By Alex Soriano The Observant Frog’s Log by Alex Soriano
Entertainment, July 2025, Llaughing Llamas
Llaughing Llamas Chronicles
By Daniel Hooker This joke comes from Bob at Ace Hardware: A customer is at the checkout stand, and the cashier asks, “Paper or plastic?” The customer answers, “You choose.” The cashier replies, “Baggers can’t be choosers.” ~ At the Olympics I saw a guy carrying a long stick. I asked, “Are you a pole…
July 2025, Recipes
The Island Epicure – Marj Watkins Is Retiring
By Suzanna Leigh and Marj Watkins Editors Note: We at the Loop thank Marj Watkins for her many years writing The Island Epicure and sharing recipes and her life in these pages. Best to you, Marj! Marj: Now that I am 100 years old, I think I will retire. Suzanna: Have you enjoyed writing “The…
Entertainment, Island Businesses, June 2025
Pinball on Vashon: Den of Pin
By Andy Valencia What happens when a place to digitally detox meets a museum? That would be a great description of the Den of Pin, the latest Vashon hangout. Pay a small cover charge, then step away from the relentless world of 5G, AI, and social media. In their place, enjoy playing vintage pinball machines….
Island Voices, June 2025
This Getting Old Stuff is Not for the Faint of Heart
By Pam (aka Gates) Johnson Oh yeah, everybody says it’s better than the alternative, but I’m not sure. Nobody I know has tried the alternative enough to give me a firm evaluation on the pros and cons. I’m not saying that I am ready to shuffle off this mortal coil just yet, but again, getting…
Island Businesses, June 2025
Vashon’s Animal Massage School, and a Cosmic Retreat for the Modern-Day Cowgirl
By Caitlin Rothermel Since 2001, the Northwest School for Animal Massage, run by Lola Michelin and her husband, David Cota-Robles, has trained students in the art and science of animal bodywork. In 2011, the school relocated to a scenic 12-acre property north of Vashon town, and now welcomes between 80 and 120 students each year….
Announcements
Let’s Learn Twulshootseed
By Jane Valencia This month, let’s learn to say: ʔəsx̌id čəxʷHow are you? To hear how to pronounce the phrase, go to: https://www.puyalluptriballanguage.org/basics/greetingdepartures.php You’ll find plenty of Twulshootseed language learning resources there. Read our Loop articles about Twulshootseed
Island Voices, June 2025
His Bark is Worse than His Byte
By Seán C. Malone and John Sweetman Seán and I have always had dogs of one kind or another in our lives, and we have a lot of “dog” stories to relate. Getting older, it would appear that we have “downsized” a bit, as we now both have members of the Terrier clan. Seán’s little…
Island Voices, June 2025
McMicken Bay
By Suzanna Leigh During the dark days of winter, my boat sits alone at the dock, the leak I neglected to fix last summer dripping enough moisture into the cabin to encourage mold on the walls and rust on the stove. Her keel sports a beard of sea algae. She needs some work to get…