As the New Year knocks at the door of this world, I'm contemplating about the past holiday season. Unless you've been living in a Norman Rockwell painting, there is no “perfect Christmas.” Most of us have holiday stories from the hilarious to the harrowing, and every year, more than often, the expectations we have for …
Category: The good life
October-REST and Farm Fresh
I love road trips. Almost all of our traveling these days starts with an airplane ride and all the preliminary hassle and hustle that goes along with it. But road trips are a peek back into the past for me. Family vacations always started in the car. Airplane travel was for the wealthy. But we …
Surprising Hamburg
Spending time in Europe as a tourist is not cheap. When we lived in Crete, we took advantage of our location to travel all over Europe, and between budget airlines like Ryan Air and Airbnb in small towns we were able to keep expenses low. But today, even with the great airfare we scored from …
Mamma Mia On Crete
(*Update: Book release date April 30, 2019) Writing a book is like birthing a baby. Except the labor has been over two years long. There were moments I literally screamed, "I CAN'T DO THIS!" but it was there inside me demanding to be born. And I knew that the labor would produce a happy ending. …
Wander, Linger Savor Christmas
I’ll come right out and say it…this is the hardest time of year to write a blog post about slowing down. I’ve already failed miserably at not “shoulding” on myself. I should send out Christmas cards. I should bake all those cookies. I should have my shopping done. I should have the tree decorated by …
Savor Autumn
I walked into our local Home Depot yesterday and was immediately accosted by a forest of pre-lit Christmas trees and animated Santa figures. For a fleeting moment I panicked thinking , "Wow! I haven't finished (or even started ) my Christmas shopping." I felt strangely off balance, like I'd been whisked ahead into December. For …
Three things I love about Crete
Gazing out of the clouded airplane window, I absentmindedly take note of the expansive blue beneath me, We are flying over the Mediterranean Sea in route to the island of Crete. A German voice over the intercom jolts me out of my daydreaming and soon the english translation follows. “Ladies and Gentlemen, we are beginning …
Hidden Heidelberg
On every leg of our journey, God gave us protection, provision and especially people who made our journey memorable. The German people work hard and play harder. If there is a way to make a game of it all, they will figure it out - strict rules included, of course. They can be stoic and …
Biking through Wine Country
The Freiburg/Marbach area of Germany is famous for its wines made from Riesling (white), Topplinger (red) and Lemberger (rose) grapes. The hills in this region are covered with terraced vineyards between small towns nestled at the water’s edge of the Neckar. One of our favorite stops was at Besigheim. It oozes charms of the old …
Navigating the Neckar River
Today I celebrated my birthday in Eberbach on the Neckar River in southern Germany. We are five days into our bike tour and feeling stronger than ever. Two days ago I couldn’t honestly say that, but tonight I think I turned a corner. Or maybe I'm just in denial about being another year older. Either …
