I'm just trying to walk myself home.
Whenever I come across an old chapel on one of our walks in the country, I want to stop for a while. Sometimes I lag behind my family while I circle a church, and if I really want to get behind, I walk all the way inside. The Chapel of St. Lesmo is usually closed …
Writing is wretched, discouraging, physically unhealthy, infinitely frustrating work. And when it all comes together it’s utterly glorious. Ralph Peters Yep. That’s pretty much how I feel. I did not make my goal of 50000 words for NaNoWriMo, but I have over 36000 words, and more importantly, I am really beginning to see the project …
A Love Letter to Lakewood Lake In honor of wishing I was smack dab in the middle of a giant family gathering today, I am sharing an ode to one of my favorite spots in my hometown, Lakewood Lake. A Love Letter to Lakewood Lake You have been my stomping grounds since I was a …
Family Hiking in the Lake District While we were in the Lake District, we did five different walks together as a family. All of our walks were fairly “lightweight” compared to what many of the other hillwalkers we met were doing, but we were happy with doing shorter walks and taking breaks from the rainy …
Tis the season for homemade rolls, friends! I promise rave reviews if you make my Grandmother’s homemade rolls for your Thanksgiving dinner! Also, I would suggest blackberry pie. Or apple. If you want to make your pie crust beautiful, you can go all the way back to 1959 for inspiration. If you are worrying about …
Going to London for just a few days is like choosing to have only a piece of pie at Thanksgiving Dinner. On one hand, it feels ridiculous to have such a small sampling of a massive table of culinary delights. But on the other hand, if you can only have a taste, you might as …
Today’s expat story is from Taleen who lives in South Korea! Tell us a little bit about yourself. I am 28 years old and originally from Iowa. I currently live in South Korea and am teaching English at a rural academic high school of about 450 students. My academic history is a bit complicated but …
I am trying to manufacture a little Thanksgiving spirit over here in Scotland, even without canned pumpkin or grocery store freezer cases full of turkeys. However, I will not be attempting to make an entire feast that usually I make alongside my extended family. Instead, I have reached the conclusion that all I really need …
Welcome to In The Pipeline, the most random feature going here at the Chino House. One part news, one part links and one part blatant self-promotion. It’s the weekend though, so let’s celebrate by wearing warm slippers and trying not to cry when the sun goes down at 4:30pm. Just me? Ok. Also I am …
On one of our recent school holidays, we drove a bit of the Scottish Coastal Trail, a historical Heading north from Aberdeen, we thought we could make a few unplanned stops, end up somewhere fun for lunch and then slowly make our way back home in time for a late dinner. We stopped first when …
See that little monkey in the tree? That would be Ben. He is way above me on a ropes course that is about thirty minutes from Aberdeen at Crathes Castle called Go Ape. Have you heard of Go Ape? They have tree top adventures all over the UK that look super fun to me! We …
We’ve made a couple of trips now to hike in an area called Bennachie that is only about a 30 minute drive from Aberdeen. The countryside around our city is referred to as Aberdeenshire, so we are quite fond of saying, Let’s head out to the shire today! or Come on y’all, we’re going to …
A Family Hostel Stay At The Buttermere YHA It’s always a bit of a puzzle to figure out accommodation for a family of six. If we stay in a hotel, we need two rooms, since our kids are growing like weeds and cannot be bundled together as easily anymore. Getting two hotel rooms for several …
I kind of pride myself on being able to make a peasant soup out of the groceries that are left at the end of the week. Just a few days ago I turned some cans of beans into dinner, and no one went hungry. This French Peasant Soup recipe is perhaps my favorite version of …
Has the weather turned cold where you are? I’ve been making lots of soup to keep warm! This time next month we’ll be walking to school before the sun rises and home from school after it sets. Yikes! Some news from this week: WE SOLD OUR HOUSE IN ARKANSAS! (Super Exciting, y’all!!) No more paying …
Sharing a few Instagram snapshots of the Lake District today for #IGTravelThursday, a link up for those who love Instagram + Travel. I also found a very fun list today of 100 Fantastic Instagram Accounts to Follow for Travelers. Instagram is definitely changing the way we plan and share our travels! Yesterday I put up …
A couple of weeks ago, I introduced the Expat Stories Series here at the Chino House! It was so fun to watch as you all responded to Tina’s Expat Story! It reminded me what FABULOUS readers you are AND it made me look so forward to sharing more of these. So thanks y’all! Today’s Expat …
I hope you are getting to see the leaves change where you live, because it is one of creation’s most spectacular displays. Every year I am newly amazed. How can the death of something be so beautiful? Of course, one of the very best ways to enjoy fall color is to go camping. And while …
This ancient bridge crosses over the River Don, on the north side of Aberdeen. It’s called the Brig O Balgownie, and it’s over 800 years old. We walked there on a rare sunny afternoon while we have been out of school. A few links for your weekend: I finished up all my posts about Ireland …
Y’all, let me be honest for a second. I spend a seriously sick number of hours planning trips that might not ever even happen. Just last week I did a ton of research for a camping trip to the Isle of Skye that we canceled because of A) rain and B) grumpy teenagers. Since we’ve …