Don’t forget tonight is Oscar Night (on a completely unrelated note!), if you want the fun to take you through the evening.

VSS noted more than half of its 2010 participants were snowboarders, which saw more females learning the sport. The median age for participants is 14. The program is for those ages 8 and up.  Sign up for 2010-11 through the Vashon Park District in fall 2010.

Relaxation station--the Brazilian sensation

Woah, baby! Steamy signage on Vashon highway is upon us. It is here.

Dare you EVEN entertain this? Vashon is (and has been for some time–only now it’s being broadcast) getting Brazilian Waxed, baby!

What is it? Well, it’s when an esthetician bares down on one’s nether regions and craftily removes hair with a few fell “phweeps!”  Pretty much all of it goes bye bye unless you speak your piece up front. Some people leave a little some-some below decks just to remind themselves that they did hit puberty–ya know, an affirmation of adulthood. Like a mini dorito, or a tuft, or I suppose a cleverly shorn heart shape in honor of the upcoming weekend.

There is a crypt these wax-artisans keep, knowing the topography on one’s topiary, if you dig–especially living on a lil Island!  But if you dare, you’ll definitely have a conversation piece when the lights go down. Happy Valentine’s Day.

What’s up with a lumber store touting it’s a pet supply store, and then, one week later, a source for scented soap? I get the whole American Way thing, but when we’re trying to support local biz, what good does it do to carry another island merchant’s core line of merchandise when you have the pockets and real estate to carry more of what the sign on your store promises?

Customer service (heck I’ll take a greeting) and personality go a long way to create loyalty. The proof is in the service, not price. I was amused by the recent ads. Naughty kitty!

What's black and white and fed all over? The town rooster!

For at least one week, we’ve had a Vashon town crier on the loose.  He’s about a foot tall, very dandy, and quite the ladies’ man–and WHAT a loudmouth. Loitering just across the street from Casa Bonita in the grassy lot area, I give you…Mr. Rooster! This fine feathered friend has a robust crow well beyond his age (and we know he’s a spring chicken because his manly barbs are mere mosquito bites at this point). Where was home? Was it near the fire station, where other chickens are kept nearby? It’s so much fun to see passerby getting out of their cars to head to the pharmacy only to be caught off guard with a resounding “Cockadoodle-Doooooo!” This is Vashon.

As you’ll recall, 2009 was a blockbuster year for attendance, so it’s not lack of interest at all. Just not the right year. Nuff said.

Come back soon!

“To my VIGA friends:

I had every intention of returning to serve VIGA, the Farmers Market, and the community as Market Manager for an entire year after having assumed the job in midseason. Certain members of the board apparently have seen things differently.

 With no prior notice, no prior feedback, no performance review, and no hint that my 2010 contract might be in question, they abruptly informed me, after the close of the last Market Day, that my contract was not being renewed, that they were “restructuring the position,” and that I was welcome to apply for it again.

 Where I come from, that’s considered pretty shabby treatment. It’s NOT what I expected from people who purport to represent the island farming community. It’s certainly not how *I* treat people. I think I did a pretty good job considering the complexity of the duties and relationships that are involved. Almost all the vendors with whom I have spoken about this have agreed.

Attached is my version of the events that led to this sad day, and a signed list of the vendors and supporters who had hoped that I would be rehired.

 I loved this job and the Market. I appreciated the opportunity to serve. I remain a paid-up VIGA member, and have been, on and off, for something like 20 years, and that will continue. But certain board members are not the kind of people I care to be associated with any longer. In a just community, their behavior should merit disapproval and censure.

Please feel free to respond, but NOT to this list. That’s not what this list is for. My e-mail address is <ivan.weiss@centurytel.net>. The board’s address is vigaboard@googlegroups.com.  I’m certainly not going to slink away with my tail between my legs over this. I’ll see you all at the Market.”

# # #

Here is the attachment he sent to VIGA. Ivan, props to your writing skills. -h

“Whereas I am no longer under contract to VIGA, I am not subject to any “performance review” by this board. Once I have signed a contract as Market Manager for 2010, this board can evaluate my past work. Until then, I’ll save you all the trouble, and will decline to participate. Barring an offer I can’t refuse, I am not a candidate for the “restructured” position. The expected pay cut after “restructuring” will not buy the Market the level of management it requires, and will not meet my financial needs.

I say this with sadness, but without regret. I loved being the manager of the Vashon Farmers Market. I had looked forward to performing that function for years to come, and to improving constantly.

