• Well Being

    5 Things You Never Knew You Could Do At the Library

    Tuesday, September 1, 2020 Written by

    Last year, a Gallup poll counted visiting the library as the most common cultural activity Americans engage in–by far. To the surprise of many, the opinion poll showed that library visits outpaced the next most popular activity – going to the movies – by nearly 2 to 1. Of course the whole world changed since […]

  • Parenting

    4 Ways to (Maybe) Connect With Teens During the Pandemic

    Friday, April 3, 2020 Written by

    If you had told me a month ago that my son would show even the slightest bit of interest in participating in an all-hands housecleaning effort, I wouldn’t have believed you. But these are not normal times. It was the suggestion of this exact activity that somehow enticed my 17-year-old high school junior out of […]

  • Healthy Eating

    This Is the Spring Produce You’ve Been Waiting For

    Sunday, March 15, 2020 Written by

    The beauty of living in a global marketplace is the fact that we can walk into nearly any grocery store and buy whatever fruit or vegetable we want, regardless of time of year. Looking for zucchini in April? Growers in Mexico are happy to stock our shelves. Missing those juicy Honey Crisp apples picked from […]

  • Pets

    Keeping Up With Fido: A Game Plan for Spoiling Your Dog

    Thursday, February 20, 2020 Written by

    I used to think my dog, Penny, was a pretty lucky pooch. She gets two outings a day (one is usually a visit to the dog park), she spends her days snoozing on the floor in my office, and she dines on protein-packed, grain-free dog food. Then I met Shaker. Shaker is my friend Kyle’s […]

  • Inspiration

    Putting Pen to Paper Makes Communications More Meaningful

    Friday, December 20, 2019 Written by

    One evening, when I was in my early twenties and working at a small weekly newspaper, I met my parents for dinner at a restaurant in Tukwila, Washington; the halfway point between my home in Everett and theirs in Tacoma. That was more than 20 years ago, and while I can’t remember details of the […]

  • Well Being

    Get Started With Zero-Waste Food Shopping

    Tuesday, August 6, 2019 Written by

    When I head to the grocery store, I often look like I’m going rather than coming. Because I try to avoid acquiring as much packaging as possible while shopping, I’m usually toting a number of empty glass containers into the store to fill with dried beans, spices, cereal, pasta, and other items from the bulk […]