Downsizing. Does the mere mention instill fear in your heart? It seems that the pace of life has become so frenetic that there simply isn’t time to consider, let alone implement, the process of eliminating your treasured possessions. The days of preparing for … read more

The Friends of the Manchester Library Annual Plant Sale has always tried to make good use of our resource of community-donated plants, or what we call recycling them out into the larger community. We want to be stewards for this lovely place we … read more

Between the cracks of the dark basalt rocks, sedum’s plump rosettes cascade, a cavalcade wash in waterfall gray. Many succulents in the Sedum genus grow around the world. Gardeners love them because they are fascinating plants. Sedum spathulifolium species evolved to grow in … read more

Entertaining friends for dinner, ballgames, game nights and more is such a popular and fun trend. So popular, that people often incorporate special spaces for their own entertaining needs into their building and remodeling plans in both minor and major ways. There are … read more

Newcomers and longtime Kitsap residents alike can overlook some of the most treasured local assets: the hard-working farmers and their land. Tucked in here and there on back roads are families who have been in West Sound for generations farming the land, growing … read more

Avid boaters Kelly and Jim Hettinger cruised the waters around the Key Peninsula for years. They made friends, anchored at the Longbranch Marina, and got involved in the social life at the Longbranch Improvement Club. Eventually the time came to think about looking … read more

Today we know it as a carcinogenic material, but for most of the 20th century, asbestos was praised as a “miracle mineral” that was used in a wide variety of industries and materials. It was an important addition in ships, boilers, insulation and … read more

The Romans introduced grapevines to the Netherlands in 968. Today about one million bottles of Dutch wine are produced annually from 170 small vineyards located throughout the country. Fortunately, there’s no need to buy a ticket to Amsterdam to taste Dutch wines when … read more

The needs of grocery shoppers are seemingly always evolving, and now more than ever, they want to know where and how their food is produced and what impact it has on the environment. This is commonly referred to as “sustainable eating,” and its … read more