 But the board never gave me the formal feedback that I needed, and had asked for repeatedly. Three board members decided to sandbag me, and certain others let them do it. I was told abruptly that I would not be renewed—and oh, by the way, there were some “issues.” I felt insulted and trashed by people I trusted and respected. If that was not the intent, it was the effect. Whoever will rationalize  this as “professional” or “standard procedure” will be lying to you.That’s just what they’ll try to do, but don’t believe it. It’s callous, petty behavior, period. It’s not how VIGA should treat people. It doesn’t reflect the will of the vendors, or of the membership, or even the entire board.

Except for outright incompetence or malfeasance, the board is supposed to support, not undermine, the market manager. Terminating a contract without a hint of prior notice or prior review is not support. It is at worst malicious, and at best incompetent. VIGA members should find this objectionable. VIGA has always tried to build good relationships, in good faith. Apparently that’s no longer important here.

This board put out an anonymous “survey” that purported to evaluate my work, rather than using it to have vendors tell me directly what could improve, what should take priority, and, most important, how we could be helping each specific vendor to succeed. The whole survey was just plain DUMB, and how the board handled it was dumber yet. I was in place and could have used that information to be  helping vendors right along. Now relationships with a new manager must be built from scratch, and my experience is wasted. Who thinks this is an effective way to run an organization?

Failure or reluctance to communicate is toxic to any organization. VIGA is no different. I relied on Board members and senior vendors for feedback and guidance, and at crucial moments, responses were not forthcoming, or I got conflicting information, or those who I asked simply did not know the answers. I got more help from Karen Kinney than from this board and my predecessor put together. 

 From 2004 to 2008, I was chairman of a volunteer organization with a membership level ten times the size of VIGA, with a treasury and range of activities to match. So I know how the board of a volunteer nonprofit is supposed to work, OK? I know irresponsibility and nonperformance when I see it.

The present board was elected at the November 8 annual meeting. Except for the two new members, all were holdovers. The board conducted its anonymous survey, had at least one meeting, and an open meeting for the community, before it handed me a letter after the last market of the year, December 12, telling me my contract was not being renewed. In other words, the new board had more than a month to meet with me and review my performance, and it failed to do so. Maybe they can tell you why that is. I sure can’t. Only one word can describe this board’s failure to administer this contract in a timely mamner. That word is INCOMPETENCE.

 Vendors and customers have told me I was a great fit for this position, and I have their oral and written testimony to prove it. Clearly, however, I am not a good fit for the present board. I’d need a more formalized, more robust feedback mechanism written into the next contract before I would work with this board again, and a greater commitment—enforceable, in writing—to a good-faith relationship.

Even after being told my contract would not be renewed, I had hopes of reapplying for it, even for less pay. But no longer. The tipping point came when a vendor who also is a board member told me, in the final week of December, after I had asked for feedback, that she had been dissatisfied with her space allocation. Asked why she hadn’t said so then, there was no answer. This dated back to JULY! Who can do a job properly if people will not volunteer the most basic information? And this is a board member yet? People won’t state their needs forthrightly, and it’s somehow MY problem?

 I can deal with any criticism, and I can fix any faults that anyone finds. I accept responsibility for my actions, and adjust accordingly. But if board members withhold information, then use that as an excuse not to rehire me, the responsibility is theirs. I hope they are satisfied that they have driven an enthusiastic, motivated market manager away in disgust. Members should ask them what we have gained, how it helps the Market prosper to be rid of me, and why these people are on the board in the first place, if this is the best they can do.

I have lived and farmed here for 33 years. I have been a VIGA member for longer than anyone on the present board. I want to keep agriculture viable on Vashon. So I am not going away at all, much less going away quietly.

 The (in)actions by this board in its dealings with me have not helped one more farmer sell one more carrot. If VIGA is to be at all effective in “promoting local agriculture,” then we need a board that is dedicated to that, and not to individual members’personal agendas or petty control trips.

 When I ask why certain things are so,  once in a while I get a decent answer. Most of the time, though, I get: “That’s how we have always done it.” Or “That’s VIGA’s historic mission. It is written.” Clinging blindly to these attitudes will lead to stagnation, irrelevance, and extinction for this Market. 

Maintaining valuable institutional memory is one thing. We need to do that. Making it dogma, and the property of certain “high priests,” is another. How and why we do things must be spelled out in writing for everyone, and cannot remain vague or unstated. If the “old ways” aren’t serving us well, they should be abandoned. We “promote Island agriculture” when vendors MAKE MONEY at the Farmers Market. Everything else is secondary.

 I am grateful to those who hired me as Market Manager, and my treatment by small, petty people  should not outweigh how positive and satisfying it all was. I loved my work and the people at the Market, and most people think I did just fine. Under the right circumstances, I’d gladly do it again. I am part of the Market, and the Market is part of me, and I expect that to continue. Happy New Year.”

