The glow from a small porch light defined my coordinates on the globe: A trampled patch of snow, the size of a manhole cover, located between a sliding glass door and an outhouse ‘privacy’ tent.
It was 8 PM and I’d been trying all day to photograph snowflakes. But try as I might, the wind was howling and I could only “harvest” bits and pieces blown off the roof.
For health reasons, Marty and I recently adopted a plant-based diet, a personal story I share in this post. No more animal protein (meat, dairy, eggs) or processed oils. Suddenly the cookbooks I’d consulted for 40 years were no longer
In October 2016 my husband experienced a mini-stroke. We were traveling in our motorhome at the time, camped near Utah’s Capitol Reef National Park. While Marty’s 5-minute episode didn’t leave any outward signs of damage,
During this year’s annual Harbor Lights Festival in Kodiak, Marty and I joined hundreds of friends and neighbors to walk the docks and vote for our favorite Christmas-y boat. One little boy looked up at us and with firm conviction declared, “Santa Claus is coming to town!” Yes, Santa Claus is coming to town
There are a lot of fake kitchens out there. While designing our own kitchen, I came across many soul-less rooms featured in House Beautiful-type magazines. One look at the photos and I’d think, “Are you kidding? Knead bread on the counter? Keep a compost bucket by the sink?”
Our food journeys are most pronounced during the holiday season. We wrestle with thawed-out turkeys, shop for once-a-year ingredients, and open cookbooks to pages stained with last November’s cranberry sauce.
I’ve been carrying a camera around since I was ten, starting with a Brownie Instamatic camera, a gift from Mom and Dad. It’s all digital now. Thousands of images later, sometimes I’d wonder, “Aren’t there enough photos
Your throat itches. Your nose drips. Are you doomed to suffer a cold? Nope. I’ve stopped many a cold in its tracks with this easy recipe for oregano tea. Research now shows oregano has essential…
Every year, the International Day of Peace falls on September 21. But why not celebrate peace every day? I’m not suggesting you run around with a billboard declaring, “World Peace or Bust!” That accomplishes little. To realize true peace, true happiness, you need to practice it as you go about your daily activities,
Let’s face it, celery is an unappreciated vegetable. A little goes a long way for me. Still, I grow several plants in containers on the deck where it’s convenient to harvest, but mostly to discourage slugs.
This article was originally published as one of my weekly garden columns… Let me begin with a gentle apology: Professional columnists say you should never devote your columns to more than one topic. Fat chance. Here in Kodiak, Alaska, there’s so much going on
Which animal wins the prize for the densest fur on the planet? The sea otter. One million hairs per square inch. That’s more hair than on a black lab dog. All that hair means extra warmth–and work–for sea otters. Let me explain.
Whew. Every summer, life in Kodiak, Alaska ramps up: My husband Marty and I run an oceanfront B&B and host about 100 tours on our boat in the form of wildlife viewing/photo trips. As the chief cook and bottle washer, I have
After shutting down the boat engine we leaned against the railing to watch two humpback whales feed close to the surface. Winding slowly through the kelp bed, they created small whirlpools with their pectoral fins and tails, like a
Every year I spend a glorious amount of time creating a
Alaska’s 2015-2016 winter was the second warmest on record, dating back to 1925. And here on Kodiak Island, it’s been one of the rainiest. So when the clouds parted