Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley
Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley
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My favorite summer read wasn't a frothy love story or a sassy bit of chick lit. Believe it or not, the book I couldn't put down was a fun, smart and entertaining book about English grammar. It's true. I must confess that I am a bit of a grammar geek. I revel in the intricacies of the English language. I actually enjoyed diagramming sentences in high school English class and fully respect the power of well-placed punctuation and thoughtful word choice. Mary Norris, a veteran copy editor for the...
For some of us, books are as important as almost anything else on earth. What a miracle it is that out of these small, flat, rigid squares of paper unfolds world after world after world, worlds that sing to you, comfort and quiet or excite you. Books help us understand who we are and how we are to behave. They show us what community and friendship mean; they show us how to live and die. -- Anne Lamott, "Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life" Novelist and nonfiction writer Anne L... Full story
Historical fiction is my favorite genre. It both entertains and educates. Reading a well- researched, well-written work of historical fiction is a wonderfully painless way to learn about the culture, politics and history of a par- ticular place and time. While homeschooling my two old- est children (now 17 and 20), we relied heavily on histori- cal fiction to make history come alive and "stick". I've read and enjoyed scores o f ex- cellent young adult a nd adult historical fic- tion but most... Full story
I first read about Where’d You Go, Bernadette?, by Maria Semple, in People magazine – one of my favor- ite sources for book reviews. The cover art caught my eye and the review was glowing, but since I’m not a big fan of mixed media books, I didn’t pursue it. Then just recently I saw it mentioned again in Ladies Home Journal – or was it Oprah? – as one of the funniest books some famous person had read this year. I requested it from the library the next day. Bernadette Fox is a beau- tiful, vivaci...
DAYTON - Tami Miller has a passion for gardening and an indisputable green thumb. Her 3.67 acre proper- ty just outside the city limits of Dayton is an Eden filled with flowers, edible land- scaping, vegetable gardens and contented livestock. Two steers, a flock of lay- ing hens and several Idaho Pasture Pigs free range to- gether in the fenced pasture. Squash vines trail through the perennial beds. Long lines of leaf lettuce define the edge of flower borders near the house. And in the formal...
I confess - I like junk food, especially salty, crunchy, fat-laden potato chips. An open bag is an empty bag. Of course potato chips don't provide anything positive in the way of nutrition but they sure taste great in the moment. Some books are like junk food. They offer a tasty high- calorie reading experience but lack " nutrition" to stimulate the reader's emotional or intellectual growth - and sometimes that's just okay. This summer, I've been on a junk-food book binge because my life circumstances are a bit overwhelming and my stress meter...
Michael Pollan Collection T his time of year most of my free time is devoted to tending the family gardens. The veg- etable garden covers roughly a half acre while a 12 foot wide by 300 feet long band of asparagus defines the edge of our yard. Raspber- ries hide the ugly retaining wall be- hind the house and six "trial" blueberry bushes will yield fruit for snacking soon. It seems my fingernails are never completely free of dirt during the summer months but growing a portion of the food we eat...
Class Motto: "Life begins at the end of your comfort zone" - Unknown author DAYTON - Graduation ceremonies are typically solemn occasions steeped in tradition and pomp, so the audience was at first star- tled, then delighted when the entire Dayton High School class of 2013 started singing "Ain't No Mountain High Enough" during salutatorian Samantha Harting's commencement speech. Harting was describing various shared memories of the class that, for the most part, has been together since...
DAYTON - "It was so humbling, really humbling. Wow!" That's how Debbie Hays described the turnout for the fundraiser dinner and auction held Sunday evening. Friends organized the event to raise money to help Hays and her family travel and stay in Rochester, Minn., where Hays will receive treatment at the Mayo Clinic for a lesion in her brain. "People were lined up out the door and down the sidewalk before 6 p.m.," said Melanie Mings, a friend and fellow Dayton Bulldogs Booster member who...
Magazines and online book clubs and book sellers are already touting their summer reading lists, but I’m not very inspired by reviews that use words like “riveting”, “shattering”, “challenging” or “heart-wrenching”. Summer reading should be fun and colorful like one of those fruity cocktail drinks with a little umbrella on top. Beachy cocktails have silly, often sexy names and deliver hundreds of sweet empty calories to your body. But they sure taste good! My favorite “fun and fruity” boo... Full story
David Finch is an intelligent, hardworking, engineer with a thriving career. He is a self-confessed nerd and the father of two young children. He likes to watch television and hang out in coffee shops. He loves music, reality TV and his wife, Kristen. He even owns a home in the suburbs of Chicago. Finch also has Asperger Syndrome. The Journal of Best Practices: A Memoir of Marriage, Asperger Syndrome, and One Man's Quest to be a Better Husband is an hilarious account of Finch's process and plan to save his marriage by facing his autism... Full story
Oprah Winfrey and I don’t usually agree when it comes to book recommendations. I tried; I really did, to read at least a dozen or more of the 70 books Oprah recommended during the 15 years her Book Club segments aired on The Oprah Winfrey Show, but I just couldn’t force myself to finish them. You see, I read for pleasure, entertainment and escape. Based on her book picks, I can only conclude that Oprah reads to be challenged both intellectually and emotionally. I find the subject matter and...