Ivan Weiss, PO Box 860 , Vashon WA 98070, (206)463-4647

Bob’s Bakery on Vashon Island is donating 100% of its next two Sunday profits (Jan. 17, 24)  to aid organizations that will help provide food, shelter and other assistance to the victims of this natural disaster.

Way to go, Bob’s!

Now, it’s open and gorgeous and without murk. The only buzzkill about going for a swim has nothing to do with the facilities; the downer I find are the people who fail to honor the protocol that’s posted (I tell ya, I read that stuff. I care. I follow it, when it’s posted!).

Let me preface this by saying I have a pesky little neurological condition that makes swimming pretty much the only form of serious exercise my body can presently handle. Swimming is, in essence, my means to longevity, the way I see it. I gotta get in there for the benefit of my nervous system, endurance, strength, etc. (That and samba!) So I go, and when it’s crowded, I wait my turn. When it’s busy, and in winter it is VERY busy, I observe people will:

1. Bamboozle their way into lanes ahead of those waiting…no regard or respect (see Rodney Dangerfield!). Nobody wants a confrontation so we just tend to wait more.
2. They’ll swim in the water-walking lane. FYI it’s the outer half of the ”stair lane” nearest the locker room entrance.
3. They’ll get in the pool without really soaking down their hair and bods (have you ever tasted someone’s shampoo, or perfume, or lotion while sharing a lane? It is truly disgusting!).
4. They’ll slip in the lane with you without the courtesy of a visual or tactile cue, making you the full-body-contact target by default.
5. They’ll let loose their beautiful mermaid hair that needs to be tucked in/tied up/held back, not splayed out (lest Bill’s hard work be damned!).
6. Exceed 30 minutes, despite the crowd. When nobody else is around, no matter, prune out. Bask in the chlorine glow!

Show the love. Read the rules. Follow them and don’t make people who try to do so feel stupid. Think Post. Think Vanderbilt. If all else fails, have a great swim!

George looks over his evening eats for a sold out dinner Saturday

carnivore's delight: la boucherie's prix fixe fixins on fiyah!

Saturday La Boucherie enjoyed a sold out crowd at its $75 prix fixe dinner. If you were in a one-block radius of Vashon market it was nearly impossible to NOT smell that barbecue goodness. On the hand forged spit and rotisserie were a leg of beef and two chickens. The beef cooked all darn day. It was treat to check out!

I know this is a bit in advance, but mark your calendars for March 5-7, 2010 to attend the Vashon Island Food Summit. Billed “…for people who eat,” it will be a conference style summit in which all Islanders can explore ways to eat better­-both for themselves and their families and for the Island as a whole. The summit will feature guest speakers, panel discussions, workshops on a variety of topics, good food, and some surprises! There will be three workshop tracks:

Raising Food

Acquiring and Preparing Food

The Food Economy

Raising food and food preparation will be key areas of information. We will also explore how the way we eat is ultimately a political act and we will learn ways to “vote with our forks.”
 
Current co-sponsors of the event include Sustainable Vashon, Vashon Island Growers Association (VIGA), the Food Security Working Group, and VashonBePrepared. We expect more co-sponsors to join us soon. If we receive enough funding to meet our expenses, admission to the entire weekend will be free!
 
I am sending this to you now, to encourage you to become involved in the weekend event in a way that will be rewarding for you. We have a “Call for Presenters” out asking for proposals for our break-out sessions: workshops, demonstrations, educational displays, and more. There are also lots of volunteer opportunities as well. Go to our web site to learn more about our call for presentations and/or volunteering for the event:  http://mariposagardens.org/FoodSummit

If you have any questions, please contact one of the Food Summit co-chairs:
Cathy Fulton <cathy@MariposaGardens.org> 463-5652
Jessica Lisovsky <triling@mindspring.com> 463-1941
Emily MacRae <egmacrae@yahoo.com> 408-7072

Thank You!
Cathy Fulton
Mariposa Gardens

Good boys. Trails look great! We collected thousands. Seriously.

A smiling, toothless, army-trench-wearing Merlin hawks Real Change newspapers at 6th and Olive in Downtown Seattle, near my office. We started a friendly banter not too long ago because even from the 14th floor, I can hear him hollering (and breaking my concentration!) like the old school hawkers–and I told him so; he bested me by saying someone on the 17th floor can hear him, too.  This week, “for my troubles,” he insisted I take the latest issue because it was a good one.  The headline story opened a scab for Vashon, just a little. It was entitled “Living in a State of Denial,” and the story’s first two words were “Vashon Island.”

