a week in color {№14}

autumn is in full freaking swing in virginia loves.  i just had to sketchbook it.  (page one)

(page two)

apple and cheese would be on my if-i-could-only-eat-ten-things-for-the-rest-of-my-life list.

our midcentury california pottery collection is growing.  this girl is a bit worn, but she is gorgeous and a really good size for casseroles-for-two.  because there will be casseroles.  i'm declaring this the year of the casserole in the soul kitchen.

on a walk with luca early tuesday morning.

loving the little handwritten notes and quotes on these apple bags.

not quite boot weather.

working in warrenton, virginia this week.  i always snap a photo of the red truck at red truck bakery. not shown:  straight-out-of-the-oven apple handpies.

on the way to warrenton, i drove a bit of skyline drive through shenandoah national park.

as i continued north, i got closer to autumn.

roadside diner owned by a greek family.  the vegetarian moussaka is incredible.

peace flags in beautiful little sperryville, virginia.

this incredible morning sky.

taking another wonderful weekend workshop with cyndi lee.  we are so lucky to have her here!

as the farm market season slows down, the sweet farmers at sandyfoot farm never stop with the amazing organic produce.  this weekend, it was all about the immunity:  baby ginger and turmeric.

it's no wonder why october is my favorite month.

sunday grace

everything that slows us down and forces patience, everything that sets us back into
the slow circles of nature...is an instrument of grace.

-may sarton

truer words were never written.  while my life is not normally what one would consider fast-paced, i practice keeping things slow on a pretty regular basis.  patience is my work in this life.  for so many years, i thought that slowing down meant giving up and being lazy and i allowed life to force me to slow down (or smack me down in some cases) through stress, critical setbacks or losses and sometimes being unwell.

i try to be better than that.  and i continue to work on building a life that supports and nurtures time and space and expansiveness and mindfulness.  practicing within these realms allows me to demonstrate patience and grace under other circumstances that are not as pleasant.

some things that help me practice slowing down:

• yoga
• nature
• a safe home that reflects who we are

• paying attention to details of life and the nuances of the human condition
• making art (and making a mess a lot of the time)

• listening
• gardening

• cooking

• recognizing my shenpas
• a giant pink bucket of flowers

• practicing living in the current moment (hour, day, week, month, season, year, life) and not getting too wrapped up in what's to come (this one is tough for me)
• the farmers' market

• going to a real honest-to-goodness local bookshop that is not named barnes and noble and purchasing a real honest-to-goodness book (a book that i can touch and smell and whose paper can soak in a tear or two)
• spending time with all the lives and love and history and mistakes and victories woven into those pages

• allowing room for not always being right and being mindful of when i overgeneralize

this week, a friend from high school became one of the most powerful people in washington.  kevin mccarthy happens to represent the political party whose tactics i, ahem, pretty much despise.  but what i know about him is his kindness and his intelligence and incredible work ethic and that he is one of the most down-to-earth humans you can ever know.  from time to time i've worried about some of his alliances--he's one of the famed "young guns"--and that he mentored kevin spacey while spacey was preparing for his scary-ass machiavellian role in house of cards.  while i'm certain we disagree on many things, i trust that his authenticity and his kindness and his love of people that i witnessed on a regular basis so many years ago was genuine and true and remains to this day.

he offers me hope that my nation is not doomed to a slow death-by-divisiveness.  

that's a giant pink bucket of grace right there.

sunday grace

grace this week is all about the wonder and beauty of spring.  she arrives suddenly but softly with color and light just at the moment hope is beginning to wane and we start to believe that life is just plain harsh.

she allows us to see with new eyes.  to touch and feel our world.  to experience our own rebirth that mirrors the thousand tiny births taking place each second around us.

for me, reconnecting with a familiar life:  the first farm market of the season.  there were easter egg radishes and pea tendrils.  children laughed and played.  organic farmers smiled even while telling tales of their hardest winter ever.  the air smelled of kettle corn and pear blossoms.

grace, grace, grace.

mosaic monday: the farm market

my local farm market is reaching its final days as we move deeper into autumn.  i did so much better this year at getting to the market each week (with the exception of photo #5 here...i overslept that saturday).  more importantly, i made an effort to explore new plants to eat:  jerusalem artichokes, kohlrabi, baby ginger.  we are lucky to have a few small organic farms worked by beautiful people in our area.  just last week, i ate a sweet potato grown by holly at island creek farm and it was the BEST SWEET POTATO EVER.  i love my market and will miss it over winter.

this is summer

this summer week

i spent last week mainly on the road with my gypsy job:  spreading child protection practice to the far corners of the commonwealth of virginia.  this week was one of my favorite locations:  abingdon.  i love my job, but i was not overly excited about traveling the deathtrap that is interstate 81 during peak family vacation time AND the last week of mercury retrograde.  i said lots of prayers and brought along tiny b and ganesh for good mojo and safe travels.

all was well.

it is the summer of rain.  i have never seen so much rain.  while in abindgon, there were two dangerous thunderstorms and flooding.  sheesh.  but it sure looks pretty on the hotel window with the blue ridge mountains in the background.

the rain stopped long enough for a walk in the old downtown neighborhood, just off of main street in abingdon.  every charming house has a lovely garden.  most have friendly neighbors offering greetings from their porches.  it's one of my favorite things to do.

i returned safety to my home, my husband and wild dogs and ended the week with a trip to the farmer's market.  it is overrun with flowers and fruits and vegetables and nice people.

i picked up a loaf of freshly baked blue cheese/apple/walnut bread and we enjoyed a breakfast of it with a smear of fig jam.

luca insists i return to routine, no matter how much i travel.  first priority is always a walk at sunrise.

i hope next week is beautiful and happy and safe for you.

market color