Sunnyside Family Swap Shop and Play Space » Category: Sponsors

Know Your Neighbor – Cold weather car care with Hawthorne Auto Clinic

Karen Hery — Sun, 15 Jan 2012 21:05:19 +0000

What better day to be talking about cold weather car care than the first snowy morning of the season.

Liz and Jim at Hawthorne Auto Clinic are two of my favorite role models for how to run a business and how to take care of a car. I’ll brag about how well they take care of their employees and their shop and their little part of Hawthorne in the 40′s at the end of this email but first and foremost . . . let’s get everybody in and out of our cars in great working order in a cold snap.

If the prudent advice to just stay home (or where ever you are) and enjoy the snow flakes that have already fallen isn’t practical for you, there are a few things to do to save yourself from breaking a key in a lock, wrecking the motor for your windshield wipers or lurching down the road with half frosted windows and flapping chains.

Liz’s first piece of advice seemed so nice and logical but it’s exactly the kind of thing I would do without thinking . . . when the air gets below freezing, she just wants to remind everyone not to hop in the car and turn the windshield wipers on to clear the frost off.

She and Jim like seeing us all of us in their shop but not just because the linkage has broken in our wipers or we’ve burned the wiper motor out. A gentle pull from the blades from outside before you get in will let you know if they are frozen in place or ready to slide.

Her second tip is to be proactive about the chances of car locks getting water in them in Portland rainy weather and then freezing so the key won’t go in or won’t turn.

You can always heat up the key some how with the hope that it will melt through the ice or you could get a long extension cord on that blow dryer and hover it over the lock. Even better to go out to an auto store or well stocked general store and get a little tube of lock de-icer. That way you can put some liquid in on a good day so that it doesn’t freeze up as easily to help keep the water out that could cause a bunch of grief later. Liz keeps tubes of the de-icer for sale if you ask at their counter since she recommended it so much in years past to stranded customers.

And then there’s the simple fact that our cars do a whole lot better with the right kind of engine coolant and windshield washer fluid with some antifreeze built in. Motor oil thickens up in the cold so having the right (ideally synthetic) motor oil is more important for those really cold starts too.

A lot of cars, especially if you plan to do some ski trips or snow trips this year, can benefit from a set of winter wiper blades that are sealed off with rubberized material where regular blades have exposed arched metal that catches too much snow to operate well.

So, if you are due for an oil change anyway, you may want to join me in skipping the quick stop oil change place and make yourself an appointment at Hawthorne Auto Clinic or another full service shop instead.

There won’t be anyone standing outside waving a $10 off today sign in the bitter cold, but the extra money we each spend could find and fix a few weak spots we all want to plan ahead for instead of live through on the way to Mt Hood or grandma’s house.

Oil changes with a full car inspection at Hawthorne Auto Clinic are $65 to $125 depending on the model of car and quarts of oil needed.

Last year I drove my Toyota Sienna into their parking lot right before a big road trip for that oil change, all the right winter coolants, a pre-road trip inspection and a touch of the de-icer in my locks and went on to have a great season of cold weather driving.

If you manage to avoid driving in this storm, Liz highly, highly recommends picking a reasonably warm, sunny afternoon for some practice runs with your car chains before attempting to keep a few kids happy in the back seat and your adult partnership intact while installing them for the first time on the side of a busy road.

One of our members wrote in last year to share some East Coast cold weather survival tips.   When you have the chance to plan ahead, put a sunshade, piece of cardboard or old comforter on the outside of your windshield then simply remove the ice or snow with the covering in the morning- no scraping necessary. And for your locks, cover one lock with duck tape and simply remove it and your key should work, if there was no water to freeze.

The folks at Hawthorne Auto Clinic tried to explain to me the difference between defrosting and de fogging and when to use outside air and when to use recirculated air to help clear windows when a warm car full of people meets a cold car on the move. But, I must confess, I still don’t get it.   So, if anyone reading this has a good way to remember which is needed when, please let the rest of us know.

The bottom line is . . . if your car is a 1990 or newer model and you appreciate a clean, well run shop with staff more interested in knowing you for years than squeezing every dime out of you today, give Liz and Jim a call. They’ll be happy to hear from you. If you need a list of other places you can trust for body work, tire alignment, etc, they’ll share the names with you of all the places they do business with when they send out work to other shops.

One of these days, when I don’t have so many cold car tips to share, I’ll write about the start of their shop which is a really dear story. For now I’ll just say it comes as no surprise to me that they recently were named Civics Rights Champions of the year by the Labor Commission.

Jim and Liz know in their heart of hearts that well treated, well paid employees actually cost a company less (and earn it more) than any short cuts we could all take in the ways we treat each other.

Since we are a co-op full of families that live out the fact that the way we treat each other makes our lives and the lives of our children all that much better, I am proud to count these great business owners as co-workers in our community building efforts.

Hawthorne Auto Clinic is at 4307 SE Hawthorne Blvd open Mon-Fri, 7:30 AM to 6 PM (Early drop-off & after-hours pickup available)   Call (503)234-2119 to make an appointment.

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Know Your Neighbors – Schools and Classes

Karen Hery — Sun, 31 Jul 2011 19:13:44 +0000

Whether you have a one year old or a fourteen year old, like the idea of circus skills for fun or Saturday school for better academics, this swap shop post about schools and classes connects you with our neighbors that make it their passion to steward our kids in a lifetime love of learning.

If your first child isn’t out of diapers yet, dive in to the first few paragraphs below for opportunities you may not have realized existed for you and your little one. If preschool is on the horizon for you or the center of your world, skip down just a bit to hear about 3 and 4 year old programs.

And for everyone who cares about learning second (or third languages) or the fine art of juggling and trapeze, swing on down to the end of this post.

