ONIONS IN THE STEW

The author's twelve years on Vashon Island, in Puget Sound, combine tribulations with trivia, domesticity with manifold doings, and plaints with paeans. Marriage to Don during the war brought almost insoluble housing problems in Seattle, and tours of the islands availed little until Vashon proved to be the right place. Settling in during the fall was all right but the winter was tough on everyone:- Betty's two daughters reached the heights of unenthusiasm, Don took daily beatings with travel to the mainland — as did Betty — but spring and the many different charms of island living completely seduced them. The glories of gardening on Vashon (some despairings, too); friendly and less lovable neighbors; animal life, beginning with their own dog and taking in cats, raccoons, deer and others; guests, guests and more guests; renovations, machinery — and undependable workmen; all familiar ground for almost any householder, but with a slight island twist. The girls, in spite of an abrasive adolescence, do grow up, and now they and their children return to remembered joys. The tongue is still sharp for a ludicrous situation, a personality quirk and a self-turned jibe, and the whole rounds out the picture begun with the (golden) Egg. Local as well as follower interest for this.