“Awkward” has been used to describe masked encounters at local grocery stores and shops. A friend recently asked me, “Don’t you find it awkward when you run into people you know in masks and try to have a normal conversation?” In response, yes, I have had my share of awkward encounters with masked friends and […]
VALLEY LIFE
Winthrop: July 15, 2020
There seems to be an app for everything these days, but recently a gap was identified by an enterprising group of Methow Valley women. It all began when one of the women was lamenting that while numerous dating apps exist, allowing aspiring romantic singles to mark preferences in myriad categories, no such app exists for […]
Mazama: July 15, 2020
Who are you going to call when your beloved pet cat is 40 feet up a pine tree barely 6 inches in diameter — chased up by a rogue neighborhood dog — and it’s 8 o’clock at night in the Methow valley? The classic picture is of a fully uniformed fireman on a ladder truck reaching high branches to […]
Lower Valley: July 8, 2020
Apple Pie Jamboree pies are available for order online through the month of July or until the fruit runs out. Visit http://www.paterosapj.org to order a regular, sugar-free or gluten-free pie for $15. Raffle tickets are on sale until the live Facebook drawing on July 18. Raffle tickets are $2 each, or $10 for six tickets. […]
Twisp: July 8, 2020
What’s your COVID-19 project? The stay-at-home order issued in March released a flood of DIY projects across the valley and beyond. Here in the valley, I have seen projects range from homemade mountain bike trails, patios, bathroom remodels, expanded gardens, tree houses, animal husbandry like ducks and chickens, to new puppies and kittens. Our project […]
Winthrop: July 8, 2020
If you’ve seen Melinda Bourn out and about hiking, playing golf, or hanging out with her grandkids lately, there’s a good reason for it: she retired a week ago. After more than 40 years of working in the insurance industry, VIP Insurance tells us, Melinda has decided to retire, handing off the business she built […]
Mazama: July 8, 2020
Hey! “Hay is for horses/Straw is cheaper/Grass is free/Be a farmer and grow all three!” My sons grew up hearing me say that — a way of reminding them to be more polite when getting someone’s attention. “Don’t holler, ‘Hey!’” Driving up the Mazama corridor during the summer offers an excellent opportunity to see the hay growing […]
Twisp: July 1, 2020
Movement is afoot on Glover Street with some recent changeovers of ownerships. For the past year, the modernist building known as the River Bank Building sat empty when the Bureau of Reclamation closed its offices in Twisp. With their vacation went a host of agencies that worked in the building. The bureau held the lease […]
Mazama: July 1, 2020
There are some material possessions that are past useful life for you, but emotional detachment is necessary before being able to let go. My first custom-made road bike was like that. When I decided to become a serious road cyclist, I took to heart the advice of a wise boss I once had: “You have […]
Winthrop: Template
My neighbor, the potter Marcia Ives, has been making a lot of pottery during the pandemic, but with galleries and shops closed she’s had nowhere to sell it. Now, with a large stockpile at hand (a gorgeous and bright stockpile, I might add — I saw it last weekend and it made me want to overhaul my […]