UNDER THREE AND HAPPY TO BE: It’s common to think of preschool starting at 3 years old but it starts even earlier than that at Wren’s Nest just three blocks from the Swap Shop. Not yet two year olds through 5 year olds thrive in the Montessori School Environment stewarded by Michelle La Follette. It’s a great break for parents and beautiful progression to healthy independence for the toddlers and preschoolers that weave their way through “work” time and play time indoors and out in a family home setting.

Programs like this including children under three are rare and all her spots for her youngest kids are full right now. Just check in with her now and then at 503-235-0093 or vassarlearningcenter©yahoo•com (vassarlearningcenter©yahoo•com) to see when a space opens up if you are interested and your child is under three. Spaces are available for the fall for 3-5 year olds.

PARENT AND ME CIRCUS ARTS CLASSES WITH DO JUMP: The fall schedule has been posted for Do Jump which includes a class I wish I could have taken with my children when they were babies and toddlers. You and your child get on the trapeze together (best swing in town) in baby circus classes for kids one and a half and older (up to 3 ½). There are morning classes on Wednesdays and weekend classes for working families too at their Echo Theater location off Hawthorne. Discounts available for active swap shop families.

EMILY ALEXANDER’S PRESCHOOL OF THE ARTS: You don’t have to wait until the fall to begin or add to your child’s preschool experiences. Both Wren’s Nest and Emily Alexander’s Preschool of the Arts (at 14^th and Hawthorne) run year round. Emily has a few spaces still open this summer. Signing up for a few days a week for the rest of the summer or one of her week long camps is a great way to ease the transition to school in the fall. She is already close to full for the fall so won’t be holding an open house but you can call for your own tour. Emily draws on all the great talent in Portland to bring performing arts and visual arts to her preschool space which looks just like an artist’s studio and can be rented for birthday parties (great for early elementary kids too.) This is the first year she will have both morning and afternoon preschool sessions available – you choose one or the other – it is not a full day program.

LANGUAGE IMMERSION OPPORTUNITIES: Young minds learn languages differently and more easily than teens or adults. If you have a second language already in your family you’d like to see supported or know that some exposure to at least one more language is valuable to you and your kids, we have many great opportunities in our connections as a co-op. The closure of a French Immersion school gave us a beautiful opportunity this summer to hear French spoken in part of June and all through July. The International Leadership Academy concluded their summer camp program last week and is concentrating on the opening of their school for preschoolers through elementary in Lake Oswego with information nights every Thursday 6:30-8:30 at their new school location.

A split in the German American Society has inspired the formation of a new German Saturday School that our Roost sponsor, Bea Weiss-Kruel, Attorney at Law, is involved in. For now, you’ll need to drive to Beaverton to participate in Sophie Scholl Schule but they are looking for a Southeast annex to their program. You can contact the director, Dr. Lynn Reis, email:SchollSchule©gmail•com (SchollSchule©gmail•com)
phone: 971-217-7212 if you are interested in seeing more German opportunities in and around the Swap Shop. I was impressed with how affordable the program is for all the time and attention your 3 year old or older student receives every Saturday – $495 for the year plus 5 parent hours helping out the school. A real bargain if you divide it into the weeks of the year. The school is set to start on October 1st. Classes are from 10:00am until 12:30pm.

Co-op member, Jasmeen Hanoosh, is ready to restart the Arabic classes she offered this summer as soon as there are a group of parents that can commit to a time for 4-7 year olds to gather and learn the Arabic alphabet and language sounds. If you are interested and haven’t already contacted her or have contacted her but want to let her know you are still interested: yasmeensh©yahoo•com (yasmeensh©yahoo•com) 971-270-6574.

KIDS OF ALL AGES (and Adults too): If you are already a Do Jump fan, this is your reminder that the fall schedule is posted and registration has begun. If you have a little monkey who climbs the walls in even the best of weather or missed your own opportunity to run off with the circus before you had kids, now is your chance to sign everyone up to swing, juggle, flip and flop your way to creative expression. Do Jump teachers steward 1 year olds to 99 year olds through all sorts of interesting moves most every morning, afternoon and evening at the Echo Theatre off Hawthorne and in the same gym that we use above the swap shop (convenient for hanging out with the sibling not in class or just before or after class). There are class discounts for active swap shop members and occasions when the Do Jump administrative staff is able to provide partial scholarships for some class spots. Costs and registration information at www.dojump.org.

Your investment in the arts and in these schools does more than just help your child grow their mind and mind/body connection. Investing in community insures that our artists and teachers have a living wage and acknowledgement of their great work. Where would our village be without our artists and teachers? Be sure to thank them when you see them and tell them heard about them from the swap shop.

Know Your Neighbors: Dental/Orthodontics Resources

Karen Hery — Mon, 06 Jun 2011 18:46:26 +0000

This is the tale of two dental offices and an orthodontist and hopefully a pleasant reminder of how we all make an investment in each other when we move into a neighborhood together.

As a parent I don’t think about dentists/orthodontists too much . . . just a few times a year when I’m trying to remember if everyone’s gotten their twice a year check ups and then a whole bunch during that one extended period of time when my youngest, Claire, chipped out part of her two front teeth and went through a series of caps and root canals.

Until I sat down this week with our newest Roost sponsor who is the new pediatric dentist in our part of town, it hadn’t occurred to me that dental professionals make lifestyle choices just like families do. We choose the kind of neighborhood we want to live in and raise our kids in. We make decisions every year about the price point at which we are going to seek shelter, eat food, take vacations, etc.

Other than the color of the walls or whether or not there is a fish tank in the lobby, all dental offices looked alike to me so the dental “lifestyle” hadn’t really struck home. But it does now.

Dentists and orthodontist have a lot of choices to make about how modern their office equipment is, how modern or old school their practices are, how much they are going to up-sell money making procedures that are more cosmetic than medical.

