Mary Makes Stuff

Mary is a freelance graphic designer whose hobbies include making dinosaur, bug, and robot themed artwork. She let me follow her to a few of the Maker Market pop-ups she participates in. Then we had a chat about what she loves about Seattle, what she misses about her hometown of Cleveland, and how great wigs are at SUIKA Seattle.

Good food, good games, good times with Nicole

Nicole has been a friend of mine going on 6 years now, meeting through our love of games at Gamma Ray Games. She's such a fan of the hobby, she started a website with her boyfriend called Across the Board Games, which reviews the plethora of new games coming onto the market every day.
She took me on a perfect afternoon/evening tour of Capitol Hill, a tourists dream itinerary of food, museums, and relaxation.

A Streetcar from Capitol Hill to Pioneer Square, and Lunch

Seattle has taken its time getting transit, other than buses, built in the city. So it is with a, perhaps, surprising amount of joy that the first day of a new streetcar is greeted. Also, the train has been a local joke since it was supposed to open in 2014, so we've had more time than expected to anticipate the line.
I couldn't help but hop on on the first day and check out my new, convenient connection to parts of town that were previously quite difficult to get to, especially considering how close they were.

A Karaoke Tribute to David Bowie

My home neighborhood in Seattle is Capitol Hill, an historic home for the weirdos and freaks of the world. (Some may argue this is changing, and such is the nature of life, but there are still quite a few of us keeping the faith.)
The death of David Bowie hit us hard and almost immediately, people were organizing gatherings to celebrate the life of a man who shared his life with us. When I saw a call go out on Capitol Hill Seattle for Waking the Alien- David Bowie Singing Celebration at my #1 karaoke bar, The Crescent, I couldn't stay away.

Join us as we give thanks for being alive at the same time as The Great White Duke.

Cafe Pettirosso

I moved back to Seattle in 2001 and have lived here ever since. I have lived in the Capitol Hill/First Hill neighborhoods for that entire time, save one year.

I have walked passed Cafe Pettirosso, opened in 2000, innumerable times, I have eaten at every food establishment around it, and even had a friend working there for about a year, yet never had I gone inside. I didn't purposefully avoid it, it was just one of those places that I just never get around to trying.

Until I did.

I reached out to a friend I hadn't talked to in a while and she said we should meet up at the Cafe, since it's become her regular place.

The small storefront hides a spacious interior. The pastries were so buttery and just sweet enough for my savory preferring tastes.
And so, even after 14 years, there are surprises to discover in my backyard.

Summit Block Party IV

A beautiful weekend on Capitol Hill, where the fourth annual Summit Block Party took place on Saturday.

The event started as a way for residents of the Summit Inn, an artistic community, to show off their art and music to each other.

Over the years, more and more friends started showing up, until this year they had to get official permits and block off the street.

This is likely to be the last year, the Summit Inn got a new owner, but it's hardly the last community party that shows off the talents of the neighborhood.

Capitol Hill Library

I am proud to boast about the Seattle Public Library system.
Seattle has been in the top 3 most literate cities since the rankings started in 2003, a few times reaching the top spot. We love books, bookstores, librarians, so of course we invest in our libraries.
The downtown branch is famous for it's Rem Koolhaus architecture. Since the day it's opened I have referred to it as our secular temple. But the neighborhood branches are what really connect the city to the system.
We're able to order books from anywhere in the system and get them delivered to our local branch, free of charge. That includes movies and music- one of the last repositories of physical media in our city.
Well, I was dropping off some material at the Capitol Hill branch, my fabulous local, when I noticed a shelf of materials that didn't need a library card to check out. A library honor system, which just set my heart aflutter.

Doing a tour of the neighborhood branches (map) is a great way to get a feel for our city. Each branch really reflects the community that surrounds it. And each branch has amazing architecture- from the classic Carnegies of the early 1900's to modern beauties.
Depending on the season, you may even be able to participate in a mini-game, like the Passport program, which encouraged residents to visit each other's neighborhoods.