I especially enjoyed seeing the portraits of early settlers and their native wives and children in the parlor at the San Juan Historical museum.  
     Marriages between white settlers and native women were extremely common in the Pacific Northwest in the mid-nineteenth-century, for the simple reason that there weren't anywhere near enough white women to go around.  The children and grandchildren of these unions were well respected in their communities.  An English traveler to southern British Columbia in the late 1880s reported:
 
"…One evening I was standing in front of a shop on Fort Street, when a very pretty phaeton drew up, with a lady in it, charming enough in look and dress and style for Rotten Row [a very posh section of London].  This lady commenced a conversation with a friend upon the side-walk, and I heard what was said.  She spoke with a decided London accent, certainly, but in perfectly cultured tones.
            A man near me, whom I knew slightly, said to me, as she drove away--
            "Well, what do you think of that for an Indian?"
      I expressed unbounded surprise, at which he laughed, remarking, "Oh, you Britishers, what ideas you have!  Why, some of the loveliest and most delightful women here have Indian blood.  That lady is only one of many; they are as much thought of as others.  She has several children, and they are pretty, too.  I could show you as many such, who are half, three-quarters, whole Indian… they are usually very pretty, and generally extremely fascinating…" --Roper, Edward. By Track and Trail: A Journey Through Canada. London: W.H. Allen & Co Limited, 1891, pp. 241-244.
        
     Before we left the museum I picked up a copy of the book Native American Wives of San Juan Island Settlers, written by Karen Jones Lamb, who has traced her own ancestors to the Tlingit tribe.  In her book she reports, "Native wives blended aspects of their original culture with that of the men they chose as their life mates… Their relationships and marriages were long lasting… The women came from differing tribes from as far north as Alaska and as far south as Puget Sound.  Some had been slaves captured by other tribes… Others had met their husbands in social situations right here in the islands.  Some had been high caste Natives related in blood to chiefs… [T]hese women played vital roles in the development of the San Juan Islands." —Jones-Lamb, Karen.  Native American Wives of San Juan Settlers  Bryn Tiron Publishing, 1994. pp. 1-2.

     San Juan Island is a truly beautiful place with a welcoming community and diverse heritage; I would recommend a visit to anyone!

     We were amazed by the grandeur of this magnificent piece.  The 605 ft (184 m) Space Needle stands just on the other side of the Glasshouse windows; as it reaches up into the clouds it forms a breathtaking backdrop for the sculpture.  As we gazed up at the glorious combination of colors and textures, I thought I could not possibly be more impressed by the skill and artwork involved.
     Later that night, when we were back at home and drifting off to sleep, I thought back on the Glasshouse and suddenly realized something that —incredibly— did make me even more impressed: the whole structure is set up according to the rules of ikebana, with the Space Needle representing the upright element of heaven, the glorious glass sculpture representing earth, and we tiny humans admiring it from below representing man.

For stories on the romance of early cycling, be sure to check out my "Tales of Chetzemoka" series!  
​Tales of Chetzemoka

The Victorians believed that our built surroundings affect our actions and our sense of self.  Modern science is now backing this up with some fascinating studies.  To read about a particularly interesting one conducted by Northwest University, see this New York Times article:
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/03/science/clothes-and-self-perception.html?_r=1

​For more on how built surroundings affect people's lives, be sure to look into Life At Home in the 21st-Century by UCLA Professor Jeanne E. Arnold.

For parallels between Victorian technologies and modern computer use I recommend reading "The Victorian Internet" (non-fiction) by Tom Standage and listening to the following pieces by the BBC: 

"Documenting the Self: Victorian Diaries and 21st-Century Social Media": http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b04vdy0y

"Online Dating and the Lonely Hearts Ad": http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b06vkcf2

​—and of course, I discuss parallels between the Victorian era and modern life extensively in my book, ​This Victorian Life.

Happy reading, everyone!

     I've written before about our dear friend Estar Hyo Gyung Choi; she and her husband Matt took all the best pictures on our website.  To read about how we met, see 
http://www.thisvictorianlife.com/blog/focus-on-a-friend-estar-hyo-gyung-choi
​     Estar and Matt moved back to Seoul a few years ago, but they came back recently for a visit and we were very blessed to spend the day with them while they were here.  We had lunch (recipes below!) with them and their two beautiful daughters, and while we were fixing things Estar and Matt had fun snapping pictures of the process.  Enjoy!

