West Seattle, Washington
20 Friday
Our hosting company had an outage this morning that, judging by our logs, rendered WSB inaccessible for about an hour and a half. Please forgive us. It’s normal for any website to have the occasional flutters but if we ever intentionally plan on something long like that, we will forewarn you; thanks to the people who e-mailed to be sure we knew WSB was out of commission. Now, on with the day; sounds like other areas got some snow but so far we’ve been spared – here’s the newest forecast. 1:36 PM ADDENDUM: The hosting company says there may be intermittent problems for a while. So if you wander by and see the Internet equivalent of this … know we’ll be back soon (here’s hoping).
Quick reminder that the county Public Health Department‘s free flu-shot clinic in West Seattle is happening today: 10 am-2 pm, Delridge Community Center.
From Chris (thank you!):
I visited the gas station/convenience store at 35th and Barton earlier today, and the front wall of the store had been smashed in. The owner said it was a car sometime in the night, probably stolen. The store was open and he had a crew there making repairs, so I guess the business won’t be interrupted, but it must be costing him quite a lot of money.
We’ll go over to have a look in the morning.
The picture doesn’t do it justice but this is one of our favorite simple-yet-striking Christmas light displays every year – it’s directly east of the Metropolitan Market parking lot, across 41st. The lights alternate red/white, and trace the home’s features quite beautifully. This house is now added to our clickable West Seattle Christmas lights map, which you can find any time on the WSB Holidays page.
Three West Seattle stops down, one to go (Don Armeni, tomorrow night @ 7:10) for the Christmas Ship. We are just back from the Alki visit, quite a party with live music, free treats, and even Santa Claus — on a motorcycle:
We’re still testing out the various video-uploading options; tell us how that one worked for you. Meanwhile, two more clips:Read More
This time of year, ours is one of only two Farmers’ Markets still running in the whole city – we’re lucky! And it’s continuing on into the winter (in January it will switch to a slightly shorter schedule, 11 am-2 pm, but right now, it’s still 10 am-2 pm). Here’s the latest “fresh sheet” from the Farmers’ Market organizers:Read More
Under brilliant sunshine, in the face of biting cold wind, about 20 people just took the climate-change-awareness Alki plunge we mentioned yesterday. We’ve got the video to prove it (ADDED 3:40 PM; trying YouTube’s player again for the folks who say MySpaceTV isn’t working so well for them):
First, there’s the Kitten Holiday Party (listed on the West Seattle Weekend Lineup) at Pet Elements south of Morgan Junction:
That’s where we found this new kitten owner adopting what she referred to as “Elliott’s new friend.” (Elliott being the cat who will be surprised and hopefully pleased to meet his new pal.)
Also today and tomorrow, noon-4 pm (and those hours Thursday-Sunday every week), an exhibit at the Log House Museum with a unique take on Seattle history, and it’s only there a few more weeks – here’s what the LHM folks have written up about it:Read More
(photo from Shannon, taken this morning in Fauntleroy — thank you!)
It’s one of those rare times when Saturday and sunshine synchronize. We’ll be out decorating (after braving the basement, who knows what moved in down there during the bad weather); after night falls, please let us know what spectacular new holiday displays you see, for the ongoing WSB Christmas lights features (photos archived here, clickable map on the Holidays page). We’ll also be covering some of the numerous events happening today and tonight (check the West Seattle Weekend Lineup for the most detailed list) and are especially looking forward to the Christmas Ship’s three WS stops tonight (Seacrest at 5:15, Lowman at 8:50, Alki at 9:40). So enjoy all this because we just checked the forecast and tomorrow says “chance of rain or snow”!
From KM:
With the recent rash of break-ins in my part of West Seattle, I’m wondering if anyone has recommendations for the best local alarm system installation and monitoring company to use? I don’t want to get one that’s expensive and find out they’re 1) crappy on response time and/or 2) monitoring, half asleep, in Montana (no offense to the Big Sky state.)
Please respond by posting a comment with your recommendation; thanks to everyone who helps with the RRRs, which are all archived here.
OK, so it’s not the splashiest outdoor Christmas tree in West Seattle, but the spirit was certainly there as the Our Lady of Guadalupe tree was lit tonight, as our video in the post below proves. So it’s our official nightly Christmas-lights photo. Its location (34th/Myrtle) has been added to the WSB West Seattle Christmas lights map, which you can access any time from our Holidays page – click any location in the map and you’ll get its title plus a thumbnail photo. We’re also making the rounds of the suggestions e-mailed to us by folks in WSB-land, too. (In addition to clicking the aforementioned map, you can also check out all the West Seattle Christmas lights we’ve featured by going through their category archive here.)
Along 35th, across the street from the highest point in the city, Our Lady of Guadalupe celebrated its annual Christmas tree lighting tonight. Here’s Father Jack Walmesley with the countdown:
And here’s the crowd singing “Jingle Bells,” jingling car keys in lieu of bells:
In case you missed it last weekend, here’s our video from the lighting of the West Seattle Community Christmas Tree in The Junction. (And we’ll be posting a wider photo of the OLG tree shortly as our Christmas lights pic of the night.)
If you missed it in the comments on this post last night – “West Seattle Art Attack,” the mysterious glass artist who roamed West Seattle around Halloween (as reported here, here, here, and here), has surfaced again. Pictured at left is one of the “elves” who accompanied WSAA on an attempt to find a certain house last night; we’re told they may be out and about again over the weekend – stand by for updates.
