So here is a genuine question so, if denim vests, dresses, pleated denim skirts, and even shoes, pretty much all denim everything, flares too, crops, shrunken blazers, and even gauchos are making a comeback...

How long will it be before sequined shrugs or regular shrugs and layering make a return from a roughly 18 year hibernation?

Like you ask yourself in a store off racks or see on teens and the early twenties and generally younger humans walking down the street, is it like 2006 again?

Even Timberlake is supposedly collabbing with Timbaland and Nelly Furtado. NSYNC, in full as a five piece, who mind you, has been split up for well over almost 20ish years, may even might reunite. It feels crazy. 2006 was what? A whole adult has been born lived their entire toddler and adloscnet eras and is now currently in 2023, an adult since then. That is crazy.

I can’t believe im saying this, but I am lowkey here for it, and dare I say interested and entertained. In the same breath boom, I feel dreadfully old. Even the members of my generation peers and the 40ish members of NSYNC. I joke about it often to myself, but ugh, it's not really a good feeling despite physically being fine as to be expected. The thirties suck.

The gods of fashion say fashion comes in cycles. I suppose this is what it means. Thanks for reading if you made it this far.

I refuse to be old or become old. I make an effort though I lowkey wish I had a cocktail like Meryl Streep had in Death Becomes Her where I remain ageless and can wear all the beautiful clothes with a yoga toned body and looks to match. Life ain't like the movies, and you see all or most of the clothes you donned in middle school or high school on teen children or on the youth of today. I didn't sign up for this.

Yikes, this is how my mom probably when flares came back in the late 1990's or when I was obsessed with watching Nick at Nite or TV Land with the shows of her time like it was brand new. Let's also not forget the VH1 and 80s obsessions. It's a boomerang, it's a cycle and it's driving me crazy.

Lions, bears, donkeys and a Savior

When you and I think of Christmas we see Mary, Joseph and baby Jesus, in a barn with animals, a few bewildered shepherds and the manger laid out on a table or a fireplace mantle…sometimes we have the three wise men, who actually didn’t arrive until two years later but hey they came with the set, right?

I think most of us picture Mary and Joseph getting up one morning, booking a room and walking across town to settle in for the birth of their first born child.

But the world of Mary and Joseph was actually a very difficult and a very dangerous place. The harsh conditions of that time were not laid out in the Gospel accounts.

It was anything but a ride across town on paved well lit streets.

Mary and Joseph’s hardships started a few weeks before the birth of their son when the couple left their home in Nazareth, in the northern highlands of Galilee to register for a Roman census.

It was another government mandate.

Mary, nine months pregnant, who historians believe could have been as young as 15 or 16, riding on the back of a donkey, for 90 miles to the city of Joseph’s ancestors for this census.

Ninety miles.

Ninety.

Nine zero…

In your mind go ninety miles down the highway away from where you are right now. Put your teenage fiancé (stick with the narrative), nine months pregnant, on the back of a donkey and walk that direction, about ten miles a day.

Did I mention nine months pregnant? Raise your hand if you’ve ever been nine months pregnant. Did you ride a donkey ninety miles not having any idea where you’d stay once you got there?

Next time you see a tiny statue of Mary on the dash of a truck think about that…

They were broke, exhausted and modern conveniences were almost zero, other than maybe a house in a village to stop in for water or maybe bread.

Mary and Joseph walked south along the flatlands of the Jordan River, then west over the hills surrounding Jerusalem and on into Bethlehem, again it wasn’t across town. It was ninety miles just like ninety miles is today.

Joseph knew what they’d be traveling through. Some accounts of that day and region talk about bears and lions in the woods along the path that would be followed from Nazareth to Bethlehem. Lions and bears…

And this trip was not a straight path. It was up hill and down hill over and over again, nine months pregnant on the back of a donkey.

If the trip through the Judean desert took place during the winter, it would have been in the 30s during the day, with heavy rains off and on.

On a donkey.

Ninety miles.

Nine months pregnant.

To protect themselves during bad weather, Mary and Joseph would likely have worn heavy wool cloaks made to shed rain and even snow and under their cloaks, they wore long robes.

Ninety miles on a donkey.

And the unpaved, rocky trails and harsh weather were not the only hazards Joseph and Mary would have faced on their journey south.

Palestine was a section of heavily forested valley near the Jordan River, along with lions and bears living in the woods, they also had to fend off wild boars.

That cute nativity scene set up in front of your local church is feeling a little different, isn’t it?

Our “live nativity” scene usually don’t have lions, bears and wild boars does it?

It may have been a holy night, but it was anything but silent.

Archeologists have unearthed documents warning travelers of other forest dangers such as bandits, pirates of the desert and robbers common along the major trade routes like the ones Joseph and Mary would have traveled that week.

The threat of outlaws often forced travelers to join trade caravans for protection, so it is very likely Mary and Joseph traveled with a relatively large group headed to Bethlehem for the census.

Think how many people years later may have connected the dots realizing they were so close to Jesus…but didn’t stay long enough to actually meet him.

That still happens today.

Doesn’t it?

It is believed that the overcrowded conditions in Bethlehem on the night of Jesus’ birth would have resulted in others being close at hand during Mary’s delivery.

Think standing room only.

There were others most certainly present at the birth of Jesus and since it’s human nature to help, it’s not unreasonable that other women might have helped deliver the baby Jesus that night as this Jewish teenage girl gave birth to her first born child.

Even though Mary could have had help and the cave may have provided some protection from the elements, the noisy and dirty conditions under which Jesus was born would have made the event anything but warm and wonderful and sweet and comfortable.

It was an appropriate introduction to the hard pathway that Jesus would follow in His 33 years on earth to rescue and ransom His people from their bondage and sin.

After Jesus was born and the excitement gave way to night Mary, Joseph and a few bewildered shepherds may have been the only ones who understood who was wrapped in those swaddling clothes.

Do you?

He was just another Jewish baby born to an unwed teenage mother with a young dad who earned a meager wage as a carpenter.

No red carpet, no breaking news and no press conference.

All that happened that night was the Sovereign Creator of the universe had been born as a tiny baby who would grow up to live a sinless perfect life to teach, heal and perform miracles that had never been seen before. He would turn the religious leaders and system upside down and begin a movement that literally became known as The Way.

How incredible is it to imagine that over the next few days, perhaps Joseph, Mary holding the infant Jesus stood in line to register for the census. At some point, a Roman guard or other appointed official may have asked Joseph to state his name, possibly present some papers, give the name of his fiancée and then answer the question,

“Name of your child, boy or girl?”

“His name is Jesus, he’s our only child, our first born son. He was born just a few nights ago here in Bethlehem.”

We can only imagine.

That’s it.

No fanfare.

No music, no parade, no welcome, no ribbon cutting, no evidence that He’s the Savior of the world and the hope of all mankind.

He eats, cries, needs to be changed and the cycle starts all over again.

Twelve years later he would baffle seminary professors and almost give away the quiet secret that the Messiah is playing in your front yard with your children.

Eighteen years after that, walking the earth taking in the sights and sounds of a fractured people who try desperately to fill an empty heart with everything but a God who loves them…Jesus walks into a wedding and changes more than water into wine.

He launches a thirty six month tour of that part of the world that turns heaven and earth inside out.

Plants, animals, disease, demons and weather patterns obey his voice. Kings stumble, hearts melt and lives are transformed. Twelve clumsy locals drop their careers and follow Him.

His teachings break the rules.

His message rewrites the scrolls.

His compassion upsets city hall.

Until a posse sets out to capture, torture and crucify Mary and Joseph’s boy who is also Emanuel-God with us…

1868 years later Phillips Brooks, an Episcopal pastor needed a song for the children’s Sunday School at The Church of the Holy Trinity in Philadelphia. Inspired by visiting a tiny village in Jerusalem in 1865, he wrote a poem and his organist Lewis Redner added the music.

They never thought anyone but the little children that morning would ever pick up on the song.

Here’s the lyrics…

Oh little town of Bethlehem, how still we see thee lie. Above thy deep and dreamless sleep the silent stars go by.

Yet in thy dark streets shineth, the everlasting light. The hopes and fears of all the years are met in thee tonight.

For Christ is born of Mary, and gathered all above, while mortals sleep the angels keep their watch of wondering love.

Oh morning stars together, proclaim thy holy birth. And praises sing to God the king, and peace to men on earth.

Oh little town of Bethlehem, how still we see thee lie. Above thy deep and dreamless sleep the silent stars go by.

Yet in thy dark streets shineth, the everlasting light. The hopes and fears of all the years are met in thee tonight.

Phillips Brooks did one other thing before he left this earth, he introduced Helen Keller to Christianity and he introduced her to Anne Sullivan.

Whatever your hopes and fears are tonight, they are perfectly met in the Glory of Christ, Emanuel-God with us…

Repost this just in case someone needs to be reminded that one of the reasons Jesus was called Emanuel is because God is always with us…

15, please

Ooooh this one I was really thinking about do we go full fluff or angst or what? Sooooo let us return to a universe that may have been forgotten....Princess Daenerys and her bodyguard Jon (spoiler alert) from my weird mysterious angsty fic bird on a wire. Well in that one he is FORMER and in this one it is set a bit before. Forbidden Love! 💗

Moodboard to come! Enjoy and thank you for the prompt!!

Romantic One Liner Prompts

15. “I’ve missed you so much.”

"Daenerys you look a bit peaky, are you feeling well?"

"I'm fine, mother."  She really needed a drink.  And not the ancient Dornish red they were currently drinking with their meal.  It was the weekly family dinner, something her brother instituted the second he became King, in effort to "foster better familial relationships."  It was basically his way of trying to turn them into as normal a family as possible, when they were anything but that.

She lightly touched her fingertips to her temple, a dull ache forming.  It would rage later, she had no doubt, but for now she could only ignore it and listen to Rhaegar wax on about a dull meeting he had with the Minister of Finance, Willas Tyrell, who was near her age but a bit of a wunderkind in finance and politics.

The empty seat across from her was ignored by Rhaegar, and her mother, and it irked Dany.  Viserys was back in the hospital, not that they would acknowledge it beyond simply saying his doctors thought they had his medications worked out and he would be home soon.  She took a deep breath, crumpling her napkin in her lap.  "You know Muna, I am a bit under the weather, I think I will retire early."

Rhaella glanced away from Rhaegar, who was annoyed she'd interrupted him.  Her mother furrowed her brow, concerned.  "Of course darling, I'll send something to your room later..."

"No thank you, I'm not hungry."  She tossed the napkin onto the chair as she stood, shooting a dark look at Rhaegar, who ignored her and sipped his wine.  "Perhaps it's the weather....or the company."

"Daenerys," Rhaella began, sighing.

She shook her head, rolling her eyes.  "Forget it Muna.  Rhae, always a displeasure."

"Daenerys," he began, but it was their mother who cut him off.

"Rhaegar, please.  I'll not have to fight right now."  It was the Queen Dowager who now looked exhausted and peaky, touching her fingertips to her head.  She waved her hand.  "I will see you later Daenerys, I'll check in on you."

I'm not a child, she wanted to say, but bit her tongue, nodding curtly.  She left the dining room, one of the smaller ones they used solely for family functions-- not that there were any of those beyond weekly dinner-- entering the corridor.

Maegor's Holdfast, where the official family residence happened to be, was free of security during non-working hours, to give the resemblance that they lived in a normal home.  If your home happened to be multiple levels of an ancient castle built by dragonriders.  It was a joke to her, an illusion, something out of a movie.  This is not the home you're looking for, type of thing.

Her heels clicked on the stone floors, barely covered with carpets, chilly in the late evening.  She shivered, an impressive feat given her dragonblood that normally kept her hot, and wondered where her security detail happened to be lurking that evening.  She could call them, if she wanted to go out, but this late they might say no, they couldn't guarantee anything.

Trapped would be a word for it.  Caged, another.  They meant the same thing, but that wasn't it at all.  Daenerys felt like her wings were clipped.  She could flit about and pretend she could fly, but she really couldn't.  Not unless she escaped from under their noses.

She went to her room and picked up one of her dump phones, texting missandei.  A moment later she had the address for a party, should she want to go out.  But she didn't.  She sighed, walking through the big open doors onto her terrace.  Her suite was in a tower, because that's what she wanted as a girl, and overlooked the Blackwater Bay, in the direction of Essos.

Wishing she was at Dragonstone, she closed her eyes, allowing the cool night breeze, salty from the sea, to brush through her hair and across her skin, like a lover's caress, gentle and soft.  On Dragonstone the air might have a burnt, ashy tinge to it, curling your nose, but she loved it.  She missed it.

Her eyelids flickered up, spotting the ships in the harbor, scanning the horizon, to the Dragonpit ruins and then to the Sept of baelor.  She could slip out easily.  Ser Gerold, their Chief of Security, was probably asleep in his bed in the Lord Commander's tower.  Arthur would likely be on duty for Rhaegar well into the night, Barristan was her mother's keeper and then there was Jamie Lannister floating about somewhere.

She named off the Kingsguard in her head, the ones that all had their assignments, some off duty that night, some no doubt in a control room, buzzing in anticipation there might be a plot afoot to kidnap the Princess or assassinate the King.  It had happened once.  Actually, twice, if she included that time Rhaegar's car had flipped on the way to Summerhall.  They said it was an accident, but she knew better.  It was Baratheon supporters.

Her nails dug into the stone, her heart empty, achy.  "Brienne might let me leave," she murmured.  Brienne was their newest guard, she was eager to please.

At her feet, her massive leopard-sized cat Drogon fussed, emerging from wherever he'd been hiding.  He yowled, clawing her feet.  "Is this how you greet me?" she teased, leaning down to lift him up.  She hefted him up and down a couple times, chuckling.  "I think you need a diet, young man."

Drogon yowled, protesting.  She knew he was just saying he was big-boned.  She kissed the top of his head, scratching under his chin.  He clawed into her arm, demanding he be put down, and she obliged lest her arm become a new scratching post for him.  He sauntered his fat butt back into her room and over to the tapestry of the three Targaryens and their dragons, pawing at the edge.

Her lips twitched, heart leaping hopefully, and soon her relief washed over her, the tapestry pushing aside and the secret passageway opening to reveal him.

"Oh," she exclaimed, pushing away from the stone wall, hurrying towards him.  Her arms flung around his neck, embracing him tight, her face buried in his dark curls, inhaling the scent that had been fading from her sheets and the oversized sweatshirt she'd stolen from his apartment, with each passing day.

He gripped her close, his exhale hard enough to knock her earrings aside.  He swayed, with her in his arms, her toes touching the tops of his feet, lifting her slightly off the floor.  "I've missed you so much," he mumbled, voice raspy.

"I've missed you too."

Falling back to her feet, she pushed his hair aside, tucking it behind his ear, fingertips stroking down his recently cropped beard.  Regulations being what they were, he had to make sure it wasn't unkempt, which he sometimes preferred it to be, especially when he was gone for a long time, like he had been.  His eyes crinkled with his warm smile, his own hands mapping her face, both reacquainting with the other, until she could take no more.

She cried out, muffled, kissing him before she could stop herself, fingers digging into the back of his neck, her mouth opening easily under his, desperate.  He held her tight, hands branding her hips, pushing her towards the nearest surface, which happened to be a chaise lounge near the door.

The chaise’s soft silk fabric brushed over the back of her legs when she reclined onto it, pulling him over her, kissing hard and demanding, pouring her happiness at seeing him after so long into the kiss.  He broke it, when the need for air forced them apart, and touched his forehead to hers, whispering.  "I was worried about you, that security breach last week."

It was just a drunk, the Aegon's Hill Academy frat boys daring each other to try to jump the fence, but of course he would see it as a legitimate problem.  "I wasn't even here, I was with Missandei," she murmured.

He frowned, tracing his finger down her nose, thumb skimming her swollen bottom lip.  "I wish you wouldn't do that without me."

"Because you want to party too?" she teased, but she knew what he meant.  He was her protector, her shadow, and she was never fully usafe unless he was near her.

He smirked.  "No, because it's been six months."

"Six months," she sobbed.  She had barely spoken to him, sneaking messages when she could.  She laughed again, rolling her eyes.  "Remind me to tell Lord Commander Hightower to never approve your military leave again."

"Better tell your Minister of War to stop fighting with the Free Folk at the Wall."

Her nose wrinkled; she detested Rhaegar's pick for Minister of War, Lord Tywin Lannister, and only knew he gave ihm that position because it meant he could keep an eye on him.  Better to have him near than across the continent, her brother said.  Dany would prefer he be in jail.

She nuzzled into his chest, needing to hold him, listen to his heart, and reassure herself he was there with her and not traipsing about in the snow thousands and thousands of miles away.  "Will you be back on my detail?" she breathed, her heart stilling as she awaited his reply.

He moved so she could stretch over him, so he could play with her hair, and he nodded. "Aye, I believe so.  Last I heard."

"We have to be more careful, I think Viserys knows."

He stilled his movements.  "He...is he good?"

She shrugged.  "Who knows...they keep medicating him.  Regardless, if he says something...I don't know."

"We'll be more careful."

They couldn't be any more careful at this point.  They hardly looked at each other, every interaction strictly professional.  He was her bodyguard, nothing more, nothing less.  She treated him like she did everyone else.  Little did they know that five years ago, since Captain Jon Snow, reserve Night's Watch, walked into the solar and Ser Arthur introduced him to her as her newest lead bodyguard, she had been hopelessly in love with him.

Well, not exactly five months.  It took some time.  He was annoying the first six months.  Then she started to become friends with him.  They grew close.  Closer.  Until about a year in she'd kissed him, when he'd found her after she'd given him the slip, at a warehouse party in Vaes Dothrak, while they'd been over in Essos for a 'goodwill tour.'

It was wrong.  They both knew it.  They both couldn't stop it.  He'd get reassigned at the least, fired at the most, and she didn't want anything to happen to him.

It was a matter of time.

Someone would find out.

She was sure that this latest assignment of him from reserves to active duty for the last six months might have been a sign.  Except he was a drug, she couldn't stop it.  She loved him and he loved her.  "Jon," she murmured, pressing her nose into the shadow dent between his shoulder and collarbone, idly pressing a kiss against his steady pulse.

"Hmm?"  He pulled lazily at her hair, twisting braids around his fingers.  She could die and be the happiest she'd ever been.

Lifting her face to his, she whispered.  "Make love to me."

He smiled slowly and leaned down, kissing her so tenderly, she thought she might break.  Except she wouldn't, because she was a dragon.  She relaxed against him and he lifted her up, carrying her across the sitting area into her bedroom suite.

Some time later, she lay against him as he slept, and stared out the open doors to the balcony and beyond, the moon full and as silver as her hair, glowing into the darkness over them.  She took a deep breath and closed her eyes, ignoring the sound of reality beating at the door, and returned to sleep, where in dreams she could be Daenerys and he could be Jon.

And not the princess and her bodyguard.

