retreat to luxury - Nina Noble Design
Transcription
retreat to luxury - Nina Noble Design
RETREAT TO LUXURY AT T H E B E L L E V U E C L U B H O T E L VOTED ONE OF THE “TOP 100 HOTELS IN THE CONTINENTAL U.S. & CANADA” IN 2006 TRAVEL+LEISURE. The Bellevue Club Hotel is an in-city resort featuring award-winning design, service and a history of delighted guests. Experience our beautifully appointed guestrooms, world-class athletic facilities and full-service spa. Reservations 800.579.1110 Phone 425.454.4424 Fax 425.688.3101 11200 SE 6TH ST. BELLEVUE, WA 98004 • WWW.BELLEVUECLUB.COM NEW The Undertown Marketplace Pergola Entrance Mount Baker Block Building Located in Historic Downtown Port Townsend, Washington Creative retail space available for new PT Undertown Marketplace tenants! One of the largest historic buildings in Port Townsend offers unique space for unique retail. If you are interested in leasing space and being part of a creative new marketplace, call for more detailed information. Space is limited. Business opportunity for: Home of: Peninsula Life Magazine and Made on the Peninsula Taylor Street Market You could own the only market in downtown Port Townsend. For information call: 360.821.1047 Quality Products of the Pacific Northwest March–April 07 6 ART TALK 82 MONEY I Need Both Hands Adam Stern, Maestro 6 Art Showcase 12 16 GRAPEVINE 85 PERSPECTIVES Hoodsport Winery 16 22 GREEN THUMB Salal Gaultheria shallon 22 Far Reaches Farm 26 31 HEALTH Menopause and Life Beyond HRT 31 Beans Are Back In Style 34 Trainer’s Corner 36 Does long-term care insurance make sense for you? 82 A Converting Wealth to Income 84 81 READER’S PAGE “Lots of Backseat Driving” 81 Happy Birthday. Or is it? 85 Spring Cleaning 87 Curing Cabin Fever 89 94 THIS IS US Kitsap Children’s Musical Theater 94 38 BON APPETIT Xinh's Clam & Oyster House 38 Cooking with Chef Santschi 44 48 LIFE STYLES Quintessential Island Home: The Point White Overlook House 48 A Conversation with Chip Hanauer 59 64 LEISURE & TRAVEL The Olympic Peninsula’s Springtime Winter Steelhead 64 Westport Beachcombing 68 The Golden Years of Golf Or “What hurts today” 72 Resonant Golf 74 Entering Sequim 78 Steve Wilson Cover: Cedar spoon and freshly dug clams on the beach at La Push, WA. Credits: David Deardorff & Kathryn Wadsworth pps. 22-25 Jill Buhler pps. 26-30, 44 Mike Coverdale p. 68 Vincent M. Hagel pps. 74-76 Kevin Wilson p. 81 Courtesy photos pps. 36-37, 92 Steve Wilson/ENTHEOS all others. www.peninsulalife.biz Peninsula Life 3 volume 2 issue 2 Peninsula Life, Mailing Address: P.O. Box 894 LLC Port Townsend, WA 98368 P: 360-379-1385 F: 360-379-1395 E: [email protected] W: peninsulalife.biz Publisher Katherine S. McKelvey Director of Creative Development Steven C. Wilson Art Director Nina Noble Editor Jill Buhler Copy Editing Victor Judd Contributors Mike Coverdale Laurence Davidson David Deardorff Narinder Duggal, MD, Mike Early Heather Flanagan Karen Frank Scott Hill Teresa Hoffman Rhonda Hull Ginny Messina Mary Robson Doug Rose Mary Lou Sanelli Chef Walter Santschi Terence Seward Pam Thompson Kathryn Wadsworth Craig Wallin Nathan Weatherby Carol Wiseman Account Executive Constance M. Heinrich Office Manager Karen Pedersen Circulation Manager [email protected] Web Design Mark Torres To subscribe: $ 25 (tax included) a year, 6 issues, single issue is $ 4.95+ tax. Please send name, address and phone, along with check payable to Peninsula Life, to: P.O. Box 894, Port Townsend, WA 98368. Peninsula Life is published bi-monthly. © 2007 by Peninsula Life, LLC. All rights reserved. Partial or whole reproduction is prohibited. The publisher will not be held responsible for errors in advertising beyond the cost of the space of the ad. No changes may be made or cancellation accepted after the publication deadline date. 4 Peninsula Life www.peninsulalife.biz Peninsula Life Letter from the Publisher: The Pacific Northwest certainly received its share of winter this year. In fact, the entire world is having some kind of extreme weather. Experts say it’s all connected to “global warming.” It’s a little scary to think the earth is changing so dramatically in such a short period of time. In January, NYC experienced temperatures in the 60s. I saw a piece on the news of a newscaster interviewing people in Central Park and asking them if they felt the warm weather conditions were due to global warming. One man said, “If this is global warming, then bring it on,” with a big smile on his face. It made me wonder how many people are actually concerned about the effects of global warming. Al Gore certainly makes a compelling argument for serious concern. One of the reasons I am glad I live in the Pacific Northwest is because there seems to be more people living here who do care. I have lived in many parts of the world and it just seems like people in the Pacific Northwest are more environmentally conscious than in most parts of the U.S. It’s a good feeling to live in an area where people care about clean water, fresh air, sustainable foods, and building green. People who respect the earth and care about preserving it. People who value a healthy earth as the highest wealth one could achieve. Other strong values of people who call the Pacific Northwest home are relationships. People here tend to care more about their neighbors. It’s nice to know there are still places where people care about helping each other. Life is just too short to hold grudges, be mean and grumpy, treat people badly or just plain ignore them. It’s unfortunate that some people go through life ignoring the people around them, when if they paid attention they may just find a friend. I find most people who live in the Pacific Northwest make a conscious effort to be neighborly. I do worry about the younger generation; studies are showing that the number one goal for the next generation is monetary wealth. I just hope that if they do achieve wealth they find a way to share it and spend it on the environment. Maybe that is what “global warming” is really all about—mother earth trying to tell everyone to shape up and pay attention. Remember, it’s all about the quality of life and the Spirit of the Pacific Northwest. Katherine S. McKelvey Publisher Peninsula Life A Quality of Life Publication www.peninsulalife.biz Peninsula Life 5 I Need Both Hands: Adam Stern, Maestro by Karen Frank T hey drift in alone or talking to a colleague, or in a straggling gaggle of men and women, carrying satchels or outlandishly shaped black cases. They settle themselves on metal chairs, prop up their scores on music holders, and begin the process of tuning their individual instruments to the note provided to them by the oboist. They start to become the Port Angeles Symphony orchestra. The conductor is here, too. He dresses in a baggy beige sweater for the dress rehearsal, looking no more sophisticated than the rest, but he is a professional, guiding musicians of varying backgrounds and talent. Some played for money in other orchestras in other places. Most are amateurs, young and old, who play for the love of it, or out of habit—and now find themselves tackling the difficulties of Bach’s Wachet Auf or the Procession of the Sardar. Adam Stern, the conductor, has the kind of hands that cause people to ask, 6 Peninsula Life “Do you play the piano?” or “Are you an artist?” Those hands—which do play the piano—also direct the members of the Port Angeles Symphony through its repertoire. That repertoire always contains a surprise for the audience, or a challenge; Stern believes people should not leave a performance feeling completely comfortable. This makes Adam seem demanding and serious, but joyous intensity is a more fitting description. Although he has survived insult and conflict during his career, the wrinkles accumulating on his face are smile lines around his eyes, not furrows in his brow. He speaks with his hands and whole body as if he were a piece of music himself. He looks comfortable and graceful, even sitting in a small back room at Trinity United Methodist Church in Sequim, filled with folding chairs and a piano. There, he teaches a class about music in films. When class members start arriving www.peninsulalife.biz during the interview, he welcomes them, reassuring them, “I promise I won’t dry up if you come and sit.” Adam teaches two classes for Peninsula College, because “someone noticed that I have been blessed with the gift of gab when it comes to music. I love talking about music in just about every form you can think of.” Born in Los Angeles, Adam may be a child of Hollywood, but “somehow in spite of the fact that I was raised in the San Fernando Valley, I don’t use the word ‘like’ every third or fourth word,” he says. “Hey, I like music, you know. Like, I like Beethoven.” His laugh is open-hearted, rising musically and ending on the right note, his timing impeccable. Raised by “two lovely and very literate” people, Adam heard a lot of music at an early age, because his father worked for JPL Speakers, which sold sound equipment. “He was always going to stereo shows and coming home with batches of LPs under his arm,” Adam says. It’s telling that the first piece of music Adam fell in love with was Ravel’s Bolero. “We must have had six different recordings of Bolero,” Adam notes, and he played all of them repeatedly. “There probably are still many ways in which I am hopelessly immature,” Adam says, “but somehow my musical sense was there early. I heard Bolero and that was that. People ask when I decided to become a musician and I say, ‘I never decided; I just sort of knew that’s what I was.’ Thank God I was raised by two people who loved that.” By age five, he started piano lessons, adding flute at age seven. His parents were thrilled, but wanted Adam to have a normal upbringing, not to be treated like a child prodigy. “They didn’t want my passion for music to be so all-consuming that it would prevent me from exploring other facets of my life,” he says. “I stayed ‘normal’ until I was 15, then I quit high school and went straight to college.” Adam enrolled at the California Institute of the Arts, initially majoring in flute performance. “I had an upbringing that seems in some ways to be opposite from that of many people I know,” he confides. “At home, I had total acceptance, total comfort, but at school, oh, I was always that freak who stunk at football and played the piano.” Adam notes that his parents’ indulgence probably contributed to his dissimilarity to other students. When he was six or seven, he loved the Laurel and Hardy movies and “by golly, I wanted a derby,” he says. His parents got him one, which he wore to school. “This didn’t improve the schism between the other students and me,” he acknowledges. College was better. The pivotal moment was the first time Adam took the podium during his conducting class. “I wasn’t 100 percent virginal,” Adam notes. He had conducted his high school orchestra. But he approached his first college conducting assignment by rigorously examining the score, learning its history and every note. “It felt so natural,” he says. He was confident in his preparation and felt that he just knew how to conduct and didn’t have to stop to think about it. “If I wanted something sharp I knew what to do, and if I wanted something smooth I knew what to do.” His professor, Gerhard Samuel, told Adam, “You have just found yourself.” “I’ve always equated movement with music.” Adam illustrates, rocking in his chair and beating time on its surface. “It was that sense of giving physical motion to the music that I loved that was perfectly natural. From the beginning I think you would have had to Krazy glue and Velcro me to my seat if you ever wanted me to www.peninsulalife.biz Peninsula Life 7 remain utterly still while I was listening to music.” Between 1977, when he graduated from Cal Arts with his MFA in conducting, and 1992, when he became Assistant Conductor of the Seattle Symphony, Adam “split into several different people. I was conducting, I was composing, I was playing the piano. Essentially living the life of a peripatetic Bohemian artist who would go here and there.” For a few years, he was a member of a four-man piano ensemble. He was also 8 Peninsula Life a music copyist for Frank Zappa for two years. Then, “at times when nothing was happening musically and I had to keep a roof over my head,” he worked at odd jobs—as a legal secretary, a paralegal, a PR person, a secretary/receptionist. He did what was necessary, he notes, “but always with the goal—I hoped—of conducting full-time. And then as life wore on, it seemed to be a goal that was getting less and less likely.” A low point was a Leonard Bernstein conducting workshop Adam attended in www.peninsulalife.biz 1981. Bernstein had been Adam’s childhood idol. Adam wrote to Bernstein expressing admiration and received a letter encouraging him to attend a young conductors’ workshop in Los Angeles. “I applied and was accepted,” Adam says. “Nightmare!” Adam notes Bernstein was unwell and surrounded by sycophants. Bernstein was supposed to work with all 18 conductors, but essentially “decreed that there were only three of us who were worthy of his attention and the rest of us had to sort of beg for scraps.” Adam had only one session with him. Afterward, Bernstein had a brief conversation with Adam—in the men’s room. Bernstein asked Adam why he wanted to conduct and criticized him for being too intellectual and remote from the music. Bernstein pronounced, “You have a career somewhere in music, but conducting obviously isn’t it. I’m sure of it. You could always get a job writing program notes.” “I don’t think that I have a huge ego,” Adam says, “but I think if I’d had any less ego that summer, I would have given up. That was my trial by fire.” However, the experience “taught me how to be a better teacher, to be critical and gentle at the same time. It showed me how not to deal with students.” That carries over to his work in Port Angeles with the youth in the orchestra. “You realize that you may have a very decisive vote in how they decide to pursue music in their lives,” he states. “If you have dull music or a conductor who is a major putdown artist, that could make them think, ‘No, if this is how it is, I’m done.” Luckily, in the fall after this disastrous workshop, Adam’s college conducting teacher called him with a proposition, asking Adam if he would like to be an assistant conductor with the Pacific Northwest Ballet for the winter’s Nutcracker performances. Adam moved to Seattle in 1982 and “lived with the ballet company for 10 to 12 hours a day,” he says. “I was accompanying the ballet classes and Nutcracker rehearsals on the piano, having the time of my life. I lived in a tiny apartment that was probably two thirds the size of this room. I had my clothes, my clock radio, my toothbrush, I was happy as a clam.” Gerhard Samuel conducted the first week of the Nutcracker, then informed Adam that he was going to do the Sunday matinée. Since Adam hadn’t worked with the orchestra yet, he had to gain their confidence. “I conducted the overture and the orchestra gave me an ovation,” he says. “I started to get this rush.” Adam pauses. “Oh, it’s all coming back to me, I’m starting to get goosebumps.” Right before the complicated ending of the first act, Adam looked down at the score for his notes and realized it was still open to the first page. He’d done the whole thing from memory. “At that point, I said, ‘Lenny, I love you, but you were wrong!’” he exults. “That was my rebirth!” After that, a family friend asked Adam if he’d like to be a recording producer. “I grew up with record albums and they would always say ‘produced by’ and I assumed that was the person who stood by the door and handed out envelopes of money to the players.” Producing turned out to be a complex job. Adam watched the score, giving feedback to the conductor and players about problems during the recording session. “Sometimes you do a take as short as a couple of measures, just to correct one little wrong note. At the end of the session, the takes are gathered and edited, and that becomes the compact disc.” Adam produced a series of classical recordings, including several with Gérard Schwarz and www.peninsulalife.biz Peninsula Life 9 the Seattle Symphony. In 1990, he won a Grammy award as “Classical Producer of the Year”. “I almost foresaw doing this for the rest of my life, which I could have done,” he acknowledges. “It wouldn’t have been ideal, but at least I would have been working with professional musicians.” But in 1991, Gérard asked him to guest conduct the Seattle Symphony. “He called me two days later and said, ‘I want you here in the fall as my new assistant conductor.’ I said, ‘You’ve got me!’ Thus began my full-time conducting career—finally.” His career with the Seattle Symphony as first Assistant Conductor, then Associate Conductor, ended in 2001. “The classical music world is like any other world, rife with politics,” he says. Adam notes that the Symphony was more artistically driven when he started working there in 1992, but that the move to Benaroya Hall coincided with a shift to a more hard-nosed business atmosphere. “A new group of administrators came in,” he says ruefully, “and they decided that they wanted to clean house. They wanted the Symphony to reflect their sensibilities. One of them found a new conductor they wanted to move into my place and eventually they found an excuse to do this, and cut me loose.” At the same time, Adam lost his position with the Northwest Chamber Orchestra. He felt hurt, bewildered and overwhelmed, and still had to help support his two small children. During the next two years, he took whatever freelance work he could find, “very nearly becoming a clerk in the grocery store,” he acknowledges. “Conductors are not easy people to employ, because we are unfortunately kind of specialized.” From that rock-bottom place, Adam rebuilt his life piece by piece. First, he obtained a position as director of instrumental music at Lakeside Upper School. Shortly afterward he was invited to guest conduct the Seattle Philharmonic and was hired as music director/conductor. Finally, invited to guest conduct the Port Angeles Symphony Orchestra, he was eventually hired for that position too, now holding down three jobs that he loves. During a symphony rehearsal break Adam gets a hug of approval from son Oscar. 10 Peninsula Life www.peninsulalife.biz When Adam conducts, his body is like a spring-loaded instrument, its action confined to his arms and hands for much of each musical composition. When he needs more energy or builds toward the climax, however, one fears he will leap off the podium into the orchestra. He leans forward, scoops and pulls with his arms, stands on the balls of his feet, then suddenly springs upward, an explosion of musical intensity. Seeing his hands sketch the shape of the music, one wonders if “conductor” is the right word for the occupation. The conductor is a collector, a holding space, a knitter and binder of notes blown and pounded and bowed; he is both the channel for the composer’s work and the bowl that holds it for the audience to drink from. Perhaps conductor is the best word: the energetic charge of the music passes through the body of the orchestra leader and sparks a response in the heart and mind of the audience member. “I’m aware of being a hub,” he says, “a source of the energy flow of the piece.” However, when he’s conducting, “the only physical things I’m aware of are beating time and giving cues. For years I During rehearsal intermission a moment of theatre comique becomes a family affair with the maestro joining daughter Ella and son Oscar. vignette was told that I show a lot of exuberance on the podium. People would say, ‘oh, you jump four inches in the air’ and I’m like, ‘oh, come on!’” Then, a few years ago when Adam became director of the Seattle Philharmonic Orchestra, they started providing him with DVDs showing his performance. When he watched them, he recognized the people were right. “I do do that!” he concludes. The other musicians have gone home, but the brass section stands in two wings facing Adam, rehearsing Canzonas for Brass by Giovanni Gabrielli. Up close, some seem nervous, others impatient to be done. They repeat several passages until Adam is satisfied, then they discuss the evening’s logistics. As they drift away, Adam comes over, announces that he is soaked, but hugs me anyway. He is wet from the exertion, but also enlivened, brighteyed, rejuvenated. Throughout the rehearsal, Adam conducted the orchestra without a baton. Asked about this, he says, “It’s gotten to the point where using the baton is viewed as affected. If you can make the music without one, don’t use it.” He continues, “Pierre Boulez said, ‘I couldn’t use a stick, it would freeze my hand,’ and I feel the same way. I need both hands to do things.” Between the dress rehearsal and the night’s concert, Adam probably won’t eat at all. He’s very excited at this point, which carries him through, although by the time the concert is over, “I usually want to eat a twenty-inch pizza solo.” He will grab a nap, then get a massage, trying to loosen the tension that conductors carry in their shoulders and upper back. The knottiness results from pulling and prodding the orchestra into shape with their arms; this is equivalent to holding your arms up for two or three hours with dictionaries in them. It’s an upper body workout, an extreme sport of the arts. He rarely listens to music before performances, particularly not recordings of the pieces he plans to conduct. “The minute I know that I’m going to perform a piece, I do not listen to any recordings of it. Never!” he says. “Once I’ve committed myself to doing a piece, all I care about is what the score is telling me. I just want to get it straight from the composer.” This is his life. “I love my children so much. I have two of them and my dear wife and I get to make my living making music. It’s not always perfect, but it’s idyllic.” The final encounter with Adam is both a viewing and a sighting. Leaving the auditorium, I hear someone whistling melodiously; it is a joyful sound and I know it’s Adam, who soon comes into sight, unaware that he’s been spotted. When he sees me, his first response is a characteristic concern for me and whether or not I’m lost. We both acknowledge that we are geographically challenged, but, at least for the moment, we both know where we are going. w Chris Agnew “Living on an island is like living in a storybook—a children’s book. I was born in Hollywood, grew up in LA and came to the island in ’96.” Tanya, Chris’s wife, grew up on the island and they settled here because of her “roots.” “We can show the kids where their mom went to school. It’s a great place to raise kids. There’s room to run around, the climate is moderate; people don’t hesitate to put money into schools, you can have a garden—have that peace nature offers yet enjoy the balance of city and country.” Chris talked about parents’ huge say in kid’s upbringing…about the great parent involvement in schools. “Here is a community where we create the entire environment for raising kids. ”Here among the trees I like it most; here among the trees I have no problems.” SCW www.peninsulalife.biz Peninsula Life 11 S h Art o w C a s e Duncan Y ves Mc K ie r nan , S c u lpt u r e , P o r t A n g eles 12 Peninsula Life www.peninsulalife.biz S h Art o w C a s e M ichael Dennis , Cedar S c u lpt u r e , O lympic colle g e / P o u lsbo www.peninsulalife.biz Peninsula Life 13 S h Art o w C a s e S A C , Glass T ile , C har les Wilkes S chool 14 Peninsula Life www.peninsulalife.biz S h Art o w C a s e s u mme r D ay C a r e , Mu r al , P o r t townsend www.peninsulalife.biz Peninsula Life 15 GRAPEVINE Hoodsport Winery by Laurence Davidson, Sommelier, MCS It takes gumption to be a pioneer; just look at Peggy and Dick Patterson. In starting one of Washington’s first wineries, they have kept that tough-as-nails, hearty Americana spirit alive today. Even some of the grapes they use are pioneers. Coming from arguably the oldest continuously operating vineyard in Washington State, the Island Belle grape, first planted on Stretch Island in the early 1870s, exemplifies the pioneering spirit that permeates everything the Pattersons do. The Patterson’s early commitment to, and continued work with, this obscure and interesting grape variety has led to speculation over the years as to its origin. There are few clues. Island Belle is thought to be a Vitus lambrusca hybrid cross between Concord and Hartford grapes; sometimes identified as Campbell’s Early—maybe erroneously, as geneticists have not tackled its lineage to date. Some horticulturists posit that it is a lambrusca and vinifera hybrid. By making lovely wines from such a unique grape, Dick and Peggy have demonstrated that they are not your ordinary winemakers, not content to play it safe with only recognizable grape variety wines that get lost in the ever-growing and crowded Washington wine scene. There were only a handful of commercial wineries in the entire Northwest at the time the Pattersons decided to pursue their Hoodsport project. In 1973, the Pattersons purchased the property that today is home to Hoodsport Winery—on Highway 101, just a mile south of the town of Hoodsport along Hood Canal. There, they opened a small gift shop to serve the tourist trade while making the long commute from Tacoma, where they lived and worked as educators. Dick was teaching at Tacoma Community College while Peggy was filling in as a substitute teacher at TCC as well as teaching at Pacific Lutheran University. After five years of commuting, something bizarre happened. Dick and Peggy and their Tacoma neighbor, Wayne Hazel, a winemaker and a Boeing employee who was about to be laid off due to the economic downturn of the day, got the crazy notion that starting a winery would be fun. Some might call this a momentary lapse in reason, a slip into short-term insanity. The Pattersons found the idea of owning a winery a romantic calling, though there were also more practical considerations: it would give their children something to do in the summertime while working with the family, as well as teaching them a craft. It was two years from the time the Pattersons submitted their applications to operate a commercial winery before they could open their doors to the public. Today, they lay claim to being the 16th winery licensed in the state of Washington. In the early days, Hoodsport Winery made wines from fruit other than grapes—a practice they continue today. Unlike many operations that choose to add a port, or a fruit wine into their offerings as an afterthought, the Pattersons began their winery by crafting and selling fruit wines. Raspberry wine was the cornerstone of the operation, winning awards and pleasing those who tasted it. Producing raspberry www.peninsulalife.biz Peninsula Life 17 wine was hard to accomplish, though—not because of any difficulty in technique, but because getting approval from the licensing bodies proved very difficult. The government agent in Washington DC assigned to approve their raspberry wine label did not know, literally, what a raspberry was, so their initial label applications were rejected. Dick and Peggy had to work extensively with the agency to prove that such a thing as a raspberry did exist and could be used to create an excellent fruit wine. Was it foresight—the idea of starting with a fruit wine? Peggy laughs at that thought, preferring the term “ignorance” instead. “We wanted to make things that we liked to drink,” she says, and those were fruit wines with a sweeter and carefully defined berry flavor. Working with fruit as diverse as loganberry, gooseberry, cranberry, pear, apple, rhubarb, raspberry and blackberry, the Pattersons have won awards spanning three decades for their fruit wines and cordials, which are generally sold only at the winery. 18 Peninsula Life Today, making fruit wine is a growing trend among many wineries here, although European winemakers have been producing fruit-based wines and cordials for centuries. Fruit wines are the historical descendents of herbal medicines and tinctures produced primarily by abbey monks, beginning early in the 13th century. Not only are they good for you, but—as the monks knew very well—the wines can be wonderfully delicious and complement a wide variety of dishes. The winery plugged along as Wayne and the Pattersons experimented and expanded their craft. It was during this phase that the Island Belle was introduced into the mix. “We struggled in the very early years, between 1983 and 1985,” Peggy says. “We had the gift shop—which was finally remodeled into the Patterson family home—down the road, and the winery to contend with, too. This was the busiest time, with 16- to 18-hour days for all of us. The kids really helped, did a lot of work.” www.peninsulalife.biz As the years progressed and awards started coming in for their fruit-based wines, the Pattersons began working with more commonly known grape varieties. They continued to work with the historical Island Belle but slowly added Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Chenin Blanc, Gewürztraminer and Riesling for their white wines, while Pinot Noir, Merlot, Syrah, Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc were introduced to produce red wines. With some commercial success, showcased by a greatly expanded range of wines, the Pattersons, in following their pioneering muse, started to work with other obscure varietals being grown in Washington: Lemburger—or Blue Franc—a red grape from Austria; Müller Thurgau, a white grape from Germany; and Madeleine Angevine, a white grape from France. Working with that many varieties invariably leads a winemaker to mad-scientist experimentation. From these different grapes, they crafted a few experimental GRAPEVINE blended wines in addition to the singlevarietal bottlings; a practice they continue today. Currently, they produce a white blend called White Cap, and a few red blends consisting of Island Belle/Merlot, a Lemburger/Cabernet Sauvignon, and a Cabernet Sauvignon/Merlot under their “Orca Series” wine label. The Orca Series came about from a partnering agreement with another winemaking facility. Designed to raise awareness of the dwindling habitat and shrinking numbers of Orca whales, part of the proceeds go to awareness programs run by the Orca Network, a non-profit educational and conservation agency in Washington State. The Orca Series of wines have been warmly received by both the public and press, garnering a coveted Best Value buy from Robert Parkers’ Wine Enthusiast. Today, Peggy Patterson thrives on being busier than any dozen people. She is the CEO of Hoodsport Winery and also serves on the Washington Wine Commission, the Puget Sound Grape Growers’ Association and the Western Washington Horticulture Association. Personally and warmly greeting the many visitors the winery receives every day, she is also quick to lend a hand in the daily operations. Dick, now in his early 70s, has slowed his daily workload but is still involved in the business and can be found strolling along the rows of tanks or in the lab. He still oversees the Hood Canal facility, but also puts in a hand at the Zillah, Washington winemaking operation, which is responsible for the majority of Vitus vinifera—or classic grape variety—wines; mainly the Orca Series labels. Peggy points out that Dick has the better palate and is constantly studying and tinkering to improve his knowledge and techniques for crafting wines from a widely divergent source of materials. Dick is also an avid fly-fisherman—a passion since his youth. He travels frequently to his home state of Montana to fish the clean and peaceful rivers of his childhood. He wears an easy smile—his face scored with laugh creases and the look of someone who has been through life and enjoyed every minute. 20 Peninsula Life www.peninsulalife.biz With over 80 awards for their fruit and grape wines, (including a very prestigious and coveted Gold from the Challenge International du Vin, France, for their 1994 Cabernet Sauvignon and the Governor’s Award for their raspberry cordial), Hoodsport Winery has achieved something that few have—long-term success and growth in a business directed by the whims of nature. And they’ve done it on their terms. By producing the varieties of wines they love, they are unique in a world that presses for homogeny. Looking into the future is always a difficult bit of magic, yet the Pattersons seem to know where they are going. “In the wine business you don’t have a choice. There are only two directions to go, up or down. You must always keep that upward momentum of constant improvement,” says Dick. The pioneering spirit that gave rise to Hoodsport Winery is getting a premium boost from an unlikely source. Peggy Patterson is fully aware of the changes coming to the Pacific Northwest due to the growing presence and influence of global warming. “It’s getting warmer here every year and it shows in the types of grapes that are being planted and ripening,” Peggy says. She has already been looking at the projections of the shift in climate and sees great opportunity for the Puget Sound American Viticultural Area—an AVA that has struggled for respect because its historically cool climate and short growing season has not been ideal for grapevines, especially those that require much more heat to fully ripen into great wine-producing grapes. Predictions from recently published studies show that the northern Pacific Northwest (western Washington and British Columbia) will be, in another 10 to 15 years, capable of growing world-class Cabernet Sauvignon, Zinfandel, Merlot and Pinot family vines with great success. In the past five years, 70+ new vineyards have been planted in the Puget Sound region, with more on the way. Some already are showing ripening success with grapes as notoriously fickle as Pinot Noir, Pinot Blanc and Pinot Gris. This change in climate, while a potential disaster for some long-established wine producing and growing regions around the world, opens up a whole new chapter for Washington wine production and brings a host of new opportunities with it. For the Pattersons—the intrepid pioneers behind Hoodsport Winery—and those who admire and follow in their footsteps, the future looks promising in western Washington. Hoodsport is prepared to take advantage of changes by working with new vineyards and any interesting grape that comes their way. w Hoodsport Winery: North 23501 Highway 101, Hoodsport, WA www.hoodsport.com Stretch Island, because of its historical nature and intertwining story with Hoodsport Winery, requires some examination. It is a small speck of land rising just above the Puget Sound waters near Bremerton. Named for Samuel Stretch, a gunner’s mate, by the explorer Charles Wilke during his 1841 exploration of the Puget Sound, Stretch Island became an unlikely pioneer in the Washington wine scene. In 1872, a fellow named Lambert Evans came upon Stretch Island in search of his personal Nirvana. An ex-Confederate soldier who had been released from prison in the deep south, Mr. Evans, it is recorded, walked the entire way from Florida to Southern California and then up to the Puget Sound. Having found tranquility and beauty on the unlikely Stretch Island, he homesteaded and planted grapevines, which he thought would do well. Through the backbreaking work of hand-tilling soil, laying out and working vineyards without any mechanization, his gamble paid off. As his grapevines matured, Evans, according to local lore, would row his flat-bottomed skiff across the 20 miles of Puget Sound waters to Olympia to sell his grapes after every harvest. Those grapes were the Island Belle; once the most widely planted red grape in the Pacific Northwest. www.peninsulalife.biz Peninsula Life 21 GREEN THUMB Salal Gaultheria shallon Our ubiquitous cornucopia. by David Deardorff and Kathryn Wadsworth I t’s raining. Mid-March in Forks and rain drips off the bill of my cap, runs down my face. I cut another branch of salal and add it to the bundle in my arms. I look at the mist-shrouded forest of Sitka spruce behind us, then up at the pewter sky. No let-up in sight. David shakes the water off his armload of salal and adds it to the growing pile in the back of our artist friend, Susan’s, beatup station wagon. Her golden retriever, Gauguin, soaked and shivering, bounds through the underbrush chasing imaginary rabbits. Susan walks over to the car, tosses her bundle on top of the pile. “Enough. It’s teatime,” she says as she whistles for the dog. Gratefully, we get into the car and head for Susan’s. The aroma of wet dog overpowers the fragrance of the flowers and foliage filling the back of the car. We’ve collected flowers of Oregon grape and redflowering currant in addition to foliage of salal, evergreen huckleberry and Western 22 Peninsula Life Salal flowering in the authors’ woodland garden in the springtime on the Olympic Peninsula. Flowers are pollinated by bees and will mature into black berries, which are edible and sweet red cedar. Susan intends to use all these native plants to create an intimate sense of place at the posh gallery in Pioneer Square that will host her one-woman show. In the warmth of her ramshackle farmhouse we shed rain gear, and Susan puts on the tea kettle. David seizes the moment to study Susan’s work. Her paintings fill the walls of the living room, dining room and hallway. Large canvasses in brilliant colors. She’s brought her experience with the Taos neo-expressionists back to the Olympic Peninsula. Her images re-interpret her native landscape and glow in the soft silver light of the Pacific Northwest. The kettle boils and Susan lifts it off the heat. “I’ve got some gunpowder green tea. Interested?” “You bet,” David says from his seat at the kitchen table. “When’s your opening?” “It begins at exactly four-oh-seven in the afternoon, Pacific standard time, on Tuesday, March 20th. That’s the precise moment of the vernal equinox, the first www.peninsulalife.biz day of spring.” She glances at me. “Shall I serve?” “Please.” I eye the batik scarf she’s wearing. “One of your own?” “Yes.” Susan pours out the tea and hands it around. “Natural dyes from native plants. This blue is from salal berries and the yellow-green from salal leaves.” “Salal. Gaultheria shallon. One of our most ubiquitous native plants.” I cradle the handleless hot teacup in my cold hands and savor the aroma of the gunpowder green tea. I think about the tea made from salal and its ability to relieve stomach aches and treat tuberculosis, coughs and diarrhea. “Too bad it’s taken for granted today. I know people who try to stamp it out, but what a boon it is to the people of this region,” David says as he adds wood to the embers in the fireplace. Flames rise and lap the log. The indigenous peoples of the Northwest harvested salal berries in huge quantities and dried them into loaves. A www.peninsulalife.biz Peninsula Life 23 primary food source, these cakes were eaten throughout the winter with whale or seal oil. Wildcrafters today often use the sweet berries to make jams, jellies and pies. Tart Oregon grapes enhance the flavor. Smiling, Susan takes a jar of salal berry jam from her cupboard. “Historically, didn’t it have medicinal uses too?” David nods. “Especially the leaves. Chewing young leaves suppressed hunger. Mashed leaves were applied as a poultice to cuts, burns and sores.” I spread fresh baked scones with the dark purple jam and take a bite. “This is the best salal berry jam I’ve ever had. What’s your secret?” “I crush whole berries, seeds, skin and all. I don’t add any other kinds of berries. While it boils, I add a little sugar to taste. Not much, ’cause it’ll mask the subtle flavor. Then, a little water. Usually, I don’t add pectin.” Songbirds value the berries as well, and many people prefer to leave the berries on the bushes in order to attract wild birds into their gardens. It’s a good way to counteract the fragmentation of natural habitat so common in urban and suburban areas. It helps to maintain ecosystem integrity one small step at a time. Long before anyone had thought much about urbanization, development and habitat destruction, Lewis and Clark collected the first botanical specimens of salal for scientific study. On their famous expedition of discovery, when this land was wilderness, Lewis wrote in his journal, “The native fruits and berries in uce [sic] among the Indians of this neighborhood are a deep purple berry about the size of a small cherry called by them Shal-lon [Salal]…” Later, Frederick Pursh described and named the plants collected by Lewis and Clark, using the native word “shal-lon” for this particular species of Gaultheria. Twenty years after Lewis and Clark, the Royal Horticultural Society in Great Britain sent David Douglas to the Northwest to collect seeds. He shipped them back to England to the royal Botanic Gardens at Kew. The British keenly evaluated our Northwest native plants for their potential as ornamental subjects for their gardens. Seeds of salal, Gaultheria shallon, were the very first Pacific Northwest native plant to be sent to England by Douglas. Salal still has enormous ornamental value. The leafy branches are a major forest product, harvested from the wild, with permission from the landowner, and sold to florists, who call it “lemon-leaf.” Its extremely long vase life, attractive shape and color, and ready availability make it a staple ingredient for floral arrangements. Our friend Susan had decided to use salal to decorate the gallery for her Salal berries were a staple food for Northwest tribes. Cooked and dried into cakes, they provided nourishment all winter long. Today they are harvested and used for jams and jellies opening partly because of these utilitarian values. More importantly, because salal, especially when combined with red-flowering current, Oregon grape, and Western red cedar, captures the spirit of the Pacific Northwest. The colors, feel and aroma elucidate the meaning and enhance the experience of her paintings. David and Susan discuss pigments used in oil paints, weighing the relative merits of the Quinacridone reds and the Phthalocyanine blues and greens. Gauguin, dry and sleepy, curls up on the floor in front of the fireplace. I look out the window. The sun, bright and cheery, lights up the rainbejeweled salal bushes. Like one of Susan’s paintings. w Salal is harvested by the ton for the florist trade and is a major non-timber forest product in the Pacific Northwest 24 Peninsula Life www.peninsulalife.biz Salal,Gaultheria shallon David Deardorff is a scientist who uses writing and photography to explain the science and beauty of the natural world. He holds a Ph.D. in Botany from the University of Washington, where he studied under Dr. Arthur Kruckeberg and Dr. Leo Hitchcock. He is now retired from the faculty of the University of Hawaii and Washington State University in Jefferson County. Kathryn Wadsworth is a writer and naturalist who loves to explore the outdoors, whether in the garden or the wild, and share it with others through writing and photography. She holds a Masters Degree in Communications from the University of New Mexico. GARDEN TIPS w Native range: Pacific coastal region, from Southern California to Southeast Alaska, from the eastern slope of the Cascades to the coast. Salal is abundant on the Olympic and Kitsap Peninsulas, Washington. It has naturalized in Great Britain. w Exposure: Salal is at its best in dappled light under evergreen trees like Douglas fir and Western red cedar. It will tolerate full sun or full shade. w Water: Little to regular. Handily survives the west coast annual summer drought without supplemental watering once established. Appreciates extra water when grown in full sun. w Soil: Related to rhododendrons and azaleas, salal prefers acid soils in a wide range of textures from sandy to silty loams. Prefers abundant organic matter incorporated into the soil. Resents alkaline soils. w Temperature: Winter hardiness to USDA Zones 5 to 10. Sunset Western Garden Book Zones 3-7, 14-17, 21-24. The Olympic and Kitsap Peninsulas are USDA Zone 8; the coastal area where most of the cities and towns on the peninsula are located is in Sunset Zone 5. w Size: Erect growth to three or four feet high and wide when grown in partial shade. Can grow taller in shade (six to ten feet) and shorter (two feet) and more compact in sun. w Foliage: Leaves are dark green, leathery, lustrous, very attractive, and are evergreen. Early spring new growth is lighter green. Leaves are large—to four inches long by two to three inches wide—and the texture is coarse. invasive, so careful placement or root barriers such as pots may be required. Can be used as a hedge or, unpruned, as a free-standing evergreen backdrop in partial shade of woodland gardens. Can also be grown in containers. w Flowers: Individual flowers are small, about a half inch wide, and white to pink. Flowers are glandularhairy, bell-shaped and hang down on racemes at the tips of each branch. w Fruits: Dark purple to black berries are edible and sweet, showy in the landscape and loved by birds. The berries make excellent jams and jellies. Look for them in late summer and fall. The leaves of salal were used medicinally by Native Americans, both as a tea for coughs and as a poultice for burns and cuts. w Pests and Diseases: A very low maintenance plant. Can be subject to root weevils which eat notches on the edges of leaves. Can sometimes become infected with leaf spots caused by any of several different fungi. w Garden uses: Broad-leaf evergreen shrubs such as salal are particularly useful to establish the bones of the garden. It tolerates pruning and shaping well and can be grown as a ground cover with a yearly high mowing to maintain low stature. Salal spreads aggressively by underground runners and can be www.peninsulalife.biz Peninsula Life 25 Far Reaches Farm 26 Peninsula Life www.peninsulalife.biz by Mary Robson Y ou can tour the world of plants just by visiting Far Reaches Farm. This new nursery is rooted in and thrives on the Olympic Peninsula in Port Townsend. But its tendrils extend across the globe, growing from seeds gathered from exotic destinations. Far Reaches’ owners, Kelly Dodson and Sue Milliken, specialize in growing unique garden plants from different parts of the world—South Africa, Tasmania, China, Tibet and India. They hunt seeds themselves and get them by trading with other “plant nuts.” For example, “We have a friend who goes to Tibet on business, collects seeds, and we grow them,” Kelly explains. Far Reaches’ name describes their international collecting mania, but is also somewhat of a pun. Kelly says, “We thought it would be a far reach to get this going, after we’d both owned other nurseries.” Their personal partnership merged two nurseries and two lifetimes of fascination with plants. “This is who we are, this is all we’ve ever done,” he adds. The pair settled in Port Townsend about 8 years ago, acting on Sue’s “longtime attraction to the place.” When they began building the nursery, their 6-acre farm property had a big barn and shed. They’ve since added four large greenhouses, now stuffed to their edges with plants in progress. And, they continue to expand: spring of 2007 will find a larger sales area to allow them to offer even more plants. They persist in their passion despite the decline in the numbers of independent nursery producers. “A lot of them have closed in the past three years,” Kelly notes. Far Reaches gives all of us access to plants we’d never be able to see or find without Kelly and Sue’s dedicated efforts. They work full-time with the help of two Sue, Kelly and Canela (Spanish for “cinnamon”) 27 part-time employees and their part-terrier, Canela, to produce their unusual plants. Walking through the greenhouse, Kelly touches and observes plants as if he’s offering them some of his energy. “These are our babies,” he smiles. And he describes dashing out of bed—wearing a camper’s headlamp but little else—to rescue cuttings of tree dahlia (Dahlia imperialis) from a sudden November freeze. Although it can be difficult at times, Kelly says, “We’ll not give up trying to grow the obscure and the unprofitable—we like the challenge. Many of our plants just don’t adapt well to mass production.” For Far Reaches Farm, 20 of any plant constitutes a large planting. Travel to “wild” places to gather seeds excites them: “If funded, I would be off plant hunting all the time,” Kelly laughs. Hunting in the “wild” means travel to areas seldom visited by Westerners and being open to what occurs where tourists never venture. Kelly quotes himself on agreeing to an expedition: “Of course I’ll go, but where the heck is Nagaland?” It’s the wild north28 Peninsula Life east corner of India, a seldom-explored area touching the Burmese border. Kelly speaks with pride of traveling in the same style as “old-time collectors,” who are impervious to discomfort, do their research in advance and proceed fearlessly into the unknown. Sue remembers, “In China, on the last trip, we stayed at a hotel at the base of a mountain and slept with the lights on all night to keep the rats away.” Not your textbook tourists, Kelly and Sue travel where roads vanish, cross swinging bridges in the dark, deal with machinegun-carrying rebel armies on patrol, as they were in Nagaland, and routinely stop to fix flat tires. They climbed Nagaland’s nearly 13,000 foot Mt. Saramati, clambering up through thickets—sometimes on their knees—where paths had to be cut by machetes. A small hotel fire led Kelly to write, “We looked out and, sure enough, my worst fears were about to come true—I was going to miss breakfast.” Extreme travel pleases both of them, and Sue says, “What I’ve loved the most is embracing new cultures, seeing people www.peninsulalife.biz Lobelia tupa who haven’t met Westerners very often and joining them.” Travel, for them, means developing human relationships as well as collecting seeds. Importing collected seeds requires a briarpatch of permits, and Kelly notes, “We do everything by the book.” They use a general plant import permit as well as a CITES permit (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species), even though many of the seeds they collect are not listed as endangered. Traveling as they do requires local paperwork, permits, guides and interpreters. They also keep intricate and detailed records on each seed: where gathered, plants in association with it, when and how collected, results when sowed. Collecting seeds constitutes a mission for them. Sue believes that with so much destruction of habitat—“China has changed incredibly since our visit in 1997”—the germ plasm they gather in other countries can someday be taken back to areas where the plant has disappeared. Bringing back seeds is just the first step. Coaxing growth from those seeds isn’t easy, although both of them thrive on the joys and uncertainties of plant propagation. “We are growers; we grow stuff we want to see available, even if it is difficult and time-consuming,” Kelly contends. One thing they’ve learned is to keep seed flats, even those appearing empty, to be sure they haven’t missed the irregular germination of a rare plant. Kelly says, “I would never throw out a seed flat until it’s been five years.” He adds, “Every seed is just a surprise package, and we like surprises, especially the good ones.” To be successful, Kelly and Sue rely on their combined years of experience, and do constant research and practical experimenting. With some seeds, they separate the supply, planting part in the fall, and part in the spring to see how they respond to different conditions. They’ve devoted time and money to developing effective potting mixes, and if they receive plants grown by another nursery, they repot them in their own mix. “Ninety percent of what we sell, we have grown ourselves, and we know where these seeds originate,” Kelly says. Sue adds, “We have to put costs into the soil, it’s what helps with success. Customers notice that their plants grow vigorously without being pumped up with fertilizer. We’ve been topdressing beds with washed dairy manure. The plants love it. We use no peat moss in our mix, no fungicides, no toxic insecticides. What happens, happens.” Their business fits well into the Olympic Peninsula because they work for sustainability and environmental friendliness. They are small and local, working to protect small farms and open space preservation while keeping their work personal. They’ve expressed some of their local dedication by donating plants for the boxes next to Haller Fountain in Port Townsend. One of several greenhouses used to start plants with precious seeds brought back from exotic places around the world. Jeanne Ball and her canine pal Leonard lend a hand at the Farm. Triosteum himalayanum, grown from seeds brought from China. Alstroemeria x Bomarea (hybrid) “That stuff needs to be tough,” Kelly explains, then adds, “The palms honor the late Steve Corra who loved them.” Kelly’s irresistible, wry and dry humor comes through on unique plant labels and in his blog (www.farreachesfarm.com). Fearless about his opinions, he may even feature the local touch on a label, as in his description of the spectacular Chilean Fire Tree (Embothrium coccineum): “Our classic, all-time Desert Island plant where, if we were stranded and could only choose one plant etc., we would be sitting beneath an Embothrium munching a Tyler Street Pesto Savory Scone and drinking a Townsend Bay Pinot Gris. A 4-alarm inferno of flame red flowers.” Love for their plants also shows in their extensive—with more to come—display gardens. When they’ve grown the plant to maturity, they can demonstrate its character more completely. Kelly and Sue urge visitors to expand garden palettes and try new plant varieties. They evaluate plants for drought tolerance, deer resistance, and their poise in local gardens. Their berm garden parallels the drive into the sales area; their shade garden, planted only two years ago, features spring blooming species: rhododendrons, arisemas, clumps of double trillium, double bloodroot and hardy orchids. We gardeners who are not planning to scramble through jungle foliage in search of plants can forge over to Far Reaches Farm, where we benefit from the knowledge and integrity these two bring to their business. Their attitude can be distilled by Kelly’s summary of their work: “The plant world is infinite, and we are still learning.” w www.peninsulalife.biz Peninsula Life 29 Far Reaches Farm Recommends Flowering plants: Arisaema costatum: Himalayan Jack-in-the-Pulpit. Fabulous big, three-lobed leaves and hooded cobra flowers of maroon with pale stripes. Bletilla striata: Hardy and tough Chinese orchid with pink or white perfect orchid flowers. Cardiocrinum giganteum: Himalayan lily relative, flowering at 8’-12’ with big, fragrant white trumpets with maroon throats. Cotula lineariloba: Sun-loving South African, it makes low mounds of feathery silver leaves that like petting and is topped by wiry stems holding yellow button flowers. Galega ‘Lady Wilson’: British selection of this herbaceous perennial. To 6’ high with loads of light blue and white Lupine-like flowers for two months in summer. Vines and Shrubs Geranium libani: Wintergrowing, spring-blooming and summer-dormant rock-hardy Geranium from Syria and Lebanon. Totally drought tolerant. Kniphofia pauciflora: Not your regular Red-Hot Poker. Diminutive species from South Africa, under 2’ tall. Yellow flowers late spring and reblooms through summer. Lilium nepalense: Northern Indian lily with huge, pendulous pale yellow flowers on the outside and rich dark red-purple inside. Meconopsis ‘Lingholm’: Himalayan Blue Poppy. The best perennial selection, with big crepe paper true, blue flowers. A fabled plant. Veratrum stamineum: Japanese counterpart to our native False Hellebore, but gorgeous white flowers that may be the best in the genus. Billardiera longiflora: Tasmanian Blueberry Vine. Small evergreen vine to 10’ with fabulous marblesized non-messy fruit, from late summer until hard freeze. Physocarpus malvaceus: Mallow Ninebark. East-of-the-Cascades shrub with showy clusters of white flowers, neat peeling shreddy bark and great fall color. Genuine Green Jade ring and bracelet Sterling silver Guaranteed for life by Boma Ring $64 Bracelet $84 0 72 S tr er at W ownsend Port T eet Da ay ily rid 9:30 F n am–6 pm until 8pm o Free Gift le ilab Wrapping and Shipping Ava w w w. t h e g r e e n e y e s h a d e . c o m • 3 6 0 - 3 8 5 - 3 8 3 8 o r 8 8 8 - 7 8 5 - 3 8 3 8 30 Peninsula Life www.peninsulalife.biz HEALTH Menopause and Life Beyond Hormone Replacement Therapy by Narinder Duggal, MD One thing I know in medicine is that I am always humbled by what we do not know. I am certain that change is the only certainty we have in life. The core of medical dogma about women’s health has been shaken by recent research results from the University of Texas’ M.D. Anderson Cancer Center. A study there reported a 7 to 15 percent reduction in breast cancer after women reduced their use of hormone replacement therapy. The message is clear: hormone therapy—the most complex of drug therapies—is not well understood, and we need alternative choices for menopausal women. While numerous studies have reached similar conclusions, many physicians continue to promote the use of oral hormones in menopause. Prior to the 20th century, many women didn’t live long enough to experience menopause. In fact, the average woman lived to be 45 years old. Today, the average woman lives to be older than 86 years and may live one-third to one-half of her life after the onset of menopause. Now, nearly one-third of American women, or over 37 million, are between the ages of 40 and 60. Each year, 1.3 million American women enter menopause. Menopause needs to be addressed more by the medical professions, as women face symptoms such as hot flashes, mood swings, decreased libido, vaginal dryness, and insomnia. It’s not just the women who suffer: spouses and children share the distress. Medicine still has questions about what causes these symptoms and why menopause seems to be linked with greater risks of heart disease and some cancers. Study after study has shown that the initial hypothesis and protocol for hormone replacement therapy (HRT) cause more cumulative harm than good for women. The initial observation made sense. The symptoms experienced by menopausal women seem to improve with HRT. Therefore, the assumption was that hormones must be good for you. It was logical that HRT became the answer to women’s menopause-related symptoms. Furthermore, total cholesterol and good cholesterol (HDL) appeared to improve with HRT, and it was assumed that improved cholesterol decreased the risk of heart disease in women. In the 1990s, several studies suggested that HRT could help prevent heart attacks, osteoporosis, colon cancer, and even Alzheimer’s disease. “It was believed to be almost malpractice not to offer women estrogen for menopause,” says Dr. Isaac Schiff, chief of gynecology at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston. However, there was a dark side to hormones. They were associated with an increased rate of breast cancer and clots, but the medical establishment was almost certain that the benefits of cardiovascular protection and bone health were greater than the risk. Fortunately, medical science challenged the accepted HRT hypothesis with randomized studies. In July 2002, the common belief that hormones were the fountain of youth was shattered. The landmark and groundbreaking results from the Women’s Health Initiative (WHI), a large, eight-year study funded by the National Institutes of Health, found that HRT did not prevent heart disease or breast cancer. In fact, it raised the risks slightly. Estrogen and progesterone in the form of Prempro also caused an increase in venous clots in the lungs and legs. On the positive side, HRT decreased bone fractures and colon cancer. However, based on the body of evidence, HRT caused more harm than good, and the study was stopped early. Estrogen is still a standard treatment for hot flashes and mood swings if the symptoms are severe. But now many doctors personalize treatment with a variety of formulations in pills, patches, and creams. Some also recommend alternative therapies. Here is what every middle-aged woman and her family need to know about menopause: Q When does menopause begin? A Menopause actually occurs in three phases. The first, called perimenopause, can last for two to eight years as the ovaries gradually decrease estrogen production. At this time, women may have irregular menstrual periods, hot flashes, night sweats, www.peninsulalife.biz Peninsula Life 31 and some mood swings. Actual menopause is defined retrospectively after a woman’s periods have stopped for 12 consecutive months. The average age is 51 in America, but some women are affected in their early 40s. The final phase, called post-menopause, refers to the 35 or so years that most women live after their periods stop. Q What are the quality-of-life issues and long-term health risks of menopause? A Hot flashes are the most common symptom, affecting up to 75 percent of perimenopausal and recently menopausal women. One-third of them report more than 10 hot flashes a day. Sleep disruption, mood disturbance and memory problems are other common complaints, along with vaginal dryness, headaches, and heart palpitations. About a third of all menopausal women have either mild or no symptoms, a third have moderate ones, and for another third, they’re serious. Some 25 percent of women continue to experience symptoms for 10 years or more. Interesting data shows that women who maintain their ideal body weight have the fewest menopausal symptoms. When estrogen levels drop, the rate of bone loss accelerates rapidly. The average woman loses two to three percent of bone mass yearly for the first three years after menopause. As a result, osteoporosis is much more common in the decades after menopause. A woman’s risk of heart disease also increases sharply after menopause, but the American College of Cardiology no longer considers estrogen’s role cardio-protective. Q What are the lessons from the Women’s Health Initiative (WHI) study and the University of Texas Study? A The WHI was conducted mainly to learn if HRT could prevent heart disease. It involved 16,600 women, average age 63, who were taking Prempro, a combination of estrogen and progestin. Although the study was supposed to be conducted for eight years, it was halted early—in 2002—because the risk of breast 32 Peninsula Life www.peninsulalife.biz cancer appeared to exceed any benefits of HRT. In fact, in the population studied, HRT carried a small but significant risk of breast cancer, heart attack, stroke, and blood clots. Results from another part of the study showed no benefit from HRT in preventing Alzheimer’s or other memory loss, and it did not improve the quality of life in postmenopausal women. The study did find that HRT helped lessen the risk of hip fractures and colon cancer. The latest study from the University of Texas provided further evidence that HRT is associated with an increase in risk of breast cancer. The observation was made that there has been a 7 to 15 percent reduction in breast cancer cases in recent years, following decreased use of HRT after the published results of the WHI study. Q Is HRT a valid option and a promising look at a natural remedy? A About 28 percent of U.S. women aged 50 to 74 are taking HRT. That’s because, despite the WHI findings, nothing seems to works better. However, data from Europe and, in particular, Germany, a world leader in natural evidenced-based medicine, show Klimadynon (Bionorica’s special extract of black cohosh) to give menopausal symptom reduction equivalent to that for pharmaceutical hormones. The consensus among American physicians who are not aware of the world literature is that short-term HRT is “probably” safe for healthy menopausal women who take the lowest effective dose to ease symptoms. Ultimately, women should aim to limit HRT use to five years, and women with a history of breast cancer, blood clots, or liver disease should avoid it entirely. If physicians were more aware of the literature from Europe, they would see that there is compelling data to support the use of natural medicines to treat menopausal symptoms. Q What other drugs can treat menopausal symptoms? A Ironically, instead of looking to a natural safe remedy like Klimadynon, many physicians are treating the multitude of menopausal symptoms separately with pharmaceutical drugs, and playing prescription drug “roulette.” Is it logical to give a woman separate medications for each menopausal symptom: sleeping, hot flash, mood swings, and anxiety? Clinicians justify this approach based on studies of women with breast cancer. The studies found that antidepressants such as Effexor and Paxil can help reduce hot flashes by 50 percent or more in a majority of patients. But these antidepressants come with their own side effects, such as decreased libido and sleep disruption, and some women have trouble getting off of them. Clonidine, a blood pressure medicine, is also sometimes prescribed for hot flashes. Used in patch form, it can reduce symptoms by up to 50 percent, but at the most effective dose it can also cause dizziness and fatigue. Q Can certain diets and exercise help? A Absolutely. There’s overwhelming evi- dence that diet and lifestyle changes, such as transitioning to a plant-based diet and daily exercise, can reduce and/or eliminate the symptoms of menopause. It is indisputable that a healthy lifestyle is critical in minimizing menopausal symptoms. Q How up? A It’s do natural remedies stack and clinically tested products in the world a mixed picture. Hundreds of products claiming to relieve menopausal symptoms are sold in supermarkets, health food stores, and pharmacies. Most contain phytoestrogens, a natural form of estrogen derived from plants. Most of these products have no clinical trials showing their efficacy and safety. Klimadynon is a natural phytoestrogen made from the plant black cohosh (Cimicifuga racemosa). Different from other phytoestrogen products, it is the only natural estrogen to undergo a one-year clinical trial that has proven it effective and safe in reducing menopausal symptoms. In fact Klimadynon, produced by Bionorica, is just as effective as HRT, without the latter’s dangerous side effects. Klimadynon has been recognized by the National Institutes of Health for outstanding research, efficacy, and safety. One of the best-validated of natural evidence-based medicines, Klimadynon is the only black cohosh extract that, in a head-to-head study recently published in a peer reviewed journal, has shown equal efficacy to estrogen in reducing hot flashes. Klimadynon also appears to have natural selective estrogen receptor modulator (SERM)-like activity. Ironically, medicine is trying to develop new synthetic SERMs, which could ease symptoms of menopause and protect bone and heart health without adding to the risk of breast cancer—but is ignoring data on “natural SERM.” Herbal creams and bioidentical hormones containing estrogen and progesterone may help with hot flashes, but since they are not regulated by the Food and Drug Administration, it’s hard to know what you’re getting. Also, these are still synthetic hormones and more data is needed on their role in treating menopause. Even with these limitations, they are a good choice if natural remedies are not effective. Menopause symptoms are not going to go away and we have to re-think our approach to treatment. The foundation of therapy is maintaining your ideal body weight, getting regular exercise, sleeping well, and eating a diet high in plant-based foods. If menopausal symptoms continue to persist, then high quality, evidencebased natural medicines like Klimadynon may be the next viable option. If natural medicines are not enough, then topical estrogen and progesterone should be tried, but these are expensive because they have to be prepared by a compounding pharmacy. If your symptoms are too severe and the above therapies have not decreased symptoms, oral HRT could be your last option, but use the lowest dose for the shortest duration of time. Until next time, stay healthy and be well. w www.peninsulalife.biz Peninsula Life 33 BEANS ARE BACK IN STYLE by Ginny Messina, MPH, RD L et’s face it—it can be a little difficult to forge a culinary relationship with beans. With the exception of baked beans, many Americans didn’t eat these foods when they were growing up. And it can be hard to let go of the idea that beans are boring. Sophisticated Cuisine from a True Superfood One way to update your attitude about this group of foods is to become familiar with their use in other cultures. Beans are central to some of the most exotic and sophisticated cuisine throughout the world. Try garlic-infused Cuban black beans, spicy Indian lentil curry, or lemony chickpea hummus from the Middle East. Or make a simple peasant dish from Sicily by simmering chickpeas with fresh tomatoes, garlic, onions and herbs and serving it with good Italian bread and a glass of Chianti. If the culinary appeal of beans is not enough to win you over, their incredible health benefits may get your attention. There is a reason that beans are at center stage in the diets of most of the world’s people: they are an incredible nutrition bargain. Low in fat and free of both saturated fat and cholesterol, these foods are packed with protein and fiber. They are also rich in the B-vitamin folate, which 34 Peninsula Life helps to prevent both heart disease and cancer, as well as birth defects. And they are good sources of minerals like iron and zinc and, often, calcium. Beans are linked to reduced risk for cancer, heart disease, diabetes and Alzheimer’s Disease. Pesty Gas Believe it or not, a little intestinal gas is good for you. Beans contain sugars that humans can’t digest. The sugars travel through the intestines to the colon where they are broken down by bacteria. In the process, the bacteria produce gas. Certain types of bacteria really like bean sugars. Eating more beans actually promotes growth of these friendly bacteria in the colon, contributing to an environment that reduces colon cancer risk. But healthy or not, gas can be uncomfortable, not to mention embarrassing. Most people adjust over time to beans and feel much less gassy after eating them. Exercise, like a walk after dinner, may help, too. You can also choose to eat beans with less gas-producing potential, such as lentils and split peas. Rinsing beans before soaking them helps, too. First, place the beans and water in a pot and bring to a boil. Boil for two minutes, rinse the beans and add fresh water. Then soak as usual. Finally, you can purchase products like Beano that pre-digest the bean sugars. www.peninsulalife.biz Cooking Beans If you are too busy to cook beans from their dried state, canned beans are delicious, healthful and convenient. Cooking beans from scratch takes a little planning—you need to soak them first—but it doesn’t take much time or effort. To cook beans, follow these simple steps: 1. Rinse the beans in a colander and then place in a pot or bowl with 3 cups cold water per cup of beans. 2. Let the beans soak in the refrigerator for at least four hours or as long as 24 hours. (Lentils and split peas don’t require soaking.) 3. Drain the beans and put into a pot with 3 cups of water for every cup of dried beans you started with. 4. Bring to a boil, reduce to simmer and cook until beans are tender—1 to 2 hours depending on the type of bean. Beans in a Hurry Oops—did you forget to soak your beans? Then try the quick-soak method. Rinse the beans and place in a pot. Add 3 cups of water for every cup of beans. Bring the water and beans to a boil and let boil for 2 minutes. Remove from heat, cover and let stand at room temperature for 1 hour. Then drain, add fresh water and cook as usual. w What to do with Beans Once beans are cooked, it’s easy to turn them into quick and tasty dishes. Here are a few ideas: ◗ Mexican-style beans: For each cup of cooked beans, stir in ¼ cup salsa and ¼ cup corn kernels. Heat and serve over rice topped with shredded cheese, chopped avocado and tomatoes. ◗ Mediterranean beans: Sauté ½ cup chopped onion and 2 stalks of celery in 3 tablespoons of olive oil until they are tender. Stir in 2 cans or 3 cups of cooked black beans, 4 ounces sliced pimiento-stuffed green olives, and a 4-ounce can of chopped chili peppers. ◗ Beans with mushrooms: Sauté 1 ½ cups sliced mushrooms in 2 tablespoons olive oil. Add 3 cups of cooked beans and season with black pepper and fresh lemon juice. You might also add canned or chopped tomatoes to this dish. ◗ Barbecued beans: Mix in 3 tablespoons prepared barbecue sauce per cup of cooked beans. using vegetarian sausage). Simmer together until everything is heated through and the apples are tender. ◗ Zesty beans with tomato sauce: Mix in 3 tablespoons prepared spicy spaghetti sauce per cup of cooked beans. ◗ Italian-style beans with figs: Sauté ¼ cup chopped onion and a clove of minced garlic in 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Add 3 cups of cooked white beans and ½ cup chopped figs. Season with 1 teaspoon each dried basil and rosemary. ◗ Good luck beans: Sauté 1 cup of chopped onion and 2 garlic cloves, minced in 3 tablespoons of olive oil. Add 4 cups of beans and ¼ teaspoon ground cayenne pepper (or more if you like your food very spicy). Make this with black-eyed peas for a very traditional southern New Year’s Day supper. (This dish is supposed to bring good luck for the coming year!) ◗ Beans with apples and sausage: Sauté ½ cup of onions in 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Add 3 cups of cooked beans, 1 diced apple, and 4 ounces of crumbled cooked sausage (make this dish extra healthful by ◗ Sloppy Joes: Add a 15-ounce can of Sloppy Joe sauce to two cups of cooked beans. Heat and serve over whole-wheat hamburger rolls. ◗ Bean and potato soup: For a super fast soup, sauté one cup of chopped onions and 2 cloves minced garlic in 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Add 2 cups diced potatoes 2 cups of cooked beans, and 8 cups of vegetable broth. Simmer for 20 minutes until the potatoes are tender. Season with basil and oregano. ◗ Bean and grain salad: Toss 3 cups of any cooked grain with 1 cup of cooked beans. Season with bottled or homemade salad dressing. Add ¼ cup each of minced onion and chopped celery for added flavor and crunch. Virginia Messina, MPH, RD, is a dietitian with a master’s degree in public health nutrition. www.peninsulalife.biz Peninsula Life 35 Trainer’s Corner Overhead “Military” Press: Exercise Your Shoulders by Teresa Hoffmann, ACE C.P.T. The shoulder, which many of us think of as a single joint, is actually a fantastic complex of four joints and an amazing—and sometimes finicky—set of 11 muscles and their attendant connective tissues. Sooner or later, most everyone experiences some sort of shoulder issue, which is why it is so important to give this area of your body regular attention. Grab a set of dumbbells and sit on a stability ball or on the end of a bench. Hold the dumbbells above your shoulders, palms facing forward (the edge of the dumbbell should be just above the edge of your shoulder at about ear level). Press the weights up and slightly inward until your arms are fully extended. The weights should be close together, but not touching. Then follow the same path as you lower the weights back to your shoulders. Variations: Neutral position: Palms in (facing your ears)—easier on the shoulder. Also try alternating one at a time: the single-arm version can be helpful to those with reduced shoulder flexibility as well as adding additional core and upper-body training. Overhead “Y” Press: This version can put greater demand on your core stabilization without adding high loads. Start as above, only have your palms in as in the neutral position. Press the weights up and out slightly wider than your shoulders until your arms are fully extended; pause briefly, then lower the weights, with control, following the same path. 36 Peninsula Life www.peninsulalife.biz Variations: Try alternating by pressing up one arm at a time. Port Townsend Athletic Club Dumbbell Seated Lateral Raise: We offer: • Racquetball/Wallyball • Spa & Sauna • Nautilus Machines • Cardiovascular Equipment • Free Weights • Tanning Bed • Yoga Hold the weights at your sides, your arms nearly straight. Keep a slight bend in your elbows, which you will want to maintain throughout the lift. With your thumbs facing forward, raise your arms up and out, stopping when the weights are even with your head. Pause briefly, then lower slowly back to your start point. Don’t let the weights rest on your sides in between reps. Try alternating your arms to vary the demands on your core stabilization. • Aerobics • NIA • Pilates+ • Personal Training Reverse Fly: Downtown 229 Monroe St. 385-6560 Open: Monday-Friday 5:30 am– 9:00 pm Lying with your chest on a stability ball (or on a bench), hold your arms nearly straight, elbows slightly bent and lifted ever-so-slightly off the ball. Lift up the dumbbells, feeling your shoulder blades squeeze together but not elevate; pause, then lower with control, stopping before your arms rest completely on the ball. If you are using a bench, stop before the weights touch the floor. Tip for success: Look straight ahead and keep your glutes and core tight throughout the movement. w Saturday 8:00 am– 6:00 pm Sunday 9:00 am– 3:00 pm www.peninsulalife.biz Peninsula Life 37 Xinh’s Clam & Oyster House Chef Xinh Dwelley by Pam Thompson When I walked into Xinh’s Clam and Oyster House in Shelton, I was in for a feast as well as an interview. Our crew was there preparing to take photographs of Xinh, her kitchen and samples of a few of her special shellfish recipes. Xinh was in the kitchen lining up a collection of sauté pans, preparing to orchestrate a demonstration of her masterful cooking artistry. There were piles of oysters, clams, mussels and geoduck on the counter. Pre-blanched shellfish were ready to sauté, and rice was in the oven. It smelled fresh and zesty—like the beach—with an aroma of fresh garlic, onions and ginger. With an impressive display of coordination and rhythm, Xinh juggled several pans heaped with a variety of fresh shellfish, sautéing them to perfection. She presented us with several dishes, each wonderfully tasty and beautiful to behold. Satiated with baked oysters, curried mussels and sautéed Manila clams, we visited with this charming woman and learned how she came to create such exquisite cuisine in the small town of Shelton, Washington. Xinh was born and raised in South Vietnam, in the tiny village of An Hoa, near the city of Bien Hoa, roughly an hour trip from Ho Chi Minh City—formerly Saigon. As a child, she witnessed the changing of the guard from the French Army, to the United States Army, which was posted near her home. The older generation was leery of the American soldiers at first, as the French soldiers had left a poor impression. The children of Xinh’s generation, however, enjoyed hanging around with and getting to know the Americans. Xinh and her peers were hired by the U.S. Army to do odd jobs—such as clearing brush for the location of the mess tent—and basic domestic tasks. Eventually, they worked in the kitchen, doing dishes, bussing tables and learning to prepare food. This was a relatively good job for a teenager who, otherwise, was consigned to helping on her family’s rice farm. Xinh took eagerly to her tasks and discovered she had a knack for putting meals together. Soon, she was cooking for the whole battalion. She says she learned to cook “American style” long before she trained in her own native Vietnamese cooking techniques. While she enjoyed having an unusual and exceptional job, Xinh also experienced the ever-present stress of being close to a war-in-progress. The actual fighting did not take place in her village, but the action was only a few miles from her home. The sounds of war sometimes reached them, along with the constant noise of helicopters coming and going on errands with the troops. A checkpoint staffed by Vietnamese soldiers was supposed to prevent the infiltration of the Viet Cong into the village. The V.C. were in their midst, however, and it was not uncommon for two brothers in a village to be on opposite sides of the conflict. Xinh remembers clearly the night that the Viet Cong killed all of the soldiers at the village checkpoint. Xinh fell in love with and married an American soldier. Shortly before the fall of Saigon, she gave birth to the couple’s baby boy. When Saigon toppled, Xinh left her parents, grandparents, siblings and the rest of her family behind to move with her husband to Olympia. Twenty-five years later, Xinh returned for the first time to visit her parents and other relatives, including many she had never met. She found that after living in the U.S., though, sleeping on a bamboo mat in severe heat and humidity was not as easy as she remembered. To make her visits more tolerable, she adapted parts of her parent’s house to accommodate her current lifestyle: air conditioning in the bedroom, a new mattress on a Westernstyle bed, and a four-burner gas oven and a refrigerator in the kitchen. When Xinh returns to the U.S., however, the family unplugs the refrigerator and her mother goes back to collecting fuel and cooking over a small fire. Now in her 80s, modern things are more trouble to her mother than they are worth. Some of the flavors and cooking styles that Xinh uses are Vietnamese in origin, but she has adopted a “fusion” style that borrows ideas from many cultures. Her goal is simply to prepare dishes that taste wonderful. “The Vietnamese never put parmesan cheese on anything, but it tastes good, so I 42 Peninsula Life use it sometimes,” she smiles, speaking of mussels prepared Mediterranean-style in a marinara sauce. I can vouch that good is an understatement. When she arrived in the U.S. as a young wife and mother—and new immigrant—she found herself in a tiny logging community on Steamboat Road, with a new family, new culture and a new language to learn. Bored at home, as most of the chores were taken care of for her, she signed up for English classes at the community college. She completed two courses before deciding that life was a bit too quiet after being in charge of cooking for a battalion of soldiers and working on a rice farm. One day, on a whim, Xinh applied for a job at a shellfish company and was hired to shuck oysters. The first day, she was handed an oyster knife and shown how oysters are shucked. She promptly stabbed herself in the hand, and injured herself pretty well. Off to a slow start, she shucked only one gallon of oysters that day. As the pay was based upon the quantity of oysters shucked, she www.peninsulalife.biz quickly decided to become efficient at it, and challenged herself to greater levels of performance. Eventually, she could shuck up to eight gallons a day, which, if viewed in the shell, would look like a small mountain of oysters. A friend noticed her growing talent and recommended that she enter the West Coast Oyster Shucking Contest, sponsored by the Skookum Rotary. She won the championship every year she entered. Displayed on the wall in her restaurant are many first place medals she earned for shucking and also for the event’s cooking contest, where she won the Best Main Dish and Best Overall for her Mussel Curry Sauce. Xinh also entered the Hood Canal Oyster Stew Competition two years and won both times. Retired from competition, she says, “I am letting other people enjoy winning now, I have done it many times!” As she continued to work for what is now Taylor’s Shellfish Farms, she took on other job responsibilities. One of those was quality control—examining shellfish to determine the condition of the shells and uniformity of size before they are shipped to restaurants worldwide. When her supervisors realized that Xinh was an excellent cook who had many innovative ideas for shellfish preparation, she was asked to prepare meals for the management team at Taylor’s headquarters. Her cooking eventually became a platform for marketing their shellfish: prospective buyers who came to inspect Taylor’s wares sampled the shellfish as prepared by Xinh, right there at the plant. Eventually, she was sent to Waikiki, Boston, Cleveland and Pebble Beach, where international buyers would gather to purchase shellfish. Meanwhile, a little restaurant in downtown Shelton named Café Luna that specialized in Mediterranean-style meals was about to go on the market. The owners were interested in moving on and approached Xinh about buying the restaurant. Although the idea appealed to her, she was intimidated by the risk and responsibility involved in owning and running a restaurant by herself. So she approached her employers at Taylor’s to see if they were interested in buying the restaurant for her to operate. They were enthusiastic and ventured the funds to remodel and start up what is now Xinh’s Clam and Oyster House on Railroad Avenue. After just six months, Xinh had developed a large and enthusiastic clientele who, on many nights, would line up around the block waiting to get in. To increase dining capacity, Taylor’s expanded the restaurant from the initial site into what had been a flower shop next door. Happy that Taylor’s was so supportive of her project and that she did not have the worry of the additional overhead required for the expansion, Xinh says she has an “ideal job.” She still works for Taylor’s, although at her own downtown site, and still cooks for the potential seafood buyers who come to town. Now, though, she does it at the restaurant instead of the plant. Always the entrepreneur, Xinh sold egg rolls at the Olympia Farmer’s Market for awhile but, although she was successful, she soon realized she needed to centralize her operations at the restaurant. You’ll find the egg rolls on the menu. They are incredible. She grinds the meat and makes sauces from scratch. She sent me off after our interview with a huge box of them, as she didn’t want me to get hungry on my way back home. And this was after a sumptuous lunch. On a civic note, Xinh is Shelton’s Business Woman of the Year. She says this was largely due to her fundraising efforts with the Sherwood Guild for Mason General Hospital. For two consecutive evenings in the spring, she hosts “Cooking with Xinh,” a buffet dinner that includes a cooking demonstration of two featured dishes and recipe cards for the guests, who number 80 per night. Proceeds from ticket sales go to support the acquisition of new and much needed equipment for the hospital. A writing career may also be on the horizon as Xinh plans to compose a cookbook. She has developed and collected recipes from decades of cooking for Taylor’s, the people of Shelton and visitors to the Peninsula. While awaiting her cookbook, though, you can stop by and experience Xinh’s for yourself. She would just love to cook for you! w Cooking with Chef Santschi BAKED CHICKEN BOURSIN 4 ea. 6-ounce boneless, skinless chicken breast 1 small eggplant 1 cup artichoke hearts (canned) 4 ounces boursin cheese (garlic and fine herbs) 4 tablespoons pine nuts 2 cups baby spinach To taste: salt and pepper 2 tablespoons olive oil Flour for coating Prepare filling: ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ½ cup white wine ½ cup chicken stock 44 Peninsula Life www.peninsulalife.biz ■ Slice eggplant 1/8” thick; salt and place on paper towel for approximately 20 minutes. Pat dry and pan sear in skillet; set aside. Drain artichoke hearts and set aside. Let cool, then place in food processor and pulse a few times into a puree. In a bowl, mix together with boursin cheese; make into a spread. Preheat oven to 350° F. Prepare chicken breast: Spätzle 1.Remove small tendons from chicken breast. 2. Butterfly. 3 eggs 3 fluid ounces milk 3 fluid ounces water To taste: salt and white pepper 1½cups all purpose flour 5. Cook for a few minutes until wellblended. 2 ounces butter ½ cup heavy cream To taste: nutmeg (freshly ground) To taste: grated Parmesan Combine the eggs, milk, water and seasoning. 3. Pound with mallet between wax paper. Place in bowl of electric mixer and, on lowest speed, slowly add the flour until incorporated; then beat for 30 seconds on medium speed. In a 1-gallon pot, bring lightly salted water to a boil. 1. Press dough through a pan with holes into the boiling water. 4. Spread with boursin mixture. 5. Sprinkle with pine nuts that have been lightly browned. 6. Top with fresh spinach leaves. Assemble the Dish 1. Place spätzle in center of plate. 2. Arrange sliced chicken partially over spätzle. 3. Drizzle pan sauce at bottom end of chicken. 4.Garnish with broccolini and carrots. Chef’s note: 2. When spätzle surface and come to a boil, remove from water and place in ice water to cool. Pan sauce is made by reducing half the wine and chicken stock and adding drippings from the roasting pan. Broccolini are quick-steamed then sautéed for 30 seconds in butter with a splash of fresh lemon juice. The carrots are cooked al-dente, then glazed in butter with orange juice and a hint of grated ginger. 7.Roll tightly together. 8. Dust in seasoned flour. 9. Brown on all sides (seam side first). Transfer to a baking sheet; add half of the wine and chicken stock and bake for approximately 20 minutes or until done. 3. Bring cream to a boil, add butter until melted, then add spätzle and grate nutmeg as needed. 4.Grate fresh Parmesan. The chicken breast is best handled if, after rolling it, you wrap it tight in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 4 hours or overnight before cooking. After it is cooked, let it cool—it will slice and hold its shape better—then heat in the oven with a little chicken stock for 10 minutes. If you start with whole chicken, you use the bones to make stock and reserve remaining parts for other uses. www.peninsulalife.biz Peninsula Life 45 vignette William Clark Will was photographing the foggy morning. He was making photographs for his acrylic paintings. Our post-fog, pre-coffee conversation uncovered that this Oregon transplant most recently worked as a ranch hand in Montana. “I’m good with horses, but not cows.” His litany of occupations captured me: school teacher, artist, truck driver, cowboy, oil refiner, construction worker, filling station attendant, library clerk, social services clerk, hospital housekeeper, deli cook, newspaper stringer, dishwasher, house painter, guitarist, bowling alley pin setter, landscaper, photographer, water carrier for carnival elephants, raconteur (unpaid), poet/novelist (unpublished) — and now, island resident. “I learned to say, ‘The Island’ very quickly as if it were the only one in the Sound and have since lived here as though it were. The pure physical beauty enhanced by northwest light stuns me. Surround that with sail-studded water and glimpses of the snowcapped Olympics and it becomes easy to see why so many artists gravitate to the island. 46 Peninsula Life “Living near the sand spit and curious about the great number of driftwood logs multiplying themselves southward as I hiked the shoreline at low tide, I wondered if I could tightrope all the way to Rolling Bay staying balanced atop the old logs never touching ground—Island old timers have since told me they tried it as kids with a different twist—To fall from the logs meant stepping into an adventure fraught with danger beyond even sharks. “This period in my life is the only time I’ve ever lived on an island and while it is more than a little tempting to believe that what happens off island will have little or no effect on us and as our cities continue to deteriorate we will be immunized from those side effects it should be common sense to all that we should prepare as best we can for difficult eventualities: Puget Sound dead zones, oil prices, water shortage, power outages and on and on. “Hot coffee and a scone make the Blackbird Bakery one of my favorite stops.” As we parted Will handed me a marble saying, “The whole world is loosing its marbles and you’ll never know when you’ll need another one.” He hopes to pass out a million before he dies. SCW www.peninsulalife.biz Find us at: • Artisans on Taylor, Port Townsend • The Farmers Market May – Oct. Tim Lambert, Goldsmith 360-301-5751 www.peninsulalife.biz Peninsula Life 47 LIFE STYLES “Can we make a home out of this house…a home that invites and inspires? Quintessential Island Home: The extensive remodel at The Point White Overlook House anchors meaningful family history, the owner’s Alexander Calder 1966 watercolor…and the family dog. Walls came down. Space was humanized. Use optimized. Views opened up. An Indonesian Phoenix was added in the entry to memorialize this major remodel. 48 Peninsula Life www.peninsulalife.biz I love the views. I love the privacy.” The Point White Overlook House by Steven C. Wilson “I love what I do…it’s understanding life. Peoples’ stories. People send messages with words, with body language, with their environment—I look and listen.” Ann Jones-Wilson, designer and project manager of the extensive remodel at The Point White Overlook House gets excited when she helps people discover what they already know. “ ‘I hate green’ a client said, ‘I can’t live with green.’ I looked in the closets and there was all this green. ‘I envision each space to fit to the dynamics, the activities, the treasures. Good design really does change family dynamics. “Create a space and they will come.” with me their self-discovery of what beauty, what intimacy, what playfulness they want to invite—what can inspire.” Materializing the guiding vision are the materials and tools Ann orchestrates: Furniture, wallpaper, paint, fabrics, art, window treatments, light, space, the building’s structural ‘bones’. Awareness and knowledge of daily and seasonal sky intensities underlay selection and placement of artificial light. Memories and imaginings couple with physical realities conspire to create a comfortable home—efficient, beautiful and regenerative to body, mind and spirit. Ann, using the phrase, “the generosity of the universe,” talked about her extensive experience: “When I moved to the island and had two children, commuting didn’t seem an option. In the ’70s few island “Cheerful and nurturing…Beauty and comfort.” In the office, cabinets were designed to hide electronics, light and shadow choregraphed quiet energies, mindful that home offices are places of purpose. This office and adjacent powder room also moonlight as guest room. Ann continues, “Invite beauty. Looking and listening encourage people to share www.peninsulalife.biz Peninsula Life 49 I began designing and overseeing entire house projects. Soon I was hiring the trades to materialize my visions, well understanding the perfectionist detail I ask of them: How far can we stretch? What are the challenges? My tradesmen and women are artisans and we are cooperators in timely, on budget, mostly cheerful processes. “From drawings to reality takes more time than people expect. What they see is torn up boards and mortar! Client-designer trust carries these days. I’m on the job site often for input on the expected unexpecteds: helping find the best solution for a junction of tile and wood, or suggesting an upright’s slight shift to strengthen a design repetition. Experience is invaluable for turning these challenges into serendipitous opportunities, with just a touch of finesse.” Plumbers, electricians, tile setters, floor refinishers, carpenters, cabinet makers, painters, wallpaper hangers, systems people, window people and carpet people… Squares and levels, extension cords, compressor hoses… Saws and nails, BANG BANG, screws and hinges, dust and sprayers. BANG BANG BANG, tangles and smells and noise. Suddenly silence. Tools and ladders are gone. Plastic sheets and pickups are gone. Paint cans are sorted and the last van leaves. “Even after removing the wall, kitchen space will be small.” The owner agreed. Kitchen space must be optimized. people sought out designers so I used my background in design and sculpture creating stained glass windows and designing and installing tile. I spent time in the trades. My last fling was installing 50 Peninsula Life the hand-made Totten Tile in cartoonist Gary Larson’s home. It was beautiful, a whole room of pattern, color and texture. “Times changed on the island – and for me. Both kids finished graduate school. www.peninsulalife.biz Now sumptuous lighting and beauty-enhanced utility unifies kitchen to dining area, both backdropped by that classic marine view… In the living room… an antique English foot stool, an Ironies table, Kim Osgood’s monotype “Pleasure”: Bold juxtapositions of unusual elements each newly acquired to create a collection expressing the owner’s personal history, anchored by that Calder watercolor…and accommodating the family dog. In the family room… windows frame nature — yard, garden and salt water passage. From the overlook balcony… the vantage contrasts the semi-formal symmetry of the dining room with the color spectrum randomly displayed by nature’s daily and seasonal changes. Light defines The Point White Overlook House. www.peninsulalife.biz Peninsula Life 51 A living room niche with a Thai statue and Chinese embroideries is softly lit from a candle in Jan Barboglio’s “Roses of Guadalupe.” Shadows bring time and space onto the subtle hues and texture of a carpet. In the master bedroom… sublime window treatments coax Impressionistic magic from sunsets, storms, night skies — and tomorrow, the dawn. 52 Peninsula Life www.peninsulalife.biz An open stairway… leads to cheerful magical bedrooms. Light falls upon opulent pillows on sumptuous fabrics. The spectrum changes with the season. Favorite colors combine with light from the changing sky colors. The brilliant warms of summer slip into the intensities of fall followed by those interminable days of gray overcast that define our northwest winters. And northwest winter itself seems composed of days with more darkness than light…but you know, “in winter we don’t get much help from the sun” as any gardener or photographer will tell you. So pattern and geometry take up some “heavy lifting.” The master bath’s… eyebrow window is encored by the bed’s headboard. The rectangular geometry 54 Peninsula Life www.peninsulalife.biz of the custom crafted vanity is softened with a curve. An exquisitely proportioned chaise… occupies a place where the slightest tilt of the head moves one’s eyes from the outer vista of saltwater passage inwardly to, perhaps, a book, reflective musings or a welcome intrusion… Cheerful and purring. “Hunter-gather the passions and dreams first, then the things.” Families and memories—treasures lovingly sheltered in beauty. Need a home be more? www.peninsulalife.biz Peninsula Life 55 Project Work Sheet …The Point White Overlook House A Passion for Architectural Excellence and Community the Gallus-Rutz Village by Ro a n s k i Ar c h i t e c t s 360.379.5233 58 Peninsula Life www.peninsulalife.biz A Conversation with Chip Hanauer by Jill Buhler I t’s so frustrating. You glance at a passerby, he looks familiar yet you can’t quite place him. Just to be safe, in case he is an acquaintance, you make eye contact, smile and mumble a greeting. He looks back at you with a blank stare, nods and mumbles a polite response. A few steps later, it hits you: Ohmygosh. “That’s Chip Hanauer.” You didn’t recognize him because he was out of context. Darn; if his name had come to you sooner, you would have taken a closer look. But don’t worry; you’ll probably see him again soon, as he—and other celebrities—have come to the Peninsula to pursue a simpler lifestyle. Chip Hanauer was irrefutably the world’s greatest Unlimited Hydroplane racer for more than a decade in the 1980s and 90s. He holds a record 11 Gold Cups, winning seven of them consecutively, and earned 61 career wins, just one behind alltime leader and Chip’s mentor, Bill Muncey. He was inducted into the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America in 1995 and the International Motorsports Hall of Fame in 2005. Born in Seattle and now living parttime in Oak Bay, Chip knew from day one he would be a racer. He thought it would be cars; but growing up in the Pacific Northwest in the 50s and 60s, boats proved a more logical choice. He started at 10 years old with outboard hydroplanes and raced to fifth place nationally in his age group in his first year of competition. He quickly moved through inboard hydroplanes to unlimiteds, getting his first ride in 1976 and his first win three years later in the Squire Shop boat. He kept winning for 20 more years. In 1991, Chip realized his original dream and raced for Toyota. He won at Portland, but a year later was recruited back to boats by Budweiser. He retired from racing in 1999. In between, Chip graduated from has a casual manner and understated selfWashington State University, cum laude, confidence that make him quite charming with a degree in Special Education; taught and easy to talk with: special ed classes in Port Townsend; and Peninsula Life: Tell us how your racworked with the Port Townsend High ing career began. School Electric Car team, driving them Chip Hanauer: I wanted to be a race to two championships over competitors driver from day one. I have no idea where such as Arizona and Southern California that seed came from. When I was 9, our Universities. family camped out in eastern Washington Currently, Chip is an entrepreneur, and saw a race for small outboard boats. a classical guitar player, a broadcaster for They had a class for kids and, of course, I KIRO TV’s Seafair coverage, and a moti- had to do it. I started when I was 10. vational speaker with lots of experience to How did you get to Port Townsend? draw on for his lectures. He has survived When I graduated from high school, I crashes and fought through depression to decided to get serious. Racing is like being conquer a chronic illness. He’s never let a rodeo cowboy—it’s not a stable life. So fame go to his head. I went to Washington State for four years, With a nearly perpetual grin on a came out with a degree in special education, youthful face that belies his 52 years, Chip and was hired to teach in Port Townsend. www.peninsulalife.biz Peninsula Life 59 I had a classroom at Mountain View for kids with disciplinary problems. I was there for two years and really enjoyed it. One afternoon, the office secretary called on the school intercom and said: “Chip, there’s a man with a suit, he drove up in a Cadillac, he’s coming down to your classroom!” Remember, Port Townsend was a lot quieter than it is now. The man was Bob Steil, who owned the Squire Shop stores. He had a race team and asked me to join. He said I could always come back to teaching. There was a little overlap between teaching and racing. My first race was in Miami in the spring. After the race, they had a car waiting, drove me to the airport; I got on the plane, then missed the ferry I planned to catch. So I slept on the dock and caught the first ferry in the morning. I remember walking into my classroom after spending the night on the dock and flying from Miami. Right then, I knew that I couldn’t do them both. How long were you with the Squire Shop? Two or three years. Then the greatest driver—Bill Muncey—was killed in Mexico. His sponsor, Atlas Van Lines, and the Muncey family decided to keep racing in Bill’s memory. So they built a new boat and I went to work for Bill’s widow, Fran. It was probably the best year of racing I had. There was so much emotion on the team after losing Bill. Nobody thought we would do well, because the Budweiser team had a new engine that nobody else had. We ended up having a great year. After about five years Fran sold the team to Bill Bennett, the guy who started Circus Circus Casinos. After Fran left, I intended to retire but Mr. Bennett talked me into staying. It was a strange story. Mr. Bennett had spent millions of dollars over 10 or 15 years, trying to win the championship, but hadn’t. So I signed a 3-year deal to drive for him, and we won the championship in Las Vegas on the last heat of the year in the second year of my contract. Of course, we had this big party in the casino that night. At 9:00 the next morning, I got a phone call telling me to come to Mr. Ben60 Peninsula Life nett’s office. I was a little hung-over after and decide how to move the equipment the the party. When I got to Mr. Bennett’s 1,000 or so miles we had to go to get to the office, they handed me a check for the fol- next city. There is a tremendous amount of lowing year and told me he had quit racing. work that has to be done to the boat, even That’s all he wanted to do—win the cham- after a good race, so we had to figure out pionship. So he paid off my contract and where to do this work. that was it. I was back in my hotel room I had to be in the next town by Thurs15 minutes later, wondering what had hap- day. If we were back east, there was no pened. Here we had this huge win and a point in flying back to Seattle, so I was on big party, and now I’m unemployed! the road with three days to kill. Then you went into car racing? I was usually so exhausted that I would Toyota had been after me to race, but sleep for 36 hours. I would go to the MonI kept saying no. I had never raced cars, day meeting, eat something, then go to bed professionally. But then I was out of work, and sleep through until the next morning. so I said why not. I raced for Toyota for So Monday was a lost day. Tuesday, I’d fly about a year. to the next city, spend the next day resting It was wonderful for a little kid who and on Thursday, the circuit started. wanted to grow up to be a race driver. We My friends thought I had this great ended up winning, my fourth or fifth time life. I’d say, “Hey come spend a week with out. me.” After a week, they’d say, “This is horHow did you get back into boats? rible!” And I’d tell them we had seven more Budweiser called so I went back to weeks in a row like this. They realized that hydroplanes. it wasn’t what it seemed. At that point I had become very ill. I Sometimes we were on the road for 10 have a neurological disease called spasmod- weeks. On those trips, I would try to get ic dysphonia. The only way I can speak to home to touch base once or twice. I was you today is because I undergo a procedure taking care of my grandmother then. every 90 days at the University of WashingAfter eight or 10 weeks, we’d come ton that gives me good voice for about 60 back for races in the Tri-Cities and Seattle. days and some voice for about 30 days. I was home, but not really home. In fact, I It was a difficult time. I had just signed hated the Washington races because when with Budweiser and went through this hor- you’re on the road, it’s just you and the rible ordeal where I was losing, and finally team. Every day, seven days a week, 24 did lose, my ability to speak. I didn’t know hours a day, you’re together as a group. what was going on. I went to probably 30 There are no distractions. The minute you doctors and nobody could tell me what get home, everyone gets pulled in different was wrong I became horribly depressed; directions. We didn’t communicate as well. it was the roughest time of my adult life. We kind of fell apart. On the road, we’d I decided not to race anymore, because get our Mojo back again. Statistically, we if you can’t talk, you can’t race. I couldn’t did quite a bit better on the road than we even talk to my teammates, and that’s very did at home. important because I have to describe what What motivates you to race? the boat’s doing. It certainly is not the speed. It’s the I had great success with Budweiser— intensity. And the team aspect. I’m playwe won a lot, but with my health and state ing classical guitar now and I equate racing of mind, I had to get away from it. As it with that. They build this amazing, intriturned out, right after I left Budweiser, I cate, expensive, sophisticated instrument, got diagnosed and started treatment and then hand it to you as the driver and say, got at least partial use of my voice. “Go do this job with it, but don’t hurt it!” Life on the circuit was crazy. You’re on Which is an oxymoron, because here you the road all the time. On Monday morning are out there with these guys who want we’d sleep in because everyone’s exhausted. to kill you, but you’ve got to go out and We’d meet in the hotel restaurant at noon deliver. www.peninsulalife.biz Is there a lot of competition with I started race day with an abnormally the other drivers? high heart rate and it kept going up and up, In car racing, when you’re on the track, the closer it got to race time. By the time you literally try to knock the other guy into I stepped onto the dock to get into the the wall. Do anything you have to do to boat, they thought I would have cardiac win. But the minute you get back to the arrest. But the minute I sat down in the hotel at night, everybody is in the restau- boat, my heart rate went down to that of rant, drinking beer and laughing. a guy walking. It stayed there for most of The boats were never like that. Every- the race, but when I got out of the boat, it one took it personally. There was polite- shot right back up. ness, sometimes. And sometimes there That surprised us all. I think that were fights at the bar between teams. That when I was in the boat, I was concentrathostility added to the intensity. By nature, ing. I wasn’t worrying, I was focused. The I’m not a combative person. But that envi- rapid heartbeat was the anticipation, the ronment was pretty raw knuckles. I didn’t anxiety, thinking about it. feel comfortable in an environment where When I was in a race, I felt numb. some guys would love to see you crash and When I would come back, the crew would probably love to see you get hurt. ask me what happened here or there, and What did it feel like at the moment I didn’t know. You live totally in the presyou sat down in the seat to drive a race? ent. It was a relief. A university in MichiYou had an accident. gan did a study on me. A technician folI had a lot of accidents. It’s part of lowed me around to record what I was the game. If you’re a linebacker in football, doing through the day. I had on a heart you’re going to get your bell rung. monitor to compare my heart rate to my Was it hard to come back afteractivities. wards? No, I think that’s part of the intensity. While the accident is in the process of happening, your only thoughts are, “How long am I going to be out? How quick can I get back in the boat? I hope the boat’s not too damaged, that I’m not going to be hurt too bad because I’ve got to race on Sunday.” One of my worst accidents was in Seattle. I was in the back of the boat, trapped underwater, but I was in the backup boat 75 minutes later, racing. But I think that’s when you know it’s time to leave—when that goes away and you start thinking about being comfortable and healthy; when other things in your life become higher priorities than winning. I was willing to pay any price to be a racer and to win. But then that changed, and I changed. In racing, you can’t care about anything but winning if you’re going to do well. Which is a pretty brutal way of looking at life. What made it change? Getting sick. It changed everything for me; how I looked at racing, how I looked www.peninsulalife.biz Peninsula Life 61 balance. Racing became so important to me, nothing else mattered. To some degree, you have to be like that. I read Lance Armstrong’s first book (It’s Not about the Bike: My Journey Back to Life) and he said the same thing. People see the end result; they see him winning the Tour de France, but they don’t see the price he paid to do that. During the Seafair hydroplane races, I do an 8-hour broadcast with Steve Raible for KIRO. It’s a long 8 hours, but it’s a lot of fun. It’s back to that team feeling again. Local television doesn’t do big productions anymore. Only national TV does that. So for KIRO, it’s a real undertaking and a real source of pride. at my life, my family, everything. In fact, as bad as it was going through those three years, it’s truly the best thing that ever happened. You get a perspective that, unfortunately, I don’t think you can get any other way. I wouldn’t want to go through it again, and I wish I could bottle whatever it is that you learn from that, but the depression, the illness that brought it on, the isolation, it was horrible. When it’s suddenly gone, you appreciate everything more. When you look back, what are the most defining moments? It’s never about winning; it’s always the funny things that happened in the hotels, my relationship with the people. The wins just allowed me to keep doing it longer. The greatest joy I had was reciprocating the trust to the guys that build those boats: coming back to the dock and getting out of the cockpit and seeing the look on the faces of the guys who had worked so hard and given so much of themselves to create this thing, and to reward them by doing a good job. I raced for them more than for myself or the sponsor—although you don’t tell the sponsor that. The worst scenario for me was blowing it for them. Knowing all the hours, all the time they spend away from home, then I go out in a relatively short period of time and screw it up. The worst cases of that 62 Peninsula Life I always wanted to play classical guitar, so at the age of 49, I decided to learn. I work pretty hard at that. were crashing. Monday morning, walking out of the hotel and seeing this wreck on the back of the truck, knowing what it was going to take for those guys to fix it, how much they’d put into it before that. That was painful. I also enjoy working on my property, How did you get involved with Port and I ski. I go to Africa: I started a small Townsend High School’s successful elec- business there. I do a lot of motorcycle tric car program? travel. I’m just having a second childhood, Because of (the late) Jim Toyne. He doing all the things I enjoy. was the most unique and amazing person What kind of car do you drive? I ever met. Not a day goes by that I don’t You’d be horribly disappointed. I have miss him. He was a friend from the days I a ’91 Buick Estate Wagon with fake wood taught school here and we stayed friends on the side. It’s the world’s ugliest car. all that time. When my niece saw it the first time, she When he started the electric car pro- said I should get a can of spray paint and gram at the high school, he recruited me write “loser” on the side of it! to drive. We did great; we won the chamI think people who only know me pionship twice. We were up against schools from racing are surprised when they see my from Southern California and Arizona, lifestyle. There’s a big difference between and here’s little old Port Townsend doing who I am as a person and who I was as a really well. The kids were great. racer. Jim was a shop teacher and a magnet So life is good? for kids who didn’t fit in everywhere else. Life is better than good. It’s perfect. These kids weren’t involved in sports, they That’s another thing that’s changed. In racweren’t at the top of the school social ladder, ing, life was only as good as my last result. so they didn’t get a lot of attention. Then If I won the race, life was good for six days all of a sudden they’re in the paper winning until the next race. That’s all that mattered. two national championships. If the next race went poorly and I screwed What are you doing now? up and disappointed the team, then life was I do a lot of public speaking on find- horrible and not worth living. That’s all ing balance in life. My life got way out of changed now. Whatever comes, comes. w www.peninsulalife.biz First, Inc. Residential • Commercial • Land Our outstanding agents are ready to serve all your Real Estate needs Charlie Arthur Paula Clark Broker Chris Cray Joe Julie Ann Daubenberger Daubenberger Christian Elbert Rose Hare Nick Harper Denise Hubbard Marie Lyon Teren McLeod Debbie Marcus Nancy Stelow V I E W A L L N W M L S L I S T I N G S A T W W W . P O R T T O W N S E N D F I R S T. C O M . 2500 W. Sims Way, Suite 201 Port Townsend, WA 98368 www.remax.com www.porttownsendfirst. com Ph: 360-385-6499 800-714-6499 Fax: 360-385-6495 Each office independently owned and operated www.peninsulalife.biz Peninsula Life 63 64 Peninsula Life www.peninsulalife.biz LEISURE & TRAVEL The Olympic Peninsula’s Springtime Winter Steelhead by Doug Rose T he Olympic Peninsula is one of the few places in North America where the best freshwater fishing occurs during winter and early spring. Steelhead—ocean-going rainbow trout that leave their natal rivers as six inch juveniles and return as four to 30 pound adults—attract thousands of anglers to coastal rivers and creeks between Thanksgiving and Easter. Steelhead return to brawling rain forest torrents like the Hoh and Queets. They also return to the boulder gardens and deep pools of the Sol Duc and Calawah, and to snaggy, cedarstained creeks like Goodman and Cedar creeks. And while many contemporary anglers associate steelheading with the large runs of hatchery fish in early winter, wild Olympic Peninsula steelhead enter fresh water well into spring “ . . . gently dropping a “Professor” and “Royal Coachman” beneath the shadow on the rock opposite, in a trice I had struck a fish,” James Christie wrote of a March fishing excursion on the upper Elwha, while leading the first party of white explorers across the Olympic Mountains in 1890. “A fish which would fight, my first salmontrout (steelhead) on the Elwha . . . Then followed one half hour of as fine fishing as any I ever enjoyed on the thousand streams I have had the pleasure of fishing in, carrying to camp fourteen splendid trout, weight about forty pounds . . .” The Elwha is now closed in spring, but the larger West End rivers remain open through March or April. You don’t have as much of a chance of catching a fish in spring as during the hatchery run, but the fish and the conditions are much more appealing. Wild winter steelhead are usu- ally larger than hatchery fish, averaging 10 and 15 pounds, compared to 4- to 8-pound hatchery fish. The rivers are also lower and clearer—making it easier to fish, and warming water temperatures stimulate the metabolisms of fish—making them more aggressive. Finally, the large crowds that flock to the Peninsula during the hatchery runs are but a memory in spring, when the rivers are calmer and quieter. The Quillayute System Draining the largest watershed on the north Olympic Peninsula, the Quillayute System is the most productive wild winter steelhead system in the Northwest. According to the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, upwards of 15,000 wild fish spawn in its major tributaries, the Sol Duc, Bogachiel, Calawah and Dickey rivers. All of the Quillayute tributaries remain open through April, and the lower Sol Duc and Quillayute are open to hatchery fish through May. Because the Quillayute rivers rise up on peaks too low to support glaciers, they are more reliably clear and fishable than the glacially influenced rain forest rivers. Bank access is excellent on all of these rivers, although anglers willing to hike and explore will find more water than those who look for roadside parks. On the Sol Duc, the Salmon Hatchery at Sappho is productive, while the water along the Goodman Mainline Road between the Quiluete Road and the Mora Road, and the area near the mouth are favored on the lower river. The Bogachiel Rearing Pond in Forks and the adjacent “ponds” on the lower Calawah are the most popular spots on these rivers. The Mina Smith Road provides access to the Dickey, and Clallam County’s Quillayute River Park opens an extensive reach of the lower Quillayute. Anglers with drift boats or rafts find conveniently spaced boat ramps on all of the rivers except the Dickey. However, the upper Sol Duc and the entire Calawah contain many drops, islands, and boulder patches, and only boat handlers with considerable experience and, preferably, local knowledge, should attempt them. The Bogachiel is much more drift-boatfriendly, and launches are located at the Highway 101 bridge south of Forks, at the Bogachiel Rearing Pond, at the Wilson ramp off the Mora Road, and Lyendecker County Park at the confluence of the Sol Duc and Bogachiel. Rain Forest Rivers Flowing through the world’s most magnificent temperate-zone rain forests, the Hoh, Queets and Quinault rivers are characterized by wide snag-strewn flood plains, immense log jams, and long gravel bars. They go out of shape much more quickly than the Quillayute Rivers, but their suspended glacial flour keep them productive when other rivers are too low and clear. Anglers tend to fish larger and brighter lures and flies on the rain forest rivers. The Oil City Road parallels the north bank of the lower Hoh, providing access to Cottonwood Campground and Barlows Bar, while Highway 101 connects with spurs to Allen’s Bar and Nolan Creek. The Upper Hoh River Road extends from Highway 101 to the Hoh Campground, 16 miles upstream. Wading anglers hike in from Willoughby Creek and Minnie Petersen campgrounds, Morgans Cross- www.peninsulalife.biz Peninsula Life 65 ing, and the six miles of catch-and-release fly only water in Olympic National Park. However, November storms washed out several sections of the road in the park, so anglers should contact the park before heading to the Hoh. The Queets River flows through Olympic National Park from it headwaters to the Quinault Indian Reservation, six miles upstream from the ocean. The Queets River Road usually provides access to the river and its three boat launches from Highway 101 and the Queets Campground, 16 miles upriver. However, a major washout at Matheny Creek last year, approximately halfway to the campground, currently restricts access to areas below Matheny Creek. The only ramp in this area is at Hartzell Creek, with a takeout at the Clearwater River Bridge. The Quinault River below Quinault Lake is within the Quinault Indian Reservation, and anglers are required to obtain a tribal guide to fish. The lower river is heavily planted and fish return well into spring; anglers have as good a chance of taking a steelhead here as anywhere on the Peninsula. The upper Quinault, the area between the lake and the confluence of the north and south forks, is open through April 15, and is accessible from the South Shore Road. Because bank access is scarce here and the river changes course frequently, visiting anglers will do better and be safer with a guide. The Hoko Steelheaders more comfortable on creeksized rivers are pretty much limited to one Olympic Peninsula river in spring—the Hoko. That’s because virtually all other creeks and medium-sized rivers close at the end of February. The largest river draining into the western Strait of Juan de Fuca, the Hoko also supports the Strait’s largest wild run of winter fish. The water downstream of the upper Hoko Bridge remains open to angling through March 15, while the “fly only” catch-and-release section above the bridge is open through March. Most of the fly water lies behind locked gates, however, and only anglers willing to hike or bicycle considerable distances should attempt it. Spoons, Worms and Flies Steelhead aren’t anywhere near as fussy about what they will strike as many anglers believe. “They aren’t that hard to catch if you know where they are,” said Port Angeles’ Don Kaas, who has fished Olympic Peninsula rivers for more than a half century. “I used to sit on the Sol Duc near Snyder Creek and watch them for hours. They will pick up alder cones and hemlock cones and cigarette butts. You don’t need a $400 fly to 66 Peninsula Life www.peninsulalife.biz catch one.” However, most anglers now release all wild fish, and artificial lures and flies have better fish survival rates than baits or plugs with large hooks. The late Roy Bergstrom, who owned Bergstrom’s Army and Navy sporting goods in Port Townsend for decades, was a passionate steelheader and showed many younger anglers, including the author, many of his favorite holes. Roy was a spoon fishermen. “I brought the first WobbleRites and Daredevles out here,” he told me. Spoons come in a variety of sizes and shapes, but Roy favored the thicker models such as Wobble-Rites and Little Cleos, and he liked them in red and white, and brass. Silver-plated spoons are also effective. Many anglers also fish spinners during the late season, and size 3 and 4 silver-plated, brass and green are productive. Recently, many Olympic Peninsula steelheaders have begun to fish plastic worms. They are fished beneath a float, which allows you to present the worm precisely to small holding lies and to detect soft strikes. On rivers with clearly-identifiable holding water, such as the Sol Duc and Calawah, this makes worms very effective. Hot pink is the traditional color for steelhead, but fish also hit black, red, purple and other colors. Worms of five inches have been standard, but some anglers have had success with smaller worms. Twenty-five years ago, you could count the number of winter steelhead fly fishers on the West End rivers on your hands. That has changed dramatically, and the main reason for it is the stride in fly tackle. Although they have been around since the 19th century, 12- to 16-foot Spey rods are now common on West End rivers. In addition to letting you cast as much as 100 feet, Spey rods allow you to execute roll and “Spey” casts when bluffs and streamside vegetation prevent a traditional back cast. You can also mend and present flies accurately at a distance with a longer rod. Innovations in sink-tip fly lines have also made it much easier to get a fly down to the steelhead, and “multi-tip” lines make it possible to carry a variety of different lengths and densities of lines in a small wallet. w Reading the Water As they move upriver to their spawning grounds, steelhead rest and hold in predictable areas, and anglers who focus on the productive spots catch a lot more fish. Basically, steelhead like water between three and about 10 feet deep, and they prefer moderate flows, often described as about the speed you walk. When you find water like that, look for tail-outs, runs and pocket water. Tailouts are the downstream ends of pools, where the current quickens as it becomes shallower. They are usually best when the water is high. Runs are of relatively uniform depth in the main channel and have a flat surface. Pocket water is broken with emergent boulders and rocks. On the glacial rivers, fish often hold in flats— the low gradient stretches between rapids— and off the mouths of tributary creeks. The same boulder or tail-out will usually turn out fish year after year on rivers with stable in-river structure such as the Sol Duc and Calawah, but more dynamic rivers like the Queets and Hoh change after every flood and anglers must relearn them regularly. Tackle, Guides and Accommodations Olympic Sporting Goods (360-374-6330)— Conventional gear and tackle and proprietor Bob Gooding is a wealth of information on fish and river conditions. Forks Thriftway (360374-6161)—The hardware store has steelhead gear, and food and supplies are available in the grocery. J. D. Love Guide Service (360-327-3772)—A very productive and experienced drift boat fly fishing guide. Olympic Peninsula Fly Fishing (360-4579033)—Hike-in fishing on remote areas of the Quillayute Rivers and Hoh with Spey flies and other local dressings. Three Rivers Resort (360-374-5300)— Located near the Sol Duc, Bogachiel and Quillayute, Three Rivers has cabins, RV sites, a small store and café and guide service. Kalaloch Lodge (360962-2271)—On the beach between the Hoh and Queets. Cabins and motel rooms, with restaurant and store. Lake Quinault lodge (360-288-2362)— Located on the lake, the lodge has an excellent restaurant and is www.peninsulalife.biz convenient to fish the upper and lower river. Waters West Fly Fishing Outfitters (360-4170937)—The finest selection of steelhead fly tackle, flies and tying materials in western Washington. Proprietor Dave Steinbaugh is a veteran West End fly fishing guide, and guided trips are available through the shop. Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife—regulations, harvest figures http://wdfw.wa.gov/ Olympic National Park (360-565-3130); www.nps.gov/olym/ Peninsula Life 67 Westport Beachcombing by the Numbers One way to enjoy the Olympic Peninsula is to head out to the coast during the beautifully volatile spring weather in search of treasures from the sea. Along Washington’s Pacific shore, all manner of flotsam and jetsam are deposited onto the sand by the turbulent currents and driving winds that accompany storm fronts as they pass through in patterns lasting from hours to days. The history of interesting beach debris in Westport goes back at least to 1910 when a ship full of railroad ties headed for South America lost its load and the timbers washed onto the beach in Westport. From that salvage, three homes were built, as well as a hotel. The Tie House Hotel and two of the three homes are no longer around, succumbing to fire or rot, but one home remains and is still used as a residence. Occasionally, a cargo ship will lose a container in rough seas. Over the years, beachcombers have discovered unique treasures like tennis shoes (16,000 per container), hockey gloves (54,000 went overboard in 1994 and started showing up by Mike Coverdale here 15 months later), Lego toys (4,756,940 in the drink in 1997) and thousands of plastic bathtub ducks from Hong Kong lost in 1992. If the ducks follow the predicted drift patterns they could circumnavigate the North Pole and end up along the British Isles in a few years. That should surely qualify as the worlds largest plastic duck derby! Two things you can count on finding at the beach in March and April are rain and sunshine. The two often arrive within minutes of each other, creating the most dramatic landscapes imaginable along the ocean’s edge. Proper attire is mandatory if you want to spend much time enjoying the invigorating atmosphere of a spring beach, but when is that not true in Western Washington? Whether you are in the Olympic Mountains, on Puget Sound or downtown Seattle, our rapidly changing weather patterns are the reason that the “layered look” originated here. Back on the beach, with the passing of each high tide, new patches of rock are uncovered. These areas are the prime hunting ground for beach agates. Agates are small to large rocks ranging from translucent to clear, and varying in color. Red or yellow are the most prevalent, with a few that are clear white. It takes some time to become adept at spotting these unique stones in the midst of acres of rocks and shells, but once you have discovered the proper technique, your success rate will go way up. According to local rock hound Vern Coverdale, if you gaze across a rock patch in the direction of the predominant light you are more likely to spot the telltale glow of an agate peeking out from around the solid colored stones. Agates vary in size from smaller than a pea to larger than a golf ball. Occasionally you may find one bigger, and if you do, you should consider yourself lucky! Three months of the year are most notable for beachcombing on Washington’s coast. November is known for storm watching, but after a system moves through there is great opportunity for discovering treasures left behind or exposed by the savage currents, wind and waves. Temperatures and temperament are more severe in the winter, so it is the diehard beachcomber White pelicans stand alert for the unlucky fish which may sense shelter in the quieter currents leeward of their rocky perch. Wave action leaves its textural pattern upon this gently sloping sandy shore. Seaweeds’ dependence upon sunlight is assured by distinctive flotation bladders. The sea anemone, a creature of this coast, gets its green cast from symbiotic green algae. A twisty path memorializes a hermit crab’s sandy journey. 68 Peninsula Life www.peninsulalife.biz 70 Peninsula Life www.peninsulalife.biz you will meet trekking the sand in search of the November storms’ bounty. Most likely you will have the beach to yourself. The months of March and April present the greatest opportunity for beachcombing success. Southwesterly storm patterns move goodies trapped in the offshore currents into the wave zones, which. in turn, deliver them onto the beach. Some of the most sought-after treasures are the glass fishing floats that typically originate in Japan. Although not as common as they were in decades gone by, glass balls can still be found following a strong “sou-wester.” During a rare week in April of 2004, hundreds of glass floats were found on the beach at Westport, including several of the rarest versions, the “rolling pin.” To increase your chances of finding a glass float, head for the high-water line on the incoming tide following a storm. Be aware of your surroundings and keep an eye out for a “sneaker” wave if you want to stay dry. In addition to beachcombing, there are many opportunities for tide pooling, surf perch fishing or just surf watching. Each week, hundreds of surfers take to the water near the jetty in Westport to ride the tremendous waves. These months are also excellent for bird watching. A wide variety of shorebirds return in the spring. If you can’t find them on the beach, you only have to go inland a short distance to Bottle Beach or Bowerman Basin to see tens of thousands of birds taking sanctuary during their annual migratory adventure. So if you’re feeling a little restless after a long winter of inactivity and you want an invigorating way to spend a day, layer up and head out to the coast for a stroll along the beach in Westport. What you discover may be a lifelong passion for the sea. w The camera has recorded a transient moment of beauty. On a patch of beach perhaps two feet by three feet, tiny rivulets of surface water have eroded land based grains of white sand. Creating white sand patterns across a black sand beach: patterns reminiscent of a braided river, tree roots or the underwater undulations of near-shore kelp forests. The next high tide will erase these patterns and the sand will become homogenized—wiped clean like the colored sands sprinkled onto a Navajo or Tibetan sand painting. Discover the beach less traveled… Westport 800-377-0787 www.windermerewestport.com www.peninsulalife.biz Peninsula Life 71 The Golden Years of Golf Or “What Hurts Today” Q uite possibly my favorite quote of all time with regards to life is, “If I knew I was going to live this long I would have taken better care of myself.” Now as I approach my 56th birthday (and most of my customers and friends are between 40 and 70), this quote is becoming very relevant not only in my life but also in my golf game. Remember when you were growing up and at age 15 you wanted to be 16 so you could drive a car? At 20 you couldn’t wait until your 21st birthday so you could drink alcohol legally. Then for the next 30 years you were in denial, always lying about your age; obviously one would err on the younger side. Now all of a sudden I’m closing in on senior discounts. The shock of all shocks is when, at age 49, you receive an application from AARP! There’s always the dread of turning 50. How, you ask, does this pertain to golf? Well, as a middle-aged (notice I didn’t use the term “senior,” still in denial) golf professional who has had some playing 72 Peninsula Life success as a younger man, turning 50 was like being reborn. I could choose to compete against golfers who were my same age (or over). Think of the senior tour only on a regional level. Instantly, I was a contender again, and for reasons that eluded me when I was younger. I wanted to get into better condition. I actually started training. I wonder what I could have done if I’d tried this 20 years ago. It was amazing. I got stronger, lost 25 pounds, could walk 18 holes without total exhaustion and I hit the golf ball farther and better than I did when I was 40. In fact, during my first season on the 50-plus tour, I managed to win a couple of tournaments. Life was good. For the next five years I continued working out and my golf game remained constant. I wasn’t winning all the time but I was still in contention for the wins. Now, I must be honest: my new-found conditioning and practice regiment wasn’t the only reason for my success on the course. Without a doubt (and this isn’t a commercial), the improvements in equipment and www.peninsulalife.biz by Mike Early golf balls in the past 10 years have made a very dramatic difference in all golfers’ abilities. In my case it was one particular piece of equipment—the belly putter. All golfers of a certain age, regardless of ability, have experienced the dreaded “yips.” Without going into detail, the yips in golf are almost life-threatening. Once I got over the social stigma of using a “crutch” (AKA belly putter), my whole outlook changed. I didn’t have to be perfect with each drive or second shot. I just knew if I could get it on the green, then with my new-found magic weapon, my nerves would be 15 years old again. Then, suddenly, came the start of the “Golden Years” (age 55) and the magic elixir of life hit the wall. Oh, I could still put together a good round once in awhile, but afterward my body felt like it had been hit by a truck. I began to understand why the older players were downing massive quantities of Advil. I tried working out harder, thinking it would delay the effects of (gulp!) middle age. I was becoming my father. A favorite saying has emerged dur- ing practice and workout sessions: “Just trying to stay even,” and I think I’m losing the battle. When I was younger I had many surgeries (four back, two shoulder and two knee), but until I turned 55 ½ they were a non-issue. Why, all of a sudden, does my whole body hurt? I realize that at 55 I’m just a rookie and many years still lie ahead of me in these golden years. And that’s what’s really got me worried. The changes that are occurring because of age have become almost hysterical. In golf, unlike other sports, these changes occur much later in one’s career. When I was younger, there was a group of 10 to 15 guys (pros and amateurs) that traveled, played and stayed together at various golf tournaments. Back in “those” days we would practice hard, play hard and sometimes socialize hard. The conversation always focused on the yearnings of young men. We’d have a couple of drinks, hash out the day’s golf and talk to—or about (if you were single)—the young ladies. Yes, life was good. We were invincible. The reality of the arrival of the golden years is starting to gain momentum. Now, instead of teeing off around noon (because of the late night before), we get to the course around daybreak (because we all wake up at the crack of dawn). We play our round of golf, have lunch and get back home in time for the afternoon nap. Our conversations revolve around tales from the past and medical breakthroughs that either build false libidos or help with some other failing bodily function. These golden years are tough. I went from carrying my own golf bag to using a push cart, to using a power push cart, to the ultimate symbol of senior golf, the power riding cart. Now, don’t get me wrong, the use of a power cart enables golfers to continue enjoying this great game despite physical handicaps and super senior status. My problem is, as a “rookie” senior who is still six years away from social security and maybe retirement, I want to once again lie about my age. I want to have the benefits of being 62 at age 55, and, yes, I want to enjoy the power cart golf for another 50 years. w Michael D. Early is a PDA Director of Golf on the Peninsula www.peninsulalife.biz Peninsula Life 73 LEISURE & TRAVEL Resonant Golf by Vincent M. Hagel 74 Peninsula Life www.peninsulalife.biz S onorosity is a word coined by a former Montana rancherturned-Methodist-minister. It comes from “sonorous,” an adjective describing a certain quality of depth of tone. Some persons are born with it, yet it still requires development through time, as does a rich baritone or the soundboard of a fine guitar. Or even a golf course rimmed by 200-year-old trees and peopled with golfers who, through devotion to the game and the course, have created an artful experience for other golfers that is not to be found in those callow, exciting new courses that have sprung up like dandelions throughout the western states during the past 15 years. One such course can be found between Bremerton and Silverdale at the Kitsap Golf and Country Club. In a nearly horizontal rainfall, I visited this course, making my way around in a cart. As I did, I thought about the years required for a course to mature like this one has, with fairways bordered by large cedars and its wealth of golfing experiences that many renovations and subtle makeovers have created over 82 years. I began my tour on the back nine, where the original six holes were sculpted out of the cottonwood and cedar bottomland in 1924, when Grant Hinkle was the Washington State Secretary of State, Louis Hart was the state’s governor, and Calvin Coolidge was President of the United States. The $600 Ford was the automobile of choice for the average person dreaming of mobility, and the 8-cylinder Duesenberg won the Indy 500 and would soon be the choicest vehicle of the American wealthy. The founders of the Kitsap Golf and Country Club amassed $2,700 to build their six-hole course. (A metro couple who buys two grande lattes each weekday, and tips reasonably, will have spent $2,300 in 2006.) In 1926, 81 members formed the nonprofit corporation called The Kitsap Golf and Country Club, leaving room for 19 more members. In addition to the cost of their original shares, the members assessed themselves monthly dues of a whopping six dollars for men and five dollars for women Buzz Edmonds and Tim Kemp above the 18th Green who wished to play the ancient Scottish game. Those early Scots could not have imagined paying for golf, let alone driving a small cart off the tenth tee at Kitsap. The tenth hole was not part of the original course, though it affords a spectacular entry to the back nine. The tee shot flies off toward a horizon that falls away after a little more than 200 yards. But it is the second shot that grabs one’s attention—a steep hill cascading like an enormous waterfall to a small, circular green more than 100 feet below, which requires a shot of good quality and a club selection of good judgment to make your shot. One can imagine the original members teeing their balls on tiny sand mounds in their opening tournament on July 2, 1926—six holes of golf as we don’t know it today. The winning score was 82, but the name of the winner is not known, as there is no record and none of the original members is around to remember. By 1932, when Wendell Arnold became a member, the course had grown to nine holes, and children could play for one dollar per month. I did not meet Wendell Arnold, but he is still a member of the club. In 1939—the middle of the Depression—the members added green fees to support their golf professional’s salary of $25 per month: fifty cents on weekdays and seventy-five cents on Saturdays. The Depression had its effect on everyone, and I easily imagined the arguments among members when they agreed to raise the pro’s salary to $40. Most of these stories are inscribed in a history compiled by member Pat Brewitt www.peninsulalife.biz Peninsula Life 75 in 1991. Though I did not meet Pat, I did meet Buzz Edmonds and Tim Kemp, who gave life to some of the club’s memories. Buzz joined the club in 1945 at the age of fifteen, and Tim became a member when his parents joined in 1948. They are both men of understatement, however, so the history must be assembled from bits and pieces. Kitsap’s tournaments provide a good example. Buzz, for instance, likes to talk about the golf course, the quality of play, the variety of layouts the course has undergone—nine or ten since he became a member. His favorite tournament is the Kitsap Open, which has run annually since 1954, the year the course grew to 18 holes. At one time it was the state’s best venue for amateurs. Buzz and Tim both fondly recall the barbequed salmon and steak served at the Saturday night dinners, the dancing, the slot machines and blackjack tables of the ’50s, and the great times the players and their guests enjoyed. But when asked about how he played in those tournaments, Buzz lowers his eyes and smiles as if to say: “not too badly.” 76 Peninsula Life I learned later that “not too badly” means that he won the club championship seven times in 15 years and he held the course record of 64 for many years—one person said he believed that someone might have shot a 63 recently, but no one present was certain. “Not too badly” also meant that, in 1948, Buzz and another junior member, Bob Jacobs, qualified for the USGA National Junior Championship. The club underwrote their trip to Ann Arbor, where they competed with the nation’s best young golfers. No record exists of their experience, except in their own memories. Understatement also applies to Pat Brewitt, whose history mentions only in passing that she was the 1957 Washington State Women’s Amateur Champion. I found Pat’s win in a list of Club Women’s Championships, of which she won seven. Pat also held the course record for women as of 1991, when her historical document ended. Other records at the Kitsap Golf and Country Club include notable amateurs who became professional golfers: Eddie www.peninsulalife.biz Draper, who won the 1954 Kitsap Open; Kermit Zarley, who is still well-known on the Champions’ Tour; Ron Coleman; and George Bayer, who was a member before turning pro. Buzz also remembers playing golf with Patti Berg and Carol Mann when they gave a golf clinic at the course, but he missed Byron Nelson, who gave a clinic at the course in 1951, one of four years Buzz was not a member, as he was traveling. By 1952, the men’s monthly dues had risen to nine dollars, the juniors to a dollar-twenty. The club also added another category: widows could play for four-fifty per month. During WWII, the government confiscated land adjacent to the course to use for ammunition storage; the area was the right size, and a railroad line ran alongside. Remember, the word “links” refers to unusable land, which is where many early golf courses began, though most golf course land today is very valuable. Eventually, the ammunition storage facility and the railroad line disappeared, but the bridge over which golfers drive as they enter the course is the remnant of the railroad bridge of preWWII days. Chico Creek, which rushes between the 12th and 13th fairways, is also aging. It was, and still is, a salmon-spawning stream, and I could sense the faint odor of last fall’s fish that had died after their journey from the sea. “Just like everybody says,” Buzz remembers, “in the ’40s, the fish were so thick in the creek you could have walked across them.” The water is wild in December, though, when the rains blow sideways and the Kitsap Peninsula edges toward floods. By 1969, tournaments were in full swing, membership was up and a new clubhouse was built with the largest banquet facility in Bremerton. It hosts dances, weddings and a wide variety of social events—all the trappings of a country club. But both Buzz and Tim smile at the implication of the exclusivity of country clubs. Theirs is a golf club, and not exclusive. However, the club is careful to limit memberships to a number adequate enough to maintain the course, while keeping it uncrowded so golfers can enjoy the game, easy access, and a reasonable pace of play—something that many public courses cannot provide. Like many private clubs, there are several types of memberships available today, including memberships with voting shares, as well as golfing, junior executive and military memberships. The easiest access for information is through www.kitsapgolfcc.com. Golf tournaments attract new members, though the primary purpose of many of the club’s events is to raise money for local charities such as the Salvation Army, the cancer unit of Harrison Hospital, and several cancer foundations. The club supports younger people through a tournament fundraiser for the Washington State Junior Golf Association and by hosting a high school cross country meet each year. The women’s club holds several annual events, and during the winter months the men compete in The Winter Tour, a series of Sunday tournaments that begin with breakfast, and end—as most tournaments do—at the nineteenth hole. The clubhouse remains a beautiful facility, well-designed in 1969 to age gracefully. Membership has changed over the years, but for Buzz and Tim, it is a club that has been a part of their lives and remains a golfer’s club. Compared to other clubs, it’s “the best golf deal around,” Tim says, “considering the cost of golf, the ease of getting a tee time, and the pace of play. Besides, people, when they first see it, think it looks like a pushover, but anyone who plays here finds out in a hurry that it’s not an easy course.” That was clearly true, I had learned by the time I pulled the cart up to the 18th tee, one of the original six. It’s a long par four whose fairway is barely 15 yards wide with a steep hill on either side; it’s called the canyon hole and is Kitsap’s signature hole. Your drive needs to be perfect, as does your long-iron second shot that snakes its way up the canyon to a small green nestled nearly 100 feet below the clubhouse. The trees are imposing, and the greens are challengingly small, offering the oldest sport a well-aged venue for every aficionado. If this course could talk, its voice would certainly be pleasingly sonorous. w Golf Port Townsend Open Year Round PGA Director of Golf Michael Early Port Townsend Golf Club 1948 Blaine Street Port Townsend WA 98368 360-385-4547 www.peninsulalife.biz Peninsula Life 77 Entering Sequim on the highway from the east, a road sign with flashing lights says, “ELK.” We always look, but they are never there…and then one wintry morning, standing in a line atop the road cut, there they were, patiently awaiting safe crossing. Reminding us yet again it is a wonderful Peninsula we share. 78 Peninsula Life www.peninsulalife.biz “We need another and a wiser and perhaps a more mystical concept of animals. Remote from universal nature, and living by complicated artifice, man in civilization surveys the creature through the glass of his knowledge and sees thereby a feather magnified and the whole image in distortion. We patronize them for their incompleteness, for their tragic fate of having taken form so far below ourselves. And therein we err, and greatly err. For the animal shall not be measured by man. In a world older and more complete than ours they move finished and complete, gifted with extensions of the senses we have lost or never attained, living by voices we shall never hear. They are not brethren, they are not underlings; they are other nations, caught with ourselves in the net of life and time, fellow prisoners of the splendor and travail of the earth.” From The Outermost House by Henry Beston www.peninsulalife.biz Peninsula Life 79 5SVNQFUFS4XBOT "SDUJD5eSO $PBTUBM'PSFTU 5VGXG9KNUQP2QUVGTU &MXIB3JWFS )VSSJDBOF3JEHF 7JOF.BQMF 4UFWF8JMTPO1PTUFSTwYw BWBJMBCMFGPS 0OMJOFBUXXXQFOJOTVMBMJGFCJ[ 7JTBBOE .BTUFSDBSEBDDFQUFE 80 Peninsula Life www.peninsulalife.biz $BMM .BJM0SEFSTXJUIDIFDLUP 1FOJOTVMB-JGF.BHB[JOF 10#PY 1PSU5PXOTFOE8" readers’ page “Lots of Backseat Driving” I wanted to see some of the world’s different economic levels. Bainbridge Island is pretty mono-ed…I mean you don’t meet too many people that are different from “Bainbridge Islanders.” Born and raised on Bainbridge and not too excited about college after returning from a GREAT Bristol Bay salmon season, Nick and I (best friends since we were 3) planned travel: Arrive Heathrow 9 September. Return from Bali 1 January— in between all options open. Going down the street. Everyone watching the road. Searching for a restaurant in Lake Bratan, Bali, “cheap, always cheap,” with good avocado juice (a blendy mix dribbled with chocolate syrup). Raining hard. Lots of backseat driving. Always motorcycles. Always big trucks. Horns blowing. A different sense of space —inches not feet. It takes a lot of subtlety to keep this chaos organized, but isn’t that true of life—and the world? Kevin Wilson Whitman College Next year I go to Kenya to study Swahili language/ culture following this year of anthropology at Walla Walla. www.peninsulalife.biz Peninsula Life 81 Money Does long-term care insurance make sense for you? by Craig Wallin Since most of us would find those numbers hard to fit in the average household budget, it makes sense to look at alternatives to help cover the cost. Although a growing minority of retirees are opting to move to a country where medical costs are much more affordable, most of us will want to consider a more practical alternative—long-term care insurance. W ith over 70 million baby boomers approaching retirement age, the realities of aging are starting to hit home. One of those realities hit very close to home recently when a neighbor, well into his boomer years, slipped on an icy driveway and broke his hip. First came the hospital visit for repairs, then an extended stay at a nursing home to recover before finally being able to return home. 82 Peninsula Life The cost of extended care is not inexpensive and, according to the experts, will be increasing twice as fast as inflation every year for the foreseeable future. The average daily cost of nursing home care in western Washington is over $200 a day, or $74,000 yearly. With a 5-6 percent increase every year, today’s 60-year-old could be facing nursing home costs of over $500 per day, or $182,000 annually, in 20 years when they’re most likely to require extended care. www.peninsulalife.biz What is long-term care insurance? If you are unable to care for yourself due to an extended illness, injury or disability, long-term care (LTC) insurance can provide help for “activities of daily living,” such as bathing, dressing, walking or eating. You can receive help in a variety of places, including your own home, an assisted living facility or a nursing home. Long-term care insurance typically covers expenses not covered by health insurance, HMOs, Medicare or Medicaid. While most folks think Medicare or Medicaid will pay for their long-term care, that’s a dangerous assumption, unless you have limited assets. Medicare will pay only for “skilled nursing care.” To qualify, one has to have been hospitalized for at least three days prior to transferring to a nursing home. Once you’re in, Medicare only covers the costs for the first 20 days. From day 21 through day 100, you’ll be expected to pay $114 a day for your own care. On the 101st day, you’ll be expected to pay for all your own costs, unless you can qualify for Medicaid, a medical welfare program. It’s also important to note that Medicare does not pay for custodial care, such as help with getting around, bathing, eating or dressing, or supervision because of dementia or Alzheimer’s. Medicaid may pay for custodial care, in-home care or assisted living, but it requires that a person’s assets and income be spent down first. Because Medicaid only pays a discounted rate, not all nursing homes or other facilities will accept Medicaid patients, or may limit the number of Medicaid patients. Do you need long-term care insurance? Long-term care insurance is not for everyone, and even if you purchase a policy, you may not need it for 20 or 30 years. Most financial advisors agree that long-term care insurance makes sense if: n You have a medical condition or family history of illness that you and your doctor believe could require nursing home care. n Your assets are between $200,000 and $1.5 million, and you want to protect them for a spouse or children. n You have no family members available to take care of you. Long-term care insurance does not make sense if: n You can’t afford the premiums for a decent policy. According to insurance industry statistics, as many as 50 percent of long-term insurance policyholders let their policies lapse. A good rule of thumb to remember is that you shouldn’t spend more than 5 percent of your income on long-term care insurance. n Your assets are over $1.5 million. You can afford to pay for your own care. With an average nursing home stay of 30 months, your cost will likely be less than $200,000—expensive, but not devastating. While an insurance agent may try to convince you to buy a long-term care policy when you’re in your 40s and 50s, most experts agree it makes more sense to wait until you’re 60 and above, unless you have a chronic disease. Less than 1 percent of those under 65 require nursing home care. Between ages 65 and 74, that climbs to just above 1 percent. From 74 to 85, 4 percent require nursing home care, rising to 19 percent for those over 85. But don’t wait too long to purchase a policy. According to industry statistics, one out of four 65-year-olds fails the physical exam, and that climbs to one out of three by age 75. Here are things to look for in a policy: n Pick a “benefit period” that makes sense. Aside from those with truly longterm challenges, such as Alzheimer’s, the average time spent in a nursing home for those over 65 is 2½ years. So choosing a three or four year benefit period can give you adequate coverage without raising the premiums too high. n Choose a daily benefit amount that matches local costs. The daily benefit amount is the maximum amount that the insurer will pay for your care in a nursing home or other care facility. The average cost in the Puget Sound region is $218 per day, a bargain compared to Anchorage, Alaska at $578, but expensive compared to Mississippi at $122 a day. n Given a choice, most folks would prefer to be cared for in their own homes. One way to insure that’s possible is to choose a benefit amount for home care at 80 to 100 percent of the nursing home benefit amount. Home health care is not cheap—with the average cost of a home health care aide in our state at over $20 an hour, or $160 for a day. n One of the best ways to keep the cost of LTC insurance premiums reasonable is to opt for a waiting period of 60 or 90 days after entering a care facility before benefits begin. The longer the waiting period, the lower the premium. But don’t choose a long waiting period if you can’t cover the cost of care during that period from your savings. n To collect benefits from a long-term care policy, a person must be unable to handle two or three “activities of daily living” (ADLs), such as bathing, eating, dressing, getting in and out of bed, and using the toilet. The best policies only require two ADLs, rather than three. Also, be sure bathing is on your policy’s list of ADLs, as it’s typically one of the first activities that require assistance. n Make sure your insurer will be around when you need it. Most of the insurance companies offering long-term care insur- ance are large, reputable firms, but there are always a few exceptions. If a company has financial problems, you could lose your coverage. Since you may not need benefits for 20 or more years, be sure to choose an insurer that gets high financial safety marks from insurance rating companies. You can get free ratings online from www.ambest.com, www.moodys. com, and www.standardandpoors.com. In addition, most local insurance agents who handle multiple insurers can supply ratings, as well. n Nursing care costs have been rising faster than overall inflation in the past few years, a trend industry experts believe will likely continue. Consider including inflation protection to ensure that your benefits keep pace with inflation. If you have a choice, the 5 percent compounded option has a better chance of keeping up with inflation than the 5 percent simple option. n Many employers, including the federal government, offer group long-term care insurance that may cost less than an individual policy. In addition, you may be able to pay the premiums with pre-tax dollars for further savings. Before signing on, make sure the policy meets your needs, just as you would with an individual policy. w ❀ Further reading The Washington State Insurance Commission has several helpful booklets, worksheets, comparison charts and a list of all insurance companies licensed to sell long-term care policies in our state. For internet access, go to www.insurance.wa.gov, and click on “long-term care” on the home page menu. That will display a list of all the downloadable information available. If you prefer a printed copy, just call the Insurance Consumer’s Hotline at 1-800-562-6900. Craig Wallin is author of Headstart to Wealth…Turn Kids into Millionaires with Only Two Dollars a Day. Learn more at: www.headstarttowealth.com www.peninsulalife.biz Peninsula Life 83 Converting Wealth to Income: The Importance of Creating a Comprehensive Retirement Plan by Scott D. Hill S aving for retirement is a priority for many, but no matter how much you’re saving, chances are you haven’t thought about the broad range of factors that could affect your ability to make those savings last through your retirement years. As the first of the baby boomers officially become eligible for retirement this year, there is potential for strain on the health care and Social Security systems, as well as the investment landscape. Gooding & O’Hara, PS Certified Public Accountants 360-385-1040 Fax 360-385-3799 [email protected] 84 Peninsula Life Therefore, it is increasingly important for individuals to not only have a plan in place to continue accumulating wealth, but also one for generating a steady income stream that they can live from during retirement. While retirement may seem far off for many, it’s important to keep in mind that more and more people are retiring early. And with increasing life expectancies, individuals will need to make their money last even longer. Underestimating your longevity is just one way to exhaust savings during retirement. However, to develop a realistic retirement income plan, you will need to think about other factors as well. First, what will your sources of income be during retirement? In other words, where will your “paycheck” come from? Chances are there will be more than one source of income, such as pensions, Social Security, investments, and earned income if you decide to continue working. Once you’ve determined where your money will be coming from, you also need to look at how you want to live during retirement. Lifestyle choices will greatly affect your retirement income needs. Maybe you want to travel, or pursue a hobby. Maybe it’s been your dream to help finance your grandchild’s education. You might even be surprised to find out that your income needs can actually increase during retirement rather than decrease. Your retirement income needs will probably require you to withdraw a certain percentage of your savings and investments each year. If you withdraw a high percentage, you might deplete your retirement assets sooner than expected. Additionally, you will want to work with your tax advi- www.peninsulalife.biz sor to make sure you’re applying the most tax-efficient sequence of withdrawals from your 401(k), IRA and other investment accounts. Inflation should also be considered as you look ahead to your retirement income needs. Even a relatively mild annual inflation rate can erode purchasing power. For example, at an inflation rate of three percent, the $100,000 you have today will be worth only $55,368 in 20 years—a loss of 45 percent in value. Taking these factors into consideration will greatly increase your success in developing a realistic retirement plan. Whether retirement is in your immediate future or is still five, 10 or 15 years away, it’s never too late—or too soon—to lay the foundation for an income plan that will see you through retirement. Talk with your financial consultant about building a plan that will help you convert your wealth into the retirement income you’ll need to live comfortably in your golden years. w This article is provided by Scott D. Hill, a first vice president and financial consultant at RBC Dain Rauscher in Seattle, Washington, and was prepared by or in cooperation with RBC Dain Rauscher. A graduate of the University of Washington, Scott is a certified investment management analyst and accredited wealth manager who grew up on the Olympic Peninsula. The information included in this article is not intended to be used as the primary basis for making investment decisions nor should it be construed as a recommendation to buy or sell any specific security. RBC Dain Rauscher does not endorse this organization or publication. Consult your investment professional for additional information and guidance. RBC Dain Rauscher does not provide tax or legal advice. Perspectives Happy Birthday. Or is it? I recently shared a phone call with a dear friend who reluctantly divulged—with a definite change in the tone of her voice—that her birthday was days away and that she might take that day off to stay in bed with her head under the covers. She might have been exaggerating, but I clearly heard sadness and angst in her remark. In her, I heard the voice of many who resist aging and hold regret about a day that should be celebrated with joy. My birthday is just around the corner, so I have been giving it considerable thought. The truth is, no one gets out alive! We all eventually decline. It is the process of life and, no matter what we do, life and death are the things that we share in common with every other person walking the face of the earth. We all are born, we all age, and we all die. Period. What matters is not what we do along the way, but the grace with which we handle by Rhonda Hull it. Why waste our precious time trying to change the inevitable? Instead, focus on the wonders that are possible right here and now and make each moment memorable. Our culture’s definition of aging has been hard on us, particularly women. Media and advertising bombard us with unrealistic expectations and myths about what our bodies are supposed to do and to look like in order to be appealing, accepted, and even lovable. How sad that we are dominated by this myth rather than being free to enjoy the process of change while accepting that there is beauty and joy to be experienced with each milestone. Don’t get me wrong. It would be wonderful if my body today had the energy and maneuverability that it did when I was in my 20s and 30s. I certainly wish I didn’t ache or wasn’t stiff when I get out of bed in the morning. Still and all, the degree of our joy is measured by where we choose to place our focus. Life is a journey, and I savor the perspective I have now that I didn’t have when my body was agile. It is only through these mature eyes that I can fully marvel at the smooth hands of my grandbabies cradled in my hands—with all their wrinkles, veins and age spots. In each line is a story. The mystery of life continues. Why miss the moment before us by being transfixed by a past we cannot return to or change? We are not meant to be today who we were a decade or two ago, or even yesterday. This moment—right now—has transitioned to another before I even finish this sentence. Such is the nature of life. It unfolds. Each day and every new moment brings added experience and new opportunities that create the patina of wisdom. If I hang on too tight or resist the unknown, it comes anyway. Like it or not, holding on to what I think life should be, or what it was, only causes me to miss out on the joy that comes with the present Without understanding and embracing the journey of life that includes aging and, eventually, death, we habitually fight the process to the point that we forget there is an alternative called “now.” Have you noticed that resisting age does not prevent us from growing older? As a matter of fact, it wears us out even faster and drains us of the authentic life force that allows us to drink in life’s simple pleasures. We are blinded by our culture’s marketing program and have come to believe that happiness must be bought, or defined by what we wear, or dictated by how we look. The list goes on and on. We fail to notice our true worth, fail to value the simple joys, and we allow our innate magic to be shrouded by our manufactured false shortcomings and self-criticism. It’s a trap. Such fears create the very worry lines we run from and pave the way to poor health and a rut of depression. Authentic happiness expands by living in the present moment, rich with gratitude for what we have right now. Feeling valued, sharing our gifts generously and staying connected through unconditional love is the best antiaging cream formula we can apply. Creating a life of joy is an inside job. Controlling life and its aging process is an www.peninsulalife.biz Peninsula Life 85 illusion. Life flows and has its own rhythm, with new insights at each stage and phase. That doesn’t mean that we are not called to honor and care for our body along the way. Self-care and building a foundation of security are forms of self-love that contribute to happy living and are accessible, but not dependent upon the shape of our body, our health, what we own or our bank account. We can best love another when we dare to love our self, first, and teach others how to love us by how we treat our self. Vintage cars grow in value over time. They hold their value when they are cared for, but regardless of their pampering, they wear out, demand more attention to run smoothly, and eventually just stop! My dad, who was a car guy, always said, “Rust never sleeps!” We eventually wear around the edges, too. But, our journey of aging holds the history of our legacy and gives meaning to the memories we create along the way. Our life is ours to live, to learn, to love. We leave a meaningful mark by living with grace and gratitude, forgiveness and love, not only for others but also for our self. The imprint we leave is authentic and lasting when we embrace and appreciate the magnificence of who we were, who we are now, and who we are evolving to become. We change and age, but our shining essence doesn’t. It gets added to this incredible brew we call life, and this common and creative energy is whole and ageless. Breathe. Be still for just a moment and consider how your life would be different if you got up each day and said, “Good morning, God,” rather than, “Good God, it’s morning,” even on your birthday. Especially on your birthday! My life’s experiences have blessed me with the profound opportunity to be present at the magical moment of first breath—the birth of each of my three grandsons. With the passing of my mother, I had the treasured opportunity to be at that solemn moment of last breath. The power and perfection offered by these first and last moments of life are the same in a way that is beyond description, and offer us a glimpse of all that is beyond our understanding. A birthday calls for celebration and is a reminder for us to get on 86 Peninsula Life with life, and get on with living it fully. Life is too short not to! For all of you who discount your value when story lines adorn your face, when your body reshapes itself, and your knees sound like popcorn when ascending the stairs, I invite you to instead welcome it as a signal of a life well lived as best you know how, and to celebrate your birthday even more boldly. Let the number of years spent here roll off your tongue with ease and honor. Wear your wrinkles like jewelry awarded to you for your many contributions to the circle of life. With the turning of another year, appreciate yourself for more than one day. Let the song of your life linger on your lips. Celebrate the entire journey of your life. Savor all the highs and lows. Toast the rough spots along the way. You have touched more lives than you can ever imagine, in big and simple ways. You make a meaningful difference with every random act of kindness and every smile you offer. We forget this, but it’s true. One of your casual smiles will land on someone at just the right moment, inspiring him or her to travel a bit more smoothly on their path without you even being aware of it. I guarantee that without even knowing it, you have changed someone’s life for the better. All of this while you were busy worrying about a few gray hairs and an arbitrary day on the calendar. So, imagine what would happen if we all truly valued the wisdom that comes with age. Who would we be if we honored the elder that we are becoming? How might life be different if we let go of our fear and open fully to the stages and phases of life, accepting ourselves, warts and all? Let the dissatisfaction you feel in your gut as you repel the thought of aging be the very nudge you need to ask yourself, “What am I called to do and who am I called to be in order to fully live, right here, and right now?” This moment is yours. The choice is yours. Happy birthday. Happy birthday to you. w Rhonda Hull, Ph.D. is a professional speaker, mentor, and author of Drive Yourself Happy: A Motor-vational Maintenance Manual for Maneuvering Through Life. www.detourfromstress.com www.peninsulalife.biz vignette Kirk Wachendorf “My people have lived in this village for 4,000 years.” Wow…what a swat of reality. I consider myself sort of a longtime Peninsalite…the pre-Agate Pass Bridge days, the preWashington State ferry days. We took our kids camping at Rialto Beach before it was “Park”! I’ve hung my rain gear for more than a half century on the west side of the Sound but Kirk Wachendorf’s words untwisted my perspective. We stood in a softly lit corner of the Makah Museum at Neah Bay, in a light that would have filtered through a centuries old cedar forest during the times Kirk Wachendorf talked about. Kirk is an ‘Interpretive Specialist’. He helps interpret “the past that the earth has preserved”. He talks of the unknown Makah artist, or artists, who incised the wedding rock petroglyphs at Ozette Village. His stories speak to his cultural past and acknowledge with obvious appreciation his ancestry. He speaks of skills crafting canoes, bent wood boxes, baskets and, post-European influence, the totem pole. He speaks with pride, sadness and bafflement. “Why are American people treated like mushrooms – kept in the dark and fed nothing?” It is a questioning we may all find within ourselves. SCW Spring Cleaning: More than Just Dust by Carol Wiseman S pring cleaning was a ritual our grandmothers went through every year. Of course, that was when the home belonged to the “little woman,” when she was home 24/7 and was expected to do everything herself. No housekeeper to hire, no husband to help, and no choice as to whether she even wanted to do it. Even though the homemaking pressure has diminished for me over the years, I still love that feeling of clean. Maybe it’s a primal instinct to ready our nest or… maybe we’re just too busy the rest of the year to notice how busy spiders have been building their homes in our homes. Either way, eventually most of us feel the need to freshen up. Seeing the crocus push up is an annual reminder that the earth is coming alive, and so can we. The blooms signal you to start moving your mood beyond gray days. When I lived in the woods, the wildflower “shooting star” was my reminder that the coming sunshine would soon be showing up on my dirty windows. Ancient cultures celebrated New Year’s Day on April 1, but Europeans adopted a new calendar in 1582 which began the year on January 1. This change is one of the many explanations for April Fools’ Day: many people refused to accept the change and were made fun of by being sent on “fool’s errands.” Long ago, I discarded January 1 as the start of the new year and switched to spring. I love the idea of starting the year on April Fools’ Day. Laughter is a good beginning for anything and everything. After years of maintaining an annual cleaning ritual, I discovered that having a cleaner house never really changed my life in any meaningful way. Consequently, I challenge you to expand the idea this year and spring clean all your senses into action, including the full array of your being: emotional, social, mental, spiritual and physical. To help push you in the right direction, I offer up some gentle suggestions. Starting with dust is the easiest— reminders can be written right on top of a forgotten end table—but going beyond the dirt and hand prints will go a long way in livening up your nest. Consider painting a room or maybe just a wall. Rearrange some artwork. Repair a drippy faucet. Move a chair from here to there, pick up flowers for your table, add an inviting plant on the porch to welcome you in every day. And, coddle your car. Wash, vacuum, and lube it, because it can turn on you at the most inconvenient times. When your house is Martha Stewartready, move on to your body. Stop trying to find a parking place so close to every store. Parking farther away on purpose gives you more walking time. Get your cholesterol checked and teeth cleaned. Drink one more glass of water every day, work more broccoli into your meals, and go to bed earlier. I’m a bona fide “get more rest” crusader because I’ve noticed that a problem perceived as a big deal the night before often seems trivial after a good night’s sleep. Maybe you could even consider a new hairstyle this year. As a migraine sufferer, I once tried a water cure out of desperation and it worked. Headaches don’t last as long since I started flushing those imaginary headache demons out of my system faster. And as I write this article, a new experiment is in the works: with a water bottle on the table beside me, I’m flooding my brain with lubrication in an attempt to plump up my creative juices. In other words, I’m trying to get smarter with water. Many people come into your life over the years. Some become friends, but others you may keep up with only out of obligation, habit or loyalty. Think about evaluating which is which, and gradually letting go of those who constantly bring you down. Moods rub off, and it’s hard enough to cope with your own moods, much less someone else’s. Spending more of your time with those who uplift instead of drain you will help you maintain a more positive outlook. Inject your social life with new activities. Find an organization of interest, ask someone new over for a glass of wine, or call someone you haven’t seen lately. The mental piece of the puzzle is harder to remember. Imagine having to exercise your brain on purpose. Doesn’t this happen by itself? Well, what does happen automatically in a busy life is a tidal wave of daily obligations. Thinking time is squeezed out and brain activity diminishes, until cobwebs aren’t just in the corners of your home anymore.This could all go away quite easily. Pick your most annoying habit and make an all-out effort to change. (Replacing it with something positive works best.) Switch from zombielike TV watching to reading or game playing. Maybe a nearby college is offering an interesting class or seminar. Next time you www.peninsulalife.biz Peninsula Life 87 see a workshop mentioned in the paper, make plans to go instead of just thinking, “Hmm, that sounds interesting.” A sure-fire way to have a better spiritual year is to “get off yourself ” once in awhile. It’s so easy to be consumed by your own life. Try to fit in a couple of hours a month to volunteer for something you believe in. Non-profits welcome the smallest of contributions. You’re surrounded by negative thinking more than you realize, so try to neutralize it by focusing more on the positive stuff. Switching your thoughts is never easy, but you can practice having a more positive outlook: before you drift off at night, mentally list the things you feel grateful for that day. Try to identify at least three. Emotional spring cleaning seems like the toughest of all. Redirecting your feelings is a lifelong battle—just ask a therapist. But here’s a common area to start on: worry. It took me a lifetime to realize how useless worry is and how much of my life I was missing by keeping my head in the future. All that anxiety I put myself through worrying about what might happen—always worst-case scenarios of course—kept me from enjoying the moment I was in at the time. You can’t just stop overnight, but recognizing the futility of worrying about something you can’t control helps to break that habit. An easy way to start any change is to begin with something simple that makes a big impact—like music, for instance. Think about putting more of it into your life. Music is a mood maker, but it’s also a great mood breaker. I’ve seen it brighten the dumpiest of moods. Most of us live in our own little world, with our own personal trials and triumphs, so the changes you pick to work on have to be very personal. My own list seems ambitious, so I need help. I plan to cut this paragraph out, enlarge it, and put it on the refrigerator as a reminder. This spring I vow to appreciate my surroundings more. I live on an island framed by mountain ranges, for heaven’s sake, and have spent way too much time in front of this computer. I vow to read more books, cut my intake of white flour, and clean the grout between hundreds of little 3˝ tiles covering 88 Peninsula Life the kitchen counter. Finally, since dancing is a passion, I will spend my next birthday check on a pair of official dancing shoes. It’s so easy to be run over by a life full of tasks that one year can run into the other until your life drones on with little meaningful thought. Feeling healthy and good about how your life is going is worth it. This year, think April Fools’ Day. It’s a great time to review…then renew. w Spring clean your life Commit to doing something to improve your life: Physical: Clean up your home: Vacuum cobwebs; repair something; paint something; move the couch; buy flowers for the table. Tidy the yard; add a birdbath and feeder; make a niche to sit in. Clean up your body: Get cholesterol checked and teeth cleaned; sleep another hour every night; drink one more glass of water every day; walk more, buy some dumbbells. Mental: Attempt to break a bad habit; read a book instead of watching TV; play a game once in www.peninsulalife.biz awhile; attend a lecture; attempt the daily crossword; take a class. Social: Spend more time with those who uplift you; invite someone over for dessert; join an organization of interest; call someone you haven’t seen lately; send someone a card just to say “Hi.” Spiritual: Volunteer more; spend more time on the positive stuff; end the day with gratitude. Emotional Play music more; worry less; forgive someone (including yourself); rent more comedies; play more. Perspectives A Curing Cabin Fever ccording to the American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition, cabin fever is “boredom, restlessness, or irritability that results from a lack of environmental stimulation, as from a prolonged stay in a remote, sparsely populated region or a confined indoor area.” Sounds like winter on the Peninsula to me. I moved from Portland, Oregon to Port Townsend, Washington two summers ago. Winter in Portland was just like summer except the rain was colder. There were always plenty of movies from which to choose. There were also plenty of indoor activities for children. For the most part, activities in the city seemed to be available year-round. However, on the Peninsula it is another story entirely. I endured my first winter by Heather Flanagan here—barely. I felt utter abandonment when the idyllic summer full of new friends, the Farmers’ Market and endless days at the beach gave way to…well, nothingness. The new friends were gone, vanished. They didn’t tell me they were going. They didn’t even give me their phone numbers. The Farmers’ Market closed down way before I was ready for it to. I had intended on using it for Christmas shopping, like the Saturday Market in Portland. And the beach? While it is lovely to look at from the windproof environment of my car, taking a walk on the beach in the winter can be much like standing in front of a sandblaster. It was a bit of a jolt for me to experience how different the winter is here, compared to the summer. Good bye, paradise. Hello, ghost town. I now know where my new friends went. They shut themselves in their nice warm homes just like my family and I did. They could occasionally be spotted at the grocery or video stores. But mostly they hunkered down alone or with their spouses. And doesn’t that line get blurry after a couple months of hunkering? Even if you have a solid and loving relationship, you can start to feel all alone. After a time, your sweetie starts to drive you completely mad. It seems like he is intentionally breathing loudly just to make your life a living hell. Or she seems like she is banging the dishes a little excessively so as to communicate her unreasonable, seething resentment about having to share the same zip code with you. Boredom gives way to restlessness. Restlessness gives way to irritability. And nothing relieves boredom quite like the sizzling drama created by two irritable adults chipping away at one another like a couple of playground www.peninsulalife.biz Peninsula Life 89 A Home To Remember bullies. Welcome! You have entered the cabin fever zone. Last year’s shack-wackiness did take me by surprise. Fortunately, I am fairly practiced at covert hostility, wherein I harbor resentment without actually acting it out. (At least, I hope I have been pulling this off.) But this year, I have a plan to make these final months of winter not only bearable, but easy and enjoyable. This year, I am prepared. This year is going to be different. I hope. Here’s the plan: Unforgettable grand water views from almost every room of this architecturally designed and beautifully sited home on Sequim Bay. ML#223577/26163936 Cath Mich, CRS WRE/ Sequim - Sunland 137 Fairway Drive Sequim, WA 98382 (800) 359-8823 90 Peninsula Life ✹ Make sure to have comfortable outside clothes. A major cause of cabin fever is that we don’t go outside very often. Last winter I didn’t go outside because it was uncomfortable. It is too cold, wet and windy. This year, I am making sure I have whatever gear it takes to feel comfortable. If I have to get a ski mask to keep from feeling sandblasted, so be it. I will get outside for a walk every day. ✹ Create things to look forward to. Sometimes the winter gets to me because the only thing I am looking forward to is being able to get out and sail, play at the beach or go camping in the summer. But that is so far in the future. Putting my attention on an idealized summer seems to make the cold seem even less appealing. By creating little things to look forward to each week, I bring myself back to the awareness of the gifts that are around me right now. Things that I can look forward to might include lunch with an uplifting friend. Or a fancy dinner with my mate. (Though, honestly, time apart can be much better for cabin fever than continuing to be in close proximity outside of the house.) Perhaps I will plan a trip to the next town over. Of course, a good staple for me is a daily trip to the coffee shop. I like this option because I can be around people without necessarily having to socialize. I want time alone, after all. I can also create things to look forward to inside the oppressive walls of the cabin. I like to change the furniture around for a little jolt of novelty. I can even get a little thrill from going through the junk drawer and throwing out anything I haven’t used in a year. My favorite idea for bringing www.peninsulalife.biz down the cabin fever is renting a television series such as Faulty Towers and watching an episode or two every night. This tends to give my brain something to play with and quells my irritation and boredom. Having guests over for board games or movies can make you feel that the cabin walls are not giving you the squeeze. Everything looks different when the sameness of home gets stirred up with new energy. It makes me want to get a new kitten. What ideas do you have for ways you can create things to look forward to? ✹ Remember that cabin fever might strike. This is an important part of my plan. I can think of all these great ideas now. But when the cabin fever really starts to hit, my cognitive functioning can fly out the window and I can turn into a twitchy, swirly-eyed demon despite all my fabulous plans. Then, hopefully, a little red flag will go up in my mind and I will realize, “Maybe my husband is not an evil jerk and I am just experiencing cabin fever.” If you want to be super proactive, you and your spouse could devise a code word now in the event that you get shack-wacky. I think I will refer to the movie The Shining. I might say, “Honey, I think we are having a ‘the-shining’ moment.” Perhaps you are very good at being kind to your mate despite cabin fever. Perhaps you turn all that angst into selfloathing. If you live alone, this is more likely. Shack-wacky single people take heart, though. You may be the lucky ones. We with partners are not necessarily sitting at home all snuggly together, warmed by the joy of each other’s love. Some of us are glaring at each other with distain. And we don’t have the option of dating someone else. But I digress. My point is: to be aware that if you feel down on yourself, it may not be based on your actual shortcomings (it never is, by the way, but that is another topic). When I realize that I am down on myself because I am at the beginning stages of a cold, for instance, it is always such a relief. So it is with cabin fever. If you notice that you are seeing everything, including yourself, in a negative light, let that be your cue to remind yourself about cabin fever. Instead of saying, “Darn it! I just wasted a whole week feeling sorry for myself because the sky is gray,” try saying, “Hmm. Now this is an interesting psychological phenomenon. I wonder what the first clue was that I was starting to get bogged down. I wonder how I finally realized it was cabin fever.” You can treat your mental-emotional state as though you were back in college, writing your senior thesis about it. You could even chart your moods and see if there is a pattern. And then you will have gotten value out of your experience instead of another reason for self-loathing. ✹ Go to Palm Springs. This is a nobrainer. ✹ Shake the sillies out. Seriously. Play music that gets you going. Lose it. Get goofy. Pick a tickle fight. When’s the last time you had a pillow fight? Growl. Go to a *Nia dance class. Our outsides tend to reflect our insides. Changes in one affect the other. When we feel shut in our homes, our spirit can feel shut in our bodies. We move less and less. We can feel like a boiling pot with a tight lid. We will eventually burst. But we do have the option of choosing how we will burst. Better a spaz-attack than a destructive attack that does damage to your relationships and yourself. ✹ Get the heart rate up at least once a day. This is code language for exercise. I don’t know about you, but when I think “exercise” I think “big project, too many steps.” It is too vague a concept. If I freeassociate, I first think “ride my bike” then “too cold” or “go swimming” then “need the schedule” then “where is my suit” then “oh yeah, it wore out” then “where can I find a new swimming suit this time of year.” I end up with an online shopping project instead of any actual exercise. Getting my heart rate up is an easier concept for me. The quickest way to do this is to go up and down the stairs a couple of times or walk quickly around the house until I am breathing a little faster. If I am getting ready for bed and haven’t raised my heart rate for the day, a few jumping jacks and I am done. I feel better overall with this minimal effort. It is so simple that there is never any reason not to do it. It may even lead to more exercise, but don’t think about that. Then you start building expectations, which can end up stopping you altogether. Why don’t you give it a try it right now? (Unless you are reading this on a Kenmore Air flight to Victoria, of course. It might look a little strange if you run up and down the center aisle.) ✹ Keep a gratitude journal. My coaching clients will tell you; sometimes the hokiest ideas are the most effective. A gratitude journal is a great way of getting yourself to focus on what is wonderful in your life. If you focus only on how isolated you feel, this feeling will take up more and more of your attention and will call a few of its friends over, such as frustration, irritation, and despair. Instead, try listing what you feel grateful for every day and teach your mind to look for more things to put on the list. Take it a step further by sharing with your special loved one what you appreciate about her (despite the fact that she has been breathing too loudly for some time now and has all but given up on doing the dishes in favor of the more permanent throwing and breaking of the dishes). You may even find that your appreciation helps cure your partner’s cabin fever, too. I hope my plan is successful for me and that it has provided you with some ideas for curing your winter doldrums. It is helpful in all aspects of life to be aware of potential challenges and to plan ahead for the results we want. There is a distinction, too, between focusing your attention on a negative condition and planning ahead for a potentially challenging situation. It can be tempting to avoid thinking about future challenges. It may even seem like the right thing to do, as we don’t want to bring about what we fear by worrying about it. But if there is fear, avoiding it will only send it to the background where it can operate without the benefit of our conscious choice and manifest itself as reactive behavior. The idea is not to dwell in fear, but to get clarity around what result we want in its place. Then we can set our intentions and focus our attention on where we want to go. w *Neuromuscular Integrative Action, a movement that combines elements of dance, tai-chi and yoga. For more information about common relationship challenges and tools and strategies for successful relationships visit my blog at [email protected]. vignette John Potter “I had my first dose of the Northwest when I was 3. I had great aunts on Maury and Whidbey Islands and did a summer on Vashon. My grandpa was a rice farmer in California, and we had beans and peas. When I was 4 I’d be poking beans and peas into the rows. I always loved gardening. I’ve had my own garden since the eighth grade. I like that selfsufficiency…and agriculture work gets your physical strength up. Agriculture is always important. “I was in the cattlemen’s association for 9 years. When you have animals you need to be very responsible. They need to be fed and taken care of. After cattle ranch isolation, country life seemed nice. Music has absolutely been a part of my life since third or fourth grade. I had a piano and was in grade school band, and when I was about 15 my uncle got me started playing in my grandpa’s country church. I learned guitar in church. My ambition was to go to Alaska and play honky-tonk in a saloon. “In 1979 I was invited to teach at the local music store. Now I’ve got private students. I teach slide guitar, delta blues, single string, electric guitar and now I’m working with the banjo. I’ve played duos and solo and with a female singer. My favorite place to play is the farmers’ market. “In 1959 when I was 19 I built this house with my dad. I live here by myself and get up at 5 or 6 a.m. and play over a latte or an espresso. “I’ve always liked the Northwest. It’s got friendly people.” SCW www.peninsulalife.biz Peninsula Life 91 On the Bookshelf Literary Natu re a Of Dead Center by Mary Lou Sanelli It is a March day in Port Townsend and I am walking up the Haller Fountain steps. The sky is sunless but it hardly matters. Anticipation lightens the air. And that’s the best thing of all about March, that spring is nearly here. It buoys our temperament, beckons from above and below, promising relief, utterly and simply. Suddenly, people who ignored me all winter are stopping on the sidewalk to chat, the waitress at the bakery is smiling, the postman is smiling, even the curmudgeon at the hardware store wears a grin, sort of. And you know and I know how that alone can make your day. It’s as if everyone is taking stock and finding themselves wanting of each other again. Maybe that’s because, for many artists, it takes a certain self-assuredness—a headdown approach to our work when winter descends and we find ourselves zooming in on what it is we do. Which sounds wonderful. And mostly it is wonderful. But let me dispel the myth right now that it is anything even close to wonderful all the time. It’s also solitary, bemusing, and frustrating as, say, waiting for a live voice to come on the phone when you ring up the airlines. For me, the creative process steps up in autumn, intensifies during winter, is there every morning when I awake and every night when I go to sleep, or try to. With so many dark hours to contend with, I scurry back to the warm, innermost sanctum of my office every chance I get even if what I meant to do is change the sheets I haven’t thought about changing in weeks or make a meal other than popcorn and a salad. Well, not a salad exactly. More like lettuce straight from the bag. To live in the Northwest in winter is to constantly consider what is most important to us. It’s why the season is artistic process at its most exuberant as we connect to our work, and to ourselves, in a big way. And, at certain strategic times, such as before 92 Peninsula Life www.peninsulalife.biz a deadline or performance, disconnect to anything or anyone other than what we need to get on the page, canvas or stage. “There is no substitute for hard work,” Edison said. “And, indeed, we go rotten without it.” And it’s also why, come spring, it is really necessary to get outside of our offices and studios and—whew—out of our heads. A spring day can change everything and make of us, in more lighthearted ways, some new and terrific whole. Which has everything to do with connectedness. Actually, it’s dead center. So there you are. Although I hope this description doesn’t sound too pompous to some: those who don’t resonate well to art as anything but a touchy-feely hobby. Or to those who haven’t yet tapped into their creativity but long to after working for decades in—suppose—an insurance office in Connecticut before moving here years after marriage and responsibility channeled their desires in a different direction. Because it’s hard for me not to mesh together life and pomposity while standing on the Haller Fountain steps —a staircase built long ago from wood with spacing that allowed Victorian gentlewomen to use it in ladylike fashion while hiking their hems to expose satin heels as they climbed to a prosperous summit. And though that image is a far cry from my Puma sneakers and boot-cut jeans, I too am a woman ascending a bluff overlooking downtown, on the move in my own small world. As for the ladylike fashion, well, no, I take the stairs two at time. w Mary Lou Sanelli is the author of six poetry collections, her latest being Craving Water: Poems of Ordinary Life In A Northwest Village, an intimate glance at life on the Olympic Peninsula. Her most recentwork is Falling Awake. Living Here (A Pacific Northwest Reflection) Kneeling, looking into the lake, Somewhere between surface and sand, I am looking back Framed by the echoes of all I’ve seen. Fleecy clouds over snow-capped mountains, Dense, dark green forests at their feet. And the silence. So profound you could hear your heart beat, Were it not for the exultant cry of an eagle Announcing the fish dinner, Clutched in his damp talons. As he swoops upward from the hunt, Rising from the lake, headed home to share. When I first arrived, a native said All this can be a bit overwhelming And can take some getting used to Especially if you decide to live here. In the years since, I’ve joined the sated natives Content to be jaded by daily immersion In all the surrounding, normal beauty. Terence Seward Peninsula Carver Hunched over his carving A stump gnarled with root Wood shavings cling to his beard And crunch under foot He is quietly humming As he creates a masterpiece His hands are strong and caring His art reflects inner peace The pungent smell of cedar And clean rain mix in the air They bring memories of the past Memories pleasant, memories fair Smiling a gentle smile He’s long been rich with life He thinks of his many blessings Working his wood, loving his wife Living in the forest Near the sea and the Sound He will never leave the Peninsula A secret place long ago found Nathan Weatherby www.peninsulalife.biz Peninsula Life 93 this is us this is us: at the Kitsap Children’s Musical Theater “The Ransom 94 Peninsula Life www.peninsulalife.biz Photography by Steve Wilson this is us of Red Chief” www.peninsulalife.biz Peninsula Life 95 Marke tplace ■ Marke tplace Health/Spa ■ Marke tplace ■ Marke tplace C’est Si Bon Restaurant Westport Windermere 800.377.0787 Rejuvenation and Detoxification Heal Yourself www.theannapurna.com Marke tplace Restaurants/Catering Real Estate Annapurna Center for Self Healing ■ Private Chef Dinners ■ Marketplace ■ Marketplace ■ Tri-city Real Estate in Sunny Eastern Washington Join the Port Townsend Athletic Club Port Townsend, WA Own Your Own General Store Retail Space Available Taylor Street Market, Downtown Port Townsend The Undertown Marketplace 509.521.0037 [email protected] 360.385.6560 360.821.1047 Retail Leisure/Travel Announcements Westport By The Sea Experience the Pacific Ocean Happy Birthday! 888.386.7263 www.westportbeach.info www.personalizeitpapersandgifts.com 360-344-3858 Chrysalis Inn and Spa Troy III – March 8 Tracy – April 21 Wine 888.808.0005 Upstairs in Flagship Landing Port Townsend, WA Fine Wines from the Pacific Northwest and Around the World Peninsula Life T-shirt’s Order now 360.379.1385 360.379.2404 Retreat to Luxury Steve Wilson Photograph Posters The Bellevue Club Hotel 800.579.1110 13” x 19” for $39.95 www.bellevueclub.com 360.379.1385 The Winesceptre ■ 800.682.1988 [email protected] ■ 96Marke tplace ■ Marke tplace This could be an ad for your business! ■ Marke tplace ■ Rotary Dinner Auction April 21, 2007 Donations and Reservations 360.385.9517 www.porttownsendrotary.com Marke tplace ■ Marke tplace Marketplace The Black & White Affair Sue Kenney Luxury Travel Specialist 18 years of Experience www.peninsulalife.biz ■ for Sommeliers and Fine Restaurants www.winesceptre.com Marketplace www.thechrysalisinn.com PT Wine Tasting Room Lounge ■ Coming Soon! Get-a-way to Bellingham, WA Marketplace Marketplace Business Opportunities Pat Harty Realty Be Your best in 2007 By Chef Santschi 360.437.9568 ■ Marketplace 360.385.9344 Catered in your home Marketplace ■ Windermere Real Estate/Port Townsend Knowledge-Integrity 20 years Experience ■ Marketplace Chico Water Cure Spa on Kitsap Peninsula. The perfect Valentine Gift! 360-692-5554 • www.chicospa.com Marketplace Barbara Bogart (360) 452-8888 800.868.2662 (ANNA) ■ www.windermerewestport.com Exceptional French Cuisine 23 Cedar Park Rd Port Angeles, WA 98362 ■ Marketplace Marketplace ■ ■