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It’s the St. Johns pre-turkey twitter tweet meet at Leisure! We’ll be making turkey paper puppets, which well may end up in the Portland Code Trips vLog series. (You’ve been forewarned.) This series is the baby of @podcasthotel (aka Alex H. Williams), who is a proud St. Johns neighborhood resident. So am I. I expect several St. Johns “celebrities” to make an apprearance, schedules be damned. (You know who you are. Ahem.)

For the rest of you nay-sayers, I present to you the Top 5 Reasons You Should Haul Your Carcass to St. Johns (recycled from a post announcing a very fun Beer and Blog held at Leisure recently…hence the references to Beer and Blog…just roll with it):

1. Happy hour is from 4-6pm, as is Beer and Blog. Coincidence? I think not. Beer and booze are a $1 off and pitchers are $2 off, as are the bruschetta (applewood smoked bacon, marinated artichoke, build your own)
2. The Leisure Public House has a very cool bar that must be fondled. It is curvy and made of reclaimed wood and metal. The bar top is concrete sculpted and pleases me greatly. If you have a thing for functional art you have to check this out.
3. St. Johns is not “too far away.” Seriously, let’s put this misconception to rest! It is less than 5 miles from I-5 North, and if you get there via Willamette Blvd., your journey will mostly traffic light free with gorgeous views. (No views for the driver, though. Keep your eyes on the road, buddy!)
4. History rocks! This is a neighborhood full of character…and characters. We won’t be too far into the main retail district, but the building has some stories to tell. And some of them are even true!
5. The miscellaneous, yet delightful, discoveries: jukebox, generous outside patio, ping-pong table, bocce, wifi, and a sleepy and snuggly pub cat.

Happy hour runs 4-6 pm, and we’ll be there until 8pm. RSVP on upcoming.org if you’d like, or just show up. We’d love to Pre-Turkey Tweet Meet you in St. Johns!

Every couple of months the Back Fence PDX babes Melissa Lion and Frayn Masters throw a hell of a party. Their events are so hawt, in fact, that I encourage you to get your tickets right now. Here, I have thoughtfully provided you a link: Purchase Advanced Tickets Here

You need more info before you plunk down your hard-earned seven bucks? Check this out:

Back Fence PDX, in case you don’t know, is a story telling series. It helps people and businesses tell their stories using narrative development. On its blog, true stories centered around a theme are published weekly. Through their Back Fence PDX live storytelling event (a fancy way of saying “part-tay”), charismatic storytellers reveal their life’s highs, lows and all that is between, in very short and unmemorized narratives. The result are marvelous stories, raw, candid and sometimes naughty, and often very funny. This makes for night not to be missed.

The storytellers scheduled are very diverse: There’s an author and Porchlight co-founder (Beth Lisick); a punk rocker (Slim Moon); a Metro Council President (David Bragdon); a yoga master/opera singer (Sadie Medley); a sock yarn and color hotshot (Tina Newton); a writer of carefully crafted messages (Dave Jarecki); and a foodie and former investment banker (Sarah Gilbert). Indeed, these brave folks will be sharing the dirty details of real life as it pertains to this month’s topic Just Can’t Get Enough. (Note: I have a personal attachment to this theme and am *really* looking forward to hearing other stories.)

And, if watching another human being strip themselves nekkid in the orating of bite-sized slices of their true life (in front of a paying audience) isn’t amusing enough for you, be sure to stick around for the intermission entertainment: Bellypalooza!

Please join me and the rest of the damned world October 22 at the Urban Ground NE for the latest Back Fence PDX storytelling event (you know, that fancy way of saying “part-tay”). Click this link and get your tickets NOW. I’ll see you there, looking fancy!

Back Fence PDX - Just Can’t Get Enough
Wednesday, October 22nd
Urban Grind NE
2214 NE Oregon Street
Doors open at 7pm
Show starts at 8pm

The 3rd Saturday of every month is a special day the local history buffs. Known as the Barbara Davies Free Day, members and non-members alike stroll through the Oregon Historical Society exhibits and mingle in the research library without paying a dime. Humanities anarchy! (Of course, members of the OHS are always admitted for free.