1834 August Wednesday 6th

I fear the enormity of this entry made for a transcribing pause. AL has now applied the new measurement unit of parasols to accacia trees. We and AL learn far more than is necessary about fruit farming, land measurement, holiday rentals and chimney top making. By the time AW objects to the flea ridden auberge both her and I have lost it. Make of this encyclopedic entry what you will. Frankly, I’d have barred the bedroom door after today’s info onslaught.

no kiss not with her at all - fine morning - F68 in my back room at 10:10 - breakfast at 9 - Ann still poorly her bowels no better - had our host M Bernard - he fancied the 11 minerals I had left out of the box = 20/. so I took only 4 for 6/. – quartz upon chaux carbouté 3/., cristaux de quartz 1/., spath pésante, bartye, d’annouay 1/., pierre ollaire 1/.

he calls set-e-ra is what our cocher called stèré – a setĕra = 900 toises carrés but they commonly go here by the journal (plural journaux) = 2/3 of a setĕra or 600 toises carrés - terre à chauvre is worth 3000 francs a setĕra - terre with vines and bled = from 2000/ 2400 francs a setĕra - tear de vigne = francs 1800 to 2000 francs a setĕra - the vine-hills (as at his own campagne) are what they call mi-côtes (i.e. demi côtes) - M Perrier has no land that he (M Pérard) knows of but at Vizille and none there but what belongs to the Chateau and may have from 60 to 80 seteras - but it is the Chateau which makes the land valuable - in buying land one has to consider where it is terre battie, or not; that is, terre with a good house on it, or not - where there is a very large quantity of land, the house is generally given in - where there is not much land, of the house is a consideration - the chateau at Vizelle valuable as being a large manufacturing - filature de coton and employing now 200 to 400 oeuviers - wheat is sold by the boisseau weighing 42 lb + or - according to the goodness of the wheat - it is now 4/50 per boisseau should be 6/. to enable the farmer to pay his way comfortably - M Perard gave 22,000 francs for his campagne (has 17 setĕras) and has laid out from 36,000 to 40,000 francs - wants 10,000 francs for all the trouble he has had the 28 months since he bought it, and asked 70,000 francs but his wife does not wish him to sell - he will assure the estate producing 100 louis = 2400/ per annum without making anything of the house - it is situate in what is called the Beauplan –

took a guide, and out, (left Ann although) at 11:50 to the chateau fort or Bastille on the high compact limestone rock north of the town - had got a considerable way above the engineer’s house when he himself came and I was obliged to turn back and ask leave of the commandant - vexed enough - but could not help it - went back the engineer with me - and shewed my passport - made my story good - the commandant very civil asked me to take bev[erage] en eau sucré and this the which I declined - went a good way up with me - gave me note to the lieutinent in command at the top, and asked me to stop at his and take something on my return and I promised to call - I counted above 350 steps and forgot to count those perhaps 20 or 30 to the very top, and the others lower down - besides all that traversing I certainly mounted 400 steps - very fine views of the town

about halfway and at the very top at 1:30 magnificent view of the valleys of the Isère and Drac - the former winds near the town in large folds - very beautiful - staid 10 minutes under the boiling sun enchanted with the view - the Graissivaudan valley at the apex of the angle stands Grenoble a very fine rich (deserving all of its praises – the fine high Savoy mountain snow-ridged on the east rather hid by clouds but the range hills of hills beautifully thrown together with pointed round elongated all shaped tops - everyone should go to the top of the chateau - from the higher mountain above it the town would be marked by the castle – heated as I was, I was well repaid –

down at the old tower, where lives the engineer and his wife, at 2:30 - very civil - hoped I should go and see them again - gave me a nice little nosegay from their flower pots on the top of the tower - he lost his right arm in Spain at the taking of Valentia (Valence) and - has 1500/. a year pay and 300/. gratification and lives, rent-free of course, in the tower – a taker of roads came in - said the new road to Marseille by Claix, Vizelle etc would be finished in 4 or 5 years as also the new road to Italy by Bourg d’Oisans, Grave, Madeleine, Lauzet etc to Oulx and Exilles and Souza would be done in 5 years - 10 leagues done - 30 more to do the road is done to beyond Bourg d’Oisans- 1/4 hour at the engineers ‘Mr de Matheis, Garde du Génie, Chevalier de la legion d’honneur, à Rabot’ – born at Turin - gave me his address written very well with his left hand –

and returning went to the marbrier, near the good stone bridge ‘Bernard fils Marbrier, rue du no.12, près le pont de Pierre, à Grenoble’ - 1 chimney piece very pretty dark coloured ground much veined with yellow - found in a ravine near Grenoble a - no quarry of it - called brêche de tez, la cheminée conte 150/. transport to Paris 12/. and 15/. to London perhaps 30/. would engage it at 50/. - but what would be the duty? - could furnish 10 or 11 specimens of Grenoble marbles, or marbres du pays of the Dauphiny alps 3 1/2 inches carrés 1/4 inch thick at 3/. each –

home a 3 1/2 - paid all and off from l’ hotel des Ambassadors, Grenoble, at 4:35 – A-[Ann]’s bowels indisposed all the time – the town too low, and near the river - so glad to be off - like the neighbouring hills exceeding for living on - not at all disappointed with town or country - the town a good provincial town, though not handsome - had no time to see the musée - beautiful drive along the river winding tolerably near for some distance - at 5:35 having driven a very high by-road alighted at Campagne of our horte of a vignoble about 1/4 mile from the road (right) - formerly belonging to the Chartreux - shewed us the cave and the great 2 or 3 fontres (casks that 30 men could stand in at once) they left there, and the wine press - still perfectly good (of oak) though a century or two old – rez de chausée a good salon with cabinet for two beds at one end, and two other pieces [rooms] (small) – au 1er distribution with kitchen above, a bel? to be let – the [fermin?] under the same roof and the kitchen and 2 or 3 pieces reserved for his wife’s father and mother - I asked if the tenant could have a garden - no! But M Pernard would give him half the produce of the garden - this rez de chausée 1er well furnished for 1000 francs a year – for la belle saison May to October exclusive – everything really very nicely arranged –

find 7 1/2 foot parasol (in English umbrella) accacias, planted last November looking beautiful - had them from Martin Burdin Chambéri, at 24 sols per tree - and all sorts of rose-bushes at 12 to 16 sols each - find large 7 1/2 ft blueberry trees at 10 sols each – would he sell them to me at that price – M Penard will get and send me off to England as many as I please at the price he himself paid - the leaves of a fine young well headed mulberry tree sell for 20 to 30/. for the season – manure (engrais) (horse manure) very dear - had just 6000 francs worth into his land – but vines a hot thing themselves and did not do with a hot manure - wanted a cold one – la laiche bauche the best - the coarse ready grass (vide line 6 p 128) - too much horse dung bad, too hot -shewed his pavilion with great pleasure - pretty painted in fresco -an Italian from Turin did it and him and two men 2 1/2 months doing it for 600 francs - Ann sadly tired of so much talking she did not understand - but liked the place very well –

off again at 7, and at Voreppe (fine beautiful drive as before) a shabby little town at 7 1/2 - in the rough road coming away had lost the shaft’s bolt or staple - the blacksmith having waited for me (I was bargaining with the woman of the Inn, but she was trop exigeant and 36 minutes were lost) - off from Voreppe at 8:06 sorry not to staid the night but Ann thought we should have fleas in such a looking auberge and I determined not to give the woman more than 21/. for the night and breakfast tomorrow as though had little to give us for dinner and wanted 25/. - a pity to have to drive in the dark - fine rocks high and perpendicular we passed close under soon after leaving Voreppe, then fine shaped-hills and wood were dimly seen - alighted at l'hotel des Cours, chex Bearne at Voisin, at 9:40 - very good large room with two cabinets à un lit, at the end of the room - very comfortable - the master of the house very civil and reasonable - would object to nothing - would have all to me - and take my price - nice little supper- very fine day at 11:40 till about 5:00 p.m. then a shower and afterwards a few drops F70°at 12:10 tonight Not with her tonight

Snow-Crossed Love

Jurdan, Rated T, 4.3 K

Summary: If people are lucky, their soul mark appears on their sixteenth birthday. The marks are words, always the first spoken by their soulmate to them. Cardan Greenbriar and Jude Duarte have both been blessed with such marks, but after a few years, they both feel slightly hopeless when it comes to find the one. Maybe their luck is about to change.

A/N: I had a lot of fun writing this. I kind of want to write a part two, so let me know if you'd be interested. Enjoy!

-o-0-o-

Cardan Greenbriar ate out. A lot. 

Breakfast, lunch, dinner, Monday through Friday, he constantly tried different restaurants, rarely the same place twice. People assumed it was from pure laziness, his family’s exorbitant wealth and his laissiez-faire playboy demeanor. He never tried to dissuade them of these notions, but in all honesty, Cardan didn’t even mind cooking. 

No, Cardan ate out with alarming regularity because of his mark. 

Not everyone had the honor to get one, but Cardan’s had manifested when he turned sixteen, and it changed his habits almost overnight. To Cardan, there was really only one way that he would meet his soulmate. Their words to him were so direct and simple.

“Good evening. My name is Jude, and I’ll be your server tonight. Can I start you off with anything to drink?”

When it came to first words, Cardan was beyond lucky. Not only did he have an occupation, but he also had a name. For the first three years, Cardan chose to dine at restaurants for almost every meal, hoping beyond hope that maybe this would finally be it, the moment he would meet his Jude. Sometimes, he would just meander into restaurants and ask if anyone there had that fabled named. While it was an odd question to ask, it saved him from having to pretend to enjoy yet another meal. 

However, after three years of never eating at home, Cardan and his wallet grew tired.  The last two years of college introduced him to new opportunities too. Now, even though only twenty-one, Cardan understood he had the rest of his life to find his soulmate, but patience was never something he specialized in. It was in the last two years that Cardan had really invested himself into the drinking culture. Perhaps it also coincided with the fact he was in college, but Cardan learned that his money may be more well spent on alcohol than fancy meals.

Regardless, those first few years of having a mark, it was all Cardan could think about. His thoughts seemingly always repeating the same word over and over again.

Jude. Jude. Jude. Jude. Jude. Jude. Jude. Jude. Jude. Jude. Jude. Jude. Jude. Jude. Jude. Jude. Jude. Jude. Jude. Jude. Jude. Jude. Jude. Jude. Jude. Jude. Jude. Jude. Jude. Jude. Jude. Jude. Jude. Jude. Jude. Jude. Jude. Jude. Jude.

He used to think about it so much sometimes that his freshman year notes had pages filled with the name. The ink completely covered anything useful.

However, recently, he could spend a few days where he realized that he hadn’t given the mark, or Jude, any thought. It was these moments of realizations that drove him to near panic. 

What if he’d been eating with friends and laughed through the introduction? What if their meeting was during an awful date with Nicasia, and the server chose to let him remain in his miserable bliss? What if he met them before he even had a mark, so he didn’t know to listen? What if he actually had met them, but they hadn’t cared?

It was alone that Cardan felt that weight of these fears the most, but sometimes even alone, he felt himself forgetting its significance. Normally his commutes to and from college were when his mind was tortured but the constant cycling that was Jude, but tonight presented a completely different problem.

Instead, what commanded his attention was the snow that was positively dumping from the heavens. Small midwestern highways were already painstakingly slow, but with snow drifts that wouldn’t be cleared for at least another day, if people moved faster than 15 miles an hour, it was a miracle. He’d already seen five cars slide into the ditch in real time, and saw another ten sitting there hopelessly in the past hour. Cardan was no idiot, he knew he needed to get off the road and into some lodging as soon as possible. 

The snow blocked any cell service Cardan could hope for, but after almost an hour of hoping for a place to pull over, he finally saw some indication of population. Ahead was a sign that advertised a motel and a diner, and Cardan really had never seen anything more appealing. 

He turned his blinker on and prayed that his car would make it up the small hill that was the exit ramp. After only a few stutters, he managed to pull into the fairly empty parking lot. The boy who served as concierge couldn’t have been more than twelve as he explained the layout of the motel, which Cardan heard none of. He just wanted to lay down and close his eyes. Eventually, the boy handed him a set of real keys, not a swipe card, and Cardan thought himself incredibly lucky. 

His good fortune ended, though, when his stomach released an unworldly growl as he threw his bag on the sad queen-sized bed. It was almost midnight, and the diner closed soon, but without a willingness to drive anywhere else, it left him no choice. He trudged back through the parking lot, scarf wrapped high over his face, towards the music themed establishment. The snow and his tiredness caused him to stumble a few times, but he finally was able to grab the note shaped handle. 

A little bell altered the waitstaff of his arrival, and he catalogued the checkered floors and fifties theme. Along the front windows was a row of booths, colored a gaudy red and white with sparkles in them, and in front of him stood a large, long soda bar with backless stools. There were menus hanging from the ceiling behind the bar advertising everything from milkshakes to lobster. He should not have expected anything less. In the corner, were two girls in matching blue dresses with aprons tied around their waist, one with her back to him, and the other counting money. 

It was the one with the money that called, “Feel free to sit anywhere, we’ll be right with you.”

He nodded before taking off his layers and sitting at the barstool in the middle.

-o-0-o-

It’s not that Jude Duarte didn’t believe in love, it’s just that her soul mark seemed a cruel joke. It was so incredibly short and generic that literally anyone could be her soulmate. All she could hope was that whatever she said to her soulmate first was something rather distinct, otherwise they may never find each other.

All they were supposed to say was “Hi.”

As someone in the public service industry, that was an incredibly misleading and dull introduction. She knew soulmates sometimes never even worked out, or the occurrence was between a dying man in his 30s and his new nurse, or one of the people was already married with kids, or they simply detested each other. Too many things in this life had treated her unfairly for her to prematurely get her hopes up over something as trivial as a soulmate. 

Regardless, it was just nights like these where the diner was quiet, and it was late at night that her mind began to wonder. She never really dreamed that her person would find their way to Madoc’s shitty little diner. In the middle of nowhere, sometimes they went half a day without a single customer. Jude just had a hunch that her soulmate was probably going to come later in life, when she could leave this hellhole and meet some people.

“Jude,” Vivi chastised as she counted the money pulled from the registers. 

Jude hummed in question. 

“Nothing good ever comes when you think about your soul mark like that,” Vivi responded. 

Jude rolled her eyes. “I am not thinking about my soul mark.”

Vivi stopped her counting to giver her a look.

While Jude wished she didn’t know what that look meant, she certainly did. In her lower moments, Jude had pursued customers who had said hi to her in hopes that maybe they were trying to be more reserved about pursuing their soulmate. All that had lead to thus far was disappointment and bad make outs. She’d only had the mark for three years, and she hadn’t even approached that many people.

“Viv. We’ve been over this. I don’t just sleep with anyone who says ‘hi’.”

Vivi had finished her counting. “I know. My littler sister is probably too pious for her own good.”

Jude yawned and glared at her sister. “Whatever. I just hope no one shows up in the next half hour.”

Vivi nodded in agreement. While there may have been a storm raging outside and the night had been slightly busier than normal with wayward travelers, Jude still despised people who thought it okay to eat at restaurants near closing. Jude had already been waiting for midnight to roll around, but the last hour of her shift had dragged excessively.

Vivi flicked her eyes over Jude shoulder just as the the little chime above the door rang. “Don’t speak too soon,” Vivi whispered, before hollering out to the customer, “Feel free to sit anywhere, we’ll be right with you.”

Jude silently tried to beg Vivi to take whoever it was that walked through the door, but her sister smiled sweetly at her as she said, “As the manager on duty, I need to make sure back of house is good to go for the night—” she looked over at whoever had walked in the door— “and it appears that Mr. dark, broody, and handsome is sitting in your section anyway.”

It was moments like these where Jude really wanted to murder her sister. Vivi just patted her hand before going back through the swinging doors that lead to the kitchen. Almost instantly, Jude could hear Heather and Vivi start quietly chatting, and she understood her sister’s true intentions to go check on back of house. Neither of them had soul marks, but they’d seemed to find their own little slice of happiness in the middle of nowhere and Jude couldn’t fault them for that. 

When she turned around to go look at the man, she noticed objectively that he was exactly as Vivi had described. His cheek bones were exceptionally sharp, and his outfit, though ostentatious, did wonders for his lithe body. Jude felt herself blush as she approached, scolding herself for such girlish analysis. The exhaustion on his face showed that he really wasn’t looking to be chatted up anyway. When she stood across from him at the soda bar, she greeted him while looking at her notes. 

“Good evening. My name is Jude, and I’ll be your server tonight. Can I start you off with anything to drink?”

His hesitation was too long. When she looked up at him, his face seemed frozen in shock. As she had been walking over, he hadn’t even bothered to put the menu down from his face, but he now set it gently on the counter, closing it as he did so. 

“Hi,” he said in a daze. 

That one word sent Jude’s heart absolutely pounding. His gaze was so intense, it almost made her squirm, but she held her ground. It felt stupid for even hoping, but his reaction to her introduction just seemed too peculiar, too at odds with his previously relaxed and tired demeanor. 

Her shock to his reaction led her to challenge, “Is that all your going to say?”

He smirked at her, and Jude felt something change deep within her gut. “Is that all I’m supposed to say?”

Despite his cocky demeanor, Jude couldn’t ignore the way her heart continued to pound. She rolled her eyes all same, trying to maintain her nonchalant demeanor. While she tried to keep calm, he showed no such restraint as his arm shot out and grabbed her wrist.

Quietly, he said, “Maybe I shouldn’t have started there. What is the other servers’s name?”

“Vivienne.” Jude squinted at him.

He never broke eye contact with her as he called, “Hey, Vivienne, could you come out here for a second?”

His eyes were devastatingly dark, and they seemed to peer deep into her soul as they waited for Viv to come out.

She heard the double door that led to the kitchen swing open and the quiet “oh” her sister released when she saw Jude and the man. Their intense gaze probably revealed everything better than any explanation that Jude could give. Were it any other moment, Jude would’ve laughed.

Still, with that intense eye contact, he said, “We’ll take two of Jude dear’s favorite.”

Jude peaked her eyebrows at the nickname, but chose not to argue as she added, “And one peanut butter chocolate milkshake. Two straws.”

He nodded in agreement before Jude started to untie her apron and walked around the counter. Unfortunately, there was only one exit from the bar, forcing a direct bypass of Vivi.

Her sister’s eyes flickered over to the man, who was still watching them, and then mouthed, Is he yours?

Jude knew it was ridiculous because he could definitely see them both from his vantage point, but Jude still gave Vivi a small nod. Her sisters eyes grew very large before she sprinted into the back room. 

Jude tried not to groan at whatever Vivi was about to do back there, and first stalked over to switch the sign to closed before sitting down next to the man. All the while, she could feel his eyes pierce into her. 

She tucked her skirt underneath her when she finally sat, and didn’t deign to look at him as she said, “I don’t think it’s really fair that you have always known my name, and I don’t get to know yours.”

She straightened her napkin in front of her before looking at him questioningly. 

“You may call me whatever you wish, but my parents named me Cardan Greenbriar.”

Her soulmate had already proven himself to be dramatic in his black skinny jeans, loafers, and a flowy, low-cut blouse with pearls sewn around the cuffs. His name certainly matched everything about him. 

“Alright, Cardan, I’ll show you mine if you show me yours.” At his surprised expression, she amended. “Soul mark, I mean.”

He smirked at her once again, before turning around and lifting up his shirt. Etched across his back was, Good evening. My name is Jude, and I’ll be your server tonight. Can I start you off with anything to drink?, clear as day in what appeared to be her handwriting. 

