In karmic terms, the Dharma Friendship Foundation in Magnolia Village has been doing well by doing good for 10 years. Located at 3204 W. Lynn St., the organization teaches people the philosophy and intricate practices of Tibetan Buddhism.The center had formerly been located in a house in the Green Lake area, said Julie Rae, a member of the board of directors. "We decided we needed to have a center that wasn't in someone's residence," she said of the group's second spiritual director, Thubten Chodron.It's a name adopted by a California-born woman when she became a Buddhist nun, Rae said. "She's been ordained for 30 years."Chodron left in 2002 to form the Sravasti Abbey in Newport, Wash., and she took on the role of spiritual advisor until Yangsi Rinpoche became the foundation's spiritual director last year, Rae said. "He's a reincarnated lama," she added.
In the old days Bill Hoffer would have been called a haberdasher, or a gentleman's clothier. Today he is called an executive wardrobe consultant. He advises people how to dress, and provides them with clothing and accessories to realize their look."How you look affects how you think," says Hoffer. "First impressions are important. We only have one opportunity to make them."Dressing others is Hoffer's passion, but he did not recognize it until he got into the clothing business, quite by chance.Though not a churchgoer himself, he once accompanied his mother to church. He chatted with a man there, and by the end of their conversation the man offered him a job. Hoffer was 40 years old.Bill Hoffer was born in 1949 in Miami, Okla., a small town in the northeastern part of the state. He grew up in a triangle of towns only a few miles apart: his birthplace; Joplin, Mo.; and Galena, Kans. His father was a lithographer, his mother a bookkeeper. He has one sister.When Hoffer was a teenager, his family moved to Longview, Texas. He attended Texas A&M; University and joined the ROTC the first semester. "But I figured out that I had gone to college for an education," he says, "not to become a soldier." In 1970 he took a military pre-induction physical. He was classified 4F due to poor eyesight, sparing him service in the Vietnam War.Hoffer graduated from A&M; in 1975 with a degree in business administration. His first job was as a purchasing agent for a hospital. "I dealt with salespeople," he says, "and I saw that their days were more interesting than mine, plus they made more money than I did."He quit his job at the hospital and sold dictation machines for six months. Then he found a better sales job at Fleet Pharmaceuticals, where he worked for 13 years. He advanced to division manager and moved to California. But then Fleet began to downsize, and Hoffer's options diminished. He resigned and returned to Texas.Then, one fateful Sunday in 1989, he paid that church visit, and a casual conversation led him to discover his dormant passion.
Magnolia Ecumenical Vacation Bible School was started in January of 1976, during a meeting at the Episcopal Church of the Ascension. Founder Janet Haltom-Ames was inspired by her memories of attending vacation Bible school at St. John's Cathedral in Spokane.The inaugural week for the new program was held the final week of June 1976 at the Episcopal Church of the Ascension, with 35 children from three churches in Magnolia attending. The five worship services were led by lay reader Robert Kenneth Ames, and crafts, combined with Bible stories, were given by members of Ascension parish.In 1977, Magnolia Lutheran Church became the host church, and the vacation Bible school has been located there for the past 29 years.
In karmic terms, the Dharma Friendship Foundation in Magnolia Village has been doing well by doing good for 10 years. The organization at 3204 W. Lynn St. teaches people the philosophy and intricate practices of Tibetan Buddhism.The center had formerly been located in a house in the Green Lake area, said Julie Rae, a member of the board of directors. "We decided we needed to have a center that wasn't in someone's residence," she said of the group's second spiritual director, Thubten Chodron.It's a name adopted by a California-born woman when she became a Buddhist nun, Rae said. "She's been ordained for 30 years."Chodron left in 2002 to form the Sravasti Abbey in Newport, Wash., and she took on the role of spiritual advisor until Yangsi Rinpoche became the foundation's spiritual director last year. "He's a reincarnated lama," Rae said.
Parishioners at the Church of the Ascension near Magnolia Village raised close to $1,500 at a book sale last summer to help out an elementary school in the Central African Republic. And they hope to do the same or better this summer for the former French colony, said Betty Mueller, who co-chairs the church's outreach committee with David Strom.The outreach committee participates in several other programs, such as Nightwatch, the Interfaith Hospitality Network and Heifer International. The church ended up with a connection to the African country southwest of Sudan because Mueller often takes foreign students into her home, she said.
