It was dark when we arrived at our camp spot in Evanston last night so I was happy to see blue sky and trees around us this morning when I went outside. I drove the Jeep for awhile this morning while Madi slept and Morgan drove the bus.
We stopped for lunch at some strange little place called Bucks in Rawlins that had good brisket and also a waiter with a wad of chewing tobacco tucked into his lip. I don’t know if I expected anything different than that honestly. Also discovered that Rawlins is on the Continental Divide Trail after we saw thru-hikers loafing around the town.
Today is a hot one in the bus. 98* outside and all we rely on is open windows so it’s just a warm, windy day in here. The couch leg is having an issue so I’ve been using our camp chair until we can get it fixed tonight. So far our plants haven’t died, although our philodendron that’s stored in the kitchen sink did lose a small leaf this morning. Our fiddle-leaf fig is finicky but made the trip from Enderby to Winton and thrived so hopefully it doesn’t choose this time to die.
We found a campground in Limon, Colorado, a KOA with a pool so we arrived there around 6 after fighting Denver traffic for awhile. We got the bus plugged in and the a/c on and then went swimming to cool off. Before we left California Morgan went and bought 10 pounds of asada taco meat to put in the freezer so our weaning from good Mexican food would be more gradual. So we fried up some taco meat and made quesadillas and fresh salsa for supper. I laid in bed and listened to the distant noise from the highway and was very happy to know we will see Mom tomorrow!
August 22.
We woke up early to the most beautiful red sunrise this morning and hurried to get the bus in shape so we could leave by 630. We went to IHop for breakfast and then headed east.
I wish there was something interesting between Limon and Mcpherson to write about but it’s literally the most blah road in America.
We got to Mom’s around 3 pm and got to relax there and catch up. We all went out for Mexican food with Justin&Joan before going to Mom’s school enrollment evening. We were so disappointed we couldn’t stay longer than we are to be with Mom and everyone. But it was so good to at least say hi to people we recognized!
August 23.
Long Branch State Park lake
Mom, Madison, and us got to Darvin&Diane’s at 6 this morning to pick up Renae and the boys who are riding back to Michigan with us. So hard to tell Mom goodbye and leave her here in Central without any of us kids. I love that our family is so close and that Mom is like my best friend, but it makes it doubly hard that we’ll all be together this year except her. We are already planning pur next trip to see her:) Madison drove with us today and we had good driving except for the stifling heat. The boys did great and we stopped for lunch at El Toro in a town called Chillicothe, Missouri.
We got a campground spot at Long Branch State Park and arrived there shortly after lunch, where we had decided to spend the hottest part of the day. We went swimming in the lake, took naps under the a/c, and relaxed outside. Morgan grilled brats and pork loin for supper, and after a good 8 hours there, we got the bus ready to go, cleaned up, and got back on the road. Madison is ahead of us driving and we are cruising along with cooler, but not cool, air rushing in the windows and we are all very comfy. Max was asleep before we were even off the campground road, and now both of them are sleeping on the bed. We may pull off to sleep but we decided with the heat supposed to be really bad again tomorrow, we were better off driving as much as we could thru tonight so we will see how far we get. We hope to make it to Dillons in decent time tomorrow!
August 24.
We arrived at Dillons house this morning at 8:00. Yay!
Today would be Grandma Juls 90th birthday and that made me sad when I woke up. It seems like we have had very full lives the last couple weeks getting ready to head east. We got some goodtimes in with Dan&Nat and I got to be with Alicia and Sherri and Ann enough to catch up again at least. We were fortunate enough to eat pollo en crema at Waylon&Beths with friends, and jalapeno poppers with good conversation at Gordon&Daphnes another evening. Probably my oldest and best friend Jerica came out the 8th and we spent a couple days along the coast. We spent an afternoon at Alcatraz which is like one of my favorite things to do in California, and drove the 1 down to Santa Cruz where we spent a day watching dolphins and surfers and talking about everything. We spent a low-key couple days around home before she left the 13th and it was so wonderful to have a girls weekend again!
Kandis and co. have been here this week so Kellie, Kandis, Mom, and Morgan and I have been spending a lot of time together! We went to the Turlock sale on Tuesday, swimming another day, had “supper spaghetti” for lunch at Grandpa Orville’s’ one day, and had good conversations in between playing with the nieces and nephews. It’s been so fun.
