Blooming along Argyle Street....

A splash of color here & there, even on grey days, reminds ya spring is here….

Singing & telling stories at the Doctor's Office about a month ago....photo by Britt Arneson (thanks!)

Haven’t sung a song for you for a while, so here’s one I used to sing with my friend Mary (we were called Mary & Ian…surprise).

Click here to listen!

The Marine Labs across the harbor on a sunny day....

Let’s see what’s up:

Keith in action....

• Hey, have you seen Keith Keyser‘s woodwork? Check it out here.

• Somebody told me (with attribution): The nice part about living in a small town is that when you don’t know what you are doing, someone else does.

• I’ve been to Alice’s workshops & they’re awesome! Hope you get a chance to go – here’s one this weekend (call her for location):

There is an abundance of writers on these Islands but few resources, other than online, for learning how to market books to agents and publishers.

“You’re Writing the Manuscript, Now What?” is one of those resources and will be presented on San Juan Island, Saturday, April 10 (11:15-5:15 p.m.) and Sunday, April 11, 2010 (2:00-5:15 p.m.) by Alice B. Acheson, a longtime publishing professional.  Geared for authors, illustrators and/or photographers searching for a publisher, the aim of this workshop is to empower the writers with publishing and marketing knowledge, including:

●    strategies for finding — and impressing — an agent/publisher,

●    industry procedures — from signing the contract to post-publication,

●    what to do — and when — to gain realistic control over the marketing process and publisher support,

●    specifics relating to individual project(s),

●    abundant handouts covering all stages of publication, and

●    “a thorough destroying of illusions, replaced with real tools and great methods to deal with actual situations.”

— Janice Crow, workshop participant

Alice & her best fella at the Festival of Trees last December

Additionally, on Friday, April 9 (2:00-5:15 p.m.), Acheson will also present “The Greatest Marketing Tool of All,” a three-hour workshop on the verbal pitch.  All potential authors need to spread the word about their work early in the process.  You never know who is listening. It could be an agent, publisher, bookseller, or future reader.  No writer should be unprepared or blow the opportunity with the wrong description.  Having “pitched” hundreds of books, including four simultaneously on the New York Times bestseller list, Acheson will share what works, what doesn’t — and why?

Both workshops require an assignment to be completed prior to the class, with instructions provided upon registration.

For further information and cost, contact Alice Acheson at 360/378-2815.

Susan drops by Judy's Land Bank booth at the Market....

• It’s always good to run into friends at the Farmers’ Market, like Susan & Judy did….

• Bill & Rita want you to come dance:

Line Dance: A Great Form Of Exercise
Easy & Fun for Adults & Teens

Our Line Dances are not just “Country Line Dances.” We just call it “Line Dancing” for a reason. We play great music of all the genres, like Ballroom, Top 40, Hip Hop, Blues, Funky, Latin, Country, Swing and more.

We dance in lines, so you never need a partner. You can bring all your friends and have a lot of fun and good exercise without even knowing it.

Line Dances can be 1 Wall, 2 Walls or 4 Wall Dances. Beginning classes are designed for you to feel confident each week and we review and add on a new dance each week. Intermediate classes are for those dancers who have danced for quite some time and have at least 10 line dances under their belt. These student are able to memorize longer dances and be able to turn frequently. Continue Reading

Tons of stuff to eat & visit & check out the new Ace Hardware store – here’s the complete list of what’s happening. See ya there!

They're here on Sunday!

“Such a gorgeous blend of harmony and great songs…Love the Jennys!”–Bonnie Raitt

Three extraordinary voices with one singular vision, The Wailin’ Jennys offer a fresh breeze of sweet acoustic folk music that keep audiences uplifted and mesmerized.

Winners of Canada’s 2005 Juno Award for Roots and Traditional Album of the Year, the group has been gathering a large following as it’s embarked on North American and European tours (“quiet, warm, subtle, mellifluous, almost too good to be true,” noted British daily, The Independent).

Founding singer-songwriters Ruth Moody (guitar, banjo, accordion, bodhran) and mezzo Nicky Mehta (guitar, harmonica, ukulele, percussion) have recently been joined by singer and pianist Heather Masse. Masse appeared at the San Juan Community Theatre last April with former music school classmate and Cooked Still vocalist Aoife O’Donovan.

