Good Life September 2013 by The Good Life

HEALTHY MEDITERRANEAN DIET Y EVENTS CALENDAR

WENATCHEE VALLEYâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S

NUMBER ONE MAGAZINE

September 2013

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Restoring a

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Contents

Stay cooler in summer, warmer in winter – and get money back

page 18

saving a classic on the fairway

Step 1 Install energyefficient windows or insulation.

Step 2 Get a check for a portion of the cost from the PUD.

Step 3 Keep on saving - month after month, year after year - on your energy bill.

View from the back deck of Dick and Barb Snyder’s home Features

QUILT ART FROM THE HEART

Learn more about Weatherization Incentives on our website or call (509) 661-8008.

www.chelanpud.org

Jan Davies wasn’t interested in quilting — until she tended to her sister

11 silver streak is back on the road

Once rotting out in the orchard, a classic 1966 trailer has been infused with a new life

14 immersion in spanish

Intense two-weeks language school in Costa Rica was just the ticket for learning Spanish — Si, it was

16 raising ruminants

These cloven-hoofed critters can be not only fun to have around, but also beneficial to homeowners in many ways

23 featured homes on the tour

See some of the homes featured on this year’s Home Tour, and the builders and subcontractors who did the work.

ART SKETCHES

n Chainsaw artist Jacob Lucas, page 34 n Guitarist and vocalist Jac Tiechner, page 39 Columns & Departments 28 Pet Pix: Is that a little Wookie? 29 Bonnie Orr: Nectarines are their own sweet delight 30 June Darling: Teach GRIT before the 3 R’s 32 The traveling doctor: Healthy Mediterranean diet 34-39 Arts & Entertainment & a Dan McConnell cartoon 37 The night sky: Venus edges close to Saturn 40 History: Gold diggers helped early trading posts 42 Alex Saliby: A drive for fine red wine September 2013 | The Good Life

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OPENING SHOT

Year 7, Number 9 September 2013 The Good Life is published by NCW Good Life, LLC, dba The Good Life 10 First Street, Suite 108 Wenatchee, WA 98801 PHONE: (509) 888-6527 EMAIL: editor@ncwgoodlife.com sales@ncwgoodlife.com ONLINE: www.ncwgoodlife.com FACEBOOK: facebook.com/pages/ The-Good-Life Editor/Publisher, Mike Cassidy Contributors, Len Pierce, Susan Palmer Gillin, David Covenant, Alan Moen, Vicki Carr, Donna Cassidy, Bonnie Orr, Alex Saliby, Jim Brown, June Darling, Dan McConnell, Susan Lagsdin, Peter Lind and Rod Molzahn Advertising sales, Lianne Taylor and Donna Cassidy Bookkeeping and circulation, Donna Cassidy Proofing, Dianne Cornell Ad design, Rick Conant TO SUBSCRIBE: For $25, ($30 out of state address) you can have 12 issues of The Good Life mailed to you or a friend. Send payment to: The Good Life 10 First Street, Suite 108 Wenatchee, WA 98801 Phone 888-6527 Online: www.ncwgoodlife.com To subscribe/renew by email, send credit card info to: donna@ncwgoodlife.com BUY A COPY of The Good Life at Hastings, Caffé Mela (Wenatchee and East Wenatchee), Walgreens (Wenatchee and East Wenatchee), the Wenatchee Food Pavilion, Mike’s Meats, Martin’s Market Place (Cashmere) and A Book for All Seasons (Leavenworth)

the cross, the lightening storm and glowing fires Len Pierce is a practicing oral and maxillofacial surgeon who has been in Wenatchee for 24 years, but he is also a photographer on the side. “When not at work, I am involved in photography either learning online or shooting photos,” he said. “I always have a camera with

me when not at work and on Saturday night (Aug. 10) when the storm started, I ran outside with my camera on a tripod and an umbrella. “I captured this image (of lightening, the glow of fires towards Malaga and the cross on the hills south of Wenatchee) as a 30 second time exposure at f8 shot in RAW format and post production done with Lightroom controlling exposure and bracketing. This was one

ADVERTISING: For information about advertising in The Good Life, contact advertising at (509) 8886527, or sales@ncwgoodlife.com WRITE FOR THE GOOD LIFE: We welcome articles about people from Chelan and Douglas counties. Send your idea to Mike Cassidy at editor@ncwgoodlife.com

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of many shots over the next 90 minutes taken every 30 seconds. “It was an exciting evening viewing the power of nature; what a show it was!”

On the cover

Ralph and Lisa Congdon stand in front of a 1966 travel trailer he artfully rebuilt. See his story starting on page 11. Photo by Susan Palmer Gillin.

editor’s notes

MIKE CASSIDY

Big re-builds start with a crowbar The previous owners of the

second house my wife and I bought had allowed a small leak behind the shower enclosure to go unrepaired. We first noticed this fact when a piece of heavy furniture along a wall in our living room adjoining the bathroom started sinking into the floor. Yikes! My friend Doug — who was visiting when I showed him this problem — wasted no time fetching a crowbar from his van, rolling back the shag carpet and ripping into the floor. Double yikes! My wife and I were stunned as Doug dug through rotten floorboard and through the sub-flooring. In a few moments he was standing on the ground beneath our rambler of a house, just head and shoulders poking above our living room floor, saying, “I think you can save the joists, but part of that wall between the bathroom and living room has to be replaced.” Wow! Up to that point, I had “known” houses were assembled mostly from cuts of wood nailed together, but it had never really occurred to me that once a house was built, a person could go back in for structural surgery. To me it had seemed that a house was like one of those plastic gizmos you buy, and when they break, can’t be taken apart and fixed to being right again. Since that revelation by Doug, I have ripped out bathrooms, torn out walls and gutted kitchens. (Oh, and I have replaced all of these, too.) A few months ago, a friend mentioned he and his wife were looking at a used motor

home when she said, “It has two single beds in the back. I want a queen.” And so they looked at it no further. Silly them. We have two stories this month about remodeling: Barb and Dick Snyder who with contractor Ed Gardner saved an 83-year-old classic and Ralph Congdon of Wenatchee, who rebuilt a decaying Silver Streak trailer from the ground up. Both are examples of people who weren’t afraid to tackle big projects. Where’s that crowbar? “If I make a mistake as I’m going along, I take out the stitches and fix it, but once I’m finished, I don’t pay attention to the mistakes,” said Jan Davies about her quilts, in what could be a nice philosophy for life. Jan, who describes herself somewhat in jest as a “motorcycle-riding, square-dancing, tattooed, quilt maker,” was responding to my question. I had told her of my home renovation projects, but when I am done, I always “hear” little voices calling out from dark — and sometimes not so dark — corners nagging that, “You didn’t do me perfectly.” But I prefer Jan’s philosophy — fix your mistakes when you can, and once that time is past, enjoy what your hands have crafted… even if it’s not machine perfect. Take a look at some of Jan’s quilts in an upcoming quilt show, and read her story on page 8. And if you see any imperfections, enjoy them. Rip into it. Enjoy The Good Life. — Mike September 2013 | The Good Life

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fun stuff a full LISTING of what to do begins ON PAGE 35

Cartoons, blues, homeless pets and home tour

course dinner paired with local wines. Fundraiser for a new shelter for the lost, homeless and abandoned animals in the Wenatchee Valley. Music by The Lake Boys. Tsillan Cellars, Lake Chelan. Cost: $100. Info: 6629577. 6:30 p.m. Friday, Sept. 13.

Some cartoons make you laugh, some cartoons make you think. Cartoonist Dan McConnell aims for both of these reactions in his drawings. Dan does the monthly Then & Now cartoon for this publication, but has also taken his pen to poke fun at politics — plus he once created a tee-shirt to commemorate the falling cow of Chelan (you remember, don’t you, a cow fell off a cliff along the Chelan-Manson highway to land on top of a car and made national news?). Dan is the featured artist at Two Rivers Gallery this month, with a reception on First Friday. This month’s line-up of fun local events is pretty strong. These are the ones that caught our eye:

Hawk Migration Festival — Visit vendors, see raptor demonstrations and take a field trip to the Chelan Ridge Raptor Migration site. Shuttles will run from Pateros to Chelan Ridge. Memorial Park in Pateros. Cost: free. Info: newaudubon.org. 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 14.

first friday at Two Rivers Art Gallery — Featured art-

ist will be Dan McConnell. Dan provides cartoons for The Good Life magazine, Wenatchee World and has received awards for talent in competitions. Some

BNCW Home Tour & Remodeling Expo, 9/19-22. Chefs on tour

Dan McConnell’s cartoon runs monthly in The Good Life.

of Dan’s political cartoons will be featured at the gallery. Over 40 local and regional artists show their work here. Local wines and complimentary refreshments. 102 N Columbia, Wenatchee. Cost: free. Info: 2riversgallery.com. Friday, Sept. 6, 5 to 8 p.m. Leavenworth Blues Festival — On Friday, doors open at

5 p.m., music at 6 p.m. with The Julie Duke Band, local favorite

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Junkbelly and National act the 44’s. Saturday the doors open at noon with music at 12:30 p.m. with Nolan Garrett, Tuck Foster and the Mossrites, The Tommy Hogan Band, Sammy Eubanks and Randy Oxford Band. Cost: $37.50. Tickets: tickettomato. com. Info: leavenworthblues. com. Friday and Saturday, Sept. 13/14. Pearls and Paws — An evening of live music and a four

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on the 19th, visit four homes and sample food prepared by local chefs as well as wine tasting. Cost: $35. 9/20-22, 13 homes plus a remodeling expo to visit. Cost: $11, $5 children, under 2 free. Info: buildingncw.org. Thursday through Sunday, Sept. 19-22. The Taste of harvest — Downtown street fair on Wenatchee Avenue. Wine and food garden 12-6 p.m., Run Wenatchee River Run, live music, kids activities, movie, harvest farmer’s market, food vendors and more. Saturday, Sept. 21.

coming up Locals Night at Pybus — Thursdays, all shops open until at least 8 p.m. Every tenant has a deal to offer so check out Pybus on Facebook and twitter. Live music starts at 5 p.m. and the Cashmere Valley Bank Community Kitchen plays host to FREE live cooking demonstrations starting at 7 p.m. Starting this September — Pybus Market will be presenting ongoing music every Friday night from 6 p.m. - 8 p.m. on the Pybus Railcar brought to you by COUNTRY Financial. Dog parking — Whether you are walking the loop with your dog and stop for lunch at one of many of the fabulous restaurants at Pybus or shopping the farmers market and other stores, you now have a place to “park your dog.” Wenatchee Valley Humane Society’s Club Pet will have four kennels available. There will be a $5 per dog per hour fee with a two hour maximum. All proceeds benefit the Wenatchee Valley Humane Society.

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This quilt, made by Jan Davies with more than 3,000 pieces of fabric, is displayed in her living room.

Quilt art made from the heart Family sadness opened new worlds of creativity By Susan Lagsdin

an Davies quilts with flowers. Stroll up the front walk of her East Wenatchee home and you’ll see deep curved borders of richly variegated plantings, each a color block of varying texture and height. The back yard shows the same attention. In August heat they thrived, blooming and spritely, backed by deep green lawn. It’s no surprise, then, to walk into her living room and see the same beauty in wall-size quilts suspended from decorative brass rods. There’s a reason those two visually intriguing art forms — flower gardening and quilting — have such a prominent place in her life.

It’s all about family. Her two much older siblings, Jill and Rob, didn’t become close friends of Jan’s until she was in her 20s and resolved to reconnect with them. Those years, especially with her sister, opened her up to new worlds of endeavor. Jill, a college professor living in the Skagit Valley, was a professional mountain climbing guide, a master gardener and a quilter. Jan admired and tried those activities, and more, following the lead of the sibling 11 years her senior. “Some of those things I may have done only once, (like a six-day Mount Baker trek) but I wouldn’t have done them with out her,” Jan said. As her sister lay ill with cancer, on one of her caretaking days Jan mulched all her

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Jan Davies sits on one of her quilts called pineapple star. Below right: John Davies’ ocean-themed shirt matches a small hand-towel sized quilt called Seascape, made by Jan. While it’s difficult to see in a photo, Seascape is a three-dimensional art piece, with various pieces rising out of the quilt. John is wearing a shirt made by Jan from material he picked out.

NCW Quilt Show, 9/13-14. 10

a.m. to 6 p.m. Friday and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday Town Toyota Center. Info: towntoyotacenter.com or ncwquilt.org. gardens, with instructions given by Jill from the lawn chair. That day of gardening was a pleasure that continued to grow, and Jan still has some of the daylilies she mulched growing in her own garden. And as for the quilting? Even though Jan had grown up doing handwork of all sorts — sewing school clothes, crafting ornaments and knotting macramé —

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quilting was her sister’s domain, and she did it expertly. Then in 1998, Jill died and left unfinished a quilt intended for their brother, Rob. Knowing next to nothing about the process, Jan resolved to complete it for him, painstakingly learning as she went along, working with the same colors and patterns that Jill had started. That special Christmas package sent to Rob two years after his sister’s death started an irreversible love of quilting. Now, quilts of all sizes fill Jan’s walls, a hall closet and the homes of friends and loved ones. Beds in her home are draped

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ABOVE: Linda Reisteter’s West of Baltimore was chosen for the Tacoma show. LEFT: Tulips by Geraldine Warner (handcolored silk with applique, quilted with silk thread) was also in the Tacoma show.

