Many are the Germanisms in the English language. Germans are among the biggest groups who ever immigrated to the U.S., after all. Therefore, the influence on the language. One of these words that you probably know very well is the term “kaput”. Almost exactly the same pronunciation as in German, just with a little spelling […]
In the Book Nook with … Seána Kee
Author Seána Kee lives in southeast Wisconsin. She used to work as a copy editor but had to give up the job because of repetitive motion injuries. Now, she works for a fair-trade distributor. Seána has always been an oral storyteller and started writing in high school. As support was lacking, she hid her work […]
Across the Fence: Ersatz
I grew up with two notions to the German word “Ersatz” (pronounce air-‘zuts), that of replacement and that of substitute. I didn’t know that this term had also made it into the English language. And whereas the association of ersatz with replacement is a good one, that with substitute for the same purpose suggests inferiority. […]
In the Book Nook with … M. Lee Musgrave
Author M. Lee Musgrave lives in White Salmon, WA, in the Columbia River Gorge. He is an artist with numerous international solo and group exhibitions over the decades. As a former professor of art and art museum curator, he has written many essays, exhibit catalogs, text panels, etc. M. Lee’s first published book, “Brushed Off,” […]
Across the Fence: Dachshund
They are longer than they are high. They come smooth or wiry. They all seem to be self-confident, resilient characters, and I was surprised that most people call them Wienerdogs over here. At first, I wondered why anybody would associate the city of Wien, aka Vienna, with the dog. Then, I realized that it is […]
In the Book Nook with … Emily Hunt
Author Emily Hunt lives in Olalla, Washington. She has been creating stories since she was a child, but not until last year did she seriously pursue being published. Her historical fiction novella, “Enemy in the Highlands”, was published in April 2022. Emily is a member of the Greater Gig Harbor Literary Society on Facebook. When […]
Lakewood Icon Celebrates Special Birthday
He has been making me laugh and ponder and have double takes ever since I came across him for the first time. And that was way before I met him in person on a sunny weekday afternoon at a Starbuck’s in Lakewood in 2019. He was not alone. Ben Sclair, who had introduced us via […]
Across the Fence: Foosball
Submitted by Susanne Bacon. As a kid and young teenager, I loved playing soccer. The boys in my class even let me play on their teams as the only girl during our sports classes until eighth grade (after that we were separated by gender and explored different fields of athletics). Soccer was the game shown […]
In the Book Nook with … Susan Old
Submitted by Susanne Bacon. Author Susan Old lives on the Stillaguamish River just outside Granite Falls, Washington. She is a retired addiction therapist, which makes it possible to write whenever taking care of her family dog, cats, and volunteering allows. Susan started writing in her 20s but never completed a book till her late 30s. […]