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Creativity Café | Get in the Game!

BY DEB LUND
November 19, 2014

My mission is to get people claiming their creativity. To fulfill my mission, you have to get in the game.

A key to success in the creative arts is persistence. This isn’t new knowledge, and it’s a quality that we can develop. But it’s hard to persist at what you don’t start.

This past year, as I got my card deck for writers ready for publication, there were many times I considered giving up on the whole project. But it was people who kept me going. I had made a commitment to conference goers who repeatedly asked, “Where can I get these cards?” And once I went through a successful Kickstarter campaign, I really didn’t have a choice. But there were roadblocks (if you despise whining, skip the italicized section below)…

Deb Lund’s “Fiction Magic Card Tricks & Tips for Writers” (photo courtesy of the author)

I didn’t know where to get help, so I sought out people whom I trusted and got excellent advice. Did I take the advice? Not exactly. I was looking for an easier and cheaper way. I thought I found it.

First came the Kickstarter campaign. Kickstarter is a crowd-funding program, and I knew I already had the crowd. What I didn’t know was that a big learning curve was ahead of me.

The company I used waited for the Kickstarter funding, so we got to work. They didn’t find art for the project as planned, so I worked out arrangements with the artist myself. I wanted something more in the design, so I hired Whidbey’s Laura Canby, which is why it looks so professional.

I found out the guidebook binding was to be stapled but I wanted it to be sturdy, like a paperback, so I changed that, too. There were discrepancies in font sizes, further editing requests and—with all the changes—the charges piled on. After countless delays, the cards took months longer than the time originally stated, but I stuck with it.

And now they’re finally here!

So—keep going. It’s what you have to do if you want to create. What keeps you going?

Do you play solitaire?

Sometimes you’re handed cards that look impossible. Sometimes it IS impossible. Do you quit? No. You shuffle and start over again and don’t quit until you win, right? Sometimes you get a great start, but somewhere during the game, it doesn’t work. Do you quit then? Not until you know there are no options left.

You must stay in the game.

Solitaire is not unlike the creative process. You play with what you’re dealt, and the most persistent players get the most wins—but they never win them all. The difference between solitaire players and artists is that artists learn as they go, and this learning translates into wild cards that they can use when they get stuck (not unlike my card deck for writers). The wild cards don’t always help you win in the end, but you get more wins than you would have.

I didn’t know this. I had to learn it. When I was 25, I sent in a story to a magazine. It was rejected. I believed that meant that I wasn’t a writer, and I didn’t send anything in again for 15 years. But then I learned to celebrate my rejections. They weren’t stopping me!

Want to be Unstoppable?

Give yourself an apprenticeship:
• Make a commitment.
• Stop the negative self-talk.
• Focus on what worked for you in the past.
• Find mentors.
• Grab that deck, shuffle, and start again. And again.
• Win or lose, celebrate that you’re in the game!

Every successful writer, artist, dancer and actor I know experiences self-doubt. They have all gone through their apprenticeship to get to where they are. The really good ones are still in their apprenticeships. When they begin new projects, they may feel like they don’t know anything—like their efforts will end up just being more practice. But they learn to appreciate the opportunity to practice; they shuffle the cards and they play the ones laid out in front of them, game after game.

Creativity is not talent.

Talent just means something comes easy for someone. There are lots of “talented” people who throw the deck when the cards aren’t in their favor. It’s the ones who pick up the deck again and again who see success.

Creativity is often a solitary activity.

Find your tribe. Seek out organizations, conferences, and classes (or teach some yourself). Get a coach. As a coach myself, I still use coaches. It’s the easiest and best way to accomplish my goals.

Creativity is attainable.

If you can persist, you have what it takes to accomplish your creative goals. If you don’t believe me, give me a call. I need you to help me grow this mission. Are you with me?

Then get in the game! Create!

Deb Lund is an author, creativity coach, and writing teacher. Stop by at www.deblund.com to learn more about her.

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November 19, 2014
In Search of Truth and Beauty | Witnessing Autumn

Gathering of Leaves (photo by the author)

BY JONI TAKANIKOS
November 12, 2014

It has been raining off and on all day, a percussive steady rhythm with a few long silences, and then once again the rain builds its case to the sky, so sure of itself and of its falling. As night descends, the autumn wind has rushed in to add its message to the rain. It must be the second act in this dramatic northwest fall saga. I live on a private, tucked-away lane. There are only a few houses here amongst a forest of magnificent big leaf maples and a few firs.

This time of year the maples are shedding their leaves madly, spreading red and gold veined color on every surface. These trees have mastered the art of death and transformation while remaining stalwart and steady throughout their roots, trunk and branches.

Red hearts hanging (photo by the author)

They are ready to stand proudly naked through the winter months—revealed and unadorned. May we human creatures learn to remain as steady on our feet as the maples when we find ourselves witness to the death of those we love, or facing our own deaths, real or imagined. As we rake and gather the fallen leaves, we could also gather our own sensibilities about death and begin a conversation with ourselves, our families and friends about our own certain end.

Being a poet gives me license to muse on the subject:

When I Die

Imagine me riding a silver horse
Into the mist—somewhere very green
with moss covered trees. I will turn to
look behind me only once,
before I disappear in the soft, sweet air.

Imagine that now and then I could
still kiss the cheeks of those I love,
No matter where they are.
Know the reality
that my breath will inhabit
the air of this earth when I am gone.

Or just imagine that I have simply
Turned a beautiful shade of red
and gold—and as I let go
You saw me fly by
With the wind.

