Two Ravenna craft fairs this Saturday (plus shopping childcare)

December 1, 2010 by 1 Comment

‘Tis the season for local craft fairs! And Ravenna is lucky enough to have two of them happening in the neighborhood this weekend.

LaVassar Florists and Roaring Mouse Creative Arts Studio (7530 20th Ave NE and and 7526 20th Ave NE, respectively) are co-hosting a
Holiday Open House and Craft Fair this Saturday from 9 am-4 pm.

Activities during those hours includes (via Karen at Roaring Mouse):

  • Craft Fair by local vendors all day
  • Children’s activities with “The Yoga Nanny” from 9 am- noon
  • Visit with Mrs. Santa from noon to 2 pm
  • Roaring Mouse Parents’ Bake Sale to benefit the Special Dietary Needs Pantry at Hopelink Food Bank in Shoreline from 9 am-3 pm

For more information, contact information@roaringmouse.org.

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The other craft fair in the neighborhood this Saturday is the 3rd Annual Ravenna Holiday Arts & Crafts Sale at the Ravenna Eckstein Community Center (6535 Ravenna Ave NE) from 10 am-4 pm.

Via an email from the RECC’s coordinator, Trevor Gregg:

Come and shop for unique hand-crafted holiday gifts in the neighborhood, while your kids enjoy the kids play area and crafts table. Your purchase of gifts from local arts and craftspeople will support programs at the Ravenna Eckstein Community Center.

Now in our third year, we have an expanded roster of artistic offerings: ceramics, hand-stitched and hand-woven goods, wooden cutting boards, beautiful upcycled home goods, candles, jewelry, whimsical clocks, fine art photographs, note cards, handmade original prints, hand blown glass ornaments and vases, and more!

We’ll have a kids art activity area and play space! We’ll also have a bake sale benefiting the community center’s teen program. To warm you up, soup will be offered by volunteers from the Ravenna Community Garden.

Bring your family and complete your holiday shopping close to home!

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Another activity at the RECC that day worth mentioning is the Drop ‘n Shop. From 9 am-noon you can leave your 2-10-year-old child(ren) in capable hands while you get some holiday shopping done.

That’s THREE HOURS, people.

Drop ‘n Shop includes “activities to keep ‘em busy, breakfast or lunch, snacks, and lots of fun!” (sayeth the Fall 2010 Parks and Recreation Department catalog)

There is a cost ($10, 1st child $8, 2nd child $5), which I don’t completely understand but will check into.  But, however you do the math, it’s a great deal for three hours of childcare.

There will be one more Drop ‘n Shop this month (on December 22nd from 6-9 pm). But you’ll be all done with your shopping by then, won’t you? Of course you will.

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Stay Safe: In Case of an Earthquake

November 30, 2010 by Leave a Comment

It’s Tuesday once again, which beings us another STAY SAFE column by Ravenna’s Safety Girl, Shannon.

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Earthquakes are the major natural hazard we’re prone to here in the Pacific Northwest, and the one our local services spend the most time and energy preparing for. You can keep yourself safer during an earthquake by remembering to:

Drop… cover… and hold.

Drop

Get low to the ground, but don’t run outside or into a doorway.

Cover

Within the first 3-4 seconds of shaking, get under a nearby table, desk, or sturdy counter. If there is nothing nearby you can get under, crouch next to heavy furniture or an inside wall, and cover your head with your arms.

Hold

Hold onto the table legs, desk, or furniture you’ve taken cover with. The strong vibrations of an earthquake could cause it to drift away from you if you’re not hanging onto it! Keep your cover overhead by holding on.

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What if I’m outside?

If you’re near a building, go into the building and take cover in a safe place. In the United States, you’re in far more danger immediately outside a building than inside it.

If you’re in an open area outside, sit down and cover your head with your arms.

What if I’m not at home or work?

If you’re in a movie theater or stadium, get down between the rows of seats. If you’re at the grocery store, crouch down next to your cart and hold onto it.

If you’re driving, pull to the side of the road unless there is a tall building next to you. If you’re on a bridge, keep driving until you are off the bridge and then pull over, unless it is clearly unsafe to keep crossing the bridge. After the shaking stops, do not get out of the car until you or a bystander makes sure there are no power lines touching your car.

I thought we were supposed to stand in doorways?

Nope, it’s been proven that this is less safe. In older buildings this was true because doorways were designed to be load-bearing, but new construction methods have made doorways unsafe places to be during an earthquake.

It is also difficult to stay standing within a doorway during an earthquake, and during a quake the door will swing back and forth due to the vibrations. You don’t want to add smashed fingers and knuckles to your list of concerns afterward! Stay out of the doorways.

Can’t get enough? Download a PDF summary here.

