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Top Ten Salem newsletters you’re not getting

Thursday, September 2nd, 2010

I’m kind of a newsletter junkie, but I’ve noticed that if your newsletter sucks, it just gets deleted. Here are some local ones that always get read.

Salem Cinema: Loretta’s nostalgic-looking, gentle reminder of the power of cinema is a noteworthy heads-up about the latest must-see independent films.

Tigress Books: JoAnne Kohler sometimes breaks national news with her occasional e-newsletters about happenings at her downtown shop. Her notes to her customers are frank and lovely in a way that rarely gets used in the form. Roar!

Minto Island Growers: An always satisfying menage of home recipes, insider’s info about the farm and cultural-historical information about the great stuff in their CSA baskets, the Minto Island Growers newsletter, put together by Elizabeth Miller, is a must-read for home cooks with a love of the local.

E.Z. Orchards: The farm stand newsletter is mostly product updates about what’s available at the farm’s darling store on Hazel Green and Cordon roads. But who doesn’t need a little gentle nudge to be reminded of a MIXED BERRY SHORTCAKE BIGGER THAN YOUR BABY’s HEAD.

The Salem Public Library: Sonja Somerville puts together a fantastic, multi-page pdf newsletter of events at our local library. She might illuminate the best DIY car repair books in the library’s collection or remind you about the almost daily book-related happenings there. Adult story time? Snuggle up!

Life Source Natural Foods: Don’t just eat food. Meet the people who make it! Or learn about one person’s journey through a gluten-free diet! It’s a little text-heavy, but if you’re a reader and you like food connections, check it out.

Salem Breakfast on Bikes: Exclamations! Shout it out! The man behind Breakfast on Bikes has excitement for the the lifestyle practice of biking that just bleeds off the screen. Even better? He uses ample links to make sure we will never lose our way to the Monster Cookie. Sign up by contacting: Salembikes [at] gmail.com

A.C. Gilbert Discovery Village: Quite possibly the best laid-out e-newsletter in town (color is not just for kids!), A.C. Gilbert’s flagship news vehicle is an inspiration to keep facilitating those experiences for your children. Get out of the house!

Friends of Straub Environmental Learning Center: Proof every time that a city like Salem has a lot of country to explore and learn about.

Friends of Salem Saturday Market: The sheer bulk of this immensely readable newsletter is a testament to the huge and positive role the market has in this community. Also, a heads up about visiting baby goats.

Ok, so I know that mine lean heavily towards food news.

What ones have I missed?

Posted in Books, Media, New slogans for old products, Shopping, These are the people in my neighborhood, Uncategorized, Uncommon gifts | 7 Comments »

Next session of free classes at Clockworks

Tuesday, August 24th, 2010

Clockworks has announced its next session of free classes, including my Blogging Basics class. UPDATE! You can read the full description of classes right here: c4 September class program for web.

This class has been generating some nice discussions about the blogging form, which I’ve been happy to recount, naturally, here on this blog. It’s also been a great way to meet some already and would-be bloggers here in town.

Here are my lessons learned from the first free class (the diplomatic dance of digital capture) and the second free class (the problem with anonymity).

If you have been to this class before, don’t bother coming unless, like Rob McGuire, you are attending to lend your vast expertise and participate in the discussion. Be forewarned, though that the presentation will be the same (with minor variations of nervousness and stuttering).

Here is some info about the class. Pop me an email at emilygrosvenor [at] gmail.com if you have any questions.

We’ll be meeting at 6 p.m. on Monday September 27. Mark your calendars! It’s open enrollment and the class has been full every time, so get there early for a good seat!

I’d also like to give a shout out to Ms. K. Williams Brown, who is giving a class on Southern Charm and Manners on Wed. September 1. If you’ve ever had the pleasure of eating one of Ms. Brown’s pimento cheese sandwiches, you’d know that charm is something well worth cultivating in your free time — and learning from the master.

I’m also kind of fascinated by “Writing for the Soul,” “Vegan Cooking,” and the “Be Sweet Project.” I have no idea what that means, but I try to be sweet every day and usually end up being sweet and sour, so anything that can help me strike the right balance must be good.