An autumn haunt (photo by Virginia Burja Simpson)

As we move closer to the light of our hearths and gather together to give thanks for the bounty on our table, perhaps our conversation could begin to include death. What do we envision for those we leave behind and how might we plan for that most certain of times? We can make decisions now so that our families may be spared from making them for us. It may be as simple as telling your family your wishes and also writing them down so that hopefully there will be no confusion. We all know that when emotions are heightened by sadness and grief, communication can be tricky. There is also the next step of creating a living will, and, finally, a last will and testament.

I do believe that contemplation of our life and death, side by side, is the first part of the process. One of my oldest and dearest friends continues to teach me the lesson of telling others when they have moved her heart in some way, both big and small; whether they are a stranger, a friend or family, she gets past her shyness to speak what is in her heart. In doing so, she lives her life fully and gives others a great example of how to not hold back from speaking from the heart. It is in this spirit of fearlessness that we can approach the subject of our dying now while we live.

There are many resources available and those of us here in Island County have a lovely library system, the Sno-Isle Libraries, sno-isle.org, that can help in our research. I am particularly fond of my hometown Langley library branch, with its views of Saratoga Passage. If they had a tea and espresso cart, I could stay all day.

“Being Mortal: Medicine and What Matters in the End,” a book by practicing surgeon and gifted writer Atul Gawande, has just been published and I am sure is worth a read. And our own Whidbey writer, Theo Wells, has also written her book, “Take Care of Dying – Get on with Living: End-of-Life Planning that Works.” Wells has created a new category—“obit-lit,” with her must-read book for anyone who is going to die.

“This book is about taking your power while you’re alive and using it when you are dying,” Wells said of her book. “There’s lots of information about the fact that you need a durable power-of-attorney (or agent), but there’s little that tells you how to do it, how to select one and what to do when you find one.”

“Take Care of Dying – Get on with Living,” will be published by Abiding Nowhere Press in winter 2014. The website for the book is in the works and will be found at www.takecareofdying.com. Meanwhile, readers can order the book by email at theowells@whidbey.com.

Joni Takanikos is living and dying on beautiful Whidbey Island. She teaches yoga at Half Moon Yoga Studio in Langley Village and in her spare time, at present, she is mesmerized by falling leaves.

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CLICK HERE to read more entertaining and informative WLM stories and blogs.

WLM stories and blogs are copyrighted and all rights are reserved. Linking is permitted. To request permission to use or reprint content from this site, email info@whidbeylifemagazine.org.

November 12, 2014
What to do when the fog rolls in

BY STEPHANIE BARBÉ HAMMER
November 5, 2014

People like to complain about fog and mist. When I lived in Geneva many years ago, everyone I knew complained about the grey skies, the mist and the damp winds.

Everyone, that is, except for some people.

A guy I knew who was a gifted guitarist from Paraguay loved that Geneva weather. “It makes me stay indoors and dream up songs,” he said to me once.

Spending the first few months of the fall on Whidbey for the first time ever, that’s how I feel too.

I know what you’re going to say. “But the weather has been amazing this fall!”

My neighbors Pat and Sue tell me every time I see them. “It’s glorious! Not typical of our weather!”

Yup. It is. Glorious. But for me, I do an inner dance of joy when the fog rolls in.

Our fog and trees (photo by Stephanie Barbé Hammer)

See—when I get up, and all I see is trees and nothing else, I feel that cocoon of stories and poems weaving itself around me. The outside world has been temporarily veiled so that I can plunge in to my secret world. The magic world that I get to explore now that I make stories as my life-work.

Yes, I know fog is bad for driving. And boating. And probably marathon running. But the positive in this is that fog means I have to stay put. Or I can stay put and use the fog as an excuse. “I’m so sorry—I can’t come and do that thing with you today, because the fog ….!” Etc.

That means I can sit on the patio, and drink my coffee, and look into the mist and imagine what’s there behind it. Then I go to my desk and pour all that into words.

There’s a freedom in fog, is all I’m saying.

Photo by Stephanie Barbé Hammer

So, friends, the next time the fog rolls in, take a look at that cooking project, that weaving, knitting, or sewing project, that drawing project or—as NaNoWriMo kicks in—that novel or memoir or poetry project.

But before you do, just sit for a moment and take a look at that fog. Allow the mist to shelter you from doubts, bills, worries, relatives, and yes—partners.

And then create something.

Stephanie Barbé Hammer lives mostly in Coupeville with occasional treks into the wilds of Los Angeles. Her poetry collection “How Formal?” launched in May 2014 and her brand-spanking new novel “The Puppet Turners of Narrow Interior” (about German Americans, secret Anabaptists, bunraku puppets, ghosts, and hope) comes out later this year. You can follow her on twitter at stephaniebarbeh and read her blog here: www.stephaniebarbehammer.net.

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CLICK HERE to read more entertaining and informative WLM stories and blogs.

WLM stories and blogs are copyrighted and all rights are reserved. Linking is permitted. To request permission to use or reprint content from this site, email info@whidbeylifemagazine.org.

November 5, 2014
May I interest you in a can of beans?

BY DIANNA MacLEOD
Whidbey Life Magazine Contributor
October 29, 2014

As Day One of the fall Whidbey Island Writers Conference unfolded, both my brain and binder filled with tips on the art and craft of writing: constructing dialogue, creating conflict, developing character.

The format—small group meetings at private homes—was designed to put me and my fellow writers at ease as we conversed with Prominent Authors. Prominent Authors are a lot like the rest of us; nothing brings this fact home more than seeing them snuggled into an overstuffed leather armchair, feet propped on an ottoman. Or sipping coffee and grimacing because their cup of joe went cold hours ago. Published or unpublished, we all like our feet up and our coffee hot.

This cozy informality (the only thing more homey would be for us all to show up in our pajamas) lulled me into a sense of well-being and camaraderie…which may explain my insanely ambitious agenda for the next afternoon.

