Jennifer M. Zeiger's Blog, page 4

Tomato Happens – Grocery Adventures

We stare at the various tomato items, confused. My husband again holds his phone camera up to a can to let his translation app tell us what it contains. The screen spins for a minute and then translates the text to, “Tomato Happens.” As with last week’s Dryer Adventure, it’s the everyday things that keep tripping us up!

Umm. We’re looking for tomato paste. What in the world is tomato happens?

A passing gentleman chuckles. Clearly, he’s not German. From our short experience so far, no German would be so outspoken in public amusement. He apologizes and offers to explain. This might be a divine encounter because the gentleman just so happens to work in an Italian restaurant and is originally from the States.

He tells us that the can’s text is actually in Italian. Thus, why the German to English translation doesn’t make a whole lot of sense. He then straightens us out on all the various tomato options on the shelf. 

Thank you, Lord, for that man. Otherwise, we might have stared at all those cans for way too long! 

This is a common picture of my husband and me in the grocery store of late. You’d think, groceries are groceries, right? We’re finding out that it’s not that simple. First of all, very few of the brands are the same from what we’re used to in the States. Second, the language is mostly German—go figure, right. I should have expected that. Third, many of the items are not the same as in the U.S. and even if they are, they’re not organized the same.

Sometimes the pictures on the packaging help but not always. 

This week’s New Stuff touches on a big adjustment that hopefully I’m doing justice describing. As an introvert, human interaction on any level can be tiring. When we first got here, grocery shopping wiped me out! It’d take us hours to find a normal shopping list’s worth of things. 

Where were the eggs? Why is there milk on the shelf, in the fridge, and against the wall two aisles over? Is this lunch meat cooked? What is this lunch meat to begin with? 

In order of questions, eggs are on the shelf, because Germans don’t wash eggs before they’re sold in the store and if they’re not washed, you don’t have to refrigerate them. I still have no idea about all the milk options but many of them are local and very tasty. Yes, the lunch meat is cooked. Kind of. A lot of it is cured instead of cooked. You should try the smoked Schinken (ham). And as for the last question, it’d take days to cover all the options of meat available but it’s definitely worth talking to the people behind the deli counter. EEEK for this introvert, but their recommendations haven’t led us astray yet. 

And the translation app is our friend. It helped us find Knoblauch or garlic, Zweibel or onion, and Pfeffer or pepper in the spice aisle the other day. And sometimes we just have to laugh at the translation becasue it makes no sense.

Our grocery trips are slowly becoming less daunting, but it’ll be a long time before we’re not wandering around with our phones out translating what’s on the shelves. 

Blessings,

Jennifer

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It Does What Now? – Dryer Adventures

I stare at the dryer, trying to deduce if it’s filling with water, if it’s always had water in the door, or if it’s a washer/dryer combination unit and I didn’t realize it. Just as with the trash last week, it’s the everyday things that are surprising me in Germany. I’m not in Texas anymore, or South Carolina, or Colorado, or Washington, or Kansas for that matter.

Once the machine finishes, I open it to find dry cloths. Yay! And a tank on the inside of the door that’s half full of water. (I wish I’d gotten a picture of this!)

Was it always that way? I struggle to believe I wouldn’t have noticed when I filled the dryer. Upon further investigation, I find the tank detaches and can be emptied. I empty it and the next time I do laundry, I keep an eye on it. Sure enough, it fills with water. 

It’s at this point that I realize the dryer has no vent hose out the side of the house. The unit and its companion washer are tucked away in a tiny closet that doesn’t even have a light. Just a tiny window. I’ve resorted to using my phone’s flashlight if laundry goes beyond daylight hours, which it invariably does because the washer takes two hours and the dryer three. 

But I digress. I eventually learn that the dryer is a condensing dryer. They’re common here. Instead of venting out the side of the house, it pulls all the water into a tank that you empty when you clean the lint catch.

I thank God that the dryer in our temporary housing had the tank on the door or I might not have realized what was happening. A friend of ours shared that he didn’t understand why his dryer was leaking water when he first moved here because the tank wasn’t visible. 

