Introducing your neighborhood PIE school

Yesterday was National Pie Day (designated thus by the American Pie Council, of course). Perhaps you celebrated by eating some. And now you’re wondering, how can I celebrate this holiday more often?

Photos courtesy Wendy Sykes, Four and 20 Blackbirds

Wendy Sykes can help you with that. She’s the owner of Four and 20 Blackbirds, a baking school right here in Ravenna that she started last September.

The classes Four and 20 Blackbirds is offering right now are Pie Class, Parent/Child Pie Class, Cooking Making and Parent/Child Cookie Decorating. Wendy has plans in the works to add more baking and crafting classes to the mix later on. She’s also able to schedule classes for private events.

"It’s like coloring – but you get to eat the page. And the page is gooooooood," says the website.

The first thing you get from the pie class? A piece of pie, TO EAT. That’s fantastic.

Wendy was interviewed on KUOW this morning (where she once worked for nearly 8 years), along with Kimmy Tomlinson of West Seattle’s Shoofly Pie Company and Dani Cone of High 5 Pie in Capitol Hill. You can listen to the program on KUOW’s website here.

Too cute to eat? NAH.

Snow! Were you ready? (Updated)

In case we wake up on the morning and it’s ALL GONE like the weather folks are forecasting, here are a few pictures and one video of my corner of Ravenna in the snow.

Ready for its close-up.

Frosty? Indeed.

Nice swag you got there.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FhCz8ORGyqc

UPDATE (11:11 PM): My final tally (on the back porch table) —

Three inches!

Old University Village appreciation post

With the news yesterday of the Miller-Pollard store at University Village closing (and a Microsoft store opening in its place), there’s been a lot of chat on twitter about University Village and the other stores that used to be there.

University Village in 1962 (from the Seattle Municipal Archives; click to view a larger version)

And, as much as I tire of hearing about all the cool things that USED TO BE in this area, I thought I might open up a post so we could remember the good old days of Ernst, Lamonts and the Village Lanes that used to be down the street.

To get things started, here are some of the things that the Ravenna Blog tweeps (“twitter peeps”) have had to say about both the old and the new University Village  (I’m updating it through the day):

  • maggim Miller Pollard was awful enough, now we have to have the blight of a Microsoft store on our precious village? #bahhumbug
  • SarahSchacht Oooh! The drama! Apple & Microsoft Stores to face off, glaring at each other from across the U Village parking lot in Seattle.
  • RavennaBlog I can’t wait for the rumbles in the parking lot a la West Side Story! #MSFTvsAPPL
  • maggim When you’re a Jet, you’re a Jet all the way, from your first MacBook Pro to your last iPod day. @sarahschacht
  • NorthESea Yep. I will miss Miller Pollard for sentimental reasons. I remember wandering around that store as a kid.
  • lukobe Oh no! The transformation of University Village is nearly complete…. now all they have to do is get rid of the Ram
  • CamanoCommunity I remember Lamonts. Hell, I remember Rhodes. Geez…
  • SivPrince I still miss Lamonts and Ernest hardware. #olduvillage
  • NorthESea Yes! When I went to Roosevelt HS you used to be able to take bowling, at Village Lanes, as a gym credit. And I’m not that old!
  • arrrmin Yeah, the U-Village bowling alley was where Office Depot is now…and Lamonts department store is where QFC is now!
  • pokano QFC used to be where Restoration Hardware, etc. is. There used to be a wonderful little plant store across from it.
  • pokano @arrrmin No, QFC bought the old Carnation dairy. The old Lamont’s is where Barnes & Noble & Eddie Bauer are now.
Neighborhood: What do you remember about the early days of University Village? Leave your recollections in the comments.

An invitation to carol in Ravenna this evening

From Alicia (emphasis added):

We would like to invite you to join us for Christmas caroling around the neighborhood this Sunday evening. We’re meeting at the Seattle Reformed Presbyterian Church (side entrance, corner of NE 68th & 20th Ave NE) at 5:30p and will walk in our neighborhood to various houses. We’ll have some snacks at the church afterward.

We hope you can join us! Feel free to invite others, and there is no need to rsvp. Any questions, email Alicia at hemphillam@gmail.com.

The Seattle Times looks at Candy Cane Lane, past and present

Looking for information on how to negotiate Ravenna’s famous Candy Cane Lane? And maybe a bit of its history to boot?

Our news partners at the Seattle Times have the answer.

Seattle Times Candy Cane Lane article from December 15

The picture above links to an article about the neighborhood-within-our-neighborhood that has been putting on an annual holiday show since the 1950s. Also found within are directions, instructions, and a reminder to bring along your canned-food donations to Northwest Harvest.

Candy Cane Lane runs from 4pm to midnight, daily, through December 31st.

Ravenna United Methodist Church holds its 2010 Christmas Music Program this Sunday

Advent wreath (from the RUMC website; used with permission)

Ravenna United Methodist Church (5751 33rd Ave NE; website) invites you to their 2010 Christmas Music Program this Sunday, December19th, at 7pm.

Choirs from both Ravenna and Highland Park United Methodist Churches will be performing, as are special guests Sari Breznau, Dayton Allemann, and The Rhinestones (Carissa Morris, Valerie Holt, and Anne Matthews).

The program has been assembled by RUMC’s musical director, Annastasia Workman.

“Lift Up Your Voices and Sing Along with Us!”

Thank you to RUMC’s Mike for the information.

Refreshments will be available in the Parlor after the performances.

Ravenna Blog joins the Seattle Times Local News Partnership (updated)

Exciting news!

The Ravenna Blog has joined the Seattle Times Local News Partnership!

The announcement on the Seattle Times' site this morning (click to read)

Stories from this site will now be in regular rotation on the Seattle Times Local News Partners page and occasionally on the newspaper’s homepage (scroll down to the Local News Partners section).

All this exposure is great for the site, of course, but what do YOU get out of it? Here’s a small list:

  • The ability to publish photos from the Seattle Times when appropriate – like the one from the Seattle Sketcher, Gabriel Campanario, that was used in our interview with Harissa’s Walid Alabtan
  • The potential to work on collaborative projects – “Invisible Families” was one of these projects
  • Greater communication and coverage about local events and news in our area that may be of interest to a wider audience
  • Educational opportunities for yours truly to learn more about journalism, media, and the like, as an investment in the work the Ravenna Blog is already doing
  • and probably more!

Even though the Local News Partnership project has been around since August 2009, it is still evolving. I’m very pleased (and a bit proud) that we’ve been included in it (WE meaning you, too, dear reader), and look forward to the future of this partnership.

UPDATE: The Seattle Times Local News Partnership map has also been updated.

Click the map to see the full version at the Seattle Times

So happy to help fill out the coverage in Northeast Seattle.

Add to the burglary deterrent list: SNOW

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)

Happy Thanksgiving

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

Missing a part of your frozen flock?

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.