Here’s the full roster of classes:

Mon. Aug 30 – 6pm – Writing For The Soul – Marcella Swatzendruber
Mon. Aug 30 – 7pm – Intro to Financial Planning – Steven Goto
Tues. Aug 31 – 6pm – Beginning Zumba – Brittany Mcbee
Tues. Aug 31 – 7pm – Fingerstyle Guitar Techniques – Randy Hartley
Tues. Aug 31 – 7pm – Thriller Dance Lesson – First Half
Wed. Sept 1 – 6pm – Fitness for Everyone – Andy Bolliger
Wed Sept 1 – 7pm – Southern Charm & Manners – Kelly Williams Brown
Thurs. Sept 2 – 6pm – Intro to Balloon Sculpting – Tom White
Thurs. Sept 2 – 7pm – Beginning Yoga – Mary Collins
Thurs. Sept 2 – 7pm – Thriller Dance Lesson - Second Half

Tues. Sept 7 – 6pm – Intro to Home Gardening – Megan Crandall
Tues. Sept 7 – 7pm – Fingerstyle Guitar Techniques – Randy Hartley
Tues. Sept 7 – 7pm – Thriller Dance Lesson – First Half
Wed. Sept 8 – 6pm – Artist Trading Cards: Make & Trade – Ronda Wymore
Wed. Sept 8 – 7pm – Vegan Cooking – Summer Keightley
Thurs. Sept 9 – 6pm –The Be Sweet Project– Austin Rowlader
Thurs. Sept 9 – 7pm – How to Solve a Rubix Cube – Kelly Williams Brown
Thurs. Sept 9 – 7pm – Thriller Dance Lesson – Second Half
Fri. Sept 10 – 6pm – Guitar Circle – Mandi Welch
Sat. Sept 11 – 2-5pm – Better Understanding Islam – Laurie Erikson

Mon. Sept 13 – 6pm – Intro to Financial Planning –Steven Goto
Mon. Sept 13 – 7pm – CranioSacral Therapy: Migraines – Janette Warren
Tues. Sept 14 – 6pm – Basic Earrings – Alex Taylor
Tues . Sept 14 – 6pm – Beginning Zumba – Brittany Mcbee
Tues. Sept 14 – 7pm – Fingerstyle Guitar Techniques – Randy Hartley
Tues. Sept 14 – 7pm – Thriller Dance Lesson – First Half
Wed. Sept 15 – 6pm – Fitness for Everyone – Andy Bolliger
Thurs. Sept 16 – 6pm – The Be Sweet Project – Austin Rowlader
Thurs. Sept 16 – 7pm – Beginning Yoga – Mary Collins
Thurs. Sept 16 - 7pm – Thriller Dance Lesson – Second Half
Fri. Sept 17 – 6pm – Life Shifting – Troy Wenning
Sat. Sept 18 – 3pm – Shamanic Journeys – Leslie Grasa

Mon. Sept 20 – 6pm – Writing for the Soul – Marcella Swatzendruber
Mon. Sept 20 – 7pm – Grassroots Marketing in Salem – Ryan Rogers
Tues. Sept 21 – 6pm – Beginning Zumba – Brittany Mcbee
Tues. Sept 21 – 7pm – Fingerstyle Guitar Techniques – Randy Hartley
Tues. Sept 21 – 7pm – Thriller Dance Lessons – Second Half
Wed. Sept 22 – 6pm – Artist Trading Cards: Make & Trade – Ronda Wymore
Wed. Sept 22 – 6pm – Music for Tots – Christy Hey
Thurs. Sept 23 – 6pm – Budget Event Planning – Dorri Wassom
Thurs. Sept 23 – 7pm – Thriller Dance Lessons – First Half
Fri. Sept 24 – 6pm – Guitar Circle – Mandi Welch
Sat. Sept 25 – 3-6pm – DIY Filmmaking – Jason Gould

Mon. Sept 27 – 6pm – Blogging Basics – Emily Grosvenor
Mon. Sept 27 – 7pm – CranioSacral Therapy: Pregnancy
Tues. Sept 28 – 6pm – – Intro to Home Gardening – Megan Crandall
Tues. Sept 28 – 7pm – Fingerstyle Guitar Basics – Randy Hartley
Tues. Sept 28 – 7pm – Thriller Dance Lessons – Second Half
Wed. Sept 29 – 6pm – Fitness for Everyone – Andy Bolliger
Wed. Sept 29 – 7pm – Vegan Cooking – Summer Keightley
Thurs. Sept 30 – 7 pm – Thriller Dance Lesson – First Half
Thurs. Sept 30 – 7pm – How to Solve a Rubix Cube – Kelly Williams Brown
Thurs. Sept 30 – 7pm – Beginning Yoga – Mary Collins
Fri. Oct 1 – SPECIAL EVENT @ CLOCKWORKS!!!
Sat. Oct 2 – 3pm – DIY Kids Portrait Photography – Anati Neiffer

Posted in Celebrities, Media, These are the people in my neighborhood | 9 Comments »

What I learned from my own Salem blogging class

Tuesday, June 22nd, 2010

The drive to become better at what you do is an amazing thing.