Dr. Aaron Tinkle started his tenure at Belmont Family Dentistry last year in the offices of a retiring dentist at 60th and Belmont. He knew the way he decided to practice would attract a certain slice of the local families and adults. Makes me smile when he says, as a family man himself with a little toddler, that his Swap Shop families are just the kind of patients he was hoping to attract – a friendly group of folk who are an equal mix of patients with insurance and us self employed, creative types that manage to budget for a reasonable amount of dental work.

He stays away from selling fancy toothbrushes or cosmetic treatments and just focuses on good family health not at the lowest prices in town but not the highest either.

You can bring your young ones along on your visits for those first few check ups rather than make them a more costly appointment of their own. Paula and her front desk crew happily take them off your hands after they’ve taken a ride in the chair and said “Aaaah” so you can get down to business and (as much as is possible with a few extra things in your mouth) relax.

Claire’s favorite part of my appointments is the medical gloves they let her take home after playing like she’s the dentist for awhile.

His offices were a step back in time when he first took over and the renovations took awhile but digital imagery is in place and those spittoons at the sides of the old dental chairs are gone (remember swish and spit?). Paula and Dr. Tinkle can tell you tales of working through the renovations. I always had to weave around to find where the latest temporary lobby was but it was great to see their renovated space evolve. My favorite part is their “new” multicolored lobby countertop made from all sorts of recycled items melted together.

Some of you may recall that our first pediatric dental sponsor was all the way up in Vancouver so you may be as happy as I am that, when Dr. Jenna Milot was deciding where to start her practice fresh out of residency at OHSU, she saw a gap in services in our part of town.

There were no dentists retiring in our area when she needed to make her choices so she has build Sprout Pediatric Dentistry from the ground up in a great little area at 14th and Morrison.

Believe it or not, before she went back to dental school she was an international studies major earning a living as a cabinet maker, a skill that came in handy when taking a shell space to dentist office.

Kid’s places often err on the side of over stimulating with videos blaring and a crop of popping, singing toys. Jenna’s simple but spacious lobby has lots of room to run around (and not run into anything) and a big kitchen play area that is soothing rather than jumpy.

She’s glad that the recommended age to start at the dentist is now when the first tooth erupts and not the magic age of three. As a parent of two young ones herself she laughs a bit when she tells me that they used to explain in dental school that a three year old was thought to be more cooperative than a baby. Like the rest of us she knows that what we get our kids used to at an early age (i.e. before they can talk and talk about it with us) goes a lot smoother over time. Those first visits are quick and cost less that the visits for children who have their full set of baby teeth.

If you have insurance that covers dentistry Dr Jenna Milot is probably a provider – just call and ask. Both Amanda at Sprout and Paula at Belmont Family Dentistry can walk you quickly through costs if you are paying out of pocket. I know I am grateful at how carefully these dentists describe procedures, their benefits and their costs, so I can be a part of deciding what’s medically necessary and affordable for me and my kids.

We’re all pretty aware of the high cost of medical school but it’s an amazing investment too to create a great modern dental office. What Dr. Jenna and Dr Aaron Tinkle have done represents a real commitment to stick around and build long, lasting relationship with our families.

There are times when we really need that relationship and need it to go well beyond a teeth cleaning or the standard set of braces. When I first met Dr. Rebecca Kuperstein at Parkside Orthodontics she told me all about the things she does at low and no cost to help families of thumb suckers walk through letting the habit go before starting othrodontic treatment (or to be able to avoid it all together).

One of our swap shop members mentioned that her son has a habit he can’t seem to break of pushing his nail up against his gums in a way that is causing gum recession. She and he have tried everything and their dentist is out of options. Her son came up with his own idea that what he really needs a “cap’ on the spot between his teeth that he keeps habitually poking the gums.

It was a real pleasure to say, with confidence, that Dr Kuperstein would understand, take the time to listen and probably find a cleaver way to make that “cap” he’s envisioning.

I really appreciate the way she involves both parents and kids in care decisions. My daughter Emily got to pick for herself between one of two ways to correct her bite alignment and I think very much because she made that decision herself she trots off to every appointment feeling in control and not giving all the adults in her life a whole bunch of grief.

I have a whole bunch of gratitude for all our Roost sponsors, not just for the funding they contribute to our community but also for the wealth of resources they bring to my life as I’ve taken the time to peek behind the scenes. We are definitely richer for knowing each other better.

If it’s a pediatric or family dentist or orthodontist you need:

BELMONT FAMILY DENTISTRY

Dr. Aaron Tinkle

Front desk: Paula

5935 SE Belmont

(503) 234-1218

SPROUT PEDIATRIC DENTISTRY

Dr. Jenna Milot

Front desk: Amanda

1401 SE Morrison Street, Suite 120

503.477.9911

PARKSIDE ORTHODONTICS

Dr. Rebecca Kuperstein

539 SE 39th Street

503-236-3800

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(sunnysideswapshop©gmail•com?subject=Re%3A%20Know%20Your%20Neighbor%20-%20Dental%2FOrthodontics%20Resources)

Know Your Neighbor – Cycle of Life

Karen Hery — Sat, 30 Apr 2011 15:49:55 +0000

This is the story of over wrapped shoes and under wrapped finances . . . the story of estate sales and lawyers, whimsy and wonder.

If through it all you find some valuable resources for your family and an angle on shopping you hadn’t quite thought about in a while. . . then this tale will have worked it’s magic.

This particular peek into the cycle of life starts out with the “shoes of last resort.”

I’m a thrifty gal and my daughters are resourceful acquirers. They dove into the big Sunnyside Swap and Spring Clean Up a few weekends ago eager and willing to try it on and take it home.