The clever and the traditional Jan Davies was one of three

local quilters to have their quilts chosen for adjudication in the Association of Pacific West Quilters (APWQ) show, which draws competitors from 18 states and Canada. In late August APWQ offered a visual feast at the Tacoma Convention Center of over 500 works in nine categories, with 191 of them competing for $25,000 in prizes. The other local quilters were Linda Reisteter and Geraldine Warner. All three belong to the 200 member North Central Washington Quilt Guild, which preserves and encourages quilt making in our region. Linda Reisteter grew up in a home full of sewing, needlework, and knitting, which she continued to do on her own, but she never used or saw a quilt. She finally learned the basics of the craft in a Wenatchee Valley College class in the 1980s, where she tried her hand on two small hand-quilted projects and one more out of class that seemed to end her foray into quilting. September 2013 | The Good Life

But 10 years later, she was prompted by a Piecemaker Calendar pattern to finish a large hand-appliqué project, and for some reason this time around it took. She was hooked. Mostly self taught, Linda has taken classes in recent years and gone on to teach others. Her favorite part of the whole process is the intricate hand work, including crazy quilting and embellishments. Most recently, she’s added beadwork, and many of her smaller quilts feature beads, silk ribbon flowers, hand dyed lace and bits of memorabilia. Geraldine Warner didn’t start quilting until 2004, but immediately started working with silk fabrics, enticed by their soft feel and vibrant colors. She cuts up used clothing (following the re-purposeful origin of quilting) finding it at yard sales and thrift shops. Though her designs are contemporary in style, the technique connects her to the old tradition. She’s especially drawn to unusual fabrics and methods. Last year, she began experiwww.ncwgoodlife.com

menting with painting and dying new silk fabric instead of the remnants. And she’s also found that recycled beverage cans are a nice juxtaposition to the silk — she’s even exploring ways to incorporate the cans’ graphic designs into the quilt pattern. One of the two pieces Geraldine has entered in the August Tacoma Show won first place awards last year at Harvest of Quilts for Machine Quilting and for Contemporary/Arts. In quilting, individual vision distinguishes the work, whether it’s a continuation of tradition or a break from the norm. From a replication of great grandmother’s wedding comforter to a found-object textile art piece, anything goes — and that openness to explore the medium means a growing number of quilters and a healthy diversity of designs. You can see the work of these three artists and dozens more at The NCW Quilt Guild’s 29th annual open show, “Harvest of Quilts” Friday and Saturday, Sept. 13 and 14 at the Town Toyota Center.

Jan Davies: Quilt art from the heart }}} Continued from previous page with them seasonally; small versions hang as potholders at the stove. In a nod to the origins of quilting, Jan is a saver of scraps, a user of remnants. On the back of any of her intricately pieced and patterned quilts is a simple block design — often worthy of facing the viewer — made from the leftover fabric of the front. She’s not just clever with the leftovers. One of the ways she gets hobby support from husband John is that any time she purchases quilt fabric, he gets to choose a shirt’s worth of material of his choice. That’s yielded him a closet full of color and an unmistakable presence at quilt

Draped over a bed, this quilt made from a pattern called Fourth of July was a class project by Jan.

shows they attend together, she with her eyes open for new ideas, he manning his postretirement enterprise, a muchappreciated scissor sharpening booth. In the 13 years she’s been quilting, Jan’s confidence has skyrocketed, and the techniques she tries (then teaches others) are increasingly complicated. One recent quilt, Falling Flowers, has 3,500 separate pieces of material. Bargello, appliqué, strip piecing, “fussy cutting… ” — bring ’em on. Jan can learn them and turn them into walls of beauty. Jan’s up to the challenge of myriad pieces and mathematical

Jan Davies created this Louisiana Bayou quilt that was chosen for the Tacoma Quilt Show.

precision, and she prefers nontraditional patterns, often creating and re-creating as she cuts and sews. But and even if she buys a pattern, she has always felt free to adjust it, adding personal whimsy or dramatic flair. She often uses black for her backing color, “It makes the colors pop,” she says. It’s the boldness of primary colors that make her quilts stand out, but she’s also having fun these days with origami, rosettes and glitter. “I like the things that give me a challenge — things not everyone can or would want to do.” There are three overlapping constants in her life — Jan’s been a Wenatchee resident since

1975, right after graduation from Marysville High School. She’s been married to John Davies, who she met working her first job here, since 1977. And that’s the same year she went to work for the local phone company and continued through its changes, becoming an installer and now on flex time as a field engineer. With more verbal and physical energy than your average Energizer Bunny, Jan keeps her days full and loves to shape her own time, putting aside or taking up projects when the mood strikes her. Flex time engineering work with the phone company keeps her established in her career. Motorcycle trips, camping and square dancing with her husband get her out and moving, and the gardening is a blessing for the house and the neighborhood. But it’s the quilt making that holds her heart.

Know of someone stepping off the beaten path in the search for fun and excitement? E-mail us at editor@ncwgoodlife.com

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Silver Streak Ralph Congdon is a magic metalworker who restored the flash and dash to a vintage travel trailer By Susan Palmer Gillin

The 1966 travel trailer art-

fully rebuilt by Ralph Congdon of Wenatchee is called a Silver Streak. If you follow Ralph around the shop where he works his metal magic, you can’t help but think he’s a silver streak himself. The 30-foot by 45-foot shop in the backyard of his Wenatchee home is filled floor to ceiling with steel, aluminum, pipes, rivets, solder, abrasives, adhesives, solvent and paint. Ralph darts from machine to machine, explaining the wheels, presses, grinders, sanders, cutters and blasters like a proud papa introducing his children. After all, many of the tools are his progeny. If he finds a factorymade machine unsatisfactory, he’ll build his own. His planishing hammer, used for shaping and smoothing sheet metal, was fashioned from an old wood drill press. He made his own muller, used to mix sand, clay and chemicals when casting. The shop tour isn’t complete without an inventory of Ralph’s found objects — old conveyor belt hardware, car doors, the rungs from a motorized ladder used in a Wenatchee flour mill.

From this to this

(in not exactly an instant)

Ralph demonstrates the “peg leg” he built when he broke his ankle three years ago so he could continue to take his dogs on long walks.

Ralph and Lisa Congdon bought the Silver Streak 12 years ago from a farmer who’d left it to decay behind his chicken coop. Ralph rebuilt it bit by bit, literally from the ground up. Trailer photos by Lisa Congdon

If he hasn’t thought of a use for these yet, he will. “This piece came from a shipyard,” he says, pointing to a massive iron pedestal painted Navy gray that sits about waisthigh. “I don’t know what it was used for but I’ll make it into some tool I can use.” When he broke his ankle three years ago, Ralph made his

own articulating “peg leg” so he could continue to take his dogs for long walks. He devised his own tail rotor for the helicopter he’s building from a kit then, after discussing it on a blog, made and sold 100 similar kits to fellow builders and pilots. Ralph is an innovator and inventor who creatively repur-

September 2013 | The Good Life

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poses and improves. But please don’t call him an artist. “I’m not prone to taking old rusted metal parts and making some animal out of it,” he said. “I’m more rectangular.” Ralph likes geometry and balance. If something seems offkilter, he’s got to fix it. His 1946 Chevy pickup is a

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Silver Streak }}} Continued from previous page good example. For years he believed the cab was disproportionately small. So he added six inches to it. How? Well, he cut the cab roof, molded the requisite extra piece, welded it on, and cut and welded perfectly sized doors to match. He rebuilt it over a 1974 chassis — “I call it my 746,” he joked — and installed a new engine, transmission and gauges. The cab has a new coat of paint but he’s still deciding what to do about the bed. He may change that, too, into something like an old delivery truck. Once it’s finished, the vintage truck will look mighty fine pulling the restored trailer, Ralph said. Which brings us back to the Silver Streak. Ralph’s wife, Lisa, thought vacationing with a travel trailer would be fun. They bought the Silver Streak 12 years ago (Lisa is a very patient woman) from a farmer who’d left it to decay behind his chicken coop. Ralph rebuilt it bit by bit, literally from the ground up. “The floor was completely rotted,” Ralph said, with algae, moss and various creepy crawlies growing in it. Ralph and his son Michael “basically lifted the body off the frame” and started over. Ralph molded the many curves of new sheet metal for

Streaking into oblivion

Whatever happened to the Silver Streak? According to NADA Guides, Silver Streak was a recreational vehicle company founded in 1949. The company originally built travel trailers based on a design acquired from aircraft manufacturer Curtiss-Wright. Building aluminum vacation trailers focused on delivering mobile comfort, the products of Silver Streak were able to advertise their towables as a lightweight vehicle. The Silver Streak name expanded into truck camper and motorhome production through the 1960s, allowing the company to operate as a full-fledged recreational vehicle outfitter. After a long history spanning almost two generations, Silver Streak closed after the 1996 model year. For more information, visit: www.tincantourists.com.

Above: Ralph’s refurbished Silver Streak includes his beautiful, hand-crafted white oak cabinetry.

the 19-foot trailer using an English wheel, a tool that allows him to form compound (double curvature) curves from flat sheets of aluminum. Wikipedia defines this method as “expensive, highly skilled and labor intensive.” Which also sums up Ralph.

At right: Ralph constructed a cover/storage compartment in the front of the trailer. This is one of several modernizations and additions that improved upon the original design. Photos by Susan Palmer Gillin

The Silver Streak’s exterior looks nearly the same as it did in 1966. But step inside and you’re back to the future in 2013. Ralph’s improvements include a full-size shower, hand-crafted white oak cabinetry, NOS (new old stock) cabinet latches, a cast iron spice rack repurposed

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from a Superior tractor, a deep stainless steel sink, microwave, and modern instrumentation to monitor propane and water levels. Ralph and Lisa took their Silver Streak on its maiden voyage this spring, touring Eastern Washington and the Idaho Pan-

Lisa took this self-portrait with Ralph, reflected in the mirror-like shine of the Silver Streak, at a Tin Can Tourist vintage trailer rally in Linden, near Bellingham.

handle. It was a long-awaited vacation for Lisa, but she noticed Ralph was a little antsy. “The end is not the thing for him,” Lisa said. “What he loves is the process, figuring it out. Once that’s done it’s not fun for him anymore. He’s ready to move on.” Ralph is a 1965 graduate of Wenatchee High School. He served as an Army medic during the Vietnam War. He holds mechanical engineering and indus-

trial arts education degrees from Washington State University. He is semi-retired but still enjoys carpentry and metalwork around Wenatchee. The name of his business, Future Past Co., reflects his ideal of building sturdy, practical items that will last well into the future while employing fine workmanship of the past. He and Lisa live in the home of his late parents, Dr. Russell and Shirley Congdon. Ralph

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has spent the last seven years remodeling it (did we mention that Lisa is a very patient woman?). The home’s many unique features include a massive kitchen island with bar stools made of oak and repurposed iron, wrought iron railings, lamps made from screw jacks, and wall-to-wall oak bookcases. There’s even a large sprocket pattern from the old Pybus Foundry building in a guest

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bathroom. Visitors can’t help but be impressed. Yet Ralph scoffs at the idea that his work is extraordinary. “There are things that everybody does that you and I consider amazing,” he said. “I’m just blessed with the ability to do this.” Susan Palmer Gillin writes in Wenatchee, where she continues to be amazed by the talent and knowledge of those around her.

Flying to Costa Rica — a bueno way to learn Spanish By David Covenant

s our plane descended through layers of plush clouds toward San Jose International Airport, thick rainforests covered the mountainous terrain below like a thick carpet. Red and cream colored haciendas began to appear on hilltops outside of Costa Rica’s capital city as the ground continued to grow closer. Before long, we watched lines of traffic pouring down the main highways past tightly clustered homes and businesses, all wrapped in painted and rusting metal roofing and siding. The neighborhoods rushed past until the plane contacted the runway with a hard jolt. Beinvenido la Costa Rica! Melissa and I debarked on our first out-of-country adventure to Costa Rica to attend a Spanish immersion course lasting two weeks paid by her employer. During this time, we would be forced to speak as little English as possible through three separate methods. But for us, this is a dual purpose trip. It will also serve as the honeymoon we could not afford when we married 17 years ago. Melissa and I fumbled through customs and immigration using what little Spanish we could with help from a translation app on our smart phones called Jibbigo. The guards peered at us suspiciously over wire rimmed and tinted glasses as we stuttered out the correct answers in a bad mix of Spanish and English. Thankfully, the school had

sent a taxi driver to pick us up. After a rushed ride through chaotic traffic, we reached the home of our host family, provided as part of our immersion. Carmen, the main host, spoke less English than we did Spanish. She came outside her gated and razor wire surrounded home to greet us with a flood of Spanish. Melissa and I could only look at each other with confusion, and then offer apologetically to our host, “No comprende, muy poquito espanol.” Carmen’s eyes widened. She then nodded with a smile — and using hand gestures — she ushered us into our small one bedroom apartment at the back of her garage as we tried to understand the train of jumbled words coming from her. We later pieced it together with Jibbigo. “Get settled, dinner is at 6:30.” Later, Carmen came knocking with a friendly smile and simple phrases as she motioned toward the house, “La cena, La cena.” We looked at the clock. It was almost 6:30. We sat down to our first Costa Rican meal while trying to get to know each other. We relied a great deal on Jibbigo to understand what she was saying and read off our replies to her questions. Carmen first taught us the word for kitchen and then introduced us to different dishes by their Spanish names. She explained that her daughter was a lawyer after she inquired about Melissa’s work. Then she asked about mine. I began by scribbling lightly in the air over my hand in answer. She scrunched her eyebrows un-

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Melissa and David Covenant were photographed by their guide on one of the hanging bridges in the Cloud Forest of Monteverde. They tried to use their newly learned Spanish rather than English on the outing.

til it dawned on her what I was trying to illustrate and she said, “Escribe!” I nodded excitedly and repeated “Si” several times while pointing to some books. The conversation was mostly simple sentences mixed with physical gestures. Longer explanations were passed back and forth on Jibbigo, a free translation app allowing us to use it

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even if there is no Wifi or other Internet services in the area. Melissa graduated from the Nurse Practionership program at Gonzaga University last June. Even before her graduation, she had already been hired on at Columbia Valley Community Health where she did some of her clinical hours. One of the largest challenges