When he turned back around, Jude rolled her sock down to reveal the small Hi tattoo on her right ankle. As they both examined the small black word he said, “I feel as though I should apologize for the curtness of my greeting.”

“It certainly kept me on my toes.”

His smile changed to something more sheepish. They held eye contact again, but it felt more awkward and wholesome, as if the true reality of what was happening really settled between them. Jude appreciated the dimples around his mouth and the small dusting of freckles across his nose. The universe certainly had chosen someone beautiful for her. 

The longer they stared, the more the quietness felt awkward. Jude opened her mouth to say something, but Heather set their milk shake and hamburgers down in front of them. 

“Enjoy!” She said entirely too brightly and loud. 

Jude shook out of whatever moment they’d just shared before calling a thanks to Heather. 

“Who was that?” Cardan asked.

“Heather.”

Cardan seemed like he wanted to know more, but before he could, Jude asked, “What brings you out to the middle of nowhere?”

She leaned into to take a sip of their shake and savored its sweet flavor. 

“What makes you say I’m not from here?”

Jude gave him a very pointed once over, as if his entire outfit explained his foreignness.

“Fine,” he began, “if you really must know, I am a student at Elfhame University, and I am on my way home for winter break. Normally, I can do the drive in one day, but the weather dictated otherwise this evening.”

Jude took his answer, and asked, “What do you study?”

“Fashion.”

She knew she shouldn’t be surprised considering his outfit and what appeared to be a thin sweep of eyeliner, but she couldn’t help the scoff that escaped her. 

“What was that for?” Cardan asked indigently.

“Nothing,” Jude said. “I just thought that people who are lucky enough to go to college should choose majors that are…profitable after gradation.”

Now it was his turn to look offended. “I’ll have you know that I am graduating early with position lined up working in the Elie Saab atelier in Paris after I graduate this spring.”

Paris. That was the joke the universe decided to employ on her. 

Besides the fact that Jude wasn’t really sure what Elie Saab or atelier was, her soulmate would be moving across the globe in a matter of months and they’d never see each other again. Jude rarely left the state, let alone travelled to another country. 

“Sorry,” Jude said, “It sounds like a great opportunity, so congrats. I am just jealous of those who actually get to go, more so than my frustration at their fields of study.”

Cardan chewed on his burger thoughtfully before mercifully changing subject, “How old are you by the way?”

“Nineteen.”

He hummed. “And you clearly have been unable to go to college.”

She knew a prompted statement when she heard one. “We don’t really have much. My dad owns this place and the motel. I’ve been working since I was fourteen. I’ve been trying to save for college for years now, but it’ll probably be a few more before I have enough. I can’t take on too much debt.”

The mood seemed to dive with her statement, and Jude really didn’t feel like hashing out her sad little life to a man, soulmate or not, she’d only just met. Instead, she asked him about his job and college, and he in turn, asked about her life in this small town, what she did for fun. Their food soon became long forgotten as their conversation seemed to flow effortlessly between them. 

For all their sarcastic quips, Jude couldn’t help but feel foolishly delighted by Cardan. She was certainly physically attracted to him, but she started to feel more attracted to his personality as well. Being around him felt as though someone looked into her heart and saw the most ridiculous, most childish desire there, and had plopped it down in front of her. It felt like a prank.

When they’d reached a lull, she asked, “When do you move to Paris?”

He cringed ever so slightly. “Next August. I graduate in May though, so I have some free time beforehand.”

She nodded. In eight months, he’d be on the other side of the globe. Before that, he would be a six hour drive, in fair weather, from her at University. Jude couldn’t help but feel a sense of foreboding that this may be the last time she’ll ever see him.

She opened her mouth to say as much, when a soft melody slowly drifted from the jukebox. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Vivi and Heather quickly dash out the diner and into the night. 

Cardan laughed slightly before turning towards her, “I think that’s our cue.”

He stood up and offered a hand towards her, asking her for a dance.

Jude simply took his hand and let him lead her to the narrow lane of checkered tiles. He set his hands on her waist, and Jude placed hers on his shoulders. This close, she could really see the contours of his face, the way his upper lip had a small scar through it, how his eyelashes splayed almost haphazardly. He was beautiful. Absolutely beautiful.

The diner felt so at odds to their situation. She wasn’t supposed to meet him here. She was supposed to be New York or London or Shanghai or some other place she’d only seen pictures of. She was supposed to have a lifetime with him, not this stolen moment in a shitty diner. She was supposed to have direction in her life. As the song changed, and his hand slid out to grab hers, Jude pretended she was a queen. It was silly, but she imagined them as king and queen of a far away land sharing a dance in an empty ballroom.

It seemed he shared her grim thoughts as he murmured, “I really hope this isn’t the last time I see you.”

She looked up at him and hummed her agreement. “We can exchange numbers.”

“Oh?” he asked with mirth. “I was hoping we would just send letters via carrier pigeons.”

Jude rolled her eyes, blushing slightly. “What are we, fae?”

Something seemed to change in his eyes as he looked at her, and Jude couldn’t help but lick her lips. 

“No,” he said quietly. “But I do find you distressingly magical.”

It felt like a dumb thing to say in the moment with dimmed lights and the ambient music, but Jude found she didn’t care as he brought his lips down to hers. Their kiss was soft and felt almost sinful at how chaste it was. Jude dragged her hands into his messy locks as his began to roam her back. His tongue came to press against the seam of her lips, which she opened for him without hesitation. Though it was passionate, their kiss was gentle and sweet like they didn’t want to break whatever was between the two of them, like they had all the time in the world. It almost brought tears to her eyes.

Jude was unsure of how long they stood there or when Cardan had backed her against a wall, all she knew was that kissing him felt like she’d learned how to breath for the first time. It made her insides feel molten, and her mind powerful. If someone as beautiful as him deemed her special, then maybe she could be. It filled her up and made her feel whole. When he finally pulled back, he rested his forehead against hers but kept his eyes closed. 

His breath came out ragged. 

She whispered into the small space between them when it seemed he wouldn’t speak first. “I am really glad I met you.”

He tucked a piece of hair behind her ear. 

“And I you.”

Her heart twitched at that, and she pulled him back to her lips again. He indulged her desires, hand grazing up her thigh, coaxing it around his waist. She felt like she could never, would never get enough of this, of him. She moaned as much into his mouth as her other leg came to wrap around his waist. His mouth left hers and began to explore her neck. It was obvious from the way he moved that he was incredibly more experienced than her.

It didn’t stop her from reaching for the buttons of his blouse.

Her hands seemed to snap him out of whatever had settled between them. He actually had the audacity to pull back again. It felt heady, and Jude was now the one squeezing her eyes shut.

“I should probably get back to my room,” he whispered.

She opened her mouth to protest, and he shook his head as he said, “I was supposed to be home today. I don’t have service to tell my brother I’ll be late. I need to be back as early as possible if I don’t want to upset him too much.”

Jude opened her eyes. Cardan wasn’t looking at her, and he almost seemed in pain.

It was something Jude hoped to never see again, and leaned in to peck his lips. Regardless, she respected his restraint and nodded. It really was getting late and he still had a drive ahead of him tomorrow. He set her down, pulled her in tight once more, and pulled out his phone to exchange numbers. When they finally left the place, Jude supposed she shouldn’t have been surprised that he helped her clear off her car before he gave her a few pecks and stomped back towards his room. 

The wind whipped his hair in a whole mess of directions, and the snow dusted little white flecks throughout. Right before he unlocked his door, he turned towards her and waved. She raised her hand in response, knowing that he probably couldn’t see her anyway. She hoped this wasn’t the last time she saw him.

-o-0-o-

Though it had physically pained him, Cardan knew that they had to end their little make out session early. Balekin would kill him if he arrived looking exhausted and as though his delay was due to tumbling in the sheets with someone. Thinking of Balekin seemed like wasted mental energy when he had just met Jude, his Jude. 

When she’d turned around towards him, he thought that she was one of the most beautiful people he’d ever seen. When she’d said those words to him, he thought he might pass out. Her wicked tongue and thoughtful curiousness made him want her more. Jude made him wish that he had never applied to positions in Paris. 

Not that he’d change his mind, just that he felt like the he was being torn from one of the best things in his life. He continued down this line of thought as he removed his outfit and washed his face. As he crawled under the covers, his driving experience and the late hour started to really weigh on him, but he still pulled out his phone to try and send one text. 

Almost ten minutes of writing and rewriting variants of the same message, he decided on something simple. The universe seemed to support this decision and let his three little words send. 

Goodnight Jude, dear.

It seemed to support him even more when he actually got a response. 

Goodnight, Cardan. <3

He would never admit the cheeky grin that consumed his face as he fell into a deep sleep.

-o-0-o-

Masterlist

1826 Monday 9 January

7 55/60 11

Went into the stable came up to dress at 8 20/60 - at my writing desk at 9 10/60 - read over my letter (begun on Wednesday finished yesterday) to Miss Mc.L- [Maclean] speaking of the Miss Burys (bottom of the 2nd page)

'Few are more delighted with talent, of more absolutely happy to do it homage than myself; but those ladies are of blue too deep for me, whom one 'admires and dislikes' - there is a tint more pleasing, more really valuable, more lovely far than this - there is a fortitude of mind between the learned love; - there is a gentle elegance of many more eloquent than all the rhetoric of words - 'tis to the heart we ought to speak; and that speech is best, 'which sinks the deepest there'......vide the last end and page 1 of the crossing 'we all seek after happiness - I think, I shall find it at last; and you must come and share it, or I shall fancy it imperfect still - come what may, my heart will never change to you - It was a nameless charm that won you my esteem, and admiration, and regard - there is a golden chain that fastens that fastens them; and not a link of it shall break - How very little did you dream this when you saw me 1st.! To me there was 'a still small voice' that whispered it in accents which I never shall forget - Surely, there are congenialities of mind that work as if by magic! None ever made the same sort of first impression on me, as yourself - I could have trusted you from the 1st. moment - your friendship was the friendship of my fancy; and there was no obstacle to its attainment that I should not have attempted to surmount - However unaccountable the folly of telling you so early in our acquaintance, and however just and sensible your remarks upon it, it was never the less true, that distance seemed to me as nothing, and 40 miles but as so many steps - with so little opportunity of being with you, and so little hope of being able to remove the prejudices I knew you must have imbibed, I have often wondered that it never once occurred to me to give the thing up in despair - I had just about that time, too, made up my mind never to give myself much trouble about anyone - I fancied I had, or might easily easily have as many friends as I wanted, and was resolved that my heart should sit as lightly as possible to all around - What folly! You haunted me, Sibbella, - and I was not happy, till I thought myself in progress to your esteem - I do not find myself mistaken in the price I set upon it, and would not lose it now for twice the value I would have paid to gain it then - But I meant not to write of these matters - you shall judge for yourself, when we meet'.........Do you know a Dr. Duffin of Edinburgh? Is he an elderly man, a highly respectable man, and a man of property? a D.D. or M.D? If you could answer these questions without giving yourself much trouble, I should be much obliged' -

Wrote the above of today - sealed and directed my letter - Breakfast at 10 1/4 - went out at 10 50/60 to James Sykes setting out the wall-race between the Calf Croft and Charles H-'s [Howarth's] peafield - Frank Oates began to dig it - William Keighley and his sons William and Joshua here - felled the great dead oak, etc. and the 4 last remaining firs and larches in the hall-plantation - came in again at 11 1/2 - set off to walk to H-x [Halifax] at 11 50/60 - down the n.b. [new bank] - put into the P.O. my letter to 'Miss Maclean of Coll, 15 Hill Street Edinburgh' then went to Mr. Waterhouse's counting house and received my uncle and aunt's navigation money altogether 191.5.3 at 1 percent. -

Thence to Mr. Wiglesworth's - paid him my uncle's bill - ordered pills for my aunt at Suter's (aperient - Dr. Scudamore's prescription) - left my watch at Pearsons to be repaired - called and sat 1/2 hour with Mrs. C. Saltmarshe - then went to the bank for my uncle - paid in some bills (£251 odd) and got a bill £34.5.0 for Mr. John Lister - called at Whitley's - paid my uncle's bill at Edwards's - Mr. E- [Edwards] going to sell off all his stock in trade at Manchester - the sale (of books) to begin on the 1st. of May, and will last about a fortnight - called at Mr. James Briggs - he saw Turner who behaved very civilly - said he would not shoot or trespass upon my uncle's grounds again - called at the vicarage - Mr. K- [Knight] had been laid up a fortnight with a bad cold - not still recovered - paid him £1.3.8 for Thomas Greenwood for half year's schooling to Mary Booth, John's oldest daughter -

Returned up the o.b. [old bank] and got home about 3 - Staid talking to my uncle and aunt 3/4 hour - went out at 4 - James S- [Sykes] had spread the 3 loads of ashes (1 brought yesterday 2 today) on the walk in the Lower brook Ing wood. Jackman here this afternoon - walling at the back of what is to be our rustic seat - came in again at 5 40/60 - Dressed - Dinner at 6 35/60 - afterwards wrote the last 14 lines of today - very fine day - very hard frost, and very cold - a trinkling of snow fell last night - the ground thinly covered today - Barometer 1/2 degree above changeable Fahrenheit 30° at 9 25/60 p.m. at which hour came up to bed - E..O. -  

Reference: SH:7/ML/E/9/0048 - SH:7/ML/E/9/0049

An Interruption in the 1st Law of Thermodynamics. 

Chapter 1, Chapter 2, Chapter 3, Chapter 4, Chapter 5, Chapter 6, Chapter 7, Chapter 8, Chapter 9, Chapter 10, Chapter 11, Chapter 12, Chapter 13, Chapter 14, Chapter 15, Chapter 16, Chapter 17, Chapter 18, Chapter 19, Chapter 20, Chapter 21, Chapter 22, Chapter 23, Chapter 24, Chapter 25, Chapter 26, Chapter 27,  Chapter 28, Chapter 29, Chapter 30, Chapter 31, Chapter 32, Chapter 33, Chapter 34, Chapter 35,  Chapter 36, Chapter 37, Chapter 38, Chapter 39, Chapter 40, Chapter 41, Chapter 42, Chapter 43, Chapter 44,  Chapter 45, Chapter 46, Chapter 47, Chapter 48 

AO3

This chapter is co-written with @theministerskat, who has also made the banner, knows every little corner of Ann Arbor and has been on this ride as my beta almost from the very beginning! Love you, Kat! ❤️

Also, I want to say a huge thank you to all of you for still being here, loving these two goobers and their story!

Chapter 49. Midnight

Michigan. Jamie’s dorm. His new life.

I drew a heart into the condensation that had accumulated on the window overnight. Through the bold, clear lines of my doodle, I could see the fresh layer of snow that had fallen in the early hours of the morning, blanketing the city in white. It was like a clean canvas, impatiently awaiting an artist to make the first stroke.

Like our lives. Everything felt new, and yet familiar at the same time. I didn’t know this place, or the future that awaited us; but I knew him, and myself, and I felt that was enough.

Jamie began stirring in the small bed across the room, and I turned to see him reach a hand out from under the covers, searching for me. I felt my heart constrict at the amount of love that instantaneously engulfed me.

My sweet, ridiculous Scot.

The floor was cold under my feet as I padded back over to the bed and crawled in next to him. I wedged myself into the crook of his arm, trying to steal as much body heat from him as possible.

“Good morning, Sassenach,” he whispered when I finally settled in. He kissed my forehead without opening his eyes, and I could feel the smile playing on his lips as they lingered between my brows.

“Good morning, yourself. I’m cold,” I purred. “Warm me?”

A sigh of contentment escaped him as his other arm came around my waist, pulling me impossibly closer to his body, my living furnace. I felt my own body relax and melt into his, and allowed myself to enjoy a quiet moment with him after so many months apart.

To just be, together.

“What are our plans for today?” I mumbled into his chest after a few minutes.

He didn’t answer right away, and I looked up to make sure he hadn’t fallen back asleep.

As if he were answering my unspoken question, his hand roamed up from my waist and back down, fingertips gracefully gliding over the bare skin of my back. When he reached the swell of my buttocks, he took a firm grip and pulled my hips tight against his.

He was most definitely awake.

His head tilted down slowly towards mine, placing a lingering kiss on my lips before moving to the spot behind my ear.

“Plans?” he whispered between light bites on my ear lobe and kisses just beneath there. “My only plan is to keep ye locked in this room for the rest of yer visit.”

I moaned in response to that suggestion, and felt his reaction to my noises, but just a bit further down.

Trying to not to let him distract me too much, I pushed him a bit more for an answer. “Knowing you, Jamie Fraser, you most certainly have plans for us.”

“Aye, ye’re right. I do.” Another kiss, and then a lick across my collar bone that sent a shiver through me. “But for right now, my only plan is to make ye whimper.” And before I could process what was happening, he dove beneath the covers.

It would never be enough.

--

We eventually untangled ourselves from the sheets of Jamie’s bed around noon, realizing that if we didn’t actually put some effort into getting up, we would stay there forever.

I wanted to see Ann Arbor; it was the city that had enchanted Jamie from the moment he had arrived. I longed to see the things that were a part of his every day, and spend time in his favorite spots.

It was a selfish desire on my part. I wanted to create memories with him so he would still be able to feel my presence wherever he went when I couldn’t be there. I wanted to talk to him on the phone and know exactly what he was seeing, not just imagine the place as a vague picture with fuzzy lines. I wanted Jamie to walk down a street and think of me, how we strolled there together, how he laughed at my jokes.

Stupid, egocentric, overwhelming love. I didn’t want him to forget me.

“Where to first?” I asked as we pushed our way through the front doors of his dorm.

“This way,” he said as he took my mittened hand in his, “I have something special I want to show ye, Sassenach.”

It took us 15 minutes to reach the iron gates of the Nichols Arboretum.

“The locals simply call it The Arb, but I’ve only come here a few times,” Jamie said, letting go of my hand for a moment to pull his beanie back down over his ears. The red curls falling across his forehead were speckled with little snowflakes. “But every time I’m here, I think of you.”

“Only when you’re here?” I asked with a sly smile.

“Always,” he hastened to remedy, “Always! But even more when I’m here. It may sound dumb, but it reminds me of our walks through the parks back in the Edinburgh. Reminds me of home.”

He dropped my hand again and moved a few, wide strides ahead.

I didn’t follow immediately, but turned and took in the bit of wilderness around me, in awe that such a place could exist within a city. It was gorgeous, and the snow covered trees and paths glittered as the sun poked its way through a break in the clouds.

As I completed my circle, a white bomb hit me square in the chest and exploded. I gasped through the cold wetness and wiped at my face.

“But there is never so much snow in Edinburgh!” he said, laughing. He actually dared to laugh.

“You’ll pay for that, Jamie Fraser.” I sneered and ran to him, ready to inflict my revenge on him in any way I could. I tried, with no success, to pull him down into the snow. Before I could realize how, he managed to wrestle me into the air and I ended up with my head against his back, while he fondled my ass, conveniently set upon his shoulder.

“Put me down!” I exclaimed, pounding my fists against his back. He carried me as if I were as light as a feather.

My response released another fit of laughter from him. “Oh I did miss you, my Sassenach,” he murmured, his hand still groping at my butt.