Meanwhile in the in-betweens, Levi redid some painting in the bus, Morgan has put in a new water filter and fixed some bus issues, and I’ve washed all the bedding and repacked our closet boxes. We gave the bus a good scrubbing and now I think we are finally ready to leave. I went to Fresno at noon and picked up Madison so that is exciting to have her here!
The family came for a quick supper this evening and we left around 7, us in the bus and Madison in the Jeep behind us. I’m pretty sure she made a Dutch Bros stop already because she disappeared ahead of us and now she’s back behind us. We had planned to take the south route on I40 but due to Hurricane Hilary, the once in a century storm making landfall by San Diego, everywhere along that route is supposed to be getting a lot of rain and flooding so we changed plans. Now we are headed up thru Sacramento and over the Donner Pass on I80 which is great because we love that drive. Since we have already road tripped there before, we know the coffee shops we like and want to stop at:) plus boondocking by ourselves in the desert wherever we want is so fun. We hope to be at Moms house in Gardenview by Tuesday evening the Lord willing.
August 20.
We got to just outside Reno last night around midnight and parked in a Cabelas lot for the night. This morning we saw the “No Overnight Parking” signs but luckily we were undisturbed. It rained lightly all night so it’s so beautiful and cool outside this morning. I actually had to get out my Pendleton blanket and cozy up on the couch because I was *almost* chilly. An anomaly for me as you all know. We made a stop in Fernley for maple lattes at Freedom Espresso before settling in to drive.
Apparently the storm system has grown because we have been driving in light rain most of the day. We stopped for lunch in Elko and Madison had got in touch with Carlynn&Brooke who happened to be driving I80 also so we had lunch with them which was so cool and way too short. I love happenstance meetings in random places with old friends.
We had a pretty boring day driving with Morgan and I in the bus and Madi in the jeep although we did go through pretty mountains and sunset desert. I drove the bus for awhile and admired the sunflowers and yucca and red hued rocks. We got a site at an RV park in Evanston, Wyoming and arrived there around 10. Yayy for showers that make you feel like a million bucks after grungy road traveling. 👋
The sun is already beating down on Morgan while he’s out mowing Mom-in-laws lawn and the trees already look depressed after their nightly reprieve of cooler air. After today, the central valley temps dip below 100* so that’s something to look forward to. Also we ran some errands and found a thrift store where I found a baskety thing. Last Friday Morgan and I took a date afternoon and drove to Monterey for clam chowder bread bowls. That was literally the whole reason for the trip, those delicious bowls of chowder washed down with fresh calamari. We breathed that yum salty air and fended off seagulls while we ate looking out over Monterey Bay. It was sunshine with a cool breeze and 57* which was insane because when we’d left Mom’s in Winton it had been 105*. I regretted leaving my hoodie at home.
pier fishing at Frankfort
My mom and I left one Sunday a few weeks ago for Michigan and Morgan flew there a week later. We had a lovely time with Dillon’s, Madison, and Mom all being together. July 17 was the 10-year mark of our Dad Andy being gone from us so we did a couple special things in remembrance. One evening we all went up to Frankfort and fished on the pier till the wee hours, then slept the rest of the night in our vehicles just like Dad used to haul us to do when we were kids. Ahh, the feeling of waking up in a stuffy vehicle with your neck in an awkward position and yet, I wouldn’t trade those memories for anything. The next morning at 5 we went out on the boat with our favorite captain, Brian Murphy, for a morning of fishing. Dillon’s and Mom threw a big BBQ charcuterie evening with a crowd of friends (including Andrew&Bridget who we’d last been with while visiting Dillon’s in Mozambique); and we all took a trip up north to Traverse City and spent night at the Great Wolf Lodge with lots of time spent in the water park with Max and Brett. Then we stopped at Cherry Republic in Glen Arbor for cherry ice cream and boomchunka cookies. Truly.such.a.fun.time.
Another interesting thing that happened while we were in Michigan, hence, the title of this post. We had no idea something like this would open up there and it really is an open door for our life currently so after some days of prayer Morgan has agreed to teach Grades 7&8 at Countryside Christian School, Ithaca, Michigan. We even have a house we are going to be renting which is like the coolest thing because although we love our bus life, we are going on 3 years living in it and it will be so fun to be able to have company and also a house for me to fill with my thrift store finds. yay. We will be leaving here mid-August and driving the bus out to Michigan and in the meantime we are soaking up California and our friends and the sunshine. We were excited to be back at Winton and had been looking for a place to rent here for the time being, but with just one teacher’s marriage announcement our “life plan” changed again and now we have a different plan. It brings back the memory of laying on Dad&Mom’s bed talking with them in our Z Road house at Copeland and them telling me that sometimes you had clear direction and sometimes you didn’t as much but if you were following Him, He would bless the decision you made because sometimes there wasn’t an exact answer. I have often thought of that and how moldable we need to sometimes be to follow His will because if we have it all figured out all the time and know exactly what we want and don’t want, how can He lead us to serve Him in unexpected ways?