Growing confidence in our Spanish began to strip away our earlier fears... for her and many others in the medical field involves communicating with the Hispanic population. Columbia Valley Community Health offers employees a two-week paid trip to a Spanish immersion school to help them increase their level of Spanish language skills. After some research, we chose a school in Costa Rica called IPPE. We also chose Costa Rica for its high tourist ratings. This would be our first time in a different country. After a breakfast of frutas and coffee, we were off to our first day of class. We spent a short time with introductions to our instructor, La Professora, Leonor, Leo for short, and the rest of the staff. The first thing Leo determined was our skill level with Spanish. Melissa had learned much during her scope of practice, but she didn’t feel nearly competent enough with her Spanish, while I was a beginner. After that, we dived into the IPPE textbooks; the written third of the course. Classes were four hours per day Monday through Friday. The second third of the immersion course is to interact with the public at large in Spanish. The final third involves living in a home with a native Costa Rican family. During the second portion of our first day, Leo led us on a field trip of San Jose. Our first stop was Banko National. We exchanged our U.S. dollars for Costa Rican currency called colon using what little Spanish we knew. We learned from Leo that since Costa Rican economy depends a great deal on tourism,

many of their people speak more English than they let on, but they prefer to speak in Spanish and expect tourists to at least try to do the same. Afterwards we learned how to pay for and use the public transportation system. Once we arrived in central San Jose, Leo directed our attention to many buildings like the Teatro National, the American embassy building and Catedral Metropolitana. She explained each of their cultural and historical significances. Of course, Leo spoke only Spanish, and Melissa had to interpret much of it for me. For the rest of the week, we worked hard and long on the fundamentals of Spanish while exploring the city around us and learning to use and expand our limited skills in everyday affairs such as ordering from restaurants, purchasing things from stores and asking for directions. At the end of our first week we were ready for a break. We

decided to visit Monteverde’s Cloud Forest. We took a public transport bus, which afforded us close quarter opportunities to practice our Spanish with the local people. In Monteverde, we used our new skills in Spanish to visit many restaurants and book tours like zip lining and nature hikes above the canopy on hanging bridges. Many of the tour guides spoke Spanish and English, but we tried to use as little English as possible. Growing confidence in our Spanish began to strip away our earlier fears and concerns. In its wake, a new sense of independence grew. Upon arriving back in San Jose, we took a leap of faith and hired a taxi to get us back to Carmen’s. That might not seem like a big thing, but it is if you don’t speak the language well and you don’t know the area. The trick for us was to find out how close we could get to our home based on places the

driver recognized. We ended up at the supermarkado closest to our home, and we walked from there. At the end of two weeks, we received our certificate of completion with gratitude and relief. With a free day before we had to fly home, we celebrated by going to Poas volcano and visiting the waterfalls. Our ability to use Spanish was now good enough that we could get around any where we needed to go, and accomplish most of the tasks we set out to do between the two of us. Jibbigo was finally getting some well earned sleep. David Covenant has called Wenatchee home since 1994. He met his wife, Melissa, in 1995, a Wenatchee native, and they married in 1996. Currently, David works on his second fantasy novel, and when not writing, enjoys hiking, reading, meteorology, astronomy, philosophy and martial arts. David can be reached at davidmcovenant@gmail.com.

The affiliation between Central Washington Hospital and Wenatchee Valley Medical Center is complete.

We are pleased to officially introduce:

You will start to see our new logo on your billing statements, appointment reminders and signs at our different locations. Even though our name has changed, we haven’t. We’re the same people, with the same service and the same dedication to you.

September 2013 | The Good Life

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Raising ruminants These little critters can be fun to have around and also helpful on the homestead By Alan Moen

Many residents of North Central Wash-

ington are proud to enjoy a rural lifestyle, and raise farm animals, even on a small scale. Chickens, geese, and ducks grace the backyards of many a homestead here, as well as horses. Lately, however, there’s been something of a “ruminant renaissance” of sheep, goats, alpacas and llamas in these parts. As I’ve discovered, these cloven-hoofed critters can be not only fun to have around, but also beneficial to homeowners in many ways. Susan Kidd and Alan Moen share a taste of wine with Barley, a pygmy goat, who also enjoys mowing the

grass in the yard. Alan and Susan own Snowgrass Winery in Entiat, and are hosting a fiber arts festival called Wool Work for Wine on Sunday, Sept. 29. For more information, contact the winery at 784-5101 or visit snowgrass@nwi.net or visit the winery’s website at www.snowgrasswines.com.

Getting your Goat

Goats may be the most maligned of all creatures. Not only is the Devil himself in the Chris- wethers, and female or nanny goats have tian tradition often portrayed as a goat, but relatively low odor. They are very social, herd animals that many cultures also use the word “goat” as love to climb and an epithet of abuse — such as jump and need room “cabron” (for lecherous man) to romp like horses. in Spanish. And it’s a myth The term “scapegoat” comes that they’re omfrom the ancient Hebrew nivorous and will practice of ostracizing a goat even eat tin cans. in the desert on Yom Kippur, Goats are principally or the Day of Atonement. browsers, and will “Goat” is also a term used check out just about for a victim of abuse or ridianything to see if cule, for general annoyance it’s edible (including (“getting your goat”) or an your prize roses and exercise in futility, as in the young fruit trees), slang term “goat rope.” but they mostly Goats really don’t deserve eat grass, hay and such a bad rap. In reality, they leaves. are intelligent, lively, curious My wife Susan creatures that can be a joy to Kidd and I have have. several goats at It’s true that billy goats ofour small farm and ten smell quite bad, especially winery in the Entiat during rutting season, when Valley. Alan posed a Nigerian Dwarf goat for they urinate on themselves. We began with a used on one of his wine labels. But castrated males, called

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couple of pygmy goats, and later added two more Nigerian Dwarf goats we got from a neighbor. We’ve found them to be quite lovable and very useful for controlling brush and weeds (although very dangerous around grapevines!) Chuck Podlich, who owns the Orondo Cider Works in Douglas County, has a small herd of Boer-mix goats he raises for meat. “I got goats when my daughter planted 40 acres of hay,” Chuck said, which gave him a natural source of feed. After coyotes killed a few of them, he also procured three llamas (also ruminants) to serve as guard animals. “The llamas eat the same thing as the goats, so they’re easy to care for,” he said. Chuck currently has 15 nanny goats, several babies and one billy goat named Herschel. “Some billy goats can be obnoxious, but Herschel was raised by a 12 year-old girl (Chuck’s granddaughter), so he’s pretty nice,” he said.

Having a Flock on the Block

There are also a lot of myths about sheep as well. As many sheep owners attest, these ani-

| September 2013

Sheep can run very fast for short distances, and it can be hard to catch them if they go astray. mals are not necessarily dumb; in fact some breeds, like Scottish Cheviots, can be downright crafty about escaping from their pasture by opening gates or eating things they know they shouldn’t. They also have good eyesight, and when shorn actually have greater peripheral vision than humans. Sheep are not particularly passive or cowardly, but since they have no real defense against predators, will flee easily at the sight of one (especially dogs). In such situations, sheep will often “circle the wagons” by forming a tight flock to protect themselves. And they are not slow! Sheep can run very fast for short distances, and it can be hard to catch them if they go astray. “I saw a video of some small sheep mowing an organic vineyard in California, so I thought that might work for us, too,” said Susan Kidd. The small sheep grazed under the vines on the trellises but were too short to harm the grapes. “After we put a photo of our sheep in the vineyard in the Lake Chelan Visitor’s Guide, we were contacted by Julia Daigneau of Fly-

Marlys Brown shows off a baby alpaca.

animals, they were bred for their meat and their soft, lustrous and silky fiber, a favorite of many spinners and knitters. Unlike sheep’s wool, alpaca fiber has no lanolin and is hypo-allergenic, Raising alpacas, however, is no easy task. “You get out of an alpaca what you put into it,” says Archie Brown of Wenatchee. “There’s lots of hands-on care involved.” He and his wife Marlys have 20 alpacas on their two-and-one-half acre property on Number 1 Canyon Road. Eight years ago, they started a business, Shadow Ridge Alpacas, to raise the animals. Alpacas may be tall (up to more than five feet) but they are not particularly big animals; full grown, they weigh from 120 to 160 pounds. Alpaca babies, called cria, weigh only 15 pounds at birth. “They’re herd animals, very intelligent and curious,” Archie said. As ruminants, their diet is mostly grass and hay, but unlike horses, they won’t turn a pasture into talcum powder because they don’t overgraze and their lighter weight is easier on the earth. Since the Browns breed alpacas, they keep only a few males for mating, and separate them from the rest of the herd afterward. Like sheep, their alpacas are sheared once a year in the spring. While the Browns originally raised alpacas for sale (alpacas go anywhere from $500 to several thousand dollars,) lately they have been concentrating on selling Alpaca fiber. Archie’s advice to those who are interested in having alpacas is simple: “Get a couple and see if you like it.” His rule of thumb is to have no more than five alpacas per acre (up to 10 if they are also provided with dry lot feed.) “They’re wonderful animals — you just have to love them,” Archie said.

ing D Babydolls in Omak, who raises Southdown Babydoll sheep, an even smaller breed. She brought some down to us to try them out.” Now some five years later, Susan is very happy with the sheep. “They feed themselves and are very useful in the vineyard, especially in the spring and fall after harvest,” Susan says. “They also give us great wool, which we sell and trade. I like to knit, and I’ve made lots of things from our own sheep’s wool.” All ruminants have complex digestive systems with multiple stomachs and complicated urinary tracts. One of our sheep died from a urinary blockage that proved impossible to treat. Now we augment their feed with a little grain, which reduces the likelihood of calcification of their urine, especially in wethers. We’ve even made sheep part of our winery logo, since we believe in a sustainable business of which our animals are Graze Expectations a part. Owning a few goats, sheep or alpacas is And besides, as Susan says, obviously not for everyone. it’s pretty cool to see them But you don’t have to be a farmer or a grazing in the vineyard. rancher to enjoy the benefits of having these gentle animals grazing in your own pasture or backyard. Amazing Alpacas “To my mind,” once said Ghandi, “the life Long-necked and doe-eyed, of a lamb is no less precious than that of a alpacas might well be some of the cutest creatures on the human being.” After a few years of raising ruminants, I planet. think Ghandi just might have been right. Like llamas, which they resemble, alpacas are also Ideally, these sheep will eat the grass down in the Snowgrass camelids, and originally from For more information about Snowgrass Winery and vineyards, but today, these guys decided to go for the grape leaves. their sheep, visit their the Andes region of South website at www.snowgrasswines.com. Susan usually prepares a special egg-based potion to spray on the America. Too small for pack leaves that sheep don’t care for. September 2013 | The Good Life

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A visual centerpiece of the neighborhood, this old house (at right) was lovingly cared for over 80 years by two families. New additions, colors and a streamlined front entrance respect its period design and its good old bones.

BEFORE

Good old house becomes a

Great new home Story by Susan Lagsdin Photos by Donna Cassidy Guess what the current contractor wisdom usually is with an outdated 83-year-old house

on a premier view lot abutting the first fairway of a golf course? Tear it down. Implode, scrap, level, rebuild from the ground up. For one dicey week last sum-

| The Good Life

The Snyders wanted visual separation between dining and living areas but also kept a welcoming flow on the entire main floor. The new kitchen entrance was to be full width until the decision to retain the glass cabinets. Hardwood flooring replaced the shag carpets.

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| September 2013

BEFORE Glass front cabinetry, tile and quartz surfaces replaced a workable but dated ’70s remodel in the kitchen — the chosen pieces were so nicely coordinated that the designer, Concepts Kitchen and Bath Desgins, moved “Barb’s kitchen” into their February Home Show booth as a sample.

mer the fate of 1730 Country Club Drive in East Wenatchee hung in the balance as Dick and Barb Snyder, seeking feasibility bids before they purchased the house, queried three local contractors. It was Ed Gardner of E.D.Y. Construction who took the slow walk in and around the

BEFORE

September 2013 | The Good Life

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four story, colonial style home and proclaimed it good. Good enough to save. Ed had years of experience with older, more weather-battered homes on the west side. “You don’t see too many houses over here that are in that age range and that good condition.

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Great new home }}} Continued from previous page Remodeling’s my favorite thing to do, so, yeah, I was ready to take it on,” Ed said. He felt confident in a total remodel because of the area’s low humidity, the home’s solid structural bones and the fact that it had been conscientiously maintained by the two previous owners (first the Whitemans, most recently the Kochs). But the Snyders were also advocates of a re-do, already feeling an affection for the place and hoping to capture the views and space that four stories would give them. With the go-ahead, the Snyders and Ed (and an array of local artisans) embarked on their long adventure together. Decisions about the floorplan and materials started immedi-

The long, well-lighted great room with brick fireplace served its owners well for 83 years. This new living room, with the remote control gas fireplace and favorite artwork to top it off, shows the updated colonial look that makes owner Barb Snyder smile.

ately. Deconstruction started in October 2012.

| The Good Life

BEFORE

A year later, perhaps a bit weary of the details but loving the look, Ed is eager to point out the changes that he and his capable crew — Omar, Bennett, Rob and Jeb — brought about for the Snyders. But, “It’s all about the house,” he said modestly. And Barb, who retired from her position as a neurosurgery RN to oversee the project, is in her element. Her eyes moistened when she declared, “This is actually what I saw in my dreams! I had no idea that we could actually get as much out of this house as we did.”

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| September 2013

Here’s what the owners wanted, and here’s what they got: a completely usable four story lifetime home on the golf course with a view, plenty of light and outdoor entertaining space. And here’s how it happened: The yellow vinyl siding was stripped off down to sub-siding, the interior plaster down to the studs. Shag carpet was ripped up to reveal original oak flooring. Plaster walls were removed, windows and doorways enlarged, the original electrical wiring, plumbing and HVAC were all replaced. The basement

The first impression on entering the home from the front porch is soft and white, cool and bright, simultaneously sleek and cozy. was gentrified, the unfinished attic transformed into bedroom space. Repurposing original materials along the way was both sensible and sentimental. Dismantling a four story oil chimney meant plenty of old bricks to create the big front entrance porch. The 1930’s glass front cupboards stayed in the dining room. Stairways were modernized but the stairs, baluster and handrail reused. Antique leaded glass, doors and light fixtures were swapped about, retrofitted where they fit best. And the original brass doorbell was rewired to once again announce visitors with a resounding dingd-0-0-0-ng. There were problems which needed solving. No footings (the actual pedestal that the foundation sits on) existed, and there was a bit of dry rot, surprisingly small and contained. An odd garage was attached to the back, its roof serving as the main floor deck. A hundred tiny details (fireplace surround molding meeting bookshelf trim) vied for attention with major issues like opening up the walkout wall of the basement. There were decisions that make a significant daily difference: a full upstairs laundry will be a great timesaver, and light sources that seemed redundant at installation proved to be just right. Tearing out a hall wall created a gracious foyer; re-routing conduits raised the

More compact than its warm-toned predecessor, the austere, clean-lined gray and white master bath also features a little bling (not seen here) in the form of playful crystal and silver accents.

