A story full of mishaps, miscommunications, and lessons learned. There comes a time in every vehicle owner’s life when they are forced to test just how far a tank of gas will go. We see the gauge point to the upper case “E” and say it’s arbitrary; just a label…

Big Enough, my forthcoming book, arrives in May. It’s being published via a partnership between me and publishing industry pros. Below, I’ll explain why I made this choice, how it differs from traditional publishing and why this option might become more popular in the future. In 2012, I worked with…

Friends, this issue concludes the series on building the Hunter House. Read Part 1 (planning) and Part 2 (demolition) to catch up. Next week, we’ll kick off a new direction for Ready for Rain and share some news about what’s been happening behind the scenes. What I remember most about…

There is something undeniably romantic about having a second place and that romanticism is not lost on us. We dreamt about having a place on Orcas Island and in purchasing the Yurt, we got to see it happen. We’re fortunate and have no regrets. But, in owning the Yurt for…

In January of 2019, I took on a writing project and promised to publish one personal essay per week for all of 2019. So far, I’ve kept the promise. In fact, this project has been a real source of satisfaction that I’m sure will continue. The project started under the…

In July of 2009, we had a plan in place. We were handing the keys to our house on Hunter Boulevard to our builder, Jon, who would start the demolition work before building the second story we had designed over the previous year. In the weeks before handing over the…

It happened on a Sunday night, just before midnight on Orcas Island. I was watching TV and about to fall asleep when I heard Sachi say, “Lee???” from the bedroom. I replied, nonchalantly, “Yeah?” Sachi then said words I didn’t expect to hear, “Someone’s backing up the driveway.” At first…

In 2003, Sachi and I bought the smallest house on Hunter Boulevard, the street where we now live in Seattle. It was a craftsman style house, with the main floor and a finished basement courtesy of the previous owners. We soon considered it our long-term home and got married in…

I’ve always considered ferry trips in the Pacific Northwest to be as interesting as the destinations. They are little cruises through beautiful scenery that can make for a uniquely NW experience. I assumed, in going to Orcas Island so often, they would get old. …