Don't be lulled into ascribing a false sense of naiveté to Stephanie Hargrave. Yes, she is young - not yet 40 - and will be celebrating her first-ever solo show this month. Born, bred and raised in Kirkland schools, Hargrave exudes a gentility that is coated by a sense of purpose and fierce dedication to ferreting out her true artistic core.Her "aha"? Painting with beeswax. Hargrave dates her artistic beginnings to college at the University of Puget Sound in Tacoma, where she majored in creative writing and minored in studio art. At age 19, she began attending art walks. "I've been quietly studying other people's artwork," she says. "I've been studying artists before I was one."Color and texture fascinated her - and in 1997 she opened and ran a ceramics studio in Pioneer Square for several years. She created and sold functional ceramics, including cups, saucers and flatware nationally as well as locally. She tested other waters, too, including metal, oils and acrylics. Eventually she swapped it all for painting, which she declares her true love.
You've finished all the books you feel like reading. You're tired of doing crossword puzzles each day. You're even a bit fed up with bridge. You could go for a walk, but it looks like rain and walking in rain is not your idea of good fun. Call someone to go to lunch with? You're bored and feeling quite useless and dull. What to do?Finding a causeLast week, I came upon one answer that has me quite excited, the very thing that might pull me out of the doldrums. The guest speaker at an Older Women's League meeting I attended a couple of weeks ago spoke about RSVP, an organization I had never heard of - although it has been around since 1971, when President Nixon established it after the White House Conference on Aging.I now understand my ignorance. At that point, I was still trying to survive motherhood and wasn't at all sure I would survive to be older, much less worry about being bored if I did reach antiquity. But survive I did, and there I was feeling useless and thinking to myself, "Is that all there is? There isn't any more?" when my armor of self-pity was penetrated by her talk about RSVP and volunteering to suit yourself. So often I've tried helping out when I read of a need, but I've never had the opportunity to pick and choose what it is I like or what I do the best. Since there are 2,000 RSVP volunteers in more than 120 nonprofit health-care and public agencies in King County, I could surely find one or two that appealed to me.
An adventure wrongly considered is an inconvenience. An inconvenience rightly considered is an adventure," says Tadashi Nakaya-ma, a character in Helene Gabel Ryan's novel "Hakujin." Ryan, a longtime Wallingford resident, could have said that herself. She has had many adventures in her 88 years - from growing up in Seattle during the Depression and World War II eras to babysitting gorillas at the Woodland Park Zoo. She marched against the Vietnam War and for the Pike Place Market and was a mainstay of the Wallingford Community Council for many years. Wartime prejudiceRyan began the novel when she was in her 60s. Its title, "Hakujin," is a Japanese term for a white person. Set in Seattle during World War II, the book tells the story of 18-year-old Robin Mueller. She lived at 29th Avenue and Yesler Way in Leschi with her family and, like the author, graduated from Garfield High School. Her friendship with Kiko Naka-yama and her twin brother, Tadashi, forms the core of the novel. The book follows the experience of the Japanese before and after the evacuation and how life changed for the young women and the young men they loved during the war.An important theme of the novel, according to Ryan, is that of equal opportunities for women.
The dog days of summer are over, and if you have young children, you know that school is back in session - and it's back to the formation of the "great pile": school art projects, homework assignments and permission slips that collect on kitchen counters, creating clutter that never seems to go away. You can help you and your family prepare for the rest of the school year by spending some time getting organized now. Remember, getting organized is not just going through and clearing the piles, but also creating a system to prevent the clutter from forming in the first place. Here are some tips to help you get started.The notebookCreate a "Family and Household" notebook. This will help keep important information (such as emergency numbers, calendars and school permission slips) handy and in one place. Although there are electronic versions available, incoming information from schools and other organizations is usually on paper, so it makes sense to keep a binder. However, if you don't mind using a computer now and again, I recommend a "blended" approach: keeping electronic calendars and contacts and printing them out as needed.The binder should include:
Here in Seattle, we've access to lots of healthy choices. We dwell amid health professionals, clubs, grocers, nature's beauty and a community of friendly people - all of which might contribute to our well-being. And given all that, I cast my vote for personal choice as the most powerful health tool any of us possess.Learning by doingI have a calendar at home that features a quote by Aristotle: "For the things we have to learn before we can do them, we learn by doing them." This wisdom still carries the day. It reminds me that our lives - and our health - are shaped by the choices we make.This same general message of choice and action came my way in another form recently. I saw someone wearing a necklace comprised of two small leather pockets dangling from a chain. I wondered what was hidden inside the pockets, so I asked. I learned that one pocket contained a black stone, the other a white one. These stones were a reminder to move forward with clarity rather than getting stuck in the "gray" zone of indecisiveness.Since life is a continuum of transitions, we've ample opportunity to learn by doing.
