After watching Anderson Cooper and Andy Cohen throw back a couple shots in a near-empty Times Square with constant references to Planet Fitness, then some guy named Pitbull rap around with four girls in red spandex tonight, I got to thinking, ‘Wow, this is the weirdest end to the weirdest …
What does your living room communicate about how you live? Now that home isn’t just the place we all come back to – it’s the place a lot of us spend our days during these COVID times – the supposed living room in our house is completely functionless for my …
On the windiest, stormiest days, I seem to look out of our kitchen window at just the right moment to catch sight of a tiny human form out in the Sound, barreling toward shore on a stand-up paddleboard at a pace that’s normally unheard of. Adrenaline shoots through me – …
Not ready for Christmas to end? It doesn’t have to! We just found out about a series called The Chosen, and it’s one of the best portrayals we’ve seen of Jesus’ life. It’s not stiff and rigid. It’s not corny and cheesy. It’s not heavy and dour. It’s totally human. …
Needing that warm, loving feeling of Christmas Eve Service during these house-bound pandemic times? Here is Orcas Island Community Church’s service, which will bring songs, joy, and warmth into your home…
Metaphorically, we’re getting a taste of that verse here on the island! And at just the perfect time for Christmas! The sun has been beaming and glinting and adorning and gilding, all yesterday and all day today. What a treat in a season when darkness normally reigns supreme. I made …
There may be no gathering with relatives this year; no warm, lively Christmas concerts to attend; no holiday teas or parties. But that won’t stop us from the fun! So what is there to do with the same few family members you’ve been with in the same house since March? …
All-day rain was Monday’s forecast. It was a very dark morning, almost like permanent dusk. A perfect family movie day, if there ever was one. But something began to happen outside our window. We watched as the rain slowly morphed into heavier-looking lumps, then ice, then full-on thick snow. We …
I already respected people who had to move their jobs from the classroom, the business, or the church to the makeshift video production room – the hallway, the bathroom, the basement. We looked on as our kids’ teachers scrambled – seemingly seamlessly on our end – to create online math …
This is one of the quietest, most enchanting hikes when the elements all line up. I sometimes see a few other people, sometimes no one. It’s unrelentingly uphill, which is great for wintertime conditioning, but the other draw is its beauty – the thick moss, the dense fog that settles …
COVID times have meant watching a lot more shows and movies than we ever did in the past. Our two latest series have inspired our younger son to create miniature replicas. We were excited each Friday to watch The Mandalorian, and we grew quite attached to The Child (baby Yoda). …
If you haven’t seen them yet, you’ll have to look at the winning gingerbread houses displayed at Island Market. They are downright incredible. The Funhouse had a competition for all ages on Orcas Island, and the results are stunning – you’d think the winners are from a national competition. It …
Hunger no longer. Yesterday I experienced the gift of watching the Orcas Christian School music class practicing their Christmas songs, led by their wonderful teacher Mr. Rivera. There are no performances this year, of course, but I’m thankful for the boon of video recording so that I can pass these …
This one is really weird for me. I’m actually having thoughts of living in a city. Never in my life has this happened before. Well, actually, in college I used to get in “Malibu Moods,” as I called them, and beg one of my eight suitemates to drive us all …
During normal times, depending on the person I’m hanging out with, I’m anywhere from a fair listener to a very good listener. (The more you talk, the more I listen; the more you listen, the more I talk.) But dang, do I get on a roll talking when I haven’t …
This is about as real as it gets. Here’s how it goes on Orcas Island, thanks to the Lum Farm, formerly Coffelt Farm. (Go soon! No more trees are available after these are gone due to fires and other stops in the supply chain.)
Funny things subtly shift inside you during a pandemic. Putting all heaviness aside, I thought I’d share with you some of my little quirky changes. I never buy wrapping paper. I can’t stand waste, especially one-time-use waste if I can avoid it. My kids have grown up unwrapping birthday and …
My son and his good friend know they can’t come in to play, so they make the most of their playdates outside, even when the weather is cold or drizzly. The other day a little buddy joined them for lunch, just long enough for a brief conversation and a quick …
These are the months when we islanders assume a blanket of gray may cover the land for quite some time. But the last two days have been dazzlers. You folks out there who see the sun every day don’t realize the giddiness that comes with sunshine when you don’t get …
Someone reached out to us a few weeks ago, wondering what kinds of science kits we’ve done with our kids and which we would highly recommend. Our older son was always hungry for more and more science – building, electrifying, wiring, soldering – whatever he could find out there, he …
Had I not put everything aside to enjoy the kids’ week-long break from school, this is what I would have shared with you several days ago. Better late than never… I caught the last moments of a DJ on the radio saying something like, “…and remember that a lot of …
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