What's Up With That?

Puddum the guinea pig in a Halloween costume. (Jessi Loerch)

Get your guinea pig costumed for trick-or-treat — if you can

Dressing up pets is no longer just for cats and dogs. Rodents can be mermaids and superheroes, too.

Puddum the guinea pig in a Halloween costume. (Jessi Loerch)
The Blue Lagoon is a popular Iceland destination. (Andrea Brown / The Herald)

I went to Iceland for the Costco and my husband got a hotdog

On the island of 364,260, there 350 churches, 269 glaciers, many eye-popping wonders — and one Costco.

The Blue Lagoon is a popular Iceland destination. (Andrea Brown / The Herald)
Bruce and Marie Ferguson sit on a rail car set atop train tracks in their yard at home on Tuesday, Sept. 22, 2020 in Snohomish, Washington.  The Ferguson's built in their home in 2007 to mimic a Northern Pacific train depot. (Andy Bronson / The Herald)

Home, sweet, depot: Train station pad yours for $1.2 million

The Snohomish house comes complete with tracks, speeder car and people looking in the window.

Bruce and Marie Ferguson sit on a rail car set atop train tracks in their yard at home on Tuesday, Sept. 22, 2020 in Snohomish, Washington.  The Ferguson's built in their home in 2007 to mimic a Northern Pacific train depot. (Andy Bronson / The Herald)
Travis Gilbert hugs his 15-year-old dog Abe on Thursday, Sept. 24, 2020 in Arlington, Washington. Abe, deaf, nearly blind and old, went  missing and was found barely alive 12 days later at the bottom of a deep hole in the woods by PUD linemen. (Andy Bronson / The Herald)

The tale of old Abe, 15, a blind, deaf dog missing 12 days

The dog’s odyssey landed him at the bottom of a “Silence of The Lambs” pit. A PUD crew saves the day.

Travis Gilbert hugs his 15-year-old dog Abe on Thursday, Sept. 24, 2020 in Arlington, Washington. Abe, deaf, nearly blind and old, went  missing and was found barely alive 12 days later at the bottom of a deep hole in the woods by PUD linemen. (Andy Bronson / The Herald)
Blisters and bonding: A father and son hoof it for 40 miles

Blisters and bonding: A father and son hoof it for 40 miles

Fred Sirianni of Marysville and his son, Jake, walked 19 hours from New York City to Connecticut.

Blisters and bonding: A father and son hoof it for 40 miles
Charlotte Daphne-Celeste Buzard Simmons-Otness sleeps in the arms of her parents, Mark Buzard and Oriana Simmons-Otness. The baby was born Aug. 19 in Everett and given six names. Her first three initials are CDC. (Andrea Brown / The Herald)

This pandemic newborn has 6 names, but you can call her CDC

Meet Charlotte Daphne-Celeste Buzard Simmons-Otness of Whidbey Island. Her mom’s initials are ORCAS.

Charlotte Daphne-Celeste Buzard Simmons-Otness sleeps in the arms of her parents, Mark Buzard and Oriana Simmons-Otness. The baby was born Aug. 19 in Everett and given six names. Her first three initials are CDC. (Andrea Brown / The Herald)
Georgia Gerber’s 12-foot sculpture is a whale of a piggy bank

Georgia Gerber’s 12-foot sculpture is a whale of a piggy bank

“Hope the Whale” hopefully can do for Langley what “Rachel the Pig” did for Pike Place Market.

Georgia Gerber’s 12-foot sculpture is a whale of a piggy bank
Not all who wander are lost, but we definitely were and are

Not all who wander are lost, but we definitely were and are

The pandemic freed us from our desks and opened our eyes to the Everett around us.

Not all who wander are lost, but we definitely were and are
Twins Leslie Davis, left, and Lyndsay Lamb stage a house in Everett as seen on “Unsellable Houses” on HGTV. (HGTV photo)

Twin-sister stars of ‘Unsellable Houses’ get a second season

The hot HGTV show, in which dated Snohomish County homes get revamped, will expand to an hour.

Twins Leslie Davis, left, and Lyndsay Lamb stage a house in Everett as seen on “Unsellable Houses” on HGTV. (HGTV photo)
‘Lobster Girl’ is on a roll at this Whidbey Island food truck
‘Lobster Girl’ is on a roll at this Whidbey Island food truck
Who’s that 20-foot masked man? It’s the anti-virus Muffler Man

Who’s that 20-foot masked man? It’s the anti-virus Muffler Man

The fiberglass statue has social distanced atop a building in downtown Everett since 1983.

Who’s that 20-foot masked man? It’s the anti-virus Muffler Man
Bold mural turns Everett street into a funkadelic district

Bold mural turns Everett street into a funkadelic district

Check out the city-centric ship montage with an airplane wing, seagull, Funko crown, hockey stick.

Bold mural turns Everett street into a funkadelic district
The ‘Sub Man’ knows what customers want before they walk in

The ‘Sub Man’ knows what customers want before they walk in

Wai Eng opened his shop 35 years ago. Once he gets to know you, he knows what to make you. Cash only!

The ‘Sub Man’ knows what customers want before they walk in
The checkmate kid is 9-year-old Keshav Beegala of Bothell

The checkmate kid is 9-year-old Keshav Beegala of Bothell

Graduate third grade? Check. Learn rock guitar? Check. Become a chess champion? Checkmate.

The checkmate kid is 9-year-old Keshav Beegala of Bothell
Whidbey Island’s roadside red door is a portal to nowhere

Whidbey Island’s roadside red door is a portal to nowhere

The door on Cultus Bay Road has been a South Whidbey Island icon for 30 years. Here’s the story.

Whidbey Island’s roadside red door is a portal to nowhere
Life after ‘Hoarders’: 2 years, 250 tons lighter in Marysville

Life after ‘Hoarders’: 2 years, 250 tons lighter in Marysville

Andy and Becky Otter got a resurgence of fame when the A&E reality TV show was picked up by Netflix.

Life after ‘Hoarders’: 2 years, 250 tons lighter in Marysville
Everett’s Statue of Liberty welcomes weary travelers on I-5

Everett’s Statue of Liberty welcomes weary travelers on I-5

Steve Breeden bolted the replica to his deck for year-round patriotism and quirky fun.

Everett’s Statue of Liberty welcomes weary travelers on I-5
Need some scratch? Pig out on $5 bacon-scented lottery tix

Need some scratch? Pig out on $5 bacon-scented lottery tix

“Bring Home the Bacon” has a cute cartoon pig and porky smell. Top prize in the state game is $50,000.

Need some scratch? Pig out on $5 bacon-scented lottery tix
Greek cobbler at People’s Shoe Repair has left the building

Greek cobbler at People’s Shoe Repair has left the building

Mike Papadimitriou, 90, closed the shop his uncle started in 1934. He’s retiring, and will be missed.

Greek cobbler at People’s Shoe Repair has left the building
Will Phase 2 start a pandemic of yard sales?
Will Phase 2 start a pandemic of yard sales?