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Entries Rated: PG13

Barn's Burnt Down, Now I Can See the Moon

Tuesday, August 27th, 2019

I cannot tell you how many times I have tried to write about this in any sort of succinct way. Every single time, words fall short. Perhaps one day I will succeed in telling this story, but for now, here goes attempt number 856069: You know whe...

On Being Warm

Sunday, November 2nd, 2014

...and mamma in her ’kerchief, and I in my cap, had just settled our brains for a long winter’s nap. There was a time when I didn't know why on earth the people in "The Night Before Christmas" were wearing hats to bed. After living in a ...

Life is Horrible

Monday, October 20th, 2014

We are exhausted. Bone-achingly, depressingly exhausted. It feels impossible to have a full time job and build a house in time for winter, as Tyler is trying to do. It feels impossible to have a full time job building a house, as I am trying to do,...

A Freak-Out Kind of Day

Wednesday, July 2nd, 2014

Lately, building a home feels impossible. Even so, I keep slogging along, not out of hope or excitement or joy, but because I feel shackled to the task. It doesn't feel like I'm living out my wildest dreams, it's more like my life is being held ho...

Workshop Radiant Heat Tubing

Wednesday, July 24th, 2013

Today, we finished putting radiant floor heat tubing in our workshop. Holy shitballs, we're nearly there! ...

If I Start Screaming, Don't Mind Me

Tuesday, July 23rd, 2013

Tyler wraps me in his mud-smeared arms, and I bury my face into his sweaty, grimy neck, whispering, "We can do this, right?" He's trying to keep it together as much as I am—we're both outwardly calm and inwardly teetering on the brink of total melt...

Border Crossing from Hell: Part Two

Monday, January 14th, 2013

Several hours later, we've made it through Canada, to the USA border. Half hoping for a warm welcome from our fellow countrymen, we receive anything but. We're greeted with a huge array of creepy, over-the-top surveillance cameras, followed by a ...

Border Crossing from Hell: Part One

Monday, January 14th, 2013

Stuck Truck Update: A cold front rolled in last night, answering Tara's silent plea to Mother Nature. As we slept soundly, the rain stopped, the temperature dropped, and the rutted, muddy ground where our camper was stranded froze solid. As a res...

Stuck in the Mud

Sunday, January 13th, 2013

We're three days late, but we've finally made it to Deanne's place. Before we motor our lumbering circus down her sloping drive and onto the large clearing she uses for parking, we hop out of the truck to scout the safest route. After a bit of de...

Tarred

Thursday, February 17th, 2011

Tyler: I'm still feeling sick this morning, but we're carrying on anyway, eager to meet Pete and Natasha in Vientiane in two-day's time. Today's route is a winding, hilly affair, and because we've accidentally slept in, all 90km of it is under t...

And So This is Christmas

Saturday, December 25th, 2010

Here in hot, sunny, loud, crowded Vietnam, Christmas is a day like any other. To pass the time until our families will be awake and on Skype, we decide to visit one of those educational-but-depressing sites we feel it is important to see. Heading...

A Tourist Town

Friday, November 26th, 2010

Tara: One of the disappointing things about Sihanoukville is how touristy it is. The place is jam-packed with young, partying backpackers. On the other hand, one of the great things about Sihanoukville is how tourist-friendly it is. The two go...

Into the Jungle: Part Three

Friday, October 22nd, 2010

Arriving at an intersection, at what we hope is the top, we're unsure of which way to go. Just then, a man in a truck pulls up to see if we are lost. We ask him about accommodation, and he tells us there's a campsite about four kilometers up the...

Beginning of the End: Part Two

Friday, September 24th, 2010

We just want a quiet night to ourselves, maybe at a nice Italian restaurant with a glass of wine or two? But, as we get dressed, we're bit sad about the prospect of missing out on the festivities. We decide to head to Marco Polo, just to say hell...

Beginning of the End: Part One

Friday, September 24th, 2010

The alarm goes off, 5:00 AM glowing on our small cell-phone screen, shrill beeps sound in my ear. I fumble around desperately, barely conscious, mashing the keypad until I press enough buttons to make the godawful noise go away. Darkness surround...

Further Afield: The Jimny Saga, Part Three

Sunday, September 12th, 2010

I am barreling over the sandy terrain as fast as I possibly can. I am so pissed about being separated from Tyler in the middle of Mongolia, him having no idea where I am, that I secretly hope some of the bumps will cause Freddie to hit his head. ...

Unrepairable: The Jimny Saga, Part One

Sunday, September 12th, 2010

Our distributor cap fix is working flawlessly. We're now at the head of the convoy, blasting over the steppe, perhaps at inadvisably high speeds. For once, the road is flat and straight and relatively well graded as far as the eye can see. ...

Up All Night

Saturday, July 3rd, 2010

Normally, I can sleep through just about anything. For some reason, last night was a miserable exception to this rule. With Tara enviably dead to the world next to me, I tossed and turned, unable to sleep for most of the night. It didn't help th...

Dachau Concentration Camp

Thursday, May 27th, 2010

I'm not sure what I was expecting when we decided to visit Dachau Concentration Camp. I can, however, say one thing for certain: I was in no way prepared for the enormity of the memorial. We spent over six hours reading the exhibits before we wer...

No Bikes Allowed: A Train Story, Part Two

Wednesday, May 19th, 2010

12:29 AM Four hours since our train left us behind, we're back on platform three, waiting. A train whistle sounds in the distance, and people start filing across the rails to join us. The station agent who promised to help us is nowhere in sigh...

Partying Patras

Thursday, February 4th, 2010

The first five minutes of earth-shakingly loud techno music BLASTING into our Patras hotel room at 11:00 AM was kind of fun. (OOH DANCE PARTY!) After the five minute mark the novelty had worn off and we began to wonder who was making such a racke...

No.

Sunday, November 22nd, 2009

It is good to be on the road again. Everything has quickly fallen into sync: we had crepes for breakfast before breaking from our secluded free-camp this morning, saw a giant spider and then made our way down the road. Par for the course! ...