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Dr. Doo’s Holidoo

Kisses might begin with the letter "k," but they don't begin with "Kay."  And I will not be adding the Lexus ringtone to my partner's phone Christmas Eve (sorry, honey!). I just spent a week at a hotel/mall that's been overtaken by holiday-themed consumerism.  They charge $30 to decorate gingerbread cookies with "Gingy" while waiting to have a photo taken with Santa. The 19-story atrium is decked out in twinkly Christmas lights.  Christmas trees line the hotel lobby. Parking valets wear…

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Woodlawn Santa Is Out of Commission

Oh noes!  Bad news, folks. Woodlawn Santa (aka. Sharon Ehrig) is out of commission for the season. Sharon broke her right wrist this morning and will be unable to wave from her porch at 3916 Woodlawn Ave this holiday season.  She will not be on the porch for the rest of the year.   But Santa's lights are on!  Something like 15,000 of them, so do drop by if you enjoy Santa's Christmas decorations.  I sure do. Tonight the weather is mild,…

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Alexander Technique in Wallingford

Back in my ballet-dancing days, I heard a lot about Alexander Technique but never pursued it until a recent serious injury sent my entire body in a general state of Wonk. Now in my mid-30s, I'm re-teaching myself to climb stairs, to bike and to walk without looking like the love child of a chicken and Buster Keaton.  As I searched for new ways to improve integration of my body and brain, I jumped at the chance to explore Alexander Technique…

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A Child’s Christmas in Wales at Stone Soup Theater

The first time I heard Dylan Thomas’s classic poem, “A Child’s Christmas in Wales,” it was just after a typically enormous Thanksgiving meal and we were all cuddled up around a woodstove in a New Hampshire farmhouse listening to the sonorous, Welsh-accented voice of Mr. Thomas himself purring on about snow for six days and six nights when he was twelve, or twelve days and twelve nights when he was six. His frenetic, disjointed style captured each of his fleeting memories…

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Update on Wallingford schools boundary issues

During a Seattle Public Schools "Board Operations Committee as a Whole" presentation last night, the Capacity Management Team presented a list of recommendations for short-term capacity management during the 2012-13 school year. The entire presentation can be seen here, but by the looks of it, other solutions are being offered to remedy the overcrowding at John Stanford International School: As you can see from the slide pictured above, the two options before contemplating the change in the Wallingford neighborhood school boundaries…

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Happy 103rd Birthday, Mary!

A heartfelt "Happy Birthday" goes out to longtime Wallingford resident Mary Orser , who turned 103 last Friday, December 9. Mary moved to Wallingford in January, 1928 which means this coming January she'll have been here -- in the same house on 43rd and Meridian -- for 84 years. Mary lived here with her parents until they passed, and she stayed on, working at the Meridian Nursing Home until she retired. I spoke to Mary's niece, Rosemary Meyers, who looks after Mary.…

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Snow Leopard Trust Holiday Sale

Here's a neighborhood holiday shopping event with global benefits: The Snow Leopard Trust is holding a holiday sale this Thursday (12/15) at the Good Shepherd Center (#225) from 2:00-5:00pm. The Snow Leopard Trust is an non-profit, international organization headquartered right here in Wallingford, dedicated to community-based snow leopard conservation. There are only 4,000 snow leopards left in the wild and the Snow Leopard Trust partners with communities in 5 different countries to address snow leopard endangerment. In an email to me, Antonia…

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