About

Welcome to the English countryside! Well, at least my version of it. My name is Jana and in August 2018, my husband Tim and I moved from our beloved Wauwatosa, Wisconsin, to a house in the countryside of Cheshire, England. (Hence the Tosa to Tarporley.)

We moved for Tim’s job and while he’s busy at work, I’m busy documenting our life here and trying to make of it what we can. We have three boys – Bennett is 8 and loves football (still adjusting to not calling it soccer), and is caring and loyal and smart. He misses his buddies and the Brewers and the Packers…but is making friends and picking up sports like cricket and rounders. Nathaniel (Nate) is 5 and loves school, playing with his friends, tae-kwon-do and generally being mischievous.

We also have a son, Grant, who we lost at birth on September 27, 2017. I don’t shy away from the grief and pain that losing a child brings, so you might find those emotions here – especially dealing with grief in a new country and culture. Writing is the best way for me to express my feelings, and he is very much a part of our family.

But mostly, this is a place for me to keep track of our adventures and time in England, sharing our travels, the triumphs and mishaps of learning and living in a new culture, and everything in between. After years in corporate communications, it’s freeing to write again for fun…even if I am wordy and it takes me way too long to write a post. Perhaps deadlines were my friend.

Thanks for reading, commenting and following along!