BEFORE

Remodel is a first for Home Tour

The remodel of Barb and Dick Snyder’s home by E.D.Y. Construction will be the first remodeled home in the annual Home Tour by local builders. The tour this year is Sept. 19 through 22. For more information and a list of homes, see the special Home Tour guide, starting on page 23.

basement ceiling one foot. The only new additions to the old house’s footprint form subtle symmetrical shapes on either side: a detached two-car garage on the south, a sun room/den on September 2013 | The Good Life

the north, with golf cart storage tucked in at basement level. Dick oversaw the big outdoor reshaping like excavation, foundation work, driveway and lawns. He raised and defined the west perimeter with a rock retaining wall, leveling an unusable slope for a good purpose. “I’ve got a new grandson who’s a runner — and I decided he’s going to run on a flat lawn,” Dick explained. Barb, all three agree, was Boss Lady of the entire project, but reigned supreme over the interior details, grateful to Ryan Kelso of Complete Design and invaluable consultants from Artisan Flooring, Bagdons, Concepts Kitchen and Bath Designs, Davis Furniture and many others. www.ncwgoodlife.com

The first impression on entering the home from the front porch is soft and white, cool and bright, simultaneously sleek and cozy. There’s a reason: Barb was inspired by a Traditional Home magazine article featuring a Dutch Colonial in Seattle, in turn inspired by the sunny Cape Cod beach house in the Diane Keaton and Jack Nicholson movie, Something’s Gotta Give. Barb faithfully referenced her source throughout. “Sometimes we’d be at a turning point and I’d get that magazine, hold it up and say ‘Just look at the pictures!!’” The Snyders loved the fourstory house — and its potential

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we seemed to become elastic, stretched in many different ways. But if you can’t live with something you just gather up the team and find a solution.” A serious golf player, she’s foregone her favorite sport for months overseeing the design and rebuild on the remodel, as well as preparing to move and sell their former home. What she is looking forward to, after the flurry of last minute moving and preparing the house for the Home Tour, is a game of golf. And that’s close enough that she can almost touch it.

Great new home

}}} Continued from previous page — from the first walk through with their real estate agent, and have no plans to build, buy or remodel again. Dick agrees with his wife, “This is the house I want to die in,” so they’re realistically planning for a long future. Barb and Dick have dozens of relatives, so extra beds are always welcome. Their sons Allan and Adam and future families may fill the rooms some day. Caretaker quarters can be created if need be, and they’ve already planned ahead with aging-in-place features. The daylight basement (first floor) and the main floor (second floor) are both livable, level walk-in spaces. Upstairs, the second story (third floor) master bedroom as well as its closet and en suite bath are moderately sized, allowing room for a guest bedroom and big bath that serves both it and the bedroom on the (fourth) attic floor. When a builder makes his “punch list” (last minute to-do’s) in a walkabout with owners, sometimes there’s a disconcerting gap in expectations. But in this case, Ed explained, it should

It’s been a long year of house and home details — but Dick and Barb Snyder, sitting here on their new front porch rebuilt from bricks taken from a fourstory chimney, seem to be happily anticipating the results.

be a breeze. He admires Barb’s due diligence. “She has been so great to work for — because she’s picky.” In the good sense — she’s been there at every step, so small

problems never had time to solidify. Barb admits she’s felt obsessed sometimes, “You get really focused and hypercritical of every little thing in the house…

NCW Home Professionals

Extra copies

Hastings, Caffe Mela, Martin’s Market Place, A Book for All Seasons, Wenatchee Food Pavilion, Walgreens & Mike’s Meats

| The Good Life

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| September 2013

Come see these featured homes THURSDAY THROUGH SUNDAY, SEPT. 20 TO 22

Custom Construction & Cabinetry by Shane Covey, LLC 341 Laurie Drive, Wenatchee Home Description: This modern home is compact in design but not in character! With just over 2,200 square feet, this home makes every bit count ~ from its’ multi-directional Shed Roofline to corner lot that offers stunning 180-degree views of Wenatchee, East Wenatchee, Malaga and some of the River. The unique positioning of the house allows for winter sun to stream in, while the hot summer sun will hit the protected east and west walls. As you enter the home, you are greeted by a nice spacious great room that flows into the kitchen and dining area. The south wall is nothing but windows, so the light and views are shared by all of the rooms! Frequent use of laminated exposed beams create a soft, strong warmth to the home. Another warm feeling to the home is a beautiful contemporary fireplace with a suspended hearth. Inside the garage, there is a custom built tiled dog washing sink that is non-slip and just the right height for grooming! For the other “people” of the home, the master suite and bath are spacious and very accommodating with a walk-in shower and closet and a soaking tub! From the master suite, you step out on to the patio that is covered by a custom pergola that also connects to the covered patio overlooking the Valley below! On the other end of the house,

construction over 21 years ago, working for a local custom home and cabinet contractor. From his first step on to a construction site, his natural aptitudes were challenged and built-upon and it wasn’t long before he realized that he couldn’t House Features imagine doing any other kind of work. • Vaulted Ceilings in Common Areas During his first years in construction, he • Interior Exposed Beams apprenticed under very talented and knowl• Multi-Direction Shed-Roof edgeable carpenters, while gaining invaluable • Contemporary Fireplace w/ Suspended Hearth experience in every aspect of custom home • Dog Wash Station in Garage construction, residential remodeling, custom • Master Patio w/ Pergola cabinet/trim manufacturing and installation. • Exterior Exposed Beams Shane has the ability to “see” or visualize a • Covered View Patio client’s ideas or concepts as well as the expe• Stunning Views from Every Room rience and knowledge to make those ideas a • Quality Craftsmanship Visible in Every Detail reality. • Contemporary Custom Cabinetry, Appliances His commitment to quality, integrity, reliabil& Fixtures ity and ever-increasing his own knowledge of building practices are just a few of the reasons About the Builder that he excels as a craftsman AND contractor. Shane Covey began his career in residential

just off of the family area, is another bedroom, bathroom and an office! Overall, this home has the unique and comfortable feel that will win your heart the moment you walk in!.

September 2013 | The Good Life

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Home Tour & Remodeling Expo Sept. 20 - 22

Proud to be a part of this fablous remodel!

PO Box 218 • 11724 Riverbend Drive Leavenworth, WA. 98826 509.548.5829 • 509.548.6372 fax Find us on Facebook

Artisan Flooring LLC

House Features • Beautiful Views Looking to the West • Located on the Beautiful Wenatchee Golf & Country Club • Totally Remodeled 1930 Home • Excellent use of Existing Floor Plan • Newly Added Sun Room and Garage • Original Colonial Style • Two Laundry Rooms • Outdoor Kitchen

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| September 2013

Specializing in Hardwood Floors

Jason & Jenny Black Lic # ARTISFL937B6

g orin

509•782•0777

LLC

• Exotic and Domestic Hardwoods • Custom Inlays • New Home Construction • Dust Containment System • Remodels / Refinishing Flo

• Original Oak Floors on Main & 2nd Floor • Golf Cart Garage • Stamped Concrete Patio • Front Entry w/Original Brick • Main Floor Deck w/Pergola • Two Fireplaces • Outdoor Sauna • Central Vac System

Home Description: This Colonial style home built in 1930 was a complete rebuild. “Everything” was removed from the home except for the studs, exterior sub siding and oak floors. Doorways were widened to add an open feeling. Many of the materials from the existing structure were repurposed into the remodel. Doors, light fixtures and cabinets, just to name a few. This home features a large top floor with high ceilings, carpeted bedroom, exercise area and storage. The second floor features a deluxe master suite with oak floors, including the master bath with soaking tub, dual head shower and heated tile floors. Guest bedroom and sitting area with oak floors and a full guest bath and laundry room with tile & granite countertops. Main floor features a fireplace and the original oak floors throughout

the entry, living room, dining room and kitchen. New oak floors to match existing in the sun room addition and pantry. Quartz kitchen countertops with a 3/4 bath off the hallway with all tile. The lower floor features a family room with fireplace, custom bar area, office/bedroom, 3/4 bathroom and laundry room, all with tile floors.

rtis

E.D.Y. Construction Corp. 1730 Country Club Drive, East Wenatchee

www.ArtisanFlooringLLC.com

Home Tour & Remodeling Expo Sept. 20 - 22 of calling the Wenatchee Valley home! Rob Eldred, Chad Hinkle and Joe Sullivan have put together a strong, experienced and dependable local team to take care of every detail in your new custom home. At Lexar Homes we feel that our customers deserve a home that works for them in every way, including size, style, amenities, and maintenance while being cost-effective. Just as important, your home should provide a safe, healthy, comfortable and sustainable environment for your family. We are passionate about having our home owners involved in designing & building their custom dream home, giving them every opportunity to move into their new Lexar home with thousands of dollars in equity. We’ve also put together packages for those of you with busy schedules, who want to leave the details to our knowledgeable Lexar team. Lexar Homes is changing the industry, allowing our home owners to build their custom dream home, on time and under budget. Visit us on the web at www.lexarhomes.com or stop by and see Shawn Larson at 1848 N Wenatchee Ave. A Lexar Home isn’t just a decision to Choose Right, it’s a choice to Live Right.

Lexar Homes 154 Sun Valley Dr., Wenatchee Home Description: Perfect for entertaining or just relaxing at home! This stunning three-bedroom home offers a high vaulted great-room, which flows gracefully through the oversized chef’s kitchen and formal dining room. Lots of large windows and a large vaulted outdoor patio give every opportunity to take advantage of the stunning mountain views. The huge master suite is highlighted with an ideally situated bathroom including a walk in shower and soaking tub, and a separate his and hers closet (guess which one is hers). The upfront media/bonus room adds more versatility for your own home business, Movie Theater, or entertainment area. An attached 3-car garage provides plenty of space for a shop, storage or lots of toys! All of these features are wrapped within a stunning exterior and flawless architectural design.

House Features • Oversized Chefs Kitchen • Covered Outdoor Living Space/Patio • Multi-use Media/Bonus Room • Large Master Suite • Walk-in Shower & Soaker Tub in Master • Open Concept w/ Formal Dining • Granite Countertops • Full Tile Backsplash • Vaulted Ceilings • 3-Car Garage • Central Vac System • Lots of Windows • Views Through Every Window

About the Builder

Lexar Homes is proud to be in our 5th year

About the Builder: Dave Hanson

Hanson Homes, LLC 93 Sun Valley Drive, Wenatchee Home Description: If you’re looking for a country feel, yet want to be close to town, then Sun Valley Estates is for you with its beautiful mountain views from every window. This home offers over 2,000 square feet of living space and a 3-car garage. The main focus is the easy flowing, open floor plan. You will immediately be impressed with the finishing touches, from hardwood flooring, slab granite, stainless steel appliances, extensive tile in baths and custom cabinets and millwork throughout. There is a nice separation of bedrooms for privacy. The master suite is complete with walk-in closet, double sink vanity, sepa-

rate shower and soaking tub. Every detail was designed with the homeowner in mind. Each of our homes includes a Builders 2-10 home warranty. House Features • Open Floor Plan • Cathedral Ceiling • Custom Cabinets & Millwork • Slab Granite • Tile Baths • Hardwood Flooring • Gas Fireplace w/ Marble Surround • Large Laundry Room • Den w/ French Doors • 3-Car Garage • Includes a 2-10 Warranty • Mountain Views

September 2013 | The Good Life

Hanson Homes was built on hard work and a dream to provide quality housing at an affordable price. Our company has built over 100 homes in the Wenatchee Valley. Because of our extensive experience, we have been able to streamline the building process, therefore reducing building costs and in turn, offering many upgrades which are now standard in our homes. As your builder, we want to work with you and for you to make your home everything you dreamed it should be. Our relationship with you begins the first time you walk through our door. You can depend on us to oversee every phase of construction personally. All our house plans are designed by us with the purchaser in mind. We take great pride in the quality and attention to detail in each home we build. Our goal is to exceed your expectations in a new home.

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Home Tour & Remodeling Expo Sept. 20 - 22 H & H Construction NW, LLC 2600 Tuscany Lane, Malaga Home Description: This home is a craftsmans delight with stunning Wenatchee Valley views, built specifically to the home owners desires. A solid home meant to be lived in and loved by all who enter. Entering into the home, you will find a vaulted foyer that sets off a beautifully framed-in stained glass window that is in memory of her (Home owner’s) father. Country kitchen that is open to the great room and dining area. Off of the great room is access to a large deck that spans the entire back of the house and offers gorgeous views. On the upper level, you will find a rec room, a media room, loft, two bedrooms and a bathroom. Overall, a great place to hang out and have some fun. Plus, there is an unfinished storage area. Thank you Windsor family for allowing us to share your beautiful home that we have built together and thank you to all of you that visit us on the Tour this year! Enjoy!

House Features • Painted Cabinets • Full Back of House Deck • Granite Countertops • Claw Foot Tub • Hardwood Floors Throughout • Stone Fireplace • Beautiful Painted Millwork • Large Master Bath w/ Tile • Media Room • Stainless Steel Appliances • Rec Room • Large Pantry in Kitchen • Vaulted Foyer • Covered Porch

About the Builder: Travis Hofstetter

Travis Hofstetter started out 16 years ago as a local framer, building homes for the good old local contractors, as well as framing large developments throughout the state. Through those years, Travis built up his business to building spec and custom homes through hard work, high standards, and his on the job knowledge of understanding how to build a solid home from the plans to the finished product. H&H prides themselves for the quality of home their team builds at a fair price that their clients can afford. An H&H Construction home is quality craftsmanship with a designer’s touch.

Real Homes 107 Sunny Meadows Loop, Wenatchee Home Description: Introducing the Rose, think open floor plan. The enormous great room with vaulted ceilings will make you say WOW a place for great family time. But we all need to get away and have our own space and for that reason we separated the Master Suite and Bedrooms and placed them on opposite ends of the house! If you still need a little more privacy you’ll find a delightful covered patio with ceiling fan right off of the Master Suite! A perfect place to pass the time with a good book or pinterest ideas for your new home! This house is a must see and we can’t wait to give you a personal tour! House Features: • Granite Counter tops throughout • French doors leading to Large Covered Porch • Huge Kitchen Pantry • Recessed Lighting • Walk in Closets in all rooms • Fir Front Door with Beautiful Side Lights • 1,872 Sq Ft, Garage 574 • 3 Bed/2 Bath 26 |

About the Builder: Jon Port

something we are very proud of. Jon has played a key role in developing property into neighborhoods for our community. Real Homes is an approved VA, FHA and USDA Rural Housing Builder and the only approved Energy Star Home builder in our area. Jon is also the Owner and Designated Broker for RE/MAX Landmark and a proud member of the NCHBA.

Jon Port Owner and operator of Real Homes, is NCW’s premier builder of affordable custom homes. A local boy born and raised in Wenatchee, Jon’s been making families dream homes a reality since 1982. He specializes in custom homes people can afford. “Making Real Estate Real” is our motto and The Good Life www.ncwgoodlife.com | September 2013

Home Tour & Remodeling Expo Sept. 20 - 22

Where to find the homes on the tour REMODELING EXPO LOCATED AT SANGSTER MOTORS 912 N. Miller St., Wenatchee

CUSTOM CONSTRUCTION & CABINETRY BY SHANE COVEY 341 Laurie Dr., Wenatchee From Easy Street, take a right on School Street, then right on Lombard Lane followed by a right on Alison and then a left on Diana Way. NOTE: Please be sure to follow the directional signs.

BOLLINGER CONSTRUCTION, LLC 1812 McKittrick St., Wenatchee North on Western Ave. Take a left on McKittrick, house is the first one on the right. WESSMAN CONSTRUCTION 5167 Mission Creek Rd., Cashmere From Hwy 2, take the first Cotlets exit into Cashmere. Stay Straight on Cotlets through town and take a left on Division/Aplets Way. Division turns into Pioneer. From Pioneer, take the first left on Mission Creek. House is about 3/4 up on Mission Creek on the left behind “Jerry’s Repair”. HANSON HOMES, LLC 93 Sun Valley Dr., Wenatchee From Hwy 2/97 to Easy St. Head North to Sun Valley Drive and turn left. Home is on the left. LEXAR HOMES 154 Sun Valley Dr., Wenatchee From Hwy 2/97 to Easy St. Head North to Sun Valley Drive and turn left. Home is on the right.

REAL HOMES 107 Sunny Meadows Loop, Wenatchee Head North on Wenatchee Ave. Turns into HWY 97/2, take a right onto School St. Cross over Easy St. Left on Knowles Rd. Follow for 8/10 of a mile, Sunny Slope Meadows is on your right. LENSSEN HOMES 13665A US 2., East Wenatchee Head toward Orondo on Hwy 97 for about 9 miles. Estes Fruit Stand is on the right, Tour home is on the left. NOTE: Watch for the Tour direction signs and slow down to make the turn. PINNACLE CUSTOM BUILDERS 2542 NW Columbia Ave., Unit #25 East Wenatchee Head South on Sunset Hwy and turn right on 23rd Street NW. Take a left on NW Cascade Ave. Take a right on Wilshire St. NW and a left on Columbia.

September 2013 | The Good Life

E.D.Y. CONSTRUCTION CORP. 1730 Country Club Dr., East Wenatchee North on Sunset Hwy and take a right at the 19th Street stop light. Go through the 4-way stop and then take a right on Country Club Drive. SADLER CONSTRUCTION, INC. 3115 Airway St., East Wenatchee East on Grant Rd., Left on S. Stark Ave., Left on Airway Street. DAVE SIMMONS CONSTRUCTION, LLC 1150 S. Quincy Ave, East Wenatchee Travel South on Highway 28 toward Rock Island, take a Left on Quincy Ave., cross Rock Island Road into Highland Estates. STIMAC CONSTRUCTION, INC. 2119-8 Squilchuck Rd., Wenatchee South on Mission St. past Lincoln Park, Mission turns into Squilchuck Rd. Go past Squilchuck Market. Drive about .5 mile and the house is on the left. H & H CONSTRUCTION NW, LLC 2600 Tuscany Lane, Malaga Go South on Malaga/Alcoa Hwy. Take a right on West Malaga Road, left on Golf Course Road and a left on Tuscany Lane.

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PET PIX

Submit pet & owner pictures to: editor@ncwgoodlife.com

hen I first met Rusty he was our neighbor’s new puppy. The neighbors were rarely home and a few months later when they were getting ready to move away I asked if we could keep him, they agreed and he became our family’s dog. Rusty is a boxer mix and he is approximately 11 years old now. Rusty is a shop dog and a big part of our family. He enjoys being at work and meeting all the new people that come to shop at Simply Unique. — Heidi Huber

This is Wookie, our Pomeranian that we

rescued about a year ago. He came to us as a scared, fear-biter in desperate need of a good grooming and a safe place to be. He slowly came to learn that life held lots of joy and fun, and now he has a constant smile on his face. Now he’s the happiest dog on the planet. Wookie has definitely discovered The Good Life! — Laura Herrera

| The Good Life

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| September 2013

column GARDEN OF DELIGHTS

bonnie orr

Sweet, luscious and misunderstood “I

love nectarines,” I told the editor. “Ah yes, the delicious plumpeach hybrid,” he acknowledged. The 1971 Joy of Cooking perpetuates this misunderstanding saying, “This happy half-breed of plum and peach…” It is easy to see why this fruit with a size and texture of a peach and a smooth skin like a plum would be thought to be a hybrid. Thousands of years ago, it was a naturally occurring mutation on a Chinese peach tree. To increase the size and to enhance the color of this luscious, fragrant fruit, nectarines have been bred in the U.S. I think the large red gold nectarines we grow in NCW beat out any other nectarine from anywhere else — and for heaven’s sake, it is much more noble to patiently wait until they appear at fruit stands at the end of August than to sample, wistfully, inferior ones from California. Overall, this fruit is best fresh. Combining it with cream or ice cream is merely gilding the lily. It is difficult to peel, and the peels become tough during the canning processing. Frozen ones are ok, if they are enveloped in a terrific pie crust and served with vanilla ice cream! But thawed fruit has lost its toothiness and its aroma. Cooking works so-so; though, I made a lovely nectarine and raspberry jam last year to give as Christmas presents. Because the fruit is at its best fresh, there are very few recipes for it. If you have a glut of nectarines, you can substitute them for any recipe that calls for peaches. Here are some of my favorite ways to eat nectarines after I

paniment for meat or fish. The relish can be served for lunch wrapped in heated corn or flour tortillas. If the ingredients are finely chopped, the salsa’s texture will be smoother Serves 4, 20 minutes preparation Rainbow Salsa: Made with sweet corn, nectarines, mangos, blueberries, onions and herbs.

sorbet is a have had my fill cooling treat of sun-warmed, both between hand-held fruit. courses and at I like a blend the end of the of nectarines, meal. Any seamangos and sonal fruit can toasted hazelbe used in this nuts served recipe. over a bed of lettuce and arugula and dressed with a vinaigrette made with lime Serves 2, 1 hour juice rather Nectarine sorbet: good on a hot day. freezing time than vinegar. 1 cup nectarines, pureed Without the greens, this is a pic1/2 cup sugar nicking treat as a complement to 1 tablespoon of vodka a cold cooked chicken breast. Because of the stiffer skin, I Mix and put in a shallow pan to think nectarines barbecue more freeze. The vodka is tasteless and satisfactorily than peaches. Cut prevents the puree from freezing into them in half, place them on the a solid block. If you do not use the hot grill cut side down for two vodka, take the mix from the freezer minutes. Then turn them over every 20 minutes and whip it with a and cook for another two minwhisk or in the food processor for 30 utes. Serve them with a bit of seconds, and then continue to freeze. crystallized chopped ginger and Do this three times. a dash of cinnamon. Or as a savory, add to the stone cavity of the grilled fruit a teaspoon of balsamic vinegar, a This sweet and hot corn relish tablespoon of goat cheese and a calls for the sweet corn available this dash of black pepper. month. This is a side dish or an accomDuring these warm days,

Nectarine Sorbet

Rainbow Salsa

September 2013 | The Good Life

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Dressing 1 Tablespoon wine

vinegar 4 tablespoons lemon juice 2 tablespoons olive oil Salt and white pepper to taste A dash of sugar

Relish ingredients 2 cups fresh super-sweet corn cut from cob 2 nectarines finely chopped 2 mangos seeded and chopped 1/2 cup fresh blueberries 4 tablespoons finely chopped green onion 4 tablespoons finely chopped basil 1 jalapeno chili, seeded and finely chopped (optional) Mix the dressing ingredients first to allow the flavors to meld before putting the sauce on the salsa ingredients. Microwave the cut corn for 2 minutes. Arrange the salsa ingredients in a large bowl. If you like spicy hot, add a second chopped jalapeno. Pour the dressing on the salsa and stir gently. DO NOT put this salsa into the refrigerator. Cold destroys all the fruit aromas and sweetness. Serve at room temperature. Bonnie Orr — the dirt diva — cooks and gardens in East Wenatchee.

column moving up to the good life

june darling

What we really need to teach kids is GRIT September is back to school.

Learning is primary to surviving and thriving. Unfortunately the subjects our students will be taught is probably not what will help them ultimately succeed, according to performance psychologists like Carol Dweck, educational journalist Paul Tough and Nobel prize winning economist James Heckman. What these folks are telling us, and I totally agree, is that the most important thing for our children (and us) to learn in order to succeed is something close to what we might call character, mental toughness, or grit. Being able to be mentally tough and resilient is largely

about being able to manage “The Pink Princess Plate Syndrome.” In July I wrote about The Pink Princess Plate Syndrome. It is a term I made up based on watching my five-year-old granddaughter get very upset over not getting her noodles served to her on her pink princess plate. In the U.S. we have become a Pink Princess Plate culture of people expecting everything to be perfect and to go our way. We are thrown off course by little bumps. We have become psychological wimps. The answer to turning this around is to learn GRIT response. GRIT is an acronym for the four major tools which contrib-

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In the U.S. we have become a Pink Princess Plate culture of people expecting everything to be perfect and to go our way. We are thrown off course by little bumps. ute to helping us stay relaxed, alert, creative, hopeful, happy, loving, healthy, strong, determined and able to leap small and large obstacles. The “G” in GRIT stands for

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| September 2013

growth mindset. The term comes from the research of Dweck. The idea is that growth requires challenge. We cannot improve unless we encounter and effectively manage a certain amount of obstacles and stressors. We must grasp the benefit of challenge and embrace it. My daughter-in-law has worked with herself and my granddaughter at length on recognizing “The Pink Plate Syndrome” and seizing the moment as an opportunity for growth. They talk about their challenges, how they are overcome and how their brains are growing stronger. If you are working with not

In order to experience transcendence, we must regularly unhook from cell phones, television and video games. becoming emotionally overwhelmed, start by noticing when you are getting angry, anxious, or depressed. See if the world is ending. Chances are it is not, but rather the car battery is dead, or the garbage cans were knocked over, or they forgot their running shoes. Then say, “Be gritty.” One caution here. Sometimes you might think of the word “gritty” and respond by clenching or grinding your teeth. Instead you want to loosen the tension around your shoulders, neck, face, mouth, and tongue. Take a few deep, slow, relaxed breaths, and smile, particularly if you are feeling angry. You want to associate a state of relaxed alertness with being gritty. The “R” in GRIT stands for relationships. When we know that we have people in our lives who care about us and whom we care about, we can become exceedingly tough. In fact just having people stand beside us can be enough to change our perception of hardship, according to researchers at the University of Virginia. Billionaire Warren Buffet said he frequently looked at pictures of his children when he encountered difficult times. My five-year-old granddaughter who was trying desperately to recover from a Pink Princess Plate episode, once asked me (through her sobs) to please hold her hand so that she could breathe and calm down. When we held hands, we both felt better, and ready to tackle the problem together. The “I” in G.R.I.T. stands for integrity. When we have integrity we are not pulled off course by a criticism, a wrinkle, a rejection, and others’ values. We are true to our principles and

purpose. Living a life of purpose often includes service to others. The easiest way to explain purpose to kids is to talk to them about the big picture, about the big world, about considering others, about making a difference. The first step of teaching kids about purpose is to encourage them to give their time for the “greater good” of society. They can help by volunteering their time, donating toys, skills, or money (if applicable) to what they consider a good cause, and use the good feeling as their reward. I see parents and children working together in soup kitchens, homeless shelters, even taking mission-oriented vacations to foreign countries. It is much easier to let go of a bruised ego when we remember the larger world, get up and out the door to serve others. The “T” in GRIT stands for transcendence, tending to what might be called our spiritual needs. When we are spiritually grounded, we are exceedingly tough. In order to experience transcendence, we must regularly unhook from cell phones, television and video games. We need time and opportunity to look, to meditate, to connect, to be in awe, to be grateful, to experience “the Ah.” Even being playful, clowning around, laughing at each others’ dumb jokes can be a time of experiencing a form of transcendence. My daughter-in-law makes a special effort to get the children out into nature. This summer included a tech-free week with the extended family in Yellowstone National Park. Coloring books of all the animals helps the children appreciate what September 2013 | The Good Life

they are experiencing. If we are going to succeed, it’s not only the 3 R’s we need to be concerned about. This September what we really need to learn is how to build the GRIT response. We can create cultures of mental toughness at work, at school, and in our families. We can be good models of grittiness ourselves. Remember the acronym GRIT to begin developing the processes and actions that lead to resilience: Be growth minded, build

relationships, maintain integrity and take regular transcendent breaks. And about those 3 R’s of reading, ‘riting, and ‘rithmetic; not to worry, gritty kids can learn most anything. June Darling, Ph.D. can be contacted at drjunedarling1@gmail.com; website: www.summitgroupresources. com. Her book - 7 Giant Steps To The Good Life can be bought or read for free at: http://www.bookemon.com/ book-profile/giant-steps-to-the-goodlife/285095

22,000

to be Awarded

Top 3 finishers in each division choose which Club, Sport or Activity receives the money!

PHOTOS COURTESY OF JP PORTRAIT STUDIOS AND DALE BLAIR

Saturday Sept. 28 Apple Bowl Wenatchee

~ DIVISIONS ~

Boys & Girls, 4th to 12 grade Adult

s PIronluDivisions

To register and for more information: www.live4adventure.org www.ncwgoodlife.com

column THE TRAVELing DOCTOR

jim brown, m.d.

Why Mediterranean diet is so healthy On our recent Road Scholar

trip to Croatia’s coast on the Adriatic Sea, which flows into the Mediterranean, we were fortunate to have a lecture by an expert in olive oil from Croatia as well as a lecture on the Mediterranean diet. Olive oil is an integral part of the Mediterranean diet and contributes almost 20 percent of the total energy intake in Mediterranean menus. One immediate effect for all of us was that the olive oil on every table replaced butter and was also used generously on nearly everything we ate. The Croatian olive oil we used was always extra virgin oil. Olive trees flourish in hot weather and grow best in the limestone soil for which Croatia is known. Fresh pressed olive oil can be eaten immediately and retains the natural flavors, vitamins, minerals, antioxidants and other healthy products of the ripe olive fruit. Olive oil contains about 70 percent monounsaturated fats, which help to reduce “bad cholesterol” (LDL) and preserve “good” cholesterol (HDL). Olive oil helps improve the appearance and texture of the skin. Much soap sold in Croatia is olive oil based. When using olive oil on salads or vegetables it is advised to put the olive oil on first then add lemon or vinegar and spices. Adding olive oil first is said to provide a protective layer, which helps the vegetables stay fresh and crisp. Olive oil put on meat helps it preserve its natural juices. Olive oil is excellent spread on meat for barbecue but should only be put on lightly and the meat cooked at low heat.

... this diet reduces the risk of heart disease, diabetes, obesity, cancer, Parkinson’s disease and Alzheimer’s disease. Meat marinated in olive oil will be much tastier. Olive oil has many fine properties and in the Mediterranean it has been considered sacred and over the years has been a symbol of peace, wisdom, glory, fertility, power and purity. Recently the Mediterranean diet has been widely written about as the healthiest diet in the world for heart health and other health conditions. Actually for thousands of years this diet has been considered one of the healthiest diets on earth. For centuries Mediterranean area residents have been enjoying this delicious diet along with a life style of leisurely eating and physical exercise. It is simply a way of life for them rather than a diet plan and incidentally leads to a longer life due to the decrease of chronic diseases. Chronic disabilities account for a larger percentage of health issues in the U.S. when compared with our economic peers around the world. There are many causes for these chronic disabilities but bad food choices, smoking, obesity and physical inactivity are among the primary ones. The Mediterranean diet that forms the basis for this healthy eating includes an emphasis on plant based foods, vegetables,

| The Good Life

fruits, nuts, whole grains, plus fish, yogurt, some cheese and eggs. All these foods provide micronutrients, antioxidants, vitamins, and minerals, which work together to protect against chronic diseases. The emphasis is on eating heart healthy foods and avoiding unhealthy foods, particularly those found in high-fat dairy products, processed meats, butter, margarine and refined grains, which contain trans fats. Research has shown that this diet reduces the risk of heart disease, diabetes, obesity, cancer, Parkinson’s disease and Alzheimer’s disease. It also reduces the risk of what is known as the “metabolic syndrome,” which is a cluster of risk factors including increased blood pressure, increased blood sugar, unhealthy cholesterol levels and abdominal fat, all of which make the risk of heart disease, diabetes and stroke more likely. Butter and trans-fat loaded margarine should be replaced with extra virgin olive oil. Herbs and spices should be used for flavoring foods rather than salt. According to a May article in the Journal of the American Medical Association, sodium (salt) levels in processed and fast foods has not decreased at all since 2005 and remains dangerously high. Excessive sodium prematurely kills as many as 150,000 people in the U.S. annually particularly due to high blood pressure that increases the risk of heart attack and strokes. Red meat should be limited to no more than a few times a month. Processed meats need to be avoided altogether. Fish or poultry are eaten two to three times a week, but never fried.

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| September 2013

To get the full benefit of its antioxidants, olive oil needs to be extra virgin olive oil and should be used plentifully. Olive oil is made up of monounsaturated fat containing many chemicals and compounds that offer health benefits. Drinking red wine in moderation is recommended but not mandatory. I am glad for this recommended and am sure Alex Saliby, The Good Life wine aficionado, would “heartily” approve of this as well. This “diet” is actually a healthy life style, which includes the need to be physically active. As I have said in prior articles, walking is an excellent low impact form of exercise that nearly everyone can enjoy without special equipment or training. Try walking at least 30 minutes at a brisk pace four to five times a week. Another important aspect of the Mediterranean diet is the socialization that accompanies their leisurely eating with family or friends. Eating meals as a family is also beneficial for your children. Families that eat together regularly tend to be more content, eat more nutritious meals and the parents have a positive influence on their children. Those who learn to eat a wide variety of healthy foods while they are young are more likely to enjoy and stick with a healthier diet. One study has shown that young adults who switched to a Mediterranean diet had an increase in their energy levels, alertness and contentment. In my travels, I have always been impressed by how long

...we need to realize that “slow” food is much healthier and will lead to a longer and more contented life. Europeans take to enjoy their meals as they socialize around the table. When one reserves a table in most European restaurants, you have reserved the table for as long as you want.

There is no rush by the restaurant to turn each table over in an hour to get more customers served. In our nation accustomed to “fast “ food and our fast-paced life style, we need to realize that “slow” food is much healthier and will lead to a longer and more contented life. There have been numerous diets that have come and gone during my career. Some are effective in weight loss but might not be “heart healthy” or have any significant health benefits in the long run. One recent popular diet em-

phasizes eating mainly red meat and avoiding all flour based foods. This is diametrically opposed to the healthy Mediterranean diet. In my view, other than encouraging weight loss, it couldn’t be unhealthier. Many diets burst on the scene only to disappear in a relatively short time. The Mediterranean diet is not really a diet per se. It is truly a healthy life style change, which is accompanied by physical activity, socialization around the table, and a more leisurely and healthful approach to our enjoyment of food.

from garden to gourmet The Kingfisher Restaurant & Wine Bar offers gourmet meals crafted with superb local ingredients, many from our 2-acre organic garden. To enjoy the freshest cuisine in Chelan County, reserve your table today at SleepingLady.com or call 800.574.2123.

September 2013 | The Good Life

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You don’t have to go to the Mediterranean area to enjoy this type of life style change. It is available to everyone and is not that complicated. It does not require special equipment or weighing and measuring what you are eating. I encourage you to try this life style change. It may well be the healthiest thing you can do for youself and will have lasting effects. Jim Brown, M.D., is a retired gastroenterologist who has practiced for 38 years in the Wenatchee area. He is a former CEO of the Wenatchee Valley Medical Center.

TREE ART When Bridgeport decided some large trees had to come down, they called in a chainsaw artist By Vicki Carr

s the short sharp shadows of summer languish into the long lazy shadows of autumn, it might be a good time to visit the little town of Bridgeport nestled on the banks of the Columbia River in Douglas County near Chief Joseph Dam. There you can see how professional chainsaw carver Jacob Lucas of Bonney Lake, near Tacoma, has transformed the trees along the main route through town into pieces of roadside art. Some of his carvings reflect past history, and some are of wildlife found in north central Washington. A couple of the detailed carvings are amusing and downright funny, showing bear cubs and other creatures at play. Rather than spend about $1,200 to cut down and chip up each of the aging trees, community leaders decided to bring in Jacob whose reputation as a talented carver has spread rapidly throughout the Pacific Northwest. He became a virtual summer resident of the town as he worked diligently through three years to upgrade the town with his art. Jacob says his favorite Bridgeport piece is the carving of Jesus holding a lamb in his arms. “I knew Jesus’s face had to be done a certain way, and that I couldn’t make a mistake with it… and it was like Someone was helping me get it just right. I don’t know… it even looked angelic as I was working on it, with the sun shining behind it and giving it a kind of halo.” Yet, Jacob also likes whimsy in his work. “I carve realism, and I carve a lot of predators. So I like to carve some things that’ll make people smile. That’s why I’ve followed what

The Good Shepherd holds and protects the lamb that had wandered away from the flock, for perpetuity, in a carving which stands in front of a church in Bridgeport.

The power of spawning salmon is often featured in the carvings of Jacob Lucas. This one is in a city park in Coulee Dam near the spillway of Grand Coulee Dam. | The Good Life

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other artists have done, carving bears and cubs doing silly things… Nobody wants to see angry bears.” Jacob’s carvings in NCW can also be seen at Bridgeport’s RV park and a park near the base of Grand Coulee Dam. A tree in a yard in Chelan features the osprey that live around the lake. He has been commissioned to carve mantelpieces and do other work for local parties as well. Jacob has been busy working his way up the ladder artistically, entering six or seven carving contests a year and usually placing in the top 10. The artist also displays his work at fairs, shows and auctions throughout the region. His path to becoming a successful working artist has been long and convoluted, however. Jacob gives most of the credit to his chicha, the word for grandmother in the Qui-

| September 2013

And all my dreams just floated out the window... I didn’t know who or what I was going to be.” nault Indian language. “She was my rock,” he said simply. Growing up as an only child, he loved to pass the time drawing and doodling the hours away at her house while his mother was at work. And his chi-cha had several small bear carvings in her yard that the young boy found fascinating. This inspired him at age 13 to find work repairing lawn mowers in a small shop and save enough money to buy his first chainsaw. Two weeks after that purchase was made, someone broke into the garage and stole it, along with his bike and a lawnmower. He was hugely disappointed and felt thwarted, of course, but continued to dabble in drawing, painting and sculpting throughout high school in Gig Harbor. Then he decided to study graphic design at Pierce Community College. Jacob’s benevolent, beloved grandfather and his mother both died when he was 22. “And all my dreams just floated out the window,” he said. “I didn’t finish my degree, and I didn’t

know who or what I was going to be.” During the next 10 years Jacob worked on and off at construction jobs in Seattle, and studied glassblowing with an expert and became quite good at it. He also worked as a river rafting guide around the state. “But none of it filled my passion. I was lost. I was just floating,” he recalled quietly. Then his chi-cha persuaded him to go to a weekend of chainsaw carving classes where the fires of creative carving were lit again. “And that’s when I remembered my dream about being a carver, but I just didn’t think I could really do that. Then Grandma bought me a chainsaw,” Jacob said with a

Jacob and a sasquatch: He likes whimsy in his work.

smile. Jacob practiced his carving for three years while he continued

to work full-time. After his chicha died, he realized finally that carving was his true passion. “I decided I really needed to move forward to accomplish what she wanted for me and to make her proud,” he said. Jacob, a descendant of Quinault and Chinook tribal members, has reached a stage where his art is financially rewarding enough that his wife Aisha can stay at home to care for their three-year-old son Levi. Jacob’s great-grandfather provided for his extended family during the Great Depression with a cedar shake sawmill on the Quinault Indian Reservation. The grandfather liked to build little things in his retirement years, and taught young Jacob how to use hand tools. Jacob’s father was a custom cabinetmaker, and an architectural draftsman who designed the ductwork for the Tacoma Dome. It’s really no surprise that Jacob Lucas also developed a talent and passion for working with wood. More information about Jacob Lucas is available at www.chainsawart.org.

WHAT TO DO

We want to know of fun and interesting local events. Send info to: donna@ncwgoodlife.com

Wenatchee Valley Farmers Market, every Saturday & Wednesday through 10/26, 8 a.m. – 1 p.m. plus the first and third Fridays of every month is an artisan event, 5-8 p.m. Locally grown and raised fresh fruit, vegetables, baked goods, preserves, produce, flowers, crafts and jewelry, home and garden items. Fresh and wholesome right from the farmer. Pybus Market parking lot. Cost: free. Chelan evening farmers market, every Thursday, 4 – 7 p.m. Over 20 vendors selling produce, hummus, goat cheese, flowers and wool. Emerson Street between Riv-

erwalk Park and Riverwalk Inn. Info: lakechelan.com. Village Art in the Park, every Friday, Saturday and Sunday through 10/20, 9 a.m. – 6 p.m. Outdoor art in Park downtown Leavenworth. Cost: free. Info: villageartinthepark.org. Bubbles & Heels, every first Friday of the month. What could be better than sipping bubbly, chatting with new and old friends and wearing your favorite shoes? One Wines, Inc. 526 E Woodin Ave, Chelan. Cost: $10 per glass. Info: onewinesinc.com. Cashmere Art and Activity Center, needle art every second Tuesday, 1 p.m. Pinochle every fourth Tuesday, 1 p.m. Hat Group September 2013 | The Good Life

every Thursday, 1:30 – 3 p.m., knitters, crocheters and loom artists welcome. In August and September Yuri Konyshev will be featured and Ben Ellis spotlighted. On 9/14, 5-8 p.m. both artists will be available. Refreshments and music by Kirk Lewellen provided. Info: 782-2415. NCW Blues Jam, every second and fourth Monday, 7:30 – 11 p.m. Clearwater Steakhouse, East Wenatchee. Info: facebook.com/NCWBluesJam. Sound of Music, 9/1, 8 p.m. The sun falls behind the ridge, the moon rises over the valley and Maria descends the hillside singing The Hills are Alive. Ski Hill Amphitheater, Leavenworth. Cost: $30, $25 and $14. Info: leavenworthsummertheater.org.