Ramble, ramble, I know. I went through and organized a couple of my old keepsake boxes yesterday afternoon. Some things I found: a pillowcase covered with painted memories from a sleepover at Joanie’s house probably 15 years ago; a book Madison gave me for my wedding full of letters from my special people that I cried as I re-read; a smashbook of my trips and good times in the youth with friends like Lonetta, Abby, Trudy, Laura, Taryn, Joanie, Cassie; my Edmonton unit scrapbook; two of my Dad’s shirts that were my favorites; a coffee mug from when I got open-water scuba certified in Roatan. I don’t go through things like that very much but it’s always so fun to see what you find every so often.
The next few weeks will be full I’m sure. Jerica is flying out to visit on the 8th and her and I are going to spend a couple days on the coast while Morgan and Levi go kayaking. Kandis and the kids arrive the 10th so that will be a full house and lots of niece and nephew time. Morgan is working for Uncle Marshall for a couple weeks and then the week before we leave he is going to be working on the bus. Madison flies in the 19th and will leave with us the 20th. She is going to drive our Jeep out to Michigan while we drive the bus so we will get to spend a couple days with her on the road before she cruises home a couple days ahead of us. I think we will stop and see Mom at GardenView on our way and hopefully we’ll be in Michigan in time for cousin Zanna’s wedding the 27th.
It’s true when you read the quote that says you will never be completely at home again once you’ve lived in more than one place. I have pieces of myself in so many places, really any place I’ve lived or stayed for any length of time and now Enderby is added to the growing list. It changes you to move to a new place, to get out of your comfort zone, to invite yourself to someone’s house and strike up a friendship. It’s telling the people that you are here now, and would you like to be friends, and is your life too busy to add someone new? Then when they love and accept you and you make memories together, those people are never just someone you knew again. They are part of your whole big story now. And it’s amazing.
We left on Saturday morning and with a few hours of cruising we got to my favorite thrift stores in Abbotsford. And of course we had a coffee stop at Old Hand Coffee before we drove to our campground for the night. After a spaghetti supper, Lance&Tasha and co. and Brookie stopped by for a coffee and cookies while we prolonged the goodbyes. Lovely time with them and I was so sad to see them go.
Deception Pass State Park
Sunday morning we met Jared&Shanni for a quick breaky which was so fun. We’d never met them before and we love spur-of-the-moment plans. We had no trouble crossing the border, except we had to give away our 2 dozen eggs because of Avian flu. Boo. We drove to Coupeville and waited for a couple hours for a ferry so we had lunch while we waited: a delicious charcuterie board thanks to Tasha, Nicole, and Mandy. Last time we were on a ferry was from Dover,England, to Calais,France, last year on our Europe trip. Actually, a year ago today we left for that trip! This ferry ride was half an hour long and we did see dolphins which was cool. We stopped at Ground to Perfection for a coffee when we got off the ferry in Port Townsend, WA. I forgot to put our cast iron pot in its safe spot after we got off the ferry so after we were nice and relaxed we happened to cruise around a curve and the cast iron went flying from its spot and broke the pepper grinder so we will be finding those for awhile I think. It scared us all so we were NOT as relaxed the rest of the way. We got to our dear Avril&Robs darling house in time for a pork taco supper and then we hurried to attend evening church at the Sequim congregation with them. I saw people I hadn’t seen for a long time and it made me happy to reconnect, if only for five minutes and also the people there are so nice and I can see why they live there. After we left Robs, we drove another 45 minutes down the road where we stopped for night near Lake Crescent.
made a wish.
