October 2010

Georgie Bright Kunkel, West Seattle Herald columnist and stand up comic at the age of 90 made her Admiral Theater appearance today Sunday, Oct. 3 at an event called "Tea With Georgie" . Produced in association with Dinah Brein-McClellan of the Admiral the event saw close to 100 people laughing and being entertained by Kunkel's spritely mix of memory and observation.

"I got here at noon today!" said Kunkel, "Imagine someone my age getting here that early and spending all day!"

Kunkel was one of the original Rosie the Riveters during the war effort and helped to establish Washington State's first Chapter of NOW. 'My Sex Secrets by Grandma' one of her three mini-books was available for sale after the show where she was warmly greeted. As flashes went off capturing photos of the performer she said, "I feel like a rock star."

When West Seattle resident Jaqueline Ann Standley Scott passed away Sept. 20 at age 85, a major link to Seattle’s curious past was broken. She was the granddaughter of Joseph Edward “Daddy” Standley, who, in 1899, opened what would become Ye Olde Curiosity Shop on the downtown waterfront. He also created Totem Place, his curiosity-crammed compound high on a Palm Avenue bluff adjacent to Hamilton Viewpoint Park.

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Jaqueline was the daughter of his son, Edward Venus Standley and wife, Edna. “Daddy” was born in 1854 and died in 1940. Edward Venus, who took over the shop with his brother-in-law, Russell James, passed away just six years later. James’ son Joe took it over from then.

“Our family was all a little Adams Family-esque,” acknowledged Jaqueline’s daughter Christina Scott, a Vashon Islander and flight attendant for a major airline, who said “Daddy” named his store after the Dickens book, “The Old Curiosity Shop.” It is still open down the street from the original spot, these days a bit heavier on tourist chachkas.

Families of South Seattle Community College students are invited to attend a FREE workshop where they will learn how to support the educational progress of their family member attending the college.

Parents, grandparents, siblings, partners, children, and spouses can all positively impact the success of a college student, and this informative workshop will provide them with the tools they need to make a difference.

Attendees will learn about what it is like to be a college student at South; obtain information about campus resources to help students; and discover the many important ways they can help their student get the most out of the college experience. The workshop is ideal for new students and their families, to encourage them to get a strong start on their college career. It is also extremely useful for current students and their families as well.

Department representatives will be on hand to explain resources available to support students, including: Financial Aid, Educational Support Services, Safety and Security, WorkSource/Career Services, Advising and the Library.

I’ve been watching my Roma and heirloom tomato plants, but things are not looking promising. The hot weather never arrived to redden these tomatoes.

Time to think about recipes for green tomatoes and tomatillos. Tomatillos are cousins of the green tomato, often used in Mexican cooking. They have a papery husk that you peel off before using.

Put your green tomatoes to use and try the recipes below.

Salsa Cruda

Finely chop green tomatoes or tomatillos and toss with chopped jalapeño, minced garlic and chopped cilantro. You can also add this mixture, plus fresh lime juice, to mashed avocado for an extra green salsa.

Green Tomatoes with Goat Cheese

• 4 medium green tomatoes
• 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
• 2 teaspoons minced fresh oregano leaves
• 1 cup crumbled goat cheese (feta or Chevre)
• 4 teaspoons olive oil
• Ground pepper to taste

A Father officiated the annual Blessing of the Animals, beginning with prayer in the lobby at Providence Mount. St. Vincent. He then continues upstairs to bless the resident fish and other critters.

October 4 was originally chosen for World Animal Day because it is the feast day of Francis of Assisi, and started in Florence, Italy, in 1931. Then Rover and Fluffy became blessed either on the closest Sunday to Oct. 4, or the following Sunday.

The priest asked the media not to photograph him or refer to his name, which we respected.

The Ballard High School girls swim team dominated, in the words of coach Leo Jaeger, Garfield, winning 10 of 12 events on the way to a 114-72 victory Oct. 1.

Ballard's 200-yard medley relay team of Annemarie Thayer, Gailyn Portelance, Luisa Chan and Galen Bond set a state qualifying mark of 1:51.55 and won the event.

