A few weeks ago, I was asked to fill in as a co-host at the Seattle News/Talk radio station where I host my weekly show, “It’s Raining Cats & Dogs”. I’m not a journalist and I’m new to the news format, so it was exciting and scary to [...]]]>

A few weeks ago, I was asked to fill in as a co-host at the Seattle News/Talk radio station where I host my weekly show, “It’s Raining Cats & Dogs”. I’m not a journalist and I’m new to the news format, so it was exciting and scary to be live on the air when a major news story broke: white smoke was rising from the chimney of The Vatican. The second the smoke billowed into the Roman night sky, my co-host, the producer, engineer and entire newsroom went into overdrive. People were literally passing us notes to read on the air as the story developed. When the show was over, and the new Pope had been revealed, I cried, sitting alone in the driver’s seat of my car.

I’m not Catholic, but I’ve been on the radio during a couple of breaking news stories before: when Bob Stinson died, when Jeff Buckley walked into the Mississippi River and never walked out, an earthquake, tsunami, and most notably, Sept 11th. It’s intense and draining, and most often you get something wrong: the tone, the facts, the message. Hopefully not all three.

But until the announcement of Pope Francis, I’d never been a part of a story that was so powerfully positive. People were lining up to sing his praises, and to sing God’s praises, and that’s not often very newsworthy. And Pope Francis, from his first entrance on the Papal balcony with his humble wooden cross and kindly manner seemed to focus the entire world on living simply and thoughtfully and showing us that doing so can bring us closer to the divine. News isn’t normally so…blissful.

I was asked back this last Monday. Luke and I had a good show; talked about, honestly now I don’t even remember, because right as I left the studio, a news producer said there’d been a couple of bomb blasts at The Boston Marathon. I asked, “Was it a terrorist attack?” To which he replied, “Nobody knows yet. We’ll see. Have a great day.” By the time I got to my car, we knew.

On the way home, I thought about the runners. I thought about what it must feel like to run 26 miles, to feel the weight of your body, exhausted, exhilarated, spent and then to try and put your mind around something so enormous, and sudden, and shocking. How they didn’t all just lie down at the finish line and start sobbing I’ll never know. By Monday night, I think the whole of America felt like we’d run a marathon, a marathon of grief.

Selfishly, I’m glad I wasn’t on the air when the news broke about Boston, so that I can hold my memory of my big breaking news story as one that brought the world…tenderness not terror.

In scary times, we all find ways to cleave a little closer to the divine, for Catholics it might be taking communion, for runners it’s a another mile beneath their feet, for the people of Boston it was singing The National Anthem at the top of their lungs at the Bruins game, for me it’s in the solitude of my kitchen where the commandments are simply defined: measure, sift, combine.

Here’s a recipe that brought me tenderness this week. I hope it does the same for you.

Martha Stewart’s Lemon Raspberry Sandwich Cookies

Do these glasses make me look old? There’s an app for that!

It’s not every interview that gets interrupted by the birth of a band member’s child, but that’s what happened when I sat down with most of the fellows from Seattle indie-band-on-the-verge Ivan & Alyosha. Ivan & Alyosha band member Pete Wilson was excused from the proceedings as he was literally on the [...]]]>

It’s not every interview that gets interrupted by the birth of a band member’s child, but that’s what happened when I sat down with most of the fellows from Seattle indie-band-on-the-verge Ivan & Alyosha. Ivan & Alyosha band member Pete Wilson was excused from the proceedings as he was literally on the verge of becoming a first time dad. All the band members were excited and nervous throughout the intimate interview and performance, but none more than Pete’s brother (and expectant dad himself) Tim Wilson. We let Tim keep his cellie on as we talked about fatherhood, “family-hood”, tour tricks and treats, and Russian Literature freaks on the afternoon of Ivan & Alyosha’s sold out Seattle show to celebrate the release of their first full length album, All The Times We Had. New album, new tour, and by the time the interview was over, a brand new baby boy welcomed happily and healthily into the world: Lennon Wilson! Hear the full interview and 4 exclusive, acoustic tracks from this band on the verge of only good things:

Me & The Boys Getting Bookish

VD…is there anything worse? Well, when you’re talking about Valentine’s Day, yes, there are many many worse things. Shawn actually digs VD. As a baker, it’s another reason to throw on an apron and create something sweet for her sweetheart. Mary, on the other hand, would prefer to bag the day and just [...]]]>

VD…is there anything worse? Well, when you’re talking about Valentine’s Day, yes, there are many many worse things. Shawn actually digs VD. As a baker, it’s another reason to throw on an apron and create something sweet for her sweetheart. Mary, on the other hand, would prefer to bag the day and just hit the sack. But Mary has a dirty mind, and Shawn just wants to talk about how awesome Kevin Cole is.

When I adopted The World’s Greatest Dog (NOT pictured above) I swore I would never cook meals for her. She’s been rescued off the mean street’s of Everett where she’d been abandoned. I figured she’d survived out there eating trash and who knows what; she didn’t me to baby her belly. But my [...]]]>

When I adopted The World’s Greatest Dog (NOT pictured above) I swore I would never cook meals for her. She’s been rescued off the mean street’s of Everett where she’d been abandoned. I figured she’d survived out there eating trash and who knows what; she didn’t me to baby her belly. But my mind’s been changed after this week’s It’s Raining Cats & Dogs on KIRO FM (hear it live at 1pm PST every Sunday). My guests were Gary Tashjain, the founder of Darwin’s Natural Pet Care, and Dr. Darla Rewers, holistic vet and accupuncturist. Hear all about getting gourmet on your animal here

And in hour two meet Sprite, find how to out manoeuvre your food obsessed hound, and learn about the dog who keeps all the President’s secrets! Hear it here

My pride and joy, Jet City Stream, got a nice little profile on KOMO News. We’re very proud of our hyper-local-highly-curated-24 hour-music stream!