We invite you to join us in co-creating a thematic series of recipes! Tucked away in family cookbooks are recipes reflecting a life few of us remember. Family favorites handed down through the generations. Creative tricks shared, invented, and treasured during the Great Depression. Heritage and cultural memories, embedded into braided breads, spiced meats, fermented…
“Despite living on Vashon Island for close to 20 years, I find our levy system confusing,” I said. “I understand,” laughed Elaine Ott-Rocheford, Vashon Park District Executive Director. “Our property tax system is one of the most complicated in the country.” After a two-hour meeting, and some seriously mind-bending exercises, I began to understand how…
The path leading to my first gun purchase has been long. It began in the summer of 1992. I was a young, healthy, and carefree college student, riding my bike along the American River Bike Trail in Sacramento, CA every day, to and from college, work, and just for the fun of it. Until the…
Given the age demographics of Vashon-Maury Island, a considerable number of us grew up during a time when “trust in polls” was high. For decades, “exit polls” were especially accurate, with a nearly 100% accuracy rate when compared to actual election results. Then, things changed. It’s universally acknowledged that polling results failed miserably during the…
I wanted to change the title of this article to “An Island of Exceptional Opportunities!” Ever since I moved here, I have been aware of our Island’s unique wealth when it comes to people power and the opportunities we co-create together. Which is why I was impressed, but not so very surprised, to learn that…
Patricia Buchanan’s green burial was a first at the Vashon Cemetery, but not the first on our island. Long before European colonists arrived, the native people living in the Puget Sound received what we today would call a green burial. Begging the question, what exactly is a green burial? Within the realm of traditional burials,…
Totalitarianism is a form of government / political system that prohibits opposition, outlaws individual and group challenges to state-sponsored claims, suppresses free speech, freedom of movement, and freedom of philosophical beliefs / religion, exerting excessive control and regulation over public and private life. How do we recognize a totalitarian state in the making? Answers to…
Eighteen years ago, my family moved to the island. Our beloved family dog, Tiny, spent one night on our amazingly dark and quiet property. The next day, I walked to town, carrying my sweet, seven-pound companion in a soft, cushioned bag, met the staff of Fair Isle Vet, and called my dad on the phone,…
About a decade ago, I was blessed with the friendship of a wonderful Island family. Among the many amazing ways we enriched one another’s lives, we enjoyed cooking together. Today, I share one of the best chocolate cookie recipes I’ve ever encountered, and yes, it has only three ingredients. Imagine a gooey yet crunchy, sweet…
On January 21, 2023, Patricia Buchanan was laid to rest in the manner of her choosing, in the new Green Burial section of the Vashon Cemetery. After a lifetime of achievements, both as a community organizer and a world-class triathlete, her son Donnie Sakaida said, “Mom was ultra-competitive, so being the first one there, and…