Electrical, Newsletter, and another work party

It looks like the electrical is about finished, which is great news.  We're trying to get everything up and painted before my man Scotty has to head out to Michigan for work.  He's a professional painter, and we are very fortunate to have him here to help.  I'm especially pleased he's still here even though his team Kansas suffered that ignominious defeat in the tourney.  Stellar guy, Scotty.  And he shares my love of coffee.

In other news, I am done with the first five pages of the newsletter, which is a relief to me.  It's going a lot smoother this time than last, so hopefully the next one will be even easier.  Look for a hot-off-the-press copy in early April.


Finally, we will be hosting another work party on Sunday at 10 am.  Cathy estimates that we can get all the work done in about two hours.  The more people that show, the less time it'll take.  It was a good time last week.

Work Party

Yesterday, we had our first open work day since the coffeehouse bookstore closed down for renovation.  Glenn and I are at the site almost every day, and the Board is frequently there individually, but it was great to see everyone there together.  Led by Cathy Waymire-Rooks, Board member and landscape architect, Glenn, the Board, a few youth volunteers (Sara, SamE, and Julie), and I sawed down the old apple tree, shoveled manure, dug up dead plants, and ate four pizzas and two huge trays of apples and cookies.  It was a beautiful day, with the storm clouds seeming to cover the sky everywhere except for Langley.  It did rain briefly at about 1:45, but it was warm, the raindrops fell fast and departed quickly. It felt like the first Spring rain.

Sara chopping up them branches.

 Sam E.

 Sawin'.

 Diane.

Sue, Patty (in the back in blue), Cynthia, and Diane (back right).

I feel bad for the tree, but it made some terrible apples.

Surveyin'.

I'm going to miss the old classic sign.

Beautiful.

Successful Café Español!

As Justin Mentioned, Café Español was a huge success with an impressive turnout of over 20 people. We kept going upstairs to get more and more chairs. I’m not sure how everyone fit in the Backroom, but we did.

The best part of the evening was the diversity of the group. One of our main goals was to “Bring together diverse members of the community to connect over a fun and common interest.” We had about every age group represented, and a lot of distinct experiences with as well. Half the group even got there early; and the other half, keeping with the tradition of many Latin American countries, arrived fashionably late. I’m sure they were trying for total immersion in the language, and culture.

Our second goal, “Encourage members of the community to practice conversational Spanish, share good food and worldly perspectives,” was successful as well. A rousing game of charades helped to keep everyone lively, while pushing their Spanish vocabulary. Margaret and I made a point of discussing the group’s ideas and goals for Café Español. There were some excellent suggestions that we will incorporate into the weekly plan. You can’t forget the delicious food either. A key part of Café Español is a potluck style food sharing.

Thanks to all those that came! Good work planning, Margaret and Justin.

So come join us every Thursday at 5:30 in the Backroom. Be ready for Spanish games, movie night, country themes, one-on-one conversation practice, vocabulary, and Latino music, and tons more.

Cafe Espanol...

...is awesome.  At least 20 people showed up, and I think maybe up to 25 or 30.  We had guacamole, quesadillas, pico de gallo (and discussed how strange it is that fresh salsa is called "beak of the rooster"), gallo pinto (black beans and rice tico-style, "painted rooster" for its speckled appearance, and - sorry, it's breakfast time, but I suppose y'all aren't as interested in the food aspect as I am.

Margaret and Glenn did an awesome job of leading the group through conversation (translating as they spoke so that those in the crowd with very little Spanish experience could follow), games, and introductions.  There were people with no Spanish background and people who had lived in Spanish speaking countries for years.  And, most exciting, there were people from age 12 to age 80.  It was a beautiful thing.

So come to next week's Cafe Espanol at 5:30 in the Back Room!

Roofing

We had to delay the roofing a couple of days because of rain, but I think the clouds dumped it all during the night, so we should be good to go today.  Glenn and I will be the grunts hauling things from the ground to the roof. 