Micheal Specter was the center of the article. This author of his recently published book, “Denialism: How Irrational Thinking Hinders Scientific Progress, Harms the Planet and Threatens Our Lives,” rekindles the national sensation caused by reporter and colleague Donald McNeil seven years ago in his story for the New York Times citing a fact that 20 percent of Island parents declined to vaccinate their children. 

In the Real Change interview, he goes on to call the autism-vaccination link total misinformation, and those who buy into it “willfully ignorant” and the notion “very damaging to the kids.”

Other topics in Specter’s interview (and book)  include medical advancements and the role of race in genetic predispositions, the aversion to genetically modified food and imminent starvation based on population growth (and the need to yield more from the land we already have), and Big Pharma’s persuasive direct-to-consumer advertising, among others. Sounds a little like Raj Patel’s “Stuffed and Starved” to me mixed with other hot button issues.

Check it out!

Oooh la la. It was tasty.

Behold!

Our FIRST matsutake find and still the chanterelles were out! We were shocked. It’s cold. It’s December. But this island is magical. By now, any left out there are mushroomcicles.

David Warren, a wonderful advocate and steward of Island Center Forest, spent time with us on Saturday while we supervised the kids at our “basecamp” serving hot cocoa and cider–and standby first aid, which fortunately we did not need!

What was not known to any of us at the time was that Island Center Forest also frowns upon Airsoft. David W later found this out after posing the question to forest management and called me this morning with the verdict (Now we know — just like VPD — trial by fire).  Signs will be posted and that’s a wise idea; as I know from our regular hikes here,  Airsofting has been in the forest well before this event ever was.

We will return only to do what we normally do at ICF and that is hike around (and this weekend, pick up any remaining pellets we see)Fortunately, we concentrated the play area to one very limited section of the forest!).

A GREAT outcome of this event worth mentioning was we realized a majority of the kids who came out last weekend had NEVER VISITED ICF!  Now they’ll want to come back. It’s a maze of trails, great for mountain bicycles, and the mother of all hide-n-seek places, great for geocaching. Oh, and it’s a den for fungiphiles (my GPS is marked and memory embedded!).

Three things are clear, in retrospect, and like I said before, let me be your case study:

1- Airsoft is only for private property on Vashon (hey Sportsman’s club, whadya say?!).
2- Retailers could help parents who buy the ammo, by stating this in shelf talkers as a PS for everyday folks who want to do the right thing AND whose rural-yet-non-airsoft-friendly parks don’t post such guidelines on site.
3- If you dare have an Airsoft gathering, make sure it’s a REALLY REALLY big piece of private property.

THANK YOU ICF/people for all you do. -h

Continued from the below. 30 boys. Picture says the rest. No liabilities. No eyes pelted. All in safety gear and ground rules laid out. It rocked!

Ever get the feeling you're being avoided? This was the back I stared at long enough that I decided to take a photo while she finished her call.

Let this story be a lesson to all you Vashon parents whose children (mine included) own Air Soft guns…or ANY pellet type of gun; straight from Vashon Park District to my ears, these guns are considered “firearms and weapons” and they are banned, BANNED from all parks under the VPD jurisdiction.

All those little Air Soft pellets you’ve seen, biodegrading into the soil (and some not) in Vashon parks I’m told by park officials were anomalies, and had the perp been caught with said Air Soft gun, the activity would have been promptly shut down.

Speaking of shut down, the reason this newly articulated law against Air Soft-the-firearm-and-weaponcame to my attention was because a 13-year-old who’d planned an Air Soft party at Agren Park this weekend had circulated printed invitations (the likes of which mandated protective eye wear and parent signatures, among other things). He circulated dozens of them.

The son of a VPD employee received this invitation and that VPD employee shared with the party hosts that Air Soft is not kosher and in fact prohibited from the parks.

Huh. Good to know. A little late, but…

Plus there is the issue of liability, she added (“what if a kid got hit in the eye?”), to which the parent replied eyewear was mandatory to partake. Not only was it mandatory, the host parents nearly bought out a shelf of protective eyewear from Harbor Freight to be sure no kid went without. This of course, assumes no stray pellets are pelting dog-walkers and passerby. The kids planned back-trail play only, not on the groomed green we see during games. There were ground rules and adults to supervise. None of this matters now.

Rules are rules. Happy to follow em. Just please post em (the Air Softs are so popular, it’s worth it). Like dogs and leash laws. We get it when we know.

I’ll bet there is a gang of marauding children somewhere on Vashon whose parents don’t intervene when they want to inappropriately shoot these little firearms, er, Air Soft. Not here. Banish those redneck visions of toothless men scoping out Cabela’s latest on the can or watching OLN decked out in full Carhartt Camo saying “hey junior, grab pops a brewski.” You can be responsible (and a redneck, too!) and mitigate the pellet action, right? Wrong?

Plus, there is the issue of the pellet fallout mess, VPD added. Okay, but even Air Soft makes biodegradable pellets for earth-friendly play. They do break down readily, too; I’ve seen it with my own eyes..at Ober Park!

VPD recommended Island Center Forest as an alternate party spot.  That’s not a bad idea, if a boundary area is defined for the kids. That’s if ICF, of couse,  doesn’t also have an implied law the parents are going to stumble upon that bans Air Soft.  I’ve seen bio-pellets there, too, but clearly that means nothing based on experience.

I’ll be by the phone for another preemptive call, this time from ICF. After all, I was that host parent and the party-thrower was my son. Let my story be a lesson, because at least you can read here in quite clear, upfront terms: AIR SOFT GUNS ARE NOT ALLOWED AT VPD PARKS.

PS: What amused me most was McMurray Middle School first intervened. Although someone at the school found it compelling enough to fax one of the student’s invites to VPD  (a timestamp and source ID that I was shown in person at VPD) they did NOT call the parents whose phone number was on the invite.

I’ll miss those fierce martinis and cosmos of the previous tenants (and Sara-the-non-drinking-barkeep’s wit!), but some new dining options from such a beloved former restaurant is going to be a treat for the Island. Bring it on!

Just as KUOW featured a guest highlighting tips for a sustainable holiday, we found ourselves taking her advice: if you’re going to have a tree, the greenest thing one can do is obtain it from a local tree farm. When the holiday ends, tree-cycle it into mulch and feed the earth again. Our destination was TR’s on the South End, which, up until the last 4 years, was known as Mitchell’s.

The local tree farm experience is like none you’ll find picking up a tree from the grocery store, or from a roadside stand (and where did those trees come from, anyhow, and how many road miles and/or migrant labor went into getting them to market, the KUOW guest would have you wonder?)

One of the charming moments of visiting the now defunct Napa Auto Parts on Vashon was gazing at the wall on the right hand side, which was lined with obsolete license plates from near and far belonging to its customers.

What many don’t know is there is another destination for these lil auto stamps on Westside Highway (on the 175oo-ish line of homes).  The next time you take a country walk or bike ride, pause for a moment to take in just how vast the collection affixed to this utility pole has become.

Not only are there recent plates from Hawaii on one side (hmmm, who could possibly have done THAT one?), there is a plate from when the islands were sporting the sovereign sign of Kamehameha, found on the other side.  A minimum of 30 states are represented. Pretty cool!

For more than 50 years, Vashon Ski School has run a program that bestows Island kids ages 8-18 the experience and joy of  skiing and snowboarding. For the first time ever due to a number of families in financial need, it is compelled to raise scholarship funds to facilitate demand of those hoping to participate in the program. Vashon Ski School is the second most utilized recreational activity in terms of VPD scholarship dollars. And, it’s no secret, skiing’s not cheap.

This year, its own members and volunteers have foraged their yards (their friends’ yards, and their neighbors’ yards too) for some mighty fine evergreens and created enough fresh wreaths for a small village: ours! The gang was out at Thriftway over the weekend,  following its first ever wreath-making cumbaya, pictured here.

From now until Dec. 24, they’re taking orders for island residents. At $20 a pop to provide scholarships for Vashon Ski School, why not make it a host gift or for your own door?! Large sizes are $45 (make sure you have a VERY strong nail or hook because these are not wimpy compositions!).

If you call 7-4122 VSS can hook you up. Home delivery is available for an additional $5; checks are made out to Vashon Ski School.

Yes, they’re a nonprofit. -h

Dear owner of the mint green charter bus,

Do you think we don’t notice you parked all around Vashon town, moving your giant dinner mint on wheels to new parallel spaces? We notice. Who are you? Is there a commune residing in that bus? Is it home, or just a really, really big car for you? Is it like the Rock of Love bus in there (you know, the pink bus contained the crazy blond girls, and the blue bus had the drunk brunettes) and there are serious parties going down–and how do we get invited, if so?

The first time I noticed this bus, it was parked about two months ago right in front of Ober Park on Vashon. It was impossible to leave the Park District lot without throwing one’s car blindly into highway traffic because this green behemoth thwarted any chance of  one’s visibility to SEE THE ROAD from the driveway.

