Ahhh, that's my neighborhood.

Some neighborhoods in Seattle have a very strong sense of place.  I say FREMONT, and you may think of trolls and Lenin statues. I say U-DISTRICT, and you think of 27 Thai restaurants next to 75 Indian restaurants and lots of college students. PIONEER SQUARE = Pergola, Elliott Bay Book Company and panhandlers.

But when I say RAVENNA, what do you think of?

Today, I’m standing in my parking strip, tearing out ivy, making room for sunflowers and corn, when my across-the-street neighbor walks over. She offers up her extra composted cow manure and her wheelbarrow to cart it over with, and I hand over a jar of icky crawly grubs my son and I have collected as treats for her chickens.

My Ravenna: Cow manure and squirming grubs. And good neighbors.

What’s your RAVENNA?

No times listed yet, but you still might want to get the home game days on your calendar: Who doesn’t love Husky game traffic?!

• September 11 – SYRACUSE
• September 18 – NEBRASKA
• October 9 – ARIZONA STATE
• October 16 – OREGON STATE
• October 30 – STANFORD
• November 13 – UCLA

Full schedule here.

And, if you happen to be new ’round these parts, the City of Seattle has a Husky Stadium Football Game Day Traffic Information page. But I would say that the biggest effect on our local traffic is the last point:

• At the conclusion of the game, NE 25th Street between Montlake Blvd NE and NE 75th Street becomes one-way northbound for approximately two hours.

Well, that and all the people sneaking up the side streets trying to get to 75th.

Anyway.  GO DAWGS.

I did this feature for a while on the now-deceased Ravenna Nation blog, and I kinda miss it.

Here’s a couple of recent-ish local restaurant inspections:

• PAIR (March 18) – Proper Consumer Advisory not posted for raw or undercooked foods, inadequate equipment for temperature control, and improper cooling procedures
• SUBWAY 7347 35th Av Ne (February 25) – In-use utensils improperly stored

Can’t speak for the SUBWAY as I’ve never eaten there, but I’d still take PAIR over them ANY DAY.

Here’s the homepage for King County’s Food Protection Program, should you want to use your facebooking time in a more constructive way.

Did you get your Seattle Public Utilities CurbWaste & Conserve Newsletter in the mail this week, like I did?

And did you flip right to the back to see what FREE STUFF you get this season, like I did?

Here’s the goods, and how to get them:

• Two FREE bags of Cedar Grove Compost – Redeemable between April 15-May 28 at the Seattle Conservation Corps @ Sand Point

• A FREE Green Kitchen Kit (includes an EcoSafe Kitchen Collector, compostable bags, a food scraper, CFL light bulb and a reusable shopping bag) – also starting April 15, lasting as long as supplies do, at the University neighborhood Service Center

Makes sense that Cedar Grove passes along some free compost to SPU users — it’s where all our food waste ends up. Here’s a video tour of the Cedar Grove Compost facility in Everett.

KEEP IT UP, SEATTLE. I’d like four free bags next year.

Now that I’m old — okay, just mid-30s, but it seems old to me — I’ve decided that I should start taking better care of myself. So I joined a gym, which I attend semi-frequently…when I’m not on the Cadbury Mini-Egg diet that I seem to be following this week.

My gym-of-choice had to be nearby, cheap, and have childcare. And the Northgate 24 Hour Fitness (above Pacific Fabrics, next to the post office) fit the bill. It’s teeny, has no showers, but I can get there quickly, work out, and get out, which is what I wanted anyways.

The bad news: It’s closing.

The good news: Later this year, it’s relocating about a block away, and getting four times bigger.

Woo hoo!

Here’s the original article from the Seattle Times about how gyms around the Puget Sound region and beyond are stepping up to fill empty retail space during this current economic retail pullback.

Ah, nothing like spending a bracing, blustery morning at a composting toilet opening!  Pictures of the exterior, and a bit of info, here. Also in attendance were several key members of the 10-year-long effort to get the thing, cameras from KOMO and KING, and one Ciscoe Morris.

And, yes, there was a toilet paper tearing ceremony.

All the hoopla aside, here’s what you really want to know: HOW TO USE THE THING.

• The toilet will be unlocked at all hours, at all times of the year (though, once inside, the door is lockable, of course). A motion-detecting security light will pop on at night, and nearly University Prep will be leaving some of their outdoor lights on as well.
• If you only need the station for urination, use the toilet as you normally would (80% post-consumer content TP is provided), note your contribution to the tally sheet, hit the hand sanitizer, and you’re on your way.
• If a number two is what you’re there to do, there’s another step: a scoop of wood chips atop your dooty, once you’ve done your duty. The system is designed to break down waste aerobically (in the presence of oxygen); the wood chips provide some space in the waste for the bacteria to do their thing. Again, note your contribution on the tally sheet, sanitize, and go on your way.
• Should you leave a “personal mess” in the facilities, or track in dirt or such, environmentally-friendly cleaning products and a broom are located inside the facility as well.
• As for odors from the toilet, there is a solar-powered fan which keeps the people section under negative pressure and vents the poo section out the roof.

Here is a diagram of the toilet at the manufacturer’s website.

Now, before you go driving across town with a stomach full of bran muffins, the Picaloo (we voted on the name today, too) is not openly looking for “donations.” But, should you happen to be in the neighborhood, or checking out the Picardo P-Patch, and your chili dog lunch has met its untimely end, then, well, by all means…you know.

Should you, dear reader, want to know more about the entire endeavor, whether from a usage standpoint or from a How Can I Get One For My Own P-Patch/Backyard/Year-Round Outdoor Preschool, here are two contact points for you:

• Gwen Hestercamp, Chair of the Composting Toilet Committee: gwenhestercamp (at) hotmail.com
• Trent Elwing, resident composting toilet know-it-all: trelwing (at) gmail.com

The Maple Leafer just posted a nice list of northeast pub trivia nights.  Sadly, they’re all past my bedtime, but you may have better luck.

https://ravennablog.com/153/

King County Metro wants to help you out of your car.

Join their Northeast Seattle In Motion Program and you can earn rewards and qualify for prize drawings as you bike, walk, bus and carpool your way around town.

The program runs through mid-November.  You need to live south of 65th and east of 25th to qualify for the Northeast Program (here’s Metro’s nifty map of the area), but you can still use their tips on your own (the Do It Yourself kit is here).

In Motion has been around since 2003 (other neighborhood programs here), but this fall is its first time in our neck of the woods.

I’ve a friend on the Eastside who’s been using the program.  She says that logging her efforts and receiving the transpo-treats have really encouraged her to save rides and look for alternatives to get around.

Thanks to Linda T. for the press release.