It was my middle daughter’s birthday week, and the forecast was for rain. Daughter #1 brought a big chocolate cake with cherries and whipped cream frosting, and we’d chosen a dim-sum place for lunch. So we could have skipped the walk. But we came prepared with rain...
Happy United Nations Day
UN Day During most of my kids’ schooling, from pre-school through high school, their biggest school holiday celebration was UN Day, October 24 (today). What else could an international school celebrate? With such a mix of students from all over the world, they...
End of Summer Interlude and “On Children”
sunrise, Whidbey Island After high school, your children fly away to college. After that, they fly away on other adventures and to jobs and husbands or wives. If we're lucky, they come back ... for a while. Last week was one such time. It was the last week of summer,...
When Something New Comes into My Life, I Look for a Book
The something new I’m talking about is something that's more than a simple fact I can google. No. It's something really big … like marrying a guy from China. I figured I needed a book for that. I suppose there could have been other ways to respond to my lack of...
The Impetus to Take on a New Project
Why? Why do we take on big, difficult, unnecessary projects? Why would we decide to take up quilting or train for a marathon or plant an enormous flower garden too big for a single family? After walking through the grounds of Powell Woods Garden, I couldn't help but...
A Good Day for a New Roof
A Sunny day, not too hot. The plywood was already here. They’d dropped it off on Friday. Dropped isn’t exactly the right word for it. With the help of a truck-mounted crane, they lifted a large pile of plywood off the truck and up onto my roof. From inside the house,...
Housesitting
tapestry of Port Vila market by Linda Bayer Most of the people I know just turn down the heat and lock the door when they go on vacation. If they have pets, they ask a friend to take care of them. If they have a garden and indoor plants, they arrange for someone to...
Loving the Beach … despite Sharks, Jellyfish, & Sunburns
All my life I’ve lived close to saltwater beaches. In Western Washington, we have lovely beaches. They’re great for picnics, beach walks, beach combing, sandcastles building, and testing your balance with driftwood walking. The area is a paradise for boaters and...
