Stories by Monika Spykerman

Columbian staff writer

(360) 735-4556

Monika.Spykerman@columbian.com

An image from Vancouver filmmaker Dru Holley's documentary, "Buffalo Soldiers: Fighting on Two Fronts." (The Columbian files)

Try this: “Historic Photographers of Vancouver Barracks” and “Buffalo Soldiers: Fighting on Two Fronts”

March 28, 2024, 6:05am Clark County Life

Five things to do this week Read story

Whipped coconut cream is delicious and light with sweet fruit and toasted cashew crumble.

Healthy? Sort of. Delicious? These paleo parfaits are perfect once you get the trick of coconut cream

March 27, 2024, 6:07am Clark County Life Subscriber Exclusive

I have made many things over the past few years, but I’ve never attempted a dairy-free, gluten-free and (virtually) sugar-free dessert before, that’s for sure. I realize that many of my recipes exist outside of what could strictly be called “healthy,” and are far afield of any current food trends.… Read story

Kids rush toward the eggs at the start of the 28th Annual Easter Day Egg Hunt at Crown Park in Camas on April 21, 2019.

Egg-citing Easter events around Clark County offer food and fun

March 22, 2024, 6:00am Clark County Life

The Easter Bunny will be egg-stra busy this year, making appearances at Clark County’s many egg hunts. Bring your kids and grandkids to one of these egg-citing Easter events hosted by churches, local businesses, community organizations and city staff. Bring baskets for eggs and cellphones to capture egg-ceptionally memorable moments. Read story

This white bean and spinach quesadilla is warm, toasty, creamy and cheesy while also being relatively healthy.

Quesa your troubles away: When I’m stressed, I still have to eat, and so does my husband

March 19, 2024, 6:03am Clark County Life Subscriber Exclusive

Personal growth can be so overrated. What I’d like to do is stop growing for a little while and just rest. I’d like to lay me down in some green pastures (as the well-known scripture says) and a few still waters wouldn’t hurt, either. Read story

Hough Elementary School students march and hold a banner Friday during the Paddy Hough Parade in Vancouver in 2023.

Try this: Paddy Hough Parade, St. Patrick’s Day shenanigans, ‘Next to Normal’

March 14, 2024, 6:02am Clark County Life

Five things to do this week Read story

COVID-19, respiratory ailments ‘slowing down’ in Clark County

FILE - This undated, colorized electron microscope image made available by the U.S. National Institutes of Health in February 2020 shows the Novel Coronavirus SARS-CoV-2, indicated in yellow, emerging from the surface of cells, indicated in blue/pink, cultured in a laboratory. The National Institutes of Health is opening a handful of studies to start testing possible treatments for long COVID, an anxiously awaited step in U.S. efforts against the mysterious condition. The announcement, Monday, July 31, 2023 comes amid frustration from patients who've struggled for months or years with sometimes disabling health problems.

“Respiratory illness in general in Clark County seems to be slowing down,” Clark County Public Health spokesperson Marissa Armstrong said, and that includes COVID-19. (See the data for yourself at clark.wa.gov/public-health/respiratory-illness-data.) Read story

Pay de queso is just right for celebrating Pi Day – or distracting from a daughter’s milestone

This pay de queso, or Mexican cheesecake, is easy to make but you must start with room-temperature ingredients and chill it after baking for at least four hours or overnight.

When I ruminate on the fact that I have a 21-year-old daughter, it makes me feel a bit woozy, like I’m standing on the roof of a skyscraper. I can see the view but I just can’t believe it’s real. Nevertheless, there she is, walking around and being competent and… Read story

That ‘stomach flu’ could be norovirus, say Clark County health officials

This electron microscope image provided by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows a cluster of norovirus virions. (charles d.

If you’ve recently been laid low with nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, fever and aches (or even two or three of those things), you might have had norovirus. Commonly called “stomach flu,” it’s unrelated to the virus that causes the flu. Read story