Orcas Island Community Church’s Christmas Eve candlelight service encapsulates all that Christmas is about. At the end of the service, we turn off all of the lights. One candle is brought forward and from that one, each person lights the next candle. It goes on until every person’s candle is …
Aeronautical Services sounds like some NASA-marine-spy agency that works pseudo-undercover in white vans. Actually, they are one or our package delivery services. Everything gets to Orcas Island by small plane (aero) or ferry (nautical), then is distributed by either the Post Office, FedEx, or Aeronautical Services. Thank you to all …
Between going to Christmas plays and concerts, and cozying at home with my family, it just doesn’t get much better than this. Orcas Christian School’s Christmas play… Crow Valley String Band’s dauntingly great performance at Orcas Center… And my favorite, the gift of home… The Christmas Eve candlelight service at …
I can’t believe it’s a few days from now! If you need some last Christmas gifts, there’s a pop-up shop where Sequel used to be, next to Ray’s Pharmacy. Painter and photographer Deb Jones, cardboard illustrator and beach trash artist Brook Meinhardt, and basket weaver Maria Bullock have their beauties …
Meet Jan Pliler. I just did in Darvill’s Bookstore. You may have met her over the course of your life here. She and her husband honeymooned here, they came here every year with their kids, her kids grew up paddling across Cascade Lake to what they call “Gummy Bear Bridge” …
I just love this. I gave each child in my youth group a ball of clay, a manger scene figurine to mimic if needed, and 20 minutes to sculpt. That’s a really short time to make art, but that’s what we had. The next week, I gave each child paintbrushes, …
Last year I homeschooled our boys in conjunction with the OASIS program, which meant our younger son was able to attend Mandy Randolph’s beautiful Farm-to-Classroom program, assisted by garden keeper Colleen Stewart. Wow. Mandy has endless creative hands-on ideas for the kids. I was so impressed. I wish our kids …
This is a post my cousin recently put on Facebook, worthy of being repeated here… “Makes me so sad to see adults on television and on Twitter and Facebook posting news articles and sources calling out and trying to discredit or demean a 16 year old girl who was selected …
I had no idea Martha Farish painted all of those beautiful pieces I pass all the time at Outlook Inn; I had no idea she painted at all! Nor had I heard of The Huntress Guild! Those are just a few things I’ve gleaned from the website about this new …
Thank you, Michele Rodriguez! You have made my recent Saturday afternoons a blast! I’ll always be a kid at heart, and I’m sure loving roller skating at the new old gym! What a blast to spend THREE HOURS skating with my kids! Michele says that a prerequisite of the rebuilding …
After a hungry hike up Turtleback and down, we arrived at the Lum Farm on Coffelt’s Farm Preserve borderline hangry, trying to fit too many things into the day without enough meal planning. Had we filled our tummies adequately, we would’ve loved to enjoy the wintry farm feeling, the lovely …
I’m a daily walker. I like to cover a good distance and take it all in. But our dog is quirky. She doesn’t like to walk in certain places. She stops. It’s gotten to the point that I have to carry her for half of my walk until she goes …
The night before I went into labor with our firstborn, I asked my husband a really embarrassing question… “Will you give me an enema?” You see, our baby was several days past due and kept growing by leaps and bounds in utero. The skin of my stomach was beyond taut …
Eastsound is a tiny little town. Here’s a quick time-lapse my son took while skateboarding to his church youth group this morning. This will give you a swift idea of how the place is laid out if you’ve never been here before…
This family makes music that will stun you. We just got our tickets for their December 20th performance at Orcas Center, and we rarely miss them when they play. Between Crow Valley String Band (the family) and Brograss (their teenage sons), you can’t believe their talent. We’ve been watching them …
The Annual Children’s Christmas Market was a beautiful thing. Almost 60 kids participated, and their creations and displays were beyond impressive. It was a lucrative day, too, for many. Here’s a photo tour of some of the carefully crafted items for sale… I do my best to avoid showing children’s …
