By Suzanna Leigh July 15, Sunday Terns were diving for fish as we passed the red nun buoy at the mouth of Quartermaster Harbor. We motored into the teeth of the wind, hoping to get through the Narrows before the current was so strong against us we wouldn’t be able to make headway. We raised…
By Suzanna Leigh “This t-shirt says ‘Nordland General Store’ on it,”R says as he folds the laundry (I wash, he folds). “I don’t recognize it.” “It’s mine,” I say – and I am flooded with memories. Bob and I went aground on our boat Sea Change, on the way to Nordland. Nordland is a community…
By Suzanna Leigh Don’t get me wrong; I love my husband very much. Rich has enriched my life and makes me quite happy. It’s just that … sometimes, sometimes, I miss my late husband Bob so much I could curl up and cry. It was a beautiful day for sailing, my first sail of the…
By Suzanna Leigh My friend Geri told me she owns part of the beach on the north end of Tramp Harbor, where the road to Ellisport runs along the shore (in Washington State, most beaches are privately owned as far as the mean low tide line). I think she owns the part with the old…
By Suzanna Leigh Rich and Suzanna on Eli-Oh My beloved and I had a “Qufi” wedding; I am a Quaker and Rich is a Sufi, so we combined traditions. We were married on the solstice, on the beach at Lincoln Park in Seattle, where friends from Seattle could find us easily, and friends from Vashon…
By Suzanna Leigh Christmas is the keeping place for memories of our innocence. Joan Mills I had planned to write about making Christmas – or any winter holiday – bright. About my adventures when I had no money to fuel the Christmas spirit, and yet Christmas came anyway, bringing warmth, comfort, and even joy. But…
By Suzanna Leigh Only staying active will make you want to live a hundred years. Japanese proverb Why am I so terrified to take the helm today? We are coming into Fairhaven to tie the boat to a mooring line between two big yellow bouys. In all my decades of sailing, I’ve never tied up…
There is a reason we are drawn to looking at the ocean. It is said that the ocean provides a closer reflection of who we are than any other mirror – Rick Ruben, The Creative Act: A Way of Being By Suzanna Leigh Behind us, our little 9.9 hp Suzuki outboard left a trail of…
“Are you an ARTIST, or just a hobbyist?” That question always makes me feel like dirt. What do I have to do to be a “real artist?” Spend 40 hours a week in my studio? Produce 50 new paintings a year? Make my living with my creations? I assume the asker means, do I make…