Final reminder: We've moved!

In case we have any readers still waiting for updates to the Wallingford Seattle Blog, please note that we have moved to a new location.

New blog: wallingfordseattle.tumblr.com
New RSS feed: feeds2.feedburner.com/wallingfordseattleblog

Please update your links/reader accordingly!

We're moving...

Tweedy and Popp aren't the only folks changing their location—the Wallingford Seattle Blog is moving from blogspot to tumblr. What does this mean for you?

New URL: We'll now be at wallingfordseattle.tumblr.com instead of wallingfordseattle.blogspot.com.

New RSS feed: You can now subscribe to the blog at wallingfordseattle.tumblr.com/rss.

New look: It's all Web 2.0-ish!

New ways to participate: That's right, you can be a contributor to the Wallingford Seattle Blog! There are three ways to chip in:

• Be a Wallingford twitterer: Just follow twitter.com/wallingford. We're a grouptweet, so if you send a direct message to @wallingford ("d wallingford [your message]"), it'll show up as part of the @wallingford twitter stream which also feeds directly into our tumblr blog!
  
• Be a Wallingford photographer: Upload a photo to the Wallingford Seattle flickr pool and if we like it, we may feature it on our blog! (If you're really proud of a particular photo, send us an email us at wallingfordseattle@gmail.com and we'll do our best to feature it.)
• Be a Wallingford tipster: Just email us at wallingfordseattle@gmail.com with any tips, suggestions, etc.

We've already got some great stuff at our new home like this profile of neighborhood mainstay John's Music. Thanks for reading, and we hope to see you all on the other side.

Long weekend round-up

Some random bits from Wallingford cyberspace:

• FamilyWorks is in need of diaper donations, specifically, sizes 4, 5, and 6. You can also now follow them on twitter! For more information about FamilyWorks, check out the update sent in by a FamilyWorks staffer for our previous post regarding a homeless family in the neighborhood.
• Of course, we are also on twitter, as is the Wallyhood blog. Follow us at twitter.com/wallingfordseattle and Wallyhood at twitter.com/wallyhood. Just so you know, our twitter account is being run as a grouptweet. This means that as a follower of our twitter account, you can actually contribute to the Wallingford Seattle twitter stream by sending a direct message to us ("d wallingford [your message here]"). But don't send us any deeply personal comments unless you want to share them with all of @wallingford's followers!
• Sharp eyes spotted activity inside the old Loki Cafe space, but word on the street is that it was just folks boxing up goods for a liquidation sale. Still no word on a new tenant. Too bad that Loki didn't make it—they were a welcome throwback to the Jitterbug days, and our kids were even given Loki Cafe t-shirts which I guess are now collectible items.

A plea for action

A reader just sent in this note:

Have you noticed the couple with the two year old son panhandling in front of QFC and Bartells on 45^th Street? I was really disturbed to run in to them while walking down the street at about 2PM this afternoon. What I’m wondering is what kind of help is available for people like these, through social service agencies, Family Works, even local churches? Is there a way readers of your blog can suggest things to do? I was in a hurry or I might have at least bought them some groceries, but this can’t be a sustainable situation especially with such a young child. Can we as a community do something to help?

Comments and suggestions welcome...

UPDATE: A comment from a FamilyWorks staffer.

Hi - I work at FamilyWorks and we would be happy to help this family. We run the food bank and family reource center. We are in the same building as Solid Ground, which may be able to help with housing. We are located on the first floor of 1501 N 45th Street on the corner of 45th & Woodlawn. Our general hours are M-Th 9:30-5pm , Fri 9:30-3pm. Please send the family our way and we would be happy to help them.

If you want more information on FamilyWorks you can visit our website at www.familyworksseattle.org or find us on Facebook (FamilyWorks Food Bank and Resource Center) and Twitter (FamilyWorks).

So now you know...

Not all local businesses shedding jobs

In fact, there are some bright spots in the local economy. To wit, Molly Moon's Handmade Ice Cream announced on their blog that they're hiring 15 scoopers and 2 ice cream makers to staff their growing ice cream empire. Check out the details and see if you've got what it takes to earn the "all the ice cream you can eat" benefit.

[Sobering chart from speaker.gov.]

Past views of Wallingford

Today's Seattle Times Pacific Northwest Magazine's Now and Then column shows two pictures of the corner of Wallingford Ave N and N 45th St, one from 1950 and one present-day. It's pretty interesting to see what's changed on that corner in the past six decades, and what's the same, and to read the story of how the iconic "WALLINGFORD" sign atop QFC came to be.

(Photo from Seattle Times)

Friday's Wallyhood Blog has a sobering post about crime in Wallingford, but concludes with an amusing clip from Almost Live. Their take on the neighborhood (circa 1991) might be unrecognizable to many current Wallingford residents.

Ice cream for breakfast? If it's bacon maple ice cream, yes!