 Even laundry here has a learning curve! 

Blessings,

Jennifer

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Trash Adventures

I stare at four cans in my kitchen, trying to figure out which one the empty egg carton should go into. As I’ve talked about before, every time we move, there’s an adjustment period where nothing’s familiar. The drive to the grocery store. The sound of the heating system in our home. The smell of the local restaurants. 

Dare I say I’m somewhat used to this? Hmm, that might be going too far. Let’s just say I expect it. I knew that moving to Germany would stretch this newness to a level I’d never experienced before but knowing something and experiencing it are two very different beasts.

I did not expect to be stumped by trash.

In the US, the various states and counties handle their trash slightly differently, but for the most part, it’s simple. There’s a trash can and sometimes there’s a recycle can. That’s it. The US is both blessed and cursed to have space for large landfills. I say blessed because there’s a lot of space and it’s wonderful. I say cursed because it allows us to be a bit lazy.

Germany doesn’t have a ton of space for landfills. And they strive to keep the country with its trees and castles as pristine as possible. They’re dedicated to this goal. And with that in mind, it’s everyone’s job to help achieve it. 

And so, I stare at four trash cans in my kitchen. The first one is for biodegradable items. Technically, I think paper egg cartons are biodegradable. But there’s also a can for paper. So does it go in bio or paper? I can at least rule out the yellow, or gelbe bag, because that one’s for plastics, and the residual can because an egg carton definitely fits into paper or bio. But which one?

I finally pick the paper can and return to making breakfast. It’s not long, however, before I’m presented with another trash moment. A jar of yogurt. The glass is easy…I think. There are glass recycling spots all over the area with dumpster like containers for us to separate out the green, clear, and brown glass. So, I set the jar in the wooden crate we’ve set aside for just that and then stare at the metal lid in my hand. 

I do a lot of staring at trash lately. 

Anyway, I eventually recall someone saying that metal goes with the plastics in the yellow can. It’s only later that I learn there are jars you can return to the grocery store for money back. And some of those, not all, but some of those jars can be returned with their lids on. 

This just touches the surface. 

If you have a broken power adaptor, like we did when we moved here, you have to find an electronics recycling bin. Batteries, a battery recycling bin. Probably outside a store that sells batteries. 

If you have a broken power adaptor, like we did when we moved here, you have to find an electronics recycling bin. Batteries, a battery recycling bin. Probably outside a store that sells batteries. 

Something larger? Schedule a pickup on the curb. 

I admire the German’s dedication to recycling and taking care of their country. It’s both inspiring and humbling. And at first, overwhelming. But we’re figuring it. We haven’t had a can rejected at the curb yet, so that’s a good sign. 

Blessings,

Jennifer

This is a series on all the New Stuff I’m learning after moving to Germany. If you’d like, you can read last week’s post here: Jet Lag’s a Thing!

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Jet Lag’s a Thing!

(I can’t start a series about new stuff after our move without touching on jet lag. Hopefully the following post makes sense because the time period in my memory isn’t totally clear.)

I stare at the litter box, stumped on what to do. I’m standing in a family bathroom at the Frankfurt Airport having just let the Writing Sidekick out of his crate to use the travel litter box we brought. He’s been in his crate for over 13 hours, and he gleefully made use of the box as soon as he could.

A large part of me is just happy to see him doing well. Of all the moving stressors, flying an almost 14-year-old cat overseas topped my list. But I’m also struggling with this overwhelming feeling that I should be in bed, soundly asleep. My body thinks it’s midnight. The sunlight outside and the clock say it’s 7 a.m.

This fuzzes my brain into a mash of half-thoughts. My husband and the cleaning guy are standing outside waiting for the Sidekick and I to finish. I hate making people wait. 

The litter box at my feet now has cat pee in it, but we still need to transport it to our temporary housing within our luggage. My husband’s suitcase, to be precise. Most of the litter is clean and needed for the next while unless we add a grocery shopping trip to our day. 

