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…
My wife Karen and I wanted to start a hobby farm. We both grew up in West Seattle and were high school sweethearts. Both of our parent’s homes had views of Vashon Island. Our friends Mark and Joyce Vornbrock had recently purchased 10 acres on Vashon Island. Mark suggested we look at land on the…
The songs are soft and gentle, sung in what is called a “lullaby voice,” all voices blending in music that is not intended for performance, but for the comfort of those who are suffering near or at the end of life. Two to four singers gather at the bedside, offering restful songs to soothe and…
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My Mom was a lifelong writer, artist, musician and wonder-filled being. Before her transition to the life that comes next, she was blessed with the opportunity to go through all of her diaries. Boxes and boxes of them. The vast majority, dating as far back as her early 20’s, she released. A few, she kept,…
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…
If you live in the Pacific Northwest, or any climate that goes relatively sunless over winter, it’s important to think about vitamin D. For half the year, your body synthesizes vitamin D, thanks to the sun. But that changes in the winter, thanks to gray skies and less daylight. This winter gap is a problem,…
In the summer of 2022, three members of our Editorial Team gathered in a garden to discuss our Island’s media landscape. No one newspaper can do it all, we concluded, and voila! The Vashon Loop was rebirthed, under new ownership! At the same time, the cost of paper and fuel skyrocketed. Two months later, we…
Starting with this issue, The Vashon Loop has updated its editorial policies to clarify that AI-generated art and writing are not eligible for publication in the paper or on the web site. I felt like I should explain my reasons for proposing this new policy, and why I’m pleased it has been adopted. Why do…