Has anybody of you ever been to a European-style Christmas market? One that is built like a small town of cozy huts decorated to the nines and located in a town center, not inside a building? It was one of my annual joys to go see the small-town ones around my native town of Stuttgart, […]
To Ponder
Letter: Even If
“She’ll never graduate from high school. Never get married. There will be no more birthdays or Christmases. She died.” I was doorbelling for my campaign for the school board and the fellow uttering these words was angry for soon as I mentioned “school” that was his trigger. He had lost his young daughter. He was […]
Advent Calendar December 10: Caroling
What would Christmas be without music? Without singing? I’m not talking the untimely endless-loops in supermarkets and craft stores that start playing way too early in the year in order to remind us to consume in time for the holidays. I’m talking about taking up an instrument and playing it with friends or family or […]
Letter: Her Final Gift
She was arrested for speeding in the fabric store. Ok, to be honest, she really wasn’t arrested for speeding in the fabric store. Just pulled over and warned. Ok, that’s not true either. Here’s what happened. It was approaching Christmas a year ago and my wife of 50 years wanted to crochet a blanket for […]
In the Book Nook … Kizzie Jones
Author Kizzie Jones lives in Edmonds, WA, with her dachshunds and her partner Thomas Wert. A dachshund lover, Kizzie has been owned by many dachshunds, models for the dynamic dogs in her children’s stories. Her books, some also available in bilingual editions, have won multiple awards; “A Tall Tale about Dachshunds in Costumes: How MORE […]
Advent Calendar December 9: Hot Beverages
Everybody loves a hot drink when coming in from the cold. Or when standing outside at a Christmas market booth. The traditional drink in Germany is Glühwein aka mulled wine. Back in thee day, you either bought it at an event or you had to make it from scratch. As in buying sachets that you […]
Letter: The Path We Take
She would go barefoot 24/7 if she could, this little granddaughter of mine. Snow, rain, and puddles do not phase her at all. In fact, she loves to press her cold hands against my face just to hear me holler. We were there, her grandma and grandpa, when awkwardly, robotically, one step, and then two, […]
Advent Calendar December 8: Ice Skating
What do kids do when puddles suddenly grow a skin? They slide on them. My German childhood winters were cold enough to have ponds frozen with a solid skin of ice. Solid enough to last us for sliding to our hearts’ delight and, later, for ice skating. I remember even walking miles to a pond […]
The Seafarer . . . the stuff of great story telling
On opening night Interim Theatre Administrator Erin Manza Chanfrau welcomed the audience with the news Joseph C Walsh has been appointed to lead the staff as Managing Artistic Director. “Joseph brings with him a wealth of national and international experience as an artist, administrator and educator.” After all the standard announcements, the lights came up […]