Month: August 2014

Everett Has Public Pianos, Too

Carl Setzer

Seattle recently launched, in conjunction with KEXP, the Pianos in Your Parks projects. 20 pianos, placed in parks throughout the city, for anyone to play. I find the notion brilliant! Take a moment to follow that link and learn.

Now Everett has launched something similar. See the details below. I intend to check these out.

Experience Everett (EE)
Street Tunes showcases interactive art in
Downtown Everett
Come play one of the 18 beautifully decorated pianos August 6-26, 2014


Street Tunes is an interactive art project, from start to finish, beginning with the commissioning of artists to decorate each piano.  Pianos are placed on the street and anyone can stop and play a tune or just tickle the keys.  Each location has maps so that you can create a treasure hunt of unique pianos while exploring Everett.  The piano with the most votes will be awarded the “People’s Choice Award” by the City of Everett.

See the 2013 Street Tunes pianos’ locations below and for a map, pictures, and an opportunity to vote go to: http://www.ci.everett.wa.us/default.aspx?ID=2129  (Go to the bottom of the page below the map to vote for your favorite! – or  these may work – View Street Tunes: Piano Locations in a larger map Click here to vote for your favorite piano

1.   Scuttlebutt Brewing Co., 1205 Craftsman Way – Buccaneers, by artist Lyussy Hyder
2.   Under the Red Umbrella, 1502 Rucker Ave. – Broadway Boogie Woogie , by artist Si Newland
3.   Sisters Restaurant & Sno-Isle Food Co-op, 2804 Grand Ave. – Music Leopard Lounge, by artist Janet Wold
4.   Sol Food, 1405 Hewitt Ave.  – Mambo Kings Sing Songs of Love, by artist Cheri O’Brien
5.   Everett Library, 2702 Hoyt Ave.  – All Star Piano Players, by artist Cathy Tanasse
6.   Schack Art Center, 2921 Hoyt Ave. – The Jimi Hendrix Experience, by artist Jesse James Jeter
7.   Imagine Children’s Museum, 1502 Wall St. – Intertwined, by artist Amber Forrest
8.   Mermaid Café, 2932 Colby Ave. – Nature’s Melodies, by artist Cassandra Reed
9.   Bite Me Cupcakes, 2811 Colby Ave.  – Meow Art, by artist Cathy Tanasse
10.  Everpark Garage Breezeway, 2816 Colby Ave.  – Pianobots of the 25th Century, by artist Mike Capp
11.  Wicked Cellars, 2616 Colby Ave.  – Epoca Rosso,  by artist Alexander Vincini
12.  Petite Sweet & J. Matheson Gifts, 2615 Colby Ave. – Pacific Coast Rocks, by artist Melana Bontrager
13.  Wetmore Theatre Plaza,  2710 Wetmore Ave. – Night Concerto,  by artist Anna Mastronardi Novak
14.  Café Zippy, 2811 Wetmore Ave. – The Phantom, by artist Jeromy Sawdon
15.  Everett Comics, 2831 Wetmore Ave.  – Summer Reflections, by artist Shannon Danks
16.  Comcast Arena, 2000 Hewitt Ave.  – The Scenic Route, by artist Jody Carlson Cain
17.  Everett Transit Station, 3201 Smith Ave.  – Sun in Raven in Whale, by artists Darrin Hess & Jane Meagher
18.  3231 Creatives, 3231 Broadway Ave.  – Peek, by artist Jules Anslow

Safeway’s Been Acquired By Albertson’s

Carl Setzer1 Comment

One little tidbit I missed earlier this year: Albertson’s is acquiring Safeway. In my humble borough of Lynnwood, we have one of each on opposite corners of the same intersection. With this M&A, I expect that one of the two will be shuttered, especially since part of the justification is the cut costs and improve our competitive position. Especially since they’re surrounded by competition: < 2 mile radius to two Krogers QFCs and a Walmart, with another of Kroger’s Fred Meyer stores just slightly further away.

Safeway always seems to be empty, whereas Albertson’s seems pretty active (now that is completely subjective, so take that into consideration). However, I’ve lived around the area for years, and both stores have maintained continuous presences. So I guess they’re both fine sales-wise, but I anticipate the Albertson’s is stronger. And the Jame’s Village Albertson’s has been in the same location for ages. Thus, if I were putting a wager, I’d lean towards Albertson’s winning out. As I haven’t seen a timeline for this being completed and through regulatory review, we’ll just need to wait for the future to get here.

 

Riding the Snoqualmie Valley Trail

Carl Setzer

Friends texted us Friday evening. We’d discussed riding the Snoqualmie Valley Trail, part of my want-to-ride list for ages.

IMG_5741

We parked and set out from Loutsis Park in Carnation. One side note: Apple’s map/Siri got us near Loutsis, but to a different park .3 miles away. Google Maps was able to get us the rest of the way. The ride was, well, mostly half uphill, with the ride back being down. MapMyFitness does a create job of mapping out the ride, providing all the great geeky details like splits and elevation gain. Here are these details from this ride.

It’s really a nice trail for this kind of ride. Well packed gravel, and, though solidly up-hill, a gentle grade (to be expected from converted train tracks). For us, this was perfect: our group had a significant range of age and skill: ages 6 to early 50s. My son, with one of his friends, rode ahead with me while the rest of our crew adopted a more leisurely pace. I felt proud of my son’s pace and endurance. More good rides ahead for us!

Not much wildlife to be seen, but I’m certain that was mostly a function of the time of day. There are placards warning you how to react to bear and cougar sightings. I kept my eyes open as I’ve never seen either in the wild and would actually like to do so. As there weren’t too many other users, the likelihood of seeing something was a lot higher. Yet we didn’t see much. A hawk or turkey vulture, Stellar’s Jays, and not much else. I thought I saw a coyote, but it was far enough away that it might well have been a dog. Who knows?

My favorite “thing”. This quirky thing: a tsunami evacuation sign in the mountains?

Not what I was expecting to see.
Not what I was expecting to see.

If you look closely at the top of the sign, you’ll see the world “Tolt River Dam Failure”. This is the dam that had folks worried a few years back. The incongruity caught my attention, though.

Summing up: this is a trail I want to ride again.