Angela VanWell

Author | Reader | Traveler | Tea and Coffee Drinker

ramblings

A Bike Ride Through the Woods

by 2 Comments

Our last family bike ride was in 2019 and three countries ago. There wasn’t anything particularly special I remember about the trip. We might have been taking in the recycling, grabbing groceries, maybe dropping my daughter off at school. Through the woods, along a road, on a bike path, we roade everywhere. In the Netherlands, we rode our bikes daily, biking was our family transportation. Moving to Europe provided my daughter to grow up on her bike. I didn’t bother buying a car in either Germany or The Netherlands. Why would I went biking was so convenient and less costly? If I had a car and wanted to part it downtown, parking for a day was 28 euros. If I took my bike, I could find paid parking for 5 euros, but most of the parking was free. And at the door of the shop. It was a simple decision to make. Well, unless there were 40 Km winds and rain. Then we looked to public transportation. Still, and easy choice.

My Daughter’s Miss Grace, Gazelle.

Once we knew we were moving to Houston, we packed everything up and headed this way. We arrived in Houston right before New Year’s 2020. They provided our family with an apartment and a car until our shipment arrived. For me, driving in the traffic of Houston after riding on the bike paths of The Hague was jarring.

Parking was not an issue outside of the core, and it was free! There was always lots of space and I could park as far from the door as I liked. Yes, this is the opposite of how I shopped in The Netherlands. But there, I only purchased enough groceries for a few days. Here, here there was an entire trunk I could fill while I was setting up my new home! We were still in the loaner apartment though, so I didn’t go too crazy. Just wonderful things like a vacuum, pans, plates, cups, and bedding. The basics I have a hard time living without.

A sign from one of my many trips biking around The Netherlands. Please brake for frogs. They use the bike paths too. I found few frogs; it was really the geese and the ducks who wanted their space.

It took three months for our shipment, including our bikes, to arrive. Pretty good in a world unaware of what was to come. We found a house and moved in with what little we owned. It was the week before my daughter’s spring break at school. As with all our past shipments, they filled the house with boxes I tore my way through in 3 days. That’s right. It took me three days to empty all the boxes for an entire house. It was not so much my choice as my decision. If I didn’t get it done, then the movers were out of the picture and I had to recycle the boxes myself. I returned my loaner car. All I had left was my bike. Which was not a complete bike yet. The movers dismantled them for transport and I had yet to find the parts or the toolbox. One day after our goods were in our house, we left for spring break to visit our family in Canada. Lucky for me, I had us bring out laptops and basic supplies because Covid 19, not named, only barely understood, was crossing borders. Our family was not reconnected in Houston, with our bikes, until December 2020. It was a long year.

December we arrived, back at our house that we barely knew, and settled in. It was not until January we reassembled our bikes. There were pedals and wheels fitted on the wrong bikes. The movers tried to help, but without luck. January in Houston is mild. It can be a little cool, but there is no snow on the ground and we had a lot of sun. I love the mild winters where we can still access the outdoors. It is even more important this year where were are all isolated. The need for sun and fresh air is even more important to me. It is my happy place. I love to explore. So explore we did!

We found bike paths and natural areas. The signs for wildlife contrasted mightily. Instead of notice to yield to frogs, we are to leave the alligators alone. No problem. Take all the space you need alligators.

The signage is different, the woods used to be open with plenty of places to explore. The new woods are unfamiliar and we still need to learn what to watch out for. The bike path use appears for leisure and family time, but was is most important is that we were back on our bikes again. Enjoying family time outside of our house, exploring our new environment. Usually one year after moving, I am knowledgeable about the area. But this year was a crazy one. We did not know what was coming. We still don’t But now we have our bikes back and pathways to explore. I am thankful.

The woods are lovely, dark and deep,

But I have promises to keep,

And miles to go before I sleep,

And miles to go before I sleep.

Robert Frost, Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening

Below are a few more pictures from our ride. The last picture is from Germany when our cat decided she wanted to take a ride with me. I forgot to take a picture of when my husband’s pedal fell off. So the ride turned into a walk for the last few kilometers. But it was still a nice day out with a high of 20 degrees (celsius).

I am riding the same commuter bike I have been riding for the last 6 years. Where do you like to explore? I love hiking as much as biking. It is nice to have different perspectives of the same place.

Better Late Than Never

by Leave a Comment

I started thinking about my 2021 goals by reflecting on my 2020 goals. Like many other people, I didn’t meet many of my goals. There were many reasons, most related to the Covid Pandemic. It is difficult to carve out time and money for writing, editing, and publishing while moving countries, quarantining in a different country than my office, having my kids laptop die and so mine became the sole computer between us. Add on the homeschooling, couch surfing, home-finding adventures, and to sum it all up, I reached half of my author 2020 goals. To be honest, I am proud of what I accomplished.

This website and blog are two of the items I started in 2020. My author Instagram and Facebook accounts were two others. Creating content for my social platform was challenging in a world where I spent most of my time isolated with my kid. Usually we are travellers as a family, but our family ended up split between two countries with no idea when we would be together again. Fortunately, we reunited in December. It was seven months from when my daughter and husband has seen each other. Children grow and change a lot in half a year.

During isolation, I returned to my favourite pastime reading books from authors who inspired me. It comforted me to return to characters I knew in stories I enjoyed. The best part was, I realized I could share them here on my blog. One of my aspirations for 2021 is to keep writing, I include book reviews as a part of writing.

I love this advice. My love of reading led me to writing.

I will continue to read and share what writing is inspiring me. I will also move forward with my own urban fantasy series, the River Realm Series. I have four manuscripts in the works and will continue writing the series in April. My focus for this quarter is to edit and prepare for July Book 1, Veiled Shadows. This will be the year I will become a published author! It is exciting and scary all at the same time. There is a short story set in the same realm you receive if you sign up for my blog. Once my editor sends back their edits, I will share snippets from book 1. Exciting!

What you get by achieving your goals is not as important as what you become by achieving your goals.

Henry David Thoreau

My last goal is to explore the world. It might be from my couch or desk for a while, hopefully we will travel again by this summer. I want to try something new or explore something new every month. It fills my creative well and brings me joy. I miss museums so much. We moved to the USA in January but spent most of the year in Canada. I hope to explore more of this vast unfamiliar country and its history. To spend time in its national parks and museums. To explore the different cultures that have left their imprints on this land.

The three aspirations or resolutions I have for 2021 are writing every day, trying something new monthly, and publishing Veiled Shadows. I look forward to the journey and sharing it with you.

What are your resolutions for the year? I would love to hear them.

Winter Solstice and Why I Appreciate the Changing Seasons

by Leave a Comment

I grew up north of the equator and have since lived south of it and on it. I found living north and south of the equator to have more similarities than differences seasonally. The winters were chilled and the summers hot. Autumn and Spring a gentle mixture of both. And honestly, my favourite two seasons. At times the air was humid, leaving wet kisses of sweat on my cheeks, at other times the cold nipped at my nose. Every season was special, unique, and appreciated. I did not think I would miss the icy winters and the steamy summers. When I lived in Indonesia, I learned how important the changing seasons was to me. To live near the equator was to lose the seasonal rhythm of my life. It was something I didn’t realize I relied on until it was gone.

We used to joke there was the rainy season or the rainy season when I lived on Borneo Island, the Indonesian side. The temperature above 30 degrees celsius during the day with a humidity higher than 90%. The evenings were ideal, with a low around 25. The perfect time to go for a walk to a friend’s house. To see the twinkling stars or appreciate the sheet lightening dancing in the storms. The nights were my favourites. The days I forced myself out of bed and explored my world by foot or bike. I lived in a place of beauty and scars of a turbulent history. But it was the never-ending heat that made the years hard.

I missed the changing of the seasons. It was more difficult to get through the truly sweltering days without knowing to embrace them because all too soon they would be gone. I would soon be complaining about the freezing days, where my car was wrapped in ice and wish for a hot day under the sun. On Borneo it was always hot and at night softened to toasty. Cool was a dream. Snow and frost were fantasies I showed my students in pictures. Refrigeration was not a need in Indonesia. Most food was bought and prepared daily. Fridges cost money and needed electricity, both of which many people didn’t have. Everything was fresh or dried for later. Our house was equipped with a fridge but even I knew better than to hold the door open and spend a moment in the cool air. By the time the door was open, the cool air was gone. The fridge was the same temperature as the house.

So when I left Indonesia, I embraced the seasons again. And did for years until, almost a decade later, I had been away from the winters of the Canadian Prairies and seduced by the European temperate winter. Visiting Canada in March ended up longer than intended as the borders closed and we decided to sit tight and see how everything worked out. As we all know, it still hasn’t worked out. So we headed back home for the winter holidays. We had been separated as a family since April, my husband had to to back to work, and we decided to end the year together. So once again, I am away from Canada and its cold winter air. But I appreciate it and remember how important it is to me. To recognize the passage of time.

Below are some quotes that remind me why winter is important to me and to others. Enjoy.