This morning we had granola and yogurt and coffee before we puttered back onto the 101 heading south. We spent most of the day driving in and out if Olympic National Park, surrounded by old growth forests of pine and ferns. We started catching glimpses of the ocean later and stopped for a walk on the beach at noon. Low tide with lots of rocks and sand dollars to see and we continued on our way until we reached Aberdeen, WA, which I was wholly unimpressed with except for a shady thrift store we stopped at where I found a painting and a wee pottery mug on half-off day so it was $1.89 total. Yay. We also lunched at a place called Breakwater Seafoods where we had the best crispy, non-greasy fish and chips I’ve ever eaten. And also clam chowder. We drove along the ocean a large part of the afternoon and I just took deep breaths of that yum salt air and relaxed with a crossword while Morgan drove and Mom slept. Tonight we are staying by Long Beach, WA, quite close to the Oregon line. There is a supposedly a bear terrorizing the place we’re staying so I’m hoping for an interesting evening. We wanted seafood fettuccine but we can’t find good seafood at this exact spot so we’re doing chicken instead. Cheers!
It’s warm and sunshiney outside. Today is the last day of the asparagus season and I’m sitting in the asparagus stand I’ve been working at for the last month. I’ve asked probably a hundred customers what their favorite way to have asparagus is and I will share some of the main ones.
Fresh and raw. It tastes like spring peas in the pod.
Make a green bean casserole, the kind with French Fried Onions on top, but instead of green beans, use asparagus.
Wrapped in bacon and grilled.
Sautéed in olive oil and sprinked with sea salt.
Pickled. The recipe I got from several random customers is: 1 cup water, 1 cup white vinegar, 1 Tbsp salt, and 1 Tbsp sugar. Boil and pour over uniformly sized asparagus spears in a mason jar. Once cool, refrigerate until chilled and eat.
I have the sun on my face when I work in the mornings, and my Stanley water bottle and a crossword book to keep me company. Im basically a 90 year old. But I have listened to and read some really great books the last few weeks since I’ve had lots of quiet time bagging asparagus. I’m not necessarily “recommending” these books, but I have personally loved them. They’re a mix of memoirs and fiction and self-knowledge, and I will list them here if you’re interested. As always, I may earn a small commission if you buy them here:)
We have had full evenings the last couple weeks and it’s been bittersweet. We are soaking up the time with “our people” and enjoying every minute. This weekend included Joe’s, Arlan’s, Eric’s, Clay’s, and Kendall’s, and we enjoyed every second. Last weekend, Morgans best friend Levi came to visit us from Cali. He drove Mom Yolanda’s car here and took a load of boxes and toolbox and plants back so we wouldn’t have to load the bus to the gills on our drive home in a few weeks. The evenings have been so pretty here lately. The sun shines on the mountains and gives the valley golden light and its lovely. We watch the stars and look for bears and swim in the lakes as much as possible. I have been thrifting lots lately: books, brass candleholders, a painting, and a couple pottery mugs. I’m going to do some sort of thrift post one of these days and maybe sell some of it.
Friday the 26th was one year since Dad Kevin passed away. The weeks suspense and dread leading up to the day was worse than the actual day itself, which I remember from when my Dad died too. We had an alright day that included a fun supper with lots of our favorite people and then attending a Jordan Petersen talk in Kelowna in the evening. Morgan has such a cool class and they gave him a bunch of flowers and hugs, and Nicole brought over a basket full of granola and berries and chocolate and love.
A few weekends ago, we drove up to our favorite lake in the mountains with our picnic basket full, an ice chest with good drinks, and each other. It was a hot day and such a pretty drive thru Lumby and onto rough logging roads, over streams and by the river. We were cruising in the pickup, windows down, Birks off, when we came around a corner and into a road full of snow. Over a foot of it on the road for as far the eye could see. Anyways, we went straight into it, of course, and got very stuck. So, barefoot and sundress and swim trunks, Morgan and I got to lay in the snow and dig the pickup out for 20 minutes. 20 minutes was what it took for our hands to go numb and to discover bear poo a few feet away to keep us on edge. What a time to be alive. Once free, we found a creek and some shade in an old forest and had our steaks there. I love the days when it’s not according to plan because those are the ones I’ll remember forever.
a saturday morning brekky
Saturday we decided to take the bus out on a warm-up drive to get the cobwebs out. The first drive of the season is always a lot of work. I have to find spots for any loose items like books, salt and pepper shakers, dish soap, etc. before we travel so an outing helps me out. Most of the kitchen/decor items are stored in the sink in our dish drainer. I take down our books and the hanging light over the counter and store everything before we drive, but a maiden voyage helps me see the loose things and find spots for them before the actual trip. We use child locks on all our drawers and cupboards that we lock when we drive to keep them all closed, and the refrigerator items are in several soft baskets so things don’t slide around in the fridge. I also use our extra cloth napkins and towels to wrap around our coffee mugs so they don’t move. I have the drawers lined with shelf liner which takes care of basically all movement but I use the towels just in case. I’m excited to be back driving in the bus! We made a little plan to get an idea of where we would get each night on our drive home to California so I’m looking at spots for nights. Since my Mom is driving with us, Morgan and I may sleep out on the deck a few nights, and we’re also bringing a foam mattress for the floor because our loveseat is too short to sleep on. We plan to leave Thursday, the 15th.
