April Fool!
I have a penchant for corniness…it comes from my dad—the one with a gazillion stories, riddles, mind puzzles and corny jokes.
Blogs by Les McCarthy
The Not-So-New Kid on the Block || The Art of a Prank
Posted on: March 30, 2016 7:00 pm - Permalink
The Not-So-New Kid on the Block || Go Take a Flying Leap
Posted on: February 24, 2016 6:00 pm - Permalink
Lizards do it. Squirrels do it. Even baby lemurs do it. So, I am, too…taking a flying leap, that is.
No Comments Tags: Whidbey Island, WLM blogs
The Not-So-New Kid on the Block || The Art of Being You
by Les McCarthy in Blogs
Posted on: January 27, 2016 6:00 pm - Permalink
Years ago—eons it seems—I spent my afternoons tutoring elementary school kids.
All Things Cozy (reprinted from Print magazine)
Posted on: January 13, 2016 6:37 pm - Permalink
It’s that time of year again— when one season slides into the next. A hint of crispness in the air and the damp earthiness of the woods tell us things are changing—and that it’s time to snuggle in.
No Comments Tags: Whidbey Island, WLM
The Not-So-New Kid on the Block || May the Force be with You (and your Personal Lightsaber)
Posted on: December 23, 2015 6:23 pm - Permalink
I have to admit, upfront, I’m not a “Star Wars” worshipper. I have seen three of the films (sometime between junior prom and my first child) but now that it’s Star Wars DXVII (or whatever), it’s just another movie at The Clyde for me to see—or not.
The Not-So-New Kid on the Block || The Season for Gratefulness
Posted on: November 25, 2015 7:12 pm - Permalink
November…that time of year when the colors blend together, looking like a child’s dish of paint water—gray with swirls of gold and plum. It’s the month when Mom Nature puts her finishing touches on the landscape before tucking everything in for the winter.
No Comments Tags: Whidbey Island, Whidbey Thanksgiving
The Not-So-New Kid on the Block || For the Love of a Dog
Posted on: October 28, 2015 10:07 am - Permalink
My Lab, Moby, had a series of seizures and, 24 hours after thinking all things apples and pumpkins, I was saying good-bye to my wonderful friend who was just shy of 15 years. What is the saying? What a difference a day makes? So true. And being on an island that is so dog-friendly and dog-loving and dog-robust, I felt compelled to write a little something about dear old Mobes.
The Not-So-New Kid on the Block || Where’s Patrick Swayze When You Need Him?
Posted on: September 23, 2015 9:17 am - Permalink
This past week I did something I’ve never done before—I threw a bowl. Not across the room or anything like that—but on a potter’s wheel. From a lowly lump of clay I made a bowl.
2 Comments
The Not-So-New Kid on the Block || Guts, Cotton Candy and All Things Fair
Posted on: August 19, 2015 8:37 pm - Permalink
Visions of cotton candy had been swirling in my head for two weeks when I realized the reason—the Whidbey Island County Fair was coming to town. I found my fascination odd, as I have to admit I’m not a “fair” gal, yet I couldn’t get it out of my mind, and I couldn’t wait to go!
No Comments
More Weathered History—The Crockett Barn
Posted on: August 18, 2015 7:46 pm - Permalink
Snug on prairie land in Coupeville is the Crockett Farm and Barn. Built in 1895, the original 640 acres, owned by Walter Crockett, Sr. and his sons, was one of the oldest farmsteads in the area that later became known as Crockett’s Prairie. (And yes, if you’ve heard the rumor that Walter, Sr. was a cousin to Davy “King of the Wild Frontier!” Crockett, it’s true.)
One Comment Tags: Island food and farms, Whidbey Island
The Not-So-New Kid on the Block || Things I’ve Learned—My First Year of Island Life
Posted on: July 15, 2015 7:02 pm - Permalink
As of last week, I am a full-fledged islander with one year of island living under my proverbial belt. I’ve learned a lot, but the Northwest—and especially island life—remain somewhat new to me. It’s just different here!
The New Kid on the Block || Rambling on and the art of 100 words
Posted on: May 30, 2015 6:04 pm - Permalink
I am a rambler. Oh, not the automobile that my grandparents had that they drove every other Sunday, if the moon was full or the sun was high…the car that still had that “new car smell” 15 years after it rolled into their garage for the first time, back in the early ’60s.
The New Kid on the Block || The Art of Remembering and Waxing Nostalgic
Posted on: April 29, 2015 9:20 am - Permalink
Every once in a while I am transported to another place and time. No, it’s not magic nor am I being beamed up by aliens—it’s just a blast to the past via a whiff of something in the air.
No Comments Tags: WLM blogs
The New Kid on the Block || Going nowhere…and loving it
Posted on: March 18, 2015 7:17 pm - Permalink
Nothing beats 24 hours in a hot car with ones you love, driving through seemingly endless cornfields in the Midwest and mooing at the 4,287 cows that dot the landscape between Denver and Chicago.
Unless you’re somewhere else.
Only Calm Seas and Smooth Sailing for Jay Jacobs, Author of ‘The Widow Wave,’ a True Courtroom Drama of Tragedy at Sea
Posted on: March 10, 2015 6:13 pm - Permalink
How does a boat with five people aboard just disappear? Without witnesses or hard evidence to explain it, Jay Jacobs embarked on the defense trial of his career.
No Comments Tags: Whidbey writers
The New Kid on the Block | Be Mine, Valentine!
Posted on: February 11, 2015 11:33 am - Permalink
In a few days Cupid’s arrows will shoot through the air and countless hopeful/hopeless romantics will have their day. I love Valentine’s Day. I don’t know if it stems from my extreme fondness of all things pink and red, or my love of everything shiny, glittery or lacy, or that I just love that people have “an excuse” to express their adoration.
Whidbey Author Allan Ament’s Book Launch for Learning to Float: Memoir of a Caregiver Husband
Posted on: February 4, 2015 3:58 pm - Permalink
Learning to swim brings trepidation, anxiety and fears of sinking and drowning. However, after much splashing about and water up the nose, we realize that if we relax and lie along the top of the water and let Nature take her course, allowing our buoyant bodies to do what they do when in water…we float.
No Comments
Three Little Words…HAPPY NEW YEAR!
Posted on: December 31, 2014 8:24 pm - Permalink
HAPPY NEW YEAR…2015! No other three little words bear such potential and promise as HAPPY NEW YEAR! Well, none other than…Seize the Day! Go For It! You Look Mahvelous! I’m So Sorry. Let’s Get Married! I Love You…
One Comment Tags: Whidbey Island, WLM blogs
The New Kid on the Block | November and the Art of Giving Thanks
Posted on: November 26, 2014 4:01 pm - Permalink
As we slide on into the holiday season, remember these words from William Arthur Ward, “Feeling gratitude and not expressing it is like wrapping a present and not giving it.”
2 Comments
The New Kid on the Block | Life’s Luxuries
Posted on: October 29, 2014 9:38 am - Permalink
Every once in a while, in every one’s life, a little rain must fall. Or, if you live in the NW, a LOT of rain must fall. And, I, for one, am prepared; this former Girl Scout has a handle on it.
2 Comments Tags: Island food and farms, WLM blogs
The New Kid on the Block | The Art of Eating
Posted on: October 15, 2014 7:05 pm - Permalink
Each of us has our own gift, that thing we are good at without too much effort: baking the perfect pie, writing the perfect song, painting the perfect picture. You get the idea.
The New Kid on the Block | Another Beautiful Day on Whidbey
Posted on: September 24, 2014 6:16 pm - Permalink
BY LES McCARTHY September 24, 2014 “Art washes away from the soul the dust of everyday life.” — Pablo Picasso. I am a sucker for quotes. They wake me up. They make me think, encourage me to do and to see things I normally would not. “Beauty is in the eye of the […]
2 Comments
The New Kid on the Block | Welcome to Whidbey
Posted on: September 10, 2014 6:38 pm - Permalink
Welcome!
This one word brings warmth to my heart and nourishment to my soul. It’s sweet, lovely, calming and brings with it acceptance and a verbal embrace. What a powerful word!
One Comment
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