The morning of Day Two, I attended a workshop titled “The Realities of Publishing with the Big Five,” which gave me a chance to spend a couple of hours with Daniel James Brown, the Prominent Author of the recent mega hit (and soon-to-be movie), “The Boys in the Boat.”

Daniel James Brown, author of “The Boys in the Boat” (photo courtesy of NILA)

I’m always interested in how private stories become public sensations, and it seemed to me that Brown’s own account of his trajectory as an author would be especially interesting. After all, he labored for years with moderate success (including self-funded book tours and publicists who wouldn’t return his calls) before his ascension from semi-obscurity to full frontal fame (publishers vying for book rights).

I was sure Brown would be a treasure trove of advice. He was. On top of that, he was as humble and approachable as the Prominent Authors I met on Day One. But the phrase that stuck with me as his workshop ended was hardly the one I expected to remember.

To paraphrase Brown, authors and their books are viewed by the publishing industry as commodities to be sold like “a can of beans.”

On some level, I knew this already. We all know this. Although devotion to story certainly exists among individual agents and editors, the publishing industry is primarily a money-making enterprise, and all involved in it are looking for the next hit.

It was this metaphor—my mostly-finished novel as a can of beans—I carried with me into my self-inflicted afternoon activity: pitching my book to eight different agents and editors in six-minute consecutive segments.

The chance to make a case for our books is a wonderful feature of the conference. We pitch the story and hope the editor/agent across the table will catch it. How many words? What genre? Who’s the readership? What are comparable titles? What shelf would it occupy in a bookstore? Is it finished?

I had six minutes to make it clear why my manuscript should come off my screen and onto their radar.

Prior to pitching, I tried pumping myself up. Get to yes. Eyes on the prize. Go for the gold. But my pep talk was constantly interrupted by the image of baked beans packed into a can bearing a red-and-white label and the sound of an infectious jingle consisting of the words “ummm ummm” and “good.”

Eight agents/editors in 48 minutes was like speed dating book junkies. I learned a lot about what they want and don’t want. I learned my novel isn’t a mystery (mystery readers expect dead bodies). My novel is too long for a first-time author (the sales of an unknown author’s book don’t justify the paper and ink of a tale over 100,000 words). The youngest agents had never heard of the authors I count in my literary fiction genre camp. (Yes, they’re mostly British and mostly female and mostly dead, but c’mon, they’re fantastic!)

I emerged feeling grateful to the agents and editors who, despite my missteps and blunders, expressed interest in my not-mystery, too-long, of-dubious-parentage, unfinished manuscript.

I emerged ravenous, seeking comfort and comfort food, ready to celebrate. So what did I make myself for dinner?

I’m betting you can ummm ummm guess.

The Northwest Institute of Language Arts (NILA) encompasses the Whidbey Writers Workshop low-residency Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing, the Whidbey Island Writers Conference, and the Whidbey Island Writers Association. NILA also produces the Soundings Review literary magazine.

Read more about the conference from blogger Siri Bardarson and view David Welton’s photo essay here.

Dianna MacLeod holds a degree in journalism from the University of Michigan. An alumna of Hedgebrook, she moved to the island in October of 2011 to complete a novel—and never left.

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CLICK HERE to read more entertaining and informative WLM stories and blogs.

WLM stories and blogs are copyrighted and all rights are reserved. Linking is permitted. To request permission to use or reprint content from this site, email info@whidbeylifemagazine.org.

October 29, 2014
Sirithiri | Attending a Writers Conference, or, ‘I love you more than…’

BY SIRI BARDARSON
October 29, 2014

Whidbey Life Magazine was a sponsor of this weekend’s 2014 Whidbey Island Writers Conference and, as a blogger for WLM, I was allowed to go as a member of the “press.” What a blast! I felt I knew the secret handshake or the special wink as I breezed into lovely Chat House settings and convenient classrooms in the uber-charming waterfront town of Coupeville on beautiful Whidbey Island.

Kudos to Kim Cottrell, Executive Director, and Terry Persun, Conference Director and their hard working staff and volunteers who handled the many details of this successful event!

Illustration by Siri Bardarson

At morning registration at the Rec Hall, the energy was palpable, similar to when I stand next to the huge lavender bush in my backyard on a sunny, summer day and hear the honeybees rattle the air with their industry. There was real bustling and conversation while the attendees registered but what I also felt was the interior whirring of wordsmiths and word artists. The sound of a bazillion ideas, hopes and dreams and the words that help manifest them.

I found a seat at a table where other attendees were poring over their conference program and finishing up their Continental breakfasts. I considered my responsibility as a member of the “press” and I asked each person the reason they were here. The answers were as varied as the ages, genders and looks of my six tablemates: learn to pitch, continue as a lifetime writer, this is my birthday present to myself, get motivated to finish my project. The youngest writer was staying at her family’s beach cabin; this was her first conference and she was working on a middle-grade fantasy novel set on Whidbey Island.

And then it was time to go find the answers to our questions or the information to help us reach our goals and we hurried off to our Chat House sessions.

Bardarson with conference presenter and fellow WLM contributor Deb Lund (photo by the author)

My Chat House session was nearby and I was grateful for the walk. I was already too excited and I was only two hours into a full weekend! As everyone clambered into car pools, I saw the swarm of ideas released into the morning sky like a swarm of honeybees or those cool murmurations of starlings that have been filmed and posted to YouTube.

But all these ideas and words that my fellow writers have aren’t coordinated like the drones of honey making. No—each writer was tasked with finding out how to make the perfect container for his or her words and to create a writing project. That is the beauty of the Writers Conference: come and figure out what you need to know because it takes more than a butterfly net or a video camera to capture the huge cloud of words that surround a good idea.