“Me or my arse?” I asked, actually curious.

“Both. I didna ken I could have one and not the other.” He pinched me lightly, then advised me to stop moving before we both fell.

I stopped, and he let me slide down him, slowly, never losing control. His eyes were glinting with happiness and a few unshed tears of joy when I looked at him, standing flush to his body.

When we resumed our walk a few minutes later, I noticed the wooden edges of flowerbeds left to hibernate over the winter. “I guess it will be heavenly here in the spring,” I said, trying to imagine all the colours dancing around me.

“Ah, was it a bad idea to come here?” Jamie asked self-consciously, looking at me with a frown. “It’s only bare trees and snow now, would ye like to go somewhere else, Sassenach?”

I gave him my warmest smile, squeezing his hand. “It’s wonderful, Jamie. It’s so quiet and calm. Everything white, so pure.” I pulled him to me and placed a kiss on his cheek. “I love it.”

Jamie let out a breath, content with himself. “I thought ye would. And there is a river further down!”

He walked in silence, as we had done countless times before, in a life miles away, in a time that felt like years ago.

We neared a lonely wooden bench that was situated under a tree, with thick bark and wide branches.

“I was thinking…” Jamie started, then trailed off. He glanced at the bench, then back to me. “We had our bench on Calton Hill.” He tipped his head in the direction he thought Edinburgh was, although I had no idea which way east was either. “I thought we could have our bench here, as well. Since I’ll be here for--”

I didn’t let him finish his thought. My lips accepted all the love he offered, all the little ways he cherished what we had. I strained to keep the tears from falling, thinking of all the means by which he had already linked this place with me, even before I had set foot here. I showed him my giddy smile though, realizing how stupid I had been, thinking that he’d come to forget me.

He sat down and pulled me onto his lap, and we watched stray snowflakes fall, looking at each other every few moments, trying to take in our new way of life. When I started shivering, Jamie motioned for me to stand, and we resumed our walk.

“Cold already,” he said and shook his head disapprovingly. “I had told ye that first day,” he stopped, and gave me a small smile, “That ye’re a blue-nosed Sassenach.”

I laughed, thinking of the day I discovered how warm Jamie’s hands always were. “Mmmm, you did.”

“I had gone back home and spent the rest of the night thinking if you might have taken offense. But then, you’d given me yer number, so it couldna been that bad.”

“No, not that bad,” I agreed, feeling the warmth of his hand through my gloves. “Not bad at all.”

We followed a path along the river, and when my limbs became sufficiently cold to complain about, Jamie agreed to go to a coffee shop for a little break.

He suggested at least ten different options with great coffee and tea, but we settled for the one closest to central campus, that he frequented every morning before class. On our way there, Jamie greeted several students that passed by us, and I started wondering just how popular he had become here, and in such a small amount of time. It seemed that the tall, redheaded Scot had made quite an impression.

Jamie told me all about the swim team as we neared our destination. He went on about their training, the new coach and the facilities at the university. Everything had surpassed his expectations. He was enraptured, and I felt my heart swell for him. He had made the best choice, and I took a little pride in the fact that I had helped him do so.

“When will I meet John?” I asked when he finally stopped to take a breath from his rambling.

Jamie hesitated for a moment as he held the door open to corner coffee shop for me, but finally continued once we took our spot in line.

“He texted me this morning, Sassenach. Hector is having a party at his place tonight, and John asked if we wanted to go.” He looked at me, uncharacteristically indecisive. “I would rather have ye all to myself, but I don’t think I’ll be able to, now.”

“We could go,” I shrugged. “We’ve had all day to ourselves, and it’s not like I’m leaving tomorrow.” Jamie made a sad face, and I pulled him down to me for a kiss. “We still have plenty of time! Plus, I want to meet John.”

“Aye, he wants to meet ye, too. Even though I dinna ken whether the combination of the two of ye will turn out well for me.”

I snorted and looked at him cunningly. “Maybe I’ll make him tell me your secrets.” I wiggled my eyebrows and he laughed.

“I think ye already ken all my secrets, mo chridhe,” he whispered in my ear and pulled me closer. The older women behind us coughed loudly just as our lips met again, and we apologized, stepping up to the counter to order.

We sat at a table near the wide glass windows, looking out at the street. I felt warmth finally seeping into my body, and with the hot coffee between my hands, the tall Scot sitting across from me, I couldn’t hold my smile back.

We talked about Edinburgh, about Jenny and Ian who were trying to persuade Brian into producing cider as well, and of Rupert and Angus, who had returned to Edinburgh and started a shop fixing bikes, in a forgotten basement close to the city centre. We talked about Oxford, and about my next visit before more obligations would start on my part. It felt wonderful, talking to him again, feeling his hand holding mine, reaching out and touching him. So simple. So perfect.

After several refills we were ready to face the cold again, and left the small cafe. Jamie had a whole list of things we could do, but our late start to the day severely limited our options now.

“We could browse the art museum for a bit. It’d be warm in there,” he suggested as he tightened the scarf around my neck.

“I’d like that,” I told him and we set off.

The museum itself was small in comparison to others, but still held a number of intriguing installations that we found ourselves discussing quietly. Belatedly, we realized that we’d never perused a museum together, and agreed on visiting more of the collections in the following days. On our way out, I noticed a display advertising the museum’s African art gallery and made a mental note to make sure we made it to that one.

The sun had already set when we left the museum and both of our stomachs had begun rumbling for food. After grabbing a quick bite to eat at the student union, Jamie texted John asking for Hector’s address.

“What kind of party will this be, exactly?” I asked while we waited for John’s reply.

“What d’ye mean, Sassenach?”

“Do we need to dress up?” I raised an eyebrow, then raised my arms, indicating that my huge, puffy coat may not be proper party attire.

“Och, no.” Jamie shrugged. “I dinna think it will be anything fancy.” In an instant his arm was around my waist, pulling me to him. “Ye’re beautiful, babe,” his said in a most sincere, mellow voice. “So beautiful that I’m thinking of texting John we willna make it.”

I smiled against his lips and took them in mine.

Later that night, nestled between Jamie’s body and the arm of Hector’s sofa, I closed my eyes, listening to the soft notes of the guitar. It was dreamy.

“D’ye like it, Sassenach?” I heard Jamie’s whisper, his arm pulling me closer to him.

“Mmmm… I envy John.”

That startled him, and he moved back to look at me. “Why on earth would you envy John?”

“Well…” I chuckled. “Hector is tall, handsome, kind, clever, with his own apartment, and he plays the guitar. Isn’t that obvious?” Jamie made a sound I couldn’t characterize, but I was sure it wasn’t amusement. “What?”

“Nothing,” he murmured, turning his eyes away.

“Hey,” I crooned and pinched his side. “Are you really jealous of Hector?”

“I’m not jealous!” he exclaimed a bit louder than he meant to be, and John scowled at us, his gaze leaving Hector for the first time since his boyfriend had started playing.

“Oh, come here, you…” I paused, grinning, but Jamie didn’t look at me. “Chippy Scot!” I finished, bringing my hand around his neck, and lowering his face to me until I could capture his lips in mine.

I didn’t pay attention to the rest of the song. When Jamie pulled back to look at me again, he had a crooked smile on his face.

“So, ye like me more?” he asked, and I rolled my eyes.

“I love you, stupid--” I didn’t get to finish my sentence, his teeth taking hold of my bottom lip.

Hector continued strumming soft tunes on his guitar, now with John sitting next to him, when Jamie’s eyes went wide with panic.

“Where is your coat?” he asked, springing from the couch.

“In a room, somewhere.” I looked at him puzzled, unable to understand what had gotten into him all of a sudden.

A minute later he was back, with our coats, scarves and gloves in his arms. We said a hasty goodnight to the rest of the group and took our leave, Jamie practically dragging me out onto the street.

“Jamie, what’s going on? What’s the matter?” The cold felt like an attack on my body, and I struggled as I tried to put on my gloves, while fixing my scarf tighter around my neck.

“What time is it, Sassenach?”

“What? What does it-”

“Claire! The time!”

Giving up hope of getting words out of him that made any sense, I dug into the pocket of my coat for my phone. I held it up to my face and the screen lit immediately.

“It’s 11:48. Why does it matter? Will your carriage turn into a pumpkin come midnight?” He chuckled at my stupid joke, but took my free hand in his and led me down the snowy walkway.

“Aye, I’ll make sure I leave my glass slipper behind.” I looked down at his long feet, laughing at the notion of Jamie in slippers. “Come on,” he said, tugging at my hand. “It’s a ten-minute walk in the best conditions. We have to hurry.”

And with no more explanation than that, he began walking, pulling me along behind him as I nearly ran to keep up with his long strides.

Even properly secured against the wind the night air was cold against my cheeks, and I knew they’d be a deep pink by the time we got to where we were going.Jamie didn’t slow his pace, but he kept glancing back to me to make sure I was alright, a large sly smile spreading wide across his face.

After what seemed like the longest street block in history, Jamie turned and I saw the coffee shop from that afternoon on the corner. He kept moving towards an archway ahead of us, and I knew it led into the diagonal yard he had shown me on my tour of the campus earlier in the day.

Unsure where exactly we were going, I was surprised when Jamie suddenly stopped in the middle of the archway. Not expecting such a sudden halt, I crashed into the back of him and felt my feet go out from underneath me on a rogue patch of ice.

I braced myself for impact with the pavement, but Jamie caught me before I went down. He held tight to my arms as I steadied myself and I glared up at him.

“What in God’s name is going on, Jamie Fraser? Why the sudden rush out into the cold?”

“What time is it?”

I glowered at him, but didn’t protest this time and looked to my phone once again.

“11:57.” The smile I had seen on his face during our walk reappeared, this time even bigger.

“This is the West Hall Engineering Arch.” He raised his hands and gestured to the brick archway all around us. “It was built in 1904. A long time ago, the female students lived way up in that direction,” he pointed towards one end of the arch, “And the men lived down here on central campus.”

He closed the distance between us, hands coming to a rest on my hips.

“After a date, the lasses and laddies,” I giggled at his put on heavy Scots accent, but he ignored me and continued, “Would part ways for the night right here and say their goodbyes. Legend has it, that if ye kiss someone at midnight under this arch, ye’ll marry ‘em. So, Sassenach, I’ll ask ye once more, what time is it?”

My brained stopped. My pulse quickened and I felt my heart flutter as I looked down to my phone a final time.

“Midnight,” I whispered, but his lips were on mine before I could get the entire word out.

Chapter 50

Day 15. February 13, 2020. Franz Josef to Rangiora via Arthur's Pass. 420km.

Woke up a little foggy. Oh yeah, the weather was too. The open mike singers at Snakebite brewery had one or two excellent voices I really enjoyed and I may have had too much beer... 🍻 But at least the motel was just around the corner and morning came too quickly. One item I am not sure I have mentioned regards the usage of the maps.me app. This app allows for an easy way to use your phone GPS anywhere. The phone always known where it is, but if in an area where there is no cell signal/data or if I am not using my cellular data due to cost/choice the phone is unable to draw/show maps on Waze, Google, etc. Maps.me allows you to download countries or regions so that you can always navigate and see where you are. I utilize the red pin drop and save features to create a track of the places I have ridden on longer journeys such as these. It is helpful to have this data to assist in retracing steps (combined with the metadata embedded in the iPhone pictures). Since I'm waxing technically, how about the freaky similarity in the land area of both Georgia and NZ's South Island. The state of Georgia exceeds the size of the South Island by about 1,000 sq. miles at over 59,000 but basically they're the same size. I couldn't really have imagined spending 3 weeks + exploring Georgia but the terrain here is almost nauseatingly scenic. Most of South and central GA isn't that exciting to ride. North Georgia would certainly provide a visitor interesting riding for a week or maybe a bit longer. Enough stuff unrelated to this day. The forecast had used the word dreary and there was a low shroud of clouds hugging the mountain ridges. A few stray drops dotted the visor as I aimed again northward toward Arthur's Pass. Shaking out the cobwebs I commented to Ted via our Sena Bluetooth communicators that even in the low shroud hiding most of the dramatic peaks, the riding has been pretty much nonstop scenic. Fern forests and sheer rocks where the road has been cut that are covered in ferns. Growing in everything crack and crevice. In fact, saw one of those mowers attached to a tractor on a hydraulic arm that was trimming the ferns today. When the scenery then changed as you wind in between scenic preserves (all named) the transition to farmland is met with seeded flowers creating a welcome mat to the berm of the road most places. Kind of like how North Carolina and zone places in Georgia plant areas of wildflowers in the median strips but this is done on both sides of the road creating a natural orange beauty line highlighting the roads. Came upon a Yamaha and a new Triumph Rocket 3 R at a construction stop light where we crammed our way to the front of the line. We followed them for a while as we wound up some tight turns. That R3 looks great! He had a nice looking Triumph bag strapped on the pillion. We actually passed them after a while. 🤷‍♂️ After meandering for a bit we opted to pull in to Ross (gold mining town) for some needed sustenance. A cappuccino and French toast garnished with grilled banana and bacon hit the spot. We were about 2' too late as a crowd of Aussie bikers from outside Brisbane was just loading in ahead of us. No spring chickens they, yet they were largely off road and headed on the fantastic network of NZ biking and hiking trails all the way to Greymouth. (Which was 66 km on the road so more for them). Good on you, bikers! 🇦🇺

Next we headed inland to cross the Southern Alps again as we had done yesterday this time back to the east via Arthur's Pass. First a 40km detour north to Greymouth since the GPS showed no fuel ahead on the pass. We headed up the pass and as is usual the windiness and elevation both increase significantly. This isn't a terribly high pass at just over 3,000 feet but snow fields and lots of runoff debris fields are revealed as we ascend. We see an unusual hotel and pull into "New Zealand's most interesting hotel", the Otira hotel. You can zoom in on the pic and see some of the depths the proprietors have gone to in order to make this place unique. There are so many curios and antiques strewn about the rooms, it oozes history. See Gollum dangling his "precious" perched on the roof's edge? Fed a couple leftover chips to the pig penned up down by Gandolph's garage. 🐖 Had the "famous" whitebait fish sandwich. Some sort of pressed pan fried whitefish on toasted bread. Pretty good! The Kiwi train rolls all along the pass somehow disappearing under the peak in a feat of underground tunneling. It came by configured for freight and stopped by the hotel for a while. Ted was supposed to ride the passenger version on the same line a year ago however the western highway we had just ridden was washed out so they couldn't make it. Imagine that! 🌧 🌧 After lunch we passed by an Italian style viaduct, open on the side away from the hill immediately followed by a waterfall which had been diverted to flow over the road on the concrete roof constructed as a water slide to launch the flow harmlessly away from the road. One last very long bridge brings you to a corner just shy of the peak which is scarily named Deaths Corner but offers a road up to a dramatic lookout. Seen there was a blacked out Road Glide with those angled mini apes that looks good. The guy is in full leathers, I think some sort of group (OK maybe gang) and he asked about my Klim gear. If I had brought it from home? He said it was good stuff and I agree! We came down the pass and there were plenty of sharp turns. 35 and 25kph suggested limits for hairpins and came by a number of ski resorts. Being on the Christchurch side of the pass these are more accessible to the population center of the South Island. As the descent continues we turn on the scenic inland route not far from where we started on our ride out of CHC two weeks ago. In fact our resting place this evening is really a suburb of CHC. We pass the now familiar trimmed hedge walls, checkered farmland and sheep. We zig zagged a couple of times thinking the GPS had it wrong but soon we pull into the well kept Riverstone Motel. First place the whole trip that had A/C (air con here) and oh my I sure enjoyed that. Mike the proprietor was helpful and off we went to town about 2.5 clicks away after a shower and change. Most of the restaurants were closed for some unknown reason. We opted for a Chinese place that was good and notable in that fried rice was ordered because no rice came with the dishes ordered, but the fried rice was so loaded with meat and chicken that there wasn't much rice! Back to the bar adjacent to the motel for a nightcap and then a much needed rest. Trip is going off without a hitch really, good fortune has smiled on us to date. 😴

This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure for more info. 

After five years of living in China, and two years of This Beijing Life, things have changed. I left my job as a college counselor in China, and now I’m living a life on my terms. I’m my own boss, I travel when I want, and live where I want. I’m FINALLY living my dream of location independence.

I hope you’ll all follow me along on my new journey: The Freedom Life.

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What I Was Up to in March

This March was a BUSY month full of USA travel. From my bachelorette party in Denver to a Southwest US road trip (including California, Vegas, and the Grand Canyon), to a few weekend trips from Palm Desert, I barely had any time to get work done! That said, this month was awesome, and I had a ton of fun moments and memories.

Where I Was This Month

Palm Desert, California

Denver, Colorado

Slab City, California

Idyllwild, California

Los Angeles, California

San Diego, California

Las Vegas, Nevada

Flagstaff, Arizona

The Grand Canyon!

Joshua Tree, California

Palm Springs, California

All the girls at brunch!

Highlights

Overall, this month was pretty awesome! Here are some of my favorite moments.

My Denver Bachelorette Party!

Right at the start of March, I headed over to Denver for my (very early) Bachelorette Party!!

While some people may think Denver is weird for a bachelorette destination, I thought it was perfect. Firstly, Denver is a really awesome and affordable city, making it a great place to have a party without breaking the bank. Secondly, my friends are ALL OVER the US, and Denver is a hub for multiple airlines, making it super easy and affordable for all my friends to meet in one place.

While I knew my bachelorette party would be fun (just based on all the awesome people attending), it ended up really exceeding my expectations. The girls, lead by my Maid of Honor Sarah, really planned such an epic weekend. They found a super cute Airbnb with room for all six of us and planned an epic day of celebrating.

First, we had brunch with unlimited mimosas and bloody mary’s (my favorite!). Next, we did a brewery tour in a tuk-tuk! (Which is awesome because I used to lead tuk tuk brewery tours in Beijing). The girls actually created a hilarious scavenger hunt, which had me getting proposed to (multiple times), rubbing the heads of bald strangers, getting carried around in a bar, and plenty more. The best part was that people in Denver are SO NICE. Seriously, everyone we met wanted to make sure I had a fantastic bachelorette, and people were so eager to check off items on my scavenger hunt.

It was honestly the perfect bachelorette and I could’ve asked for more!

Bronte, Annisa and I in San Diego!

Southwest US Road Trip

If you didn’t already know, I went on an epic 2-week Southwest road trip this March! Two of Chris’ brothers and their girlfriends flew over to the US, and the six of us rented the world’s best ultimate soccer mom mini van for our trip, which we fondly named Bessie Lou.

This van took us from LA to San Diego, Vegas, Flagstaff, the Grand Canyon, Joshua Tree, Palm Springs and back to LA! She was brand new with 45 miles on her when we left, and by the time we brought her back she had almost 2,000 miles on her…

This two-week road trip was tons of fun, especially since the two couples that joined us had never been to the US before. I was also able to go to a ton of places I’d never seen, like Joshua Tree and the Grand Canyon! None of us were ready to leave when the trip was over. We had such a great time, and I can’t wait to plan another trip with them again.

Waiting for the Thunder From Down Under

Girls Night in Vegas

While Chris had his Bachelor Party in Vegas, the girls all went out to celebrate my friend (and Chris’ brother’s girlfriend) Bronte’s birthday. Rather than sitting at home wondering what all our men were up to, we planned a day that was just as wild as theirs.