Thayer set an individual state qualifying mark with her time of 59.44 in the 100-yard backstroke. She also placed first in the 200-yard freestyle (1:58.72) and was part of the winning Ballard 400-year freestyle relay team with Bond, Chan and Janine Miller.

Bond placed first in the 200-yard individual medley (2:15.53) and the 100-yard freestyle (55.45).

Portelance won two individual events as well – the 50-yard freestyle (26.63) and the 100-yard breaststroke (1:12.30).

Ballard's Janine Warren earned the Beavers the win in the 100-yard fly stroke with a time of 1:04.06.

Finally, the Ballard team of Portelance, Warren, Miller and Anna Cechony took first place in the 200-yard freestyle relay with a time of 1:51.30.

The only two events the Beavers did not win were diving and the 500-yard freestyle.

The result of its Oct. 1 KingCo game was pretty much the same as the previous two for the Ballard High School football team – a thumping at the hands of its opponent.

Woodinvillie High School scored 28 points in the second quarter to take a 38-0 halftime lead on the way to an easy 50-0 victory.

Ryland Longoni passed for two touchdowns and Michael Phillips ran for two more for Woodinville.

In the past three games, the Beavers, who fell to 0-3 in KingCo and 1-4 overall, have been outscored 145-0.

Ballard will try to turn things around and get on the board against Garfield High School at 7:30 p.m. Oct. 8 at Memorial Stadium.

Although the Atlanta-based homeless organization Stand Up For Kids has only been around for 20 years, many of those it serves were not even born yet. The all-volunteer non-profit is now in 45 cities in 23 states and serves kids living on the street, generally between ages 13 and 24 years old. Volunteers seek them out and offer food, clothes, and information about other resources for shelter and safety.

Stephanie Hansen, a nurse who has lived in West Seattle for 11 years, is the Director of Outreach for the Seattle chapter of Stand Up For Kids. That chapter began in June, 2009, and she joined last December. She is a grad student at Northwest University and studied counseling psychology.

“Learning counseling skills was key when I got to go out and talk to kids and listen to them tell their stories,” said Hansen, who has a teen-aged daughter. “We offer food and hygiene items, clothing, blankets and tarps. We hand out resource cards to new transplants. Volunteers meet downtown, walk around and find kids who are homeless, and ask if they know other homeless youth. We service kids where they are, and direct them to drop-in centers.”

There are treats you can resist and then there are the other kind. The name and description of the treats made by West Seattle's Toby Matasar is likely to cause your mouth to say a silent prayer.
Handmade Peanut Brittle Brownies - Bittersweet Fudgie Brownie Bars with our Handmade Peanut Brittle.

Matasar, owner of the popular Eats Market Cafe at Westwood Village, launched her side business Sweet Toby's (but under the business name of Chouchou Foods) about 18 months ago and it has done very well. So well, she's expanding it with the introduction of more sweet treats, available for now only at Whole Foods in the Seattle area.

She's a 2nd generation Pastry Chef of 15 years, who trained in New York and Paris before moving to Seattle 10 years ago.

Eats Market Cafe has been up and running since 2004.

The witty, irreverent and pun-filled West Seattle FunBlog has been up and running now for over a year and a half and still going strong. Operated by nine West Seattle professionals with “real jobs,” the website is their hobby, their sandbox. Its niche is lampooning other blogs, other news media, and life in West Seattle and beyond, using and abusing sarcasm, political incorrectness, and adult innuendo, including the frequent dropping of the f-bomb without mercy.

The Funbloggers invited the West Seattle Herald to interview them during their weekly meeting at Big Al Brewing in White Center. Problem is, getting factual quotes from this wacky crew seemed as challenging as interviewing Marcel Marceau with a sore throat. That’s not because they were the silent types, but because they chose anonymity and used pseudonyms, covered their faces when photographed, and, who are we kidding? They like to drink beer, which loosens their tongues. And their tongues can get very loose. Heavy editing of their remarks was involved.