If the upholstery in our car gets wet, it’s no problem; it will dry in April My bath towel before a shower is often only a little less wet than it was after the previous night’s shower Golf umbrellas (which are huge) enable my daily walk to continue; at least …
Dan and Katie have been on my mind since creating this site because they are intentional about every single lifestyle choice they make. I respect them for that. As I sit cozy inside my heated house writing this, I’m alternating between watching a National Geographic documentary called Before the Flood. …
Did you know that? We didn’t until we lived here. Because we have wall heaters, we don’t have to heat our house with wood. Our neighbor down the way only has a fireplace, so they start burning wood in October. We don’t have a wood stove sitting out in the …
I’m on the last leg of my walk when I feel it. Oh my gosh. It’s a sensation every pubescent girl and adult woman has felt many times. I don’t mean a release of blood. I mean a release of blood with no catchment system in place. Dang! I’m so …
Well, here we are folks. It’s late January and we have one more month of gloom, if not more. We haven’t seen much sun for quite some time now. Our faces are pasty white, we’re lacking in Vitamin D, and some of us have dark circles under our eyes. My …
I always refer to Orcas Island as Little House on the Prairie in modern times. Not only are we surrounded by nature and genuine friendliness, we also have landmarks along the road that are testaments to honesty. In the summer especially, you’ll pass roadside duck and chicken egg stands, gorgeous …
Summer beauty here is big and loud. Winter beauty here is often small and subtle, and usually in the palettes of grays, browns, and dark greens. Look closely enough and you’ll see a spark of orange. If you walk, as with any place, you often see what would normally be …
The Orcas Center is often our lifeline to the rest of the world when the gloom takes over and we begin to feel isolated. As the performing arts hub, it’s a place where creativity never stops. Especially in the winter. Plays, performances, art shows, lectures, films, dance and aerial silks …
I noticed a contest published in the paper near the end of summer. Orcas Power and Light Co-op (OPALCO, as we call it) wanted ideas of what to name the underwater cable they were installing. The person who submitted the winning name would get a free day trip to go …
This is one of my favorite memories that my husband just happened to capture from our bedroom window last year in February. He made a mini-movie out of it unbeknownst to us. Our little boy and I went out to sled and just couldn’t stop. We flew down the hill …
The Orcas Island Film Festival has been in full swing now for several years. This past summer we decided to attend a showing of Ai Wei Wei‘s documentary about refugees around the world called Human Flow. It was 2 hours and 20 minutes of sweeping scenes of desperation, loss, and hopelessness. …
I remember passing it on a telephone pole – a flyer that said, “Make thousands of dollars this summer, travel across the country, and have lots of fun.” I was in my second year of college and I’ve always been up for an adventure, so this got my curiosity going. …
I don’t post things for any other reason than for the pure enjoyment of photographing something beautiful and writing about it. I just had to get that out of the way before bragging about this island business. It all came about because I walked into Girl Meets Dirt a few …
When we moved here, I realized that Orcas Island is a place where a person’s talents and skills can blossom and flourish. Often, if you’re good at something and people hear about you, you will have gobs of opportunities to shine. Our community is incredibly supportive. We islanders have watched …
