On snowy Sunday afternoons, my family would watch old movies on a local television channel. My favorite was “The Nutty Professor,” a 1963 film starring Jerry Lewis and Stella Stevens. Stella played Stella Purdy: smart, strong, and fast with the witty comebacks. Rebuffing the romantic advances of Buddy Love, Professor Julius Kelp’s ego-centric alter ego, […]
VALLEY LIFE
Valley Life: Mazama
My mom was a great conversationalist. She could talk to anybody and always asked the best questions. One of her classics was, “What do you do for fun?” Recipients of that question loved to answer it. Another query that dug a little deeper, “When did you lose trust?” Not everyone has lost trust, but, when […]
Valley Life: Winthrop
Have you ever had one of those days, or weeks, when you feel like you are constantly brushing up against a version of your former life? I had a Saturday like that recently. I was on my way up to Mazama to ski and as I passed the Winthrop Barn, I noticed that the parking […]
Valley Life: Twisp
From time immemorial, or at least a half century, downhill skiers have delighted in a tradition whose origin remains shrouded in mystery and speculation. On chairlifts across the continent, the “panty tree” or “bead tree” adorns the slopes and amuses the onlookers as they gracefully fly by overhead. For those who are not downhill skiers, […]
Valley Life: Mazama
Mazama and Aeneas Valley have some things in common, first of which is mispronunciation of their names. Muh-zaa-muh (not muh-zah-muh). EE-knee-iss (not ay-nuhs). These two unincorporated Okanogan County communities are in company with numerous Washington cities, towns and communities that even fellow Washingtonians and newcomers, especially, struggle to pronounce correctly: Swinomish, Puyallup, Wahkiakum, Naches, Colville, […]
Valley Life: Winthrop
The folks at Methow Trails offer a diverse repertoire of tidy little excursions but there’s always a few die-hards who discover — nay, seek out — a way to transform what could be an agreeably rigorous jaunt into a complete and total sufferfest. Methow Valley resident Marc Tareski wins this past weekend’s epic grind award […]
Valley Life: Lower Valley
The Shafer Historical Museum will present “Our Methow Home: Carlton” on March 3 and 4 in Carlton and Twisp. The first showing is Friday, March 3, at The Local Church in Carlton at 7 p.m. The second showing is Saturday, March 4, in the Twisp Valley Grange at 2 p.m. The 90-minute presentation is the […]
Valley Life: Mazama
Ice is a cagey character — sometimes friend, sometimes foe. The clink of ice cubes in a glass is a welcome sound when you want a refreshing drink. There’s a reason grocery stores post “Need ice?” signs on the checkout counter and exit doors. It’s easy to forget the essential bag until the big blue […]
Valley Life: Winthrop
Just when you think you know someone, you hear that that they do things like show up for their volunteer job at school dressed head to toe in a gorilla costume, hopping on the chairs and bouncing around, and you realize that they are full of infinite surprises. Right, Dottie Wilson? Dottie turned 80 the […]
Valley Life: Twisp
Super Bowl weekend is always jam-packed, filling every venue with local events ranging from winter sports to arts and fundraisers. Here’s a recap of the weekend and a snapshot of what’s to come as winter winds down and we watch the brown patches grow on the foothills. After last year’s dismal snowpack at the Loup […]