But the summer sandals my youngest daughter Claire was hoping for weren’t there. They weren’t in our shoe bins at the Swap Shop. They weren’t at Piccolina on Clinton (our favorite resale shop that recently opened a second store on Woodstock) or the Goodwill.

So we made that trek out into the suburbs to a box store and found a suitable pair just fine but this is the place in the story where I start to whine.

Not about the price or the style or the non-existence salesperson but about the Dr. Seuss style packaging. I could just see the Lorax with his big need to speak for the trees (and a few other natural resources) as we opened the box to find the usual tissue paper and two sandals . . . each incased in their own plastic bag, their toes stuffed with paper and the heels full of styrofoam (to retain a good shape) and, to my bemusement, a stiff piece of cardboard between these super wrapped beauties – you know, just in case they wanted to bump around in the box on that long trip from China and the plastic wasn’t enough to keep them from rubbing up against each other.

The price was decent and, from my experience, the shoe quality quite questionable. If they both make it through the summer without falling apart, I’ll put them in our size 1 kids shoe bin or out with the other shoes at our annual Back-to-School Clothing Exchange . At least the next parent won’t have to witness a whole flotilla of paper and oil based products accompanying their purchase.

I choose to bring up this over-the-top bit of packaging because . . . it’s Mother’s Day next weekend and you might be buying someone a gift or someone might be wondering what’s a great thing to do for you.

While we can’t all take the time to research the original source of our purchases or give our lives over to the ban-the-bag campaign, we can make our purchases in ways that bring us delight and re-infuse our local economy.

If you stroll over to Noun or White Rabbit Vintage on and off Belmont in the high 20′s and low 30′s, the one of a kind items that you could take home for mom (or yourself) are 5 parts beauty, 3 parts kitsch and 2 parts nostalgia. There’s jewelry remade from vintage pieces, refurbished furniture, funky old kitchenware and even sweaters `refurbished’ into wall art.

Stephanie, owner of Noun, gets in her high mileage car once a week and visits the local estate sales so that everything old can be new again. The upcharge from what she pays for grandma’s vintage glassware to what she charges you when you take it home for a mother’s day brunch makes her a modest living instead of helping corporate executives make 250 times the salary of their hired workers.

You don’t have to become a socialist or an anarchist or even a do-it-all-yourself isolationist to step away from some of the insanity. All you have to do is step into Grandma’s Attic in the back of Margaret Kellerman’s White Rabbit Vintage and pick out furniture that came (at least this time around) from inside someone’s Victorian or old Craftsman, not out of a cardboard box with a tiny metal hand crank hex tool.

Sweet gifts for under $20 and great lifetime purchases for under $200 don’t always come with a Swedish meatball lunch. Margaret and Stephanie, each in their own way, have great taste and sweet, comforting stores that are wonderful to shop in.

This first part of our know-your-neighbor weekly post is really just one more reminder that there are plenty of ways to honor mom and our corner of the planet at the same time.

But I promised you lawyers and wonder and we haven’t gotten to that part yet so I best move on, if you don’t mind, from the shopping to the end game.

Mother’s Day isn’t a one way path for any of us as parents. We get to look in both directions as we cross the street from child to parent to the possible caretaker for our own parents.

All the mothers that have passed through this world have tales to tell both of wonder and caution and, once a quarter, I check in on some of those stories with Don Snow, director of Lawrence Convalescent.

Many of the stories Don has to tell from his life long career in assisting the elderly are great reminders that, if an apple a day keeps the doctor a way, then a well timed lawyer visit each decade keeps the crisis at bay.

As an assisted living facility that takes Medicaid, Lawrence Convalescent might seem, at first glance, like the rest home of last resort. Thankfully that isn’t the case. From everything I’ve seen, it’s a place you’d be glad to have your parents at . . . a small facility where everyone is well known and the staff enjoys their jobs.

Don looks forward to working with families that have planned ahead for the golden years and can tell you all sorts of challenging stories about families who have not. If our parents don’t have medical directives or a durable power of attorney in place as their competencies slip then everything from finances to hospice care can get tangled up in complex emotions and greed.

Maybe this is the Mother’s Day that you ask mom more than just how she’s doing but also how well she is set up for ongoing care.

Touchy subjects I know, even in our own lives.

I have been hearing great things from families that are working with our Roost sponsor, Bea Wise-Krull who specializes in family estate planning. From all the times Don’s helped patients work through issues over the years, he also has good connections with several attorneys that specialize in elder law and with protective services. A quick phone call to him and his staff will get you some helpful recommendations.

I’d rather go shopping for a present than shopping for a lawyer or a social worker any day but I sleep better at night when I’ve put some protections in place and let someone more knowledgeable and experienced than me walk me through my options.

So it’s no wonder that when I walked into Lawrence Convalescent yesterday, Don and a few staff members were gathered around a large salt water fish tank. I have some friends who make a hobby out of keeping a salt water environment in their living room. They will talk your ear off about how much easier it is these days with improvements in equipment and technology. The woman taking care of the lobby fish tank at the corner of Belmont and agreed. “Don’t skimp on the set up,” she said (referring to the purchases you make in advance on pumps and what not to get a large fish tank started). “A lot of people try to do that and they just end up struggling because of it.”

I’d like to think we’ve gotten a large fish tank started, a nice little set up, a thriving co-op and a great community that we can all swim around in. If it’s improved your life I am ever so glad. It’s certainly improved mine and I can only hope that the shops and the legal resources in this cycle of life story add something special to the mix for you.

I picked up a book at the Sunnyside Swap and Spring Clean Up called “The Inside Scoop” – all about the rise of Ben and Jerry’s Ice Cream as one of the inspiring examples of socially responsible business. There’s a whole chapter in the book dedicated to linked prosperity.

You’ve probably guessed by now, I’m a big fan of linked prosperity. Hope you are too.