Skip "The Butcher" Christianson, who has won the hearts of many women at Bert's Red Apple in Madison Park with those specialty cuts of beef, tied the knot with longtime girlfriend Karlene Robinson in August. Fellow employees were placing bets the day of the wedding on how long it would take for Skip to pass out from nerves; however, he rose to the occasion and never missed a beat. What does everyone's favorite butcher serve at his wedding? Flank-steak sandwiches, of course! Pious The car to drive for the very hip, forward-thinking and ecologically minded is the new 2006 Prius, which combines a gas engine and an emissions-free electric motor to achieve amazing fuel economy. Area residents who have traded their Mercedes Benz for the new Prius might be considered saints to those who are actively trying to help the environment. One in particular is Saint Paul Hayes, whose frequent trips to his second home in Carmel not only save him a bundle, but fits right in with the Hollywood environmentalists who are seen driving the pious Prius.
Twenty years ago, we were given a slow cooker from my husband's grandmother. I have to admit, it sat in my cupboard for almost as much time traveling with us through many moves, neglected and never used. I discovered it last winter. I couldn't take it anymore - after way too much time spent shuttling kids from after-school activities and simultaneously trying to put dinner food on the table, I needed some ideas for cooking good food while I was not in the kitchen. Imagine, the answer had been sitting in my cupboard for two decades.Getting back into the kitchenA slow cooker, also known as a crock pot, is an electric casserole dish that cooks food with slow, steady moist heat. The best part is it cooks food for you while you are away from the kitchen, literally doing the work for you. Slow cookers have made their way back into the kitchens of today's cooks who do not have large amounts of time to spend cooking but who want a flavorful, home-cooked end product. They are magical, really. In the morning, the ingredients go in, and when you return later in the day, they have turned into something fabulous-smelling and wonderful-tasting. A new twist on the traditionalWhile I know tacos are a staple meal in many family's homes because they are easy and appeal to a wide variety of tastes, this recipe for slow-cooked pork probably is not. Most people brown ground beef, chicken or turkey and add a dry pouch of premade spice ingredients and water to the meat. This is fine, and I have done it many, many times. But try making this pork. This is the way taco meat was meant to be.
Streisand sing-alongs. Movies with titles like "50 Ways of Saying Fabulous." Could it be time for another Seattle Lesbian & Gay Film Festival (SLGFF)?The 11th edition of this stalwart film festival opens Friday, Oct. 13. Unlike bigger events that invade Capitol Hill in May, this film fest runs a compact 10 days, ending on Oct. 22. But during those ten days, the organizers have tried to stuff enough movies to satisfy every film lover."It's not just 10 days of films. It's an experience," said Rachael Brister, executive director of Three Dollar Bill Cinema (the organization that produces SLGFF). "We want the festival to be a place to gather and a place to discuss the issues raised by the films."And also a place to have a little fun, whether attending a sing-along version of "Funny Girl" at the Cinerama or a party at the Aquarium following a screening of the very adult "Shortbus."Besides the ticketed events, SLGFF is sponsoring two free showings at the Capitol Hill Library on Oct. 15 and at the main branch on Oct. 22.
More and more voters are voicing their disgust with the Pick-a-Party Primary. Some are angry that taxpayers are footing the bill for a primary for only two parties. They would like to spend the $3 million on other things, like health care.A large number are upset that they must declare themselves to be a Republican or Democrat in order for their vote to count. Some independents and third party members would like to be included in any voting - and even independent-minded Democrats or Republicans want to express their real choice for any given office.There is also the issue of media coverage often stopping after a primary in a race where the only real opposition to an established Republican or Democrat is an independent or third party candidate.It is now clear to most voters that we need a better solution. The Grange has pushed for a Top-Two primary in the past, but the only way around the legal tangle resulting from the Big Two party's lawsuit may result in the top two winners appearing on the final ballot to be from the same party, a non-solution for sure.
The past week three news stories dominated the airwaves and reflected back to Americans images of our current culture: The release of the Bob Woodward book "State of Denial," the resignation of Mark Foley following revelations of inappropriate contact with underage pages, and the senseless killings of young Amish school girls in Pennsylvania. All reveal how lying and avoiding the truth, avoiding pain, eventually lead to disastrous outcomes far greater than the original offense.I hadn't closely followed the story of Charles Carl Roberts IV and the 10 young girls he shot before turning the gun on himself. Then last Saturday on NPR I learned how in an incredible act of forgiveness the Amish community reached out to his widow and invited his family to the funerals of the slain girls. I turned off the radio and crossed the street to Madison Market to puchase some groceries for that morning. Entering the store brought to mind the brutal killings Capitol Hill experienced last spring when a half dozen young people, several of whom worked at the market, were slain by a man they'd befriended and welcomed into their home. The tragedy cast tremendous grief on staff members at the Market but also united them in a bond of compassion and purpose. In homage to their fallen co-workers and friends, staff displayed memorials and photographs in the store entry for several months after the incident. In grief, they discovered the power of community coming together and searching for comfort and eventually resolution.
