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Like many other Ballard residents I frequent the Ballard Market, it’s conveniently close and I’ve yet to be disappointed in their products or service. On my trip yesterday I noticed at the checkout that I had been credited 5 cents for bringing my cloth bag – and I commented on it to the checker. She smiled and told me something fascinating – every paper Ballard Market bag costs them 11 cents. So I started to calculate in my head – what does that add up to? How many customers pass through the store on any given day? Hundreds? Thousands? In the time I checked out, I would say about a half dozen people checked out as well, several of them carrying paper bags. From my estimation it would be reasonable to say one thousand bags leave the store daily, about ten bags every fifteen minutes. If they were all paper – that’s 11 cents per bag – the store is spending $110 daily on paper bags, or $40,150 annually – they could employ another full time employee at that amount! Of course all the bags leaving are probably not paper, there are also plastic bags – 3 cents per bag – but plastic is being phased out due to its negative impact on the environment. Still supposing some of the bags are plastic the Market is still looking to spend tens of thousands of dollars annually on bags. No wonder Costo does not supply bags to customers.

I enjoy carrying my cloth bag – it’s more comfortable in my hands or on my shoulder and it’s not wasteful. However, I will be working doubly hard to remember it from now on. I like the Market, they do a good job and supply me with most of my food, any savings they can make are likely to translate into continued and better service, which can only be a good thing.

I don’t see as many of the Real Change vendors on the streets as I did last month, I can only hope they have found a warmer place to stand. Maybe you have seen them – individuals on street corners, often looking like someone with too much hardship in their life. They have newspapers which boldly proclaim Real Change and they’d like to sell you one for a dollar. I’ve bought two of the papers to date and thoroughly enjoyed each of them. They are quality literature, and not just from my uninformed perspective, Real Change has been the recipient of many literary awards. The plan behind the paper is simple, people may purchase papers from a Real Change distributor for 35 cents, then they resell them for $1 and keep all of the profits. Each vendor I purchased from stood and talked to me about everything from politics, to homeless housing, to dog walking. The vendors I have encountered are people in the homeless or low income portions of the population and view Real Change not just as a way to make a bit of money, but as a way to inform the public of their situation and warn them that the fall into poverty isn’t as difficult as one might think.

Valid Real Change vendors wear name tags which they must have visible at all times, one of the women I talked to informed me that this is how they remove bad apples from the organization. So if you see someone, with their badge and paper I urge you to consider purchasing one. It helps out an individual and it’s a great read, I bought my second paper from a vendor right here in Ballard but you’ll find many more of them downtown. Visit the website to learn more.

There will be a free informational seminar on wills and trusts at the Ballard Public Library on January 5, 2009 from 6:30pm to 7:30pm. The Ballard Public Library is located at 5614 22nd Ave NW, Seattle 98107. The seminar will be given by Mindy Terence and Thomas Terence of Terence and Terence L.L.C., a general practice law office located in Ballard. For questions, you can call 206-420-5514.

If your idea of ringing in the new year includes going to a pub and listening to some music, then I’m here to tell you that the night of December 31, 2008 offers several options for musical entertainment in Ballard.

The Sunset is having a New Year’s Eve party, starting at 9pm. Bands featured include Shim, Pipsisewah, Pickwick and more. The music is mostly rock-based. Cost is $10 in advance, or $12 the day of the show. Order tickets from TicketWeb.

At the Tractor Tavern starting at 9:30pm, you can hear music by Handful of Luvin’ and the Staxx Brothers. The former plays a hard-to-categorize blend of musical styles and the latter plays soulful hip-hop rock. Cost is $15: get your tickets from TicketWeb.

The Conor Byrne Pub has folk-rock alt-country music by the Ian McFerron Band. The person I spoke to there thought it would start at 9pm or earlier, and cost around $20, but wasn’t 100% sure. 

Old Pequliar is featuring an Irish band that evening. Contact the venue for more details.

Contact Information for the venues mentioned above:

The Sunset - 5433 Ballard Ave NW, Seattle, WA (206) 784-4880 

Tractor Tavern - 5213 Ballard Ave NW, Seattle, WA (206) 789-3599

Conor Byrne Pub -5140 Ballard Ave NW, Seattle, WA (206) 784-3640

Old Pequliar -1722 NW Market St., Seattle, WA 98107 (206) 782-8886

The rumors continue about possibly losing our centrally located Ballard post office. Apparently, according to the rumor, those in charge have decided to move the facility to the postal annex on the corner of 9th Ave NW  and NW 45th, about 17 blocks from its present location. 

This post office is presently located in the heart of Ballard and within walking distance of a great many residents. There are many small businesses in the area also dependent on the post office. You are urged to write your public official if you want to keep our Ballard post office where it is.

Every Tuesday night Ballard’s ever-popular The Old Pequliar, at 1722 NW Market St, serves up some awesome trivia.

James Callan has been hosting it now for almost three years, as part of a rotating group of four hosts, and can be found there usually on the first Tuesday of every month. Since this is coming up in the next couple weeks I thought I’d pass along some info for those interested.

Trivia night runs from 8-10 PM, but it is highly recommended to get there around 7 PM or earlier to ensure a table. However, James included that it can be easier to get a seat depending on what else is going on in town that night.

The quiz itself runs in eight rounds, with eighty questions and goes pretty quickly to fit in the two-hour time period. They usually feature categories like geography, movies, picture rounds, current events, pop culture, and so on. James says some of the categories he has done in the past include themes like: English words borrowed from German, People who deserve to be punched in the face, Ancient history and Real-world Clue.