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Leavenworth Quilt Show, 9/4-8. Hundreds of quilts displayed in various shops. Antique quilts, wearable quilted art, wall quilts, table runners and new quilts. Cost: free. Info: quiltersheaven.com. Book signing, 9/6, 7 p.m. Leavenworth Library, 9/7, 1 p.m. A Book For All Seasons. Author Kay Kenyon will be available with her new novel, A Thousand Perfect Things. In an alternate 19th Century two continents war on an alternate earth. Cost: free. Info: abookforallseason.com. Improv/Acting Workshop, 9/3, 7 p.m. Every Tuesday night with theater games for novice and experienced players. Fun, casual

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WHAT TO DO

We want to know of fun and interesting local events. Send info to: donna@ncwgoodlife.com

}}} Continued from previous page and free. Riverside Playhouse. Cost: free. Info: mtow.org. Wenatchee First Fridays, 9/6, 5 – 8 p.m. Walk downtown for art, music, dining and entertainment. Downtown Wenatchee. Two Rivers Art Gallery, 9/6, 5 – 8 p.m. Featured artist will be Dan McConnell. Over 40 local and regional artists show their work here. Local wines and complimentary refreshments. 102 N Columbia, Wenatchee. Cost: free. Info: 2riversgallery.com. Tumbleweed Bead Co., 9/6, 5 - 8 p.m. Artist Mikael Heins draws his work from memory and occasional photo references and uses an assortment of pastels, colored pencils and fine tip pens. Refreshments served. Cost: free. Info: tumbleweedbeadco.com. The Wine Thief, 9/6, 5 – 8 p.m. Terry Johnson will be the featured artist through October. He will show paintings, pottery and glass. Wine served. Downtown. Cost: free. Chelan-Douglas CASA and ATEEM open House, 9/5, 6 -7:30 p.m. Learn about CASA’s mentoring program from staff and current mentors. Light snacks provided. Chelan County PUD auditorium, 327 N Wenatchee Ave. Cost: free. Info: cdcasa.org. All You Can Eat Breakfast, 9/7, 7 – 11 a.m. Pancakes, eggs, sausages, coffee and milk. Leavenworth Lions Club Park. Cost: $6, $3 for ages 3-10, free for military personnel with I.D. Info: leavenworthlions. com. Lake Chelan Shore to Shore Marathon, 9/7, 7 a.m. Packet pickup and pre-race dinner will be at the Vin du Lac Winery in Chelan. Info: lakechelanmarathon.com. Sailing Regatta, 9/7-8, 10 a.m. Skippers meet at Chelan Lakeshore Marina on Saturday. 11 a.m. on Sunday. Any jet skis within range are fair game for water balloons or anything else you want to throw. Dinner and party Saturday night at Rusty’s Nut Farm, tickets are $20. Bring your musical instruments. Info: sailchelan.com/regatta. Lake Chelan Swim, 9/7, 11 a.m. – 2 p.m. This is an event to raise funds and awareness for swimming

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lessons on Lake Chelan to serve residents and visitors. The swim is 1.5 miles long and starts at Willow Point Park and goes to Manson Bay Park on the North Shore of Lake Chelan. Info: lakechelanswim.com. Petco Adoptions, 9/7 & 8, 11 a.m. – 2 p.m. Petco partners with local shelters and rescues to help find loving homes for thousands of adoptable pets. East Wenatchee Petco. Creedence Clearwater Revisited, 9/7, 7 p.m. Live performance. Deep Water Amphitheater, Manson. Info: colvillecasinos.com. Alzheimer’s Café, 9/10, 2:30 p.m. – 4 p.m. Mountain Meadows Senior Living Campus hosts a cafe the second Tuesday of every month. This is a casual setting for folks with Alzheimer’s, dementia, their loved ones and caregivers. Desserts and beverages will be served free of charge. Entertainment and activities for those wishing to participate. Join us to meet new friends and share experiences. Located at 320 Park Avenue, Leavenworth. Info: 548-4076. Leavenworth Blues Festival, 9/13 & 14. Doors open at 5 p.m., music at 6 p.m. The Julie Duke Band, local favorite Junkbelly and National act the 44’s will perform. Saturday the doors open at noon with music at 12:30 p.m. with Nolan Garrett, Tuck Foster and the Mossrites, The Tommy Hogan Band, Sammy Eubanks and Randy Oxford Band. Cost: $37.50. Tickets: tickettomato.com. Info: leavenworthblues.com. Pearls and Paws, 9/13, 6:30 p.m. An evening of live music and a four course dinner paired with local wines. Fundraiser for a new shelter for the lost, homeless and abandoned animals in the Wenatchee Valley. Music by The Lake Boys. Tsillan Cellars, Lake Chelan. Cost: $100. Info: 662-9577. Eli Young Band, 9/13, 7 p.m. Live performance. Deep Water Amphitheater, Manson. Info: colvillecasinos.com. NCW Quilt Show, 9/13-14. 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Friday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday. Town Toyota Center. Info: towntoyotacenter.com. Book Signing, 9/13, 7 p.m. at D’Vinery, 617 Front St, Leavenworth & 9/14, 1 p.m. at A Book For All Seasons. Janee Baugher will be on hand with her new book The Body’s Physics. Cost: free.

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| September 2013

Hawk Migration Festival, 9/14, 8 a.m. – 3 p.m. Visit vendors, see raptor demonstrations and take a field trip to the Chelan Ridge Raptor Migration site. Shuttles will run from Pateros to Chelan Ridge. Memorial Park in Pateros. Cost: free. Info: newaudubon.org. Walk to remember our children, 9/14, 10 a.m. This is a 2 mile walk open to everyone who wants to join hands and hearts in remembering children who have died too soon. T-shirt, race style bib, balloon release, remembrance wall, lunch, raffle and music. Walla Walla Point Park. Cost: $20 or $60 per family. Info: 663-6727 or 665-9987. Star Struck, 9/14, 4-9 p.m. Silent auction, wine tasting and entertainment. At dusk a gourmet dinner will be served by Ivy Wild Inn followed by musicians with a live auction and dessert. Snowy Owl Theater, Leavenworth. Info: icicle.org. Free Garden Talks, 9/15. 3 p.m.: Grapes in the fall — Harvesting and More; 3:45 p.m.: Arranging Backyard Bouquets; 4:30 p.m.: Bulb Planting. Garden tours and a plant clinic will also be offered at the Community Education Garden on the grounds of the Tree Fruit Research & Extension Center at 1100 N. Western Avenue. Free. Info: 667-6540. Environmental Film Series, 9/16, 7 p.m. Wenatchee Valley Museum and Cultural Center. Cost: $5 donation suggested. Compassionate Friends, 9/16, 7 p.m. This is a grief support group to assist families toward the positive resolution of grief following the death of a child of any age, and to provide information to help others be supportive. Grace Lutheran Church, 1408 Washington St. Info: Carol 665-9987. Alatheia Riding Center, 9/18, noon. Free lunch provided by BPW members. Founder Nancy Grette will speak about what they do at Alatheia, how she started it and what the future plans are for the center. Alatheia Riding Center seeks to provide progressive independence through equine assisted activities and therapies to children and adults with physical, emotional and learning associated special needs. Community Foundation, 9 S. Wenatchee Ave. Info: Terri Miller tm@mjnealaia.com or 663-6455. Liverpool Legends, 9/18, 7:30 p.m. On the 50th anniversary of Beatlemania, a Grammy-nominated

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Beatles tribute band will perform. Performing Arts Center. Info: pacwen.org. BNCW Home Tour & Remodeling Expo, 9/19-22. Chefs on tour on the 19th, visit four homes and sample food prepared by local chefs as well as wine tasting. Cost: $35. 9/20-22, 13 homes plus a remodeling expo to visit. Cost: $11, $5 children, under 2 free. Info: buildingncw.org. Wenatchee River Salmon Festival, 9/19-22, 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. Festival celebrates the return of the salmon to the Wenatchee River. Food, entertainment and outdoor activities. Leavenworth Fish Hatchery. Info: salmonfest.org. Bad Company, 9/19, 7 p.m. Live performance. Deep Water Amphitheater, Manson. Info: colvillecasinos.com. River run Half-Marathon, 10k and 5k, 9/21, 10 a.m. Start at Pybus Public Market, traverse the Apple Capital Recreation Loop Trail and end at Stanley Civic Center in downtown Wenatchee. Info: runwenatcheeriverrun.eventbrite.com. The Taste of harvest, 9/21. Downtown street fair on Wenatchee Ave. Wine and food garden 12-6 p.m., Run Wenatchee River Run, live music, kids activities, movie, harvest farmer’s market, food vendors and more. Chelan hydrofest, 9/21-22. Inboard race boats featuring eight different classes of Hydroplanes and racing runabouts. Chelan Waterfront Marina. Cost: free. Info: lakechelan.com. Lake Chelan Home Tour, 9/21, 11 a.m. – 5 p.m. Cost: $20. Info: lakechelancommunityhospital.com/ home-tour_350.html. The Atomic Bombshells, 9/21, 9 p.m. A variety show burlesque and dance talent, incorporating elements of classic vintage-style burlesque, comedy, drag and pop dance. Performing Arts Center. Info: pacwen.org. Become a Wenatchee Naturalist, 9/23, 5 p.m. A 12-week course consists of 50 hours of training including lectures, extensive handouts, expert guest speakers, handson labs, and 3 all-day guided field trips with Susan Ballinger. Chelan Douglas Land Trust. Cost: $375.

column the night sky this month

Peter Lind

Venus and Saturn together T

he “evening star” meets the ringed planet after sunset this month. While Venus dazzles like a diamond in the evening, Saturn displays its orange hued color more subtly, with a magnificent ring system visible only through telescopes. You can spot the two planets low in the southwest during twilight. In early September, Venus appears about the height of your fist above the west-southwest horizon 30 minutes after the sun sets. It shines at magnitude -4.0 throughout most of the month. Venus’ eastward march relative to the background stars carries it a couple of finger widths above Spica, the very bright double star in the constellation Virgo, on Sept. 5. It should be a stunning view from the east side of the valley all through the month. On the eighth of the month, the waxing crescent moon joins this pair to form a beautiful twilight scene. By the time darkness starts to fall in North America, the two appear about a fingers width apart, with Spica just west of Venus. The solar system’s innermost planet, Mercury, crawls away from the sun enough to show up briefly in the evening sky, but it stays close to the horizon for Wenatchee Valley viewers. You’ll have to be watching as the sun goes down to catch a glimpse. The best night to search for Info: wenatcheeriverinstitute.org. Presentation, 9/23, 7 p.m. Ann Fisher-Wirth will be on hand with her new book The Ecopoetry Anthology. Eagle Creek Winery. Cost: free. Care for the Caregiver — Keeping your battery charged! 9/25, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Do you care September 2013 | The Good Life

Mercury is Sept. 24, when it passes just a finger’s width or about 1 degree north of Spica. Mercury will shine at magnitude –0.1, about 2.5 times brighter than Spica. This is the closest passage of any planet to a firstmagnitude star during 2013, as viewed from earth. Jupiter resides among the stars of Gemini the Twins. You can’t mistake Jupiter for any star, the planet shines at magnitude –2.1, far brighter than any other point in the morning sky. Jupiter and Gemini rise around 2 a.m. the first of the month, but come up about 30 minutes earlier each week. Jupiter will be in full glory in the middle of winter and is always worth braving the cold to get a good look at. Neptune reached opposition Aug. 26 and appears just as nice in September as it did then. Trailing one constellation and about two hours behind Neptune, Uranus lies against the backdrop of Pisces the Fish. In mid-September, it appears in the eastern sky by mid-evening and climbs highest in the south around 2 a.m. local daylight for someone who is elderly or disabled? Learn how to care for yourself while you care for others. Presenter Robin Rose’s expertise is in teaching people how to stay calm, professional and effective. The Wenatchee Convention Center. $30 through 9/6, $40 afterwards. Info: 886-0700.

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time. You can spot the planet through 7x50 binoculars from the suburbs and with naked eyes under a dark sky if you exercise some patience. The much talked about comet ISON, or C/2012 S1, which is the technical name, is on the way and visible through a four-inch telescope. We will be calling it ISON for now. I will be writing about it next month. It’s predicted brightest visibility will be in November. I have a way of telling what phase the moon is in at any time. It was told to me maybe 30 years ago and it has stuck with me since then. The moon has three phases of visibility and if you can remember the word DOC, you will know what phase the moon is in. All you have to do is look at what side of the moon has the smooth surface and assign the letter that is that shape. The D has the shape of the new moon so you know it’s getting bigger and will be full within a couple of weeks. Peter Lind is a local amateur astronomer. He can be reached at ppjl@ juno.com.

Lake Chelan Crush Classic Golf Tournament, 9/27, 8 a.m. Lake Chelan Golf Course. Cost: $100 single, $400 foursome. Info: lakechleancrushclassic.com. Autumn Leaf Festival, 9/27-29. Grand parade, entertainment all day long. Downtown Leavenworth.

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WHAT TO DO

We want to know of fun and interesting local events. Send info to: donna@ncwgoodlife.com

}}} Continued from previous page Info: autumnleaffestival.com. Open Your Purse Gala, 9/27, 6 -10 p.m. Silent and live auction and dinner to support the Wenatchee YWCA. Wenatchee Community Center, 504 S Chelan Ave. Cost: $35. Info: ywcawen.com. Presentation, 9/27, 7 p.m. Nicholas O’Connell will be on hand with his new book Storms of Denali. Barn Beach Reserve. Cost: free. Live for Adventure Race, 9/28, noon. A Community Adventure Stage Race with three stages. Bike, sports/games and, obstacle course. Participants can win money for any school club, sport or activity of their choice. 4th grade and up. Adult and Iron divisions too. Wenatchee Apple Bowl. Seats for viewing and concessions available. Info: www.live4adventure. org. Sisters Act, 9/28, 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. The Wenatchee Valley Appleaires

will perform. Performing Arts Center. Info: pacwen.org. Wool Work for Wine, 9/29, 11 a.m. – 5 p.m. A celebration of fiber arts and fine wine at Snowgrass Winery in Entiat, 6701 Entiat River Rd, 5.5 miles west of Highway 97A. Admission to Wool Work For Wine is free, but the wine tasting costs $10 per person, which includes a souvenir glass. Info: 784-5101 or snowgrasswines.com. Foothills Hiking challenge Guided Hike- Horse Lake Reserve, 9/29, 2 p.m. From the trailhead, hike up the Homestead Trail and down, then return to the starting point via the Old Ranch Rd. 5.1 miles in length. Guided by Rebecca Frank and Jose Luis Marquez. Horse Lake trailhead. Info: cdlandtrust. org. Wings & Wheels, 10/3-6. Craft and food fair, car show, swap meet, carnival, free kids activities, entertainment, airplane rides, airplane and aviation displays, and remote controlled airplane demonstrations. Free shuttle to all venues. Eastmont Community Park, Red Apple Flyers Field and the airport. East Wenatchee. Cost: free.