This week is the last week of school with playday on the 10th, and our Moms and Madison fly in tonight, Wednesday evening! Our family Tony&Tara are coming up from Othello as well so we will be having full hearts the next week:) have a good week!
The fridge is quietly humming and the little black round-faced clock is ticking on the shelf above the windshield. These two things are the only noise I hear tonight in our little bus-home. Morgan is away at a meeting and I’ve done dishes and now I’m sitting in the silence and I don’t mind it. I thought of lighting a cozy fire in our tiny woodstove but that seemed like too much work and also it’s so beautiful out that instead I’m just sitting.
Grandma Jul passed away last Friday. Morgan and I arrived Saturday to Copeland and flew back to BC late Wednesday. The only plus was seeing all of our wonderful friends and family who came to support. My family stayed at Max&Rose for nights and as Renae wrote in the guest book, “a haven in time of storm” which I thought said it perfectly. On the way home from the airport Wednesday night, I thought I should call and let Grandma know we were home because we always did. She was such a huge part of our lives and one of my best friends. I know how fortunate we’ve been to have her as a Grandma and a friend. Lots of my friends don’t have the opportunity. But it makes the goodbye so much harder. I cried a lot today. Sat in the sun. Slept.
Sometimes I get mad at the losses this year. Dad in law. 2 grandparents. A job. Our place in BC. It’s nothing that other people aren’t dealing with too. We aren’t coming back to teach here next year. I was left with little option but to quit teaching in February and that wasn’t in our five-year plan, but we are trying to move past the losses in that area of life as well. It’s ridiculous it even needs to be said, but gossip and bias should not exist in a Christian workplace. I told Mom tonight that I wasn’t sure God really cared about Morgan and I anymore and I was so reproved later this evening when I was sitting here reading the Sunday school lesson:
“Turn your eyes upon Jesus
Look full in His wonderful face,
And the things of earth will grow strangely dim,
In the light of His glory and grace.1
Keeping our eyes fixed on the Lord is also a defense on the battleground of thought life and fears in our mind. Fear can cause us to lose hope that God has a way for us. When the apostle Peter kept his eyes on Jesus, he was able to walk on the water, which was something no other mortal man had experienced before. His capability waned as he took his eyes off Jesus, noticing instead the wind and the waves. When his focus shifted, the power also left him, and he began to sink. Our Lord is as faithful in this day of grace as He was to Peter. Let us look again to Him and cry out in faith, “Lord, save me.” He will reach down again with his arms of love.”
I just cried with unworthiness and relief that we have Him to go to when everything feels wrong. On the flip side, we also have seen how far kindness and empathy can go because the friendships and support we have in our lives are truly overwhelming. We really are blessed beyond.
Morgan’s class has their camping trip this weekend so he will be gone until Saturday evening. Today he got the Thule with our skis and boots mounted on the bus roof deck and cleaned out his “garage” umder-bus compartment.We are both working on lists of things we need to accomplish by June 16 ish which is when we plan to leave after school is out here. Our current plan (although we’ve had some lovely teaching offers to different locations:) is to go back by Morgan’s family in California. We are both happy to be going back, although it wouldn’t have necessarily been in our plans a year ago! Mom, Madison, and Mom Yolanda are all coming to the year end and we are very excited about that! Then my mom is going to road trip with us down to California so I’m going to do some planning this weekend for a fun drive home:)
We have been living back in our bus since Easter. It’s hard to believe we’ve lived in it for a couple years already! I did a deep clean and took some stuff to Value Village before we moved in. We have to replace our inverter this spring which allows us to run on batteries so we don’t need to be at a campground but otherwise things seem back to normal. We eat all of our meals outside because it’s so lovely out. Things are getting green now and the sunshine is golden and lights up the trees and mountains while we eat supper. The door hangs open most of the day and we just live outside. I love it. A pheasant has made its home down the hill from the bus so I hear it calling while I’m outside and it’s a cozy sound. We made a bunch of pickled onions and our first batch of sauerkraut the other night. We tried the sauerkraut when we got home from Kansas and it’s quite delicious so the next step is to make a bigger batch and keep improving it.
