Sam circa 1993 was a Girl Scout and in my troop we each had animal names. I don’t remember why or what the purpose was, but these names followed us for a few years. My best friend was otter and I was meerkat. My mom tried to convince me to be muskrat for the 1976…
Category: England
Lyveden House…a dream interrupted
Deep in the English countryside stands the shell of an Elizabethan garden lodge a symbol of a dream that was cut short when it’s creator, Sir Thomas Tresham suddenly died in 1605. Tresham’s dream wasn’t just to have a fancy garden lodge, but to stand steadfast in his Catholic faith in a time where Catholics…
Getting Happy with a SAD lamp
SAD: Seasonal Affective Disorder – a disorder with symptoms similar to depression that occurs regularly at certain times of the year, usually in winter when days are shorter. On my second day in England, a relatively sunny Mid-May day, I was informed that soon enough, the skies would darken and it would be a good…
New Year, New Domain, Big Dreams
“I’m not sure when it’s time to stop saying Happy New Year…so… Happy New Year.” My wonderful yoga teacher, Sam said with a grin as she greeted us for the first yoga class of the 2019. And I guess she’s right… when do we stop saying “Happy New year”? When do we stop chasing those…
Finding the Joy of Childhood at London’s Winter Wonderland Carnival
If Weisbaden is the quintessential Christmas market, then London’s Winter Wonderland is the exact opposite. While it had some minor nods to the idea of the German Christmas Market, it, by and large, was nothing like the first market we visited. Sprawling throughout Hyde Park, London’s Winter Wonderland faire is beyond massive. I knew it…
Six Month SITREP
What I’ve learned about myself in my first six months abroad. Six months ago today we moved into our dream Georgian farmhouse on a working farm in a tiny village about 20 minutes from Tim’s work here in England. I fell in love with the massive 300 year old brick farmhouse when I first saw…
Catching the Christmas Spirit at the Wiesbaden Christmas Market
The smell of bratwursts mingles with the scent of freshly laid pine chips in the crisp chill of the morning air. I tug my coat tighter around me to ward off the chill as I take tentative steps into my first ever German Christmas market. This place is a place of Christmas dreams, or at…
Lessons learned from an August trip to Edinburgh
Lesson 1: Heed your friends’ advice, especially if they’ve been to Edinburgh and you haven’t. “You need to plan everything you do on your trip to Edinburgh. You can’t just wing it. ” My friend Alex said to me, her blonde ponytail blowing in the light summer breeze as we walked to the town market…
Unexpected Post-Visitor Blues
The sadness and ache hit me like a wave as soon as I walked in the house. Setting my purse on the counter I immediately lost any sort of composure I had carefully crafted since we left my parents at the airport a few hours earlier. Barely able to walk, I sunk to the floor,…
A quick tour of London: Hyde park… and two…police stations?
Staring down at the green marble countertop feeling the cool air conditioned air waft through the slatted glass window in front of me, listening to the police sergeant one-finger type a report, I thought… this is really not where I pictured my day going. I woke early Sunday morning SUPER excited for the vintage meet…
Fernweh Findings 