I come from a musical family. We were all singers, and wherever we traveled, we sang traditional songs and, in Christmas season, carols. My father and I improvised harmonies. Advent Sundays were a foursome, sometimes with guests, singing along to my father’s guitar strumming. And, of course, as a semi-pro soloist, I sang on stages […]
Across the Fence
Across the Fence: Branches of a Saint
Every year since I remember, my mother used to buy some budded, bare branches on December 4. They were most often willow or hazelnut branches, as these seemed to bud pretty much as the earliest in Germany. They looked somewhat austere; and they were usually placed into a puristic designer vase on a medium height […]
Across the Fence: Left-overs
Yesterday was Thanksgiving – one of those feasts when a lot of people have way too much food on their table and way too many left-overs. I remember when I made a whole turkey for the first time, and we were only three eaters. I had turkey left-overs for ever so long, and not being […]
Across the Fence: Counting the Days
For many, Advent is the most exciting time of the year. Even though I find that a lot of my American friends are not aware that the four weeks before Christmas are called that, and that “advent” is Latin for “He [as in our Savior] comes”. But a lot of them have discovered advent calendars […]
Across the Fence: A Rapid Hike
Though my husband is a veteran, Veteran’s Day never finds him dashing off to get one of the countless freebies offered by so many appreciative businesses. An Air Force retiree, but still working, he is one of those lucky people to have Veteran’s Day off – which always calls for a special activity, just the […]
Across the Fence: A Musical Mission
The other day, I was invited to a Zoom house party by my friend, renowned TV and radio show host, author, and humorist Dorothy Wilhelm. It was there that I first met another Washington State icon who immediately impressed me, musician Linda Allen. She presented a video that made me even more curious about her […]
Across the Fence: Fruits of Fall
The skies have turned a different hue of blue a while ago. The first leaves started turning this year in August already. Starbucks and Co. have welcomed back customers for their pumpkin spice lattes. But fall, for me, somehow only begins when I see the first pumpkins paraded outside grocery stores. And everybody who knows […]
Across the Fence: Mail
Last weekend was a 3-day-one for federal employees. Because Monday was a bank holiday. Yet it seems that this doesn’t go for everybody employed by the United States Postal Service (USPS). I saw several USPS vehicles in different parts of the region on Sunday. And my heart went out to their drivers because here I […]
Across the Fence: Desert
What comes to your mind when you think “desert”? And no, American cheesecake, which I wrote about last week, is a dessert with a double “s”, stressed on the second syllable. Is it a specific place? Or a geographical concept? An experience of your own, maybe? My go-to online look-up place, Wikipedia, gives a pretty […]