After a little discount shopping at Ross and a solid hour of getting lost trying to find a Starbucks, the girls all met up on the Strip for dinner and drinks. We all bought VIP tickets to Thunder Down Under, which was definitely a crazy show! I was even called up onstage (I almost had a heart attack), but thankfully it was just to win a free calendar. Whew!

Overall, it was a pretty fun bonding experience with all the girls, and we didn’t end up going to bed until almost 4 am. Granted, we paid for it the next day, with hangovers, blistered feet, and a 10 am checkout.

Hello Grand Canyon!

Hiking The Grand Canyon and Joshua Tree

I can finally say I’ve seen the Grand Canyon! I absolutely loved the Flagstaff and Joshua Tree portions of our trip. We got to unpack and stay at some super cute Airbnb properties where we could actually cook healthy-ish meals.

The best place we stayed was definitely a cute little forest cabin in Mountainare (near Flagstaff). In the evenings we’d cook dinner, have a few drinks, and play the world’s hardest game of charades called “God Hates Charades“. I actually had to act out Nicholas Cage taking out a life insurance policy on Wolverine.

The National Parks themselves were also amazing. The Grand Canyon is stunning, and I definitely want to go back and do some longer hikes around there another time. Joshua Tree was also beautiful, and we did the 29 Palms hike to a desert Oasis. Since California has been a bit rainy this year, the entire mountain was covered in beautiful wildflowers!

Some art from Slab City

Day Trips to Slab City and Idyllwild

This March, my parents wanted to show us some of the cute towns and interesting places around Palm Desert. Our first trip was to Salvation Mountain and Slab City, which is basically Burning Man all year long. Salvation Mountain is a giant hill in the desert that’s been painted and decorated like it’s straight out of Dr. Seuss with a ton of religious quotes. I honestly could’ve stayed here for hours taking pictures.

Meanwhile, Slab City has a ton of people living off the grid and a bunch of artists creating the coolest sculptures out of trash and recycling. We even had a super interesting conversation with a guy who had glued mutilated Barbie’s all over his car as a statement about body image. He explained that his sister was born with a physical disability, and would ask how many surgeries it would take her to look like Barbie. Since then, he’s had a major issue with Barbie and its representation of stereotypical standards of beauty.

Finally, my family, Chris and I took a day trip to Idyllwild, which is a very cute mountain town. We had great Mexican food, partook in a coffee tasting, and wandered around all the little shops. I even purchased a pair of socks that say “my cat is f-ing cool” with an old school picture of a little girl petting a cat.

This sign is much smaller than I thought it would be

Losing Inches (But Not Pounds)

As many of you know, I’ve been putting in a lot of effort to exercise, eat healthy, and get to a weight that’s appropriate for me and my body. I’ve been putting in a TON of work, but not really seeing much of a difference on the scale. I know I’m probably transitioning muscle into fat, but still… my weight is far too high for someone who’s only 5’4″.

That said, I’ve been using tape measurements weekly, and I’ve seen a huge difference there! I’ve lost an inch off my chest, another inch off each of my arms, 2 inches off each of my thighs, another two inches off my hips, and THREE inches off my waist! However, despite all of these changes, I’ve only actually lost 5 lbs. WTF?

In addition to measuring myself, I also decided to try on my wedding dress (which I bought off the rack) to see how it fit. I definitely noticed my dress was easier to zip up and fit much better, but it wasn’t until my mom took a few pictures that I realized how much my work has paid off.

It seriously looks like I’ve lost 15 pounds. I’m not joking.

Everyone: my parents, my friends, my nutritionist, all FREAKED OUT when they saw the photos. My nutritionist even showed the photos to everyone in her office. I seriously wish I could show you guys the before and after photos because they’re crazy (unfortunately it’s my wedding dress so I have to hold off for now).

If you’re trying to lose weight and you don’t see the numbers on the scale changing, try using a measuring tape and taking photos. I don’t notice a big difference in my week to week photos, but the before and after of my wedding dress is CRAZY.

While it is frustrating that I can’t seem to get the scale to move, the pictures and measuring tape speaks for itself. At least something is working.

Getting proposed to by a bartender with a lemon ring

Meeting another bachelorette!

Challenges

Not everything this month was perfect. Here were some of my rougher moments.

I Forgot My Phone in California for my Bachelorette in Denver…

After getting dropped off at the airport I realized I was forgetting something. My phone! Unfortunately, even if I was able to get in touch with anyone, there would be no time for my mom to drive all the way back home, grab my phone, and make it back to the airport in time, so I was just out of luck.

Thankfully I brought my computer so I was able to get in touch with someone to come pick me up from the train station, but not having a phone was definitely a bit stressful.

Being phoneless definitely made for a very fiance-free bachelorette weekend. I couldn’t text him even if I wanted to!

Unfortunately for me, I had to be really reliant on other people to take photos, which ended up working out in the long run. In the end, it wasn’t ideal, but if I’m going to forget a phone on a trip, at least it was a short one!

At least it looked pretty?

So Much Snow in Denver

Usually, March in Denver isn’t too cold, but this year the snow was CRAZY! The day of my bachelorette it really started coming down, and our brewery tour leader had to switch to his car to get us back home! Thankfully, no one’s flights were delayed for more than a few hours, and Denver definitely does not shut down in the snow.

If this were Seattle, all of the breweries would’ve been empty once it started snowing. But Denver is completely flat and people are used to it, so despite the multiple inches of snow on the road, people kept partying all evening!

Unfortunately, one of the girls didn’t bring boots and her ballet flats were NOT doing the job. I’m honestly surprised her feet didn’t just fall off. When I went to the airport on Sunday evening, the temperature was -1 Fahrenheit and my coat was NOT good enough for that kind of weather. I don’t think I’ve ever experienced a place that cold before!

I hate packing almost as much as this guy hates dolphins

Packing All My Stuff… AGAIN.

If there’s one thing I hate about my lifestyle, it’s packing everything up and moving every few months. Why do I have so much stuff? Where does it all come from??

Chris and I have managed to easily get our bags down to 23 kilos (50 lbs), especially if we can check two bags. However, we discovered our flight from Beijing to Vietnam at the beginning of April, only allows ONE 20 kilo bag!! We tried to add weight to our one bag, or buy a second checked bag, but neither were options for “such a short flight”. The only option was to pay $15 USD per extra kilo at the airport. WTF CHINA EASTERN??

We even spent an hour on hold with the China Eastern US office only to get a girl that literally had no idea and couldn’t help us at all. Her only advice was to call the Beijing airport and ask them. Why?? What???

Usually this wouldn’t be such a big deal, but A) I’m traveling with a wedding dress that takes up half my small carry-on suitcase so I can’t just put all my heavy stuff in there, and B) it’s really hard for me to find CGM (curly girl method) approved products in Vietnam, so I wanted to stock up and bring them over. Unfortunately for me, I had to make some tough choices…

In the end, our suitcases were both 22 kilos, but thankfully the check-in staff said NOTHING. They also didn’t mind that Chris had 2 personal items in addition to his carry on and that our carryons were all way over the weight limit. Ummm thanks, China Eastern? We totally would’ve just bought a second bag if you’d offered it for less than the price of a new organ.

California sea lion!

Getting Super Sick on the Road Trip

During the road trip, most of us got some weird variant of the flu. It honestly sounded like the plague in our minivan. After one day in Vegas trying not to die, and a full day of driving to Flagstaff, I was happy to skip out on Sonoma and spend the entire day sleeping and watching movies in our little cottage. It was definitely necessary.

So many temptations

Eating Out For Every Meal

After making tons of progress getting fit and eating healthy, it was really hard to keep the momentum going on a road trip. Why is eating out in the US so unhealthy? I tried to make good choices for every meal, but finding good healthy food while traveling is easier said than done.

You’ve got some mean drivers San Diego…

Stressful Driving in San Diego

While I’m comfortable driving, I’ve actually never driven a car as big as Bessie Lou before. This 7-seater minivan was GIANT (seriously, I don’t know how they can call it a mini van). While I eventually got used to her extreme size, navigating the highways and roads in LA, San Diego, and Vegas was a nightmare. Firstly, California drivers are MEAN. WHY ARE YOU ALL SO MEAN???

Do you want to change lanes? These people will legit speed up. People complain about LA, but driving in San Diego was worse. To get anywhere I had to get on and off multiple highways, which were all extremely confusing. Every time I needed to get into town, I had to go on a highway, immediately get off at the first exit onto another highway, change over five lanes and then immediately get off at the next exit. This meant I had approximately 2 minutes to change over five lanes on a super busy highway where no one will let you over.

No wonder everyone from Washington hates California drivers. You guys are all a-holes. Don’t even pretend like this fact surprises you.

What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas… including my kindle.

Leaving my Kindle in Vegas

Guess who forgot her kindle at the pool in Vegas and didn’t notice until she was literally about to leave the US? This girl!

Thankfully the hotel had it and was happy to mail it to me for a fee. Unfortunately for me, I only had 2 days left in the US and there was no way I could get it in time, so I had to run to a Target and buy a new Kindle (I do not want to try and find a Kindle in Vietnam). Maybe I can sell my old one when I get home?

My mom looking fashionable in Idyllwild

What I Wrote in March

March was extremely busy, so I didn’t have much time to write, but I did crank out two posts!

Zhang Mama – The Best Hole in the Wall Restaurant in Beijing

The Freedom Life: February 2019

Best Instagram Shots

I’m excited to move back to Hoi An, and apparently, you’re all excited for me to move back too!

  View this post on Instagram

  Guess what? I’m moving back to Hoi An in April! Between now and then I’ve got a lot of adventures planned though: 2 week US road trip, a week in Beijing (!!) and then I’ll have the next 5 months in Hoi An! Which of these adventures are you most excited for? Let me know in a comment!

A post shared by Richelle (@adventuresaroundasia) on Mar 16, 2019 at 11:25am PDT

I don’t usually do selfies on Instagram, but I made an exception and apparently you all don’t mind! How can I complain about not being able to fit all my hair products without showing off my hair?

  View this post on Instagram

  What’s weighing down your bag when you travel or move abroad? Over the last few days, I’ve had to pack up everything I own (AGAIN). You’d think that after a year and a half of this I’d have it down, but apparently not. I just keep getting worse! Where does all this stuff come from?? 😧😧 I mean, if I was just hopping from one SE Asian country to the next, things might be easier, but with the weather differences and huge long- haul flights, I need entirely different wardrobes. Seriously, I was just in Denver where it was -1 FAHRENHEIT and soon I’ll be in Vietnam at the start of the super duper hot and humid season. But of course, since I’m a girl, I’ve got my guilty pleasures. And you’d be surprised what it is that’s weighing down my suitcase. Nope- it’s not clothes, shoes or makeup. It’s HAIR PRODUCTS. Yep, I discovered the Curly Girl Method and now I have a problem. Half the weight of my suitcase is a bunch of bottles of silicone-free conditioner and curly Girl styling products. Sue me. Oh yeah, and I’ve got a wedding dress that’s coming everywhere with me too, so that’s fun! 😂😭 what weighs down your suitcase? Let me know in a comment!

A post shared by Richelle (@adventuresaroundasia) on Mar 20, 2019 at 4:52pm PDT

Travel Product I Can’t Live Without

I learned this month that I can’t survive without a kindle! While I love a good physical book, packing tons of books while traveling just isn’t practical. Plus, it can be super hard to find good English-language books on the road. I invested in a Kindle when I first moved to China to teach English, and now I’m on Kindle #3!  (I dropped the first one, and left the second one in Vegas… whoops).

Seriously, if you live abroad or travel long-term, you don’t want to be without one of these. It’s super easy to buy books on the Amazon store and download them directly to your Kindle wherever you are.

If you want some good travel book recommendations, check out Undress Me in the Temple of Heaven, Kosher Chinese, Wild, Love with a Chance of Drowning, and What I Was Doing While You Were Breeding.

Megan’s poor feet!!

Favorite Outfit of the Month

This month I rented a gorgeous long-sleeved red dress from Rent the Runway for my Bachelorette and it was perfect! Not only was this dress super flattering, but it was also extremely comfortable. I’m 100% getting a replica of this dress made when I’m in Vietnam.

What I’m Listening To

My interview on the Comes With Baggage Podcast! My fiance Chris and his friend Kaitlyn have just started an epic travel podcast, and I’m the guest for episode 2! If you’re at all interested in learning about our marriage visa problems, how I got started traveling or teaching abroad in China, you’re going to want to check out this episode!

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Best Reads of March

Here are my favorite blog posts from the month of March!

My ‘Interesting’ Experience at the Kumbh Mela Festival – Vicky Flip Flop Travels

Wow! Vicky’s description of this festival is incredible! As I’m reading it, I can imagine the full-on culture shock of attending the largest Hindu festival in the world. This post both makes me want to go… and not go.

How I Became a Successful Travel Blogger – Adventurous Kate

This post was a bit different than I thought it would be, but I actually really liked it. Rather than a post filled with advice, Kate tells the full story of how she got into travel blogging, and the business and life decisions she made that helped her career. She also talks a lot about her upbringing and how that helped push her along this path.

Top 7 Quirky Things to do in Kaohsiung Taiwan – Journalist on the Run

I was LITERALLY just talking with Chris about doing another Taiwan trip, and he mentioned Kaohsiung. When I said “What is there to do in Kaohsiung? Why don’t we just go to Kenting for the beaches?” he mentioned Kaohsiung was worth visiting. What is there to do in Kaohsiung? Well, now I know!

Shorts and snow in Idyllwild

What’s Next for April 2019?

Well… April is already half over, but I can still keep you in suspense! At the beginning of April, I’m heading to Beijing for 5 days of touristing and meeting up with old friends… oh, and eating ALL THE FOODS. Next, I’m heading to Vietnam where I’ll be staying for 5 months! I’ll be finding a good house, joining a coworking space, and enjoying the tropical weather in my hotel’s pool!

The Freedom Life: March 2019 This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure for more info.  After five years of living in China, and two years of 

Transcontinental

        (for Louis Aragon, in praise of Red Front) Through trembling waves of roadside heat We see the cool green of golf courses Long red awnings catching sunshine Slender rainbows curved above spirals of water Swaying hammocks slung between trees— Like in the movies … America who built this dream Above the ceaseless hiss of passing cars We hear the tinkle of ice in tall glasses Clacks of croquet balls scudding over cropped lawns Silvery crescendos of laughter— Like in the movies On Saturday nights When we used to get paychecks … America who owns this wonderland Lost We hitch-hike down the hot highways Looking for a ride home Yanking tired thumbs at glazed faces Behind the steering wheels of Packards Pierce Arrows Lincolns La Salles Reos Chryslers— Their lips are tight jaws set eyes straight ahead… America America America why turn your face away O for the minute The joyous minute The minute of the hour of that day When the tumbling white ball of our anger Rolling down the cold hill of our lives Swelling like a moving mass of snow Shall crash Shall explode at the bottom of our patience Thundering HALT You shall not pass our begging thumbs America is ours This car is commandeered America is ours Take your ringed fingers from the steering wheel Take your polished shoe off the gas We'll drive and let you be the hitch-hiker We'll show you how to pass 'em up You say we're robbers So what We're bastards So what Sonsofbitches All right chop us into little pieces we don't care Let the wind tousle your hair like ours have been tousled Doesn't the sun's hot hate feel sweet on your back Crook your thumbs and smudge the thin air What kind of a growl does your gut make when meal-time comes At night your hips can learn how soft the pavements are Oh let's do it the good old American way Sportsmanship Buddy Sportsmanship But dear America's a free country Did you say Negroes Oh I don't mean NEEEGROOOES After all Isn't there a limit to everything You wouldn't want your daughter And they say there's no GOD And furthermore it's simply disgraceful how they're discriminating against the children of the rich in Soviet schools PROLETARIAN CHILDREN Good Lord Why if we divided up everything today we'd be just where we are inside of a year The strong and the weak The quick and the slow You understand But Lady even quivering lips can say PLEASE COMRADE MY FATHER WAS A CARPENTER I SWEAR SWEAR HE WAS I WAS NEVER AGAINST THE COMMUNISTS REALLY Fairplay Boys Fairplay America America can every body have the chance to rise from Wall Street to the Comintern America America can every boy have the chance to rise from River—River-side Drive to the General Secretaryship of the Communist Party 100% Justice And Mister don't forget Our hand shall be on the steeering wheel Our feet shall be on the gas And you shall hear the grate of our gears UNITEDFRONT—SSSTRIKE The motor throbs with eager anger UNITEDFRONT—SSSTRIKE We're lurching toward the highway UNITEDFRONT—SSSTRIKE The pavement drops into the past The future smites our face America is ours 10 15 20 30 America America WOORKERSWOORKERS Hop on the runningboard Pile in We're leaving We're leaving Leaving the tired the timid the soft Leaving pimps idlers loungers Leaving empty dinner-pails wage-cuts stretch-outs Leaving the tight-lipped mother and the bare meal-can Leaving the shamed girl and her bastard child Leaving leaving the past leaving The wind filled with leaflets leaflets of freedom Millions and millions of leaflets fluttering Like the wings of a million birds AmericaAmericaAmerica Scaling New England's stubborn hills Spanning the Hudson Waving at Manhattan Waving at New Jersey Throwing a Good Bye kiss to Way Down East Through mine-pirred Pennsylvania Through Maryland Our Maryland Careening over the miles Spinning the steering wheel Taking the curves with determination AmericaAmerica SOFT SHOULDER AHEAD AmericaAmerica KEEP TO THE MIDDLE OF THE ROAD AmericaAmerica The telegraph poles are a solid wall WASHINGTON—90 MILES AmericaAmerica The farms are a storm of green Past rivers past towns 50 60 70 80 AmericaAmerica CITY LIMITS Vaulting Washington's Monument Leaping desks of Senators Ending all bourgeois elections Hurdling desks of Congressmen Fascist flesh sticking to our tires Skidding into the White House Leaving a trail of carbon monoxide for the President Roaring into the East Room Going straight through Lincoln's portrait Letting the light of history through AmericaAmerica Swinging Southward Plunging the radiator into the lynch-mob Giving no warning Slowing Slowing for the sharecroppers Come on You Negroes Come on There's room Not in the back but front seat We're heading for the highway of Self-Determination UNITEDFRONT—SSSTRIKE Dim your lights you Trotskyites UNITEDFRONT—SSSTRIKE Lenin's line is our stream line UNITEDFRONT—SSSTRIKE Through October's windshield we see the road Looping over green hills Dipping toward to-morrow AmericaAmericaAmerica Look back See the tiny threads of our tires leaving hammer and sickle prints upon the pavement See the tree-lined horizon turn slowly in our hearts See the ripe fields Fields ripe as our love See the eastern sky See the white clouds of our hope See the blood-red afterglow in the west Our memory of October See See See the pretty cottages the bungalows the sheltered homes See the packing-box cities the jungles the huts See See See the skyscrapers the clubs the pent-houses See the bread-lines winding winding winding long as our road America America America Tagging Kentucky Tagging Tennessee Into Ohio Into the orchards of Michigan Over the rising and falling dunes of Indiana Across Illinois' glad fields of dancing corn Slowing Comrades Slowing again Slowing for the heart of proletarian America CHICAGO—100 MILES WOORKERSWOORKERS Steel and rail and stock All you sons of Haymarket Swing on We're going your way America is ours UNITEDFRONT—SSSTRIKE The pressure of our tires is blood pounding in our hearts UNITEDFRONT—SSSTRIKE The steam of our courage blows from the radiator-cap UNITEDFRONT—SSSTRIKE The wind screams red songs in our ears 60 70 80 90 AmericaAmericaAmerica Listen Listen to the moans of those whose lives were laughter Listen to the howls of the dogs dispossessed Listen to bureaucratic insects spattering against the windshield Listen to curses rebounding from fear-proof glass Listen to the gravel of hate tingling on our fenders Listen to the raindrops mumbling of yesterday Listen to the wind whistling of to-morrow Listen to our tires humming humming humming hymns of victory AmericaAmericaAmerica Coasting Comrades Coasting Coasting on momentum of Revolution Look Look at that village Like a lonesome egg in the nest of the hills Soon Soon you shall fly all over the hillsides Crowing the new dawn Coasting Indulging in Lenin's dream TUNE IN ON THE RADIO THE WORLD IS LAUGHING Red Baseball Great day in the Morning … the Leninites defeated the Redbirds 3 to 0. Batteries for the Leninites: Kenji Sumarira and Boris Petrovsky. For the Redbirds: Wing Sing and Eddie O'Brien. Homeruns: Hugo Schmidt and Jack Ogletree. Umpires: Pierre Carpentier and Oswald Wallings … The world is laughing The world is laughing … Mike Gold's account of the Revolution sells 26 million copies … 26 million copies … The world is laughing The world is laughing … beginning May 1st the work day is limited to five hours … The world is laughing The world is laughing … last of the landlords liquidated in Texas … The world is laughing The world is laughing Picking up speed to measure the Mississippi AmericaAmericaAmerica Plowing the richness of Iowa soil Into the Wheat Empire Making Minnesota Taking the Dakotas Carrying Nebraska On on toward the Badlands the Rockies the deserts the Golden Gate Slowing once again Comrades Slowing to right a wrong Say You Red Men You Forgotten Men Come out from your tepees Show us Pocahuntus For we love her Bring her from her hiding place Let the sun kiss her eyes Drape her in a shawl of red wool Tuck her in beside us Our arms shall thaw the long cold of her shoulders The lights flash red Comrades let's go UNITEDFRONT—SSSTRIKE The future opens like an ever-widening V UNITEDFRONT—SSSTRIKE We're rolling over titles of red logic UNITEDFRONT—SSSTRIKE We're speeding on wheels of revolution AmericaAmerica Mountain peaks are falling toward us AmericaAmerica Uphill and the earth rises and looms AmericaAmerica Downhill and the earth tilts and sways AmericaAmerica 80 90 100 AmericaAmerica Every factory is a fortress Cities breed soviets AmericaAmerica Plains sprout collective farms Ten thousand Units are meeting America America Resolutions passed unanimously The Red Army is on the march AmericaAmerica Arise, ye prisoners… AmericaAmerica Speed Faster Speed AmericaAmerica Arise, ye wretched… AmericaAmerica Speed Faster Ever Faster America America For Justice America America Thunders AmericaAmericaAmerica — Richard Wright (1936)

