Dispatches from Ravenna, a neighborhood in Northeast Seattle
There’s a Ravenna Ravine work party coming up on September 13, thanks to Friends of Ravenna Park and the Green Seattle Partnership.
You, your work gloves, and your invasive weed rage can head to the kiosk at Ravenna Park at 10 am this Saturday. Bring some water, too. If you get dehydrated, the invasives will win!
For more information, contact Ann at 547-1255 or email frr at 98115.net.
Some moments from the Ravenna-Eckstein Playground Dedication on September 5th:
The place was PACKED with kids and parents. The weather was perfect, and the picnic dinner fare had a dog for every diet (beef, chicken or tofu).
This is Deputy Superintendent Christopher Williams of the Seattle Parks Department, I believe (please let me know if I’m wrong). He did a little speechifying before the ribbon cutting. But not many people were sitting down to listen. Some were playing on the equipment, of course, but where was everyone else?
Standing in line for balloon animals, of course! Where else?
Here’s Seattle City Councilmember Tom Rasmussen cutting the ribbon on the newly renovated park, along with some of the community members who were a big part of making it happen.
And here’s the surprise hit of the party. I don’t know where it came from, and I don’t know what it’s called, but this was the fewest amount of kids on it all evening. They’d jump up on it and bounce other kids off. They’d roll on it and run over other kids. I’m pretty sure that I desperately need one of these for my own home.
Now, I realize that not everyone out there has kids, and may think that a new playground or any playground is no big deal. To those people, I ask, when’s the last time you pumped your legs in a swing? Because the joy that comes from flying through the air on a plastic seat under your own power never goes away. Go try it! Tell me if I’m wrong!
So, we’ve been in the neighborhood since November. And I have to say, I love the signs that The Herbalist puts up.
Case in point:
You can check out the Detox-It Kit here.
Da Pino Italian Cafe is now open at 65th and 22nd. We went there last weekend for lunch and forgot to tell you. Our apologies.
We will further admit at this point that the last charcuterie we lived next to was Salumi, and a finer cured meat we have yet to eat. But the Da Pino salami in our sandwich was right up there in tastiness.
The specials board that day included a few dishes with wild boar that we will definitely be going back for — how often do you get a chance to eat wild boar?! — and we have yet to try the pasta.
But nothing says autumn like boar meat and carbo-loading for the winter, eh?
A news advisory has issued today by Mayor Nickels himself (uh huh) about the various Seattle Parks and Recreation meetings schedule for the month, including the Ravenna-Eckstein Playground Dedication this Friday.
Nothing new to report here, but we are advised that “…for people who do not attend, written comments are welcome…” and, thankfully, “…[w]ritten comments bear equal weight with those submitted in person.” Good to know.
[The internets tell me that’s Greek for a very polite hello.]
Honey Bear leaves Third Place after this Friday, and Cafe Vios opens Thanksgiving-ish. NWsource has a little write-up about the eatery switcheroo here, including more info about the arrangement of the cafe and the books (we can still get our coffee and pastry fix, meet with our book group AND have a sit-down dinner).
Vios Cafe already exists on Capitol Hill. We have not been, but the Stranger has, the Seattle Weekly has, Seattlest plus kids have, and Yelp has quite a few reviews of the place. To sum up: Great food that some find a bit pricey.
We’ll reserve judgement until we’ve purchased and nibble for ourselves, but for now we’ll be reading the backstory on owner Thomas Soukakos, his son Alexander, and his wife’s losing battle with postpartum depression.
This article, published in the Seattle Post-Intelligencer back in 2003, chronicles 10 months of visits with the Soukakos family starting a couple months after Carol Soukakos took her life. It is utterly heartbreaking — a love found, a child born, a mother lost, a family wounded — and ends before we really get a feel for Thomas’ and Alexander’s future.
This article from 2006, again from the P-I, catches us up on the little family as well as Thomas’ work here in Washington state on postpartum depression awareness. The restaurant reviews above will catch you up on the eatery side of things (Carol and Thomas worked together at his first Seattle restaurant, El Greco; he sold the restaurant after her death and later started the Vios Cafe).
Vios means “life.” And by all accounts, Alexander’s father celebrates it full force in his Capitol Hill location. And soon, again here in Ravenna.
Sorry, Honey Bear, but I can’t wait until Thanksgiving.
The playground behind the Ravenna Eckstein Community Center has a lovely lush coating of sod:
It looks lovely. Can’t wait to wiggle my bare toes in it, or perhaps take a roll down the hill pictured in the background. If no one’s looking, that is.
Yet, turn your head 90 degrees to the right, and you see the following:
Are you SURE the sprinklers can’t reach any farther? Really?
The playground is still closed, at least according to the big chain link fences everywhere. That hasn’t stopped a lot of kids — and their parents, great example setting there — from sneaking in and trying out the equipment.
We imagine that a kick-off celebration is in the works, and soon. We’ll post what we know when we know it (and not a moment later).
UPDATE: A little exploration of the Seattle Parks & Recreation Fall 2008 Play! Book for the northeast reveals that the playground will be dedicated on September 5 during the annual Summer’s Final Fling. Be there from 6-8 PM for “carnival games, music, magic, picnic fare, and more”.
The Ravenna Third Place Books shelving arrangement redesign is still taking shape. Here’s a shot from about halfway to the cafe, looking back toward the door:
Among the changes I noticed during a brief walkthrough this afternoon:
It’s still very much a work in progress, clearly: Books and pieces of shelves are everywhere. The Ravenna TPB website says that the buy counter will be open again on Monday. If that means that everything is back on a shelf and the store is shipshape again, we’ll eat our copy of A Cat in the Hat.
For some reason, the intersection of 21st and 70th is a bit of a Bermuda Triangle. Or perhaps a localized Cosmic Karma Pot equalizer. Observe…
Huxley the cat has gone missing. In fact, he is missing cat flyer number two for this particular telephone pole.
No word on cat number one’s whereabouts, but from the weathered patina of the flyer, it doesn’t look good.
A close up of the text reveals that Huxley is both well-loved and well-named:
In the Found category, we have the following fetching AND utilitarian bed frame and headboard, which are available for FREE dollars and FREE cents:
My educated guess is that this would fit a twin-size mattress. It’s perfect for someone who would rather not have a nightstand cluttering up the bedroom. Mount a reading light on top, put your teeth grinding mouth guard in one of the handy drawers, and you’re good to go!
Now if this IS INDEED the Cosmic Karma Intersection of Ravenna, will Huxley be found if someone picks up the bed frame? Only time will tell.
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