This year’s conference had a wonderful menu of presenters and classes. I was interested in working on conflict in my current project and I heard professional advice on this tricky craft skill presented two very different ways. On one hand, the published writer spoke in a linear way about plot points and strategies, while in a similar class the next day, a different published writer dished out the same excellent advice with the tone of your best friend who loves ya! People don’t learn the same way and writing is certainly not a one-size-fits-all exercise, and it was great to hear two different approaches to an identical craft issue.

The conference attendees have travelled home now and some of us are already at the computer or chewing on a pencil stub. I can hear across the universe—the soft whirring and grating sounds that we writers make as we sort and sift and work our way through one more word choice or craft experiment. Writers, like all artists, make decisions constantly, tiny and big. It is a lot of work.

My boy and I used to play a game. One or the other of us would start it.

“Have I told you today how much I love you?”

“No,” the other would answer.

“Well, see those fir trees over there?” The other would look into the distance and smile. “I love you more than all the pine needles on all the fir trees in all the forests of the universe.”

“Mmmm, that’s a lot,” the other would contemplate and smile more broadly.

In this silly game, the thing to be counted can be anything. After this weekend, having met so many wonderful people and communed with the huge number of ideas and words that exist in the vast collective consciousness of writers, I have an idea for the next time I play the game, for the moment when it is my turn to express a huge, incalculable, infinite number.

“I love you more than all the beautiful words and wonderful ideas of all the writers in the universe!”

Good luck, my fellow word artists and thank you, Whidbey Island Writing Conference 2014!

Siri Bardarson is a musician who writes a lot. She is ecstatically happy when she makes stuff!

Read more about the conference from blogger Dianna MacLeod and view photos from David Welton’s photo essay here.

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CLICK HERE to read more entertaining and informative WLM stories and blogs.

WLM stories and blogs are copyrighted and all rights are reserved. Linking is permitted. To request permission to use or reprint content from this site, email info@whidbeylifemagazine.org.

October 29, 2014
The Chief Milkmaid | It’s not over until it’s over!

BY VICKY BROWN
Oct. 29, 2014

You may have thought Farmers Market season was over. In most areas Farmers Markets are very seasonal, often not starting until May or even June and ending in September.

On Whidbey Island we are a heartier bunch.

The earliest Farmers Market starts in Coupeville, the first Saturday in April. The latest market has generally been Bayview Farmers Market, ending the last Saturday of October (I stand corrected; actually the Tilth Market on Sunday is the following day!).

This year is different. Bayview Farmers Market has teamed up with Bayview Farm and Garden to be able to offer a true Extended Season Market between the regular outdoor market and the acclaimed Holiday Market that starts the Saturday after Thanksgiving.

The Extended Season Market and the Bayview Holiday Market will be housed in the comfort of the beautiful Greenhouse at Bayview Farm and Garden (hours for the market remain Saturdays 10 to 2 p.m.).

Pam Mitchell of Pam’s Place Produce talked to me about it when it was just an idea. Since I wanted to talk about Pam in one of my farmer blogs, it felt only fitting to tell you a bit more about Pam now, while she is gearing up for this extended opportunity.

I interviewed Pam as autumn was falling. We got to stroll around the remarkable grounds and flower gardens at Fireseed Catering, and then we returned to Pam’s market garden and greenhouse to get a little more harvesting done before market.

Pam Mitchell at Fireseed Catering’s event gardens (photo by Vicky Brown)

VB: What is it you do?

PM: I grow, I’m a grower. From the moment I wake until the moment I go to sleep I am thinking about growing. It’s a constant source of fascination for me.

I’m now maintaining the event gardens for Fireseed Catering, where we currently have about an acre of flowering gardens.

I maintain gardens on two different properties, the largest of which is also on the property for Fireseed Catering, and I provide a lot of the produce they use for their catered weddings and events.

I also design and make my “woolies.”

VB: Do you consider yourself a farmer?

PM: No, because to me a farmer is someone who gets in a large machine and watches a movie while the gps drives up and down acres and acres of rows and does the picking or baling or whatever needs to be done.

I would call myself a Market Gardener and Plant Propagationist and maybe a Clothing Accessory Designer and Manufacturer, because I garden for market, sell plant starts and make the woolies.

VB: When did you start your Market Gardening?

PM: I started it for market when I came to Whidbey Island, which was 15 years ago, just around the turn of the century, 1999.

VB: How has your farming evolved since 1999?

PM: It’s been the little things. A friend of mine said “Pam you’ve got a great system going, you just have to tweak it a little bit.” And I’ve always remembered that. So I’ve evolved from mounded beds to boarded side beds and from growing beds of crops, just one crop to a bed, to breaking the beds up into various crops, which has really helped with successions.

Trellising has really changed, from wire which the plants really hated, to a Tenax system, plastic flexible square patterns that the plants really love to climb and I can weave them through where I want them.

I have added an orchard. I also have evolved away from labor intensive plants and making the beds so efficient that I can do most of the work by myself. If you have to pay someone you have to make enough money to pay them. Managing people not only has monetary costs; it takes a lot of energy.

VB: Are you able to make your Market Gardening fiscally sustainable?

PM: In the 38 weeks the market is open it does bring in enough to support me for the weeks market is open. In the past few years it usually gives me enough to support myself and tide me over the season the market isn’t open.

However, that’s only possible because I have a CSA, trade for my rent and drive 30+ year old cars.

I try to lessen my expenses every year and at this point the business expenses are much more than my personal living expenses.

The bottom line for me is being efficient and not paying payroll.

Also, I am trying to expand on my income with my woolies and wearable products that ship well and can sit in storage. They’ve been really well received and I’m hopeful they will continue to do well.