White Rabbit Vintage 916 SE 29th AV, Portland OR 97214 between SE Belmont and Yamhill. Look for the red door. Open Wed – Sat 11-6 503 577-3355

Noun: A Person’s Place for Things 3330 SE Belmont Corner of 33rd and Belmont across from Zupans Tues – Sat 10-7, Sunday 10-5 503 235-0078

Lawrence Convalescent Center 812 SE 48th Ave. Portland, Oregon 97215 503 236-2624

Spring at the Green Micro Gym

Karen Hery — Mon, 18 Apr 2011 23:14:35 +0000

Last October and again this January I wrote a Roost Sponsor email all about our new neighbor Green Micro Gym that has opened up right off Belmont just past Hoda’s Restaurant on 34^th with the same code keypad we use on the front door and that great spirit of co-operative community that helps keep it all lower cost and well run.

If, like me, you are wondering where the arm strength of your youth has gone or have any painful reminders of that weak spot in your back or shoulder, I’m happy to remind you of or introduce you to the sweet, affordable local work out gym right around the corner from the Swap Shop.

It’s great fun to watch owner Dan Caplan’s dream prosper and grow with over 250 members now (and still pleasantly uncrowded). Those of us who jumped in before it even opened or in the early months can now count our savings but the new rate of $36 per month or $66 for a couple (with a $100 joining fee) still beats what I used to pay for a fancier gym with a bunch of features I don’t really have time to use.

The Green Micro Gym is, well, micro, in a good way. The equipment has been picked for its efficiency and simplicity (no super special knowledge needed). Most of the cardio machines give electricity back to the grid. But, even though I can figure out how to work the start button on the tread mill by myself, I can speak from experience that just signing the paperwork and showing up on occasion doesn’t work as many miracles (or generate as much electricity) as striking up a good relationship.

Dan is an outstanding personal trainer and the green micro gym has several other personal trainers you can work with– all women including Sharon Zemp, who, as a mom with a three year old of her own, really gets that you are fitting your work out in among a whole bunch of other things.

People power is better than any written how-to manual. Having someone knowledgeable who cares take you through the paces whether you are a work out veteran or reluctant participant in all things cardio, is a great way to come out into the better weather in better shape.

And about that better weather. This is Portland, folks. It rains. A lot. All the way to July. I am chagrined and amazed at the level of amnesia we all develop about that little weather fact from the first warm, sunny day until the one glorious month of August when we don’t have to duck the rain drops.

So check out Dan’s cool spin class and read the bios of the personal trainers on the web site. Then, if you need just one more nudge in the direction of the gym, check out the “Burn and Earn” program.

On the honor system (just like our swapping) every hour of cardio that you do (spinning, running, biking, rowing) earns you a dollar’s worth of community dining or shopping or health care so you can pick up $5 and $10 gift certificates and other discounts/offers from:

Addidas Shop
Detour Café
Elemental Medicine
Flying Cat Coffee Shop (run by our Carnival café buddy, Uri)
Ford Food and Drink
The Grill Cheese Grill (I’d work out extra for an apple/avocado/cheese on sourdough)
Mt. Tabor Chiropractic
Por Que No
Stumptown (hmm, a work out the burns calories and ups your caffeine levels)
Wild Abandon Restaurant and Lounge

You know, just one more way to keep it local. So that would be Sunnyside, the neighborhood where you can swap and play, burn and earn, and eat with wild abandon (in The Roost or elsewhere around town).

So, whether you want to work out just enough to justify that grill cheese or have ambitions for an iron man, say hi to Dan, and let him know you already have the keypad mastered, you just need the right code to get in.

Daniel Caplan

The Green Microgym

828 SE 34th Avenue, Suite B

dan©thegreenmicrogym•com

(503) 313-6216

Two Preschool’s, Three Birthday Parties and a Toy Shop

Karen Hery — Mon, 18 Apr 2011 22:11:23 +0000

I was delighted to drive up NE 28th this week and see Polliwog back open for business in their new location near Everett right next to my favorite ice cream shop in Portland – Staccato Gelato. If you find yourselfon a toy store and sweet treat outing, please say hi to owners (and RoostSponsors) Chris and Phoebe and wish them well in their new spot.

If all your children are past the age of cubbies with their names on them and juice and crackers for snack, you can skip on to the birthday party section of this post.

If you still have little ones by your side, I am delighted to introduce our newest Roost sponsor Emily Alexander’s Preschool of the Arts and continue to sing the praises of our long time supporter, Michelle LaFollette, and her neighborhood treasure:Wren’s Nest Preschool.

Wren’s Nestopened a little bit before the Swap Shop just three blocks down the streeton Yamhill and we’ve grown up together. Well over half of the toddlers and preschoolers enjoying a Montessori education at Wren’s Nest are Swap Shop regulars and Swap Shop families are just starting to discover Emily’s arts based preschool for 3 1/2 to 6 year olds open since last April in the 1400 block of Hawthorne.

I get to see Claire Barnett’s family, Margaret Fivecrows and Alexia Zerbinaevery week coming and going from Wren’s Nest right across the street from mYhouse. I found Emily’s wonderful, playful space riding with Chrissy and Joe Culhane down Hawthorne to drop off their daughter Joy and ran into Emily Maruna and her daughter just ending their preschool day.

All these families have great things to say about their child’s experienceand if you know them or meet them through the Swap Shop you can get even more details on what it is like to have your child in a Montessori or arts-based program.

What may surprise you is that both these programs go all year long – yes, summer too.

If you didn’t sign your child up for preschool in the fall because they didn’t seem or you didn’t feel quite ready, it’s great to know that places like Wren’s Nest, which takes children not yet two to pre-K from 8:30-4 and The Preschool of the Arts, best for 3 1/2 year olds to pre K open8:45-12:45, still have openings for this year. Michelle has only 3 students leaving Wren’s Nest in the fall so waiting until September to register may find her full. Emily is already taking registrations at Preschool of the Arts for the fall.