Things are real here in our little life. We have sorrows and joys and sometimes God gives us little touches of Heaven for us to look forward to. I have my Morgan and the best family and so many friends that I have no reason to live in sadness. If you’re reading this, you’re probably on this journey with us and I’m so glad to have you. I feel like I should end with a ‘thankfuls’ list so here you go:
Morgan, Max and Brett, Mom, Madison, Dillon & Renae.
green fields and hills all around me.
the noise the pine trees make when it’s breezy.
$5 Walmart flip-flops I got to use in our outdoor shower but they are so comfortable I can’t contain my surprise.
a little daisy that popped up in the gravel.
iced coffee in a mason jar with good ice and a straw and caramel syrup.
I wanted to write up a Christmas-y post this week before we our lives got so full that I forgot or ran out of time. One of the dear people in my life encouraged me to use the word “full” rather than “busy” and it does seem so much more positive to know that our life is full because of good people and fun students. I wasn’t sure what I was feeling for a post, so I decided to do a little glimpse into our lives at Christmas.
Some everyday things that are giving me joy:
my handcarved, wooden Nativity set I brought straight from the streets of Mozambique.
my students seem to love me.
Starbucks opened up 10 minutes away.
coffees brought to school from Lance&Tasha.
when I stood outside this week I could see the most perfectly formed tiny snowflakes landing on my plaid jacket.
RECIPES
-to serve your friends and families-
Some favorite Christmas recipes: Firecracker punch that’s a delicious easy go-to, a comforting soup I call Hauder Chowder, and a cinnamon side dish to inspire Christmas cheer. My students chose these pears for our Parent Supper this week and they seemed to go over really well. The oldest class boys sometimes promise me iced coffee if I will trade them some of these at lunch.
Firecracker Punch 4 cups pineapple juice 4 cups cranberry juice 1 1/2 cups sugar Heat. Add 1 tsp. almond extract. Freeze. Add 2 liters of cold 7-up. (we just each do our own cup)
Hauder Chowder 1/2 cup diced yellow onion 1 pound Italian sausage, Jimmy Dean’s is best 1/2 tsp. olive oil 4 cups peeled, diced potato 3 cups chicken stock or broth 1 cup diced celery 1 cup heavy cream or millk 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1.In a pan, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add onions and saute. Add the Italian sausage and brown, stirring occasionally, then remove from heat. 2. In a soup pot, combine potatoes, chicken stock, and celery. I usually add carrots or whatever else is available since I don’t like celery. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to medium and simmer for 20 minutes or until potatoes are tender. 3. Use a slotted spoon to transfer the sausage and onions to soup pot. Add the cream and cheddar cheese, stirring until all ingredients are combined and warmed again. 4. Serve with cheese and onions sprinkled on top.
Red Hot Pears -2 29 oz. canned pears in dish. (reserve 1/4 c. juice) -cook until melted: 1 cup water, 1/4 cup sugar, 1/2 cup red hots. -combine 1/4 cup pear juice and 2 Tbsp. cornstarch and add to red hot mixture. Cook until thickened. Place pears into bowl and pour mixture over pears. Chill.
Charmont Bilingual Academy is a little school in Roatan, Honduras, that Morgan and I taught English at for a couple months in 2019. I have talked about them before, and some of you have donated Bible School money, or just from your own hearts. It’s a donation only program that supports a school and a little clinic there on the island. Ms. Valerie often gives until the money is gone and lives as the people do. There have been several children with debilitating or life-threatening diseases that she has been able to send to Tegucigalpa or San Pedro Sula for surgeries, and different families she helps with bags of rice or chicken, all through donations. If you’d like a way to give back this season, this is the perfect place. We know for a fact how the program and Ms. Valerie work and exactly where the money goes and there’s no better cause. https://tmjp.ca/donate/
If you click a link and order, I may get a small commission. Have a wonderful week.♡
I’m sitting at the kitchen table where the smell of potato soup still hangs in the warm air. When I look outside, it seems like a one-horse open sleigh should be jingling down the hillside but all I actually see is beautiful white snowflakes falling gently against the evergreen trees. There’s a lovely amount of snow on the ground, covering the brown grasses and leaf remnants of fall. The skates are being sharpened and sleds sit by people’s front doors. Winter is here and I’m overjoyed! Yay!