This particular Barbara Davies Free Day (October 18th, which is tomorrow) is even more special than usual, due to a partnership with the Oregon Archaeology Society. This means demonstrations of flintknapping (stone tool-making), an “excavation” for the curious, and a rock art lecture by an expert, among other dig-related activities.

There are several outstanding exhibits at the Oregon Historical Society to visit. The popular (and permanent) 7,000 square foot exhibit Oregon, My Oregon never fails to impress with its dual theaters, interactive displays and intricate vignettes of historic artifacts that lead your imagination back in time to experience Oregon over the years.

New exhibits include works from Scappoose, Oregon puppet master and kenetic design virtuoso Michael Curry in Puppetry: An Out of Body Experience. (You might know him from his gorgeous mask and puppet work in the Broadway production of “The Lion King”. )

If you’re into photography, you should check out the 3D Columbia River Gorge Stereoviews by Carleton Watkins (taken during a series of trips from 1867 to 1885) and the exhibit Efficiency: Early Photos of Benson Polytechnic High School, which celebrates the 100th anniversary of the skilled trade school through photographs.

If you’re mechanically inclined, make sure you take a look at the 1906 Benson Automobile. It’s the first auto built entirely in Oregon — in someone’s garage — well before Henry Ford figured out his factory assembly line.

If you’re fond of records and want to go on the 20 minute research library tour, I would suggest signing up early and doing so right away upon arrival. Space is limited to 10 people, and only two tours are scheduled (at 11am and 2pm). The informational tour covers the types of records available for viewing and how to find what you’re looking for in their vast archives.

The Oregon Historical Society’s Museum and Research Library is located at 1200 SW Park Avenue, between Madison and Jefferson streets in downtown Portland. Whatever reason brings you through the doors of the Oregon Historical Society, I hope you soon discover some history of the state you live in. And, with every 3rd Saturday free, you’re lacking legitimate excuses not to!

Oregon Historical Society
1200 SW Park Avenue
Portland, OR 97205
(503) 306-5198

Regular admission (when it’s not FREE DAY)
Adults $10.00
Students (over 18 years) $8.00
Seniors (over 60 years) $8.00
Youth (6 - 18 years) $5.00
Members are always free

10am-5pm Tuesday-Saturday
Noon-5pm Sunday

Stock your shelves with books for the winter and help your local library at the Annual Friends of the Library Book Sale.

October 11-13, in the beautiful St. Johns neighborhood, the Friends of the Library is holding it’s legendary bottom-dollar sale. So many books, CDs, DVDs, and tape will be up for grabs that it fills an entire car dealership building. (In this case, the old Sterling Auto dealership on the corner of North Lombard and North Richmond).

Hours are as follows:

Saturday Oct. 11 9am-9pm
Sunday Oct. 12 11am-5pm
Monday Oct. 13 9am-3pm

Hard backed books start at $1.50, with paperbacks and kiddie pages starting at 50 cents. Of course, all proceeds from this sale goes to support our beloved Multnomah County Library. I hope to see you there! (Otherwise, I will assume you are a book hater and will shun you forever more.)

I’ve enjoyed the last few lovely days of late summer weather, haven’t you? It’s been so nice to squeeze in another BBQ and enjoy a few more hours reading and sunning at the park. My garden is perking back up, too. I have new strawberry blossoms and my six foot tall cherry tomato plant hasn’t let up with the bounty. I can feel it looming, though. Can’t you feel it? Fall is upon us, and it starts September 22. As in later this month.

When autumn hits, do you freak out a bit inside your head? Are you the type to slowly shrivel into a bitchy, moody, sun-deprived half-beast? Do you suddenly act like every little thing will be The End of the World? Me too! Lots of us do that slow decent into insanity, no matter how many seasons we’ve lived in the beautiful City of Roses. Personally, I can turn into a creature so unpleasant even my most ardent fans test the waters before they try to change plans at the last minute, or show up at my home unannounced to borrow my Pyrex pie plates. (Except for Ms. Holly Rae. She’s fearless. The Irish are like that.) Doing those things to me is just asking for trouble. I don’t know about you, but I’d rather not emerge from a psychotic break covered in sticky red goo and with handfuls of hair. Hair that’s not mine.