All of us are well aware that a child’s best learning, especially in the youngest years, occurs quite unscheduled and unplanned. Both of these preschools allow for free exploration with a special twist. Emily’s parents founded Tears of Joy Puppet Theater 40 years ago and she has grown up as an artist in residence in several great programs. Visiting artists and special art performances by kids help shape her curriculum. You can see pictures of her magical spaces for learning and play on her web site. The pictures were taken before more theatrical touches were added so I highly recommend a tour.

If you are not yet familiar with Montessori, it allows for hours of free exploration with structured materials that inspire a kind of learning that can’t happen as easily at home. Both of my children went through Montessori Schools and my youngest still talks with pride about things she remembers learning there.

So whether you are ready to contact Emily and Michelle tomorrow for a touror just trying to put a budget together for future days, here are a few things to know about number of days and cost. . . Both these talented women will agree that children of these ages need two days a week of a new experience for it to be valuable and to ease the transition from home to school each week. Michelle does not take students one day a week and Emily will only take students one day that are also enrolled in other preschool programs (she has a student for instance who is in a German preschool 4 days and one day with her and another student who is two days with her and three days in another program).

Emily Alexander’s Preschool of the Arts has a price structure very similar to our Roost program for middle schoolers. Three hours one day each week atthe Roost is $55 per month and each day adds on from there. Four hours galloping through the arts with Emily each week is $80 per month. More days just “stack” up: $160 for two days up to $400 for five days.

Wren’s Nest has longer days and a higher cost: Two days a week for a toddler is $475 a month. Five days a week for a 3 year old to 5 year old is $740.

Having watched my own children just blossom under the care and guidance of their preschool teachers and still seeing the benefits it has giving them to this day now that they are 9 and 12, I can confidently say, even if budgets are tight, which they are for so many of us these days, finding a way to invest in early education is a gift that lasts a lifetime.

We make space in our Roost sponsor program for up to three recommended localbusinesses in each category. If you support a preschool that you would like to see recommended to other Swap Shop families, please send me a line. I love sharing great resources with all of our families.

One of the resources I get asked about most often is where to hold an indoor birthday party in Portland. Our inner SE homes are small and we can’t always count on the weather to co-operate even in June or July.

We don’t rent out the Swap Shop for parties for a whole number of reasons soI am delighted to know that Emily makes her sweet space available for party guests afternoons and weekends. Even though its main use is as a preschool, I know even my 9 year old daughter would be delighted with a party among the theater props, dress up clothes and whimsical toys. A party package with puppet making, a Tears of Joy style puppet show, free crafting and free play is $350 for up to 20 kids. She will also work with you on a rate to just rent the space (without the professional puppet show).

DoJump is another great resource for Saturday afternoon parties in the same gym we use for our free play on Monday mornings and Friday afternoons and evenings or other times at their Echo Theater off Hawthorne. Parents and kids get a turn on the trapeze and a shot at juggling, tumbling and more. Up to 10 students $230, up to 16 students $300.

And, if all you need is a space bigger that your own small living room to spread out in to play your own games and serve up the cake, our Roost space is available all day on Saturdays and the gym from 2-6 most Saturdays. A donation of $75 to $125 depending on how many hours, how many people and what your family can afford is much appreciated revenue for the Swap Shop and Sunnyside Methodist.

So there you have it: places to be, places to learn, places to play.

For present shopping, preschools and birthday party connections:**Emily AlexanderPreschool of the Arts
1444 SE Hawthorne
503-893-0792

Wren’s Nest Preschool

3815 SE Yamhill Street (last block of Yamhill before the Belmont Library)
(503) 235-0093
vassarlearningcenter©yahoo•com

Do Jump
1515 SE 37th
l 503.231.1232 and ask for Tia Zappor
e-mail her at tia©dojump•org.

Spring Cycling Updates

Karen Hery — Mon, 04 Apr 2011 04:51:24 +0000

If you have ambitions to ditch the car to become a bike only commuter, are ready to get more exercise or are getting excited about more family bike outings when the sun starts shining . . . this is the know-your-neighbor post with the things to know.

Everything I have to say in these next paragraphs is all about fit. When the bikes fit, the trips happen.

As we get older and kids get in the mix, gone are the days when any old bike would do. The best bike for each of us is the one that really fits who we are and what we do. Some of the very best money we can spend on ourselves and our kids is on gear and equipment that we will really use.

We now have, not just two, but three great local bike shops supporting The Roost.

Veloce Bicycles – a local leader in road bikes for adults that now also sells mountain bikes in the heart of the Hawthorne shopping district.

Clever Cycles – Just like the name says . . . really, really clever bicycles for families in their soon to be expanded showroom on 9^th and Hawthorne.

And now . . .

Crank – one of the newest bike shops in Portland . . . almost to Burnside a block off SE 28^th on Ash. Run by two great young guys, Chris and Justin, this place is, as the word on Yelp says, unpretentious, super helpful and affordable.

If any of these brands are on your wish list:

Bicycles and Frames: Fuji, Redline, Breezer, Dolan, Leader, Ciocc, Casati, De Bernardi, Pake, Soma
Parts :Shimano, Sram, Campagnolo, Velocity, White Industries, Velo Orange, Phil Wood, DT Swiss.
Clothing: Pearl Izumi, Shiela Moon, Showers Pass, Swrve, Spiuk
Accessories: Ortlieb, PDW, Kryptonite, Planet Bike, Fuji
Tools and Supplies: Park Tool, Pedros, Hozan, Shimano, Sram Pitstop, Dumonde Tech

Crank is your new go-to source.

