Back in the day, I used to write a long letter at this time of year, print maybe forty copies, and mail them to friends and relatives. Did it take a lot of time? Yes. Was it expensive? Yes – International postage is not cheap. Did anyone read it? Who knows?
Back in the day, I used to write a long letter at this time of year, print maybe forty copies, and mail them to friends and relatives. Did it take a lot of time? Yes. Was it expensive? Yes – International postage is not cheap. Did anyone read it? Who knows?
Time marched on, and I started sending my letters by email. They still took a while to write, but the financial sting was gone.
Today, virtually everyone is on the Internet in one way or another. We receive holiday greetings via Facebook, email, Signal, text, and postcards featuring adults-who-used-to-be-children that I don’t recognize.
Mary Anne and I discussed sending out photo cards featuring Fiona and Rusty more than once, but we always chickened out.
This brings me, in a rambling way, to my point. You, my faithful or occasional readers, already know what Mary Anne and I have been up to this year. So why repeat myself by writing a letter? Hey, I’m a busy guy. Those lattes don’t drink themselves.
If, for some reason, you are interested in doing a Year in Review, just click the link and work your way forward from my first 2023 post.
But acting on the realistic assumption that you had enough of my posts the first time, let’s move on.
Some of you have asked what it’s like living on Bainbridge Island. The first word that comes to mind is “peaceful.” There’s a lot of rural space, people are easygoing and friendly, packages never disappear from our porch, and Ètude lives just behind the house.
We live at the north end of the Island on Port Madison. It’s a large inlet with many boats moored at docks and buoys. The photo at the top of this post is Frog Rock, a local landmark. I don’t know about you, but to me (s)he looks more like Duck Rock. Either way, (s)he’s sporting a jaunty Christmas cap. The Frog was a ghost for Halloween: a large sheet with eye holes.
The house behind these sailboats is the sole structure on Treasure Island, a small private Island connected to Bainbridge by a narrow bridge. I’ve been told that when Brad Pitt and Jennifer Aniston were a thing, they discussed buying the Island as a safe hideaway for their to-be-produced family. I think most of us are glad that never happened. For one thing, I doubt that this rustic old house would have been grand enough for them.
I said that Bainbridge has a lot of rural space and I could show you hundreds of photos from one end of the Island to the other to prove it. Instead, I’ll show two that I took this morning on a walk along the edge of Port Madison, about a quarter of a mile from home.
This little building is not a dog house; it’s a pump house. Many of our neighbors rely on a well for their water. We do not. We are on city water but have a drain field to process rainfall runoff and a septic system for, well, other water.
The second photo is, wait for it, leaves.
Bainbridge Island is home to a wide variety of artists. Any art form you can think of is probably being done here. I guess art attracts art because Copenhagen-based artist Thomas Dambo recently created Pia the Peacekeeper, now our Island’s resident troll.
Is eccentricity an art form? We found this Oldsmobile while visiting one of the sites on the semi-annual Bainbridge Island Studio Tour.
I mustn’t forget the Eagle Harbor Yacht Club’s Holiday Boat Parade. Here’s our former boat, Fiona Bean, decorated for the season. FB is now owned by our friends Denny and Diane, who have lived on Bainbridge for 35 years.
Finally – it seems to me that nothing answers the question, “What’s it like?” better than this photo I took just after sunrise a few days ago. That’s our HOA dock on the far left with Ètude at the end.
Mary Anne and I would like you to consider visiting us here on Bainbridge Island. We are well-equipped for company. The guest suite above the garage has a small kitchen, dining area, bedroom, bathroom, and a large lounge area. You may never want to leave, but it won’t matter because we may never know you’re there.
Whether you live across the Sound in Seattle or across the Pacific in Kaikoura, consider yourself welcome.