Out of the WSB inbox, from “The Velvet Bulldog,” as the heart of December brings the longest nights of the year:
In the past month during evening driving (read: dark) I’ve had three incidences of narrowly missing bicyclists who were riding without adequate visible materials. One guy was in all black, had no reflectors on his bike and wore no helmet. I kinda wonder if he’s even still alive to tell his tale. Thursday night it was a guy with a few strips of reflective material on his coat (covered by his backpack) but no rear light. I also recently had the unsettling experience of coming around the bend on the uphill side of Admiral near the infamous crosswalk at Alki Mail and Dispatch and a woman was running in the street facing oncoming traffic. She also didn’t have bright clothes on. (Also, I’m really curious – why are runners in the street rather than onthe sidewalk? It seems dangerous.) I just want to ask any of you who are bike riding or running (again–why??) in the street, or if you know someone who does, to ensure you’ve got the gear to be visible in the dark. I’m all about sharing the road with bicycles, but I have to be able to see you to safely share with you!! Thank you!
(26th/Juneau photo by Kristin, originally posted Monday)
From the city and county, via the North Delridge Neighborhood Council: If you suffered flood damage from the Sunday/Monday deluge, be sure to call 800-523-5044 as soon as possible — local governments are trying to get an accurate picture of how much damage was done, for reasons including helping the federal government decide whether to make low-interest loans and other types of aid available. The hotline’s answered 7 am-7 pm daily; if you have trouble getting through, you also can report damage online. Also, if you need help clearing storm-related debris, you can call the city @ 206-684-3000 to find out how to get assistance.
The Christmas Ship makes 4 West Seattle stops this weekend; Our Lady of Guadalupe lights its tree at the summit of Seattle’s highest hill; and West Seattle High School‘s Travel Club raises $ to cross the Atlantic — all part of the 51 West Seattle weekend events ahead:Read More
Just out of the WSB inbox — Sustainable West Seattle and friends are suggesting you jump in the Sound! But not till tomorrow afternoon. That’s when climate-change activists are inviting you to meet at the Alki Bathhouse for a polar-bear swim to raise awareness about global warming, and in particular, the climate talks under way right now in Bali, as well as “the importance of this issue during the upcoming elections, and … the danger posed to the Arctic ecosystem (and its polar bears!) from the rapidly melting ice caps,” according to organizer Kristin Wheeler, who also says, “We will taking pictures and making ‘holiday cards’ for Congressman Reichert (the only W. WA member of Congress not doing what he should be doing for the planet!) beforehand and then we will plunge at 12:30 pm.” Kristin also says the nearby Tully’s is donating coffee to be provided to the chilled warming-fighters immediately afterward. It’s part of a national day of action; more info here. (That link asks the question “Have you invited local politicians to your plunge?” — hmm, given his activism on the issue, you suppose Mayor Nickels will walk down the hill to take part?) The weather tomorrow should be clear and bright (and cool!), by the way. This will be added to our Events page shortly as well as the forthcoming West Seattle Weekend Lineup list.
So says the West Seattle Food Bank‘s executive director Fran Yeatts (who you met in this WSB video report last month, if you didn’t already know her in person) — it was the subject line of this e-mail to WSB:
West Seattle is such an admirable community. I say this because of the wonderful responsiveness of our neighbors, businesses and individuals alike, who brought us holiday food and cash donations. With your help we were able to provide food to hundreds of families for Thanksgiving. On behalf of all the infants, children, teens, adults and seniors who rely on the West Seattle Food Bank to make ends meet, we extend our most sincere thanks.
And now – to the Christmas/Hanukkah/New Year’s/Kwanzaa/Solstice season. You can give $ online to the West Seattle Food Bank any time by going here. And here’s what else you can do to help:Read More
We’re starting the day in a thankful mood — so first we want to post a public thank-you of our own. WSB may not look any different than it did a week ago, but it is running a lot more smoothly “under the hood,” thanks to a whole lot of time, energy, creativity, and sheer determination expended by STUART MAXWELL. We’ve known for months WSB simply had to move to a new “host” server because the old one was on the brink of doing what it did back in June, and worse — publishing a simple update or change took extra time just to wait for the server to deal with it (or not) — but because we needed to make the move without losing any of the thousands of posts, comments, and photos published on WSB in the past two years, and for some other reasons Stuart discovered along the way, it was way too complicated for us to handle (despite some bleary all-nighters during which we tried). We asked technically oriented crosstown friends for advice on a tech adviser — and the inquiries blazed a trail straight back to West Seattle (of course!), and, in fact, to someone who happened to have a site linked from our Other Blogs page (one of Stuart’s many projects is The New Big). So again, HUGE thanks to Stuart – his tireless, creative, good-natured, patient work has saved the site and our sanity, and is paving the way for more improvements. … Also on the thankfulness front – an unusual tale landed in the WSB inbox – someone who pulled off a last-minute wedding with a lot of West Seattle help:Read More
This balcony display is on the building between Short Stop and the ex-Chuck and Sally’s on California, north of Morgan Junction. We remember seeing it last year too; the lights manage to diminish the dinginess of that block like a glittering multi-layer necklace. It’s on our West Seattle Christmas lights map now, of course (you’ll find that on our Holidays page; click each marker on the map to see the photo from that location). Now, the side note – The famous red bows are up on the north side of the Admiral Way bridge.
We mentioned part 1 of the VintageSeattle.org “Painted Lady” (the one on 45th that’s for sale, not the one on Beach Drive that’s also for sale) tour the other day. Part 2 is what you can’t see from the street — the inside — definitely worth a look!
From WSB contributing photographer Matt Durham: A vintage Schwinn decorates the front yard of an Alki home a few blocks from the beach. The exact location is omitted to deter joyriders. (Prints of Matt’s WSB photos and his other work are available through his site, MattDurhamPhotography.com.)
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