Yes, all of these places are in the business of selling new bikes but they are not pushy about it. You can roll in with your existing bike for a few tips on what to do next and they can and will tell you what you can do with what you already have. The extent of their salesmanship will be making suggestions on the next logical buy up from where you are.

Figuring out family biking on a budget? You can walk into clever cycles and be out the door with a child’s bike seat attachment installed (professionally – with your romantic partnership still intact and no swearing in front of the kids) for $100 or start planning your best way to get the whole family in one rolling bike mobile within your price range.

Some of the best family/cargo bikes with room for kids and gear run $2,650 – $3,500. But you can “extra cycle” the bike you already have for about $600 (literally lengthening the bike you own so that two kids either holding on or strapped in can ride with you). You can buy a bike already lengthened starting at $1,000.

If you are trading in your car for bike transport, you won’t have to be quite the trail blazer that other families were even just a year or two ago. My hat goes off to our co-op member Destiny Tsunami who has been pedaling her kindergartener and two toddlers around in a Box Cycle from Clever Cycles all year long. If you ask her, there are a few things she would do differently if she could make the investment all over again. Thankfully for you, things like better turning radiuses and lower centers of gravity are already in the newer models.

Personally, I’m jealous of the whole idea of continuously variable shifting in newer family bikes. We can all handle a little momentary loss of power when shifting on the flat or even uphill when pedaling for one. When two or more roll along and groceries are involved the idea that the little “chunk chunk” moment that happens between two gears will never happen again just sounds glorious.

All this time, I’ve been thinking that metal scoot bikes have sprouted up all over the place because the wooden ones just aren’t in everyone’s price range. Turns out they also aren’t a perfect fit for rainy Portland since they are made with a water soluble glue. Clever Cycles stopped carrying Scuut bikes and now has a higher end wooden bike and a metal bike priced comparably to the Scuut with a nice platform for little riders to put there feet up on.

Scoot bikes come in all shapes and sizes. Crank has gifted us the larger white metal scoot bike, decorated by our Roost kids, that now lives in the gym storage room with our smaller pink metal bike and several Skuuts (stored safely out of the rain). Chances are there’s now one the right size to try from 2 years old on up. The crew at Crank says we can let all ages on the larger white scoot bike (can’t tell you how happy I am to have one of these type bikes I don’t have to take away from the older kids.)

Which brings me back to that fit I was first talking about. When Demetri, the original owner of Veloce sold his beautiful shop to Brent Engstrom, he went on to become a high end “fitter” working exclusively with some of the highest performing cyclists (those that race) to help each person have the perfect fit to their bike.

We are all racing. Racing from here to there, racing to capture our kid’s rapid growth for posterity before they’ve grown up and out and on to the next thing.

So, before the spring and summer weather really hits and every bike shop is slammed with business, go ahead and meet Chris and Justin at Crank one afternoon, or pay a visit to co-op members Dean and Rachel at Clever Cycles or roll your ride into Veloce and let Brent know I sent you.

These are some of the most qualified people to take a look at you and take a look at your bike and help you have a better fit. With a few adjustments here and there, you’ll have more power in your ride.

Bike fittings are a $50 investment at Crank. What a great way to meet your newest neighbor, help a new local business along and possibly make this the spring and summer that you really love your bike.

Cránk Bicycles

2725 SE Ash Street

Portland, OR 97214

spin•kinetic©gmail•com (spin•kinetic©gmail•com)

Monday through Saturday 9am – 6pm

503.610.8356

Clever Cycles

908 SE Hawthorne Boulevard

info©clevercycles•com (info©clevercycles•com)

M-F: 11-6; Sa-Su: 11-5

503.334.1560

Veloce Bicycles

3202 SE Hawthorne Boulevard

M, W, Th & F 11-7, Sat 10-5 Tu& Sun: gone cycling.

503-234-8400

The Herb Shoppe Update

Karen Hery — Mon, 28 Feb 2011 19:38:54 +0000

Fresh off of hosting a carnival held in a gym inside a church filled with trapezes and a swap shop, I am sitting down at my computer figuring out how to best describe some doctors with classes and acupuncture and warm cups of tea in an Herb Shoppe .

Let’s start with the obvious . . . some things are not what they seem. Or, better yet, they are what they seem and then a whole lot more.

To call the Sunnyside Swap Shop Co-op an indoor play place is a fair and accurate statement . . . just not the whole picture of what our community offers. When you walk into The Herb Shoppe at 3327 Hawthorne, you are walking into a place that sells lots of herbs. If you already know the herb that you want and need, it’s a great place to buy all sorts of dried and powdered herbs on their own or combined by the staff into wonderful concoctions like cold care tea.

Just as someone can come to our co-op and not realize that there is an outdoor play yard and an upstairs gym and a restaurant on Friday nights, you can walk, ride or drive right past the Herb Shoppe and not realize that there are medical doctors treating patients past the front space that is their natural medicine pharmacy or that this is also a place to get acupuncture and massage and take free classes.

Co-op member Dr. Jennifer Curtis, along with the Herb Shoppe founder Dr. JJ Pursell, understand that we don’t all have the same knowledge about herbs and naturopathic medicine. They are both parents of young children so they also understand that we don’t have the luxury of several hours a day to implement a treatment plan or to read up on the latest treatment methods for use and our kids.

I have to confess, one of the things I appreciate most about the Herb Shoppe is that they understand that I need a little hand holding when I’m prescribed a tincture or told to steep my own cup of tea full of the medicines that will benefit me. Not just the doctors but all the staff can give me really clear explanations of what and why and how for each herb and procedure so I really understand what I’m doing.