Lions, bears, donkeys and a Savior

When you and I think of Christmas we see Mary, Joseph and baby Jesus, in a barn with animals, a few bewildered shepherds and the manger laid out on a table or a fireplace mantle…sometimes we have the three wise men, who actually didn’t arrive until two years later but hey they came with the set, right?

I think most of us picture Mary and Joseph getting up one morning, booking a room and walking across town to settle in for the birth of their first born child.

But the world of Mary and Joseph was actually a very difficult and a very dangerous place. The harsh conditions of that time were not laid out in the Gospel accounts.

It was anything but a ride across town on paved well lit streets.

Mary and Joseph’s hardships started a few weeks before the birth of their son when the couple left their home in Nazareth, in the northern highlands of Galilee to register for a Roman census.

It was another government mandate.

Mary, nine months pregnant, who historians believe could have been as young as 15 or 16, riding on the back of a donkey, for 90 miles to the city of Joseph’s ancestors for this census.

Ninety miles.

Ninety.

Nine zero…

In your mind go ninety miles down the highway away from where you are right now. Put your teenage fiancé (stick with the narrative), nine months pregnant, on the back of a donkey and walk that direction, about ten miles a day.

Did I mention nine months pregnant? Raise your hand if you’ve ever been nine months pregnant. Did you ride a donkey ninety miles not having any idea where you’d stay once you got there?

Next time you see a tiny statue of Mary on the dash of a truck think about that…

They were broke, exhausted and modern conveniences were almost zero, other than maybe a house in a village to stop in for water or maybe bread.

Mary and Joseph walked south along the flatlands of the Jordan River, then west over the hills surrounding Jerusalem and on into Bethlehem, again it wasn’t across town. It was ninety miles just like ninety miles is today.

Joseph knew what they’d be traveling through. Some accounts of that day and region talk about bears and lions in the woods along the path that would be followed from Nazareth to Bethlehem. Lions and bears…

And this trip was not a straight path. It was up hill and down hill over and over again, nine months pregnant on the back of a donkey.

If the trip through the Judean desert took place during the winter, it would have been in the 30s during the day, with heavy rains off and on.

On a donkey.

Ninety miles.

Nine months pregnant.

To protect themselves during bad weather, Mary and Joseph would likely have worn heavy wool cloaks made to shed rain and even snow and under their cloaks, they wore long robes.

Ninety miles on a donkey.

And the unpaved, rocky trails and harsh weather were not the only hazards Joseph and Mary would have faced on their journey south.

Palestine was a section of heavily forested valley near the Jordan River, along with lions and bears living in the woods, they also had to fend off wild boars.

That cute nativity scene set up in front of your local church is feeling a little different, isn’t it?

Our “live nativity” scene usually don’t have lions, bears and wild boars does it?

It may have been a holy night, but it was anything but silent.

Archeologists have unearthed documents warning travelers of other forest dangers such as bandits, pirates of the desert and robbers common along the major trade routes like the ones Joseph and Mary would have traveled that week.

The threat of outlaws often forced travelers to join trade caravans for protection, so it is very likely Mary and Joseph traveled with a relatively large group headed to Bethlehem for the census.

Think how many people years later may have connected the dots realizing they were so close to Jesus…but didn’t stay long enough to actually meet him.

That still happens today.

Doesn’t it?

It is believed that the overcrowded conditions in Bethlehem on the night of Jesus’ birth would have resulted in others being close at hand during Mary’s delivery.

Think standing room only.

There were others most certainly present at the birth of Jesus and since it’s human nature to help, it’s not unreasonable that other women might have helped deliver the baby Jesus that night as this Jewish teenage girl gave birth to her first born child.

Even though Mary could have had help and the cave may have provided some protection from the elements, the noisy and dirty conditions under which Jesus was born would have made the event anything but warm and wonderful and sweet and comfortable.

It was an appropriate introduction to the hard pathway that Jesus would follow in His 33 years on earth to rescue and ransom His people from their bondage and sin.

After Jesus was born and the excitement gave way to night Mary, Joseph and a few bewildered shepherds may have been the only ones who understood who was wrapped in those swaddling clothes.

Do you?

He was just another Jewish baby born to an unwed teenage mother with a young dad who earned a meager wage as a carpenter.

No red carpet, no breaking news and no press conference.

All that happened that night was the Sovereign Creator of the universe had been born as a tiny baby who would grow up to live a sinless perfect life to teach, heal and perform miracles that had never been seen before. He would turn the religious leaders and system upside down and begin a movement that literally became known as The Way.

How incredible is it to imagine that over the next few days, perhaps Joseph, Mary holding the infant Jesus stood in line to register for the census. At some point, a Roman guard or other appointed official may have asked Joseph to state his name, possibly present some papers, give the name of his fiancée and then answer the question,

“Name of your child, boy or girl?”

“His name is Jesus, he’s our only child, our first born son. He was born just a few nights ago here in Bethlehem.”

We can only imagine.

That’s it.

No fanfare.

No music, no parade, no welcome, no ribbon cutting, no evidence that He’s the Savior of the world and the hope of all mankind.

He eats, cries, needs to be changed and the cycle starts all over again.

Twelve years later he would baffle seminary professors and almost give away the quiet secret that the Messiah is playing in your front yard with your children.

Eighteen years after that, walking the earth taking in the sights and sounds of a fractured people who try desperately to fill an empty heart with everything but a God who loves them…Jesus walks into a wedding and changes more than water into wine.

He launches a thirty six month tour of that part of the world that turns heaven and earth inside out.

Plants, animals, disease, demons and weather patterns obey his voice. Kings stumble, hearts melt and lives are transformed. Twelve clumsy locals drop their careers and follow Him.

His teachings break the rules.

His message rewrites the scrolls.

His compassion upsets city hall.

Until a posse sets out to capture, torture and crucify Mary and Joseph’s boy who is also Emanuel-God with us…

1868 years later Phillips Brooks, an Episcopal pastor needed a song for the children��s Sunday School at The Church of the Holy Trinity in Philadelphia. Inspired by visiting a tiny village in Jerusalem in 1865, he wrote a poem and his organist Lewis Redner added the music.

They never thought anyone but the little children that morning would ever pick up on the song.

Here’s the lyrics…

Oh little town of Bethlehem, how still we see thee lie. Above thy deep and dreamless sleep the silent stars go by.

Yet in thy dark streets shineth, the everlasting light. The hopes and fears of all the years are met in thee tonight.

For Christ is born of Mary, and gathered all above, while mortals sleep the angels keep their watch of wondering love.

Oh morning stars together, proclaim thy holy birth. And praises sing to God the king, and peace to men on earth.

Oh little town of Bethlehem, how still we see thee lie. Above thy deep and dreamless sleep the silent stars go by.

Yet in thy dark streets shineth, the everlasting light. The hopes and fears of all the years are met in thee tonight.

Phillips Brooks did one other thing before he left this earth, he introduced Helen Keller to Christianity and he introduced her to Anne Sullivan.

Whatever your hopes and fears are tonight, they are perfectly met in the Glory of Christ, Emanuel-God with us…

Repost this just in case someone needs to be reminded that one of the reasons Jesus was called Emanuel is because God is always with us…

The places you can go, falling through the aether.

Occasionally people ask me what it's like to travel like I do. In the practice of seiðr there is a need to travel to other realms, Realms of other beings that may have knowledge, answers or resources. This skill has many names, the name that I use is Faring Forth

How I Go

Preparing the items I will be taking with me, usually just my wand and offerings of cookies or gems, I sit and calm myself.  I try to clear the worries and anxiety from the brain, and I also begin selecting senses to stop.  Sight is the easiest by just closing my eyes, touch is also rather easy, I can either lie on the ground for prop myself in the corner.  To Eliminate smell distractions I usually burn incense.  Hearing has been the hardest for me to ignore pr switch over, I used to use ear plugs or large headphones, not anymore though. Now i am able just to do it as part of all of the other things.  I sit or lie in my circle, and hum a little, enter a trance, and try to focus on my destination.

A sample location

On a normal practice journey I will go to the same place.  A place that is a small hall or chapel or meeting room. The ceilings in the main part of the room are about 15 ft high and angled, there are two rows of columns going down the room.  There are about 8 columns in total, in two rows, about 30 feet apart.  They are about 20 feet from each other in their row.  

The columns themselves serve to mark out the center part of the space, the area where the ceiling is higher, on the outside of these rows the ceiling is much lower.  The floor is normally covered in hide and furs of perhaps cow, sheep, or goat, below these furs the floor is wood.  I'm in the middle or towards the rear of the room clenching at the furs in my fingers, sometimes kneeling sometimes lying down. The position I begin my transe in does not dictate the position I will arrive in.  Towards the front of the room is a long trough of fire and coals, around the fire the floor is stone. At the head of the room there are a series of chairs facing the rest of the room.  The center one is wider than the rest with ornate carved legs.  It is hard for me to see the carving, but the texture feels somewhere between a braid and a spiral have been carved.  The chairs in this part of the room occasionally have extremely soft furs on them, rabbit or Fox Maybe.  The columns that support the roof and all of the surrounding structure are made of wood.  The wood feel smooth and Polished over years of handling the soft portions of the grain of worn down much farther than other parts.  On the sides of the hall here are small windows that are rather low, not much light enters through these. There are also frequently benches stored by the windows, when they are not placed in the main part of the room. Most of the light enters through more windows at the top of the hall along the roof, it seems they also serve as smoke vents when there is a fire going.  

There are two ways out of this room. There is the front door in the back of the hall, opposite of the chairs.  It is a set of double doors that open to the outside.  The other way to exit this room is behind the chairs at the front, there are small doors to either the left or the right, that lead to the same back room.  Here there is sometimes a cooking fire and a large kettle.   Various bits of fabric hang from the ceiling along the walls, it seems like there is more back there but I have not yet been permitted to check.  Out the front door is,  not surprisingly is the outside.  

The seasons here don't seem to match the seasons of Illinois. I have seen snow in early May, and green all the way through November. In the nearby area I have yet to see or discern any other buildings.  However on a clear day there are Hills or low mountains in the distance. Not a great distance, maybe about 20 to 30 miles, the highest peak is mostly cliff faced on the left side and curves down on the right, I'm able to see a few other peaks but this is the only one that has any describable features for me.  There are few if any trees here, and the cliff face has visible strata though indistinct at this distance.  

What I Do Once I’m There

Normally when coming to this place, The Lady, or one of her handmaidens / daughters / aspects is waiting for me. On one occasion, while doing what can only be described as a skills test for a magical research project, I was greeted normally and asked to step outside.  She had said to me that

“The place here, is related to how it covers the shape of the Realms.  It covers a structure that cannot be perceived, but that structure can be moved. If you understand how to shift the structure underneath you can shift where and how you are placed. Look there in the distance, see the hills and the sky, now rotate them aside and see what is beneath. “

After a few tries it seemed that the entire world winked out of existence and I was falling through a bright but dense fog.  I could still hear her voice “I have taught you the shape of a great soaring bird, use it.”  Rather quickly I was able to stop falling and glide about.  With the diffuse light, and gentle winds, I was able to get a good look at the shape I was in. I'll have another post about that and my exploration into the nature of the Valshamr.  After flying around for a little bit, I nearly crashed face-first into a large tree, bigger around than anything I've seen in person, the tree is covered in coarse ridged bark, and in my brief panic I had become a human again.   I hear her voice again, “You have other shapes that you know, surely you will not be brought to a stop by landing on a tree.”  In a brief moment of consideration I chose the form of a raccoon. the hands were easy enough and provided better grip than human hands.  The feet soon followed,  I add a tail for balance and a nose for direction, I was soon scaling the side of the tree in relative ease.  My vision was only limited to about 10 to 12 feet in front of me. Eventually I was able to find a small branch to rest.  Once there I faced the tree and placed my right hand upon it as I switched back to my human form. With it there, I said “I wish to go to Freya's Hall”, and did that odd rotation that had gotten me here.   

The whole world went dark, and I was falling again.  The noise was actually the first thing to hit me, before my face hit upon wide beam.  The cacophonous and din of a celebration or gathering was all around.  I could discern some laughter, both men and women, I could hear maybe flutes, maybe some form of pipes, string instruments, drums, singing, and the rhythmic sounds of dancing.  The place I had landed was maybe 50-60 feet off of a floor, below me were rows of tables, running along the length of a great hall, greater than any hall I could have imagined.  I could tell that I was on some form of open rafter or truss in the ceiling, and off to one side.  The hallways Maybe 150, or 200 feet wide, and long enough in each direction that I could not see the end.  This was not a place that I had been before, it was much larger and chaotic.  I slowly backed up until I felt the wall behind me, and imagine those furs that I had landed on at the start.  I fell through the wall and floor, and landed with a thud on soft sheepskin. Sitting up, I see that she was still here,  She greets me “Many places that you try to go will not be what you expect, be careful”.  

Worn out and exhausted I thanked her for her time, and went home.  Once I got back to my body the pain has mostly subsided.  I was only left with the mundane pain and a slight knot in my stomach.  I took a deep breath, and made sure that all my parts are back, I got up and had some tea.    

Thank You

I hope you've enjoyed recounting this journey with me. If you like, I can share more places that I have been. Feel free to message with any questions.  

