Hello,, fellow dream catchers and a very warm welcome to new subscribers.
In This Newsletter:
Our Move To The Good (Expat) Life - Free Short Story
Note To Self
Witches Wheel of The Year
The Good (Expat) Life
Fourteen years ago this month we arrived here in rural Le Marche, with our life packed into one white van. We had left our combined family behind in the UK when our business folded and we had difficult choices to make.. We had bought this tiny little house in Italy as our retirement plan and chose to come and make a go of it. We had a tiny income, a little grasp of the language and no idea if we would survive. I’d say, 14 years later that we have.
We learnt to become very self-sufficient, with the help of a lovely old neighbour who is sadly no longer with us. We don’t have a swimming pool, nor a second home—we are not the typical ‘expat’. We learnt to do without all the trappings of life that had contributed to our debt and we grew stronger, both individually and as a couple.
I wouldn’t change a thing, even after all the challenges, including illness, deaths of dearly loved ones, surviving several earthquakes, Brexit and now the pandemic. This experience has taught me so much about what makes me happy. And it ain’t material things and it ain’t bricks and mortar.
A home is not a place . . . it’s a feeling
I even wrote a series of funny short stories based on some of our experiences back in 2015… you can grab a free one here.
Note To Self
If you could write a letter to your younger self, what would you say?
I would say, go with your heart, not with the trend.
I would say ‘Believe in Yourself’ and don’t wait or expect for others to validate your worth.
I would say in order to learn you have to fail.
I would say forgive yourself and move on.
I would say do what makes you happy, not what you are told will make you happy.
Witches Wheel of The Year
I’ve used the Witches Wheel of the Year to plan the twelve books in The Luna Legend series. Essentially, the wheel is a calendar of witchy holidays but it will be familiar to many people in one way or another as it is often combined with other annual events. We are coming up to one of the popular holidays in a witch's life, that of Samhain, otherwise known as Halloween.
It is the time to celebrate the lives of those who have passed and show respect to our ancestors, our family members, friends, pets, indeed anyone who was special. Here in Italy All Saints Day (1st November) is a public bank holiday and the crematoriums are packed with people visiting their loved ones. Pagans particularly, hold the belief that at this time the veil between this life and the afterlife is at its thinnest, making it easier to visit those that have passed.
Okay, that’s it from me. Love to hear back from you! The next newsletter will be on 1st November.
Until then, Ciao
JoAnna
Here are the links to the current episodes of Thunder Moon which I’m serialising on a weekly basis on Fridays at midnight - just in case the emails passed you by :)