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Add to the burglary deterrent list: SNOW

November 28, 2010 by Leave a Comment

Two great crime deterrents that go great together

Maple Leaf Life beat us to the story, but we think it’s worth mentioning again: The map of property crimes during the recent snows is a good un’:

Property crime map for our area from November 21 through 27 (via Seattle Crime). Blue dots represent property crime activity prior to the snowfall.

But tomorrow is another day, and that day is a snow-less Monday. With most of the burglaries in our area happening during daylight hours during the week, it’s time to get back into our crime deterrent habits:

  • Lock all doors and windows
  • Leave some lights on to look as though someone is home (the sun goes down now at 4 pm, remember?)
  • If you’ve got an alarm system, ARM IT
  • If you see something suspicious, CALL IT IN (Seattle Police non-emergency number is (206) 625-5011)
  • Take your valuables out of your underwear drawer and put them in your bread drawer (or somewhere else just as unguessable)
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Happy Thanksgiving

November 25, 2010 by Leave a Comment

Ravenna Blog Jr. helping to get the Thanksgiving turkey home from a snowy trek to the View Ridge PCC on Tuesday

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Missing a part of your frozen flock?

November 23, 2010 by 2 Comments

A lost chicken has been found around 26th Avenue NE and NE 62nd Street!

If you live in that area, check your flock! If you’re down one hen, contact me and I’ll pass along the fowl finder’s information.

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Snow Day #2 in pictures (updated)

November 23, 2010 by 3 Comments

Round 2: Some pictures taken on the way to and fro the View Ridge PCC, where my Thanksgiving Turkey was awaiting pick-up.

Fountain of ICE

There’s a house down the street from me with a rather fascinating collection of yard art, among which is this fountain.

You can’t quite see the ice in this still photograph, but let me tell you: Everything but that horizontal jet of water is FROZEN. Can’t wait to see what the fountain looks like tomorrow!

Festive flora

These are a couple of savvy sledders at about NE 68th St and 28th Ave NE. Note the presence of helmets, keeping their noggins both warm AND safe.

Northeast Library

"It's STILL fall!" they shouted, as we walked past.

Headed back home, with turkey in tow

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Round 1: Just back from a brief walk-about. Here are some of my pictures.

East-bound NE 65th St, in front of The Herbalist

Close-up of NE 65th St - bare and wet on the roadway most traveled

There’s a lot of side streets in this part of Ravenna that make for great sledding. And I would consider NE 68th Street as it crosses 20th Avenue NE to be the biggest and best.

Downward and west-bound, and sliding through NE 68th St and 20th Ave NE

But in order to slide it safely, you need a couple of responsible-types to stand on 20th to hold traffic.

Guard Number 1, for north-bound traffic on 20th Ave NE

Guard Number 2, watching for south-bound traffic on 20th Ave NE

The snow-covered hilly streets around here are a pain for drivers, but perfect for snow days like today.  And, on a personal note, I just love seeing everyone coming out to play, and keeping it safe for everyone.

Yard waste bin sledding "marker" at NE 70th St and 21st Ave NE (looking west)

I saw a few of these on my walk as well: Big plastic bins or tubs in the center of intersections, at the bottoms of sledding hills.  Definitely not as safe as having an actual person looking out for traffic, though.

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Stay Safe: Driving in Winter Storms

November 23, 2010 by 4 Comments

Resident Ravenna Safety Girl, Shannon, has another emergency preparedness column for us this Tuesday. You may find it extremely relevant to your lives in the next couple days.

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East-bound NE 75th St at 4 pm on November 22

You’ve all now seen first-hand the organized, thoughtful way most Seattle residents respond to winter weather. Here are a few more things to keep in mind as you go through the next several days:

Before you go

Keep your gas tank full

A glance at the television shows you the importance of this one. In heavy winter weather, there is no way to know how long it will actually take you to get somewhere, so a full tank will give you peace of mind and get you home. It’s also important to keep your car full of gas when the temperature drops, as it will help prevent your gas line from freezing.

Carry a storm kit

Before leaving for a trip or even a long commute, equip your car with blankets, bottled water and food (a jar of peanut butter or a bag of trail mix is good), flares or a safety triangle, car charger, and anything else you think is necessary for your trip. Put it all in a cardboard box and drop it in the trunk, and you’re good for the winter.

Remember to include a sack or two of cat litter for traction. If you are skidding, dig out the area just in front of your tires and pour some litter there to help get out of a slick spot.

On the road

Chain up

If you have chains for your car, make sure you know how to use them… the side of the road in Snoqualmie Pass is not the ideal time to learn the quirks of your particular set of chains. When you go out to chain up, pull the passenger-side floor mat out of the car to kneel on as you work– much better than lying in the snow. Use cable ties to help secure the loose ends of your chains, especially if your set just has S-hooks at the end.

Remember, if your car is chained up it is NOT safe to drive over 30 miles per hour. You don’t want to drive faster than that anyway though; if you’re driving at near-highway speeds and one end of your chain comes unfastened, it will chew up 4+ inches of your car fender in seconds.