We arrived home – a loose word for us these days- from Conference a week ago Friday night. We moved out of our bus for the winter the day before we left for Conference so there has been a lot of in between the last few weeks. Due to a lovely offer from friends, we have a cozy basement and house to stay in until April so we are really excited about not sticking it out in the cold all winter, although the outdoor shower in 8*F certainly was exhilarating while it lasted.
Conference. How do you sum it up in a few words? It was amazing. Reconnecting. Rethinking. Reminders. And the warmth of everyone walking towards the same goal. Things seem easier when you’re with all those people you want to see in Heaven. Now we’re home and I think of the things we are in this battle against as I go through my day and remind myself that my all must be on the altar. Simple as that. I have been impressed this week because I have pulled my phone out for various reasons and our time in Tupelo came rushing back (bet not many people say that and want to remember Tupelo) and I remembered why we’re here and the peace surrounding the decisions of all of us. But the fight isn’t going away, so let’s pray extra much for each others battles. And if you happen to have notes to share from Conference, I would love to read your thoughts. We shared a room with Mom and Madison and Dillons and the boys were next door. It was so fun. Soaked up time with the cutest nephews and family and the whole week was just what we needed. We ended up across the road from some of Morgans family too so we had meals with Mom in law and sat together some.
This week has been kind of crazy. I was sick a lot of the week, and everyone else in BC is sick as well so we canceled school from last Tuesday through the end of the week. This week we’ll hopefully be back in business and the bugs will have gone through everyone by the time all the Christmas activities come around. Morgan has been fine and worked up at the ranch a couple of days, but this morning isnt feeling well so who knows. I have been working on Christmas school things since there’s not much else to do . We are doing a Walk through Bethlehem nativity for our school Christmas program this year which requires a bit of gathering supplies and making odds and ends so there’s been plenty of that to keep busy with. I’ve made a few trips to Value Village already and I’m not complaining.
Yesterday marked six months that Dad-in-law Kevin has been gone. I sometimes feel like I don’t know who I am anymore or who I was before our Dads were gone. We miss Morgans Dad every day. We’re looking into buying a house and I selfishly think we need him here so much. He did so much good and helped with our questions and was an underlying support for so many people and now he’s gone. Our evenings get long, for sure now that it gets dark at 4 in the afternoon. So we end up at Lance&Tashas alot or ask people if we can stop in for coffees so we don’t go crazy sitting and overthinking. I do a lot of comparing from where I was 6 months after my dad died, to now when it’s 6 months after my spouses dad. It’s not healthy, I suppose. But I tell myself if I got through it once, we will get through this again. We do request your prayers. Having no dad in either of our lives is just a shock and leaves a huge void we don’t know how to replace. Also tomorrow, Monday, would have been Dad Kevins 59th birthday so just a lot of heavy stuff the last couple days.
Yesterday we both felt well enough to go for a drive so we got coffees at a new coffee shop in Armstrong- London fog was maybe 3/10- and then we drove up to Farmstrong Cider which is a cider place obviously but with a huge cool barn you can eat supper in. They had a Christmas market so we sat in the entrance line for half an hour and sipped our drinks and talked. We toured around the market for awhile and found some Christmas gifts and a lovely pottery coffee cup for ourselves that is just THE perfect size and shape so of course if you’re lucky enough to find that you buy it immediately. This morning we are looking forward to church and a busy school week ahead of us. May or may not put out a little Christmas idea list this week. Wishing you all a courage-filled week.
One of the first things I thought of this morning was making this post. We have learned the hard way with some of our travel products, and been surprisingly successful with others. This list is obviously customized for Morgan and I. If you follow me, you will know we travel low-budget and with backpacks, so this list may not be for you if you are used to posh, high-luggage volume travel. I hope this list, combined with my blog, inspires you to try something new or visit a different country and expand your horizons.
Until January, I used a $20 backpack that Morgan had bought at the Turlock Flea Market when he was 13. It held up remarkably well and went a lot of places with me after we were married until Morgan bought me this lovely backpack this year and we should have bought it years ago! I liked it so well that Morgan was also convinced and had it on his wish list. He was gifted a matching one with mine in June at the end of school from his class. Yes. We have matching backpacks. Kinda extra but I like it. Anyways we love love love these. The backpack zips open and lays flat, and has zippered net compartments on both sides that keep everything in its spot and gets rid of the “digging to the bottom of the backpack trying to find what you need in a hurry at the hostel” part of travel. We have the 35L size, which easily fit as a carry-on in the overhead bins when flying but it is doubtful this size would be able to fit under the seat in front of you, if that matters. We traveled for our five-week trip to Europe this summer with these, and we also use them to travel anywhere we go. I haven’t traveled with an actual suitcase since we got married so you could say I’ve changed in some things! These backpacks come with a waterproof cover, as well as having a large front pocket that I use for my cosmetics bag, headphones, and phone charger. A con to this backpack, possibly the only one, is that there is not a water bottle pocket on the outside of the pack so we are going to try sewing something to the side. The 35L size isn’t available on Amazon which is where I link things from, so I have listed the smaller 24L backpack above.