So it is with much joy that we can finally report that the bacon maple ice cream we had at Molly Moon's last Sunday brunch lived up to our expectations. The combination of cold, sweet maple ice cream studded with chunks of bacon over a bowl of warm, steel-cut oatmeal was so wrong, and yet so right at the same time. Washed down with a mug of Vivace coffee, it was a truly heroic way to start a Sunday. Try it for yourself this Sunday morning between 9am and 2pm. But call first if you want to make absolutely sure that bacon is in the house.

Get ready to rumble

Wallyhood has the scoop on a major WSDOT project starting up in Wallingford on February 9. Basically, be prepared for about 4-5 weeks of pedestrian detours, parking restrictions, and construction noise/dust as 45th Street gets its sidewalks repaired and new trees planted. The work will take place along the entire stretch of 45th Street between Stone Way and 5th Ave. NE. Businesses should remain open for the duration.

Wallyhood photo contest

NOT a contender for a photography contest.

Our neighbors over at the Wallyhood blog are running a photography contest. If you fancy yourself a shutterbug and want to take a crack at a $100 prize from Frame Central, get snapping.

Wallingford omnibus, January 19, 2009

As we stand at the brink of one presidential administration changing to another, we thought this would be a good time to clear the decks of old news items so that we could start the new era with a clean(er) slate. Enjoy!

YOU WANT NEIGHBORHOOD BLOGS? YOU GOT 'EM

• Were you under the impression that the Wallingford Seattle blog was the only blog in this part of town? Heck, no—there are at least three more that we know of: Wallyhood, the latest addition to the Wallingford blog roster; Welcome to Wallingford which is run by flickr user Louie_B; and Wallingford Wanderings, a reader blog hosted by the P-I. Given the current state of the P-I, hard to say if Wallingford Wanderings will still be around in a couple months. On the other hand, reader blogs might be one of the only things left at the P-I once the dust settles.
  
  In any case, we recommend subscribing to all these blogs, because you never know when one will scoop the others with some important information. Like the fact that Molly Moon's was closed for business today due to a film shoot which meant no brunch service featuring the fabled but elusive maple bacon ice cream (thanks, Wallyhood)...

INAUGURATION-THEMED CANNED FOOD DRIVE ENDS TUESDAY, JANUARY 20

• FamilyWorks Food Bank is wrapping up their "Yes We CAN Food Drive" tomorrow. In celebration of the upcoming 44th presidency, they've spent the 44 days leading up to Inauguration Day looking for volunteers to donate 44 cans of food or $44 to help replenish their food supplies. It might be a little tough putting together 44 cans of food from your pantry at this point, so maybe you can just pony up the direct donation of $44. You can also read this MSNBC story about the food drive.

TWO THUMBS UP FOR CANTINETTA

• As we mentioned earlier, Cantinetta is a new restaurant at the corner of Wallingford Ave. and N. 37th. We were able to squeeze in on opening night and had a very enjoyable dinner, also noting with some amusement the parade of cars that pulled up to the corner, disgorged passengers, and then zoomed off in search of a parking spot. Maybe you're lucky enough to live within walking distance—if so, check them out some evening. You can also read this Yelp review we posted after the experience.

WINTER SUPPER SERIES AT JOULE

• Local restaurant Joule, which brought us the memorable Urban BBQ series last summer, is now hosting a special Winter Supper series on Sunday nights. From 3pm to 8pm every Sunday in January and February, stop by for a $20 prix fixe meal ($10 for kids) designed to combat blustery winter weekends. Remaining installments include Celebrate the Lunar New Year: Year of the Ox, Cure for the common cold, Winter getaway II: February in Korea, Post-Valentine's comfort food, and Winter in Seattle: Dungeness crab.

COMINGS AND GOINGS

• RIP, Jamba Juice and High Maintenance Bitch.
• Trophy Cupcakes is expanding into more space at Wallingford Center with what's being billed as the future home of a party space. Some lucky kids are going to be having some sweet birthday parties when that space is ready.
• Did you catch the ACE Hardware banner hanging from the northeast corner of Wallingford Center (in the old Chutney's location)? Tweedy & Popp is moving there in March, and both locations will be open during the move as merchandise is ferried across the street.
• David Wahl of Archie McPhee lets us know that the tchotchke store extraordinaire will be keeping folks up to date via their flickr page.
• [Thanks to readers Liz D. and John Scott T. for some of these tips!]

B.F. DAY SCHOOL AUCTION

• B.F. Day School, one of the elementary schools serving Wallingford residents, is holding a benefit auction on February 28 at the Fremont Studios. In addition to attendees, they're currently in search of businesses willing to donate goods and services towards the auction. Complete information can be found the B.F. Day PTSA website.

SUSTAINABLE WALLINGFORD

• Sustainable Wallingford, a neighborhood group that's "learning to live on one planet with grace and joy," has just set up a new online home hosted by Ning. Just visit greenwallingford.ning.com if you'd like to network with like-minded folks.

SEEKING WEBSITE DESIGNER/WEBMASTER

• The Wallingford Neighborhood Organization is looking for a volunteer website designer/webmaster to help revamp their site. If you'd be interested, please send us an email or post a comment and we'll pass word along to the folks at WNO.

That's all for now—let us know if you've got fun plans for Inauguration Day!