My body insists it’s midnight.

I blink, trying to process how to handle this. The men are waiting outside, one of them as tired as I am.

It’s then that I realize I left the food dish, full of soggy, mushy food from the flight, out with our luggage. I’d intended to clean it out and give the Sidekick fresh water. 

The men are waiting. 

I finally scoop the dirty litter into the trash, silently apologizing to the cleaning guy about the smell, and pour the rest back into the large trash bag we originally bagged the litter in just in case its packaging leaked. The Sidekick watches and wanders the tiny room. I clean out the foldable litter box as best I can and corral the cat back into his crate. 

I forget about the food dish until I see it sitting with our luggage. By then, it’s too late to use the bathroom again because the cleaning guy has closed off the room to do his job. So instead, I one handedly push one of our luggage carts while holding the dish with my free hand. All the while looking for a water fountain or trash can. It doesn’t occur to me that the stressed cat won’t drink water even if I give him some. All my brain knows is, “give cat water” and that it’s midnight, no matter what the sun says. 

My foggy brain doesn’t realize that it’ll be another twelve hours before bedtime rolls around. 

***

This was just the beginning of jet lag for me. This inability to process things like a normal human being. 

Everyone I know who has experienced jet lag advised we stay up the entire first day in our new location to force ourselves onto the new day/night schedule. So, we did. We stayed up. We indeed went grocery shopping, checked into our temporary housing, ran more errands. 

Then tried to go to bed. We passed out for maybe two hours and woke up wide awake. 

I can say from experience that a star filled German sky is gorgeous. A cup of coffee—probably the worst drink when you really want to sleep—and a stroopwaffle at 2 a.m. are rather fun. Some of my husband’s and my deepest conversations seem to happen when we’re both wide awake and the world around us is soundly asleep. 

What I didn’t realize before moving was that, for every time zone you change, expect at least a day to adjust. The more time zones, the more likely that adjustment period will stretch longer. 

Dallas to Frankfurt is 7 hours different. 

So, there’s about two weeks in January that are a blur in my memory of groggy days and 2 a.m. wake ups. Ironically, those two weeks were packed with housing details, drivers’ licenses, phone plans. You know, the important details of making everyday life run smoothly.

Not all adventure runs smoothly. Not all of it is fun. But that’s life. The challenging walks hand-in-hand with the exciting.

Blessings,

Jennifer

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New Stuff

There’s a hiss and a metallic pop from the laundry room, loud enough to startle me from my morning journaling. I set the journal aside and cautiously peek around the corner to check on the heating system. Everything seems fine. No water on the floor, no flashing lights, no broken pipes that I can see. I crack the door open on the machine, half expecting it to hiss in my face, but it remains serene. 

I shrug, close it up, and return to my journal. Every time we move, there’s an adjustment period where nothing’s familiar. I’ve never experienced an in-floor heating system before, so the pops and hisses it sometimes makes are new. I expect to hear the deeper hiss of a heat pump or the whirr of the furnace kicking on, followed by the slight brush of air coming from the vents. 

None of that happens here. The air is still, the floor warm against my feet. Radiators or in-floor heating are common in Germany, just like fans and venting windows is just part of life here. 

This is one of dozens of things that aren’t quite familiar yet. Eventually, it’ll start to feel like home. The pop and hiss of the heating system won’t make me jump. I won’t even notice how still the air is. But I’m not there yet. 

This move’s differences, all the new stuff we’re adjusting to, are particularly fascinating to me. Overwhelming even, but fascinating because it’s not just a new state, it’s a new country. So, I figured I’d share some as I start working out my atrophied writing brain-muscle. It’s been far too long since I wrote regularly beyond my journaling. 

So, for now, hello, or as the Germans’ say hallo, and many blessings! Let’s dive into the New Stuff!

Jennifer

P.S. While I was gone, Kat at the Lily Cafe wrote a wonderful review of Theos Rising. Check it out here.

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The Lily Cafe’s Review of Theos Rising!