It took a couple of weeks before it actually moved to the road behind Thriftway, and points around town since then. I’m just curious: Is this someone’s home, and is it legal to camp out on Vashon streets?

So, Mr. or Mrs. Green Bus Owner, just know that your bus doesn’t exactly -blend- into the ether and we do see it, and what the heck purpose is it serving?  Inquiring minds want to know. Spill it!

But is it REALLY swine? According to the list of  CDC symptoms, yes it is.

The Island is rampant with Swine divine, and although I took the kids to Doc Dub’s for their H1N1 vaccines (the shot) after much cognitive dissonance and deliberation, I did not follow suit for myself.  Now I get to live through it and gain immunity the hard way. Colleagues who had this at work, friends who’ve just gotten through it warn me to rest. So here I am, on the couch, telling you about it. It started with a feeling someone was sitting on my chest and a really sore, sticky throat. Now the cough is setting in, I’m weak and a little achey, my head feels like it’s in a nutcracker, and I can’t take a deep breath without hacking. Clammy moments come and go.

Meh. This too shall pass. Stay well.

I’m happy to say that Spice Route is a vast improvement compared to is All India Cafe predecessor. Go! It took all my will power to return to the scene of what was once a dining crime.  At Spice Route, The Pillow Room set the backdrop to cozy up and peruse the menu while grooving on Bollywood and electronica music. If there were no other guests around  it would’ve been a den for a serious makeout session. Alas, it was Artwalk night and the craving for Punjabi food was apparently strong on Vashon; crowds were flowing.

We ordered the dinner for two ($39) which easily fed three people –so plan on leftovers–with all sorts of options, from apps to dessert. Chicken Masala stood out as a spicy, robust entree. Everything had a depth of flavor, and the menu even warns there is one element of “antiseptic”  flavor that can present itself in Indian cuisine. This came out in the dessert, Galub Jamun, these little spongy milk balls drowning in a cool syrupy sauce. The cardamom does that. Give this place a chance and venture down the route less traveled.

Let’s move down the road to Quatermaster Pub. Thursday night is Thai Night and all the signage out front and various ads finally pulled me, my family and two other friends in recently. If you lived on this island when Howard Koenig ran Wok Inn Take Out, you know there was no end to curries, vegetarian specialties, perfectly crispy spring rolls and even cool, hard-to-find juices to make the meal authentic from bite to sip. The prospect of Thai dining options coming back to Vashon made our mouths water.

Here’s what went wrong at Thai Night at the Q: cold food, lack of spices, and frozen spring rolls that got dropped into the deep fryer–only to be presented burnt on the edges and lukewarm and gooey on the inside.  We were all hungry after waiting a good length for the spring roll apps, so most of us nibbled til we got to the middles and left the rest uneaten. When the entrees arrived, none were truly hot. The rice was cold on the dining chef’s plate, which the waitress attempted to excuse away by saying “we use a rice cooker and that’s why.” Huh. She brought another scoop out that was piping hot as a replacement–we wondered if it came from a different rice cooker or the same one. Three of us ordered pad thai; the plates were brimming with piles of cabbage, carrots, and bean sprouts and looked delicious. They just didn’t pop with flavor is all. It felt like things came out of a can and went straight to pots and pans, rather than from the hands of someone who spiced and actually tasted (or temp tested) what they were cooking.

Get the vision of Howard’s flaming woks of old and blaring reggae and loquacious chefs–oh and really tasty Thai food–out of your head for now. I recommend the Q for an awesome burger, or fish n chips, or tuna when it’s available… just not Thai.

Oct. 17 proved itself a blockbuster evening for fashion on Vashon Island! More than 15 Island designers, 100 volunteers and 250 attendees came together for a full scale runway show at O, Vashon’s Open Space for Arts & Community. The Vashonistas, the name of the design collaborative, are currently in the process of obtaining non profit status. After show expenses, treasurer Sally Shivers announced the group will be donating $500 to the Vashon-Maury Community Food Bank. There will be no check presentation, Shivers noted. The group will be issuing its check next week, just as the VMC Food Bank braces for the holidays. Vashonistas are already getting ready for next year’s event. Congratulations to all who made it possible.

My big, fat white chanterelle

They’re heeeeere!

The rains have hit, the ground has moistened, and the air has that lingering chill. It can only mean one thing, at least for the foraging types: fungi has arrived. I’m not going to be a total spoiler, since we work hard to find our little treasure troves of chanterelles, boletes, turkey tails and oyster mushrooms (to name just a few!), but I will say, there is absolutely NO NEED to take a ferry to find yourself the goods. You simply need tenacity. Good shoes. A little knife. Oh, and permission to be on the property you’re foraging (start in your own yard!).

