We celebrated with friends and family at our house this morning and tomorrow is officially Lili's big day. Although I always thought they were sweet, I never understood fully about the importance of a baby's first birthday. I guess my thinking was along the lines of well, they won't remember it, and they are too little to understand what is going on... But now I see that it is not only celebrating Lili's first trip around the sun, but it marks an important day for everyone else: It is one year that we have been blessed to have Lili with us.

Our hooked stool

My great grandmother Margaret spent the last months of her life making this stool for me. I was three and she passed away just before Christmas. The family story I have been told is that she didn't get to finish the final assemblage, so the family (who?) finished it. When I opened the present on Christmas day I was excited and running around, but it was very bittersweet for all of the grown-ups.
I treasure this stool. It is craftily made from 6 coffee cans wrapped in red velvet. The top is made of an intricate hooked rug. The picture is of two birds.
Lili seems bound and determined to use this stool as an acrobatic tool despite the fact that she can't even walk. The stool now lives on the stairs with all the other "dangerous" items we have removed...

Pick of the Week: John Copeland

I wanted to share John Copeland's journal pages. Copeland is a well known artist living in NYC.

Although he is an amazing painter, I am enriched and taken in by his raw journal pages. Sometimes I go to his site and scroll through his journals when I need encouragement to let myself go to the unregulated territory of my artistic heart. It is in this place that I can unfold and speak my truth through my work, and do what I need to do.

I have dreams that people will be enamored by my art, but more than that, I often find myself wishing and hoping that my work will speak to someone, and prompt them to find and speak their truth as well~
~As my Dad (who is an English teacher) always says: "write what you know about."

Southeast Womens' Herbal Conference

We lucked out...the Red Moon vendor booth had the best location at the conference . I worked a long weekend overlooking the most gorgeous lake with a beautiful reflection of the mountains in it. Each morning when Lili and I trekked down from our cabin the landscape would be covered in a thick fog.
By about 10 the fog would lift up and reveal the mountains...
Here is Carmen showing off all of our hard work making our products look pretty:Because she had a mike on, we were able to hear some of Ada-Belinda DancingLion's class while we worked. The part I caught was about finding and using your voice. Good stuff...
I met Alex in the parking lot each morning and he took Lili all day. We were separated for 10 hours each day. She seemed to really enjoy the papa-time. Although as soon as she saw me each night she would hold out her arm and make the "nurse" sign to me within seconds... Sort of makes me feel like a milk cow when that happens. But it was sweet too...
I made friends with one of the only males at the place. Abraham informed me he has two more years that he can attend the conference (he is 8). Here he is showing off some spiffy cartwheels and round-offs (remember those!?) for me!
Overall, I got to meet a bunch of amazing women, and talk about herbs for hours on end all weekend. It was a successful conference, and I am so proud of my friends who put the whole thing on.

bunk bed?

I am home again. I was so excited to be in my own bed. We have those tee-shirt/jersey material sheets and as I am laying her on my belly I can't help from caressing them with the top of my feet. It just feels SO nice to be back in my own bed. Nothing like a couple of nights in a camp cabin to make you appreciate your own bed.

Lili and I got a whole cabin to ourselves. I almost wish someone else had been there to witness our comedic sleeping arrangements. *The first night we plopped our bedding down on the one non-bunk bed in the room. I didn't test it, and then when I went to sit down that first night I realized how saggy the springs were . I was too tired to change it though, and it was an awful nights sleep. My butt must have been 6" lower than the rest of my body, and Lili kept sliding into me. We both slept terrible.
*night two I came up with the brilliant plan that we would try out the top bunk since there was a railing. My figuring was that since the bed was impossibly small for an adult plus one child having the rail would provide a little extra space. I would put Lili on the wall side and I would be able to sleep at the very edge of the bed without fear of falling off. I somehow managed to make the bed and get us both up there. But then she wasn't very tired and we were very squished, and up high and all alone in this camp cabin with 8 other beds. It was too weird. So I got us safely down and made up a bed on the floor. I pushed two beds together and tucked the sheets tight so the two mattreses would be less likely to separate. It was far superior to the saggy bed, but nothing in comparison to my own bed...
I never went to camp, but I imagine seeing these pictures will bring up some memories for some folks. Camp cabins must be one of those timeless things...

Southeast Womens' Herbal Conference

I am getting all geared and packed up to go spend a weekend at the Southeast Women's' Herbal Conference. This year I am going to be helping run the Red Moon Herbs vendor booth with my co-worker Carmen. A lot of the flurry and busyness the last month has stemmed from this event. Red Moon is a sister program and is indirectly but nonetheless very involved in the event. On a whole other level, Ema is the conference coordinator and has more on her plate than seems humanly possible, so home life gets wacky in September too. I am excited to go and be around 500 amazing women this weekend, and I am also relieved that it will soon be over.
Last year when I was at the conference I was a week away from my due date. A friend recently sent me this photo of me there. It is the only picture I have of my big belly where I am standing up. It is hard to fathom how much can change in just one year...

Hay delivery!

Jason (Co-goat-herder) borrowed our truck to pick up some hay/Kudzu mix for the goats this afternoon. When he got back we were all astounded that he didn't topple over or get a ticket with the hay-rig he had going on. The goats were happy to have us all tromping around in the barn. Here are some portraits:

Jason returning with the straw bounty:

Amelia (the mom)

Windy (hopefully pregnant and due in the late winter)

The not so little babies: Thunder & Rain

The matriarch Sparrow
(Yes, she is earless. It is her breed the LaMancha that are lacking the classic goat ears!)

A little farm girl: Gita Pi

And unloading the hay...

Malibu...

We had an amazing girls-weekend/mini-vacation in California. We stayed at Christine and Andy's new home in Malibu. This is the view of the canyon and ocean from Christine's balcony (Wow huh?):

Here Lili is using her foot to point to Christine's house in the morning light:

Evidence of the fire that swept through her canyon in the past year:

We spent spent some of the time working on plans for Christine's upcoming wedding:

We went to the farmers' market on Sunday:

And made yummy Indian food later that night with the vegetables:

We went shopping and Lili tried on a $150 hat...

We got to spend a lot of time lovin' on Christine and Andy's dog "Chunk":

Overall, there was a lot of giggles, tea, and catching up...

Lili did fantastic on the 4 1/2 hour plane ride. I was nervous about that bit, but, she was great. On the ride there we got seated next to a sleepy businessman, he was less than excited to see us sit down next to him. On the ride home we got seated next to a wonderful grandmother named Deloris. Deloris entertained Lili and I with sparkly jewelry,pictures of doggies, and stories of her world travels. Having a young child on a long plane ride is a LOT of work. I think the key is to pray to be seated next to the right person though... that and lots of treats.
After Malibu, our home seems a bit campy in comparison, and the mountains here seem jungly, and there is little hope of running into any stars where we are, but I am happy to be home. Both Lili and I were overjoyed to see Alex's bearded face beaming at us when we got off the plane in Asheville. Here is the view from our road as we drove in: