Tuesday, September 27, 2016

31 Days Of October- Stories of Island Living

"Stood off and on during the night, determining not to come to anchor till morning, fearing to meet with shoals; continued our course in the morning; and as the island was found to be six or seven leagues distant, and the tide was against us, it was noon when we arrived there. "
Christopher Columbus

I am writing for 31 Days in October with many other writers. To write everyday is daunting. I know, I did it last October. Last year I reviewed a book by BrenĂ© Brown entitled Rising Strong. Each day I shared concepts and principles which were changing my view of my life. This year the goal is bigger. I want to write about my almost 30 years on a island in the Puget Sound of the Northwest. When I arrived here it was normal for the long time residents to call us newcomers. In the summer people came just for the warm months and many who come to stay find their stay cut short. Today I claim to be an old timer. I have been here since 1987.  


   What is it like to live on an island with ferry access only? I hope to answer that question. Betty MacDonald wrote about her life here in Onions In The Stew. She was here in the 1940's but so many of her stories still apply today. I will quote her frequently to highlight my own insights. 

     " Everything on the island grows with insane vigor and you have the distinct feeling, as you leave the dock and start up the main highway, that you should have hire a native guide or at least brought along a machete. Nothing but the assiduous chopping and slashing by the county and the telephone and power companies keeps this jungle from closing up the highways altogether."

                                      The titles will become clickable as they go live.

  1. Moving On
  2. Gathering Supplies 
  3. You Must Be Independent
  4. Moving Inland
  5. Ferry Adventures
  6. Island Wildlife
  7. The Test Of Challenging Weather
  8. My First Island Business
  9. Sunday Reflections
  10. Walks In The Forest
  11. A Bike In The Tree
  12. Island Home Education
  13. Twinkle Lights Everywhere
  14. Island Mail
  15. Island Swingset Music and Movement
  16. Island Church Service
  17. Watching The Sunrise
  18.  The Island Piano Guy
  19. Subscription Bread
  20. Guest Post- Jenni From The Chronicles Of Farnina
  21. Guest Post- A Park Called Nature by Maggie
  22. Guest Post- Island Dying by Andrew
  23. My Early Morning Guests
  24. Last Witness To My Birth
  25. The Island Artist Community
  26. An Island Artist
  27. An Island Gift, Claiming Creativity
  28. Eating From The Farm
  29. Our Island Library
  30. Meditation and Prayer
  31. Mindful Monday Summary



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11 comments:

  1. I'm looking forward to hearing your stories. Over the last few years I have regularly spent a week away with work on one of the Scottish islands and even from the little glimpse I have had of it, living on an island seems to be quite a different way of life in many ways.

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    1. I would love to know more about a Scottish Island.

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  2. I'm too, curious about island living, especially in Scotland! You can see my landing page here:
    https://awifesreflections.wordpress.com/write-31-days

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  3. Thank you for visiting my series. Your visit to me enabled me to find you.

    What an interesting series this is going to be. I have to admit, the idea of island life has always fascinated me. And with Puget Sound being an easy day's drive from Boise, I could actually visit your island.

    Blessings on your day,
    Patti

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  5. what an interesting series you're doing Gabriele. I've only thought about Island life when we went to Hawaii. As beautiful as it was, it was probably a little too isolated for my tastes. But a ferry to a larger civilization? Maybe...

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  6. Will be fun to read! I live in PNW, too. But not on an island. :)

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  7. I didn't realize you were doing 31 Days again. I chose not to, but I look forward to following along.

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    1. Thank-you so much for your writing and commenting.

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  8. I'm excited to read this !!! I love memoirs as such. Thank you for opening up and sharing

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    1. Thanks for stopping in and letting me know who you are.

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