If you’re new to foraging (and I still consider myself very new), hit the library or buy David Arora’s “All that the Rain Promises and More…” or “Mushrooms Demystified.” Don’t leave home without them, in fact. Vashon has so many interesting fungi you could spend hours just trying to identify one mushroom.

Some great places to observe some really interesing mushrooms are Island Center Forest (enter from 115th at Cemetery Road), Paradise Ridge park, Fisher Pond, and the trails wrapping around the field of Agren Park (warning about the latter: certain brown clusters are NOT fungi, they are doggy deposits since it’s a popular dog-walking area, so step carefully!).

Look for a mix of salal, huckleberry, and 2nd growth Douglas fir and avoid places with a lot of trailing blackberry, Scotch broom, and ivy if you’re hoping to score the chanterelles. Birches often have yummy boletes near their bases- birch boletes are excellent in gravy and soups. Again, follow the guides, don’t eat what you can’t ID, find an expert (I recommend Cedarsong for a foray), and always cook ‘em up before eating.

By the time Thanksgiving rolls around, there won’t be nearly as much to look at so get out there now…and have fun!

Where's Wanda? The stand has wanda'd elsewhere.

This Saturday morning, Wild Wanda’s espresso stand was fork-lifted away into the sunset. Following an ownership change in the property upon which the stand did business, Wanda’s kiosk, no larger than the circumfrence of a hot tub, was removed this morning. She served her last cup of coffee yesterday to Jake, the man she had handling the forklift.  Wanda is considering moving her business to California, her pals say. I was sad to show up just minutes too late to bid farewell!

Friends tell us La Playa will be opening its own morning espresso service to fill the niche.

Last winter, during the big storm, our family strapped on our skis and snowboards and zig-zagged down our 103rd Ave hill and hockey stopped right in front of her stand. Wanda, whose truck was banked (and soon after, dented) a quarter-mile up on the hill while trying to get to work that morning, poured us hot cocoas and mused at the sight of skiiers descending to her stand (ascending wasn’t as fun).

We’re sad to see this era end, Wanda!

Mistress of all things samba: Carol Lutra-Johns (foreground)

You’ve seen her Samba-ing down Vashon highway with her bootie rockin’ entourage and thundering drum troupe every Strawberry Festival: Carol Lutra-Johns is the fearless leader helping ladies and gents shed their inhibitions at the dance studio door; her husband, Geoff Johns is the man keeping beats booming. I finally got Carol to sit still long enough to answer a few questions. From her love of dance to wardrobe malfunctions…now we know!

q: How did your love of Afro Brazilian Dance begin?

It all began with the  drumming, actually. I started drumming with Geoff right here onthe island. After about a year of drumming, I found out about the dancing that went with the drumming, and I dove in headfirst!  It really was a love affair. I took as many classes as I could anywhere  I could. I brought my daughter  Zoe with me, and @ five yrs old she would burn-up the floor in the Samba de Roda (Samba dance circle)

q: Which came first, your love of Dance or your love of Geoff?

Well- the 2 are connected-I’ve always loved to dance, but I never made the connection to Brazilian and African dance til I met Geoff. You could say we’re living a musical love affair. It’s really fun and sexy to communicate with drumming and dancing and flirt with each other in that very embodied, playful and creative way.

q:  Tell me about your motto “We’re taking it back from Madison Ave toVashon Hwy.”

My dance classes are all about enjoying being in your body as it is NOW. That you are perfect just as you are, and all you really need to do to be beautiful is enjoy yourself and let that joy, that light shine out!  To move to the music, to sweat and to glow, with health and happiness is irresistable, no matter what your age or body type.This kind of beauty, and physical confidence can’t be bought-it’s our birthright and it’s FREE! I create a safe and supportive space for women to own their bodies, beauty,sensuality and the pure pleasure of dancing. And I create venues for my dancers to bring their art, their beauty, energy and light into the community to share as a gift.

The Strawberry Festival Parade is our regular yearly coming-out party, where we show what we’ve been working on for the year. I hope to create other regular performance opportunities for those that are interested. Everyone is encouraged, but no one is ever made to perform. I have had dancers with serious performance anxiety to the point of fainting overcome their limitations, and others with health challenges choose to rise above them and perform in an empowered way. It’s very inspiring to me!

q:  What does this class do for “non-dancers” so to speak–those who scurry into the studio, unsure if they’re “good enough?”

