Skamokawamania
Filed Under Craft, Wahkiakum | Leave a Comment
I’m feeling it again, the love for a little town called Skamokawa in Wahkiakum County that I wrote about for the last issue of North Bank.
Courtesy of Don and Kitty Speranza of the Inn at Crippen Creek Farm, I just came across a great blog that’s been around for quite a while, called Skamokacentric. The postings are few and far between but the community links feature local musicians, artisans, bakers, B&Bs, eateries and on and on — all the great stuff that drew me out that way to begin with. Can’t wait to go back.
The photo above, taken by Kathleen, the blogmaster of Skamokacentric, is from an art exhibit going on right now at Redmen Hall. Skamokawa glassblowers Kyle Gribskov and Treasure Collupy will exhibit their work during through next month. The exhibit is open Thursdays through Sundays, in the afternoons.
J.
Main Street bustles
Filed Under News, Vancouver | Leave a Comment
Vancouver’s Main Street continues its transformation with two new stores opening at the top of Uptown Village this spring. What appears to be an imports shop with an Asian influence is opening at 2315 Main, in the space of a former home and garden gift shop.
Meanwhile signs have been up in the empty storefront just north of Ice Cream Renaissance announcing a yarn and fabric boutique called StitchCraft, soon to opened by Nicholette Hoyer. The shop will carry a selection of organic yarns, fabric, lace and hand-dyed wool felt, among other natural fibers, as well as books, patterns and more.
I was getting quite concerned last fall when I noticed more and more empty storefronts along Main, but winter and spring have produced a flurry of activity and will likely spur more as the economy picks up.
J.
ReStore-ing Vancouver
Filed Under A Green Life, Vancouver | Leave a Comment
As some of you may have heard, Habitat for Humanity ReStore is gathering support for a retail shop in Vancouver. ReStores resell donated, salvaged and overstocked building materials and items such as doors, fixtures, sinks and so on to support Habitat for Humanity building projects.
It appears a community involvement “capital campaign” is getting underway, and the public will be involved soon.
As an added bonus, leaders of the Vancouver Food Cooperative — of which I am an owner/member — have been working with the ReStore team. Similar missions and a joint search for a home could lead to landing them both in downtown Vancouver, which would be fantastic for folks here who want to shop locally and sustainably. Nothing’s set in stone by any means, but supporting both these enterprises, to me, means supporting our community.
J.
A Dinner Together Around the Table
Filed Under Camas, Devour | Leave a Comment
They say food combining is key to a healthy diet, so combining two items about food must be key to a healthy blog post.
Small Plates, Big Difference
On Saturday, March 15, Camas small plates bistro Around the Table is hosting a fundraising dinner for the Camas Farmer’s Market, scheduled to open in just two months. A la carte tapas include crab and mango empanadas, flatbread with figs, carmelized onions and blue cheese, pork chops with peach bourbon chutney and Guinness ice cream with chocolate covered caramel corn (presumably for those celebrating St. Patrick’s Day). Reservations are recommended.
A Dinner Club
Personal chefs Anna Petruolo and Lisa Robbins are adding a new service to their cook-at-your-home enterprise, A Dinner Together. Called A Dinner Club, members can order meals a month at a time from a selection of pre-chosen menu items, picking them up in downtown Vancouver each Monday throughout the month. The club starts April 7 and the menu items include homemade mushroom ravioli, chicken enchiladas, vegetable stuffed portobello mushrooms with angel hair, chicken cordon bleu and mac n cheese with meatballs. BTW, Anna Petruolo is a member of the Vancouver Food Cooperative, and the meals are made with locally grown foods from regional farmers.
Who’s hungry now?
J.
Potty talk
Filed Under A Green Life, Vancouver | Leave a Comment
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I’ve been looking for an excuse to write about this great new store on Broadway in Vancouver’s Uptown Village. Elizabeth Hovde’s column in The Columbian today provides a great one. Her entertaining column talks about potty training her 2-year-old and how every time she changes a diaper, images of landfills flood her head.
Boomba Toomba, a shop that specializes in local mama-made clothing and used kids wear, also sells handmade diaper covers and cloth diapers from a wholesaler right here in Vancouver. In addition, owner and mama Mishalla DeGagne hosts “meet-ups” for folks interested in cloth diapers and provides instructions on how to use them. The second one was held on March 2. There’s even a Vancouver diapers Yahoo group for parents.
Sounds like Boomba Toomba has you covered, Elizabeth!
J.
