November 2016

To the editor:

Thank you so much for sending out a reporter to cover plans to demolish Wesley Gardens in Des Moines. The reporter covered the sources well and fairly. Now the total demolition has begun with gravely consequences for our elderly residents. Our elderly residents if not the Gardens’ administration would welcome continuing coverage of what’s transpiring here. I would welcome an interview to get the ball rolling.

Attached is a photo of the demolition occurring in the large space behind the main building where the proposed amenities are taking place. I have a plan for using this space in a way that would obviate the need to demolish the main building.

On Tuesday, November 22, 2016, Navos, a leading community mental health provider in the Northwest, hosted a holiday dinner for clients; for many of them, who live in poverty due to their mental illness, this will be their only holiday celebration.

This is the 17th year Navos has hosted the holiday dinner, which was held at Navos’ Mental Health & Wellness Center, in Burien. The dinner was prepared and served by Navos staff members, Board of Directors, and community supporters, over 90 people worked together to host the event. Navos prepared over 600 pounds of turkey, 700 servings of potatoes and stuffing, gallons of gravy and cranberries, hundreds of rolls and over 45 pumpkin pies.

At the event, Navos also provided each guest with a basic hygiene kit that included items like shampoo, a comb, brush, toothbrush, toothpaste, dental floss, soap and deodorant. Helping our clients with basic hygiene items, improves their health, quality of life, and dignity. Navos also distributed warm hats and gloves, which are much needed this time of year.

On December 10 & 11, two of the ensembles of Northwest Associated Arts will present their annual Christmas programs at the Highline Performing Arts Center in Burien.
 
Saturday, December 10 at 2pm, KidSounds and YouthSounds join forces for a fun-filled concert, Christmas Treats. Artistic Directors Colleen Thomas-Reitsma and Kerstin Shaffer have programmed a concert guaranteed to deliver a healthy serving of cheer that includes all the familiar and favorite musical songs of the season.
 
Sunday, December 11 at 2pm, ChoralSounds will present WinterLight. Artistic Director Ryan Ellis has prepared a program that celebrates the energy and beauty of the holiday season. Keith Hampton’s joyous gospel arrangement True Light is paired with favorites like Keep Your Lamps and Eric Whitacre’s stunning commission Glow, written for Disney’s World of Color: Winter Dreams. There will also be a dash of fun with a medley from Elf: The Musical and a spirited Twelve Days After Christmas, a moving performance of the Bing Crosby/David Bowie duet Little Drummer Boy and Peace on Earth, and many other choral gems.
 

By Amanda Knox
 
I’m actually glad Chris was just too old to be into Harry Potter back in the day. Although he was a fantasy and sci-fi nerd who read voraciously and regularly played Dungeons and Dragons, in 1997—when Sorcerer’s Stone was published—he was also fifteen. There were limits.
 
I, on the other hand, was the perfect age—ten. Thanks to the fact that my mom was an elementary school teacher who stayed apace of children’s literature, I received a U.S. first edition copy for my birthday just a month after it was published, and straight away, I read it all the way through. For the release of every book in the series since, I made a point of standing hours in line at Barnes and Noble, dressed in a hand-made purple cloak, waiting for midnight to strike so I could purchase my copy and stay up all night reading. I matured alongside the books. They made me laugh, cry, think. I returned to them again and again, read them in German and Italian. I even studied the supplemental material—Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, Quidditch Through the Ages—and I gratefully absorbed Eliezer Yudkowsky’s epic fanfiction, Harry Potter and the Methods of Rationality.
 

The other day, the laptop computer I use for writing this splendid column starting behaving oddly. The written words were becoming repetitive and repetitive; the writing began to have mizpelings---and many of the paragraphs ended in mid-senten.

So I drove my laptop over to the same place I’d purchased it only four years ago. A guy sitting behind a counter called “The Genius Bar” gave it a quick once-over and then stated, “This keyboard is pretty dirty.” Only a genius could have come up with that. It made me think I should have taken my computer to a dry cleaners instead.