The Jennys’ most recent album, Live from the Mauch Chuck Opera House, features fan favorites “One Voice” and “Calling All Angels” among its 18 tracks. The Washington Times says it has “Heart-stopping harmonies.”

Sunday at the Community Theatre!

Compost-It moved next door, into Doug Bison's old spot - they have more room & the place is looking good! Drop by & say hey!

Let’s see what’s up:

That's Carolyn (from Wells Fargo) out with her friend Mike at dinner at Haley's...

• You remember Felicitations Bakery over on Nichols Street…well, even though it closed up in 2003, Felicity Milne is still baking. She’s got great cakes & more – I know, because I’ve seen what she makes at weddings & events & all over. Check out her website & you’ll get the idea.

• Have you see Annie Howell-Adams’ summer workshops for artists yet? And signed up? You can be among the first – go here. And here’s work from her Sunday Art Class.

• Jackie Armstrong says she has a sale this weekend at 375 Spruce Street (that’s Country Fair Condos) – lots of furniture, area rugs, picture frames, dishes, bedding.  Percentage of proceeds will go to Soroptimist’s Relay for Life Team 2010. It’s all on Sat. April 10, at 8:00 a.m.  (By the way, the Sailing Club’s sale starts at 9:00 a.m. at Fairgrounds.)

• It’s Open House this Thursday (and later in the month) at Spring Street International School – here’s more from Jerry Riley:

SSIS

Spring Street International School announces “Open Campus Days”
SSIS will hold its spring 2010 “Open Campus Days” on separate April dates:
April 8th and 29th (Thursdays) at the school – 505 Spring Street. Students / Parents may visit classes, tour the school, meet with teachers and staff and join us for lunch. The Open Campus allows prospective families to visit, informally, at their convenience to see, firsthand, the educational benefits of SSIS. Available hours are 8:15am to 5:00pm.

Visit and discover why the combination of college preparation curriculum, experiential education, small class sizes and a family atmosphere contribute to our wonderful record of success. Please call to schedule a visit or a meeting – 360-378-6393.

Charlotte gets a lift from her friend Rebecca in Turkey....

• Have you heard from Charlotte Guard lately? Last summer after graduating from FHHS, she received a State Department scholarship to study in Turkey for her fifth year, and that’s where’s she’s been.

She keeps a pretty thorough blog that will give you a good idea what she’s up to – check it out!

Meanwhile, Arielle Mancuso is tending to her Peace Corps work in Rwanda…here’s her blog.

• Time to go see the birds: The Lopez Subchapter of the San Juan Islands Audubon‘s Field Trip is Saturday, April 17.  Meet 7:45am at Center Church to carpool.  Everyone is welcome – for more info, call Bob Myhr 468-2258.

Hey, y'all: Barbara & Jim hook up with Bill & Michael....

• I just got this note from Michael & Bill, who just moved to North Carolina:

Michael D’Abrosca and Bill Hamilton, recently relocated to Asheville, North Carolina, travelled to Beech Mountain to spend Easter with Jim and Barbara Petty, former owners of the fondly remembered and late lamented Front Street Café.

As you can see, Barbara is still whippin’ up her delicious baked treats for her guests, and Jim still serves up a mean cup of fresh-brewed coffee while keeping a watchful eye for black bears from the porch! All four are seen here enjoying a beautiful mountain morning – warm, sunny and hail-free.

A hearty “hi y’all!” to our greatly-missed island friends!

• Alice Hurd wanted you to know about the Wildflower Walks coming up:

Would you like to know more about the wildflowers you are seeing on San Juan Island this spring? The San Juan Island Trails Committee, under the auspices of Island Rec, is organizing two wildflower walks in April. The walks will be led by botanist Louisa Nishitani, and will each last about 2 hours. The walks will be largely within the boundaries of San Juan National Historical Park.

That's Jennifer at The Elephant Room in Jeri's Mall, just past Cousin Vinnie's Pizza...drop by and see her!

On Saturday, April 10th at 1:00 the first walk will begin from the parking lot at English Camp, from where we will ascend (and descend!) Young Hill. On the following Saturday, April 17th, the walk will begin by the Interpretive Center at American Camp at 10:00 . Restrooms are available at both starting points. Due to the delicate nature of the terrain, dogs are not invited . Everyone else is welcome. Participants are reminded to bring drinking water.