Always, *Hugs*

--nina

Wednesday 6 August 1834

7 35

1 5

No kiss not with her at all fine morning - F68° in my back room at 10 10 - breakfast at 9 – A- still poorly – her bowls not better - Had our host, M. Pernard – he fancied the 11 minerals I had left out of the box = 20/ so I took only 4 for 6fr.§  - he calls set-e-ra what our cocher called Stèré - a Setĕra = 900 toises carrés; but they commonly go here by the journal (plural journaux) = 2/3 of a Setĕra, or 600 toises carrés - terre à chauve is worth 3,000 fr. a Setĕra - terre with vines and bled = from. 2000/ to 2,4000 fr. a Setĕra - terre de vigne = from 1800 to 2000 fr. a Setĕra - the vine-hills (at his own campagne) are what they call mi-côtes (ie. demi côtes) - M. Perrier has no land that he (M. Pèrrend [Pernard]) knows of but at Vizille and none there but what belongs the chateau and may have from 60 to 80 Setĕra - but it is the chateau which makes the land valuable - in buying land one has to consider where it is terre battue, or not; that is, terre with a good house on it, or not - where there is a very large quantity of land, the house is generally given in - where there is not much land, of the house is a consideration - the chateau at Vizille is valuable as being a large manufactory - filature de cotton employing now 200 to 400 ouvriers - wheat is sold by the boisseau weighing 42 lbs. or + or - according to the goodness of what - it is now 4/50 per boisseau should be 6/. to enable the farmer to pay his way comfortable - Mr. Pérard [Pernard] have 22000 fr. for his campagne has 17  Setĕra, and has laid out from 36,000 to 40,000 fr. - wants 10,000 fr. for all the trouble he has had the 28 month since he bought it, and asks 70,000 fr. but his wife does not wish him to sell - he will assure the estate producing 100 louis (=2,400/) per annum without making anything of the house - it is situate in what is called the Beauplan -

§                        

took a boy guide and out (left A- at home) at 11 50 to the chateau fort or Bastille, on a high compact limestone rock north of the town – had got a considerable way above the engineer’s house when he  himself came and I was obliged to turn back and ask leave of the Commandant – vexed enough – but could not help it – went back the engineer with me – shewed my passport – made my story good – the commandant very civil and ask me to take beer or Eau sucré which I declined and  the engineer went a good way up with me – gave me note to the lieutenant in command at the top, and asked me to stop at his and take something on my return and I promised I promised to call – I counted above 350 steps and forgot to count those perhaps 20 or 30 to the very top and others lower down - besides all the traversing I certainly mounted 400 steps - very fine views of the town

SH:7/ML/E/17/0070

about ½ way and at the very top at 1 ½ magnificent view of the valleys of the Isére and Drac – the former winds near the town in large folds – very beautiful – stood 10 minutes under the boiling sun enchanted with the view - the Graissivaudan [Grésivaudan]valley at the apex of the angel stands Grenoble very fine and rich and beautiful deserving all its praises -  the fine high Savoy mountain snow-streaked ridge on the East rather hid by clouds range but the range hills of hills below beautifully thrown together with pointed rounded elongated all shaped tops - Everyone should go to the top of the chateau - from the higher mountain above it the town would be masked by the castle  - heated as I was, I was well repaid – down at the old tower, where lives the engineer and his wife at 2 ½ - very civil – hoped I should go and see them again – gave me a nice little nosegay from their flower pots on the top of the tower he lost his right arm in Spain at the taking of Valentia (Valence) - has 1500/. a year pay + 300/. gratification and lives, rent free, of course, in the tower - a taker of roads came in - said the new road of Marseilles by Claix Vizille etc would be finished in 4 or 5 years as also the new road to Italy by Bourg d’Oisans, Grave, Madeleine, Lauzet to Oulx and Exilles and Susa would be done in 5 years -  10 leagues done - 30 more to do - the road is done to beyond Bourg d’Oysans - ¼ hour at the engineer’s ‘Mr. de Matheis, Garde du Génie, chevalier de la legion d’honneur, �� Rabot’ - born at Turin - he gave me his address written very well with his left hand - in returning went to the marbrier, near the good stone bridge ‘Bernard fils  marbrier, r. du Quai, n°12 près le pont de Pierre, à Grenoble’ - 1 chiefly piece very pretty dark coloured ground much veined with yellow - found in a ravine near Grenoble - no quarry of it - called brêche de tez - ‘la cheminée’ coute 150/. transport to Paris 12/. to 15/. to London perhaps 30/. would engage it at 50/. - but what would be the dirty? - could furnish 10 or 11 specimens of Grenoble marbles or marbres du pays of the Dauphin alps 3 ½ in. carrés and ¼ in. thick at 3/. each -  home at 3 ½ - paid all and off from l’hotel des ambassadors, Grenoble, at 4 35 - A-‘s bowels indisposed all the time – the town too low and near the river – so glad to be off – like the neighbouring hills exceeding for living on  - not at all disappointed with town or country – the town a good provincial town tho’ not handsome – had no time to see the musée – beautiful drive along the river winding tolerably near for some distance -  At 5  35 having driven a roughish by-road alighted at the  campagne of our hoste in a vignoble about ¼ mile from the road (right) - formerly belonging to the Chartreux - shewed us the cave and the great 2 or 3 foutres (casks that 30 men could stand in at once) they left there, and the wine press - still perfectly good (of oak) tho’ a century or two old - rez de chaussée a good salon with cabinet for 2 beds at one end, and 2 other pieces (small) - an 1er même distribution with kitchen above, or below to be let - the fermier under the same roof, and a kitchen and 2 or 3 pieces reserved for his wife’s father and mother - I asked if the tenant could have a garden - no! but M. Pernard would give him ½ the product of the garden - this rez de chaussée and 1er will [be] furnished for 1000 fr. a year, or for la belle saison May to October exclusive - everything really very nicely arranged - fine 7 ½ ft. parasol (in English umbrella) acacias planted last November looking beautiful - had them from Martin Burdin Chambéri [Chambery], at 24 sols per tree - and all sorts of rose-bushes at 12 to 16 sols each - fine large 7 ½ f. mulberry trees at 10 sols each - would he sell them to me at that price - M. Pernard will get and send me off to England as many as I please at the price he himself paid - the leaves of a fine young well-headed mulberry tree sell for 20 to 30/. for the season manure (Engrais) (horse manure) very dear - had put 6,000 fr.  worth into his land - but vines a hot thing themselves and did not do with a hot manure - wanted a cold one - la laiche bauche the best - the coarse reedy grass (vid. line 6 p.18) - too much horse dung bad, too hot - shewed his pavilion great pleasure - prettily painted in fresco - an Italian from Turin did it and he and 2 men 2 ½ months doing it for 600fr. - A- sadly tired of so much talk she did not understand - but liked the place very well - Off again at 7 and at Voreppe (fine beautiful drive as before) a shabby little town at 7 ½ - in the rough road coming  had lost the shaft’s bolt or staple – the blacksmith having waited for me ( I was bargaining with the woman of the Inn but she was trop exigeant) and 36 minutes were lost - Off from Voreppe at 8 6 sorry not to have staid all night but A- thought we should have fleas in such looking auberge and I determined not to give the woman more than 21/ for the night and breakfast tomorrow as she had little to give us for dinner and wanted 25/. - a pity to have so fine a drive in the dark – fine rocks high and perpendicular we passed close under soon after leaving Voreppe, then fine shaped hills and wood were dimly seen - alighted à l’hotel du Cons, chez Bearne at Voiron at 9 40 – very large good room with 2 cabinets à un lit, at the end of them room – very comfortable – the master of the house very civil and reasonable – would object to nothing – would leave all to me-  and take my price – nice little supper very fine day till about 5 pm then a shower and afterwards a dew drops F70° at 12 10 tonight -  Not with her tonight.

My Innings as Commander 27 Mtn Arty Brigade ( Part 2 )

      In the first week of May, Ashvini & Nandini reached Bagrakote after undertaking a long journey across the country. It certainly boosted their confidence, since they travelled all by themselves for the first time. The first impressions of “Gun House” further boosted their energy levels, as we welcomed them in our new Home. In the very first week, they were surprised with the change of timings of sunrise & sunset and adjusted quickly to the new routine. The serene environment of Bagrakote provided ample opportunities for ANA to pursue their hobbies and play sports, within the premises of Brigade HQ. I had already prepared a plan for our visits to Nathu La & Darjeeling. Consequent to my announcement of this plan, everyone was excited for our first adventurous trip in the mountains in Sikkim. The preparations were complete, after we packed up the woolen clothing, which would be essential in Nathu La sector.

     As scheduled, we left early morning for Gangtok, which was 100 km from Bagrakote. Our travel on the mountainous road along the Teesta river was really fascinating. Enroute, we witnessed White Water Rafting being conducted as a training event on the Teesta River. We reached Gangtok after a journey of 5 hours and felt the change of weather at 6000 ft, realising that distance is measured in terms of time in the mountains. It was essential to halt at Gangtok for a day to enable brief acclimatisation. Our departure from Gangtok was again early in the morning. Early start was necessary because the travel time to Nathu La was three hours which included a brief halt at Mile 14 Transit Camp enroute. Thereafter, the journey was more enchanting as we ascended to 12,000 ft. and reached Chhangu Lake, which is situated at the entry point of the track leading to Nathu La pass.

      At this scenic spot, we had another brief respite walking around Chhangu Lake and felt refreshed after consuming hot “Jam Pani”. We were already experiencing the adverse effects of high altitude but the view of snow capped mountains energised us to begin our climb slowly upto the Pass located at 14,000 ft. At the summit, we observed the Chinese soldiers deployed at their posts, which were just 100 metres away from our posts. Our short stay for one hour at this unique location on the LAC will always remain an unforgettable experience. We wished to stay on longer at this dominating location on the “Old Silk Route” but had to walk down and  proceed for the next mandatory visit  --- Harbhajan Baba Mandir!!

    As per superstition, it is believed that all visitors to Nathu La must pay obeisance at the Harbhajan Baba shrine, located about 15 km from Chhangu Lake. The legend goes back to the India-China conflicts in this Sector in Oct 1968, during which Sepoy Harbhajan Singh of 23 Punjab Battalion went missing until his body was recovered from a glacier. Later, he appeared in a dream of his CO & several soldiers and expressed his desire for construction of a ‘Samadhi’ at this spot. Ever since then, Baba’s spirit continues to protect all the Units deployed in Nathu La Sector and he has been often seen patrolling along the LAC! It was a divine experience to pay respects and have ‘Langar’ at this historic location. The most unusual ritual followed religiously is when Baba proceeds on Annual Leave to Kapurthala, in Sep every year. He is escorted by two Sewadars during the train journey and his Berth is reserved but kept vacant during the journey. Interestingly, he has been promoted over the years and is presently an Honorary Captain! He is fondly revered as the Hero of Nathu La. Consequent to these memorable visits, we travelled back to Gangtok for a night-halt.

     We left next morning for Darjeeling --- the Queen of Hill Stations in West Bengal. Soon, after reaching we went for a joyride in the famous Darjeeling Toy Train. Our journey by the toy train was indeed fascinating as the train route crisscrossed the main road connecting Darjeeling to Siliguri. It was a breathtaking experience while the train negotiated steep gradients offering a splendid view of the landscape. The rest of the day was spent doing  sightseeing and shopping. Next day, we reached the view point at Tiger Hill at 4 AM. There was intense excitement when we  witnessed the glorious spectacle of sunrise at Kanchenjunga and the majestic Himalayan Ranges. Finally, with these beautiful memories of last one week, we set course for our return journey and reached Bagrakote by mid-day. It was such a nostalgic feeling to be back  in the “Gun House”, after our fabulous vacation in the lap of nature.

     I resumed my official routine commencing with all the Annual Adm Inspections. Initially, I completed the inspections of the Regiments located at Sevoke Road and Oodlabari. It was my privilege to inspect the Units and assess the standard of Unit administration and evaluate all aspects of equipment management & state of Accounts. The Staff Officers of my Brigade HQ were delegated the responsibility of testing the standards of  BPET and small arms firing, prior to my inspection. Simultaneously, Sanjivani dedicated her efforts towards creation of additional facilities at Army School & improvement of the standard of family quarters at Bagrakote. Meanwhile, I was planning for our visit to Bhutan but kept it a secret till necessary permission was obtained from Army HQ. As soon as the approval was received, I applied for casual leave and then announced our proposed trip to Bhutan, which was a surprise for all my family members. The next three days were spent preparing for the trip & coordination of all arrangements for our forthcoming visit.

     In the third week of June, we left Bagrakote and reached Binnaguri for a a night halt in the same Officers Mess where I had stayed during my previous tenure in 1974-75. As usual, we left early next morning and reached Phuntsholing which was the majestic gateway to Bhutan. The journey thereafter upto IMTRAT (Indian Military Training Team) located at Haa was absolutely amazing through the pristine mountainous terrain. We reached Haa after a journey of five hours and were welcomed in the grand Officers Mess of IMTRAT.

     Next day, we visited the Haa valley which is just adjacent to the disputed Doklam Plateau. Later in the evening, we strolled in the Haa town and got a glimpse of the Bhutanese lifestyle. After stay of two days in IMTRAT, we moved to Thimpu which is located at 8000 ft. We spent two days in Thimpu and visited both the important monuments frequented by tourists -- Tashichho Dzong & Chhorten. 

     We were impressed with the rituals followed in the monastery which were a symbol of Bhutanese culture. In the evenings, we visited the main market and bought Bhutanese traditional dresses & tasted their special cuisine, served in their customary style. Thus, after spending a week in the Land of Peace & Tranquility, we set off next morning on our return journey & reached Bagrakote after a long journey of 10 hours, with numerous memories of a fabulous vacation!! 

     In the first week of Jul, Ashvini & Nandini left Bagrakote as they had to resume their academic sessions in Pune. We accompanied them till Kolkata and did some local sight-seeing before their final departure for Pune. Next day onwards, I carried out the Annual Adm Inspections of my Regiments located at Barrackpore & Kanchrapara. Simultaneously, Sanjivani visited the family quarters of both the Regiments and interacted with the families in the Family Welfare Centre. We then returned to Bagrakote and prepared plans for various welfare activities and organising the forthcoming Diwali festival.  As per the Sports calendar, inter unit sports competitions were conducted with lot of enthusiasm in the next two months.

     In the beginning of Aug, I was fortunate to be selected for attending the NBCW (Nuclear Biological & Chemical Warfare) Course at CME, Pune. It was a short Course of one month duration for selected officers from all the three Services. I reached Pune in mid-Aug and announced my arrival to Ashvini & Nandini, who were really thrilled since they could stay with me in the spacious two room accommodation allotted to me in CME & enjoy variety of meals in the Officers Mess. The learnings during the Course enhanced my knowledge about the latest developments in this interesting dimension of warfare. On completion of this Course, I returned to Bagrakote just prior to another memorable event which had been planned by Sanjivani. On 22 Sep, we hosted a special party at the “Gun House” for approximately 50 officers & families of the Brigade HQ and the Regiments located nearby at Sevoke Road and Oodlabari. The occasion was the celebration of ‘Milestone 50′ in my Journey of Life. It gave me a special certification as the grand ‘Old Man’!!

     In early Oct, all the Regiments set up camps in training areas near Bagrakote to facilitate training prior to the Practice Camps, for a duration of one month. It was essential to carry out familiarisation with Teesta Ranges by practicing deployment & live firing. Each Field Firing Range has certain restrictions and degree of difficulty for deployment of Guns & engagement of targets. I looked forward to yet another learning experience in the tenth Range in my career while I shared my practical experiences with the OP officers & JCOs, to improve the standard of shooting. All the Regiments & our Brigade HQ practiced various drills and procedures to refine the standards of technical proficiency. Simultaneously, Technical competitions were conducted by the Staff Officers of my Brigade HQ. In the first week of Nov, I assessed each Regiment during it’s Practice Camp and was extremely satisfied with their excellent standard. The culminating event was the Technical Day, during which a total of 90 Guns & Mortars of different caliber, gave a demonstration of a Fire Plan for two hours. The Technical Day was witnessed by the GOC, all Infantry Brigade Commanders & COs of Infantry Battalions. All the dignitaries appreciated the speed of deployment, accurate engagement of targets & the destructive effect of fire power of the Gunners. It was a proud moment for me when I conveyed my special appreciation on the radio network ---  “Good Shooting, Shabaash.”

       All the Regiments returned to their respective locations, well in time for Diwali festival. At Bagrakote, we organised a Diwali Mela and fireworks display, with enthusiastic involvement by all ranks & families. We conducted several competitions, separately for the officers, families and children, as per the custom of celebrating all festivals together. It was a coincidence that Diwali and Children’s Day were on the same date that year. Hence, it proved to be a double celebration for the children.

      Soon thereafter, we were delighted to welcome our relatives who had come from Aurangabad for a visit to Sikkim. They enjoyed their stay in our tranquil location for a few days & then proceeded along with Aditya to Nathu La & Darjeeling. They were lucky to witness snowfall in Sikkim and caught a glimpse of the difficult conditions faced by our soldiers deployed at the LAC (Line of Actual Control). They returned to Aurangabad after their once-in-a-lifetime experience.

      In the second week of Dec, I had gone to Panagarh to carry out the Adm Inspection of my Regiment, which was pending due to the revised schedule of Practice Camps. On 13 Dec 2001, during the conduct of the Adm Inspection, we got the shocking news about the surprise attack on our Parliament Complex by a group of terrorists. Consequent to this sudden development, an immediate response at the highest level was anticipated. Hence, I curtailed my inspection schedule and left for Bagrakote on the same night. Next morning itself, we received orders to be on high alert and be ready for mobilisation. All the Brigade Commanders had to rush to Div HQ for an urgent conference, where the GOC briefed us about the latest situation and likely future contingencies. These orders were disseminated to all the Units for completing all preparations on a war footing.

       After just three days, we received the final codeword for move to J&K, as a part of Operation PARAKRAM. This was the green signal for the massive mobilisation of the Striking Lion Division. It involved move of all Units, by rail from widely dispersed entraining stations to different detraining stations between Pathankot & Jammu Tawi. In view of the urgency, the Indian Railways moved all the trains on red hot priority. The move after detraining was carried out by road upto the designated staging areas. Meanwhile, I moved ahead by air, as a part of the core Recce Group. It was a tremendous achievement when we completed our deployment in the staging areas by end of Dec, in a state of high morale & motivation.

      We were given an extensive briefing about the latest situation and all the Units were directed to be ready at short notice, for any contingency. Specific sectors were allotted for recce missions, which had to be carried out on a daily basis. Plans had to be evolved and modified consequent to every ground recce & information updates from latest air photos. These plans were brainstormed during the planning & coordination conference every morning. Incidentally, we had to comply with the security instructions of not compiling any written records of any plans or marked maps, in order to maintain secrecy. It was yet another challenging experience, facing such a dynamic situation in the LOC (Line of Control) scenario.

     In the first week of Feb 2002, while I was busy in my recce missions, I got a surprise when I received my posting order to Army HQ. I had to report for my next assignment within a month and take charge as Deputy Director General (Equipment Management) in MGO Branch. It was a welcome news but I genuinely felt that my posting order was a bit too early since I had just completed one & a half year of my Command. Hence, I applied for cancellation/deferment of my posting. However, my request was not accepted in the organisational interest. Any CO or Commander feels very nostalgic at the time of relinquishing his Command. I too had similar feelings which were even more intense because we had just completed our deployment for Op PARAKRAM in J&K.

    Then began a series of farewell programs organised by each Regiment in it’s traditional manner. I made a trip to  the Vaishno Devi shrine and sought the blessings of the Goddess, prior to my departure after my fourth tenure in J&K. Next day, I was dined out from the Div HQ in the customary manner. The final two days were exclusively for the farewell functions in my Brigade HQ. The Bara Khana was organised centrally by all the Regiments which was really an emotional experience. Next day, was my dining out from the Brigade Officers Mess set up under field conditions. In my farewell speech, I expressed my gratitude to my entire Team of excellent COs -- Col Manjit Singh, Col PR Shankar, Col Nambiar and Col Sarkar who were the pillars of the Arty Brigade. In addition, I praised the contribution of Col Zope ( my Deputy Commander) and all the Staff Officers of Brigade HQ -- Maj Paviter Singh, Maj Maan Singh, Maj Jagdish, Capt AP Singh and Capt BS Multani who always exceeded my expectations. Finally, I was chaired out to the traditional chorus of “He is a jolly good fellow.” 

     Next morning, I bid the final farewell to my excellent Formation as I was escorted upto the Main Gate, with lot of affection and respect in a formal ceremony. It was the end of my challenging innings, played well at different venues before proceeding to Army HQ!!

Mt. Whitney, May 2021

Sometimes a sufferfest is exactly what the doctor ordered, and, thankfully, permits to hike Mt. Whitney (14,508′) are online. It takes a little searching on recreation.gov for the permits to come available, but they can be booked immediately. On Monday, May 24th, a day hike permit for Wednesday, May 26th became available, so I grabbed it.

OK, I had scored a permit the week before, but I’d strained my right calf during a 3 mile run and wasn’t sure if it was a good idea to hike 21+ miles in the backcountry with a bad calf. In the meantime, I had strained my calf more on a 5 mile run, but I really wanted to get back onto Whitney.

I left town about 11:30am on Tuesday. Unlike previous trips to the Eastern Sierras, I was in no hurry. This time I decided to set cruise control at 70 MPH (the speed limit), and see what gas mileage I could get up to. It also took the edge completely off of driving. A few podcasts later and mileage was showing a solid 44 miles per gallon. Considering it’s an SUV (a compact SUV, but an SUV all the same), I was pretty happy to see 44 MPG.

Around Bakersfield, I cut east and crossed over the mountains to Tehachapi. Hitting the 14 North, I let the hypermileage goal go and bumped cruise up to 75. Fuel mileage dropped, but that was OK. Cruising along without much traffic I rolled into Lone Pine around 5:30 or 6:00pm.