Over the years I’ve managed not to let my lack of appropriate levels of vitamin D totally derail my life. I’ve picked up some tips and tricks along the way. And now, dear readers, I share them with you.

1. New hobbies are a good idea, but not the ones that trap you in the basement. When you’re avoiding the gray of the outside, hiding in the underbelly of your home is the opposite of what you should do. GET OUT OF THE HOUSE, especially between the hours of 11am-3pm when those ultraviolet rays are in full spectrum. Ideas? Walk the dog (you can borrow mine if you want) or get yourself a new playmate to hang out in windowed storefront coffee shops with. Maybe this new friend can go shopping with you and help decorate that basement you won’t be hanging out in during the day. Whatever you do (or don’t do), leave the dungeon dwelling to the night hours since there’s no sun out then anyway. You can bring your new buddy with you.
2. Some of us (meaning me) need extra help in the form of a full-spectrum fluorescent light box. Last March I was feeling so bad I had some blood work done and found out I had dangerously low levels of vitamin D. I went on prescription-strength round of supplements and pulled myself out of my funk, but I was “this close” to getting myself a light box. So close that this year I’m gonna get one just in case I start feeling that low again.

   And while I’m at it, I’ll hang cheery novelty lights up too. Maybe a string of pink flamingos, some Christmas Story Leg Lamp String Lights and some Jersey cows. Oh, yeah.

3. Turn on the heat and sit in the window. My house is well heated in the cold weather months. Okay, honestly? It’s super-dooper warm and I love it that way. I gladly pay the ginormous gas bill in order to feel warm-and-fuzzy while I sun myself in the meager sunlight wafting through the window. GLADLY, I SAY. In the especially cold mornings I’ve been known to put my clothes in the dryer so that when I emerge from a very hot shower I can slip into my very hot clothes. As the hours of light get fewer and fewer during the fall and winter, doing this makes me less crabby because I trick myself into thinking that it’s not really that crazy holiday season time already, with its obligatory stress and endless parties. I’m gullible, I know. Let’s not mention it again.
4. For the love of @tweetjeebus, pace yourself! I’m talking about booze, parties and sleeping. During the dark seasons the body is already susceptible to sluggish lethargy in the morning because, Hey! It’s still dark outside! Shouldn’t I still be sleeping? And then there’s the slow-mo feeling in the early evening because, Hey! It’s dark already! Time for bed! To counteract my brain’s bossy nature I stick to a regular schedule of getting up and going to sleep at about the same time everyday. I also try not to sleep in on the weekends, instead getting up around sunrise. Gotta soak up all the sunlight I can, right? And, with sleep patterns tied so closely to moods, drinking it up and partying into the night is pure sabotage. Know your limits and stay on track. You’re trying to stay away from a felony assault charge, remember?
5. People (meaning me) have a tendency to be traditionalist during the holiday season. From scratch Thanksgiving dinner with all the trimmings? Check. Just the right gift for every single person I know? Check. Painstakingly arranged, overflowing baked goodies plate? Check. Check me into the loony bin, you mean. It’s just too much, even for those amazing people in the world who pull this feat off every single year, year after year. I know what stress does to a body, and even for these Martha Stewart-types you can be sure there’s an acid-reflux soup a-brewing inside their belly. Give yourself permission to NOT do everything. In fact, defiantly REFUSE to play that role. That way you can laugh at the others when they try to pick up the slack. (Those slackers…where HAVE THEY BEEN all this time, anyway?)

Sunlight deprivation can be a serious thing. It can make those with mood disorders, or with bodies without enough natural vitamin D, insanely irritated with everyone for breathing too much of the air. I hope I’ve provided some helpful tips to those interested in staying out of jail and keeping those nuts-o inside voices on the inside. Take care of yourself, and hang on. March and springtime is only six months away!