Take the free blogging class I offered yesterday at Clockworks Cafe and Cultural Center. I went into it hoping that it wouldn’t fall completely flat and I left feeling the amazing power of being surrounded by people intent on focusing and developing their craft.

If you offer a free blogging class, chances are good that some already excellent bloggers are going to show up. Indeed, the room was filled to capacity (read: everyone got a chair) by people who have much to teach ME:

Jessica Ramey of Northwest Nest
Rob McGuire (once Salem’s top Tweeter until he closed his account, who knows enough about WordPress to identify my blog design by name)
Salem Man of Eatsalem and Salemites fame
Christy Hey (okay, not yet blogging, but she teaches music for tots!)
K. Williams Brown, the Statesman Journal’s oh-so-adorble entertainment columnist

We also had a great showing among people who are active on Twitter and Facebook but who have been looking for the right project to turn into a blog. Lots of would-be writers looking to make the leap towards self-publication in the blog form.

I think it went pretty well, but I’ll have to make it explicit that my class is a blog WRITING class and that we won’t be getting into the specifics of setting up a blog, making a post, etc., at least from the technical side of things. I’ll be giving the same class on July 12 at 6:00 p.m. at Clockworks.

Finally, I’ll leave you with an image: Me, getting hoodooed by a guy with a mini production studio who sets his stuff up right next to me and announces that he’ll be recording the free class for his website.

How can you say no don’t record me in a course focused on citizen journalism empowerment and new media creation? Sigh. Kind of impressed by the boldness of the enterprise, but it really does challange the intimacy of a setting…

Posted in Media, These are the people in my neighborhood | 14 Comments »

I Promise You a Rose Garden

Friday, June 4th, 2010

The woman who lived in our house before us loved roses and planted eight of them on our property. Every day when my husband comes home from work, he picks one and brings it to me.

Adam’s a plant guy, and he has spent the past two weeks potting succulents, the only plants our cat won’t eat. He’s not big on flowers and last night I found out why.

“Look at those poppies on the table,” he said, pointing to the orange poppies he recently picked from a ditch here in town. “They look so happy. They don’t even know that they are dying.”

I’ve always kind of felt that way about roses. They are so Miss Havisham.

Even growing up in Pennsylvania’s Red Rose City, I always knew that their beauty was lost on me.

But not here!

The roses in our neighborhood here in Salem are heavy with blossoms at this point – droopy heads bending over to reach the grass. But all across the micro-hood we call home, roses are doing their languid burlesque.

My neighbor has a red rose growing on her front wall, the Ingrid Bergman rose, that has blooms larger than my baby’s head. We have roses woven through the fence in our back patio that bloom and rebloom for several weeks each summer — sure puts those ideas about temporality to shame. And now I’ve discovered this rose, which reminds me of an 1980s dress one might wear while roller skating, at the Portland International Rose Test Garden.

Even if you don’t love roses. Even if you think that the scent of a rose reminds you of the toilette of an 115-year-old woman. Even if No rose has ever smelled as sweet. It is almost impossible not to be happy when you’re surrounded by these gently unfolding pink ladies.

Posted in These are the people in my neighborhood, Travel | 4 Comments »

Welcome to the Secret Society

Friday, May 21st, 2010

I had to giggle a bit a while back when I got lumped into Salem’s new creative class, but that got me thinking. An influx of new creative folks into Salem’s affordable, sometimes charming, often grubby Northeast city section? Is there any legitimacy to that?

There is!

I’ve always held that stuff happens in Salem — it’s just laughlingly under-the-radar. Well… something is definitely afoot in the Northeast Salem neighborhoods.

All it took was one party at my friend the poet’s house (also in NE Salem) to determine that there are a lot of us small-housers out here milking the city for its historic properties and living large on a tiny footprint. In addition to me, my sculptor of a husband and my baby Dash, a.k.a. The Next Alexander Calder, we have:

Michael Chasar, a Poet with an Penchant for Pop

Stephanie Lenox, editor of Blood Orange Review, a well-received online literary mag

William Bragg, photographer - or you might know him as a champion for the underpriveleged

Jonathan Bucci, multimedia artist, and his writer wife, Rachel Bucci

Any more you can think of? Whom have I forgotten? Whom haven’t I met yet?

