Sheba the Brave captured my heart the first time I met her. A brown tabby who looked more ocelot than cat, we greeted each other, she on her stool and me on my chair, knees to front paws. Suddenly, she stood and crawled into my lap. Her foster mom exclaimed, “I’ve never seen her do…
This time of year, many folks eat too much around the holidays. Our eating patterns are erratic, and we have a tendency to overindulge. So, I am sharing some suggestions around eating well and eating strategically to maintain health and wellness. This is a fun time of year to treat ourselves right. Hopefully, we can…
The fire is glowing in the bookstore – the café is bustling with people coming in from the cold to warm up for a bit on their way to other places. All our coffee has finally arrived from its long trip along the roads, on boats and trains. The coffee is quite delicious and bright…
Tulsi is one of our staff’s favorites, and is becoming better known. Make up some of this tasty ancient tea remedy to start your day – add honey or syrup to taste. A little goes a long way. Tulsi (Ocimum tenuiflorum, syn. O. sanctum, Lamiaceae), also called holy basil, and East Indian basil (O. gratissimum) are aromatic…
Once upon a time, the world changes. On an Island like this one, forest and mist reclaim the land, technology falls away, and certain names disappear. Calling out to her two children to come home, a mother puzzles in mid-holler as she forgets their names. Noticing the two bushes on either side of the front…
By Rich Osborne If you have been following my letters, you know that I lead the Music Mends Minds sing-along at 1:30 p.m. every Tuesday at the Vashon Senior Center. You should also know about other programs the Vashon Senior Center offers. Just last month, the Senior Center hosted Monday/Wednesday/Friday lunch service and delivery and…
When I smell the Ponderosa Pine needles baking in the summer sun, I feel a deep warmth in my belly. I feel a sense of homeliness akin to sitting in front of a fire with a cup of coffee. Growing up, I found a home in the wild. The wild home that Merriam Websters defines…
Scroll down for pictures… African Guinea Fowl Keets Sebastopol Goose & Gander Breeding Pair (Must Take Both) And below, we have Nigerian Dwarf Goats!
A retelling of an Irish mythIllustration above by Jane Valencia Here on Vashon Island, now is the time that the salmon return home after long years in the ocean. Up streams and rivers they swim and leap and lunge, taking in deep scents of the waters along the way, smells that reach into their beginnings…
This year, I’ve been obsessed with learning to make side dishes that capture the aromatic, vitamin C-infused flavors of summer. I’m talking about the kinds of tastes that just explode in your mouth, that also happen to have great texture, and that you yearn to experience during the autumn and winter. This grated carrot salad…