Big Blend Media House has a new home — a virtual estate with a wine cellar, a speakeasy bar, gardens, and more — and to celebrate, Diva Linda pulled up a chair for a fun round of Getting to Know You. Travel writer Linda Kissam, Big Blend Radio's own Food, Wine & Shopping Diva and host of "Sip, Savor & Travel," has been part of the Big Blend family for nearly twenty years.
Watch the episode below or download / listen to the audio version on Podbean:
Here are the episode highlights:
Her Spirit Animal? A Koala, Obviously
Put on the spot, Linda didn't hesitate for long.
"I just love animals in general … maybe a koala bear. They just sit up in the trees and watch everybody, and they move when they want to and they don't when they don't want to."
She's seen them up close in Australia, too — and offered a word of warning for anyone tempted to get too friendly with one.
A Million Dollars for Tunnels to Towers
Asked what she'd do with a windfall to make the world better, Linda didn't blink.
"Give it to Tunnels to Towers Foundation. I have a deep affinity for it … being a child of the Vietnam War era.”
She talked about the foundation's low overhead and its newest initiative — college scholarships for the children of disabled veterans.
Karaoke? Never. But If Pressed: "Girl from Ipanema"
Linda has never once sung karaoke and made it clear a tranquilizer would be required to change that. But when asked what song she'd choose, she landed — after a little help — on a bossa nova classic: "The Girl from Ipanema."
Bucket List: Trains Through the Rockies and Wine in Argentina
Two decades into globe-trotting for a living, Linda still has a list. At the top: the Canadian Rockies by train, a long train trip through England, and finally getting to Argentina for the wine.
Tea for Two (Allan & Linda Kissam) at The Empress
Taking Over Butchart Gardens
When asked whose house — or garden — she'd love to take over, Linda's answer scaled up quickly, landing on the sprawling Butchart Gardens in Victoria, British Columbia, complete with a tea house, a carousel, and boat access.
Dinner Party Etiquette, Diva-Style
What happens when the menu includes something you can't stomach? Linda has a technique.
"You push it around your plate. You might cut it, you might spoon it, whirl it, mash it … anything that makes it look like you at least attempted it."
The two things she hopes never show up on a plate: tripe and eyeballs.
Stop and smell the roses…
Her Must-Have Room: A Garden That Changes with the Music
Given free rein to design a room in the Big Blend Media House, Linda dreamed up a suite of garden rooms — roses, lilies, lavender — each with its own music and its own mood, so you could wander from room to room and feel the shift.
How She De-Stresses: The Infamous Poop Boat Saga
Boat life comes with its own flavor of stress, and Linda had a story to prove it — involving a neighbor's teenage relief captain, a sewage boat, and a standoff that ended with a family timeout.
Her larger takeaway: when stress builds, step back, take a timeout, and have the conversation instead of letting it boil over.
Aliens, Time Capsules, and Sparkly Shoes
Rounding out the interview: Linda's theory on what aliens really look like, what she'd pack in a 500-year Big Blend time capsule (a teapot and an air fryer made the list), and her current shoe rotation — feather-light "earth shoes" for everyday wear, and a pair of sparkly five-inch heels for cocktail hour.
Nearly 20 Years Together
Linda's been part of Big Blend since the early print magazine days in Julian and Fallbrook, California — through the launch of the podcast, wine country coverage in Temecula, and everything since. As for her ranking among Big Blend's longest-running contributors? She's in the top five, right alongside artist Victoria Chick, Donna George of The Peanut Patch, Sequoia Tourism Council, Books Forward.
Explore Linda's "Sip, Savor & Travel" Digital Podcast Magazine and follow her adventures at foodwinetravelchix.com.