Pam making her “woolies” at market (photo by Vicky Brown)

VB: So why do you do it?

PM: I do it because it’s the only thing that has continually challenged me for the last 15 years. I never get tired.

In fact, at the end of the season when I should be getting completely exhausted and thinking “oh I just want to sit and do nothing,” I’m getting excited about next season. As long as that continues I will be growing and researching and figuring things out.

VB: How could the community support you best?

PM: Continuing to come to the farmers market, rain or shine, and continuing to buy the produce. And in fact, they already do that quite well. It’s nice that a lot of my customers are now shopping for their whole week of produce not just for one special “market dinner.”

Delicious Delicata squash being harvested (photo by Vicky Brown)

VB: What is the best experience you’ve had farming—the “this is it” minute?

PM: I remember one time on a harvest day standing in front of a full 20’ x 3’ spinach bed just maxed out with huge spinach leaves. That was probably the lushest, most amazing sight as far as growth and vitality in the garden I’d ever seen. It was the first time I had seen spinach grow that well.

It was early in my transition from growing them in trenches from seeding and having them get to a certain point and just bolt.

To me that was the epitome of success, taking a challenging crop and really seeing the results of my efforts of constantly experimenting and pushing and evolving the process.

Not the spinach crop Pam told me about, but I thought it looked perfect this season too. (photo by Vicky Brown)

VB: What is one thing most of your customers wouldn’t know about you?

PM: In the ’90s I did the whole corporate thing. I wore shoulder pads and permed and dyed my hair—blonde of course. I had little gold earrings, wore makeup, I even had nails! I did well, was promoted and I bought and wore business suits.

In spite of that I was always somehow connected to growing things. I always had a pea patch, containers on a balcony or grew things in a neighbor’s garden.

I grew from sweeping fallen leaves off of the walk paths to embracing the wonderful chaos of the growing environment.

VB: What is the best item(s) to get from Pam’s Place Produce at market?

PM: My salad mix is the most popular thing on my market table. I have a lot of loyal customers for my salad mix.

I have some beautiful peppers right now too. I have these purple peppers called Islander, so it’s perfect for Whidbey Island.

Pam picked a peck of purple peppers. (Yes, I went there.) (photo by Vicky Brown)

Of course it is squash season. I have some delicious squashes coming out of the garden right now.

But surprisingly, because of the greenhouse, I have a lot of items that you might not expect to see this late in the season at the extended market.

VB: What else would you say?

PM: I’d say… Thank you.

I have felt like an imposter sometimes and then I realize most people here have come from somewhere else and the people who have managed to stay here are adaptable and flexible and they value contentment and happiness in a place where they can be accepted.

I think contentment is having everything that makes you want to get out of bed every day, and I’m grateful I have that here on Whidbey Island.

Recipe from Pam:

Ingredients:

Everything that’s about to jump out of your refrigerator and into the compost heap.

Method:

Slice, dice, chop and throw in a sauté pan with olive oil, soy sauce and ginger to taste. Stir fry lightly and eat while hot.

Perfect for taking the chill off the cold fall evenings.

Harvesting for CSA members, Pam specializes in beautiful, delicious produce. (photo by Vicky Brown)

You can find Pam at her booth (Pam’s Place Produce) at the Bayview Farmers Market (now at extended season at Bayview Farm and Garden). You can sign up for her CSA for spring, but why wait? There is plenty of deliciousness still to be had this season… and maybe a hat, an infinity scarf, or fingerless gloves to keep you cozy this winter.

Vicky Brown, Chief Milkmaid at the Little Brown Farm, puts her passions on the page writing about food, agriculture and the tender web of community.

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CLICK HERE to read more entertaining and informative WLM stories and blogs.

WLM stories and blogs are copyrighted and all rights are reserved. Linking is permitted. To request permission to use or reprint content from this site, email info@whidbeylifemagazine.org.

October 29, 2014
The New Kid on the Block | Life’s Luxuries

BY LES McCARTHY
Oct. 29, 2014

Every once in a while, in every one’s life, a little rain must fall. Or, if you live in the NW, a LOT of rain must fall. And, I, for one, am prepared; this former Girl Scout has a handle on it.

Not since I was about seven years old have I felt giddy about rain boots. For more than three decades I lived in the Denver area—land of bluebird skies and 300 days of sunshine (although, realistically, it’s really more like 245 days). Still, it hardly ever rained and I barely ever even used an umbrella, so rain boots would have been a ridiculous purchase.

Coral red rain boots

Duck with its rubber boots on

However, now that I live here, I recently invested in a pair of glossy, coral rain boots and I have been embarrassingly eager to pop them on my waiting feet and go outside and play in a puddle. I’ve been asking Mother Nature to bring it on!

And as silly as it may sound—this was an indulgence for me. A luxury. (Though, I will probably find, as the season progresses, the boots are more of a necessity than not.) I am tickled that I gave myself this gift.

And why not? Life is for living. Indulge a bit! I figure, in the grand scheme of things, it’s the little things in life that bring joy. I don’t buy diamond bracelets or expensive shoes or take monthly cruises. However nice that might be, my luxuries are the small things…like scented soaps or candles, hot cocoa on a cold day or finding the perfect little something for a friend.

But more than anything, I savor the totally luxurious indulgences…the seemingly inconsequential, quasi intangible things like the luxury of time and presence.

Gerdie the Pug

Saturday I allowed myself just that. I slept in. The dogs didn’t even wake me and it was well past a “respectable” hour when I finally got up and made tea. I watered plants, ate a biscuit, puttered around the house in pj’s and my robe, until well past noon. It was lovely.

