The way I remember them in my childhood memories, the seasons seemed longer and more pronounced than today. Winter was colder and brought much more snow. Spring carried a greater sense of excitement and promise. Summer never seemed to end. And fall was full of melancholy and serenity.I don't have these deep feelings of being connected with nature anymore. I'm too busy with the realities known to adulthood. The changes I notice now are mostly in my face and around my waistline. And, of course, although I am determined to fight it every inch of the way, I am aware that I'm engaged in a losing battle. I also remember my mother preparing for each season with an intense burst of cleaning and mending activities. Especially spring. Our home got a real makeover as soon as it was warm enough to open all the windows, letting fresh air breeze through every room. I was always amazed how much dust had settled in with us over the winter months. How could it get so dirty all by itself? I was young then and ignorant about the fact that all things deteriorate over time unless they are regularly cared for.I consider myself a health-conscious person. After all, that is my profession and I try to live by what I preach. But when I take stock every so often, I realize that inevitably some dust has settled in and I've been paying less attention than I could or should have.
Yes, it's true. Following months-that have stretched into years-of renovations and permits and preparations, not to mention a virtual reconstruction of the building as it was retrofitted to become earthquake-safe, Gordito's on Queen Anne is finally open.After all this time, you may have to see it with your own eyes to believe it-and I suggest you do. Although the menu offers an almost identical selection to that of its Greenwood flagship, the restaurant itself is more spacious, better-looking and more sophisticated than the original. It could be the décor, such as the Mexican-tiled walls and floors, or the fireplace (electric, but still visually effective) or the huge windows in the front that can be opened when the weather permits, as it did with Seattle's first delicious taste of spring during opening weekend.
For the second time in less than a year the Uptown Alliance hosted a monthly meeting that focused on pedestrian safety in Lower Queen Anne. This time the meeting moved from the cozy confines of the Alliance's home at 157 Roy to the spacious auditorium of Bayview Manor to make it easier for some of the residents there to attend.Approximately 35 people listened as police officers, a senior engineer for the Seattle Department of Transportation and the executive director of a pedestrian advocacy organization weighed in on the dangers of walking in Lower Queen Anne, specifically getting across what David Levinger of Feet First calls "The Intersection from Hell," Queen Anne Avenue North and Roy Street.Levinger and his group held a walk-in of sorts at the intersection last summer (July 24). He said the city had taken a few of his group's suggestions for improving conditions for foot travelers at the intersection but that there was much more work to be done.
DENNIS BARNES"I can't say that I have formed an opinion on that yet. There seems to be a lot of rumblings going on; I am waiting for the dust to settle."MARDI SILL"I think that it is fine. From what I have read he is a very professional guy, and the fact that he was in the military does not mean that he is just a military guy - he has a lot of experience. I think that he will do a good job."
The Seattle Department of Transportation has gone back to its original plan of building a new Magnolia Bridge just south of the existing one's present location, according to project manager Kirk Jones.The decision comes on the heels of a public uproar over an SDOT proposal to rebuild the bridge in the same location to save millions of dollars in rights-of-way costs while creating much longer delays in construction. "It didn't work out," Jones said of the proposal at a Magnolia Community Club meeting last week.However, savings on rights-of-way costs could still be achieved if the Port of Seattle agrees to a land swap, he said. "We will be continuing discussions about whether that can be done."Still, Jones cautioned, building a new bridge to the south of the old one is not a done deal. That's because the new span would be in a shoreline area, where land-use restrictions are more stringent than normal. "That may not be an easy sell," he conceded. "(But) we believe we have a strong enough case to overcome their objections," Jones said of state officials.Unlike the times when the Magnolia Bridge was out of commission following the 2001 Nisquallly earthquake and following the landslides several years earlier, the replacement plans will include a detour route. "We're looking at a surface route across North Bay," he said, adding that SDOT hopes to come up with "a couple of doable proposals." Depending on final construction plans, the detour would be in effect anywhere from 14 to 30 months, Jones said.The replacement bridge would be built in four segments. One would be an onramp off Elliott Avenue West, while the second would cross over the railroad tracks. "It's going to be an expensive section," Jones said of the second segment.The third segment would be the middle of the bridge. "We're looking at having some fairly long spans there," he said. The final segment would travel from the middle up to the bluff in Magnolia, and the columns could be treated in a way to make the bridge more attractive," he said.SDOT is working on a "type, size and location" study to determine what the bridge will look like, Jones said. "We'll have three significantly different bridge types," he said of proposals that should be ready for public review by sometime this summer.The SDOT plan still has to be approved by city officials, but that shouldn't take long, according to Jones. "We expect to get a final buy-off shortly," he said.Staff reporter Russ Zabel can be reached at rzabel@nwlink.com or 461-1309.
Traditionally smoky bars like the one in the Gim Wah Restaurant in Magnolia Village and the Mecca in Lower Queen Anne have seen a steep drop-off in business since the smoking ban went into effect six months ago, staffers say.However, in other drinking establishments where smoking wasn't such a big deal in the past, like Queen Anne's Paragon and Magnolia's Village Pub, there's been little change.Nena Tyson, a bartender at the Gim Wah, estimates business has dropped 30 to 35 percent since the ban went into effect in December. And that includes patronage in the restaurant section, where smoking had already been banned for some time, she said."It's ugly," Tyson lamented. Smoking regulars still come in, but they leave after having only a couple of drinks, she said. "They used to stay here for hours."The change has left Tyson to watch TV in an empty bar for sometimes hours at a time, she said. Tyson doesn't think the smoking ban is fair.