As far as I know, all of the people listed here have been in Salem for five years or less. Yay for new blood — and for E.B. White quotes that can lend themselves to cities other than New York.

Posted in Art, Celebrities, Home, Salem Mysteries: SOLVED!, There's something about Salem, These are the people in my neighborhood | 16 Comments »

A Clockwork Awesome

Sunday, May 16th, 2010

You were probably among the hundreds who gathered at a retooled space on Commercial Street last Friday to celebrate the opening of Clockwork’s Cafe and Cultural Center, a project dreamed up by Ryan Rogers and his merry men (and women) of Culture Shock.

I wasn’t.

I was throwing together dinner while preparing Dash for his oh so early 7 p.m. bedtime. But I heard it was a great party and I knew I had to get down there soon to see what’s brewing.

For one, Stumptown! Perhaps the best development for us coffee-addicted snooty sippers, the cafe is serving the country’s best coffee. Stumptown doesn’t let just any old coffee place serve its roasts. From what I hear from Ryan, they interview you. Clockworks must have been deemed worthy because I’m sipping some Indonesian varietal at this very moment.

As you can tell from the pictures, Clockworks isn’t your garden variety cafe that’s been thrown together with no concept. Opening as it does, just as the Steampunk aesthetic is reaching the mainstream, it’s got a clock fixture and found art sensibility that hasn’t been done well (if at all) in Salem before.

Clockworks is a nonprofit, and as such, it will be offering a wide program of events. I’d be tempted to say something for everyone, but I kind of throw up a little in my mouth everytime I read that, so I’ll just say that I might even want to offer my own writing class in its rocking spaces.

Some things one might do at Clockworks:

Take a class (perhaps even by yours truly, more on that to come) at C4 Academy
Give a class (Salem creatives, contact Christy Seehey, 503-399-7076)
Learn how to dance
Rock out, slam towards, puppet over, laugh in on the Clockworks stage (seen above)
Make out in the huge barrel at the back of the main room
Let your kids play in the kids space in the mezzanine
Cut some digital audio once the sound room is finished
Find some space to clear your head in the little writing nook
Hang with friends in the (actually very cool) lounging area
Read a book in a pillow-laden bathtub (to come!)

Something for everyone? (Blech! Sorry…) Perhaps not. There’s definitely nothing for the Keep Salem Lame-r’s here, but they’ll just stay at home anyway.

Posted in Art, Coffee, There's something about Salem, These are the people in my neighborhood, Uncategorized | 6 Comments »

Almost Famous

Tuesday, April 27th, 2010

So a bunch of my readers have alerted me to my having been named the #82 most famous person in Salem by K. Williams Brown, the Statesman-Journal entertainment reporter.

First of all I’d like to say thank you.

Second of all, I’d like to protest that I don’t count. I have this idea in my head that people who are working in media, especially as reporters, don’t get to count as famous because they already possess the means to get their voices out there. Unfair — it is, it is! — to group me with the likes of Gerry Frank, Salem’s own Ace of Cakes, who ranked #1 on the list.

Third, notice my placement at #82. As adorably self-deprecating as Kelly’s column is, let us not forget that SHE IS MYLOCAL COLUMN-WRITING NEMESIS and wouldn’t dare rank me in the top 50.

What’s so great about Kelly’s column is the ridiculousness of there even being any Salem celebrities in the first place. Notice that she only actually names about a dozen people, assigning them almost random rankings (I kept expecting there to see a nod to Jon Heder, graduate of South Salem High School, and one-time tot-toting movie star of Napoleon Dynamite. Sigh, no dice).

I would also like to point out one more person who is as high profile as they come and didn’t warrant mention. That nice-looking crazy transvestite that roams the space between Savage Road, NE and the I-5 underpass on Market Street. Love that guy. Um, gal.

Finally, I would argue that the sexiest people in Salem are the ones that guard their anonymity fiercely, like Salem’s own J.D. Salinger, the writer of the Capital Taps Beer Blog, who has never once aired his name or his dirty laundry in public. There is a genuine attractiveness to hiding behind the work you put out — especially if it’s good stuff.

As for me, maybe I’ll hide my big head behind this increasingly gorgeous muffin face.

Posted in Beer: It's what's for dinner, There's something about Salem, These are the people in my neighborhood | 6 Comments »

New Growth Forest

Monday, April 5th, 2010

I rarely admit to loving television commercials, but I’ve got a soft spot for that Subaru short where the driver gets his Outback all sexy muddy and then waits for it to rain, calling it a Subaru carwash. Clearly, this is a spot that has reached its intended audience — lazy old me, who is only happy when it rains and who connects with her forest green Impreza on a level that some might call intimate.