Drive safely

Use your noggin here… if it’s a steep hill, don’t drive down it. If local residents have blocked off a side street, assume they have a good reason for warning you away from it. Stick to arterials, and leave extra time to get to your destination. If you can avoid driving in to work, do so- it’s safer to be on a Metro bus or a train in winter weather.

Learn to steer out of a skid! Braking is what will get you in trouble on snow and ice. Road Trip America has more information about how to recover from a skid.

And, of course, if you can telecommute or take the day off, it’s safest to just stay home in snowy and icy conditions.

An aside about power outages

If you’re at home and your power goes out, turn off your main breaker until the power comes back on (you can tell by watching the streetlights). Especially around dinnertime or during chores, it’s hard to remember what was turned on and what was hot after the electricity has been off for several hours.

Many fires are started after power outages end because people forget that they were cooking, using irons or hair appliances, or doing other work when the electricity was cut off. If we’re in the middle of cooking dinner and the power goes out, what do we tend to do? Go out to eat! In the hustle to get oriented and find a place to go, many folks forget that they left the stove on and so come home to a fire afterward. Turning electricity off at the breaker during an outage will keep you out of this situation.

You can get more local information at takewinterbystorm.org (they have a mobile site as well) or @WinterByStorm. Stay safe out there!

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Snow-bound information (last updated at 4:44 pm)

November 23, 2010 by 6 Comments

I’m going to keep this page updated throughout the day on things that are open, closed, working, frozen, covered, etc.

Please email in your updates as you come across any information, and I’ll add them to the list.

Furthermore, if you have a question about whether something is open, closed, working, etc., send it on in!

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Newest information at the top:

Seattle Public Libraries – Closing today at 5 pm. Open Wednesday from 12-5 pm, and closed on Thursday (Thanksgiving).

Harrissa Mediterranean Cuisine – OPEN as usual, AND on Thanksgiving

Crepe Cafe – CLOSED

Ravenna-Bryant Community Center – Officially open from 1-4pm today. Tomorrow looks like 11 am-6 pm, but that is not official yet.

View Ridge (and other) PCC – OPEN (via twitter)

Seattle Public Utilities (garbage, recycling and yard waste) – Put your bins out on their normal day of collection. If they are not collected, leave them out for the next day. If your bins have still not collected after two days, put them back out again on your next regular pick-up day.

NO SOLID WASTE PICKUPS TODAY. Put bins out on next regular pickup day (twice as much for no extra charge). Updates here: www.seattle.gov/util.

Seattle Public Libraries – open at 1 pm as warming centers
Parks/Community Centers – to close at 4 pm

Postal Service – You know the jingle. They should be out there.

Seattle Public Schools – CLOSED. That goes for classes and activities alike.

University of Washington – CLOSED. They call it “suspending operations,” but they ARE a university, after all.

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Snow! (updatedx2)

November 21, 2010 by Leave a Comment

UPDATE (Monday evening): Two LOVELY photos from reader Annie (click images to view full size).

UPDATE (Monday morning): I took a Ravenna snow picture to start things off.

The car in the driveway at 7 am.

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As I write this, from a church basement in downtown Seattle, it is snowing in Ravenna.

The lens on my camera is not *quite* good enough to catch any shots of snow in Northeast Seattle from here, but if YOU have any good pictures, feel free to send them in.

In times of interesting weather, I’d love to have an open post going on the site that we can keep update with pictures from the neighborhood.

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Local things to see or do this weekend

November 18, 2010 by Leave a Comment

If you haven’t caught my cold by this weekend, here are some local events worth leaving the house for.

Saturday

  • Pancake Art Contest (Ravenna-Eckstein Community Center, 6535 Ravenna Ave NE, 9-11 am; breakfast admission $3, Pancake Artist entry fee $5) – Enjoy a pancake breakfast (including toppings, bacon and beverages) and/or show off your pancake decorating skills in competition. Prizes awarded to each age group. Money benefits the Ravenna Community Garden (Project Ravenna Phase 2).
  • Will Bake For Food (University Congregational Church’s Ostrander Hall, 4515 16th Ave NE, 10 am-2 pm; food donations or money) – Over 60 local food bloggers hold a bake sale for Northwest Harvest, their baked goods exchanged for your donations. Read the Ravenna Blog post about this event, or head to the Will Bake For Food website for more information.
  • Free Wine Tastings (McCarthy & Schiering, 6500 Ravenna Ave NE, 11 am-5 pm) – Two try this Saturday are two 2005 Corliss Estates Reds. Read more about them here.

Sunday

  • Holiday Bazaar and Bake Sale (Ida Culver House Ravenna, 2315 NE 65th St, 11 am-5 pm) = Selection of homemade jewelry, quilts, paintings, organic dog treats, greeting cards, baked goods and more will be for sale. Proceeds benefit the retirement community’s garden club.
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