Iceland may be the most magical place my legs have ever stretched themselves upon!
And I didn't even get to leave the airport.
The pillows on the airline had a translation of an Icelandic lullaby written on them along with a cooing yodel-y tune playing over the intercom between safety announcements. They sell the most deliciously soft sweaters in the airport and all the walls are adorned in native poetry, among them Bjorks lyrics:

"I feel emotional landscapes

They puzzle me."

If I had the desire to change my attitude about the cold I'd say I want to live in Iceland.

The whole land seems to be icy and grey and drizzly. Full of secrets and mythical creatures...I'm sure of it.

Oh! And their language! It contains the longest words I've ever seen!

For example:

Bjorgundarvesti undir saetum.

Which means:

life vest under your seat.

Even that is ridiculously beautiful.

But we didn't stay long at all.

Only an hour or two in the airport and we were off to Denmark.

Our journey to Europe flowed like a dream!

But maybe the constantly interrupted kind you have when you accidentally fall asleep sitting in a really uncomfortable chair. 

How glad we all are to have our own free wiggle space again!

Hours and hours of flights! 

Salt Lake City to Seattle to Iceland to Denmark.

We had a 4 hour layover in Seattle and decided to have an airport scavenger hunt. 

Our lists included things like orange shoelaces, an elbow, circle, duty, the back of someones head...

It took us several hours to put our bicycles back together once we got to the Copenhagen airport.

Being out of the road was the most delicious thing after who knows how many hours of traveling!

We rode straight to the nearest camp ground.

Let me tell you it is shocking how little my bum has been on the bike seat so far this year!
Not to worry, I will soon make up for it!

This is my cute bicycle. Her name is Edna Myrtle.

Very near the end of this month, I am traveling with a dear cousin family on a 3 month European bicycle tour!

At this point we have no return tickets and the most optimistic, spontaneous hearts we could muster within ourselves. We begin in Denmark with only a rough outline of a plan to cycle through 11-ish countries.

That is the whole point of this blog, My Friends!

So I can have my adventure documented to read and reference later AND so I can take you all with me :)

Once I dressed up as a hobbit...

actually 5 times.

Several years ago I was sitting in an interview with a bishop of mine discussing my goals, the future, my newly healed heart...I described to him how I saw the next phase of my life.

"I just want to read beautiful books and to play music and eat delicious food and meet interesting people and see beautiful places. I think I could travel the world."

The expression of my hopes and dreams was followed by:

"well, how do you expect to get married that way?!?"

I've had a good long while to figure this one out.
And I think I'm about ready to fully accept that life doesn't have to be a certain way.
I didn't marry young, I'm not having babies, I didn't get the majority of my education in a college, I didn't go on a mission, I don't have a car...have I done anything normal?
I did play in a folk rock band. And I went to massage school. Twice. I did live on my own for 4 years (go me!). But I live with my parents again... and I really love it. Like a lot a lot. My family is a dream. 

I've dated a ton. Like almost more than anyone I've ever met. Lots of the really-great-but-not-for-me kind of guys and lots of the not-so-great-what-was-I-thinking kind of guys. Don't worry, if you're reading this you're probably one of the good ones ;)

If I had to measure my life by the landmarks that make up the average mormon girls life it would seem that i've spent the whole of my adult years hiding in a closet.
I'm endlessly grateful for the Spirit and the gift of discernment.
How bleak and worrisome my outlook would be if I thought I needed to follow someone else's path.
Anyway, I have no idea what my future looks like! But I know God's hand is in it and I know that it won't be uneventful. I've put a lot of energy into listening for which direction I should head and I've also chosen a lot of beautiful things on my own.

I really like my life. So just let me tell you that it's ok for me not to be "normal". Let's all feel 100% good about this :)

My name is Kjirsten. Patchouli Jones is my mysterious traveling name ;) or stage name. or pen name. not real. Don't worry, you're reading the right blog.

I ride a bicycle. I'm a massage therapist & a musician, I write songs about cats and other small animals, I love vanilla rooibos tea, songs in 3/4 time, reading books, old books, marking them up, dipping the pages in the bathtub, coloring in them and the comfort of having a book in my bag if ever a lonely moment may occur. I love to read nonsense fiction and children's poetry. I love the classics. Oscar Wilde, Jane Austen, the Bronte sisters, Charles Dickens...or any kind of book about anything. About healing. And God. And love. And real things. And poems by Billy Collins, Rumi and Rilke. I love reading aloud with whomever I can convince that it's not only for young children and the elderly. I love goat cheese and group naps, barefoot hiking in the mountains, the way a hum feels in my chest, grizzly beards, a good long slow stretch, comfortable pauses, Jesus Christ, silence and solitude, Thai food, soft things, Erik Satie, noises of appreciation, moonlit swims and bluegrassy men harmonies.

I cannot properly wink. Still.