So how happy was I when my husband pointed out that we had a small tuft of moss growing right behind my left front wheel. Am I a bad or neglectful car owner for wanting to watch this little patch GROW GROW GROW its way into the thick carpet that blankets my front walk?

It’s like a big fuzzy green Muppet eyebrow for my wheels!

Your attachment to most might depend on how long you have considered yourself an Oregonian. Most people I talk to hate the moss that creeps stealthily up to their roofs. Moss, like the lowly dandelion, is an unwelcome guest at many house parties.

But hey, we rent our house, so for now, we say bring it on, moss. Go ahead and build yourself up in accumulations that begin, ever so slightly but powerfully, to make me think I’m sharing a house with more than just a husband, a baby and two cats.

Posted in There's something about Salem, These are the people in my neighborhood | 1 Comment »

January Salem Monthly out

Wednesday, January 6th, 2010

I’ve often wished that everyone I know in Salem could meet my neighbors, Keith and Sarah Chilcote. They have introduced us to some of the secret sides of the city (he’s my pick-your-own pinot hookup) and have overwhelmed us with their generosity and good natures.

Well, now you can! Salem Monthly just did a little story on them and their business, American Antique Hardware.

Keith is one of the most loquacious people I have ever known. I am consistently amazed that he can manage a dozen properties, run a business and be father to three darling children when he can barely remove himself from a good conversation. Adam and I both have dad crushes on him.

Sarah is a fabulous mom who has found a way to work from home and raise her kids there — a goal I’m striving for myself. All new parents need role models, and we seem to be surrounded by them.

They have built this mini-Eden in the middle of Northeast Salem, a secret city alcove the is all but overflowing with pears and apples and blueberries and plums in the summer.

Oh, and they sell awesome antique hardware at decent prices. Eat it, Hippo Hardware!

By the way, if you are one of the 2.3 people out there who are wondering why there is no Desperately Seeking Salem column in the January issue of Salem Monthly, I’ll enlighten you.

I totally dropped the ball!

Well, kind of. I’m generally gestating these pieces until about the 23rd of the month, when I write them out in a spontaneous burst of literary activity that lasts about an hour. I was working on such a piece when I went into labor.

Thankfully my editor gave me a reprieve for January. Thanks, Eric!

So sorry to my readers: grandma, Jan and my cat De Kooning. I’ll be back in business next month.

Posted in Celebrities, Home, These are the people in my neighborhood | 2 Comments »

Skeletons in My Closet

Thursday, October 1st, 2009

LadiesSwap

So here’s the real epiphany to come out of the ladies’ clothing swap I hosted a few weeks ago at my house. I have a lot of horrendously boring clothing.

Laugh-out-loud boring.

Kill-you-with-kindness boring.

Stench of 1995 boring.

I mean, bags of it. Of black pants, and white shells and — gasp! — sweater vests and all sorts of things that I used to wear at my office job at the German Embassy but, which have been dying a slow death in my closet for the past four years.

Perhaps I am an awful friend for trying to lob these staid skeletons off on my friends, but that’s what I did. I wrote about the experience in this month’s Desperately Seeking Salem column over at Salem Monthly.

I invited women from different cubby holes of my Salem life — only two of them knew each other — to bring their own cast-offs and trade for new ones. Anything left at the end of the night I was taking to the Salvation Army.

Here’s what I learned about how to have a clothing swap:

1. Keep it smallish. Nine women in one room is just about the perfect number for a swap; anything more than that and you might as well be at the Goodwill Bins.

2. Invite the ladies — or dudes — to share a story about one of their cast-offs. Every garment has a story.

3. Like all charitable donations, clothing swap are equal parts altruism and greed. I felt good dropping off the bag of clothes at the Salvation Army, but I knew the real benefit for myself was in getting to know these ladies as a group, ridding myself of my boring former self, and achieving the catharsis of a good closet clean-out.

4. Don’t let your husband come. Mine had gone out to Noble’s Tavern, his new dive hangout, with a friend, but returned to find a pile of clothing the size of a three-year-old on our living room floor. He then went through every single item saying: “This is cute, this would look great on you, are you sure you don’t want this?” I am married to a champion rummager.

5. My new friends in Salem are awesome.

Posted in Shopping, There's something about Salem, These are the people in my neighborhood | 5 Comments »

Desperately Seeking Salem