Early Happy New Year!

We are off to a cabin in the woods for the next week, in the Berkshires of western Massachusetts. It's time for a little get away. In the meantime, we've posted a host of new pics and vids to our Flickr site. Check out the Sets "december", "play", "walks", and "home" here:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/unrealrealm/

Tea after opening Solstice presents

Oona's New Hat

Sophie (one of Timon's students) made Oona a new hat for the winter. It's clearly perfect and Oona loves it. She wore it until bedtime. Thanks Sophie!!

35 Reasons I Love Timon McPhearson

1. You work really hard at everything you do. absolutely everything.
2. You have taught me more about compassion than anyone else.
3. You are comfortable with being vulnerable.
4. You always encourage me.
5. You are a once-in-a-lifetime teacher to many of your students.
6. You are actively making the world a better place.
7. You are a truly great scientist.
8. You are a good friend to yourself.
9. You are a good friend to all of us.
10. You love to snuggle.
11. You make fun of me in such a way that I laugh really hard.
12. You care about other people deeply.
13. You can do dog-whisperer things.
14. You are a fabulous cook.
15. You are an inspiring writer.
16. You have big dreams. The biggest.
17. You are attractive all the time. seriously. it’s weird.
18. You help people whenever you can.
19. You are always making yourself into a better person.
20. You love taking care of living things.
21. You are a philosopher.
22. Your knowledge and creativity are a powerful combination.
23. You are a leader.
24. You build stuff.
25. You look truly free when you play frisbee.
26. Your palate is ridiculous, and I'm always benefiting from it.
27. You know how to manage high levels of technology.
28. You make me feel that the way we live matters.
29. You are forgiving.
30. You know how to have a really good time.
31. You are the greatest possible father to Oona.
32. You take really good care of Oona, me, the kitties, our home, our neighborhood and our community.
33. You make beautiful handmade toys for our daughter.
34. You are honest.
35. You are always surprising me with new incarnations of yourself.

Happy Happy 35th Birthday Love!



have another reason you love timon? leave it in the comments!

november

happy halloween!

Oona was a woodland elf:

Mama was Autumn

Trick-or-Treating in Campwoods, in the rain

we've been spending a lot of time at the farm...

some pics of friends and family at stone barns are uploaded to flickr.

oona photos

we've uploaded some pics of oona and friends to flickr.

Teatown

Mondays have been a bit difficult for Oona lately. They are transition days from the happy weekend of family, and from what I gather from other mamas, it's rather common to miss the papas especially on these mornings. So in an effort to make mondays special, and to get us outside, exploring and discovering, Oona and I have been making morning trips to Teatown. Its a short drive away, and there is a lovely trail around the lake, and Oona variously walks and rides in the backpack.

We stop to throw rocks in the creek.

And best of all, we have such wonderful friends to take these walks with.

Tea Parties

With September all my love of organization returns. Spring and summer are a loosening of ties, of routine, of order and predictability. I like to stretch out and explore, march forward with bold strides, and see what the world is offering that I might not have seen, felt, heard, been before. But just at the end of August I begin to smell autumn on its way, and a deep rooting begins. Oh my, I can nest to no end it seems. The fall crops Order and Routine are ripening, and Nostalgia makes herself right at home, along with her brood: knitting, sewing, aprons, baking, cleaning, books, pies and tea. Afternoon tea to be precise. Oona and I now have a new daily ritual to mark that time between naptime and Papa's return. Which of course required a new tea table, for which an old campwoods tree obliged:





And of course, teatime with a dear mama friend (who makes such delicious squash muffins) is the icing on the cake.

Not all the summer fun was had elsewhere...

Lots of it happened right here, in all its Hudson Valley goodness. The first Rockwood Hall picnic: