There is a Witch in my Family

Dear Reader,
         You did read that title correctly. There is in fact a witch in my family. After lots of rumors surrounding who the witch might be I think it's time I finally acknowledge the truth. My mother is a witch. Some women would take being called a witch as a great insult, but in my home it is the highest of compliments that I could pay. My mother is not only a witch, she is the most powerful and most magical witch. She is The Witch. Don't believe me that my mother is a witch? Well I have proof.

The Queen of Clean, The Witch, and The Wanderess

          First is her natural ability to magically make things more beautiful. She can transform any room in any home into a more comfortable and beautiful space. For as long as I could remember I would watch my mom rearrange the furniture, change the decorations, and match colors in a way that most other people never could. She was born with an eye trained to find the potential of a space. She can take a dingy and messy room and with a little magic can transfigure it into a remarkable space.

Baby Wanderess, The Witch, and Baby Queen of Clean

      Long before she went to school to become an interior designer, I new that my mom was an artist. She built a bed for my brother. She painted the wall in the kitchen. She transformed every room in our home multiple times to make something greater every time. Home was always a place of progress and movement. There was always a flow to everything that made it magical. None of our rooms came out of a magazine page. They were lived in and lively and decorated to show the world who we are. When you walk into the front room of our house you are greeted with personality and warmth. It's a place that is as equally functional as it is lovely. You don't have to worry about sitting on the edge of your seat from fear of damaging the art like furniture. Walking into the any room you might be greeted with a wall of bookshelves covered in multicolored vintage books and knick-knacks, or a stone covered hearth with beneath a mantel who's contents are ever changing with the seasons. You might go into one bedroom and find that the bed is literally a barn and in the next room there are gem stones on the wall. I have never seen any one else manage to so perfectly capture the personalities of the family and display them so enchantingly.

My Coven (minus Angela who hadn't arrived yet)

           Next is her love of Halloween which is a staple holiday in the home of all magically inclined households. I have been told quite often in my life that I look like my mom, but that is not the only way that we are alike. I am lucky to have inherited a few of her witch-like attributes. One is our mutual love of Halloween. Every Halloween the things that witches have to hide behind closed doors the rest of the year are allowed to be put on display. Last year I was pretty lonely the last few days of October and my excitement for the grand holiday of Halloween was somewhat dead. To help me get my spirits up, my mother organized a witches tea and invited all of my favorite magical guests to attend. My whole coven was there: my aunt and cousin, my fairy godmother and her daughters, the Queen of Clean, and best friend Angela. Not only was I able to get excited about Halloween again, but being surrounded by all of those people that I love reminded me that I wasn't really alone. The food was amazing, the tea was perfect and the company was everything that I needed. She gave me a reason to get up and get dressed. She didn't let me wallow in my loneliness or abandon me in my time of need. She used what she does best to make my life a little better. She didn't only save Halloween, she set an example to me of what real magic and love look like. This Halloween there is no one I will be missing more than my mom, but I will take from what she taught me and make my own Halloween abroad. No one should be sad on Halloween, because this is the holiday of real magic (with a dash of mischief and mayhem).

The Witch with her sisters and mother

          Then there's the fact that she's come from two long lines of witches and wizards. She is the eldest daughter in her family (just like me), which makes her the head of her family's coven. Ask her siblings, she is bossy and sometimes quick to anger, but she is also the best person to turn to for sage wisdom and protection. She is always willing to advise her siblings when they need help with anything, and she has good advise because she has done it all first. She was a grown up first, a wife first, and a mom first. She paved the way in her family and taught me how to do the same. With her advise her siblings have a wealth of knowledge at their disposal and they've used it to become more powerful witches and wizards themselves. I'd be lucky to become half the person that one of my aunts and uncles are.

The Witch with her Nephew

        She teaches by example and by a willingness to share and advise as the many generations before her did and how I hope to be able to as well. She also protects her family (her younger siblings and her children) and she always has. Nothing angers her more than someone treating her family poorly. In fact I doubt anyone who has would dare lay a finger on her family would find themselves unable to tell the tale after she decided to let them live. I know with my mom that I can always turn to her when I need advise or protection, because there's no one more capable than The Witch.

The Witch with her witchy sisters

          If you still don't believe that my mother is The Witch than you only have to examine this last fact. Yesterday was my mother's 30th birthday. My mother had me when she was in her early 20s and I am now 21. I am not fantastic at math, but I'm pretty sure the only way that my mother is still 30 has to be by magic.


     Love Always,
          The Wanderess

I'm Still Alive If Only Just

Dear Reader,

          I'm sorry it's taken me a while to get back to you. I admit that I realize it's been a while since my last blog post. I hope you weren't too worried about me. I'm still alive, if only just. My laptop is comatose and ever since it fell into disrepair I have been struggling to get motivated to do any writing, let alone blogging.Also I got terribly, deathly ill, but more on that later. Given that it's been almost a month since my last blog post I figured it's about time I got back to all of you. I wrote a post yesterday but I am currently in a hostel in the Ukraine and the internet was down so I didn't get to post it. Now that the wifi is up an running again, I will be able to share the post that I wrote yesterday in honor of my mother's birthday. But first I just want to catch you all up on the things I've been doing for the past 3 weeks since you last heard from me.

The Sunset over Benhausen

         The reason I say that I am only just alive is a long story. It all started when Tate and I went to a little town called Borchentreich where her ancestors are from. We decided to go to help her make connections in her genealogy work. Borchentreich is a small town kind of in the middle of the countryside and it is hauntingly quiet. When we arrived there were no people anywhere to be seen. The only sounds were the birds and a rooster from a farm at the far side of town. There was no sound from inside the shops or houses. The sun was up, the day was bright, the weather was beautiful, and yet we seemed to be the only people in town other than the nice ladies who ran the bakery.
         It felt like a ghost town, except that the the whole place was perfectly maintained. Being the amateur monster hunters that we are, we decided it must be a vampire town. There was no information center, record library, or archive. And the only chapel in town was closed, so we decided to go grave hunting. Tate gave me a list of names and we went into the cemetery to search for her family members graves. By this point we'd seen more dead people than alive that day.
         Out of no where a young man and old woman came into the cemetery carrying a bucket full of something. We watched from a safe distance as they, somewhat nervously spread salt around a grave like a barrier. And any good amateur monster hunter knows that salt is used to ward off demons. We realized that there are humans in Borchentreich, but they don't emerge from their homes until the early afternoon to be sure that they are truly safe from vampires. 
          As we were getting ready to leave Borchentreich we noticed a large hill in the distance that had a huge tower on top of it. We decided it's where Count Bartholomew (the Alpha vampire) must live. Naturally we had to investigate. But we needed to protect ourselves from the Count, so we stopped at a church near the bottom of the hill in another town near Borchentreich and filled up our water bottles with holy water.
         While we were climbing the steep hill I got really thirsty and Tate had already drank some of the holy water herself so she said it was probably safe to drink. I drank almost the entire bottle before we reached the top of the hill were the ruins of a watch tower were. The view was amazing and I was feeling on top of the world from up there, leaning over the edge of a tower like I'm invincible from vampires because of the holy water. Some how this made me think that it would be a good idea to taunt the vampire Count. I called into the ruins of the tower that he could try and get me, but that I would be gone before the sun was. I teased him that he could try and fight me even then but I would beat him. We stayed up there for a little while and then when the sun started to go down we left. We got back to Benhausen just as night was falling and I was feeling just fine. A little thirsty from not enough water, and a little achy from the climb but over all fine. 

            However, the next day I woke up feeling very ill and dehydrated. Every muscle and joint in my body ached. I had no energy and felt depleted. Come to find that there was not one but two identical puncture marks on my spine. Over the past three weeks I have felt sick on and off again, sometimes too weak to get out of bed and sometimes just a bit achy and tired. And the wounds (aka vampire bites) on my back have not fully healed. Lesson for you, Reader, do not taunt a vampire. He will follow you home and drink your blood.

Tate and the Wanderess waiting for the Reunification Day parade to start. We went to a festival with our Bulgarian friend. 

The Mall that has become a famous Battle Ground in Kiev

          On a happier and slightly less melodramatic note, Tate and I are, as I mentioned before, now in Ukraine. We spent a day in Frankfurt which was beautiful and looked like a Christmas village. That night we flew out of Frankfurt into Kiev where we slept in the airport for a few hours. Then we woke up and went to the hotel that we stayed in for a few days. There's a lot of dust in the air there and it's really cold so it's been difficult learning to breathe in the climate, but the people are so nice and we were right by the temple which was beautiful. After a few days in Kiev, we took a train overnight to Ivano-Frankivsk, where Tate spent a lot of her mission. I met a wonderful family that she taught here and we also met with the sister missionaries for a spiritual thought at the home of another of Tate's friends. One of the sisters is going to be added to my list of missionaries I email as well (Woot for new pen pals). The people here are so kindhearted. They don't have much here but they are always wanting to share and give and serve. It's really inspiring. And everyone here loves tea so I'm a little in heaven.  
          All in all I am doing well despite being tragically ill and even more tragically losing my laptop to the brink of death. I am seeing the world and I am taking in so many new stories that I can't wait to one day tell. I hope you are doing well back home!
     Love Always,
         The Wanderess

The Trickster and The Hero

Dear Reader,

         As a writer and literature enthusiast, I get to take a pretty in depth look at archetypal characters. Unlike people in real life, these characters are each very extremely one thing. Take for example the Trickster. The Trickster is a character who crosses all of the boundaries that other characters are unwilling to cross, often causing trouble along the way. He is funny and mischievous. He breaks societal rules and redefines life on his own terms. Then there is the Hero. The Hero is always brave and self-sacrificing. He believes in the greater good and is willing to put every selfish inclination on the line for the betterment of others. He is good and kind and has the ability to make things better. But people in real life are not all one way, no matter how much they may seem to be.

          Today is a special day because it is the anniversary of the day I became a big sister for the first time. My brother is on the surface a pretty a funny guy.  He is the Trickster. He gets himself into trouble by pushing the boundaries. He says things that are over the top. He does things that are over the line. And he is constantly living his life by the definitions that work best for him. Sometimes being the Trickster makes my brother gain enemies, but it much more often brings him great friends. People like to be around him. Maybe they love the chaos. Maybe they just like to laugh. But I think they can sense that here is more to him than just that one archetype.

           My brother is also the Hero. This is a part of him that sometimes he forgets he has. When he was little he was always the first to come to my defense. I was bullied in school. Even thought the kids who teased me were much bigger and older than him, he didn’t let fear stop him from coming to my rescue. He is a strong believer in justice. Seeing injustice gives him a righteous fury that can be frightening if you’re on the wrong side of it. No one would deny that my brother is brave and bold like a hero, but sometimes it takes getting through the layer of Trickster to see his love a goodness and justice. I think he may sometimes believe that the Hero is something just from his past but it is still very much a part of him.

                                        

          Shortly before I left Vegas for Germany I had a conversation with him that I haven’t been able to get out of my head. We were driving home from the place that we used to work together in his truck and he expressed to me that he admired my ability to travel. He loves home. He’s comfortable at home and he’s sometimes afraid to go other places because he has to leave that comfort. I am not comfortable when I am at home too much. I need to travel. I need adventure to feel comfortable and sure it can be a bit scary to travel but the idea of staying in Vegas forever is way more terrifying to me. I am a bird aching to fly and never turn back and he is a bird who is afraid to ever leave the nest.

I think one of the reasons that this conversation meant so much to me wasn’t because of the differences between my brother and me. It was because I realized in that moment how much we need each other and how much we have to learn from each other. How perfect is it that I am his older sister who can set the example of leaving the nest and can show him how to fly safely. And how perfect is it that he wants to stay so that I always have a reason to return to the nest and won’t forget where I came from.

Essentially my brother and I make a great team. In the ways that I am weak he always makes up. He is so smart and learning comes easy to him. He excelled in school and hardly had to try. I love to learn but struggled with school. I was smart too but academics didn’t always come easily to me like they did to him.

Sometimes I have a hard time remembering to be happy and enjoy life. He makes me laugh and reminds me that even when things suck that won’t last. When I’m feeling down about my own trials and wanting to give up I look to him. He is above me, still climbing on the side of a steep mountain and he doesn’t have to tell me that I can do it, he doesn't even have to know that I'm climbing too, because I can see through his strength that any mountain can be climbed and that example of strength and courage is all that I need.

The Queen of Clean, The Hero, and The Wanderess
at The Hero's Graduation

The Trickster and The Wanderess laughing

          I love the Trickster, who makes me laugh, who pushes the boundaries and is capable of creating a bubble of peace even in the most chaotic of environments. I love the Hero who teaches me to be better, who defends me, and fights for justice. I love my brother and though I'm missing him while I'm here, I hope he can look to my flight as an example that he can do it too. I have the best brother in the world.

         Austin, when I see you fight towards the top of the mountain you inspire me to do the same and you are my salvation. I hope that in some way, though comparably insignificant, I can do the same for you by continuing to pave a safe path around the world that you can follow as soon as you are ready to fly. I love you Austin. Happy birthday bro!

     Love Always,

          The Wanderess

Loving the Little Things

Dear Reader,

         I know its been a little while since I've written a blog post. I've been hard at work on my novel (the goal is to be done with chapter 20 by the end of next week but we'll see how that goes). Tate and I are all settled in the new village though. Grandmother Willow left for the Czech Republic today and we are watching her rabbits while she'd gone. But we are planning a few fun trips.

         Today we went in town to find out how much train tickets to Ukraine would cost. Flying was cheaper so we bought our tickets online today and I am very excited to be going to Ukraine with someone who has lived there for a year and a half. I'm really excited to see the culture and Tate had been talking up the food so I'm looking forward to that as well. I'm sure if it tastes anything like Russian food I'll love it.

         While we were in town we decided to do some exploring on some of the back roads in Paderborn. Tate found this beautiful area that looks like Neverland earlier this week. I'm so glad she showed it to me so we could climb some trees, play discover shiny objects in the water, and take some fun pictures.

Neverland Tree

I thought she was going to fall in but she did well

The treasures we found included a rusted battery and a rusted bottle cap.
Disposed of the battery. Kept the bottle cap.

         We also found the mascot for the totally awesome club we are starting. We're called the Sozial Unbeholfen Pinguine Club, because only socially awkward penguins are allowed to join it. 

His name is Phil and we just named him
in less time then it took me to write this sentence

         After we finished our exploring and had eaten some yummy waffles that we've been dying to try, we walked back down the walking street to get on the bus. There's a new store coming to Paderborn, Germany and we really enjoyed their advertisement. 

Yep, the name of the store is CHRIST. 

         Right after we took this picture we bumped into the Elders at the bus stop. They were super friendly and they are both from the US so I got to talk to them which was nice. Though I'll probably never get sick of talking to Tate and our Bulgarian friend from church, being able to have a full conversation with someone else in English was surprisingly nice. The Elders and I rode the same bus out of town and I got to have a nice conversation with them both. And I continue to be grateful for all they have done for us since we've been here (they are the big brothers in Hansella and Gretel by the way). I do have to say though that my German is improving ever so slightly (and very slowly), but I can now have these partially German and part English conversations with people. And when I can't, Tate continues to be an excellent translator. I am growing to become very grateful of all the little beautiful things that make this place so great. I love you all and hope you are doing well. Watch out for the little things. They will always find a way to make you smile.

     Love Always,

          The Wanderess

P.S. Someone please update me on how my primary kids are because I've been missing them.

Hansella and Gretel (Part 2- feat. Grandmother Willow)

Dear Reader,

         Did I leave you hanging on that cliff for a while or what? I'm a fan of the cliff-hanger. I hope I didn't scare you all too badly. You ready to find out what happened to Hansella and Gretel?
         When we left them the young ladies were desperate to escape before the Hostess could return. Their brothers' friend, who was a Russian spy helped them come up with a professional extraction plan. The Russian Spy used his network of safe houses to help the girls find a safe and secure place to live with a kind Lithuanian woman name Grandmother Willow. But in order to escape the Hostess’s house, Hansella and Gretel had to move quickly. They packed up all their things in about half an hour and rushed out the door. They packed all of their belongings into their Bulgarian friend's car and rushed out of the village to Grandmother Willow's.
          When they arrived at Grandmother Willow's she showed them up to the apartment upstairs. The view was beautiful. The window from Hansella's room over looked a marigold field and up the street was a lovely church steeple. They were so relieved to be safe.    

The view from my window

My room when we first moved in

          Unfortunately for the sisters, the apartment was very old, messy, and dirty. But they hardly minded. Grandmother Willow had rescued them from the Hostess.  She hadn't had time to clean up because Hansella and Gretel had to come in such a rush. But Grandmother Willow was kind. She had pet bunnies and she cooked dinner for the hungry and weary Hansella and Gretel. She told them that they would be here alone for a while because she had to go to the Czech Republic as part of her spy work, but the girls were so grateful that they had a new place to stay.

My room after we cleaned today

     
       The girls went into town the next day and bought cleaning supplies. And because they were good hearted young ladies they even went back to the Hostess' house to make sure everything was clean and in tip top shape. They left money for the Hostess and returned to their new home.
        Today Hansella and Gretel cleaned the apartment from top to bottom and really spruced up the place and brightened it. They were exhausted after they finished cleaning and they still hadn't even done the bathroom yet. But they were quite satisfied with their new home and their new host, their adopted doting Grandmother Willow the Lithuanian spy.
         From that day forward Hansella and Gretel were free to live their adventuring dreams, free of the Hostess and on to bigger and better things. And lets hope they continue to live happily ever after. The End. I hope you liked my story.

     Love Always,
          The Wanderess

Hansella and Gretel (Part 1)

Dear Reader,

            I have a story that might interest you. I think that it is soon going to become a local legend in Germany. It is the story of Hansella and Gretel.

Tate and I went on a Picnic in the Barn

            Once upon a time there were two sisters named Hansella and Gretel. Hansella was a writer and Gretel was genealogist, and though they were young they were very clever. Since they were children these sisters had dreamed of traveling the world together and when they were adults they finally were able to make their dream come true. They decided to move to a small village outside of a town in central Germany and were very excited about the adventures they would have there.

            Gretel went ahead of her sister to make the arrangements for them to start their lives there. She found a kind old woman who was willing to let the sisters live with her for a few months. The woman told them that there were carriages in the village that would take them everywhere they needed to go. When Hansella arrived Gretel and her waited for the old woman to take them to her home. From that day forward they called the woman the Hostess.

            They followed this woman through a large field out of town, past an old abandoned barn and into the deep dark forest where she lived. At first Hansella was worried that the woman might be a witch who would eat them, but the Hostess assured Hansella that they were safe in her home. At first she seemed very kind and loving. She was sometimes a bit doting but the sisters didn’t mind.

            After a few days Hansella and Gretel started to notice odd things about the Hostess. Gretel noticed that she was sort of a hoarder. She had thousands of postcards, none of which were from places she had ever been or from any of her friend. Hansella noticed that she would obsessively iron her clothing for hours on end. Sometimes she would iron the same item of clothing again and again, even after it looked perfect, muttering to herself all the while. But the Hostess was kind enough to be sharing her home with them so they didn’t let her odd habits bother them.

Until one day, when the Hostess suddenly became cruel and cold toward the sisters. She forced Gretel to clean for her, answer the phone for her, open the door for her. She would hover over the younger woman like a vulture, while she cooked and demand that she wait on her hand and foot. She made Hansella clean the kitchen and bathroom over and over again. Even after they were clean, Hansella’s fingers would be raw from scrubbing the sinks clean so often. She was obsessed with how often the windows were opened and closed and would make the sisters go around the house to open the windows five times a day and then go around and close them all again.

They were quickly becoming servants in her house, despite the fact that they were paying her to live there. But they tried to just do as she asked and be as polite as possible. They needed a break from it all. So they decided to go into town, but the carriages to take them into town never came into the village. They realized they were trapped.

When they returned to the house the Hostess was angry with them. She forced Gretel to sleep on the floor and she tried to shut Hansella alone in the cold attic. The sisters tried to fight back but she threatened to force them out into the cold, if they didn’t obey her. They new if they were forced out of the house they would surely freeze to death. So they continued to comply.

Finally Gretel had enough. “We have to get out of here,” she told her sister. They quickly contacted their brothers who were living in town and their Bulgarian friend. Their brothers helped them make an escape plan and their Bulgarian friend had agreed to take them safely away from the Hostess. But the Hostess heard of their escape plans and trapped them in her house, while she went away to decide what to do with them.

The girls were desperate to escape before the woman returned so they contacted their brothers again. Their brothers had a friend who was a Russian spy. They gave their younger sisters this spies contact information so that they could come up with a professional extraction plan. The Russian Spy used his network of safe houses to help the girls a safe and secure place to hide once they managed to escape the Hostess’s house, but now it was up to Hansella and Gretel to escape quickly…

To Be Continued…

     Love Always,

            The Wanderess

Sublime Inspiration

Dear Reader,

          Yesterday I woke up early to find that the sun was shining bright and it was warm outside. For those that know me that usually is a bad sign for me. I love rain and cold. It's perfect weather for curling up with a good book, watching a movie, drinking a cup of tea, playing in puddles, and just marveling at the power and beauty of nature. But it has been so cold here that we can't escape it whether we are inside or outside. It's the beginning of September and Tate and I are both already wearing out warmest coats in the house.
         But yesterday the skies were partly cloudy, the sun was shining bright, and it was warm with a nice cool breeze. In essence the weather was perfect. And we decided to take advantage of the good weather by taking a trip into town for a few hours. I have only been in town for church and the night we arrived. I waited for the bus on Friday and it never came. I waited for the bus on Tuesday and again it never came. So I was a bit worried that once again the bus would not come to get me.
         Good news! The bus came to the village and I was actually able to go into town. The bus dropped us off at the train station. First Tate and I stopped in a church to look around for a bit. Then we walked through a large shopping area where we stopped to look at Lederhosen and see if they had traditional German dresses. The Lederhosen were super expensive and we decided to keep looking around to see if we can find a better price. The only "traditional" German dresses they had were short and pink and looked a lot more like a "sexy" German Halloween costume than anything else. We didn't even look twice at those.
         We continued up the street toward Paderborn's cathedral, and we stopped in almost every church we passed. There are so many churches there and when the bells all tolled and noon it seriously felt like a different world. For lunch we ate Bratwursts at another little stand like the one in Hamburg, but these ones were a bit better. They still don't understand the concept of tomato ketchup but the weird barbecue sauce tasted better to me this time. Maybe I'm just getting used to it or maybe it was the curry that they sprinkled on top. Probably the curry. You guys, I really love curry.

       


          But what was most exciting to me was when we explored the different churches and the cathedral. Below are pictures from the cathedral where we attended a meditation meeting. Outside of the cathedral I couldn't get a ton of really great pictures because they are currently doing construction on the building, but I can say that it is beautiful. It looks like a castle.
         The grounds were beautiful too. A small chapel behind the cathedral sits right on top of a natural spring. Everywhere there is greenery, plants and flowers popping up from between the bricks. The stairs and the buildings are covered in moss and clovers and grass. It is so remarkable to see all that life. Even the construction didn't take away from the beauty too much.

       

         The inside was even more spectacular. The inside was dim and it echoed every sound. There was something both magnificent and a bit ominous about it (plug for Dr. Bishop-it was sublime). Right inside the door way was this amazing sculpture thing. I'm not even sure what to call it and I took a picture but it couldn't capture all the details. I'm not sure what biblical tales or historical events its supposed to even be capturing but it was glorious. It had angels on it, as well as Catholic figures like saints and a pope. And scattered throughout the scenes were people who had skeletal faces and ribs stretching through thin skin. It was sort of terrifying and so so cool.

         The arches and door ways were all super ornate and each was a little different too. I mean the architecture in this place was out of this world. The detail was amazing. There were a ton of different material used. They used different metal for the grates and different stone around the arches and if you came up to them at a a different angle you would notice something completely different about it. Of course everything was very symbolic. The windows above were all stained glass and portrayed various bible stories. The one above this one looked like the Widow's Mite to me, but it could have been any story where a poor woman gives everything she has to the Lord.

         This Arch was by far my favorite in the whole cathedral. The marble was this amazing coral color and for some reason the architecture and sculptures felt very Parisian to me. It kind of reminded me of the Phantom of the Opera or The Beasts castle in Beauty and the Beast. When I look at the picture now it looks more Greek than I thought it did, but when I first walked up to it I thought Paris Baroque for some reason. (Mom I'll want your expertise on what this stuff actually is).  But it was covered in Cherubs and in the grate though it might be a bit difficult to see is the face of -what to me looked like- an angry archangel with a halo above its head.

         Underneath the cathedral was another chapel and when we got down there we took a few pictures inside the chapel before I turned around. There was an archway behind me with more steps leading down into the ground and at the bottom of the steps was a saintly Sarcophagus. Yes I was excited that I had just discovered the entrance to the crypt under the cathedral. And of course I did enter the crypt where I took a ton of pictures of. You know me I live for those sort of spooky things. It was so dark and cold down there, which I know is kind of the point of a crypt, but there was this light hanging from the ceiling and it reflected off the tiled mosaic on all the walls which sparkled. It looked so pretty. It was the exact sort of thing that my sister would love if it was in a less morbid place than a crypt.

         After we finished at the cathedral and all the other churches we wanted to see. We headed to the grocery store where I filled my basket. Finally I was able to go grocery shopping at a real grocery store. No more crackers for breakfast for this lady. It was a successful day and I am really glad I got to experience it all. I got quite a bit of inspiration for my novel which (this is my idea of a big announcement) is going to be a series of (probably) four books. For those of you who like the gothic, sci-fi, fantasy, or dystopian genres you will probably like this series, because I am discovering that it is kind of all of those wrapped into one. It might sound like a bit much but given who its author is, the genre mashup makes quite a bit of sense. Well its another bright sunny day today so I'm thinking of going for a walk, then back to work. Four books aren't going to write themselves. 

     Love Always,

          The Wanderess

Amateurs at Everything

Dear Reader,

         

          Life is full of times when we feel inadequate, where we knock ourselves down for not being perfect at things. But when we were children we didn't see those things. All we saw in ourselves was our own potential to be anything that we could possibly want to be. Sometimes doing things that used to be fun as a child can remind you of what you need more of in your adult life. That means letting go of the fear of not being the best at something and letting yourself just be an amateur.

We climbed to the top of the jungle gym

          Tate and I have decided to become amateurs at everything that we aren't yet experts in. So far we have become amateur biologists, amateur hairstylists, amateur detectives, amateur spies, amateur architects and amateur life coaches. 

I spy with my little eye...

          We have been discovering and naming the wild life around the village. We have been investigating old buildings and spying on odd people. We have been giving romantic advise to people across seas and trying to diagnose the people living near us so that we can advise them as well. Today we even built a castle with a mote around it too work on our architecture skills.

Isn't it awesome?

          I am proud to be an amateur at everything, because I see greatness in trying lots of things. I see potential in myself to become who ever I want to be. Right now is a time of our young lives where we are trying to learn what we want to be and where we want to fit into this world. I realized today that if you become an amateur at everything you will eventually find the things you want to be an expert at. Right now I want to be a Wippe riding expert (Wippe is the German word for teeter-totter). That might change by tomorrow, but that's okay because for now I am an amateur at everything.  

         
     Love Always,
           The Wanderess

Change can be Good

Dear Reader,

          Sometimes change is really hard. When society or lives change it can be really uncomfortable and a lot of times we resist the changes being made. But there are times in life when it is important to make changes and there are times when making a change can bring you joy. There a lot of ways that you can make changes in your life and one way is shaving your head.

Do you see the mix of terror and excitement in my eyes?

          As many of you I occasionally have trouble with my hair. My hair is very thin and fine, but I have a ton of it. I've been known to give myself the occasional trim but I have never used clippers before, because my hair has always been fairly long and I've never had any reason to shave someones head. I always just end up throwing it in a slicked back ponytail and calling it good. Since arriving in Germany I have struggled with my hair even more than usual, because the humidity is making it go crazy and the little pieces at the front of my head refuse to stay down. But of course I, Alexis the professional problem solver, found a brilliant solution.
          Tate texted the Elders from church in the local branch and asked them if they had clippers we could borrow. Good news! They did! After church on Sunday they gave us the clippers saying that they only had really short guards. But we were okay with that because the look we had planned requires more of a lack of hair than an abundance of hair. Its pretty rock star looking actually. We asked the Hostess to borrow a pair of scissors as well and she only had very dull scissors that are totally wrong for cutting hair but they still worked.
          Obviously I was super nervous because I had no idea what I was doing. But Tate assured me that I would do fine, and if I didn't that was okay because we have lots of hats and it will eventually grow back. She was right. I actually did do fine. It looks pretty cool and I have learned something very important about myself. I am very good at cutting other people's hair.

