By Andy Valencia Even as an old dude, I still remember bits of my own boyhood. Parts were great, and parts were terrible. But I thought I should mention the thing that really sticks out in my memory: Boys are the greatest force for good in the world. The odd part is that, mostly, modern…
December 2024, Island Voices
Re-read, Re-connect, Re-ligion
By Michael Shook “Christmas is coming” … I don’t know if the goose is getting fat, but some of us undoubtedly will add some, given all the delicious, butter-laden food that is such a wonderful part of the season. We should also grant that, for those not fond of wet, short, cold, and dark days,…
December 2024, Island Voices
Making Christmas
By Suzanna Leigh In Oatman, Arizona, the gold-mining ghost town where we were living when the boys were small, there were no malls, no blaring of tired old Christmas Carols, no Salvation Army Santa’s jingling bells on the street corners. Actually, there were no street corners to speak of, unless you count where the pot-holed…
December 2024, Island Voices
Tuesday Morning at the IGA
By Pam (aka Gates) Johnson One of the great things about aging on Vashon is Tuesday at the local IGA. If you are on the south side of 50 – or is it 55 – you get a 10% discount on your entire order every Tuesday. This is a serious bonus if you, like me,…
December 2024, Entertainment
Kin Ship – December
By Anne Cotter Moses Kin Ship – by Anne Cotter Moses
December 2024, Island Resilience
Development is Coming. Let’s Make it Work for Us.
By March Twisdale Over the past few weeks, Islanders have heard about a new residential development planned for the open acreage behind the IGA. Reaction was mixed, with some red flags flapping wildly in the social media wind. Of the reactions put forth by Islanders, on Facebook, the following sentiments should concern us all. –…
December 2024, Health Matters
Herbs for the Holidays
By Kathy Abascal Editor’s Note: Please enjoy this article, reprinted from the December 2005 Vashon Loop, and just as relevant today! The holidays bring lights, presents, and a variety of tempting foods. We often spend our holidays with people we love in a dysfunctional way. Things may not measure up the way we think they…
December 2024, Memoir
The Monks of Vashon
By Andy Valencia The Vashon Loop is working with All-Merciful Saviour Monastery to publish excerpts from their documented history. We hope you enjoy learning a bit more about one of the Island’s quietly famous neighbors. All-Merciful Saviour Monastery is indeed a monastery, and it is run by actual monks. They each have their own tiny,…
December 2024, Health Matters
Why Use a Soft vs Firm Roller?
By Sandi Silagi “Fascia is a network of connective tissue, without beginning and end, which encloses everything in the whole body, from muscles and bones to organs and cells.” Foam rollers are generally thought of as a self-massage technique to ease muscle and fascia tension and improve circulation. The effects of foam rolling have been studied…
December 2024, Recipes
Island Epicure – Christmas Oats
By Marj Watkins and Suzanna Leigh Adapted from Marj Watkins Loop article, December 2014 For stamina to keep you up with all the delightful demands of December – chilly weather, snow, winter colds, Christmas shopping, the planning, the parties to give and to go to – we need to feed our bodies and minds well….