The last few months have been crazy and exhausting with our move to Germany, and it’s been hard to get the writing spark back after everything being turned upsidedown for a while. But this review from Kat at the Lily Cafe…well, let’s just say it came at the right time. Words can’t quiet express the heart deep ache and the motivation this inspires. Thank you, Kat!

Book Review: Theos Rising by Jennifer M. Zeiger

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On the Doorstep of December 2024

Happy Thanksgiving to all those in the United States! This post, that’s always about remembering and appreciating the last year, serendipitously lands on Thanksgiving for 2024! 

I’m staring out my front window at green leaves and yellow mums, yet across the street there are Christmas decorations sprouting from my neighbor’s yard. Although there’s no snow on the ground, it’s somehow that time of year again. 

It’s time to remember the good stuff. Last year this time, we were preparing to move from South Carolina to Texas. Now we’re preparing to move to Germany. To say the least, this year has been something of a snowball rolling downhill. It’s been chaotic and full of randomness and has rolled past so fast I’m still blinking in shock. 

But 2024 has been a good year. 

The move brought us closer to family and we’ve gotten to see people more in the last ten months than in the last three or four years. Considering that we’ll be an ocean away after the next move, that has been a sweet blessing. We got to see softball-sized hail with our niece and nephew, celebrate my brother-in-law’s wedding, visit a cousin we haven’t seen in over ten years, just to name a few. 

I often post about the places we go. About the beauty and history and adventure of seeing new vistas. Of course, I love all these things, and Texas has been no exception to how amazing this world is. This place has gorgeous sunrises and sunsets and flowers that just never stop. But when all is said and done, it’s the people who truly line our experiences with joy. 

On the business side of things, I even made it back to Raleigh for GalaxyCon. It was a great convention, but as with seeing family, the writer friends sweetened the event. When we started attending conventions, these people welcomed us in, taught us the ropes and tips and tricks to make conventions worthwhile, and in general, made us feel truly a part of things. I’ll always be thankful to them for that. 

As for the actual writing, I didn’t make writing goals this year. We knew it was going to be crazy. So, I’m thrilled that Theos Rising still published in hardcover, paperback, and eBook as of this Saturday. And beyond thrilled that the audiobook for Quaking Soul is in the works. It’s not a normal year for me. I didn’t write as much as usual. But it was still a productive, exciting year. 

And as I sit in front of our fireplace with its crackling fire now finishing this post, I find I’m satisfied. The snowball of a year didn’t flatten me as it passed. In fact, it just made things a bit exciting. And looking at the upcoming move, I realize it nicely spans 2024 into 2025, giving me a clean, distinctive shift into the new year. 

I have no idea what next year will look like but I’m excited to see it. But for now, it’s time for my usual December hiatus to enjoy time with friends and family and to ponder what writing goals I’d like to set for the future. I plan to soak in the laughter of the precious people in our lives, the meals we get to share together, and the quiet moments that fill the soul with good memories. 

Considering the logistics of our upcoming move, the hiatus will probably last longer than usual, well into January and maybe into February. But I promise to see you next year. 

Until then, blessings and may you have a wonderful holiday season,

Jennifer

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Audiobook vs. Paper – Does the Medium Change the Story?

Years ago, I worked in the laundry room of a hotel, washing and folding linens all day. The task was tedious and left my mind free to wander for hours. This was great for writing ideas, but also just, well, boring. Then my manager offhandedly mentioned that I could listen to audiobooks if I wanted. I just had to have one ear open and be responsive if people needed my attention. 

Well dang. A whole new world opened for me. Up until then, audiobooks didn’t really entice me but if I could work and disappear into the world of a book! The laundry room faded, and I was investigating supernatural creatures in Chicago with Dresden or holding back tears beside Corrie Ten Boom while she and her family were taken into a concentration camp. (I’ve got a wide range of reading tastes, don’t judge.) I just had to be careful to actually start the washer while I was adventuring. 

