I'm single.Not proud of it, but not embarrassed about it either.This comes up because an older (even than me) female reader asked me last week why somebody who is so obviously social as I am is single.I'm anything but a woman-hater.I lived with my ex-wife for almost 12 years, 11 of which were sanctified by Holy Mother Church ... well, by the officials of Hamilton County, Ohio, within the borders of which the Queen City of the West (per Winston Churchill, no less), Cincinnati, still lies amoldering.
Mild, pleasant weather, a wandering musical duo and a moderate but steady flow of shoppers were just a few of the features marking the official opening Saturday, June 4, of the Magnolia Farmers Market, now in its third year.Fresh flowers and fresh-baked bread, organic produce and juices and free-range meats were all on sale during opening-day celebrations that also featured live, perambulating music by the Bonnie Birch Duo, an accordion-and-guitar combo that threaded its way through the crowd. Other season-opening attractions in the Magnolia Community Center parking lot included visiting live chickens and roosters from a local farm and a face-painting booth for children.
Recently named Seattle's official bird by the Seattle City Council, the great blue heron thrives in Kiwanis Ravine, an area located just east of Discovery Park in Magnolia.Boasting more than 44 nests, the ravine has become a choice nesting ground for Seattle herons, but also contains large amounts of invasive plant species, which impede the growth of native species and can create an inhospitable living environment for the heron.Four years ago Heron Habitat Helpers (HHH), a Seattle non-profit, environmental-restoration group, was founded to help restore the ravine to its natural state so it could continue to promote heron habitation.
Aloha.Almost everyone has the experience of some sort of vacation: the initial planning, the anticipation of departing on day one, and the end. When my wife Rita earned her sabbatical, we decided on a month in Maui, Hawaii.Although we are very familiar with the island paradise - having made numerous trips there starting in 1982 - we had never been able to afford a full month's stay in a condo. This is a unique vacation in that respect.
The two men in the black-and-white photograph sit in a television studio facing each other.The man talking appears comfortable in this setting. The other man, brow furrowed, does not. He throws his counterpart a sullen glare. That would be Richard Nixon. The subject of his glare: Don McGaffin.Instead of a puffball interview with a local, awe-struck reporter, the President had run into a feisty, combination puncher.Don McGaffin has been called many things: a "reporter's reporter," a fearless man of uncompromising integrity, a symbol of the days when local television news pursued unflinching, investigative journalism.McGaffin, 78, died May 29 after a fall in his Magnolia home.
Finally, it's over.Day after day, week in, week out, Washington residents have been inundated with news accounts about the continuing political soap opera swirling around the governor's office.It's been the equivalent of a schoolyard nyah-nyah session: Dino hates Christine; Christine hates Dino double. Everybody choose sides, grab a handful of rocks and let fly.It's during times like these that good-hearted, thinking, rational, logical people, who allow labels - Democrat, Republican or "other" -- to be affixed to their voting selves because of the political system under which the Game of Politics is played, long for the days when political party monikers were changed with the regularity of hotel room sheets, and when political labels didn't mean squat.
Neighbors gathered Saturday, June 4, for the 13 annual Beacon Hill Community Festival at the ever popular Jefferson Community Center along Beacon Avenue South. Crowds enjoyed the pleasant spring weather while listening to music by the Emerald City Jazz Ensemble and the Kimball Elementary Ukelele Players.
Aware that the bustling Columbia City Farmers Market is just down the street from Mercer Middle School, students in John Mitchell's seventh grade ELL (English Language Learners) class are bringing their mural to the Columbia City Farmers Market on Wednesday, June 15. The mural, nine-feet long and five-feet tall, will be on display near the performers' area from 3:30 p.m. until the market closing. Painted by the students on canvas, the mural boasts brightly colored images of produce and gardens derived from original bilingual poems.
Southern cooking is one of my favorite culinary styles. The popularity of Paula Dean's "Home Cooking" show on television's Food Channel Network proves I'm not alone.Just the thought of sweet tea, Southern-fried chicken, country ham, fried catfish, fried okra and barbecue pulled-pork is enough to start the cravings. If you find yourself down in the South, you will notice that frying, while not particularly heart healthy, is a popular way of cooking things.Of course, you can't mention Southern cooking without paying homage to grits, or "South Carolina ice cream," as my father refers to them. Grits are the centerpiece of many Southern breakfasts.But what exactly is a grit?