Further information may be obtained by e-mailing the Trails Committee at [email protected]. Also on the trails website are listings of plants found along various Island trails, including Young Hill and American Camp. These lists as well as trail maps may be printed off from the site and brought along on the walks.

Yep, it’s time for kindergarten signups next week – here’s more from Marty Robinson:

Kindergarten Registration

Friday Harbor Elementary School welcomes the Kindergarten class of 2010-2011! Registration for next year’s Kindergarten class will be held on Tuesday and Wedneday, April 13 and 14 in the school office. Parents who wish to enroll their children for the 2010-2011 Kindergarten session should call the school to set up an appointment. To be eligible, students must be five years of age by August 31, 2010. Please call the elementary school at 378-5209 X 1 to make an appointment.

Please bring your child’s birth certificate and immunization records. If needed, birth certificates may be obtained at the San Juan County Health Department. The Health Department will offer health screenings for Kindergartners later in the spring. Their number is 378-4474.

Lilah (left) and Indigo compare ponies after the egg hunt on Jackson's Beach on Easter.

It’s cool – the Fire Department helps the Easter Bunny hide dozens of eggs, and then hundreds of island kids race to find the Easter eggs as well as the prize eggs. It’s a gathering of the tribe each year at Jackson’s Beach overlooking Griffin Bay on San Juan Island in Washington state in the USA. I know I took my kids…twenty years ago. Nice way to get together with friends on Easter.

In the video of the day below, you’ll see dozens of kids you know & their moms & dads…set to the music by Joe Bongiorno (FHHS ’87 – you can buy his music at http://www.joebongiorno.com); video by San Juan Update Homemade Productions.

Ready for lunch? Drop by & see Paul at Pablito's, in the place where Steps was located.

Well, on Thursday, Paul & the crew had a soft opening to make sure everything was cool & ready & working…the way people do. Friday, as you know, the electricity went down around 9:45am and stayed off till about one pm (depending on where you were in town), so that Grand Opening was a bit softer than planned.

So – drop by today to check out Pablito’s! They’re ready for you!

Anne usually has the scoop....

If we ever decide to have a “friendliest person on the island” award, I’ll betcha Anne at the ferry lanes would be a top contender.

Let’s see what’s going on this week, besides spring break at the public schools…

• It was an interesting Easter weekend, with the power off more than three hours midday on Good Friday and fairly massive hail on Saturday…

• Troy out at Afterglow Spa at Roche Harbor says that starting in April, the Spa is open Thursday – Monday from 10 am – 6 pm…and that in April, you can save $10 off any spa service!

Marta and all the CATS folks saw a lobby-full of goodies get wiped out on Saturday at the Community Theatre’s Incredible Edibles fundraisers…they were down to only two tables when I dropped in an hour after they started. Now, THAT’s a bake sale!

• It’ll be interesting to see if the outdoor sports teams at FHHS can get their games in, this wet & windy & maybe thunderstorms-loaded week….

Wait…they’re ALL outdoors…

Hard & heavy….the hail came down hard on Saturday. …photo by Sherry Price.

Hail in the parking lot next to waterworks gallery...photo by Ruth Offen.

Well, it started hailing a little after 11 today, and ended up making the place look like it was covered with fast-melting snow…

ALL kinds of weather this year!

That's the friendly folks at IPS: Michelle (left), Meghan, Jim & Kate - drop by & see them!

Where did the time go? It’s already been a year since Kate & Jim Schuman bought Island Petroleum Services – wahoo! Here’s more form Kate:

Jim and Kate Schuman are celebrating the one-year anniversary of their purchase of Island Petroleum Services.  IPS is a wholesale and retail fuel distribution company with a gas station at 315 Carter Ave, just down the hill from Harbor Rental in Friday Harbor.   They also operate the fuel pier at the Port of Friday Harbor and offer home delivery of heating oil, kerosene, and other fuels.
In addition to their San Juan Island operation, IPS offers delivery of fuels to homes and businesses on Orcas Island.  We also offer a full line of lubes and oils available on San Juan and Orcas. Please call 378-4430 to set up delivery.
IPS is known for its friendly, knowledgeable staff, including Meghan Hoyt and Michelle Coleman in the office, truck drivers Graham Wallis (Orcas), Ken Claborn and Craig Starr, and fuel dock manager Laurie Mason and her crew.
Win Free Gas!

