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europe stories travel

A Story about the Louvre Museum

[pe2-image src=”http://lh4.ggpht.com/-u2v1dKc-opI/U_SDjJobJ2I/AAAAAAAAbng/qT6pzFE2484/s144-c-o/CousinsTakeEurope%252520Paris%252520%252528260%252529.JPG” href=”https://picasaweb.google.com/100212479652479288017/ChinosGowithOhToParisInJuly#6049604839369549666″ caption=”Processed with VSCOcam with f1 preset” type=”image” alt=”CousinsTakeEurope Paris (260).JPG” ] I have a secret to tell you about the Louvre Museum in Paris. I know what you’re thinking. How can anyone possibly discover anything new about the Louvre that has not already been covered ad nauseum on the internet? And maybe …

friends raising chinos stories travel

A Story about Making New Friends

A Story about Making New Friends “Hi, I’m Flea.” she said as she sat down next to me in the airport. “Hi! I’ve been so excited to meet you! I’m Alison.” “And this is Simon.” “Simon, can you say hello?” “Hi.” (small quiet voice) I’ve mentioned before that Simon and I are introverts. In fact …

Snapshots of Engelberg, Switzerland, Europe
europe stories travel

A Story about the Man in Seat 68

A Story about the Man in Seat 68 If Kings Cross is the heaven of train stations, clean even when it is not serving as the setting for Harry Potter’s interlude between death and life, then Gare de Lyon is hell. Deceptively gorgeous from the outside, the inside is filthy and chaotic, more keenly felt …

projects stories

A Story about Trying Something New

A Story about Trying Something New Or alternately titled, Stepping into the Arena Once upon a time I stood up in front of people and made a fool out of myself. I’m not sure how else to put it. I acted (badly) in plays, I sang some especially mediocre ‘specials’ with my sister in church. …

europe stories travel

A Story about Westminster Abbey

A Story about Westminster Abbey She stood at the end of a row of empty seats, searching the arriving crowd with anticipation. She would wave when she saw them, familiar faces in the crowd of mostly tourists come to hear the Eucharist sung in one of the most glorious, most celebrated cathedrals in the world. …

faith, hope & love stories taido

Beauty from Ashes

Beauty from Ashes Twelve years ago today, we received one of those phone calls you never want to get. A family friend called from Switzerland to let Taido know that his father had tragically drowned trying to recover his daughter, Maya, who had also drowned. Maya, Taido’s half-sister, was five years old at the time, …

A Story about Yoga on the Beach, Mauritius, First Choice Holidays, Long Beach
stories travel yoga

A Story about Yoga on the Beach

A Story about Yoga {On the Beach} It was that time of day when the light is so magical you can hardly bear to tear yourself away from staring at the horizon, except that there are young children with you who do not care about the color of the sky. They care about making it …

St Cuthbert's Way
scotland stories travel

St Cuthbert’s Way Journal {Day 5}

            Day 5 of St Cuthbert’s Way: Wooler to Lindisfarne From the moment we received our itinerary, the last day of our journey along St Cuthbert’s Way loomed large with its big number 18 in the mileage chart. Before we ever left home, I was harboring doubt about whether I …

St Cuthbert's Way
scotland stories travel

St Cuthbert’s Way Journal {Day 4}

Day 4 of St Cuthbert’s Way: Kirk Yetholm to Wooler Anna and I knew we would be walking some in the rain along St Cuthbert’s Way, mainly because over the half the walk is in Scotland. And if there’s one thing I have learned about Scotland in the last year, it’s that you can count …

St Cuthbert's Way
scotland stories travel

St Cuthbert’s Way Journal {Day 3}

Day 3 of St Cuthbert’s Way: Morebattle to Kirk Yetholm On our third day of walking we confirmed one thing for certain. When it came to estimating how long it would take us to finish a day’s walking, we were absolute rubbish. On our first day, we’d predicted 5:30pm and were two hours off. The …

St Cuthbert's Way
scotland stories travel

St Cuthbert’s Way Journal {Day 2}

Day 2 of St Cuthbert’s Way: Harestanes to Morebattle “Our guidebook says we only have to go 10 miles today.” “The printout from Macs says it’s only 9.” “Well, that’ll be a cake walk after yesterday!” “Easy peasy!” Anna had figured out with her FitBit that the previous day we had managed to turn what …

funny music raising chinos stories

A Story about a 1D Concert

  A Story about a 1D Concert Some things in this world just have to be experienced rather than enjoyed. Even though I love being outdoors, I can also admit that a long day of climbing can be rough. Especially if it is raining. But rough days both build and reveal our character. And often …

stories travel

A Story about Airport Security

I try not to hate airports. I really do. Hating is just not in keeping with the positive energy force for good that I want to be in life. So I focus on the end goal of what the airport, or more accurately the airplane, is bringing. A new destination. An adventure. Or arriving home …

A Story about My Sister, Cairns, Holy Island, St Cuthberts Way, Lindisfarne
stories travel

A Story about My Sister

My sister has an uncanny ability to accomplish whatever she sets her mind to. She does not waste a lot of time on the what ifs. She pushes forward and deals with problems as they come. It’s not that she thinks everything will always run smoothly and be perfect. She anticipates that there will be …

A Story about My Mother
family stories

A Story about My Mother

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 Story about Simon, Walking with Children
family raising chinos stories

A Story about Simon

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 Story about Ben, Walking with Children
stories

A Story about Ben

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 …

A Story about Cole, Walking with Children
raising chinos stories

A Story about Cole

 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 …