Learn Home Weatherization Tips with Sustainable NE Seattle

November 3, 2011 by Leave a Comment

The days are growing shorter, the air is getting colder, and your heating bill is on the rise.

What a perfect time to learn about home weatherization.

Sustainable NE Seattle‘s November meeting will be held on Thursday, November 17, at the Wedgwood Presbyterian Church (8008 35th Ave NE), from 6:30-9 PM (social time with treats for the first half hour).

Here’s the event description:

There are some immediate things we can do to make our homes more energy efficient. We will learn what to do before replacing windows from our community expert [and Ravenna resident], Joel Gregory. Also, learn about Solarize NESeattle, project to bring reasonable pricing for solar power to our neighborhood. Additionally, SustainableWorks® home retrofitting org, will be here for input and Q&A.

Bring a snack to share, if you wish, and your own utensils.

Sustainable NE Seattle is, via their about page, “a community of citizens dedicated to building a sustainable, resilient future for our locality, which includes Seattle neighborhoods that are north of the ship canal, east of I-5, and north to about 110th St NE.”

For more information on the organization, check out their FAQ (PDF).

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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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Deadliest Catch caught! at Sand Point Metropolitan Market

October 28, 2010 by 6 Comments

My son and I happened to be munching on one of the four cheeses available for sampling this afternoon at the Sand Point Metropolitan Market (5250 40th Ave NE), when we came across this display (promoting the Alaskan Red King Crab they have available in store right now):

Oh, HI THERE, Captain Jonathan!

A Deadliest Catch episode, playing INSIDE a crab pot. Cute.

Got me thinking: MORE retail establishments should hide TVs in their stores, for disinterested and/or reluctant shoppers to enjoy. I’m looking at YOU, Macy’s.

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Last year, yours truly dressed as Captain Phil (God rest his soul) for Halloween. If you’d like to see a picture of that costume, leave a comment below.  TEN comments, and I’ll stick a link somewhere to the picture.

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WIN a pumpkin the size of a VERY LARGE PUMPKIN

October 16, 2010 by 3 Comments

Want to WIN the Mother of All Halloween Decorations?

Giganto-Gourd could be YOURS!

The View Ridge PCC (6514 40th Ave NE) is having a Guess the Weight and WIN contest for this unholy beast of a pumpkin.

I asked one of the produce guys how the winner was expected to lug this bad boy home, and he assured me that the store would be of assistance in that area (the manager used his own truck last year, apparently).

Then the produce guy asked me what my guess was. And I told him. And he said I didn’t need to worry about lugging it all the way to my house this year. Drat.

But for bad guessers like myself, there is another option!

Only 39 cents a pound! BARGAIN.

Just like the BUY IT NOW feature on eBay, there are a couple of these beauties, nearly as big, available for purchase. Sixty-seven bucks isn’t too bad for a pumpkin the size of a large dog, is it? And don’t get me started on that gorgeous color.

I ended up not getting any, actually. I grew three pie pumpkins in my p-patch plot this year, and I intend to carve them all up…right after I’ve made them into PIE.

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This was more of a silly post than an informative post. Did you enjoy it? Should I do more? Would YOU like to write one? DISCUSS, in the comments.

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