Having a laundry list of things to do (including laundry), I ditched it and grabbed a blended soy latte up the road and dropped in at the Apple Day and Mutt Strut parade at Bayview Corner instead. I caught the end of the canine costume contest—it was a good thing I was not a judge as I would have had them all winners! I liked the Golden Doodle who looked like a lion, best. It was almost unnerving to go up and pet him—he looked so lion-esque—but he was all sweetness. What a face!

I chatted with several owners and got doggie kisses from their costumed companions. I don’t care what Lucy says about “dog breath”—it is fine by me! I’ve got my own four-footers at home but there is nothing so indulgent as being on the receiving end of unconditional loving from a dog that doesn’t know you but greets you like a long lost love, with wild abandon and a full body wag. I’ll never miss the chance to feel like a Hometown Hero if a dog wants to greet me like one!

Brutus The Hipster

I strolled the greenhouse of Bayview Farm and Garden Center and lingered among the seasonal pansies, asters and mums…lost in the music of Hot Club of Troy, which was infusing the apple-perfumed air with their magical gypsy jazz. Their music stirred my soul and was like a reward for coming out on such a gloomy day.

I slowly wandered, following the apple scent to the back where cider was being pressed and where tables were laden with baskets of apples. I was told that there were 50 varieties on hand! I had no idea there were so many available—anywhere—let alone in our area. I was given a few samples and then chose the ones I wanted to take home. It was like picking out donuts at a donut shop—but healthier! One of the apples was an Arkansas Black…a crisp, dense fruit so deeply red and perfectly perfect I felt an urge to go find Snow White.

Arkansas Black Apple

I walked through the back gate, past the chickens cozy in their coop, to the Farmers Market and tucked, into my basket. baby purple artichokes and beautifully miniature eggplant, a striated squash, shiny unblemished onions and a head of Butter lettuce so green and tender it would have made any bunny weep.

I drove home the long way—winding my way down the forested route, past deer munching on apples along the roadside, waiting for that first glimpse of the Passage…the water quiet and steely under a thick blanket of gray clouds.

Veggies from Bayview Farmers Market

The rains started as soon as I arrived home. My day, rich with life’s little luxuries, was made even more fabulously lovely when I put on my new boots and the dogs and I ran out to play.

Click HERE to see photos from the Mutt Strut event at Bayview Corner taken by WLM photographer David Welton.

(Photos by Les McCarthy)

Les McCarthy is an author, tutor, life coach and in IPPY bronze medalist for her yearly health and nutrition calendars. She is a recent transplant to the island and is busy loving every glorious moment along with tending to the needs of her voracious local deer and slugs on a daily basis.

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CLICK HERE to read more entertaining and informative WLM stories and blogs.

WLM stories and blogs are copyrighted and all rights are reserved. Linking is permitted. To request permission to use or reprint content from this site, email info@whidbeylifemagazine.org.

October 29, 2014
Minding the Sky | When Mercury is in Retrograde

BY JUDITH WALCUTT
Oct. 22, 2014

The Fall is finally falling. The shadow of Summer was still golden in the trees as recently as last week. Remember? Unseasonably warm, with almost sirocco–like winds, it felt like another country around here. I’m glad I got my gutters done before the rains started, though, and, no, I didn’t fall off the roof in the process. (At least not yet, knock wood for another season!)

Mercury went retrograde around the time I finished the task, so I might have been pushing my luck. I tried to keep a low profile, following all the rules of what to do when you can do nothing. Here’s a partial list of the kinds of things that can go wrong while that fleet-footed stranger dashes backwards across our skies:

· Deadlines are unwittingly missed
· Snail mail is lost or misdirected
· Emails disappear into cyberspace or get stuck in the outbox
· Computers crash
· Smart phones act dumb
· Travel is delayed, interrupted, or unreasonably complicated
· Contracts signed go sideways
· Appliances and/or cars fall apart
· Verbal misunderstandings are rampant
· Expectations are shattered
· Writer’s block is likely

In short, if it can go wrong, it will and you can blame it all on Mercury! It sounds grim, doesn’t it?

What can you do at times like these?
You can:
·Clean the closets or organize your office
I know that sounds boring but remember that old adage of mothers? If you don’t know what to do, clean something—you’ll feel better and your confused mind will be transformed with the order you’ve wreaked under the sink!

Or what about:
·Review, revise, edit, and complete
If you can’t think of something new to say or do, take a look at your own slush pile. If you’re like me at all (and I wouldn’t wish this on anyone), you may have started more things than you’ve finished. Now is a good time to pick one from Column A and another from Column B and make those two things your priority until one or both are done. What a relief it will be! The utility drawer in the kitchen will finally close, after removing a summer’s worth of corks; the short story started in 1999 may finally have a finish!

Should the author contemplate her slush pile?

And don’t forget to:
· Research, read up, mentally prep, and then WAIT.
Whatever it is you want to start—like a business, or website, or novel, or remodel project—don’t. Prepare to start it; read all about it; get your supplies in order; get your packets of information from whatever business bureau or county clerk involved, but don’t file the papers yet, don’t install the software yet, don’t launch something big and important to you in your life when Mercury is in retrograde. The outcome will be different than you want or expect. Believe me—been there! Done that! Ouch! Best to nestle in with the investigative work and capture stuff on 3 x 5 cards or your iPad, or even make an outline, but refrain from actually beginning, formally, until you’re past the shadow of Mercury, which usually lasts until a week to ten days after the thing goes direct.

In our case, at this juncture, Mercury went retro on about the 4th of October; it goes direct on the 25th, but we’re not out of the shadow until well into November.

Or should she tackle her Room of Doom?