Also, went upstairs to take some pictures of the new look in the attic, and I looked around at the stuff piled in the middle and said, "Dang Glenn, somebody's gonna have a helluva job cleaning this stuff up."  We walked downstairs and Jim asked us to clean out the attic.  Classic.  I can't wait to see it all fixed up, though, because it is already a completely different place than it used to be - it's well lit, the walls are painted white, there is a friendly glow to the place, the spiders have been routed and sent into the cracks, and I can already see it transformed into a nice office space.  Come by and check it out.

New Program: Café Español

Anyone who has talked to me, or read my resume, quickly finds out that I love Latin American Culture and Spanish. My gmail account, cell phone and about anything else I can change, are set in Spanish. I have a bachelor’s degree in Spanish, have traveled to Spain, Guatemala, Panama, Nicaragua, Mexico, Peru, Ecuador, and lived for 27 months in Costa Rica. So yeah, I am obsessed. It’s not only the language, but the rich culture that comes with it as well.

When Margaret, a High School Student and member of YES, contacted me about forming a Spanish Culture Club, I had already written a small proposal of the idea myself. I was excited that other people were interested in Spanish. We basically had the same goals in mind. It certainly didn’t hurt that Margaret has a wonderful attitude and a great eye for designing really cool flyers (be on the look out for them around town).

The idea has two main goals:

1. Encourage members of the community to practice conversational Spanish, share good food and worldly perspectives.

2. Bring together diverse members of the community to connect over a fun and common interest.

We plan on having weekly get-togethers on Thursdays at 5:30pm. Each week we’ll have a theme, such as games in Spanish, or talk about a specific country in Latin America. After the discussion, there will be time for free conversation or asking questions of the more advanced speakers. This is the main idea, but we will always be open for input from those who show up.

The first meeting will take place on Thursday, March 18^th at 5:30pm in the Backroom of the South Whidbey Commons. Snacks will be provided. It should be a good time and we hope to see you all there. Vamos a disfrutarnos mucho.

Pictures of Progress

 The framing up and the lumber ready.  You can tell the inside is taking shape. 

Equipment research.

 It's hard to believe there's any renovation going at all, looking at the front.

The view through the new Garden Room.

That, of course, is meant to say "Grand Opening" but I ran out of space.  Y'all know what I mean.

Progress

The marching drum continues to beat.  It's amazing how it seemed like we pushed sand around for days, making no visible progress (to my layman's eyes), and then suddenly - bam! - all of the framing is done.  It went from a porte corchere to an actual structure.  Now, when you walk in the door, you can see the coffeehouse taking shape.  There is masking tape on the ground outlining the new counters, showing where the refrigerators and espresso machine and saloon doors will go.  You can practically smell the espresso.

We've had some good breaks in the last week.  Scotty, basketball fanatic and unresting worker, is back from his illness and hard at work once again.  The inspection process is going smoothly.  We had a stretch of good weather.  Best of all, Jim actually fell from the rafters - and still showed up to work the next day!  Tomorrow, I will post some new pictures as we work on the roofing.

Also, spread the word that Margaret Diehl of South Whidbey HS and the Youth Engagement Squad is teaming with our new AmeriCorps, Glenn, to launch Cafe Espanol, a Spanish club for all ages and levels.  Glenn will be posting more information soon.

Videos from Songwriters in the Round

Scroll down and look to the left for links to youtube videos from our Friday Night Live at Whidbey Children's Theater on January 19.

Or - I'll make it easy on you - just click here:

Benton Street by Timothy Hull
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7nAYltsLe_w

The Fiddle and the Bow by Russell Clepper
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LobuVwb_Xog

In the Morning by Nick Tenuta
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CfKEjtVDilw

Coffee and Blues by Justin Bailey
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TERPkW3GtYc

Renovation in pictures

First, check out the video at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yGh6YLTffe0