Passport to Castles in Germany
Find out about a passport your kids can enjoy while your family discovers the beautiful castles of the MIddle Rhine Valley in Germany! There’s also a free onlline tool to create a coat of arms. (You’ve been meaning to update your family’s coat of arms, haven’t you??) Come explore the area that inspired my Seven Kingdoms Fairy Tale books for ages 9 to 12.
How To Make A Tiny Edition Of A Book
Making a tiny book come out correctly is a bit tricky! Here’s how I finally got the pages to print in the right order for the first book in my series for ages 9 to 12. If you are interested in a bit of amateur bookbinding, you might enjoy the challenge.
When You Can’t Keep Up with all the New Experiences
This is an epic train journey that is slowly coming down the tracks to you . . . When you can’t keep up with all the new experiences in your life, it’s overwhelming, even when the experiences are good. For many, 2023 was a year of acceleration–after the pandemic, everyone seemed to be making up […]
How I recycled to make a cover for my new kobo Clara color ereader
This is the story of a quiet afternoon and what came out of it. Using what you have can remind you that you have “enough” already, sometimes more than enough. If you like to “use what you have”, you might enjoy this step-by-step way to make an ereader cover from an old ice cream bucket. […]
“I Want To Be Strong”
A castle in the middle of the current is strong This castle in the middle of the Rhine is the inspiration for the Blackfly Kingdom in the Seven Kingdoms. It’s doing its best to be strong! Pfalzgrafenstein castle, Germany. And so are you . . .
Welcome Aboard! Are You Ready to Make New Friends?
Train travel is always an adventure and sometimes you don’t have the words you need. A few years ago, we accidentally missed our train to Paris, then made some new friends, even though we didn’t speak the same language. Here’s the story for you, plus a few games to keep the kids entertained on your […]
Train Them Up the Way They Should Go
After a long, rainy winter, families in Germany are ready to get out of the house and have a little fun. Why don’t you come along? The joy of sustainability is becoming a theme around here. We accidentally discovered this festival while trying to repair the handle on a wicker basket. The basketmakers were attending […]
I’m chatting with the Meet the Expats podcast
Finding more magic in life . . . all around the world. Have you ever been surprised by meeting people like you? I remember doing this all the time as a kid. It was–and is–exciting when you go to a new school or join a club and someone likes what you like or knows what […]
How Print-on-Demand Books Are Made
Videos of Print-on-Demand Here are a few virtual tours of the print-on-demand process. It’s amazing to see how the covers and pages come together and turn into books. Enjoy! https://youtu.be/9KjPcw64Izg?feature=shared Amazon If you’ve ever wanted a tour, here’s a video of the machines and people who make the books for Amazon near Chicago. Keep reading […]
How is a story is like a crossword puzzle?
A fairy tale village on the Mosel River in Germany, complete with half-timbered houses and ruined castle. ©LaurelDecher, 2021 While you wait for me to solve my puzzle, here’s a crossword for you A crossword puzzle isn’t something you solve by working your way from top to bottom. Sometimes it works to “solve” a story […]
Deleted scenes from LOST WITH LEEKS: Queen Ash and St. Nicholas
LOST WITH LEEKS What would you do if your mother put St. Nick in the dungeon? Eleven-year-old Prince Nero wishes he didn’t have a gift for getting lost! He has to get his team together and lead a rescue mission for St. Nicholas. But his friends don’t want to follow him. A hot air balloon […]
Make your own bread guys for St. Nicholas Day!
Bread Guys a.k.a. Weckmänner or Stutenkerle ©Laurel Decher, 2021 In Germany, you can buy these in every bakery at this time of year: Weckmänner or Stutenkerle or “bread guys” (as they are called at our house). In the Rhineland part of Germany, people eat these for St. Martin’s day. At our house, we have bread […]