From my home turf on Mercer Island, I’m always hunting for outdoor places that are easy to access but remote in look and feel. The Bellevue Botanical Garden offers just that — a feast of nature, well-groomed, meandering trails and intriguing tidbits of local history. The Garden shows off well in any season, but late spring is an ideal time, just as the rhododendrons and azaleas come into full bloom and the trees sprout their new green leaves.
Between dating, grades, piercings and privacy, the life of a teenage girl is no easy cake walk. First-time author Sarah O’Leary Burningham, formerly of Bellevue, explores the complex and sometimes tenuous relationship between teens and parents in her book, “How To Raise Your Parents: A Teen Girl’s Survival Guide.”
Chef Lisa Odegard has a desire to cook. Her knowledge is broad, her personality is colorful, and her abilities are exceptional. With a passion for sharing knowledge, Odegard is a teaching chef, a menu consultant and a caterer with 11 years in the professional food industry plus a culinary degree from the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, N.Y. She is passionate for local, organic and sustainable food, and has been on the planning committee for the Mercer Island Farmer’s Market. Her extra hours are spent working on other community projects and with regional farms. Odegard will offer cooking classes at the Mercer Island Community Center — a chance to learn to cook from someone whose destiny is the seductive world of food and wine.
Continued from last week, Island pioneer Virginia Ogden Elliott’s (1908-1981) Mercer Island Old & New column, first published on March 1, 1961 in the MI Reporter. “Nin” tells of the first grocers and the birth of our commercial center. Oh, what would she think of the scalped “country village” she hoped for? Enjoy.
My 81-year-old mother has a favorite expression as she contemplates growing older. “Age is just a number … and mine is unlisted.” While that may be a fun way to dodge admitting how old you are, I think there is merit in just eliminating the second half of the statement. Age is just a number. A person’s length of life doesn’t invite you to make broad-brushed assumptions.
I have been waiting to rotate my clothing until the weather shows more promise of warmth. The presence of tulips has reassured me that contrary to what I see outside my window, spring has arrived! It’s finally time for me to shed my sweaters — and to take some bold steps with my wardrobe.
I try to keep this wine column timely: Thanksgiving choices in November, rosés for summer. Other than May wine, May is a challenge — until I thought about Mother’s Day. Then a feature about women winemakers seemed especially appropriate!
Dr. Paul Knoll set out to be a physicist. After three years at the University of Washington, he felt a strong tug in another direction.
(Continued from last week.)
A common mistake made by beginning or less-than-experienced gardeners is forgetting to take into consideration the amount of sunlight a plant will receive. Plants that need sun will not flower or prosper in shade, and plants that need shade will wither and scorch in sun. Most plants that are available in nurseries do well in sun, so it is the shaded garden that is the most difficult to master.
This summer, don’t miss Bicycle Saturdays and Sundays just off Mercer Island in Seattle, a time when Lake Washington Boulevard is car-free between Mt. Baker Beach and Seward Park. On June 14 and 29, July 12 and 20, Aug. 9 and 17, and Sept. 13 and 21 (the two May dates have already passed), between 10 a.m. and 6 p.m., grab your bicycle and head over to the Group Health Cooperative and Cascade Bicycle Club-sponsored ride.
With hot weather ahead, residents should think twice before dipping into the dangerously cold waters in this area.
Sometimes, the best getaways are the easiest. And the most overlooked.