The marquee was dominated by large, red capital letters proclaiming "Night of the Living Dead." But there was more activity than a bunch of slow moving zombies inside the Central Cinema on the eastern slope of Capitol Hill.Located at 1411 21st Avenue, the Central Cinema has been up and running since June 2005. Owned by Kevin Spitzer, the theater has the distinction of being the only cinema in Seattle that serves dinner and drinks before and during a screening.Spitzer got the idea during a trip to Portland. Dining on Ahi tuna and a good beer at the Mission Theater, he considered ways a similar venture could work in Seattle. If people could have this experience in Portland, why not Seattle? The idea took shape when Spitzer retired from his sculpting work and renovated his old studio into Central Cinema. Spitzer smiled as he spoke about the remodel.
It may be the beginning of a new school year, but the dispute between the Bertschi School and a group of North Capitol Hill neighbors is far from new. Now in it's third year, the disagreement has reached all the way to the Washington State Court of Appeals.The heart of the issue is the school's recent expansion, a process that is well under way. Larry Hettick, who lives on 10th Avenue East near the school and leads the Friends of North Broadway District group that objects to the expansion, contends that issues over noise, traffic and parking related to the project and to the presence of the private school in a residential neighborhood have not been satisfactorily resolved by the school. The expansion, they say, makes a bad situation worse. The group's current legal challenge contends that the city's hearing examiner made decisions about the school's Master Use Permit that she was legally not entitled to make. A response to the brief is required by the school and the city by Oct. 24. The state court's decision will likely be made next spring.
Have you ever wondered how Halloween became America's second-most popular holiday? The holiday to comeIn the beginning, Halloween was not even a holiday in the United States. In Puritan New England, there were no holidays, not even Christmas! They believed that such celebrations distracted one's thoughts from the divine. But in other regions of our young country, there were some celebrations containing elements of our future holiday. Called an "Autumn Play Party," friends and family would gather together at these events and celebrate the year's good fortune by telling each other scary stories from the past and predicting an even better future to come. These evening parties also included nearly endless rounds of singing and dancing with apples and ale.
For more than 20 years, Seattle Dances of Universal Peace has honored spiritual traditions from around the world.On an average night, 30 to 40 people generally participate in the dances at Keystone Congregational Church. Throughout the evening, a leader teaches participants the words, melody and movements for each dance. Participants then join hands to form a circle, with the dance leader and musicians in the center.The lyrics usually consist of a simple sacred phrase, and the movements and songs are drawn from more than 500 dances.A welcoming 'force'Dance leader and guitarist Phil Notermann, who has a master's degree in comparative religion and a musical background, was initially drawn to the dances because they do not require a specific religious belief. Notermann and his wife, Helen Gabel, who live in Wedgwood, first learned about the dances in 1988 through a mutual friend and have been attending ever since."It was quite moving and satisfying to us both, and we really connected strongly to them," Notermann added.No musical or dance experience of any kind is required, and participants of all ages are invited to join in. People are welcome to dance any part of the evening as they like.A typical evening usually consists of five to seven different dances. Every week varies, with different leaders, musicians, songs and dances.
Remember that phrase "If we fail to plan, we plan to fail?" Nothing could be closer to the truth when it comes to our neighborhoods - and a good chunk of Washington state - if Initiative 933 passes. We live in a great place. One way I like to measure it: Where can I get to safely and easily on my own two feet? One evening's stroll leads me from my house and across the fields of the Good Shepherd Center to groceries and the hardware store on [North] 45th [Street], dinner nearby and about five spontaneous meetings with friends and neighbors along the way.I notice the pleasing balance of homes, shops, parks and schools - and thank the foresight of those before us who had the sense to develop rules to keep things balanced. And to keep things, well, neighborly.Paying the priceNow imagine the lawlessness that would be I-933. No rules, no balance, no kidding! Let's see, how about pulling out, say, a dozen Craftsman[-style] houses and throwing down a strip mall? Or, better yet, how about paving an acre of paid parking? I-933 is all about nonsense loopholes, and if it passes, our community character - and that of places all across Washington state - is in real trouble. The fabric that holds our neighborhoods together (that fabric I so enjoy walking through) frays and great places become not-so-great places. Either that or we taxpayers will have to pay unneighborly sums to entice people to follow sensible laws already on the books.