Apple Pie Festival, 10/3, 4 -7 p.m. Lake Chelan Riverwalk Park. Enter your pie and win prizes. Live music. Cost: free. Info: chelanfarmersmarket.org. Australia’s Thunder From Down Under, 10/3, 7:30 p.m. Town Toyota Center. Buckner Orchard Harvest Fest, 10/5, 10 a.m. Pick apples and make cider. Community potluck and music. Provided: chili, coffee, juice, plates, utensils and cups. Bring potluck dish, lawn chairs and cider containers. Buckner Orchard and Homestead, Stehekin. Info: bucknerhomestead.org. Oktoberfest, 10/4-5, 10/11-12, 10/18-19, 1 p.m.- 11 p.m. Live music, German food, arts and crafts, activities for the whole family and oh yeah beer! Downtown Leavenworth. Info: leavenworthoktoberfest.com. Capitol Steps, 10/4, 7:30 – 10:30 p.m. Unique blend of music and political comedy. Snowy Owl Theater. Info: icicle.org. Icicle Creek Presents The Met:

Know of someone stepping off the beaten path in the search for fun and excitement? E-mail us at editor@ncwgoodlife.com

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| September 2013

Live in HD, 10/5, all day. Snowy Owl Theater. Info: icicle.org. Lake Chelan Wedding Show, 10/5, 11 a.m. – 3 p.m. Wedding vendors, demonstrations, tasty morsels and lots of wine. Campbell’s Resort, River Room and Park Room. Cost: $5. Info: yourlakechelanwedding.com. Crush in the Lake Chelan Wine Valley 10/5 – 10/13, every Saturday and Sunday, 11 a.m. – 8 p.m. Info: lakechelanwinevalley.com. And then there were none, 10/10-12, 17-19, 24-27, 7:30 p.m. & 10/19, 2 p.m. Ten guilty strangers are trapped on an island. One by one they start to die. Mystery comedy by Music Theatre of Wenatchee. Riverside Playhouse. Info: mtow.org. Heart, 10/12, 7:30 p.m. Live concert. Town Toyota Center. Woman of the Year, 10/16, noon – 1:30 p.m. A special recognition honoring women who have distinguished themselves in their careers and community service. An awards banquet will honor nominees and winner will be announced along with: exciting stories of triumph and more surprises. Confluence Technology Center. Cost: $25. Proceeds go toward scholarships for local area women. Info: Lily Nichols 885-8501 or 2013WOY@gmail. com.

The Art Life

// SKETCHES OF LOCAL ARTISTS

the doctor has a new practice: playing jazz I

f you’re a jazz aficionado, craving silkysmooth listenable tunes from a few generations ago, you may know Jac Tiechner and his guitar from that little local combo that calls itself Well Strung. If you’re not, it’s more likely you know Jac Tiechner because he’s straightened your stride as a podiatric surgeon at Wenatchee Foot and Ankle Center. Whatever your connection, you’ve met a man who, after dedicating the best of himself to a long career, has turned that same strength of purpose to his love of guitar. Anticipating his 2012 retirement, he realized how important music had always been to him. He’d enjoyed the sociability of local musicians, but for years he’d been literally playing second fiddle to stronger artists because he hadn’t done his homework, paid his dues as a musician. “I was usually vocal backup and played guitar riffs — that was my creative outlet,“ he said. He did appreciate the satisfaction of the occasional solo — the smiles and the round of applause. “Even if it’s just a few people at the back of the café, the sound of hands clapping lets you know someone was really listening,” he said. Another epiphany was that he’d been performing musical styles that didn’t excite him, rarely delving into the songs he really loved — the haunting bluesy jazz of his childhood — the radio favorites of the 1950s. Jac’s mother loved music — he shared a childhood memory of her dancing around the ironing board to Chattanooga Choo Choo and jazz greats like Ella Fitzgerald on the radio in their Chicago home. Happy to play tunes for mom, as a child he quickly picked up guitar and piano basics with his gift of a good ear but eschewed the proffered lessons with their “stupid, bor-

Jac Tiechner: Playing a bossa nova on a bright new day.

ing stuff,” Jac remembers, “like how to read music.” His teen years meant late nights playing rock and roll, but a stable career, not a musician’s life, was the family’s goal for him. So, with his dentist dad as a role model, the budding guitarist instead headed for academia and a solid medical profession. Yearning for mountain scenery, Jac moved to Wenatchee with his wife Kathi where they raised two boys, grew his podiatric practice, and gradually began to associate once more with musicians. Groups waxed and waned; musical genre like bluegrass and country appealed and then didn’t. For years both work and family became all-consuming, and much of the time Jac’s guitar case remained closed. Then the cold-water wake up came with the uncharted openness of retirement. “If not now —when?” It was time to get serious about jazz. Living — and playing — the dream wouldn’t be easy. He knew he needed time to practice (check) a different instrument (check) a mentor (check) a few jazz players to jam with (check) and, toughest of all, the self-discipline to learn again. “I vowed to myself to start studying the

subjects I had avoided all my life like chord structure, scales and music theory. OK,” he admitted, “My mother was right.” Retired full time in 2012, Jac now studies, talks and plays jazz. He loves its intuitiveness (“It lets your heart lead the way. It flows where it flows.”) and for its intriguing, risky structure that borders on the discordant. And — this is from the boy-grown-older who played “good enough” by ear — he loves it because it’s very hard to do well. “It’s tough,” he said, “But really fun to learn, like a jigsaw puzzle.” If you spot Jac Tiechner and the group at Upper Eastside Coffee, Silvara Winery, Wenatchee Golf and Country Club or Pybus Market, he’ll be tucked comfortably around his Gibson L5 archtop guitar, closer to front and center these days. The tunes you hear will set your heart to tapping — bossa nova greats, and Tea for Two, Mack the Knife, Quiet Nights. He’s trying to perfect Brubeck’s Take Five. His clear voice strums as softly as the strings. Jac’s in his element, like he’s retrieved a lost musical love. “After all this time, it’s playing jazz for people that really makes me feel like a young kid again!” — by Susan Lagsdin

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jazz up your days September 2013 | The Good Life

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column those were the days

rod molzahn

Gold diggers a boon for early trading posts Jack Splawn was 16 in 1861

when he hired on for his first cattle drive from the Yakima Valley to the British Columbia mines. He made his last drive in 1896. He came to know central and north central Washington intimately — the land and the people. In 1917 he published Kamiakin, filled with memories and anecdotes. Splawn writes that in 1864 a man named Comstock kept a trading post at Rock Island on the Columbia. Hundreds of Chinese and some white men were mining along the river for a distance of 150 miles. Trade was good. It must have also been good with the local Indians. Rock Island was the site of the largest Kawachin Indian village, Chief Moses’ people. Splawn took on the job of carrying freight to the trading post from The Dalles for two years. A few miles above Rock Island there was another store operated by a Mr. Wing. The store was located on the southwest bank of the Columbia where the railroad bridge now crosses. The store served “the largest camp of Chinamen on the river.” About a hundred miners

worked a large gravel bar where they had completed a sizeable ditch for sluicing. Splawn believed they took out a large amount of gold, writing that, “I carried many big buckskin purses of dust to be deposited for them in Portland.” By 1865 Jack Ingram had bought out Comstock’s trading post. In December of that year Splawn, leading 20 pack horses loaded with flour, was heading for Rock Island. About a mile from the store he found an Indian, dead on the trail. Thinking that there might have been trouble at the trading post, he decided it was best to get rid of the body by throwing it into the Columbia. When Splawn reached the store Ingram told him that the Indian, “had given him much trouble and, to get rid of him for all time, he had given him strychnine.” By 1869 Ingram had taken on John McBride as a partner in the trading post business and they had moved the store from Rock Island to the, “mouth of the Wenatchee.” The presence of the trading post at the confluence by 1870 is also documented by D.C. Linsley, who crossed the Cascades that year searching for a rail

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route. He wrote on July 11th that he was on the Columbia at the confluence “at the trading post of J.G. Ingram.” The next day Linsley borrowed a canoe from Mr. Ingram for a trip upriver to Lake Chelan. By then Ingram and McBride’s reputation for selling kegs of whiskey to the local Indians was growing. They had a falling out with their handyman, Mr. Warren, and he went to Yakima and charged his employers with illegal whiskey sales. The charges were dropped before the trial had ended. Splawn says bribery was involved. Ingram and McBride were free to keep doing business but soon the business would change hands again. Sam Miller and his partners, David and Franklin Freer, had started a freight business in 1862, carrying supplies on a 100 mule pack train from Wallula, on the Columbia, to the mines in Idaho and Montana. By the end of the 1860s the army was building wagon roads over the trails Miller and the Freer’s mules had walked and the men were out of business. By 1872 they were in the Wenatchee Valley. On Aug. 27, 1872 Sam Miller

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| September 2013

and the Freer brothers took over operation of the trading post from Ingram and McBride and Sam made the first entries in his new ledger. He made his final entry in January of 1888. The pages in between those entries chronicle the comings and goings of everyone who lived in or passed through the valley in those 16 years. Jack Ingram and John McBride continued to stay in the valley until mid-1874 buying supplies, and in Ingram’s case especially, lots of whiskey. In March of 1873 Sam Miller paid McBride $233.72 for seven month’s rent starting from August of 1872. There is no information about what was being rented but the last entry for McBride on July 3, 1874 shows Miller paying him $200 for the “McBride Ranch.” It appears that McBride was finally selling out and leaving the valley. According to Splawn it was about that time that the handyman, Mr. Warren, was making charges again against Ingram and McBride, now in Walla Walla. This time the two men were convicted of illegal liquor

sales and served a year in prison. In July of 1883 the Surveyor General of Washington Territory ordered a survey of the proposed route of the “Wenatchee Road,” running from its beginning at the foot of Colockum Pass to its terminus at the north end of Miller Street where Miller turns left and becomes Hawley Street. From there the trail to Confluence Park and the nature trail begins. The contract was awarded to Charles Holcomb. Between Sept. 7, 1884 and Sept. 13, Mr. Holcomb surveyed the area around the north end of the road. His map of that section includes the location of the Miller/Freer Trading Post where Sam was still in business. The map locates the store at a point just under one-third mile south of the southern point of the Wenatchee River mouth. That would place it about 100 yards south of the southernmost radio tower in the big meadow but much closer to the Columbia at 650 feet back from the 1884 shoreline. Survey notes mention the Miller/Freer meadow as well as the garden and a fence running perpendicular to the Columbia one-half mile below the store. The map shows that fence and also the garden fence built to create a triangular plot between the store and the river. The store is at the western point of the triangle with the river serving as the eastern side. Having the garden border the river would have surely made the task of watering easier. Sam grew peach trees there along with vegetables that would store well through the winter — potatoes, onions, squash and carrots.

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Historian, actor and teacher Rod Molzahn can be reached at shake.speak@frontier.com. His third history CD, Legends & Legacies Vol. III - Stories of Wenatchee and North Central Washington, is now available at the Wenatchee Valley Museum and Cultural Center and at other locations throughout the area. September 2013 | The Good Life

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column ALEX ON WINE

ALEX SALIBY

Taking a drive to find fine red wines We first tasted a Malaga

Springs wine at the visitor center that Roger Clute opened on Wenatchee Avenue. Roger and the Visitor’s Bureau deserve a big “thank you” for having had the foresight to see the value of such a facility. Sandy Appel was working the center that day and she poured a few wines for us, ones with which we were unfamiliar. The Malaga Springs wine struck both of us as special and we vowed to visit the winery and sample the rest of their wines. That was almost two years ago. Our failure to show up at the winery sooner had little to do with anything other than we got involved in the daily activities that dominate our lives and kept putting off what seemed like a long drive to this winery in the hills of Malaga. This past spring we fulfilled our vow to visit the winery, and drove the long road up to the winery. Although it is a long, slow drive up the hillside to the tasting room, it’s a pleasant one, with beautiful scenery, and one we recommend you make. The people, the facility, and the wines are easily worth the trip.

Owner/winemaker Al Mathews met us as we entered the tasting room, and welcomed us as we looked around the pleasant room. Our party of two was soon joined by a party of four who had driven up from their tasting tour at Saint Laurent winery. Al served both parties simultaneously, managing to give each guest personal, friendly attention. While tasting and talking, we all admired the beautiful pottery on display and learned that in addition to growing grapes and making wine, Al is also a potter. He comes by this naturally, as his mother designed the label and other art work and is also a ceramic potter. And, as if this were not enough to keep him busy, he runs a commercial fishing business in summer. His wife, Kathy, has had such a large part in creating Malaga Springs that it takes at least a glass of wine to discuss and applaud her efforts here. But we were there on a mission: to taste, discuss and learn about the wines. Currently, five white wines are on the list: Blanc d’Noir: a subtle white made from the Pinot Noir grape.

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A very light touch of sweetness adds to the charm of this delicious wine. Chenin Blanc: again, that touch of sweetness, but delightfully central Loire Valley in its qualities. I’d love it with slightly spicy Asian food. Muscat Canelli: well balanced acids and sugar add to the pleasure of this wine. I’ve never been a fan of the Muscat wines, but I did enjoy this one. Sauvignon Blanc: not a Sancerre here, but decidedly better than many of the Washington Sauvignon Blancs I’ve tried. Frankly, I’m disappointed in general with the way Washington winemakers treat this grape, but Al has at least resisted the impulse to turn his into just another sweet white wine. Nice wine, clean, crisp with good acids and just a hint of residual sugar. I do prefer mine totally dry, however. Viognier: I’m a huge Viognier fan and have been for decades. My favorites are still not from Washington, but many local ones are approaching that level of acceptance. Al is one of fewer than half a dozen other Washington winemakers to enter that realm in my world. I still want more attention to the fruit from

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| September 2013

the state’s winemakers on this one. Rosé: two Rosé wines are on the Malaga Springs wine list: a Sangiovese Rosé and a blend called AlyKat. I’m partial to the AlyKat for two reasons: I love the name and artwork associated with the wine, and what’s not to like in a blend of Zinfandel, Syrah and Cabernet Franc? For this wine lover, Malaga Springs really shines in the production of deep, rich, aromatic reds. There are seven varietal red wines on the wine list and a blend, that AlyKat Zinfandel and Syrah beauty. In my opinion, all the reds are excellent. Of course, there are favorites in our household. She: the Malbec. He: the Cabernet Franc. I can see that we will be making another trip up the hill soon, to further explore the pleasures of the art, Kathy’s landscaping — and of course, the wines. Alex Saliby is a wine lover who spends far too much time reading about the grapes, the process of making wine and the wines themselves. He can be contacted at alex39@msn. com.