Traditionally smoky bars like the one in the Gim Wah Restaurant in Magnolia Village and the Mecca in Lower Queen Anne have seen a steep drop-off in business since the smoking ban went into effect six months ago, staffers say.However, in other drinking establishments where smoking wasn't such a big deal in the past, like Queen Anne's Paragon and Magnolia's Village Pub, there's been little change.Nena Tyson, a bartender at the Gim Wah, estimates business has dropped 30 to 35 percent since the ban went into effect in December. And that includes patronage in the restaurant section, where smoking had already been banned for some time, she said."It's ugly," Tyson lamented. Smoking regulars still come in, but they leave after having only a couple of drinks, she said. "They used to stay here for hours."The change has left Tyson to watch TV in an empty bar for sometimes hours at a time, she said. Tyson doesn't think the smoking ban is fair.
Plans are being finalized for a new water tank at the top of Queen Anne Hill, but the dearth of details presented at a recent city council urban-development-committee meeting raised fears that landscaping would be eliminated in the $10-million project."Landscaping standards are not being met," said Queen Anne Community Council board member Kirk Robbins, who attended the meeting. Landscaping is required by zoning regulations, he said.That news led to a flurry of e-mails between members of the community council. The messages indicated that the city had enough money for either the landscaping or adding architectural features to the tower - but not both.The consensus was that the community council should draft a letter to the city council opting for the architectural additions.
Hossein Soleymani, a HomeStreet Bank assistant vice-president and the branch manager of HomeState's Queen Anne location (1835 Queen Anne Ave. N.), is fun to talk to.Reporters spend a lot of time, notepad clenched tightly below a sweatily squeezed pencil, trying not to frown as we write down the self-interested blatherings of allegedly interesting people. But every once in a while because of our job we actually do get to meet people who are downright interesting, charming and witty.Soleymani fits that bill perfectly.The 47-year-old Iranian, who came to America and Seattle 27 years ago, with less than $2,000 in his pockets and very little English in his vocabulary, is a good old-fashioned American success story.<
Similar to the thinking behind the Seattle Children's Museum's hands-on educational art program, children's librarian Zane Goldmanis enthusiastically embraces the "Literacy Through Play" program at the Magnolia Library, putting everything in motion.Putting it in motion is a literal thing; when the new theme of "weather" was revealed on a recent Saturday, a total of 47 children between the ages of 2 and 6-with moms, dads and "nanas" in tow-passed through the series of clever art stations, choosing from up to 12 weather-related art activities.Five-year-old Tess Bittner, her brother Willem, 7, and mom Kelly were all whisked to the art center by Goldmanis with a sweeping gesture and invitation to give it a try. Try they did.
The festival that ate Seattle is hungrier than ever
For the second year - in what the gallery sees as a new tradition - Howard/Mandville Gallery in downtown Kirkland will present its "Love of the Land" landscape show. The show features more than 100 paintings by 31 artists with, some of whom are collected at the international level. The exhibit runs May 5-31. The opening reception is May 5, from 5:30- 8 p.m. According to Linda McCrystal, who handles the gallery's press, the exhibit is seen as an "opportunity for Seattle area art collectors to see the largest grouping of the contemporary realism landscapes. Our goal is to allow people to see some really high-quality collectible landscape work," she says.
"These strange and anxious times make the comfort and joy of plants all the more compelling. The green world is a powerful cushion against the shock waves of bad news and the ongoing worries that have become routine lately. The garden has always been a refuge, and never more than now.The healing act of planting is also one of faith and, perhaps, even of defiance against evil and pessimism. Whether filling a few containers on a balcony or revegetating acres of native woodland, we are making a positive difference in a world that needs all the green we can give it."The above quotation is from Michael Lee's 2002 catalogue for his Colvos Creek Nursery. (Located on Vashon Island, 206-749-9508, mlla@mindspring.com.) For some of my readers the above paragraphs may have a familiar ring to them. For the past two or three years I have started my May column with this quotation. And I still think his words speak so eloquently to our times.
There's a question I often hear as a wellness practitioner: "Is it covered by insurance?" This thought has also occupied my own mind as I ponder what wellness supports I will and will not allow myself. I've come to realize that aside from periodic screening exams, "health" insurance primarily provides for response to disease that has already taken hold. I choose to proactively support my health. I think we all have a right to optimal well being both as individuals and as a society. How do you define "well being"? Take a moment to wonder how you would like to feel (emotionally, physically, mentally and spiritually) every day, and how your life experience might differ if this ideal state were normal for you. Optimal well being enables us to expand our horizons, to experience joy and to contribute meaningfully.
The way I remember them in my childhood, the seasons seemed longer and more pronounced than today. Winter was colder and brought much more snow. Spring carried a greater sense of excitement and promise. Summer never seemed to end. And fall was full of melancholy and serenity. I don't have these deep feelings of being connected with nature any more. I'm too busy with the realities known to adulthood. The changes I notice now are mostly in my face and around my waistline. And, of course, although I am determined to fight it every inch of the way, I am aware that I'm engaged in a losing battle. I also remember my mother preparing for each season with an intense burst of cleaning and mending activities. Especially spring. Our home got a real makeover as soon as it was warm enough to open all the windows. I was always amazed how much dust had settled in with us over the winter months. How could it get so dirty all by itself?