The Adventures of Jessie and The Grumpy Gnome
Travel Begins in the Imagination
-Ex Libris-
From the Books of our Travel Experiences
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The Crystal Library
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It’s a Musical Week! Reflections and Highlights from The Diggity Reunion & Benefit:
Greetings, and happy official start of the market season!
This past Saturday, The Grumpy Gnome and I set up our booth in the early hours of the morning to kick off the opening day of Chesterton’s European Market. This incredible market is heading into its 21st season, and takes place every Saturday in the heart of downtown Chesterton, Indiana. […] The people are what make this market an amazing local gem not to be missed. We are there nearly every Saturday between May and October, because the community that supports this market is so wonderful!
When the Grumpy Gnome and I were exploring ways to build this business, we fell in love with the idea of participating in outdoor markets. The scenic designer in me was thrilled by the prospect of creating an engaging world within a tent, and all kinds of possibilities began to emerge in my mind. The Grumpy Gnome had a clear vision of how to incorporate our love of crystals and collectibles. Through working together, we began building a shop authentic to our genuine interests, curiosities, and experiences. He would bring home vintage treasures, marvelous crystals, and oddities…and I would find ways to elevate them through artistry. This beloved endeavor gave us a focus–a way to express our passion for travel, history, folklore, artwork, books…and it lifted us from feeling stuck in the midst of a global pandemic where travel was highly restricted. Participating in outdoor markets became a kind of window through which we could share our stories, and it’s become a remarkable way to connect with others.
The Fairies.
The image these words create in our minds varies for every person. As with all characters of myth, lore, and ancient story, their essence morphs with what we imagine them to be. They guide us across the threshold of the old and new world, to a place where time is suspended and the mysteries of nature become visible. Where magic becomes possible, and the unexplainable is given a cause. They are the force that is felt before seen. Attempting to define them is as elusive as describing the wind. Fairies offer a way to give form to concept, a face to the supernatural, and comprehension of the unseen that is relatable to our own human experience.
Winter: a season of darkness, a season of dreams. Across the world, this deeply evocative time of year is ubiquitously enchanting. Spirits flood the ancient stories of every culture in an abundance of legend and lore, reviving a colorful spectacle of tradition into modernity. Many of the rituals and beliefs longest held revolve around the Winter Solstice on December 21st, and extend through early January. Tales of wood folk, forest goblins, and ghostly armies originally inspired the candlelit windows now associated with Christmas decorating. Gatherings around fireside hearths, the exchange of gifts, and a multitude of superstitions are practiced to welcome good fortune for the coming year, dancing away the darkness that lurks beyond the mystery of the shadows. In a throng of midwinter characters, one archetypal figure emerges clearly in the cold light of the haunting moon, primeval in its connection to the deepest known roots of humanity: The Wolf.
‘Tis the Season we call Christmas--though the traditions we cherish and celebrate are much older than living memory, and evolved from many names. Twinkling lights are hung like humble stars to brighten the lengthening stretches of nighttime. The world grows colder, and nature falls into deep slumber. We turn inward, inside the comfort of our homes and into the company of one another. It is a time for giving, for gratitude, and for gathering, rooted in the need for survival through the darkest season of the year. Winter tales and campfire stories thrive, stirring the imagination and awakening our sense of wonder in the warm embrace of a firelit hearth.
Reviews from our ‘Books and Coffee’ Series:
It seems perfectly befitting that such a person would conjure the words of the poem above. A poet who sought to draw the unseen into visibility, beckoning others to listen to the old traces of Ireland’s enchanting roots through new songs. As A.E. applied human sensation to an omnipotent force, he chose the Sidhe as his subject, who were very much alive in the peripheral of the Irish imagination.
The Enchanted Path: A Travel Podcast, with Jessie Howe
“Yule is, at its essence, a time when we bring Light into the Darkness.
In the case of “Yuletide,” it was a series of days during the midwinter season that was part ritual, part celebration. It marked a season of hunting after the end of the harvest, occurring between the final week of November and the day of the Epiphany in early January. Yule was intentionally centered around the darkest time of year, and began on the night of the Winter Solstice. This time was chosen because Yule was symbolic of bringing light to the longest night of the year, heralded as a time of great mirth and reverie that defied the bitter winter cold. This was a celebration of nature, of a seasonal change—a time of joy and gathering, steeped in a ritual that would help ensure the winter’s end and a bountiful harvest to come.”
Sometimes, I find the truth and heart of things is best expressed through fiction. Especially with matters of the supernatural. This seems especially true of the mystic, magical, ominous, and exciting night we celebrate today as Halloween. A night of darkness, of mystery, and infinite possibility. Where witches fly, black cats own the streets, ghosts and spirits roam freely, our ancestors can communicate from beyond the veil...and the moon beckons us to revel in the wonders of the night. Kids parade door to door, people of all ages dress in costumes and celebrate. Bonfires are lit, and pumpkins carved. Music, dancing, and decorations liven the streets. We gather together, go explore the haunted corners of the world in search of adventure and the thrill of the unknown. Ghost stories, scary movies, warm drinks, and the security of home draw us indoors as this fantastical night of revels fades to dawn. Across the world, we are unified in this night’s celebration and fascination with death, and all things beyond. Halloween comes but once a year, but--where does it come from?
The creation of Stonehenge bridges the Neolithic Period into the Bronze Age, marking a point in history where human beings developed farming, and began to settle into communities. Building Stonehenge would have established a fixed place in the landscape, where they could gather together and track the movement of the stars above. The people who built this did not yet have the technology of the wheel, and yet--stones weighing several tons a piece were somehow transported across miles of distance to the monument’s location. One question pervades all of the centuries since--How? How did they move these stones into place? And furthermore...Why?
Welcome to the first destination of The Enchanted Path--Wiltshire, England!
Located in the South West countryside, Wiltshire is a gentle rolling landscape of patchwork farm fields, charming villages, and deeply mysterious phenomena. Home to the UNESCO world heritage sites of Stonehenge and Avebury, it is one of the oldest-inhabited locations in Britain, with stone circles, barrows, and earthen monuments originating from the Neolithic Period. Crop circles, UFO sightings, ghostly legends, ancient burial sites, thatched roof cottages, haunted pubs, and castle ruins are among the many characteristics that make Wiltshire a truly unique phenomenon of a place.
-The Travel Grimoire-
Sharing Travel Stories through Art, Music, and Handmade Gifts.
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I just had one of the most epic weekends ever! This past Friday and Saturday was The Diggity’s Reunion & Benefit Show, and it was so wonderful that I feel compelled to immortalize the experience here as a sparkling chapter of a long and winding musical journey […]