The Lyle super-sized quick-mart and Laundromat
Lyle Washington
Lyle Washington
Monday, September 28, 2009
Sunday, September 27, 2009
gum
Gum
I like gum and I like to chew it. It freshens your breath after to much coffee. Chewing gum is relaxing. There is nothing better than a good snap and pop. The first chewing gum manufactured in the United States was Black Jack patented February 14th, 1871. Gum or gum like substances have been chewed from the beginning of time. The Greeks chewed a mastic gum resin from the bark of the Mastic tree. The Maya chewed chicle, “sticky stuff”. Early European settlers prized it for its subtle flavor and high sugar content. The ancient word is still used, "chicle" being a common name for chewing gum in Spanish and "chiclete" being the Brazilian Portuguese name. New England indians chewed a gum-like resin from spruce trees that was sold in chunks in the eastern states. Sweetened paraffin wax was all the rage in the 1850s. The oldest piece of gum is nine thousand years old. People on average chew three hundred sticks of gum a year and most gum is purchased between Halloween and Christmas. Today gum comes in many different shapes and flavors and sometimes it is even medicated but my all-time favorite gum is the gum of my childhood. The ball bubble gum in the glass ball vending machine.
I like gum and I like to chew it. It freshens your breath after to much coffee. Chewing gum is relaxing. There is nothing better than a good snap and pop. The first chewing gum manufactured in the United States was Black Jack patented February 14th, 1871. Gum or gum like substances have been chewed from the beginning of time. The Greeks chewed a mastic gum resin from the bark of the Mastic tree. The Maya chewed chicle, “sticky stuff”. Early European settlers prized it for its subtle flavor and high sugar content. The ancient word is still used, "chicle" being a common name for chewing gum in Spanish and "chiclete" being the Brazilian Portuguese name. New England indians chewed a gum-like resin from spruce trees that was sold in chunks in the eastern states. Sweetened paraffin wax was all the rage in the 1850s. The oldest piece of gum is nine thousand years old. People on average chew three hundred sticks of gum a year and most gum is purchased between Halloween and Christmas. Today gum comes in many different shapes and flavors and sometimes it is even medicated but my all-time favorite gum is the gum of my childhood. The ball bubble gum in the glass ball vending machine.
Tuesday, September 8, 2009
Saturday, September 5, 2009
Maryhill
Greetings & salutations!
This past weekend my friend Tess Morgan, “The Songbird of Seattle”, and I had the opportunity to travel to Maryhill Museum in the Columbia Gorge and take in a little culture. Maryhill Museum is small treasure chest of art out in the middle of nowhere.
Samuel Hill bought the site of the present day Maryhill in 1907. Hill had the dream of establishing a Quaker farming community. He formed the Maryhill Land Company, named after his daughter and set about building a town and mansion. Problems of irrigation and the remote location proved too much for the project and all construction was stopped in 1917. With the prodding and help of friends Samuel Hill turned his mansion into a museum of art. His friend Queen Marie of Romania dedicated the museum in 1926 in a ceremony that was attended by more than 2,000 people and that received national attention at the time. Hill died in 1931 at the young age of 73. Hill’s friend Alma de Bretteville Spreckels, the wife of a San Francisco sugar magnate, took up the task of finishing the museum. She was elected to the newly-formed board of trustees and donated artwork from her personal collection. Under her guidance the museum was opened to the public on Sam Hill’s birthday, May 13, 1940.
If you can make the time go see this little museum. It is worth the day trip. Mary hill also has a nice sculpture garden populated with seven beautiful live peacocks.
Maryhill museum
Maryhill museum drive #35
Goldendale Washington 98620
Tel: +1 (509) 773-3733 Fax: +1 (509) 773-6138
No trip to Maryhill is complete with taking the cure. This trip we gave Carson Hot Springs a try. Rustic is the perfect description for Carson. For only twenty bucks you get to soak in hot mineral water in an old claw foot tub from 1901. After 45 minutes of soaking and in the hottest water a man can stand while listening to the soft drops and splashes of the other watery guests it is time to leave your tub and dimly lit tiled room. You head to the cot area of the spa. There you dry off and lie down and are wrapped in cotton sheets and are tucked in as tight or loose as you like by the reincarnation of Auntie Mame’s Chinese butler. You are left to nap in a room with other sleeping guests. Being somewhat claustrophobic I thought I would not like being mummified in sheets and wool but I found it comforting in a strange child like way. After our ‘cures’ we were both so relaxed we just wanted a nice cup of tea and to be back home. The spa rooms are separated by men’s or women’s. The distressing part of our trip was seeing the forest fire at Mosier, “The Microwave Fire” in the Columbia Gorge. It is a helpful reminder of how fleeting life is and how each vista and moment in time should be treasured. Till next time, I wish you, my dear reader only the best of life! Adieu.
This past weekend my friend Tess Morgan, “The Songbird of Seattle”, and I had the opportunity to travel to Maryhill Museum in the Columbia Gorge and take in a little culture. Maryhill Museum is small treasure chest of art out in the middle of nowhere.
Samuel Hill bought the site of the present day Maryhill in 1907. Hill had the dream of establishing a Quaker farming community. He formed the Maryhill Land Company, named after his daughter and set about building a town and mansion. Problems of irrigation and the remote location proved too much for the project and all construction was stopped in 1917. With the prodding and help of friends Samuel Hill turned his mansion into a museum of art. His friend Queen Marie of Romania dedicated the museum in 1926 in a ceremony that was attended by more than 2,000 people and that received national attention at the time. Hill died in 1931 at the young age of 73. Hill’s friend Alma de Bretteville Spreckels, the wife of a San Francisco sugar magnate, took up the task of finishing the museum. She was elected to the newly-formed board of trustees and donated artwork from her personal collection. Under her guidance the museum was opened to the public on Sam Hill’s birthday, May 13, 1940.
If you can make the time go see this little museum. It is worth the day trip. Mary hill also has a nice sculpture garden populated with seven beautiful live peacocks.
Maryhill museum
Maryhill museum drive #35
Goldendale Washington 98620
Tel: +1 (509) 773-3733 Fax: +1 (509) 773-6138
No trip to Maryhill is complete with taking the cure. This trip we gave Carson Hot Springs a try. Rustic is the perfect description for Carson. For only twenty bucks you get to soak in hot mineral water in an old claw foot tub from 1901. After 45 minutes of soaking and in the hottest water a man can stand while listening to the soft drops and splashes of the other watery guests it is time to leave your tub and dimly lit tiled room. You head to the cot area of the spa. There you dry off and lie down and are wrapped in cotton sheets and are tucked in as tight or loose as you like by the reincarnation of Auntie Mame’s Chinese butler. You are left to nap in a room with other sleeping guests. Being somewhat claustrophobic I thought I would not like being mummified in sheets and wool but I found it comforting in a strange child like way. After our ‘cures’ we were both so relaxed we just wanted a nice cup of tea and to be back home. The spa rooms are separated by men’s or women’s. The distressing part of our trip was seeing the forest fire at Mosier, “The Microwave Fire” in the Columbia Gorge. It is a helpful reminder of how fleeting life is and how each vista and moment in time should be treasured. Till next time, I wish you, my dear reader only the best of life! Adieu.
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