Through this, I came to love well read audiobooks. James Marster’s voice will forever be Dresden in my head. I can hear him learning things from Bob the Skull or verbally fencing with Queen Mab. And when I sit down to read the physical books, I still hear his voice. He’s shaped their tones, personalities, and cadence of speech. 

On the flip side, I’ve also attempted to listen to books that the narrator ruined the story for me, and to be honest, I’m not sure I’ll go back and read the physical books afterward. I haven’t yet, anyway. As an author, this admission is heart wrenching.

So, as I listen to narrator auditions for Quaking Soul, these experiences loom large. If I pick the right person, she’ll draw people into the world I love so much, she’ll make Na’rina’s voice a reality. If I don’t, Na’rina will become someone entirely different. 

The auditions really showed this, that a narrator can change the story altogether without changing the words. One of the auditions was from a British woman. She sounds amazing, but Na’rina isn’t British. None of my characters are. Another had a Southern accent for every character’s voice. The faun, Afre, took on a cowboy feel like he might wrangle horses all day when he’s a shy creature hiding in the woods and Na’rina sounded like she could have called the bayou home when she’s from the Rocky Mountains. 

As a reader/listener, I never considered how much the narrator could change the story. As the author listening to a narrator read her book, I realized the narrator matters a lot. 

I think I’ve found the right narrator for Quaking Soul and I’m waiting to hear if she accepts the offer of work. Now that I’m confident of her voice and ability, I’m super excited to hear her narrate the rest of the book! Fingers crossed and lots of prayers that she’s available.

If you’re an audiobook listener, what are your thoughts on this? Does the reader change the story for you?

Blessings,

Jennifer

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Moving Equals SALE!!!

I have a joy/frustration relationship with this thing called moving but I’m choosing to lean into the joy part of it. My husband and I have a saying, “The more we own, the more it owns us.” For instance, our motorcycles. We love riding together and seeing the country, but there is also a price in maintenance and upkeep to be paid for owning them. It’s a price we’re willing to pay. 

But not everything brings enough joy to outweigh the cost. Outweigh…hmmm…that’s the perfect word for where I’m going with this. Moving offers the perfect opportunity to downside. It also, in no uncertain terms, shows us the things we own that weigh a ton!

And books weigh a ton! My stock of Adventures and Hidden Mythic books is great for when I’m going to conventions. It’s not so great when I’m relocating thousands of miles away. 

I think I have a win/win for all of us. I can’t do a holiday sale like I usually do because of the timing on our move, so I’m doing one early! From now until November 20th, you can get everything on the website for 25% off! 

Sale Code: zap25

SHOP NOW

After the sale ends, I’ll be shutting the website store down until I can figure out how to sell things personally again. So, maybe it’s time to do some early Christmas/Holiday shopping and help your friendly adventure author out in the process?! 

Blessings,

Jennifer

P.S. Thank you to everyone who’s supported me in the past! Your encouragement means the world to me.

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Treasure Hunting

The beach entices me to come look and see what I can find, like maybe there’s treasure buried in the sand that dozens of people visit every day. I don’t care the lunacy of it. I still go and wander with my eyes glued to the land before my feet, looking not for gold coins or silvered mirrors but for shells, small pieces of driftwood, or even strange stones. These are little memory mementos for my growing collection that represent places I’ve been. 

My husband and I jokingly call this my treasure hunting. I have treasures from Tillamook Bay in Oregon and Myrle Beach in South Carolina, from Trinidad in the Caribbean and from Petoskey on the shores of Lake Michigan, just to name a few, but I don’t have any treasures from overseas…yet. 

But my opportunity is coming and it’s not just a quick vacation. My husband’s work is moving us, this time to Germany! I might have to branch out from shells and other shoreline treasures. Wood from an old growth forest, maybe? Or smells from a Bavarian bakery? Hmmm, how do I bottle such a thing? 

Anyway, this will obviously disrupt my posting schedule over the next few months, but I’ll keep you posted as much as I can. I’m super excited to share this new adventure and find new treasures!

Blessings,

Jennifer

P.S Do you like finding shells or are there other treasures you like to collect?

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