Jennifer Brookes: My mother was in town last week, so we walked to the waterfront and hopped on a ferry to Bainbridge Island. It was pretty cold and unnecessarily windy, so my mom wanted to sit inside and write. She writes more than anyone I know…but I would not allow it. What’s the point of riding the ferry away from Seattle if you can’t watch the city disappear behind you? I made her stand on the bow of the boat with me because the hovering seagulls are the best part. She sat behind the huge glass windows inside with my burnt Tully’s drip coffee while I ran up to the top deck to hang out with my seagull friends. Only then did I notice that Seattle was engulfed in sunshine and an ominous looking dark storm was brewing over Bainbridge. The storm hit us before I could finish taking these pictures, but I took them anyway. It was a good storm.

Eric Peterson: The University of Denver is on a quarter system, rather than a semester system, so while everyone else just has this week off for the holiday, I crammed all of my finals and final projects in last week and weekend so I could enjoy the next six weeks off. College students and parents of college students know that there are a standard set of questions you ask all college students with whom you come in contact: “Where do you go,” “When do you graduate,” “What are you studying,” etc. Around this time of year, another popular one is “What are your plans for the break?” I’m looking forward to playing several exciting shows next month, but more than anything, I’m looking forward to having some time to write and record my own songs on my own time. This week’s piece is an excerpt from one that I hope to be fleshing out in greater detail soon.