The other day, a German friend living here in Western Washington said she was missing the German swimming pool culture. I started musing when was the last time I swam over here in the US – and it is true: hardly ever. Not that I did so much more often back in my mother country. […]
Lakewood
More Leadership for Lakewood
One of the presumed ‘candidates’ for Lakewood has a webpage proudly displaying both a yard sign AND a request for donations, even before filing. Not only am I NOT fundraising. I will not rely on yard signs to clutter up our city. I will rely on contact with community members. Next week I will file […]
Letter: We’re talkin’ trash – Lakewood’s ‘dump-it-days’
Why was Lakewood’s Community Development Director Dave Bugher standing in the middle of the road, leaning on the driver’s side open widows of trucks, cars, and U-Hauls as they lined up bumper to bumper this past weekend? And, for that matter, what was the occasion that smiling members of the Lakewood City Council, City Manager […]
Across the Fence: An Island Far Out
Have you ever heard of the Dry Tortugas? It’s one of the US National Parks, and most of it is underwater! A visit to Garden Key had been high up on my husband’s and my bucket list for the past years, and last March we actually were able to realize this dream. We travelled to […]
The trains aren’t comin’ . . . yet
And Amtrak drops out of the top “5 Unbelievable U.S. Train Routes”. Well, it might, given the Amtrak Coast Starlight Train will bypass the current route along the scenic Puget Sound waterfront and instead barrel through towns and cities paralleling I-5. The featured presentation by the Rail Division, along with an update by the Washington […]
Having a Ball With Yarns
Dyed in the wool knitters and crocheters will have been waiting for one of the events in the Western Washington yarn world to cool their itching fingers: the PNW Yarn Crawl. As in past years, one of the hotspots will be in the middle of Lakewood: The Sock Peddlers at the Colonial Center. Kathy and […]
Westside Story – Waughop Lake Monster Water
Numerous citizens continue to comment on how we can and should win our citizen fight to restore Waughop Lake at Fort Steilacoom Park to an area of natural beauty thereby making it a lake where adults, kids, and pets can enjoy all kinds of safe recreation. For decades what should have been loved and cared […]
Across the Fence: Sweet Woodruff
Have you ever tasted May Punch, also known as Maibowle (pronounce ‘my-bow-lah) in German? And have you wondered what it is with this green colored beverages, candies, and ice-cream that taste so indescribably. Simply because there is no other flavor that tastes like Sweet Woodruff (gallium odoratum) – Germans call it Waldmeister (pronounce ‘vult-my-stah)? First […]
Letter: Feelings sure, but we’ve forgotten the ‘whoa, whoa, whoa’ part
Julie Andrews (“Mary Poppins”, “The Sound of Music” – Academy Awards and Golden Globe winner, respectively) “stated that she considered this song too difficult to sing because it had no meaning behind it.” Andrews was referring to the 1974 song “Feelings” by Morris Albert, the lyrics “recognizable by their ‘whoa whoa whoa’ chorus.” It’s the […]