          Don't worry you guys. Tate loves her new haircut and I found my own solution to my hair problem that I call 'lots and lots of braids' and no shaving.
          Some actresses are coming to stay in the house tonight. I think they'll like Tate's new haircut. While they are here I am going to be staying in my temporary room for one more night. This morning I moved my things into my permanent room across the hall, but since the actress are coming tonight I am taking the pull out bed in the office again tonight so that they can all sleep in the same vicinity. There are two beds in the attic and the ladder to the attic is in my room so the Hostess thinks we should let them all stay in that space. I personally agree, because it would be a little awkward to have three German actresses traipsing through my bedroom and gabbing all night while I'm trying to sleep. Plus it's only for one more night.
           But I am looking forward to the change of scenery tomorrow. It might be a bit hard to get comfortable again after spending my first week in the office, but sometimes change is good. For example a real bed instead of a pull out bed, or making a list of things I have to do every single day so that I am spending my time here productively. Speaking of which, I have a chapter of a novel to finish writing. Talk to you guys again soon.

     Love Always,
           The Wanderess

Wandering in the Wild Wood

Dear Reader,

           When we were little my cousin Tate and I always had vivid imaginations. Whenever she was in town we explored, traveled, and investigated everything together. Our only limits were our wild imaginations. Today we are traveling the world together, exploring the woods, investigating wildlife, and imagining the stories behind all the magical places we're seeing.  

The Wanderess Wandering in the Wild Woods

           Today was a beautiful day. It was freezing cold and raining almost the entire day. There are only two buses to town on Saturdays: one really early in the morning and another really late in the evening. Basically if you want to go into town on Saturday you will have to be there all day. This morning, Tate road her bike into town to get groceries to make lunch. While she did that I made a video log for my close friends and family to watch.

            I did a bit more writing today as well, mostly brainstorming. After Tate got back we visited for a little while and ate some delicious chicken fajitas that she made. Then we decided to go for a walk to explore some of the woods around the village. On our way out of the village we picked some tiny apples from a tree on the side of the road and they tasted so good. It was still freezing and rainy but everything was so beautiful that we hardly noticed. We were exploring and wandering for about 3 hours.

           The first place we saw was an old building that had graffiti all over it. Someone had written "Way in the Hell" on the window.  We think it was supposed to say 'way into hell'. We knocked but no one answered. Apparently the devil wasn't home.  

 

"Way in the Hell"

            Then we went on this dirt path off the main road and found some pretty interesting wildlife out there. Every place we saw and every creature we discovered got a new more exciting name. In our explorations we met some incredibly kind critters, found some yummy fresh fruit, and some amazing places. I took over 117 pictures on our little adventure hike, but I’m only going to share the highlights with you. 

This is Harold the Sunset Slug.
We both got to pet him,
but then he got scared so we left him alone. 

This is Mud the Crawler Beetle.
He was originally thought to be
a swimmer beetle but then he almost drowned
so we changed his name.

          After we reached the pavement we got to a cross road and took the path that looked less traveled. It was covered in mud from the rain. 

Tate choosing the right

We found an old barn and the door was unlocked.

We explored it.

Then we climbed onto the hay and explored upstairs.

Tate in the second floor of the barn

Me in the barn

          We broke into a really old barn. Yeah, I realized that sounds bad, but we found what looked like an abandoned barn in the middle of the woods, which was in total disrepair and it just happened to be unlocked. How could we resist? After we explored the cool barn and took a ton of pictures in there. We made our way back to the village.

The road back to the village

         The whole journey through the woods which we have now deemed the Wild Wood, was approx. 7 kilometers. and we were thoroughly soaked through from the rain when we got back to the house, but it was totally worth it. I feel fantastic. It was beautiful and inspiring. I am amazed by how easy it is to love this place. There isn't much to do here but everything is so magical. My writing has taken off and I feel closer to reaching my goals everyday. All is well in Germany, but I suggest to all of you back home that you find a place a little cooler to go on an exploration expedition. Or just wander, you never know what you might find. 

     Love Always,
          The Wanderess