That evening I’d come down to change the furnace filter and found the furnace room dark. In fact, the light socket was empty. Hmm. How’d that happen? No worry. I keep light bulbs of all description in a large plastic container in the hallway closet nearby. It’s on a...
The Serenity of Kubota Garden in Spring
On the first day of spring, two of my daughters, my son-in-law, grandson and I visited Kubota Garden in Rainier Beach, Seattle. It’s a big garden, 20 acres, so we had a nice walk. Japanese gardens have their own style and philosophy. You shouldn’t expect them to wow...
An Anti-War Grandma Reads Sun Tsu’s The Art of War
The Return Herald, Wikimedia Commons I may be an anti-war grandma, but The Art of War is a classic. So, I figured I should read it. Not because we were at war, which we weren’t when I bought it a year ago, but because I was curious. I wondered why this little Chinese...
Fragments from the Past: Dad’s WWII Letters
Photo by Brandie Robbins on Pexels.com My sister has been the keeper of Dad’s WWII letters. I didn't read them until a few weeks ago when we were driving north through Skagit Valley on our way to Chuckanut Manor for lunch. On a straight stretch along I-5, Sue reached...
Olympic Athletes, Why Do They Do It?
Photo by Federico Tomasoni on Pexels.com We’d just finished lunch—a big bowl of chili, a green salad, and homemade bread—when my cousin, MM, leaned forward with a mischievous twinkle in her eye. “If you were an Olympic athlete,” she asked, “what kind would you want to...
My Mom Didn’t Nurse Me
I was born in 1943, during the Second World War. No ultrasounds in those days, so my dad didn't know whether to expect a son or a daughter. I imagine him sitting in a tent in Italy reading the telegram that announced my birth. Or maybe it was a foxhole in France. For...
Generation Gap at Edmonds Rally
“The Protest at the Dock” was scheduled for noon on a Tuesday, so it wasn’t surprising to see mostly retired people out there waving their signs. My sister and I among them. Our “audience” was people in their cars and trucks lining up to drive onto the...
“A New Day,” My New Year’s Phrase
It’s a fun way to start the day: I look out the window, throw my arms up, and declare, “It’s a new day!” The logical thought that follows is: And what will I make of it? In years past, I made my share of New Year’s resolutions, often variations on the same tired...
