I'm just trying to walk myself home.
She made me a scarf at Christmas. Crocheted by her little hands, the same hands my grandmother had and that I have. Sky blue cozy yarn. To match my eyes and to keep me warm. All through the long cold Scottish winter. I wore it double wrapped around my neck for all of January and …
A little yellow in my life makes me smile. On a cloudy spring day, this yellow rapeseed can almost take the place of the sunshine for me. Even in the pouring rain, I will stop for a spot of yellow. Glimpsed far away or along the River Tweed, these fields have been grabbing my attention …
We started our second day in Ireland at a fun area near Killarney that surrounds an old fancy estate house. Muckross House sits on a lake by the same name and there is a path that runs all the way around the lake. All the paths are paved for biking or for riding in jaunty …
I mentioned a while back how much we are loving Jamie Oliver’s cookbooks since we moved to the UK. Save with Jamie is my current obsession, as we are eating mostly vegetarian these days and are always trying to save money on groceries. This is really a breakfast meal, but we have been serving it …
A Story about Simon Simon is growing up so fast that sometimes I forget how much he still has to learn. Being the youngest means he is constantly trying to keep up with the older three. In fact, even though he is almost eight, he has just discovered all the Disney movies. He fell in …
A Walk in Killarney National Park, County Kerry, Ireland Our first day in Ireland was perfectly saturated with sunshine. Within a few minutes on the trail we were shedding layers. Parts of the landscape were strangely dry and full of prickly yellow plants. Were it not for the moss covered forest floors, I might have …
How’s your week been? Mine has been catch up from being gone and prep to leave soon on my first long walk! My sister and I head out next week to walk St Cuthbert’s Way with Macs Adventure. It is sixty miles of Scottish + English countryside because it’s right on the border. I have …
We spent our Easter Holidays in Ireland in County Kerry, enjoying every possible shade of green along with unbelievably fantastic weather. Seriously, we had sunshine every day! We met my mother-in-law, who came all the way from Hawaii and rented us a gorgeous house in Killarney with the most beautiful views! The owner of the …
Expat Story: Ukraine This month’s expat story is coming from eastern Ukraine, which seems like an incredibly fascinating place to be living at the moment. Tell us a little bit about yourself. We’re coming up now on our third Ukrainian spring. I can’t believe the time has flown by so quickly, that we’ve already spent …
A Story about Ben When my kids were still very young, before Simon was even born, I went through a season where I was really into personality testing. My favorite ones followed the four temperaments (or humors) from Ancient Greek medicine. Four temperaments is a proto-psychological theory that suggests that there are four fundamental personality …
[pe2-image src=”http://lh3.ggpht.com/-mt12xOuzhL0/U1USHW18QcI/AAAAAAAALZI/wPl-kdTQZ64/s144-c-o/DSCF0973-PANO.jpg” href=”https://picasaweb.google.com/100212479652479288017/BeachWalkInWhitbyEngland#6004725595768635842″ caption=”” type=”image” alt=”DSCF0973-PANO.jpg” ] I mentioned last week that we ended a day of exploring North Yorkshire by playing in the North Sea in Whitby. [pe2-image src=”http://lh5.ggpht.com/-TMOt3vgfLuI/U1USHRH-f0I/AAAAAAAALZg/jL1JV6XLH18/s144-c-o/DSCF0955.JPG” href=”https://picasaweb.google.com/100212479652479288017/BeachWalkInWhitbyEngland#6004725594233667394″ caption=”” type=”image” alt=”DSCF0955.JPG” ] The kids love to play in the sand no matter what the temperatures are, so I wandered around taking pictures …
Climbing Roseberry Topping in North Yorkshire, England for #13 of #48walks I noticed a subtle difference between walking in North Yorkshire and walking in Aberdeenshire. The air was just a few degrees warmer and the fields a slightly brighter shade of green. The kids and I found this walk that was just a few miles …
We had a great week in North Yorkshire and now we’re off to Ireland. We have lists full of wonderful recommendations for our trip to Killarney! Also, I have already been reminded of how wonderful Irish hospitality is by our house hosts. When they heard how late we will be arriving, they offered to have …
We’ve been in North Yorkshire this week because Taido was presenting and attending a conference in Durham. Cole’s at camp, so I’ve just had three in tow as we explored on our own. Our favorite day was spent in North York Moors National Park. We went for a walk in the morning up a big …
Taido and I have taken turns playing tour guide this week, and on Friday we teamed up for our friend’s last day in town and went to a local castle. This photo captures what the weather has been like all week. Mist + Rain + More Rain. I went to my first European football game …
A Story about Cole Hello, Mom? I’m in trouble and I need you to come pick me up. As a mom, you know you might get this phone call one day, but it still surprises you that first time it happens. Cole is my first child. I have strong memories of his nights as a …
Often there is such a long string of gray days in Aberdeen that I actually forget that the sky and sea can be this lovely. When the cold mist clears, it’s as though someone has taken a paintbrush to the city or like a black and white film has turned to color. Just north of …
When Taido and I get to escape from our kids, we usually run away to a cabin in the woods. Or a tent in the hills. But last week some friends from church graciously let us have a Spring Getaway package that they were not able to use at the last minute that included dinner, …
Looking for something healthy + inexpensive to take as an appetizer to a party this weekend? I’ve got you covered. Butternut Squash Hummus. We have been cooking all year out of Jamie Oliver’s Save with Jamie, as a way to both save money on groceries and use recipes for which we can find the ingredients …
A (Short) Story about Spring When she came through the door, she handed me a small wooden charm. It was a colorful shamrock shape, tied with red and white striped string. “We wear these in my country when we are waiting for spring to come.” “What a lovely tradition!” I said, as I took it …