I love stone steps, especially when they climb through the woods to a waterfall. Along with lighthouse stairs, the curving stairs on the hike to the Cascades near Blacksburg, Virginia, are among my favorite stairways. They are made with stone from the mountain. They are mossy and organic. They look like they belong. These stone steps … Continue reading Streamside stairs
It is a warm, rainy Christmas day. We opened gifts, ate cinnamon rolls, and lounged all morning amidst shiny bows and piles of ripped wrapping paper. The cats are playing in cardboard boxes, our daughter is messaging me from across the room on her new iPod, our son has completed his fifth reading of the … Continue reading Pining for a seed catalog
I had no idea my home state had wine this good. I’m representing WordPress.com at the Wine Tourism Conference in Leesburg, Virginia this week — talking to winery owners and wine trail guides about the work they do, and learning about the passion and pride that go into wine making — and I’m learning all … Continue reading Tasting wine in Loudoun County, Virginia
Our family recently spent a weekend in a cabin in Fairy Stone Park, Virginia. We rented a canoe for an hour, then returned to the dock and rented it for 24. Our son loved the quiet dip of the paddle in water, the smooth glide of the canoe. The kids and I paddled in the … Continue reading Bliss in a boat
Back in January, I started bringing my phone on my running route so that I could entertain myself while I ran. I leaned on my phone’s camera to find novel ways to look at the same scenery I saw every single time I set my timer and vowed to run for 30 minutes. Despite passing … Continue reading Hidden stump
I know I’m ten years late to the party, but when I was stuck in an airport on the way home from Hawaii, I fell in love with Instagram. I blame Brie Demkiw and her breathtaking photostream from our Kauai meetup. I added my own Hawaii photographs in the Atlanta airport while I awaited a … Continue reading Running with my camera
Butterfly Mind 