It seems some people will do anything to improve their view.Just ask city arborist Nolan Rundquist. The Nebraska native has encountered all manner of arboreal shenanigans on the job, from the overzealous - and illegal - topping of city trees to vigilante "girdling," a processes whereby an unbroken circumference of bark is chiseled from a tree's trunk, breaking the continuous flow of water and nutrients and often killing the plant. Usually such acts are commissioned with a view to improving visual access to that vaunted Northwest scenery of mountains, water or, ironically enough, more trees, and they can be carried out by anyone from the lone homeowner wielding a chainsaw, to a private arborist hired to trim some bothersome foliage.Whatever the case, Rundquist points out, cutting into trees on city property without a permit is against the law - period. And it's not just arborcide - tree murder - that can get you in serious trouble. "Typically, someone doesn't commit arborcide," he says of the frequency of types of tree damage, adding that such instances as the girdling that occurred last week in Queen Anne don't happen all that often. Rundquist says that of the two or three tree-related violations he sees every week, most cases involve the improper topping and trimming of trees on city property. A police report is filed every time.
Two sets of trees were recently vandalized in Magnolia and Queen Anne, and the damage will eventually kill the trees, according to city arborists.A Magnolia resident living across the street was caught in the act of damaging a stand of evergreens at the corner of West Fulton Street and 26th Avenue West when he used a cherry picker to trim the tops on July 3, according to a police report. But the person who recently damaged two cypress trees in the 1400 block of Eighth Ave. W. by cutting through the bark around multiple trunks is unknown, said Eric Wilson, a nearby Queen Anne resident who called both police and the city about the vandalism. Girdling, as the bark-cutting is often called, usually kills trees because nutrients travel through the bark, noted Mark Mead, the lead arborist with Seattle Parks and Recreation. Parks is involved because the girdled trees are part of the Queen Anne Boulevard system, he said.Wilson said he didn't want to point any fingers, but he has his suspicions about who was responsible - and why they damaged the trees. "There are neighbors who have made inquiries about having trees trimmed for view purposes," he said.Indeed, views obviously would be improved for numerous homes on a steep slope to the east of Eighth Avenue West if the cypress trees were gone.
Having grown up along the Seattle shores of Lake Washington and later in Hawaii, Jean-Pierre (J.P.) Canlis' affinity to water was clear. He got to know the water intimately, studying and surfing it, until he became one with it.His glass art is reflective of that connection. Many of his pieces - like his Backwash, Undertow and Waves series in his Ocean Studies collection - "portray the emotion of the ocean," he explained."It came naturally to me - similar to the ocean...," he said. "If I never see the ocean again, I would still make [art of it]."As his last name alludes, the 33-year-old Canlis is a member of the local restaurateur family. His grandfather started the Canlis restaurants, his uncle owns the one on Queen Anne and his father operates the one in Hawaii. But Canlis' passion was in his glass art. With his parents' support, he studied art in high school, picking up his first glass-blowing pipe as a junior in Hono-lulu. Later, he studied glass art at Alfred University's School of Art and Design in New York. During summers in college, Canlis returned to the Puget Sound area and studied at Stan-wood's Pilchuck School, ultimately working full-time with famed glass artist Dale Chihuly.
Having grown up along the Seattle shores of Lake Washington and later in Hawaii, Jean-Pierre (J.P.) Canlis' affinity to water was clear. He got to know the water intimately, studying and surfing it, until he became one with it.His glass art is reflective of that connection. Many of his pieces - like his Backwash, Undertow and Waves series in his Ocean Studies collection - "portray the emotion of the ocean," he explained."It came naturally to me - similar to the ocean...," he said. "If I never see the ocean again, I would still make [art of it]."As his last name alludes, the 33-year-old Canlis is a member of the local restaurateur family. His grandfather started the Can-lis restaurants, his uncle owns the one on Queen Anne and his father operates the one in Hawaii. But Canlis' passion was in his glass art. With his parents' support, he studied art in high school, picking up his first glass-blowing pipe as a junior in Hono-lulu. Later, he studied glass art at Alfred University's School of Art and Design in New York. During summers in college, Canlis returned to the Puget Sound area and studied at Stanwood's Pilchuck School, ultimately working full-time with famed glass artist Dale Chihuly.
