Wednesday, July 7, 2021 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon
aige
Page by Paige
19
The Nugget Newspaper Crossword
By Jacqueline E. Mathews, Tribune News Service
By Paige Bentley-Flannery
Sisters Community Librarian
Do you have a favorite
book that takes place on an
island or in a small town?
“The Invisible Husband
of Frick Island” by Colleen
Oakley
What if your husband was
gone but you pretended he
was still around?
That9s exactly what griev-
ing widow Piper Parrish
is doing. The Frick Island
townspeople know Tom
died in a crab-boat accident
but they go along with her
4 even waving, asking him
questions, and saying hi.
When newspaper reporter
Anders Caldwell is assigned
to cover the annual Frick
Island Cake Walk, he boards
the ferry with little enthusi-
asm. But he soon discovers
there9s more to this eccentric
little town than its fundraiser.
The real story of the invisible
husband had the potential to
grab national attention for his
podcast, <The Adventures of
Clark Kent.=
Anders returns to do
covert research and begins to
learn why the islanders are so
protective of Piper. But as he
starts to fall in love with her
and island life, how will he
tell the truth about the story
BARN QUILTS: Tradition
could catch on in
Sisters
Continued from page 5
That9s pale in
comparison to
Quilt Barn Trail
of Oregon in and
around the Tualatin
River valley, where 59
barns, granges, vineyards,
or community halls display a
stunning mosaic of outdoor
quilt art.
So, what gives in Sisters?
In my travels around the
county, I have found no more
than three such quilted build-
ings. Let9s say I9m off by 100
percent. That9s still a dearth
of barns. The closest you9ll
find is not on a barn but
the back of a Pine Meadow
Village home (shown above).
It9s not for lack of creativ-
ity I am certain, as we will
all see this weekend. I just
don9t think the spark has been
struck. At least I9m hoping
that9s all it is.
I stopped in at Stitchin9
Post, and, alas, there were
no patterns or how-to books,
although from time to time
they have courses featuring
barn quilts. <How hard can
this be?= says the man who
has never put an ounce of
time into quilting, but hours
and hours in admiration of
the work of others. I have no
less than 137 photos of quilts.
And those are the ones I kept
he9s really chasing?
Oakley captures quirky,
small-town life with warmth
and charm. Readers will
enjoy the unique facts
throughout the book about
bugs, cake, and boats, as the
mystery unfolds.
For more favorite books
set on an island or in a small
town, explore: <Beach Read,=
by Emily Henry; <Big Girl,
Small Town,= by Michelle
Gallen; <Everything I Never
Told You,= by Celeste Ng;
<The Islanders,= by Meg
Mitchell Moore; <What9s
Mine and Yours,= by Naima
Coster; and <The Storied Life
of A.J. Fikry,= by Gabrielle
Zevin.
Check out more new
books at Deschutes Public
Library or email paigeb@
deschuteslibrary.org.
from hundreds more taken.
I9m pretty sure we have
enough barns around Sisters
Country, including some
spectacularly fancy horse
barns. Admittedly
it would be some
tedious paint
work. There
are some ready-
made options.
In fact, there is a
large cottage indus-
try that will hand paint
or sell vinyl applique barn
quilts. They typically come in
24-by-24-inch sections that,
when joined with others, can
make a fairly infinite, square-
shaped, and long-lasting
pattern.
You could hoof it up to
Lowe9s and get 24-by-24-inch
metal and vinyl squares for
$86 or pick up a 48-by-48-inch
design for $339. There are
over 20 mix-and-match pat-
terns, making it a snap to let
your inner barn-quilter loose.
Now look, if Sisters is
somehow to barnstorm this
idea, it9s important to know
that barn quilts aren9t just
pretty to look at. Done right,
they tell a story. Usually
about the building on which
they are attached or the land
on which the barn sits. Or the
family ancestors who settled
the land. Maybe even the
Native Americans who were
there first. That sounds just as
interesting to me. Kind of like
a rolling history museum.
A raise of hands: Who
wants barn quilts in Sisters?
— Last Week’s Puzzle Solved —
This Week’s Crossword Sponsors
Greg Wieland L.Ac.
Practicing since 1989
352 E. Hood Ave., Ste. E
Sisters Acupuncture Center
CCB#220624
D ESIGNERS & B UILDERS of D ISTINCTION
541-549-1523
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