks.



10. babies. with every single one, new hope is born.

11. music. and the dance. or the stillness that comes with it.



12. food. real food. local food. organic food. free range food. ethnic food. food that i make. food that others make for me. food that my friends grow. food that i fantasize about growing. food that we share. food that brings us together and keeps us alive.

when you are giving this year, remember to give thanks. happy december!

signs of the winter solstice

what is happening in your home? is there a tree? some favorite ornaments? a menora? 

some stockings? an advent calendar? a fireplace loaded with wood and flame? 

slowly we are pulling out some festive additions to our rooms, and this weekend 

i anticipate a trip to the tree farm. 

however you may celebrate the season, may it be with peace and gratitude.

p.s. all the photos were taken with my phone camera and the retro cam app.

passive photo publication

i was recently contacted and asked if some of my photos could be included in a book about passive house development. not only is it a topic i find important, the photos themselves are of the charlottesville waldorf school, a place i hold dear to my heart. tashi graduated from cws in june.

and so there you have it, my first photo publication. well actually, i've had a few photos published in online resources and on websites, but this is the first time i've seen them in print, aside from photo books & cards i've made on my own. 

the book, by mary james, documents seven passive house projects across the country. these projects include a dormitory, an office, two multifamily developments, an assembly building, a cottage, a town house, and the waldorf school. it's a beautifully designed book with bright photos and loads of information about passive house design. there is also a foreword about the challenges of the window in a passive house. to learn more about passive house projects visit low carbon productions. 

since posting this i've been asked some questions about passive house design and have realized i know so little about it (i just received the book and have only read small parts). there is loads of info on the web, of course. do read up about it. it's an incredible movement in energy conservation.

what is a passive house?

passive house on wikipedia

passivhaus

i would like to find some family blogs by those living in passive houses. i will add links if and when i come across them. please do comment if you have any good links to share!

sew what?

i've been spending a lot of time here lately. even though my machine has been giving me some trouble lately (or maybe i have been giving it some trouble), i find my old singer touchtronic pretty charming. made in 1978, it is apparently singer's first computerized machine. i rarely use the fancy stitches, but for the most part, it has served me well. and. . .  it was free!

here is a slightly amusing commercial for the touchtronic:

soulemama blogged about her son needlepointing on burlap. i had a feeling tristan would enjoy being armed with a needle, so we gave it a try. we had no burlap in the house but for an old flag tashi made many years ago in school. she happily donated it the cause! and he happily sewed away!

later, we had yet another oaty delight: banana oat chocolate chip cookies. so yum, especially with warmed spiced apple cider from our new trader joe's!

happy thanksgiving week to you all!