But upon further examination, Einstein’s doppelganger announced, “I’m not sure we can fix this thing. It’s a vintage model and it’s tough to get parts.”

Vintage? What did that mean? Did it mean that my laptop was an enduring classic---or that it looked like I had spilled a glass of classic 2006 Dom Perignon on the keyboard?

By Katy G. Wilkens, MS, RD

I just picked the last of my figs in a downpour. Figs are a great fall crop, available long after tomatoes and other heat-loving fruits are gone. While I think of figs as a Mediterranean crop, they do very well in our western Washington maritime climate.

A quick walk through old neighborhoods like Ballard or Wallingford will show you big fig trees growing next to old homes. If you aren’t sure where to look, just follow the birds; if people aren’t picking figs, the birds will be. If you don’t have a supply in your yard or a friend’s, try your local farmers market.

Figs are high in antioxidants, fiber and B vitamins, and fresh figs are low in calories; once dried, the calories are more concentrated. I love serving fresh cut figs over homemade yogurt with dark honey—it’s the best breakfast there is.

Daughter hears burglar in the night

Seattle Police responded to home burglary at the 600 block of N.W. 86th Street on November 13. The complainant said he investigated the house after his daughter told him she heard a noise the night before. He said a window screen on the east side of the house had been “cut.” Then he located a window on the other side of his house that was completely opened. The complainant’s home is a rental property and the adjacent unit of the property has a rental sign on it. Police advised the landlord of the site that “For Rent” sign attracts potential renters in addition to potentially unwanted prowlers. Nothing was taken from the home.

On Thanksgiving morning hundreds of runners and spectators met at 9:00 a.m. at the intersection of 32nd Avenue N.W. and N.W. 85th Street in North Ballard for the 10th Annual Seattle turkey 5K Trot.

This year nearly 4,500 participants showed up in their best feathers and gobblers to run knowing that all proceeds are donated to the Ballard Food Bank.

According to the BFB, with help from sponsor, Coastal Transportation, the Trot raised $120,000 this year.

The primary mode of funding for the food bank comes from local donors and businesses. This year early bird registration specials were $25 for adults and $15 for children. The funds will go toward helping people in need in nearby North Seattle communities, including single mothers with children. According to the BFB, over 1,200 households have access to food and other resources at the Ballard Food Bank each week. Some of those resources include hygiene items such as toothpaste and detergents. Of those households served, 29 percent are seniors, and 13 percent are children under the age of 18 and 20 percent are homeless.

UPDATE 12-1-16

The HALA meeting set for Dec. 1 at Shelby's Bistro has drawn a lot of attention and The Dept. of Neighborhoods, concerned that there would not be enough capacity has added the Uptown Espresso across the street for those wishing to attend.

Here's their announcement:
"We heard concerns about having enough room for our West Seattle Open House at Shelby’s (capacity is 80). Uptown Espresso has graciously offered us additional space at their café, just across the street. We will now be at both locations on December 7th, 5:30-7:30. Time is at 5:30 to accommodate the Southwest District Council Meeting which begins at 6:30pm."

The Morgan Community Association held their own meeting Nov. 29, drawing a lot of interest in the community.

Original Post 11-28-16

By Peggy Sturdivant

Green paper angels are hanging in the window at Secret Garden Bookshop, and behind the counter and above the book displays. On every angel there is a name, an age and a clue. The angels are not decoration, although they are festive. The angels are like secrets passed between benevolent spies to connect a child who would not otherwise receive a book for the holidays with a stranger who wants to gift a book to that child. Book angels.

Although Secret Garden Bookshop has a long history of gift trees it had become too difficult to make connections between specific schools and specific children. Enter Michele Bacon and her family, relocated to Ballard three years ago after two years in New Zealand. Bacon, author most recently of the Young Adult novel “Life Before” had a holiday tradition of giving books thanks to Anderson’s Bookshops in Illinois.