The Best and the Worst
It was the best of times, it was the worst of times. Perhaps Charles Dickens was living his first Christmas abroad when he wrote those words....
Category: Life Overseas
When You Can’t Be Together
It was Christmas Eve. I sat on the floor next to my 10-year-old grandson in his family’s near empty apartment to say goodbye. They were leaving early Christmas morning....
The Heirloom Shoebox and Other Things in Checked Baggage
We left our home – the second time (or maybe it was the third) – on Christmas Eve. After an unplanned two and a half years back in the...
Ornaments of the Heart
The holidays are often bittersweet for me. Between the candy canes, sparkly lights, and tasty desserts, my childhood memories of Thanksgiving and Christmas are riddled with flashes of family...
Cultivated Memories from Around the Globe
“She must love her children very much. She spoils them!” said the cashier to Jeremy about me as we were paying for a few Christmas items in South Africa....
Discovering a Love For Cooking + Pumpkin Soup {The Grove: Recipe Box}
When I first moved to China over 6 years ago, I didn’t know how to cook anything. My greatest feat was boiling eggs to make an egg salad sandwich....
Jungle Camp’s Favorite Chocolate Cake
Before we moved to China, my husband did most of the cooking. Once I became a stay-at-home-mom or non-teaching spouse or (insert organizational label here), however, I figured it...
Choosing the Right Foods
It was our first Thanksgiving as an engaged couple, nearly 13 years ago. My husband’s family was organizing who would bring what to their massive feast. His family is...
You’re Speaking My Taste Buds
Food is a language of its own. I moved six hundred miles away from my hometown to go to college. For every reasonably-long holiday, I’d...
Neighboring in Your Culture + Hulk Muffins {The Grove: Love Your Neighbor}
It was Christmas time several years ago while we were in language school, hunkered down in a bitterly cold northern China city. I had just spent the afternoon baking...
