Category: Life & Miscellany
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Kerplink, kerplank, kerplunk
Maybe I’m still not over the shock of moving from Zone Two to Zone Eight, but the sheer variety of fresh produce ’round these parts never ceases to amaze me. Now, if I can barely contain my excitement over what I see at the farmer’s market every week, you can imagine the heart attack I…
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Recipe for a summer day
First, invite your family down for the day. Squeeze out some fresh lemonade; and fry up a free-range chicken. Then mix up some cream, sugar, and fresh berries (plus just a pinch of that lemon juice to bring out the flavor); pack ice and salt around it; and start crankin’. Let everyone pitch in—the longer…
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Stand-ins
In my (so far) limited experience, Washingtonians tend to be outdoor types—and with good reason. With so much beauty at our fingertips, it’s no wonder that with the first hint of a sunny day, we’re out in force. Add to that the near-clockwork arrival of the dry season by Independence Day, and the fact that…
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Sugar serifs
What with a string of out-of-town visitors and deadlines to distract us, the Tailor and I let our first anniversary slide by without much fanfare. This week, however, we remembered the nostalgic, circa-early-1980s, licensed-character Wilton cake pans we borrowed from his parents last winter, and decided a belated, totally un-wedding-like anniversary cake was in order.…
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Electric lollipops
Today we dished out our first strawberries and cream of the season—cause for major celebration at our house. Now, lest you get the idea that I’m either entirely too easily amused, or have never heard of a supermarket, let me explain. The Tailor and I do our best to eat locally, organically, and seasonally—and we’re…
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Edge of the earth
Item number 4,732 from the Bucket List: Hike to the very tippity-tip of Cape Flattery, the northwesternmost point of the continental United States. Stand leaning into the wind and rain, back to the trees, discovering how sea stars and cormorants spend their Mondays. Gaze out to open sea with the spray crashing in your ears,…
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Inspiration
My work tends to deal heavily in flowery typography and ornamental Victorian doodads, so this book has become a constant companion. It’s a reprint of an 1897 design primer, and displays a series of increasingly abstracted renderings of various flora, from realistic illustration to graphic pattern. Most of the patterns in the book aren’t really…
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Glorious
Spring made her grand entrance this weekend, sweeping in with the first warm, flawless day of the year—complete with guest appearances by Mount Rainier and the sun. ‘Round these parts, it’s almost criminal to miss a day like that—as evidenced by the sidewalks, parks and shorelines packed with grateful Tacomans. So believe me, the significance…
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Is this thing on?
Oof. The first sentence is always the hardest—I feel like I’m college again, desperately trying to choke out an introductory paragraph to a term paper. Wait a minute. My first sentence was “Oof.” Great, way to set the bar low. Can we start again, please? Ahem: my name is Chandler O’Leary and this is my…