I know that sounds bad but actually, it gives us all a kind of break—plenty of time to deep clean the corners of our minds and mental cabinets, prioritize what we are trying to do before everything falls to mayhem once again, when pumpkins melt into turkeys and turkeys don Santa caps and we once again play beat the clock to holiday meltdowns. Forget about it! With mercury in retrograde, best to focus on the mess you know, rather than the one to come, wrapped in heaps of shiny paper. The best you can do, at transition moments like this, is just do the best you can under the circumstances, and wait a little, because just like the sky, it will change, whatever is holding you back, down, out, or under will change. And that’s a promise you can take to the polls!

While we are waiting out the mercurial bounces of astrological backdraft, my husband David Ossman and I will be teaching a session at the Whidbey Island Writer’s conference which takes place in Coupeville this weekend, October 24-26. While we will be dealing with “found” poems and discovered texts, as well as the performance aspect of a writer’s repertoire—there are so many different sessions to choose from this year, I don’t know how anyone will decide! From how to write a book proposal, to how to create a villain on paper—it’s all there, with plenty of opportunities to mix with the authors, agents, editors, and experts in the fields which intersect in the 21st Century writer’s life. Full weekend registrations or Saturday only passes are still available. Check here for the full details: http://www.nila.edu/wiwc/

Judith Walcutt is a writer, producer, and director living on Whidbey Island. She recently completed the manuscript for her work of fiction, The Painter’s Girl, and is currently collaborating with her husband David Ossman on a revised edition of his book, The Sullen Art, based on radio interviews with poets in New York circa 1960-61. The book will be published in 2015 by the University of Toledo Press.

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WLM stories and blogs are copyrighted and all rights are reserved. Linking is permitted. To request permission to use or reprint content from this site, email info@whidbeylifemagazine.org.

October 22, 2014
Sue the Screenwriter | You can’t miss the road less traveled; it’s third on the left with the dark winding pathways, occasional sinkholes, and very unexpected twists and turns

BY SUZANNE KELMAN
Oct. 17, 2014

When I first got married, I bought a guinea pig.

I just couldn’t resist his sweet face with his eyes too close together and his rosettes of ginger and white fur. I was already half way home with him in his little brown box before it occurred to me he would need a cage. Enter the handsome, strapping new bridegroom we shall call “Hun.” I told “Hun” about the problem and, wanting to prove his worth, he spent the entire weekend making lots of sawing and banging noises, while Ging (the very deep meaningful name I had given to the furry pom-pom) and I watched. Ta da! Ging had a new home.

A couple of days later as I sat watching Ging chew on a dandelion leaf, it occurred to me that this little fella was probably lonely all on his own. After further thought I made a decision. Off I went again to the pet shop and bought a beautiful soft grey rabbit I called Sophie to keep him company. Pleased with myself, I popped Sophie into the cage to meet her new friend; Sophie went in and Ging came flying out on the back end of her paw. She was having none of him. Guess what Hun spent that weekend doing?

Now two cages later I still hadn’t solved the problem of Ging’s loneliness, so being extra smart this time I decided to buy a nice little boy guinea pig for him to play with. Surely that would solve the problem. It did; they seemed to get on great. Ging purred and shook all over when he met him and I was finally satisfied.

It was about a month later that we found out Ging’s new favorite friend wasn’t a boy after all…you know the end of this story, right? Let’s just say there was a lot of banging and sawing weekends that followed.

I think life can sometimes feel like that—and the creative life can for sure. Often as artists we are responding to the next need, the loudest voice, the one that calls to us hysterically that day. The need to make money, the need to serve the market, the need to further our career. Sometimes even our muse gets a look in. I often wonder if the great artists of the past ever got an inkling of what they would become to the world, of what their legacy would be. Or if they, like me, got up each day and started building the most urgent cage because that was what needed to be done.

Five years ago I wrote my first screenplay and fell in love. Many screenplays followed, and screenwriting became my passion. And even though my work has been optioned three times, and I have lots of awards to show for work well done, the film industry is a slow track. A couple of years into being a full-time screenwriter I realized that in order to keep going I needed to make money another way. It was then that I had a brainwave to write a book to subsidize my screenwriting habit.

The book cover of Suzanne’s book, “The Rejected Writers Book Club”

Three weeks ago I actually got to hold that newborn book: “The Rejected Writers Book Club.” It was all sexy in its brand new glossy cover, and I couldn’t believe how proud I was of it. I had done it, finished something I hoped would help fund my screenwriting career. Off it went into the world with its knapsack on its back to earn its living.

Over the past couple of weeks the most extraordinary thing has started to happen. People writing to me to tell me they really liked it, people telling me they couldn’t put it down, people who even loved it. Then it started getting five-star ratings on Amazon. I was totally bemused. The work I thought was just another guinea pig cage—a means to an end—had started to take off and fly with a life of its own. I know this sounds odd, but I never expected people to actually like it. This isn’t some sort of vague modesty; I just wanted people in China to buy it so I could make a little money to continue my real career which is screenwriting…or is it?

As I find myself pondering this new interesting twist of circumstances—people loving and buying my work—I am thoughtful and excited. And it’s the truth that we really don’t know as we travel the road less traveled where that next bend or twist will lead, or if this guinea-pig cage is actually the one.

Suzanne Kelman is an awarding-winning screenwriter and published author, her new book “The Rejected Writers Book Club” is available on Amazon or locally at Moonraker Books in Langley.

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October 17, 2014
The New Kid on the Block | The Art of Eating

BY LES McCARTHY
Oct. 15, 2014

Each of us has our own gift, that thing we are good at without too much effort: baking the perfect pie, writing the perfect song, painting the perfect picture. You get the idea.

My gift is eating. Yes, I am an eater.

