Bob Uva

I can imagine Frodo, Sam, Merry and Pippin hiding under those roots. 😀

One of my absolute favorite novels! Love his writing.

For the #WritingCommunity, my post from moments ago…
bsky.app/profile/bobu...

All of our meals prepared by an incredible chef, making for some fun times. The House had several places to sit quietly and write, incl. a desk (two in our room) of your own, fireside sofas and comfy chairs, and outdoor patios. Quite honestly, I am transformed and am ready to write! #writing 2/2

Desktop with booklet to the left of a tablet, with a small vase in the left background, adorned with geometric lines.

A room with two chandeliers of wrought iron artistry. A fireplace is in left distance with chairs around it.

Foreground of part of a table and chairs in a covered patio., with plants just behind. Partially obscured in the distance is an open air patio. Trees and shrubbery appear beyond there, with view of a meadow stretching away in the distance.

A large, well-lit room containing sofas and chairs, a large stone fireplace partially obscured appears to the left. Pine wood artistically designed appears throughout the room.

We had a memorable time at the House of Metolius Writers Retreat this past weekend in eastern Oregon! A group of writers & would-be writers (that’s me) learning with a talented novelist, sharing stories, experiences, writing exercises, basking in high desert beauty. #writing 1/2

Incredible! I can stare at it and the darker waters seem to rumble.

Good article, congrats. I’m currently reading Vertigo: The Rise and Fall of Weimar Germany, written by a German cultural journalist (& transl to Eng). Full of cultural clashes betw supporters of the nascent Republic and supporters of the rightist groups and a return to monarchy.

Your alt-text says it all. Gorgeous!

My favorite season, nice photo!

Thank you, and I would like to point to further wisdom which I find compelling in Barbara Tuchman’s book, Practicing History.

What a selection of authors! Enjoy

I chose a frame for the sketch that was the same size as the paper, to give it the illusion of continuing on, rather than put a white border around it. Glad you like it. 🌼

A wall with a large colorful poster framed, to its right are smaller wall hangings.

Cascadia is no longer alone on my office wall! 2/2

A wall showing five wall hangings, and a computer monitor below on the right.

Added some color and permanence to my office wall. Thanks to @kotenrose.bsky.social for the lovely Japanese-styled art on the left. Middle lower captures a family memory of Nantucket Island. Oregon’s Manzanita Beach shipwreck from early 20th century on the right. 1/2

It's disturbing to see these programs cut. Thank you for the positive note about learning a different culture. After years of being so focused on a career, I'm finding in retirement the joy of cultural learning.

Lovely passage and picture, Misako. I’m sorry for your loss.

A large frying pan containing chicken thighs, sliced figs and shallots cooking in a broth. Splattered cooktop immediately around the pan on the left.

I cooked Fresh Figs and Chicken Thighs in Shallot-Balsamic Reduction for tonight’s dinner, with a side of green beans in a marinade that included fresh basil and mint from our herb garden. Best reaction upon first bite from my wife, Maria. #cooking #retirementActivities

What a beauty! One of the first PNW birds I encountered (at the then-named Audubon Society of Portland) when I moved to Portland 29 years ago.

I will come back for the embroidery another time, but bought a nice wall art piece and digital map. Can’t wait to see them in my office!

Watching The Train (1965, Burt Lancaster), black & white, about French Resistance stopping the Nazis from stealing many of France’s famous art. Viva La France! Viva Renoir, Gauguin, Picasso, Manet!!!

Beautiful place. When I took my family cross country in 1996 to live in Portland, we stopped for a night in Missoula, and experienced the peacefulness and friendliness of the town the next morning. Sadly, haven’t been back yet. Thanks for helping to recover the memory.

Fragmented conservation efforts leaving Northwest orcas at risk, report warns In a new report, the panel of 31 researchers call for bolder measures to bring the endangered whales back from the brink of extinction.

“It’s a population that we predict will be declining for a generation or two, and then that decline will accelerate rapidly towards extinction if we don’t turn this around quickly,” said Rob Williams, chief scientist with the nonprofit Oceans Initiative in Seattle and one of the report’s coauthors.

They are beautiful and I can’t help thinking of Tina Modotti’s Roses, Mexico! Thank you.

Thanks for ripping that up. Definitely requires something to cool off.

I’ve had an incredibly down week. But caring for my wife by taking her to her doctor appointment, then reading the beautiful prose full of insight in @rebeccasolnit.bsky.social ‘s Orwell’s Roses while in the waiting room has restored some of my faith in our human race. 🙏

Foreground shows a descending hill covered with people in low chairs and on blankets, facing the stage.

At the Britt Festival Orchestra in Jacksonville, OR for a Rachmaninoff piano concerto and Strauss’ Death & Transfiguration. Let the Arts transform us!

I can so relate!

Yeah!

Great article, Misako! The more I read about this natural phenomenon, the more I can remember. Hoping to get asked about it by one of my grandchildren so I can impress them with my accumulated wisdom 😂

Pachinko In the early 1900s, teenaged Sunja, the adored daughter…

My review of Pachinko by @minjinlee.bsky.social is up on GoodReads DOT COM now: www.goodreads.com/book/show/34...