PROS:
zippered net compartments hold things in place
fit in overhead bins as carry-on luggage
waterproof and easy to clean
multiple sizes
adjustable waist and chest straps for plus size people:)
This hip pack was a fairly recent purchase that we wanted to try out in Europe this summer. We usually carry our backpacks with us that contain our passports, etc. but since we stayed multiple nights in one spot, we needed something to carry things in during the day. Enter this lovely fanny pack that Morgan literally wore the whole trip and we loved. We stored passports, money, the occasional half-eaten French croissant, and our phones in it when we were out sightseeing and the peace of mind in not worrying about who had the passports and where they were made the purchase well worth it. Morgan thinks he might wear it to school every day too.
PROS:
adjustable waist strap that links through belt loops for safer carrying
outside pocket for even easier access to small items
minimal straps and buckles
CONS:
looks like something someone who tells dad-jokes would wear
Morgan bought this Sea to Summit inflatable travel pillow a couple years ago and it goes on most of our trips with us. It takes 3 good breaths of air to inflate, and packs down to a 2×2 inch square for easy carrying. I used a neck pillow for awhile, but when you are backpacking it’s not a valid option for light carrying because it’s in the way. Enter this 2-ounce beauty and you will be set for any trip you go on!
There are a million travel adapters to choose from when you look, and probably all of them work the same but this is the one we use when we travel. The USA, Europe, the UK, and Australia all require a different source, although I wouldn’t personally know about Australia since I haven’t been there. This adapter has all four types of sockets, plus multiple charging ports that we put to good use. We had an alarming experience in Prague when a cheap wall block I was trying to use exploded in our room with sparks and fire. These travel adapters have surge protection and we have only had good luck and fast charging with them.
The exact portable charger we have is currently out of stock so I have listed one that’s nearly identical so I can still tell you about ours. We bring this on every trip because we don’t always know if we will have power or a place to plug in while we’re traveling. In Europe this summer, we took FlixBus between countries. FlixBus advertises in-seat charging ports but we found out immediately that they usually don’t work so we used the battery pack a lot. Our battery pack lasts for multiple, full-phone charges and can slide into any space in a backpack.
These sandals are for both men and women in different colors. I admit they aren’t the most beautiful shoe I’ve seen but Morgan and I have worn them everywhere. I bought mine right after we got married and the rubber just ripped on them on our way home from Europe this summer so they lasted almost 5 years. They are lightweight and have straps that keep them from coming off easily so I wore them for things like cliff jumping and river swimming. I also wore them in the hostel showers because it seemed like a good idea. The straps are the only things that absorb water and they dry super fast so they are my favorite water shoe. I also have hiked and just worn them as a summer sandal.
Another brand of shoes Morgan and I both love. These shoes are so comfortable for any feet, but especially if you’re interested in the barefoot shoe lifestyle or if you have a wide foot. They are light, comfy, dry quickly, and pack quite well. These above are the ones I have, and Morgan has the same brand with a slightly different men’s shoe.
Most of you wouldn’t be interested in bringing something like this but for those of you who like writing in leather journals, this is for you. I always make room in my backpack for this book. It’s bulky, not necessarily travel-friendly, but I love it and I often use it as a smash book type of journal. I have receipts from plays, and Michelin-starred meals, and border crossings. It contains money from different countries, brochures, and a dried flower plucked from Pompeii, Italy. It has signatures of people we have stayed with in hostels, and one of the pages contains the best secret restaurants we’ve stumbled across. It has it all.
PROS:
it’s leather so it makes you feel like you have your life together
great for keeping memories
sturdy and cheap
CONS:
bulky for travel
takes up valuable backpack space (but worth it)
This concludes our basic summer packing list. I guess this is my small business of sorts, so if you click on a link and purchase, I may get a small commission from Amazon. Thank you for your support and continued reading:)
the wild somewhere 