It’s not to say I don’t excel in other things. I make a mean box of Kraft dinner, I can cut-in a beautiful ceiling/wall line, I can tie my shoelaces without them getting undone. But one of the top things I excel at is, well…eating.

Fresh apples are part of nature’s bounty in the Fall in Washington (photo by Sam McCarthy)

I’m not a food critic. I am not a gourmet nor am I a gourmand. I don’t cook like Julia (though wouldn’t that be something?!). I just like to eat. And, more than anything, I like to eat something that I don’t have to make myself.

Usually by the time I realize I should eat something, I want food NOW. So, I don’t take the time to pull out my Dutch oven and whip up something yummy (though on occasion that does happen), I simply throw together something easy, on-hand and quasi-tasty and call it good or, at least, dinner.

That is why when I venture out, I want it to be FABULOUS. I want the trifecta of dining experiences. The establishment must have some sort of notable ambiance—cute, classy or charming—but always clean. The wait staff has to be personable and know their food and want to be in the service industry. And, lastly, the food should be tasty, attractive, and sufficient.

In other words, I don’t want to be served a dot of lemon-basil cream next to one seared scallop with an accompaniment of foam by a snotty waiter while sitting next to the back door. I want to be pampered and I want it to be pleasant and attractive. And, I want to EAT.

Someone once said, “Il cibo si mangia prima con gli occhi.” Or if you don’t know Italian, “Eat first with your eyes.” That is so true, and I am such a visual person, that the plating and presentation and eatery surroundings are almost as important to my experience as is the food. I don’t want to be seated next to the bathroom or the kitchen or any wait station. If the place has a window, put me there. If it’s got a fireplace, I am practically sitting on the hearth. If it’s tiny and noisy, put me smack dab in the middle of it all and let me dine on the noise and the aromas and the atmosphere—along with the food.

I’ve been here now three months and somewhere along this new path I’ve decided to eat my way around the island. I’ve a long tasty road ahead, but here are my top picks, so far.

Plentiful Penn Cove Mussels from the Knead and Feed in Coupeville (photo by Sam McCarthy)

Knead and Feed in Coupeville is a hidden gem. It is lovely! My daughter and I would have missed it had we not stopped in the bakery (for a sniff) and were told about the restaurant around the corner and down the stairs. The place is tiny (seats 34) and reminiscent of an old-time schoolhouse: white walls, heavy wood, thick mouldings and a wall of windows that open to the Passage. We sat, looking out onto that beautiful waterscape, and enjoyed every mouthful of the succulent Penn Cove mussels that arrived piping hot to our table. Again, I’m not a food critic but the mussels were enormous, the serving was huge (47!) and the broth was tasty. Simply divine and I can’t wait to go back.

Café Langley in Langley is soothing and wonderful. I don’t know if it’s the window seating, the music, the well-dressed and pleasant wait staff or the Mediterranean cuisine (or perhaps all of those things), but I’ve been there twice and I feel the urge to go back, again, soon. It’s snug and charming and simply delicious. I dined with my son and daughter and let’s just say all conversation ceased when we started in on the mussels (again, Penn Cove natives) in the garlic and saffron infused wine broth and the pasta with the chicken and caramelized onions. The only sounds emanating from our table were mmm’s and ohh’s. It was quite embarrassing (and so tasty). Chef Joe sure knows his stuff!

Tasty salads from Whidbey Pies Cafe (photo by Sam McCarthy)

Whidbey Pies and Cafe in Greenbank is like eating lunch at Grandma’s. Again, out with my daughter, we shared the huckleberry, glazed pecan and gorgonzola salad (with warm huckleberry vinaigrette) and the turkey panini with cranberry chutney, Havarti and greens. It was like celebrating Thanksgiving in October. The salad and sandwich were equally fabulous. The wait staff was welcoming. The café is darling and farmy-charming. And the food…oh, the food! My only regret is we didn’t save room for PIE.

Turkey panini from Whidbey Pies Cafe (photo by Sam McCarthy)

And then there’s the Glass Alley Cafe in Freeland. This establishment has it all. I love this place. The name is deceiving but it’s a cute, small Italian bistro, not an art studio. It’s simple, it’s cozy, it’s fresh. If I wasn’t going to go there and heartily enjoy their bruschetta, lasagna, fettuccine alfredo, Caesar salad, complimentary breads, tomato bisque, or cheesecakes, I’d go just to sit because there’s a fireplace, walls of windows and a little seating area that is just so nice. But I go for the food because it is (for lack of better words) to die for! And, Andrew, the maitre d’, is exceptional in his position—he gets it. He treats diners like royalty and has made each of our visits more than special.

A dinner plate at The Glass Alley Cafe in Freeland (photo by Les McCarthy)

And that is what dining out should be—special. It should be that trifecta of goodness: ambient, pampering and oh-so-yummy. And that same dining experience should leave not only your stomach full but also your soul.

So, good job, Whidbey! And, for now, I’m off—it’s dinnertime and I’ve got places to go!

Find out more:
Knead and Feed in Coupeville
Cafe Langley
Whidbey Pies and Cafe at Greenbank Farm
The Glass Alley Cafe in Freeland

Cheesecake tops off the meal at The Glass Alley (photo by Les McCarthy)

Les McCarthy is an author, tutor, life coach and in IPPY bronze medalist for her yearly health and nutrition calendars. She is a recent transplant to the island and is busy loving every glorious moment along with tending to the needs of her voracious local deer and slugs on a daily basis.

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CLICK HERE to read more entertaining and informative WLM stories and blogs.

WLM stories and blogs are copyrighted and all rights are reserved. Linking is permitted. To request permission to use or reprint content from this site, email info@whidbeylifemagazine.org.

October 15, 2014