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