To play, each team throws in $5, and The Old Pequliar matches the pot. This is pretty usual for most bars that do trivia, but it also means that if you get first place you win quite a bit of money! Teams have to be five players or less, but James included that lately they have been experimenting with teams that would like to add a sixth person for an extra fee, which may or may not become the norm. If you come in second or third place, you still win money, though smaller amounts than first place. Fourth place wins a free pitcher of beer, which for some just might be enough!

A couple things to keep in mind: The host is always right! No shouting out answers, and you’re only allowed to use your brain. Sounds pretty simple, right?

I know a lot of people who are regulars at this trivia night and claim it’s the best in town. Plus, you can win money, and, it’s early enough on a work night you can still be home at a decent time.

If you are interested in learning more about this trivia night or others, a great website- www.quiznight.net, is a good place to get the scoop on different bars near you that offer trivia nights, and on what particular nights they’re offered. 

Hope everyone is having a wonderful, safe holiday! Maybe I’ll see you soon at The Old Pequliar!

Weather challenges are everywhere in Seattle. Just today I almost got stuck in the snow. My brother lives in Portland where they are really snowed in. He, his wife and child come up every year, but this year its just not going to happen. My brother and I often speak to each other through quotes of old TV shows and movies. This was no different. He said, quoting Santa in Rudolf the Red Nosed Reindeer, “We’re going to have to postpone Christmas”.

 
So my brother and I kept talking on the phone about it. This will be a virtual Christmas. We email, phone, exchange family photos. We agreed it wasn’t worth risking life and limb for us all to see each other in person, like we have for every year of our entire lives. After all, as adults, our Christmases don’t really change much. But our kids are another matter. A friend of mine said about her child “They are little markers of time”. That they are. And we’ll work at keeping their Christmas as special and as real as we can.
Merry Christmas Everyone!

The Ballard Farmers Market is one of my favorite parts of living in this great city. Every Sunday, rain, shine or snow, the vendors are there. I happen to live close enough that it was an easy walk to Ballard Ave Sunday morning and while there where less vendors and buyers than usual it was still a pretty good turnout.  If you’ve never been to the Farmers Market I encourage you to go check it out, or at least visit the website to understand what’s available. If you have been but didn’t go this week thinking the vendors might not show, I’d like you to know it was not the case!

This last week has been crazy…I’ve never seen Seattle so wonderfully wintery. I’m originally from Anchorage, and one of my biggest gripes about Seattle winters is not having a white Christmas. So yes, thank you snow gods for making this happen! Many of the kids sledding in the neighborhood appreciate this as well.

However…I’m supposed to be in Denver right now, and along with the rest of Seattle trying to get out of town, my flight was canceled. But, there is a slight upside, which if any of you out there have had this happen too, it might be something to consider: we were offered to change our flights for the same price to the 25th, and we decided to cancel and get a refund. Then we decided, what the heck, let’s go from the 25th until the 1st. The tickets we rebought online, were A LOT cheaper! So if you are one of those unlucky ones like us, think about rebuying instead of keeping the originals. We saved $200! 

Besides delaying Christmas vacation and missing out on family stuff, I’ve had to miss quite a bit of work so far. I can’t say I mind, as nice as it is seeing cross country skiers outnumber cars on the streets, and watching the snow fall from the safety of my warm, cozy apartment. Plus, it gave me the extra time to bake some excellent cookies, a pot roast, and some delicious homemade mac n’ cheese. YUM. 

I have also noticed that even though the conditions are screwing up commutes and holiday traveling plans, and people are missing work and waiting hours for buses- everyone seems pretty darn cheerful. It’s really, really nice. I guess whether we love it or hate it, we understand there is not a thing we can do about it besides cuddle up in our pj’s, or build a snowman, and wait it out. When it’s gone, I know I’ll miss it, probably along with a lot of others. Maybe this was exactly what we needed for the holidays to allow us to slow down, and relax.

Sledders at Gas Works Park, downtown in the background.  Market Street, from Saturday night, 12/20.

I think it must be some new inverse law of the universe: every time a Scandinavian in Ballard dies, he is reincarnated as a pizza joint. There’s no doubt that the atomic-grade bomb of pizza restaurants exploding in the neighborhood lately has left every Ballardite scratching their heads trying to figure out just how all this Italian-ness has gotten into the water, not to mention trying to figure out how they all these new places expect to distinguish themselves from one another.

So here’s what’s different about the one opening today, ‘Zaw, at Leary and Market: the pizza here, at least for today and tomorrow, is FREE. And, instead of ordering it up all hot and melty, what you get here is a made-to-order unbaked pie that you take home and cook yourself.

On Monday, December 22nd and Tuesday, December 23rd, the first 100 people in the door after 4:30 p.m.  will get a free half-size pizza and Jones Soda to take home. The Seattle based mini-chain (with two other locations on Capitol Hill and South Lake Union), boasts 100 percent organic crust made from Bob’s Red Mill flours, in traditional, whole wheat or gluten-free versions. The signature sauce is made from organic ruby red tomatoes, and the beverages run the local gamut from Fish Tale Organic Ales to Snoqualmie organic wines and take-home six packs of other microbrews.

You can even order your pie online and have it delivered by bicycle. Just remember you still have to tip the delivery guy when it shows up cold.