Have you made any weekend plans yet? Here is an idea you might find very enjoyable. Come to Gig Harbor, the quaint historical town on the other side of the Narrows Bridge. Walk along the waterfront, explore the mom-and-pop stores, the unique eateries … but above all, come to visit the Gig Harbor Summer Art […]
Across the Fence
Across the Fence: Abseiling
Have you ever done any abseiling? I have plenty of times, though not always in the literal sense that the Anglicized version of the German term “abseilen” (pronounce ’up-zi-len, meaning to rope oneself down) implies. Let me explore the literal meaning first, before I come to the second meaning Germans use in colloquial speech. Abseiling […]
Across the Fence: Wurst and Bratwurst
It’s grilling season. Okay, it doesn’t really stop or start ever in the mild climate of the Pacific Northwest. But let’s say, summer lends itself to creating meals on the BBQ. And one of the most popular items to grill – maybe because you can hardly ruin them – are brats. No, not annoying, unruly […]
Across the Fence: Almglocken
Have you ever hiked across an Alpine cow pasture in Germany, Austria, or Switzerland? Then, you may have noticed that the air is filled with the sound of bells. Each and every cow in a more loosely connected herd carries one around on its heavy leather collar. It is a very peaceful sound, for sure. […]
Susanne Bacon’s 9th Wycliff Novel Takes You Traveling
It sometimes just takes a tiny spark that gets kindled to become a fire. What do you come up with when you think of filming locations in Western Washington, for example? Even in far-away Germany, we had heard about “Sleepless in Seattle” and about Forks in the “Twilight Saga” back in the day. Just for […]
Across the Fence: Kaput
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 […]
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 […]