Wishing everyone a cheery and cheesy holiday season

from the heart of Ohio!

With love,

David & Gwen Read full post »

  “…primitive people used to watch the sun drop lower on the horizon in great terror, because they were afraid that one day it was going to go so low that it would never rise again; they would be left in unremitting night. […] Somewhere in the depths of our unconsciousne… Read full post »

“Could be worse,” David said to me one afternoon as I shimmied off my Wellingtons and poured out two inches of water. Showers of sweet smelling rain had been coming down for most of the six hours we had spent in the barley field, pulling up wild oats.

     … Read full post »

During our two week stay at Lower Shaw Farm, we had the pleasure of learning alongside with two other wwoofers: Manuela from Germany and Sergio from Spain. Despite her small frame, Manuela kicks ass when it comes to destroying old cabinets. She enjoys watching the Big Bang Theory while drinking hard… Read full post »

 “…All we can do is keep telling the stories, hoping that someone will hear. Hoping that in the noisy echoing nightmare of endlessly breaking news and celebrity gossip, other voices might be heard, speaking of the life of the mind and the soul’s journey.”Jeannette Winter… Read full post »

Hey! Well, in case you haven't been following our journey over the last three months (wow...we've been wandering through Europe for three months) you can catch up by reading the last four or five posts.

Usually, I try to write a lyrical and informative post about our adventures and what we've be… Read full post »

Over the last two months, I have had the opportunity to work on a solid rough draft for my third novel, all together lovely. I had the idea for this story when I was in college. (Think Tales of the City meets On the Road.) I wanted to write about… Read full post »

Hey there everybody!

This is David, Gwen's Hubby AKA: "Red Star." Originally, when we revamped this blog, the idea was that Gwen and I were going to trade off blogging duties. Her, then me, then her...

But as we’ve seen, Gwen sums up our collective experiences so eloquently, that I felt like most/… Read full post »

I am turning thirty on June 19^th, 2010.

I have lived many lives. In fiction and in my dreams.

I am a Gemini.

I am a Welsh fairie with hair of fire.

I am Native American.

I am a runaway slave.

I am a Chinese immigrant.

I am a… Read full post »

Over the door of the original Shakespeare and Company read: “Be not inhospitable to strangers lest they be angels in disguise.”

When we left Chicago at the end of March, we gave away or sold nearly all of our possessions. We wanted to live a humble monastic life of artists while… Read full post »

David & I have been enjoying our visit to Belgium. We've been living in Brussels and we have visited Zaventem, Lueven, Bruges, and Antwerp. The country is delightful. There is a rich and diverse history. Then Belgian people have been so gracious and hospitable.

Her… Read full post »

I didn’t know anything about Belgium before coming here nearly three weeks ago. I thought you might not either. This is an interview with our couchsurfing hosts, Gudrun and Kelly. Gudrun is a native of Belgium and she’s a chef and connoisseur of Belgium culinary delights. Kelly, her fianc… Read full post »

  “Not all those who wander are lost.” J. R. R. Tolkien 

We’ve spent much of the last two weeks getting lost. Of course. We make one wrong turn down a cobblestone street and find ourselves in a labyrinth of French and Dutch-named streets. If we ar… Read full post »

   

I’m sitting in the PP Café near the center of Brussels. It’s a cultural center of sorts with beer (biere) and coffee (café). I can sit here with un café and use the wifi for free. This was the first place where we relaxed after our lon… Read full post »

 As David and I prepare to take off for Europe, we've been discussing the reasons we love traveling. The most amazing experiences I've had during my travels is meeting fascinating people. I feel like I discover so much about the world and myself when I really connect with other… Read full post »

I was practicing yoga at 4 am this morning. Why? Because we’re leaving the good ol’ U.S. of A. on April 1^st. Because the stress of organizing this temporary move overseas has been doing a number on my body and mind. My neck is so full of knots that/… Read full post »

  “Go Ye Into All the World…”  

You may have noticed that my blog has been transforming. The banner is new, the photo is different. I have new content in the bio field. There’s a reason for these changes.

My husband, David, and I will be picking up… Read full post »

Meet Jason Pettus.

I met Jason Pettus, founder of The Chicago Center for Literature and Photography, at the Pilcrow Lit Fest in 2008. This well-spoken intellectual is intrigued by quality literature and film and has dedicated his life to promoting the arts. He is intricately involved wit… Read full post »

I had the pleasure of reading one of the first copies of Flowergirls, A Mirroir by Robin Sneed. This debut novel is a beautiful and intimate mesh of memoir and fiction.
 
"Robin Sneed was born in Los Angeles in 1962. After an eight year career in television as a child, she… Read full post »

sometimes,
i slowly slip into my
mud self
and,
curling up like a potato bug,
i peer out
through my eye slits at a world
too far away to be real. 

sometimes,
i make you too far away
to be real.
and,
like a song in my head,
you slip
in and out of me
and i am here, now. 

sometimes,
i stretch to f… Read full post »

Nina wanted you to believe that it was merely hormones. That's why she reacted so violently. It was just her time of the month. It wasn’t. Nina wanted you to believe that she didn’t already know about the pen. She did.

She already knew when… Read full post »

"The stars are beautiful, because of a flower that cannot be seen."
~The Little Prince

 I wanted to write a eulogy for Suzy, but she already said it better in her last posts than I ever could. She was the passionate wife of Amy and the loving mother of… Read full post »

As some of you may know, Safe Bet (Suzy) has passed away. Her wife, Amy, wrote about it today. 

I joined this community about a year ago, but I didn't really start connecting with Safe Bet until August. Her first post and introduction was in July 2009.

I was immediately attracted… Read full post »

It's a dangerous business, Frodo, going out of your door. You step into the Road, and if you don't keep your feet, there is no knowing where you might be swept off to.     ~ Bilbo (J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings)

* images.quickblogcast.com

I think I was born… Read full post »

I wrote this poem when I visited San Francisco during my spring break in 2003, which was when the US government "declared" war in Iraq.   

city lights and downtown heights. just
between you and me, i think this may
be close to home. (is it me or is this
city intoxicati… Read full post »