Also unlike previous trips, I had no need to stop in Lone Pine, so I turned left on Whitney Portal Road and proceeded up the hill to the Portal.

It’s somewhat early in the season, so I wasn’t sure if the parking areas would be filled with hikers’ cars or if there would be spaces available. I had decided to literally car camp for the night and just needed a parking spot and not a campsite. Thankfully, hiker parking was only about 50% full, and I backed into a nice spot really close to the trailhead.

Camping - a Honda CR-V is the definition of “compact SUV” which may make a few folks wonder how my 6′1″ frame can fit to car camp. If you slide both front seats all the way forward and put down the back seats there’s enough room for a twin mattress in the back which is just long enough for me to sleep on.

I spent some time organizing my pack for the hike, laying out my sleeping bag, and boiling water for some freeze dried beef stew.

I was so close to the trailhead that I had to check pack weight and was OK with my pack coming in at 15 pounds.

(that’s 8.81# of water (4l), 1# first aid kit (I could reduce that), 0.83# H2O filter, and about 1 1/2#’s for my pack (1.62# to be precise). That means there was 2 3/4# of food, sunscreen, trail meds and such. I’m not in shape to hike 20+ miles at altitude, so cutting down on pack weight helps a LOT!

Freeze dried beef stew? 10/10, perfection. Maybe one of the best freeze dried meals I’ve ever had even though it had been in my camping box for probably 5 years (or more).

After cleaning up a bit and popping up the sunroof for ventilation it was time to crawl in and try to get some rest.

Suprise, surprise, it was super comfy. I read for a bit and finally got tired enough to try and sleep. I was planning on a 2:30am wakeup and 3:00am start on the trail. Usually sleep is elusive and sounds from other campers and cars inhibits good rest but not this time. I was quite comfy and drifted off easily.

At about 1:45am I woke up feeling quite rested. Sure, I tried to go back to sleep for my 2:30am alarm, but I felt perfectly rested and decided after a few minutes to get on with the day.

The previous night I had setup my morning caffeine (mandatory) in the form of a mountain mocha. 2 starbucks Via instant coffees and a packet of hot chocolate (that had probably been in the camping box for 5+ years). After drinking that and consuming a banana it was time to hit the trail. At about 2:15am or 2:20am, under the light of a full moon, I hit the trail.

Even with the full moon I still needed my headlamp due to treecover and cliffs blocking the moonlight. At this point I kicked on the high beam for my headlamp and realized I’d made a mistake... When the high beam starts flashing it means batteries are low. Ooops. Looks like this hike will be under the weak light of low beam. Oh well. I usually carry extra batteries and never use them, so this was OK in my book. I just needed to be sure to be off the mountain before darkness fell at the end of the day.

Passing a few folks with fuller packs and trekking poles I was glad of two things - low pack weight and being able to focus solely on my pace. I was just cruising along knowing that I wasn’t in shape or trained for distance. I’m just stoopid enough to know how to suffer well.

I totally missed when I passed Lone Pine lake, just focusing on the trail ahead and taking frequent small sips of water from my Camelbak. For water I had my 3 liter reservoir and an additional 1 liter water bottle for a little more than a gallon on board. I like the additional 1 liter because I can use it if my reservoir hits empty between water stops.

The trail started dropping down which was a bit disconcerting. I know that the trail drops a couple hundred feet right before Outpost Camp, but I couldn’t be there yet. Turns out I was there! 2 easy hours on trail and the sign “Outpost Camp” was right in front of me. 3 1/2 miles in 2 hours is pretty pedestrian, but for me, at altitude, it’s a good pace.

I had the option to refill my water at Outpost Camp but did not need to and cruised straight through. Note to anyone thinking of doing an overnight trip on Whitney - don’t stay at Outpost Camp. It’s too low down the mountain and leaves way too much for day 2. Shoot for Trail Camp instead which is at 12,000′ and 2 1/2 miles further up the trail meaning 2 1/2 miles less to cover on summit day.

Leaving Outpost Camp I did my usual and got lost trying to find the trail. The moon was well past the mountain, providing no light, and my headlamp was pretty pathetic by then. I inadvertently looped in a big circle before stopping and using available clues - water sounds. Being color blind does not help when the trail is just a different shade of grey than surrounding dirt. No worries, after homing in on the waterfall sounds I picked up the trail again and started my relentless progress toward Trail Camp.

A word about the trail - it is a trail, but it’s also pretty difficult. Lots of rocks to step up on or over, all of different sizes and at random distances, so you have to really pay attention to foot placement and balance. You can’t get into a rhythm and just cruise along. It also saps a lot of energy.

At this point I realized that my balance was really bad. Normally above 10,000′ the altitude really hits me hard. This trip I didn’t have any problems with altitude sickness, but my equilibrium was TOAST! It was not fun stumbling around at points, and my right shin took the hit on an unforgiving granite rock. My right calf was also aching pretty steadily.

Before Trail Camp I passed a party of 3 guys, one of whom asked “are these the 99 switchbacks?” No, man. We need to get to Trail Camp first and THEN we get to do the switchbacks.

I think it took about an hour to get from Outpost Camp to Trail Camp at 12,039′. My water reservoir felt good plus I still had the 1 liter backup bottle, so instead of stopping to refill I cruised through Trail Camp and on to the 99 switchbacks.

The switchbacks run up the face of a cliff and are pretty tough. Lots of granite steps requiring good foot placement and working the legs with their random sizes from only a few inches tall to big steps at 2+’ tall. Plus they are above 12,000′ and the air definitely feels much less dense. It was about 1/3 of the way up the switchbacks that I took my first break just to catch my breath. I think it may have been the first time I ate. Stroopwafels are amazing...

Oh yeah, I never count the switchbacks. You’re either done with them or have more to go, so just keep moving.

About 2/3 of the way up I had been trudging along, head down, eyes on my feet placement for each step, with my boony hat blocking any view of the trail ahead. I stopped to get a Gu Chew out of my left hip belt pocket, which is much less accessible than my right hip belt pocket. It took some contortion, but I finally got them out and popped one into my mouth.

Sure, there are better packs for endurance activities that make it easy to access pockets, but I’ve had my Salomon pack for 23 years now, and it still works.

After chewing for a bit I looked up and jumped back in surprise! About 2 feet in front of me, sitting on a boulder just off the trail was and extremely pretty, very blonde, woman in her early 20′s. Where the hell had she come from????

She apologized for scaring me.

I apologized for stopping in her personal space.

I’ll be honest, it took me a few moments to decide she was real. It was really weird.

Oh well, onward and upward.

The water in my reservoir ran out just before Trail Crest (13,777′, 8.5 miles), so I stopped to put the water from my 1l bottle into the reservoir. I also looked down the trail to see if the mountain sprite was real, and she seemed to be.

After downing another stroopwafel and some Gu Chews (expensive gummi bears), I shouldered my pack and headed towards the summit. Thankfully I was still not feeling any signs of altitude sickness. 

After Trail Crest there is some exposure to potentially long falls off of a cliff face, but the danger is pretty minimal. Well, except when a corner is exposed and still packed with snow. THAT got the pulse to spike a little, but soon the summit house was visible in the distance. Still a long way off but visible. Just keep moving.

At this point I was really feeling the effort and it’s about 14,000 feet in elevation making for slow hiking. I was able to catch a couple and then turn right up the summit dome. There’s not really much else to say other than - just keep walking, and then there’s the summit. 14,508′ (10.7 miles)

I think it took about 6 hours and 15 minutes to get to the summit which is a pretty good time for me, and maybe one of my fastest. Add in I’m doing no endurance training and feeling no altitude sickness and I was super stoked.

As usual. Take summit picture, eat, drink, relax, shoulder pack and start going back down. Yup, that’s about as exciting as it gets. I left the summit at 9:00am

The trip back down was uneventful. Saw a bunch of people heading up, so I stepped to the side and let them pass which gave me a few breaks. I do not appreciate the elevation lost just after Trail Crest on the way up because it’s elevation that needs to be gained on the way back and on a difficult section of trail, but it is what it is.

I cruised down the switchbacks and stopped in Trail Camp to filter water and refill my reservoir. It was nice to take a solid 15 minute break. Of course I ate another stroopwafel. Damn, those things are AMAZING!

My hands were so swollen with edema that it was a bit challening to pump the filter, but that’s why I don’t use trekking poles. My hands always puff up like cooked sausages and make it impossible to handle trekking polls. Plus, it’s one less thing to worry about. - the trekking poles, not my hands.

Back down the trail. Now I was tired, my legs were feeling the effort from the trail and constantly changing terrain. Just keep moving.

Down through Outpost Camp, by now it was 1pm, but it felt like it was 6 or 7pm due to my early start. Somehow, along the way, I got completely off trail and wound up on the shores of Lone Pine Lake which I had not even seen on my way up. I’m pretty sure this was another case of missing the trail due to blending colors and sunglasses, but I wasn’t worried. I could retrace steps or do a little bushwhacking which is what I did. After crossing a couple of creeks and doing some minimal bouldering I was back on trail and heading down.

After loosening up my watch a few times due to swelling, I saw that I had an outside chance of being done in 12 hours or so. Normally the trip down is a breeze compared to the trip up, but the trail conditions always limit my ability to make time on the descent.

About 1/2 mile from the end I saw a family, with young kids, having a picnic by the side of the trail. I took my eyes off the trail in order to say something nice to them about getting their kids out. Unfortunately, right then the trail dropped off by several feet which meant I landed solidly on my right foot and sent a serious jolt directly up my calf that hurt like HELL!

I limped the last 1/2 mile to the trailhead being very happy that it had occured so close to the end of the trail.

Something like 12 1/2 hours had elapsed, and a lot of those hours were exactly what I needed, time utterly devoid of anything other than focussing on the trail directly in front of me and where I needed to place my feet. Suffering has a way of distilling life down to its essence, and I’m very happy that I get to experience this when I choose to.

After that it was a 7 hour drive home. After a quick stop in Lone Pine for a full tank of gas, a coke, and a package of Oreo’s, I was on the road back to San Jose, arriving home at about 10:30pm.

THE INCREASED COST OF FOOD NOT WHAT YOU THINK

Most people think the incense in eh cost of food is because the supermarkets are ripping off the public. To a degree, yes. Not that much however in comparison to some other businesses/reasons..

Some find a way to benefit from a crisis such as the pandemic.

In this instance, food producers. Those who manufacture the canned goods, meats, and anything else sold in a supermarket.

Notice how certain food stuffs are absent for weeks on the shelves. The items always return. However at an increased price.

The producers have learned to play the gouging game.  They intentionally hold on to goods they produce so as to manipulate prices. The game again is to keep a product off the shelve for several weeks and then have it return at a higher price.

Then there is the cost of shipping/delivery of goods.

Shipping prices have gone out of sight! Which of course increases the final cost to the consumer.

Tucking rates have soared despite a demand below prior years.

Diesel #2 prices are up. Twenty percent from November 2020 through February 15, 2021. A big jump in a short period of time.

Crude oil is up 64 percent during the same time period. Wild!

Shippers, such as retailers and manufacturers shipping goods to the customer, have experienced a 20 percent hike from January 2020 through January 2021. The steepest increase since 2011!

Only a few examples contributing to increased transportation costs have been provided. The statistics/data involving the increases in various types of shipping were too much for me to understand. Wow! The only thing clear was that there is an increase in every area. Reasons generally different. My opinion is do not blame everything on the supermarket. They are responsible to some degree. The examples set forth herein are responsible to an even greater degree.

Texas. A disaster!

Hopefully Texas has learned a lesson. The lesson also is a warning to other states not to go the “independent” way Texas did.

There are two national grids. The East and the West. Then there is Texas standing alone. Texas knew how to provide power more efficiently and cheaper.

They bull shitted themselves.

If you are going to run your own business, it must be run properly to avoid something as has occurred in Texas.

Once set up, Texas failed to do the necessary to keep structures up to date and failed to pay attention to anticipated wild weather developments.

“Once in a hundred years” has become common in everything involving weather.

However, if you have a neoliberal austerity State which has spent 40 years deregulating and privatizing public infrastructures, and downsizing public service into incapability, you end up with a gigantic bad situation. A problem where people cannot depend on the State for water, food, and power during emergencies.

There are adverse weather events to prepare for. Texas did not prepare.

Set aside State damages for which Texas is responsible, most of which probably are not insured. Another way to save a buck.

Home owners and businesses normally are insure. I m confident many Texans are insured for the damages wrought by the snow and ice. Note however that insurance companies are a business. They claim they are available to protect their insureds. No! Most are corporations and worried more about their bottom lines.

So insurance policies are written with various exceptions. Happenings where coverage is excluded. Take for example water driven by wind. The insurance companies will play with that one big time. How about an act of God? Can one argue the cause of snow and ice other than an act of God. Insurance companies try and do.

There are numerous other examples. The poor homeowner and businessman is going to have a hard time getting paid actual damages incurred or getting paid at all.

And what of the time factor involved between the time the claim is made and the insurance company pays. Could be a year or two or more.

Billions of dollars are involved.

The news keeps saying Biden definitely is not in favor of an increase in the minimum wage to $15 in this stimulus package. I sense it is something he will consider at another time. Biden cannot be expected to do everything at one time.

Biden is in favor of a $15 minimum wage for federal employees. Evidence he is aware of the problem and is working on it.

Joseph Anthony Pizzo died recently. He was 88.

I first met Joe when I came to Key West some 30 years ago. He and his wife Beth wee already here. We became friends.

Joe was a happy person. Always a big smile when he saw you. Beth likewise very personable.

Joe was into things that grew from the ground. A botanist/horticulturalist.  He taught life science classes for 30 years at Chicago City College. In addition, he and Beth opened Floral Consultants, a business they were able to expand to multiple Chicago locations.

Rest in peace, Joe!

Key West has had many citizen who have been responsible for what Key West has become. Good, bad, or indifferent, Key West would not be what it is today without their genius and hard work.

One of those persons is David Wolkowsky. David died a few years ago.

On this day in 1967, David began construction of the Pier House Motel. On that Motel site, today’s Pier House sits. Developer over the years by David.

David was my friend. I unfortunately met him in his later years. I enjoyed his company. He was respectful to all. Everyone loved him.

Enjoy your day!

—

DAY 26…..Greece the First Time

Posted on June 22, 2012 by Key West Lou

Not easy to communicate via internet from the middle of the Aegean Sea. Equipment here all old. Connections not dependable. Things keep getting lost. I spend more time looking for lost material than writing.

None of the above is intended as a complaint. I expect no more nor no less from an island so remote as the one I am presently on. Amorgos. It is almost nowhere. Access is by boat only. The boat comes and goes. The boat arrives two times a week.

I share the preceding with you for a particular reason.

Recent blogs have contained many errors. Paragraphs repeated, misspelled words, capitalizations missing, etc. I cannot help it. I reach a point where I have spent 4 hours doing the blog, 2.5 of which were spent finding the blog when it has disappeared.

I reach a point where I say I must publish before I lose the blog in its entirety for good. So I publish. I must admit when I am at that point, I am also very tired and say screw it.

Forgive me. The substance is good, even though the form may be lacking on occasion.

Which brings me to my present abode. A small white cottage with blue trim. Trim includes windows, shutters and doors. Sitting about 12 feet from the ocean. Yesterday I described the area between me and the water as a road. I was mistaken. It is a stone foot path.

Amorgos is one of the far out of the Greek islands. Off the beaten path. Few visitors. Not on the tourist routes. No big fancy hotels. Nothing but you, a couple of neighbors, and God.

If 2,000 people live on this island, I would be shocked.

My little house sits at the end of the path previously described. After that, nothing but water.

Sunsets terrific. Like Key West. Across the water from me. Over the peak of a mountain. Glorious!

I bought a bottle of Beefeaters yesterday. Enjoyed a couple of drinks from my terrace watching the sunset.

I was shocked I could buy Beefeaters. It has been almost non existent at my previous stops. Not only was it available on Amorgos, it was also cheap. About half the cost compared to the U.S. I suspect it is the taxes. If the Greeks taxed alcohol as much as it is in the U.S., it would dramatically help their financial condition.

Cigarettes. I took 4 packs with me. I have been gone 2 days shy of four weeks. Just finished the fourth pack yesterday. I am not doing bad in smoking little. I know. I should not be at all.

I bought a pack yesterday. $4.10! No way in the U.S.A. Another example of where Greece might help alleviate its financial problem. Increase substantially the cigarette tax.

There is a Chora on Amorgos. You will recall there was one in Mykonos. Chora is also referred to as Hora. It means old place. The old places on most islands are federally protected in Greece. Much like our historical buildings.

The Chora here is a large number of buildings constructed during the middle ages. Most at least 1,000 years old. Typically Grecian. One to 3 stories. Small terraces. White. Blue trimming. Narrow walkway, 3-4 feet wide.

Whereas Mykonos’ Chora was full of people, stores, bars and restaurants, the one on Amorgos appeared deserted. I saw no more than a dozen visitors.

Every 200-300 feet there is a restaurant or coffee house. Few or no customers.

Stairs. To the sky! Just what I love! Steps everywhere. Up, up and more up! Each one a stress test for me.

Chora was six miles away. On the top of a hill. The cab ride was straight up. The return trip straight down. How these cars do it, I will never understand. I consider it physically impossible for a car to keep its wheels on the road under such conditions.

Somewhere along the way yesterday, I found out what the windmills were for. There are many here as on Mykonos.

Olives were and still are big. The windmills were used to crush the olives. Where there were vine yards, the grapes were likewise crushed by the windmills.

Last night the wind returned. Cold. Very cold. I had to wear a sweat shirt.

I had a late dinner. At Demetrius’. After dinner there the night before, I could eat nowhere else. I was not disappointed.

Eggplant is big here. I had a warm appetizer of eggplant, tomatoes and onions. All cut up and cooked together. To die for!

My entre surpassed everything! My friends in Utica will especially enjoy that which I am about to share. I had lamb chops. Thin. The bone intact, not cut from the chop’s body. Fatty and juicy.

Just like Pelletieri Joe’s.

I got up with the sun this morning. Walked down the road a bit to buy coffee, a loaf of hot bread and butter. Then back to the cottage and my terrace. I watched the sun and water move a bit. Nothing else.

A bit later I was playing around with my tablet. A very lovely young lady walked by. Ann. Swiss. 18. Blond hair. Trim body. White blouse. Short jeans.

We talked. She was back packing it. Was looking for a cheap place to stay. Elini’s was too expensive for her. She moved on to continue her quest.

By the way, I think Elini’s is dirt cheap. Everything on this island costs next to nothing. For example, my dinner last night cost 11 euros. About $14 American money. Tip built in. Tip is 16 per cent of a bill.

I had another visitor while sitting outside.

I heard clinging bells. Saw nothing. Got up and looked over the terrace wall. There were three ducks walking along. Each had a bell around its neck. Looked like a family. Two big ones, one little one. Obviously house pets out for a stroll.

I have no idea at this point what today will bring. Maybe a trip to the monastery. Maybe nothing.

Enjoy your day!

  THE INCREASED COST OF FOOD NOT WHAT YOU THINK was originally published on Key West Lou