(For foodies who read Korean, Estar runs a food blog here:  http://blog.naver.com/PostView.nhn?blogId=leeyo711&logNo=220784278041)

Baked Tomatoes (1894)
Recipe from The Ladies' Society of Plymouth Congregational Church 
 
Original recipe by Mrs. Thorpe. Plymouth Union Cookbook, by The Ladies' Society of Plymouth Congregational Church. Los Angeles, California. Rostrum Publishing Co., 1894, p. 28:
​
"Cut from stem end of large ripe tomatoes a circular piece, remove the pulp and seeds, placing shell of tomato in a deep earthen pie plate.  Take the seeds you have removed and thicken with bread crumbs, seasoned with butter, salt and pepper.  Fill each shell with the dressing and bake slowly for three-quarters of an hour."
 
My version, with notes:
 
For every serving, allow:
1 large tomato or 2 medium-sized tomatoes.
1 thick slice of stale bread, chopped fine to make 2/3 cup bread crumbs
1 tsp butter
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp crushed black pepper
1 Tbs. fresh chives, chopped (optional)
A few sprigs of fresh thyme (optional)
Basil or parsley for garnish (optional)
 
Cut the tops off the tomatoes.  Carefully cut out the stem stub of each one with a sharp knife and discard it, leaving the tops as O's.  Use a teaspoon to remove the pulp and seeds from the tomatoes.  If your tomatoes are a variety with fibrous veins in their cores then discard the cores.  Save the seeds and juice.  (The easiest way to separate the seeds and juice from the cores is simply to scoop them away with clean fingers.)
 
Put the butter in a heavy skillet with the bread crumbs and salt.  If you are using chives and thyme add them to the bread crumbs at this time.  (Don't add the pepper yet: frying breaks down the volatile oils that gives black pepper its flavor.)  Cook over low heat 3-5 minutes, or until the bread crumbs absorb all the butter.  Remove from heat.  Now add the pepper and mix the seasoned bread crumbs with the tomato seeds and juice.
 
Stuff the tomato shells with the bread crumb mixture and replace the tomato tops.  Set in a baking dish (the Plymouth... cookbook recommends an earthen pie plate but a cast iron skillet works just as well.)  If you have more filling than will fit in the tomato shells, arrange the extra around the tomatoes in the baking dish.
 
Bake at 350 degrees 45 minutes.  Serve hot, garnished with fresh basil or parsley if desired.

For our special company we set the table with my mother's Currier & Ives dishes (which she passed down to me when I got married), my grandmother's drinking glasses, and our family silverware from Gabriel's great-great aunt.  There's kind of a cute story behind the silverware: It's meant to be service for twelve, but there are only eleven table knives in the set.  When Gabriel's mom passed it down to us we assumed one of the knives had gotten lost over the years but she told us that no, this was how the set had always been.  Her great-aunt had been buying it one piece at a time, and she ran out of money before she could complete the set.  This always struck me as a touching story...

Maccaroni A La Creme (1896)

Original recipe from The Capitol Cook Book, The Werner Company, 1896. p. 193.
 "Boil one-quarter of a pound of maccaroni in plenty of hot water, salted, until tender; put half a pint of milk in a double-boiler, and when it boils stir into it a mixture of two tablespoonfuls of butter and one of flour.  Add two tablespoonfuls of cream, a little white and cayenne pepper; salt to taste, and from one-quarter to one-half pound of grated cheese according to taste.  Drain and dish the maccaroni; pour the boiling sauce over it, and serve immediately."

Notes:
After adding the sauce I like to sprinkle on fresh chives and bake the dish about 20 minutes to brown the cheese on top.

Nasturtiums and thyme from my herb garden.  Matt liked the nasturtiums; he said the flavor reminded him of daikon.

We were amazed at how much Matt and Estar's beautiful daughters had grown since the last time we saw them.  They were perfect little ladies throughout the whole visit and utterly delightful company.

After lunch we had whipped cream and peaches for dessert.

Estar's older daughter helped me whip the cream!

The peaches and cream were a big hit with the girls!

After our peach dessert we all went out to Fort Flagler State Park on Marrowstone Island, where Gabriel and I showed off our bikes.  It was a perfect day and we hope our friends can come back soon —we miss them already!