Kubota Garden

Kubota Garden is an old Japanese garden here in South Seattle. It's huge, it's free, it's in a bad neighborhood. It's supposedly haunted. Everything about it is unlikely.



From the garden's website:

In 1927 Fujitaro Kubota bought five acres of logged-off swampland in the Rainier Beach neighborhood of Seattle and began his garden. A 1907 emigrant from the Japanese Island of Shikoku, he established the Kubota Gardening Company in 1923. Fujitaro was a man with a dream. Entirely self-taught as a gardener, he wanted to display the beauty of the Northwest in a Japanese manner and was soon designing and installing gardens throughout the Seattle area.

Enough talk. Let's look.

Full Throttle Bottles Coming to Georgetown

This just in from Seattle Weekly's food blog, by way of The Paper Noose.

Georgetown will soon be home to Full Throttle Bottles, which the Weekly says will be a beer and wine shop in the old Georgetown racetrack stable on Airport Way. (I don't know which building that is.)

I like beer. I like wine. Especially French Sauvignon Blancs, hint hint, Full Throttle Bottles!

Offbeat Homes

In case any Offbeat Homes readers come to this blog after reading about it in Jennifer's super-nice post, I want to point you to some old posts you might be interested in. This blog is a badly tagged mish-mash of neighborhood items, photo essays about plants and drinks, and personal diatribes, and you might not otherwise find the good stuff.

(An aside to everyone else: I've been really busy with work lately and will continue to be busy through Christmas, so I haven't had much time/energy for fun stuff, like stalking local gardening celebrities or attending Hangar Cafe's grand opening party last night. I promise to return to my paparazzi party-crashing ways in January.)

Anyway, here's a list of some posts with lots of photos of offbeat homes and other cool spaces:

1. Dick and Jane's Spot in Ellensburg, Washington. A cool couple's crazy art yard.



2. Rich Art's Yard in Centralia, Washington. An even cooler dude's even crazier art yard.



3. Bridge Motel in Seattle, Washington. Some artists threw a party at a soon-to-be-demolished motel on the old interstate in Seattle.



4. The Brew House section of the old Rainier Cold Storage complex in Seattle, Washington. A beautiful turn-of-the-century brewery structure that will soon be renovated.



5. Little & Lewis's Garden Art Gallery on Bainbridge Island, Washington.



6. My artist friends' awesome house here in Seattle.



Thanks for visiting!

Great Stuff

Last night we stopped by the grand opening party at Great Stuff, an antique shop on Airport Way.



I'm pretty familiar with their inventory, which I used to admire at the Pacific Galleries Antique Mall in Sodo. With Great Stuff and Planet Oranj out of the Antique Mall, we'll have little reason to go there anymore. Though last time I was there, I got these cool X-ray viewers, which we put on the far wall of our living room, on the weird wood paneling, here.



I blew up some of the photos I took at the Rainier Cold Storage Building and am displaying those right now.



Anyway, back to the party. Lots of people showed up.



Including that cool guy who's tended bar at Calamity Jane's and Smarty Pants. I'd already been drinking, and I couldn't remember how I knew him, and he's very friendly, and I gave him a hug. Anyway, sir, I'm sorry for being so forward and hugging you without even knowing your name. You're always so nice that I feel like I know you!































We're hungry, so we head to Georgetown Liquor Company.



This way.





I wonder how many billions of dollars and hundreds of lives he'll take from us in the next 430 days. When he took office, he inherited a record budget surplus from Bill Clinton, and he quickly turned it into a record deficit. There's fiscal conservatism for you. Anyway. Just saying.

Pictures from the Squid & Ink

We spent a rainy Thursday evening in the cozy, dark confines of the Squid & Ink vegan cafe.



It was the start of a 36-hour period in which I did not eat meat.



I had the salad, which was good, and my husband had the stroganoff, which was even better.



I believe our tall, Montana-bred waitress said the place is a co-op. She definitely said that the menu has lots of wheat-free options, but not as many soy-free ones.





We'll be back soon.

View Protection at Jefferson Park?

A while back, a couple friends of mine and I met with Peter Steinbrueck to see if he'd support view protection legislation for Jefferson Park. He said he did, but things took a while to actually get underway.



Then Saturday night, at my husband's birthday party, I heard rumors that Steinbrueck had gotten the proposal heard at some City Council committee meeting. (Yeah, things can get pretty crazy at our house!)

Dude, check it out!

Thank you, Peter! I'm thrilled that you care enough about the South End to make protecting its views part of your City Council legacy. If you ever decide to make a run for mayor, you've certainly got my vote.

Holiday Artisans Bazaar This Saturday at Georgetown Tile Works

I can't go, but you should, especially if you need a new belt buckle. Steel Toe Studios does amazing work.

Reception this Saturday: Georgetown Tile Works Holiday Artisan Bazaar

Please Join Us!
Opening Reception: Saturday November 10th, 6-9pm

Georgetown Tile Works Holiday Artisans Bazaar!

Small original works by numerous local artists, artisans & designers, including Art Garcia, Jennifer Bauser, Jewels Curnow, Amaranta Ibarra, Mike Poetzel, Holly Mistur, Andersen Studios, Alchemy Goods, Steel Toe Studios, Don't Quilt Your Day Job, Head Bitch in Charge, KLT Works, Naked Lady Felts, Mud Flap Grrrl, Mishmash, Kimberly Sun
Designs, Soopajdelux and more.

~ All work available at time of sale ~

Extended Holiday Hours:
November 1st ~ December 23rd, Tues-Sat, Noon-6pm

Remember to mark your calendars:

Georgetown Holiday Art Walk: December the 8th & 9th 11-5pm

Come admire the Day of the Dead Bubble Light Tinsel Tree and Enjoy Tasty Treats!

Located at: Georgetown Tile Works
5905 Airport Way South
Seattle WA,98108