A five-year-old African American girl is handcuffed in one place, and a five-year-old black male student is handcuffed in another. The NAACP in this state is still in and out of court with the Kent school district about their liberal use of the police department's most popular means of restraint.African American parents are outraged and in some cases, like Kent, they are suing to make their point. It's an issue that must be clarified because, in many school systems, 50 percent of African American students who start in the first grade don't make it to graduation.
"The Taming of the Shrew" is a comedy of the sexes with dark undertones. Unruly Kate, one of the most aggressive, feisty, unladylike women you'll ever meet, is married off to Petruchio, a man in the market for a rich wife. He's convinced that he'll be able to browbeat her into submission, and he does. He breaks the bitch's spirit, and creates a docile house pet. The only thing missing is the leash. It's a difficult play to produce, given modern sensibilities.The Seattle Shakespeare Company's current offering is a remounting of their popular 2003 all-male rendition of this troublesome work. And in many ways, the idea of an all-male cast is brilliant. Bearded and muscular Kate and her big, buff sister Bianca would never be mistaken for women. This is no men-in-drag extravaganza. The female characters are clearly male, and their obvious masculinity works well in the first act to distance this story from its gender conflict. The lack of respect for women that is so offensive to many today is played down. It's buried within a comedy that offers a near-genderless exploration of human emotions.
When he agreed to direct the June 12 tribute to his parents' 28 years at Pacific Northwest Ballet, Christopher Stowell made one request: that the company keep a secret.Which they have, religiously, despite repeated questioning from the snoops in the press and fans of PNB. When you talk to the dancers or the ballet masters or other members of the staff, all they will say is, "It is going to be good, really good." And then they grin a big Cheshire Cat smile.
Finding a restaurant in the University District is not difficult. The streets are lined with all types of restaurants for every taste. One restaurant, though, is not so easy to spot. The Wayward Café, a vegan restaurant, can be found at 901 N.E. 55th St.Nestled in a residential neighborhood, the newly painted, gray exterior is broken up by large windows and an orange sign hovering over the corner entry, announcing Wayward Café.Previously Rainy Day Vegan Café, new owners Dylan Alverson and Sean Thomas bought the building, remodeled, created a menu and opened last April as the Wayward Café. Alverson and Thomas receive help from friends, but mainly work the café on their own, putting in about 80 hours per week. They are open Wednesday through Sunday, from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. The continuously evolving menu includes items such as biscuits and gravy, tempeh reuben, seitan philly and miso soup.
With rising gas prices, growing dependence on foreign oil and poisonous emissions polluting our air, many people have been searching for an alternative to fossil fuel to run their cars. Tom Marier, owner of Laurelhurst Oil, a membership-based gas station located at 4550 Union Bay Place N.E., has installed a new biodiesel fuel pump because he believes this natural fuel is a better solution to America's petroleum problems than the increasingly popular hybrid cars, such as the Toyota Prius. The pump is a small, white box, like all the other gas pumps, but instead of dispensing fossil fuel, it fills drivers' tanks with a fuel derived from vegetable oil.
At least 200 Phinney Ridge residents gathered at Woodland Park Zoo's public hearing last Wednesday, June 8, to protest the zoo's plans to build a multilayer, above-ground parking garage on the west side of the park, instead of a below-ground facility on the south side of the park. The garage is part of the zoo's Long Range Physical Development Plan for the next 20 years. In addition to the parking garage, the zoo plans to add an events center, an administrative office building, a carousel, new animal exhibits and other facilities. Both the zoo and the community originally preferred the below-ground structure. According to the Woodland Park Zoo website, the south-side garage was estimated to cost between $30 million and $35 million. The mayor was not willing to pursue this option and compromised with a four-story, west-side parking garage, estimated at approximately $16 million. Neighbors complained the zoo's management did not adequately inform them of the new plan before agreeing with the City Council to compromise.