Let's begin with a disclaimer. I am nuts about baskets. Whether they come from the Aleutians or the Southwest, if they are plaited in the American South or woven in New Guinea or Sub-Saharan Africa, baskets turn me on.It wasn't until I moved to Seattle, however, that I got beyond ethnic baskets and became aware of the extraordinary work done by contemporary American basket artists, especially those in the Northwest. So it is to be expected that I have a special affection for the current show at Fountainhead Gallery."Natural origins - Contemporary Baskets" features work by seven master basket makers. All are nationally recognized for their innovative approaches to an art form that has evolved from the centuries-old, rather mundane task of creating a household container. Their work provides the opportunity to see this art in all its diversity.Because our prehistoric ancestors used perishable materials to make their baskets, it's hard to say exactly when they first wove or knotted containers to carry their goods from one hunting or gathering site to another. Archaeological evidence indicates they had figured it out at least 10,000 to 12,000 years ago.
The Magnolia 10-year-old all-stars had an impressive three-win opening to the District 8 tournament before finally falling to the tournament champions. Nevertheless, the team played hard throughout the tournament, impressing fans as well as their opponents with smart, tenacious defense and tough pitching. This year Magnolia Little League chose 12 10-year-olds from the ranks of Majors and AAA divisions to form an all-star team. The team represented Magnolia in the 14-team District 8 tournament, with the winner advancing to the state tournament. This year's team was coached by John Ulacia and Matt Murphy, who between them boast more than 25 years of baseball coaching experience.
The Magnolia Little League's 12-year-old All Star team continued their undefeated run in the 2006 District 8 All Star tournament with an 11-0 win over Northwest on Wednesday, July 12, and a 6-4 win against Woodinville West on Saturday, July 15.The two wins carried the Magnolians into the tournament final against Woodinville, scheduled for Monday, July 17, where they need just one more victory to win the District 8 championship and move on to the Washington state all-star tournament in Oak Harbor. Magnolia hurler Jason Books was the story of Wednesday's game. Books allowed only two hits while striking out four, walking none and facing only two batters more than the minimum in four innings of sparkling work.
We are well into our summer activities now-morning walks on the waterfront, inline-skating at the park and perfecting our golf swing.But have you thought about your personal safety while exercising? This is the time of year we should all be concerned and conscious of our efforts to get and stay healthy.People should check their exercise equipment for defects and wear the proper clothing, shoes and protective gear for the activity. Additionally, good old common sense comes in handy about when and where you exercise.Cyclists and joggers should obey traffic signals and avoid busy streets that have narrow shoulders. In areas where there are no sidewalks, you should walk or jog facing traffic on the shoulder of the road as far from the driving lane as possible.
Imagine your lungs are filled with a thick, sticky substance that makes every breath a challenge. That's what people with cystic fibrosis face every day, say respiratory therapists from the American Association for Respiratory Care (AARC)."Cystic fibrosis is a disease that is inherited from your parents," explains Dr. Jerry Edens from Cincinnati Children's Hospital in Ohio. "The main symptoms involve pulmonary insufficiency and a general malnourishment, but other aspects can include diabetes, digestive disorders and chronic sinusitis."Since cystic fibrosis is a genetic condition (Edens notes a child must inherit defective copies of the gene from both parents in order to develop the disease), it is usually diagnosed in the very young. Children who suffer from CF face lifelong treatment to manage the respiratory and digestive components.
The story of friendship is found in countless books, but this week it's written in a spider's web. Wilber the loveable runt in a litter of pigs and all his friends make their Magnolia stage debut in "Charlotte's Web" at the Magnolia Theater on Thursday, July 20. Director Jeannie O'Meara-Polich and her cast of 13 have been rehearsing for the past five weeks in anticipation of this summer's performance. O'Meara-Polich, the founder and creator of the Magnolia Theater of School and Drama, praised her production staff as a "fantastic group."Wilber, played by 10-year-old Ruby Rivamonte, has a passion for life and an innocent oink. His best friend Charlotte, played by Tara Conley, 11, is elegantly intelligent, teaching Wilber words such as "salutations" and "radiant."Adding to the barnyard friends is the goose, played by 12-year-old Drew Gellos Busse. She is a loud and proud feather fluffer and "certainly-ertly-ertly" has a commanding stage presence.O'Meara-Polich says she chose the classic story by E.B. White for its simplicity.