Welcoming December

As the last day of November comes to a close, I started pulling together the details of our December events.

Amazing. (Click on the image above to make it bigger...click again to make it full size.)

Once more, I'm so impressed by the community in which we live and the gifts that are given to share here at The Commons.

Take a look, then check your calendar. I bet you find at least a couple of things you'd like to add to your "fun ways to celebrate the holidays at The Commons."

Judy
Communications and Programs Coordinator

Only One Day to Say Thank You?

No, of course not. But it is one day to make sure we take the time, make the time, to consider all of the things that make life wonderful.

Just in case there was any doubt, YOU are on the list of things to be grateful for this Thanksgiving! YOU create the energy at The South Whidbey Commons and every day, that energy is making a difference in our community.

Sometime today, when you have a bit of time (and maybe a cup of eggnog), take a look.

And until then, HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

Plug In To The Energy!

Living on an island, power outages happen. But that doesn't have to affect our energy! Combine an abundance of available caffeine with the creative juices and supportive spirit of our community, and you have a good idea of what The South Whidbey Commons is all about.

This week alone, here's what's going on at The Commons:
Wednesday, 3-5pm - Capturing the Holidays on Video - basic video skills to help you document your family & friend experiences.
Wednesday, 7-9pm - Artists' Forum - A multi-media artists gathering...meet, share, and encourage!
Thursday, 3-5pm - Commons' Crafts - An opportunity to get crafty with others as the holidays approach.
Thursday, 5-7pm - Cafe Español - Improve your conversational Spanish in this fun and informal gathering in The Backroom.
Friday, 7-9pm - Jessica Owen, Olympia acoustic singer-songwriter, in the Front Room for Friday Night Live!
Saturday, 2-4 pm - Brave New Words workshop for teens, designed to inspire and create poetry, spoken word and performance art events - with Swil Kanim, Native American Violinnist, Storyteller & poet, in The Backroom.
Sunday, 2-4pm - Lego Club, an informal opportunity for families to snag a Coffeehouse beverage and head to The Backroom to PLAY with a mondo pile of Lego pieces.
Sunday 7-9pm - Jim Page, playing The Front Room, for a special performance!

ALL of these incredible activities and performances are offered at no direct charge to you, and are open to people of ALL ages.

We do hope that while you're here, you'll support The Commons by purchasing gently used, quality books, an espresso or tea, and a freshly baked scone...but more than anything, we simply hope you plug in to all of this energy.

When we say "our programs," we are not claiming ownership as staff and volunteers here. Not at all! We're saying that everything that goes on here at The Commons belongs to "us" as in "our community."

So please, venture out, through wind, rain, snow (?!), and join US. Plug in. Recharge.

Busy Week

It is not common for the Commons to not be busy...OK, that's a double negative. 

It is common for the Commons to be busy. There. That's better.

And this week provides no exceptions! Our AmeriCorps team is out in eastern Washington at the SERVES conference, so we're a little short staffed (volunteers, anyone?).

We're celebrating Veterans' Day on Thursday with a 20% discount on all food and beverages for anyone who has served in our military (watch for the coupon to show up today or tomorrow here and in our e-mail updates).

And Cafe Espanol returns to The Backroom on Thursdays from 5-7pm! Youth and adults alike will have fun learning together! The format is informal and conversational, but with a great local resource in your midst – Spanish speaker, Sonja Bricker *. Not only will you improve your Spanish language skills, but you’ll learn more about being a local AND global citizen as you rotate watching movies, playing games, and ordering food (all in Spanish, of course!).

The great thing about "busy" though, is that it offers you more ways to find your place at the Commons! 

So please, drop by this week. Yes, the coffee's on...and so are the eggnog chai lattes :)

See you soon! 

* At 17 Sonja traveled to Mexico as an exchange student. Then she majored in Spanish language and literature. This was followed by numerous bicycle and backpacking trips through Spain, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Venezuela, Chile, Guatemala, Costa Rica, Panama, Nicaragua and Cuba. She received her Master's in Teaching in 2006 and currently teaches 2nd, 3rd and 4th year Spanish at the high school level.

Sitting In The Living Room

It's cold this morning. Not the kind of cold that leaves everything covered in frost, but the kind of cold that can easily creep into your bones if you don't find a sunny corner to sit in.

So, to write this post, I've moved out of the office where it is quiet but cold -- and into the "living room" of the Commons where sunshine is streaming in through the windows and lively conversations are being built all around.

It's fascinating, how the hum of thoughts being shared can be at once peaceful and invigorating.

The mission of the South Whidbey Commons is to strengthen community by offering opportunities and places for people to gather, learn and grow. Sitting here, I see all of that happening, without experts on hand to facilitate or teach, without students sitting in rows, without a sound system to establish the one voice everyone should be listening to.

Sitting here, I see it happening as one of our adult barista volunteers visits with someone from out of town about Kichili's Bakery, where we get our bagels. I see it happening as an AmeriCorps team member creates a beautiful sign to highlight the soup of the day.  I see it happen as someone reads a book, and another writes one of their own. I see it happen as one coffee drinker leans over to suggest a recipe they just found in the paper to a tea drinker sitting nearby. I hear it happen as conversations (I'm only lightly eavesdropping, I promise) dance around the importance of the arts in our daily life, the best experiences they had in Morocco last year, and the nearness of the holidays. I laugh as it happens when three individuals from three different groups recognize each other around the room and jump up to share greetings and hugs. And I participate in it as I schedule a group of elementary students to come sit in The Backroom to talk about their visit to the library and the books they will choose next week.

I'm glad it's cold this morning and that the sun in the Living Room pulled me out of the office space for a while.

Maybe it's pulling you this way too? Coffee's on!

For The Birds!

Don't miss this show! Friday, November 5, from 7-9pm here at the Commons Coffeehouse Bookstore...another great show by talented locals (to include a couple of our Common's Volunteer Baristas)! Make your plans now to be here.