Starting Monday, April 5th, there will be some construction activity at the entrance to the Carter Avenue gas station.  This will not affect the pumps, and during that time the station and office will be open regular hours.   To thank customers for their business during construction IPS will hold a drawing each weekday for two $25 IPS gift cards, which may be used to purchase fuel or any product off the shelf at our station.  Stop by anytime between 7:30 and 5:30 Monday through Friday, purchase $5 minimum of gas, and enter the drawing.   Drawings will continue each weekday until at least April 16th.

Regular office hours at the Carter Ave. gas station are Monday through Friday 7:30 to 5:30, but fuel is available around the clock at the pumps using any major debit or credit card, including IPS account cards and Shell credit and gift cards.  For more information, visit our website at www.onlyips.com or stop by the station to say hi or give us a call at 378-4430.  We’re here to assist you!

Looks like the wind is going to pick up today, with gusts up to sixty miles an hour, so be sure & put your lightweight cats inside & batten down anything that might fly away. Here’s the high wind warning.

Also, last night there was an explosion at the oil refinery that killed three folks. Here’s more on that.

Kaal & Courtney on 7/7/07

One of the occasional problems around here: who can you you call if you need a babysitter?

Well, islander Kaal Oldwyn (FHHS ’96) married Courtney back in ’07 (7/7/07, as a matter of fact – I got to dj the reception with Shay & Shamrock Sound)…last year, they moved back to the island with their beautiful one year old, Isla Lee.

Courtney found that at times, parents on the island don’t always have a great way to find baby sitters, so she launched Island Sitters yesterday. Here’s her website…and if you like, you can call Courtney Oldwyn at 298-4052.

Looks like Xena the Warrior Princess, but that's FHHS senior Kayla Short at yesterday's home track meet. She set her PR in the javelin last weekend at 112 feet; yesterday she came inches short of 110 feet.

Take a look what’s going on….

• The San Juan Pilots Association mentions that AOPA Pilot magazine has a nice article about Friday Harbor – here’s more (so you can see what people say about us!)

That's Isabella with a colorful pillow she just made yesterday in Kay Kohler's after-school sewing class - looks good!

• Kris from Printonyx is closing up for spring break (so get your copying done today!)…here’s more:

Like other businesses with school-age children, Printonyx is closing up for Spring Break April 5-9. This is our sixth year of doing so.  We’ve worked overtime to notify all our customers of their finished jobs, got all of our projects and billing finished, and are ready for a break. Jeff is going to work on his house remodel while Kris goes to California for a family reunion/wedding. Jonathan, Clinton and Susan are doing off-island stuff with their family and friends.

That's Rebecca Leff, who is presently the number one singles player for the FHHS tennis team this spring.

Thank you for allowing us this time to rejuvenate and bring in new equipment. We’ll reopen for business at 8:30a.m. on the April 12th, just in time for all those last minute income-tax copies!

• Compost-It! has moved from their spot on the corner next to Roy’s Espresso to the shop next door, vacated when Doug Bison moved over to the old Garuda & I spot earlier last month.

• See you at the Market – you know this month’s Farmers’ Market is this weekend at the high school, right? I know, I mentioned it earlier this week, but it’s worth repeating, don’t you think?

• Jaileen (she does Peace of Mind Pet Sitting) is offering a pet poetry contest – here’s the scoop:

First Annual Pet Poetry Contest and Reading

The first Annual Pet Poetry Contest welcomes submissions of poetry. All poems must relate to pets. The pets may be living or deceased, or even imaginary pets, but the poems must be about a pet or pets. Contest begins midnight April 1st and continues for the entire month, poems are submitted online only and the deadline is midnight April 30th. The contest is sponsored by Peace of Mind Pet Sitting, who will be awarding the prizes.  A panel of judges has been chosen to score the contest.

The contest also features an evening of poetry where all entrants are welcome and  encouraged to participate if they wish, the first and second  place winners are the only entrants required to read their poems to each claim their prize. Winners and all other entries that have given permission to publish will be archived and available online following the contest for all to see on May 19th. To be declared a winner and collect their prize, entrants must read their winning poem at the Doctor’s Office, 85 Front St. from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00p.m. on Friday May 21st. Continue Reading