Living near the fish ladder — When I was a kid growing up in the suburbs, my family would often take a little drive into town to visit the Ballard Locks in northwest Seattle, where the saltwater Puget Sound meets the freshwater Lake Washington. The Locks are a pretty cool engineering construction: they allow boats to…

From a restaurant in the distant past —

Fall or spring, depending where you are! —

A poem about yardwork and bowling and grandmas — With her push broom, Irene is sweeping leaves along her side of our street. I know Irene from when she bowled on Thursdays with my grandma. I can see from my kitchen window Irene’s slightly puffy, royal blue coat like the coat my grandma wore in cool weather. How could the ladies at the bowling alley find their coats among…

A quick snack! —

A poem found for a bargain — You won’t know I find gifts for you at the dollar store, unless you’re reading over my shoulder as I describe the socks I bought this week — vividly knit with logos from Twizzlers and York Peppermint Patties — to save in my cache for Christmas. While walking through a…

They’re winners in my book! — If you like trivia, check out who has won (and lost) in the Oscar race for Best Original Song. These three non-winners stood out to me… “The Look of Love” by Burt Bacharach and Hal David, performed by the great Dusty Springfield, is deeply emotional but was featured in spy…

An afternoon of Pleasant Picnicking — I’m a fan of the picnic lunch. As much as I love sandwiches, I also love picnics that are made up of a wider selection of small bites. It’s such a pleasure to plan out a series of treats to eat away from home. While I know that the charcuterie…

For tasty vegetarian sandwiches — If you like sandwiches and want to add more plant-based foods to your meals, try swapping your can of tuna for a can of chickpeas. Drain the chickpeas and chop them to your desired fineness. Do a rough chop to approximate the texture of tuna; you can also achieve this…