To be a dancer all you need to do is dance. It’s an action, not a position. Everyone is good enough-if you want to dance, I can  teach you. An African proverb says “If you can walk you can  dance” and it’s true. I’ve taught little kids, and grandmothers,men and women, and teenagers, and differently-abled people. All of them could dance. Everyone has their own style. Afro-Brazilian dance isn’t rigid like some dance forms. It has a naturalness about the movement, it’s body-friendly and it allow space for individual self-espression.Our class is very supportive-it’s not about looking perfect, it’s about feeling the joy of the dance.

q:  Is this a serious bootie burner–what would you wager in calories spent on the Beginning and the 90-min Afro Brazilian Dance w/live drumming classes?

I don’t call it the “sexiest workout on the planet” for nothing. It is so sexy, and it IS a workout! You bet-you will get your booty in the best shape it’s every been in, because we MOVE IT! You will move your booty in ways you never thought possible, and perhaps have never even seen before! We take a couple of short water breaks, but we’re moving almost the whole time. The Beginning  Brazilian  Dance class, is a lower impact version of the Afro-Brazilian, and is a little less aerobic. It also depends who’s in class and what limitations they have-  I like to customize the class somewhat to fit the students needs. In both classes I stretch everyone really well before and after-it makes all the difference. The Afro-Brazilian Dance with live drumming is pretty high octane-I think the drums really get everyone going, and an hour and a 1/2  just flies!  It’s a great natural high!

q:  There are lot of costumes in your performances–any funny past wardrobe malfunctions?

One time comes to mind, about ten yrs ago in the Fremont Solstice parade,  I was dancing and my skirt fell off! And I didn’t have much on underneath either!I quickly pulled it up, refastened it and kept dancing! And after that, I always reinforced with safety pins just to be safe! Of course compared to the naked bicyclists, or Samba dancers in Brazilian Carnaval, I was overdressed! It’s all relative.

q: What kinds of music do you listen to at home?

Lot’s of different kinds-we like to listen, and we like to sing! We are truly a world music household- underground hip-hop, Zimbabwean music, roots reggae, east indian sacred chanting, Afro-cuban, music of Mali, and Guinea, Brazilian bossa nova, Celtic music, and the
other day Geoff was listening to Strauss, so you just never know.

q: Anything else?

We are offering free Afro-Cuban,  Afro-Haitian vocal and percussion workshops that are ongoing on Thurs nites here @ our RhythmJoy Studio  from 7-9. Coming soon,  a World Sacred Song Circle with call and response singing. And on Halloween, we are having our VIBE! (Vashon Island Booty Express!) Conscious Groove Dance Party @ the Vashon DanceAcademy from 9-12 midnite. Check out our new blog http://www.vibedance.wordpress.com.

Dova Silks on the runway

If you read today’s Beachcomber, you know that one of the biggest sustainable fashion shows to ever hit the Northwest is happening on our fair isle, and it is comprised of Island artists, designers, musicians, dessert-makers, and models.

Some may not realize Elizabeth Klob, behind the bridal and special occasion shop Cicada, located in downtown Seattle, is an Islander. Her fashions, as well as the talent from her UMO associate, aerialist Martha Enson, weave perfectly into the culture of what promises to be a whimsical show.

As designers prepare, Dova Silks’ working studio seems something like an ant farm in time lapse, making a masterpiece come together through a series comings and goings.  Artists are dashing through with fabrics and accessories in tow. Models are darting in and out for fittings. Scissors are slicing, machines are revving, the work tables are swathed with color schemes.  All the while, the phones will not stop ringning.

Suspended nymphs, stilted models, fantasy or one-of-a-kind apparel and accessories (most of which is from renewable resources, or is just plain renewed), an outrageous set design from Jack Strubbe and a donation to the Vashon-Maury Community Foodbank should put this event on your calendar for Oct. 17–and there’s still enough time afterward to go hang out at the Red Bike!

This writer –like many Islanders–was one of many who stumbled upon the “Raising Chickens” husbandry class of which Fulton was a coordinator with Dana Ness, DVM, with the support of VIGA .  Since that time those annual classes have spawned a thousand chickens, or at least dozens of hen houses, countless hatchery orders, an Island chicken coop tour and a thriving dialogue on Yahoo’s “Vashon Poultry” user group to keep those eggs a’comin’.

Sunday, Oct. 18, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., Fulton is helping Islanders learn the ways of composting with a free “Let it Rot” demonstration on her turf (9228 SW 209th).  Several interpretive displays will be set up, everything from worm bins to chickens in action (turning your waste into compost!). Bring those gardening gloves if you really want to get in there.

For information, contact Fulton at 206-463-5652 or visit mariposagardens.org.