The other thing I appreciate is that I don’t have to give up other forms of medicines to have this resource in my life. My lab work for the treatments I receive through Dr. Pursell or Dr Curtiss are still done on my Kaiser insurance and they have the ability to prescribe herbal medicines or any of the medicines that I can pick up at a standard pharmacy

In these financially challenging times, I’m especially glad that you or I don’t have to make a doctor’s appointment as our first step at the Herb Shoppe to get some valuable advice and education and tangible solutions for our medical issues.

If you walk in and say you read about the Herb Shoppe as a member of the Sunnyside Swap Shop and just want to look around, I can promise that the quick 10 minute walk around the front herbal displays with a staff member who has helped and consulted hundreds of families is worth your time and then some even if you don’t have a particular “cure” you are looking for.

One prescription that Dr. Curtiss and Dr. Pursell have been giving out lately you will probably really appreciate. They have been prescribing the Swap Shop to their patients who are struggling to find balance with small children in the house.

Whether you have small children or children almost as taller or taller than you, you can prescribe yourself some time in the Herb Shoppe to visit the “country docs in the city.”

What ails you may not need a fancy cream or a designer drug. Having a pharmacy staff and great doctors that will look at the whole picture with you and really explore all your options is a resource worth celebrating.

We celebrate a whole collection of local businesses on our web site www.sunnysideswapshop.org listing their contact information and swap shop posts.

To reach the Herb Shoppe:

3327 SE Hawthorne Blvd. Portland, OR 97214

503-234-7801

Shop hours:
Monday-Friday 11-7pm, Saturday 10-6pm
Sunday 12-5pm

Doctor’s visits by appointment.

The Herb Shop’s Free Wednesday Night Lectures every Wednesday from 6:15 – 7pm go on every week of the year.

This Wednesday you can join Dr. Jennifer Curtiss ND for Childhood Nutrition 101

March 9th: Jamie Smith LMT
Therapeutic Oils for Body-Care and Massage

March 16th: Jennifer Wyatt LAc.
Chinese Medicine Open Forum
Bring any and all questions you have about Chinese medicine and Acupuncture.

March 23rd: Dr. JJ
Spring Cleaning
Learn about herbal and Naturopathic detoxing, cleansing and fasting.

March 30th: Nanci Olson-Gundry, Reiki Master
Reiki Healing

Fall Real Estate Update

Karen Hery — Mon, 31 Jan 2011 03:16:06 +0000

The weekend after Thanksgiving seems like the perfect time to reflect on our home sweet homes.

Maybe this is the year you’ve decided you just aren’t going to go another year with two growing kids (or even just one) in a house that was cozy already with just the adults that live there.

Maybe you are ready to go from renting to owning, owning to renting, hoping to downsize your monthly mortgage payments or just curious how the market is doing these days.

We have two great Roost sponsors who keep us updated on the housing market in general and especially on our little corner of the universe right around the swap shop. Jarrett Altman has been selling SE homes for over 10 years and has lived in Sunnyside for 15. You’ll see her Neighborhood Works home-for-sale signs all around this part of town. She knows Victorians, craftsman homes and bungalows inside and out. Her favorite person to work with on loans is Melissa Guthrie who formed her own one-woman business, MortgagesDirect, 11 years ago.

Melissa is great to know because she has access to all the same loans as a large brokerage firm without the impersonal large scale processes that can let important things fall through the cracks. When we work with Melissa, she’s our right-down-the-street broker and receptionist, processor and closer, manager and customer service.

Unfortunately, neither Jarrett or Melissa have a crystal ball in a back room to check what loan rates and housing prices will be over the next year. But after a decade in real estate, they have a wealth of information to help us make well educated decisions.

Melissa expects loan rates will be volatile for a little bit longer, maybe getting a bit worse before they start to improve. On refinances, she knows it’s good to start the process early and get approved so that you are ready to close when rates go down. If you wait to start the processing of your loan until the rate is where you want it…you could lose out on getting the best price. Due to the influx of loans that typically comes in when rates are down, volume goes way up (everyone is running to get their loan applications in), processing/underwriting time is longer (as banks don’t hire more underwriters…so you basically wait in line….). If you are already approved, you can float your rate right up until 15 days before you close to help you get that better price right when the rates are low.

Rule of thumb on a refinance is you want to be at least 1% below your current rate to recoup your costs within a 2 year period. Whether you are refinancing or financing, the best rates are on loans with 740 or above credit scores. Best way to keep your score down….don’t open any new credit, keep paying monthly on the credit that you have on time, keep balances to within 30 to 40% of whatever your max revolving credit line is on credit cards. Make sure any old snafus are cleared up. Paying off credit is not always a good thing…..payment histories play an important role in keeping a good credit score as well.

Housing prices in the Sunnyside neighborhood haven’t changed much since we checked in with Jarrett this summer. Cute 2 bedroom cottages are still in the low 300′s, sometimes as low as $260,000. Expect to pay somewhere in the mid 300′s for basic 3 beds, two bath homes and around $500,000 for a really nice 3-4 bedroom house with all the bedrooms upstairs that is “done” as far as modern upgrades and renovations.

If you’ve been putting off selling because you figured your property would just sit if priced for what you really wanted to sell it for, there’s finally some good news to report. The inventory of short sell and bank owned properties from this last big downturn has pretty much all cleared out and there is very little listed right now, especially in popular areas like Sunnyside.

You can go through the holidays in your own home, list your house in January or February and have less competition on the market until the bigger influx of spring listings that usually happens each year.

The houses Jarrett is just putting on the market right now are a good sample of what’s available in Sunnyside. This Tuesday is the first day you can see her newest listing: a 2 bedroom, one bath bungalow with a separate downstairs living space (good for a relative since it doesn’t have its own bath). On the market for $315,000, it’s a true inner Southeast home – no back yard to speak of but it has an awesome front porch.

Early spring she’ll have a small 3 bedroom, 2 bath in the mid 300′s and a 3 bedroom, two bath Victorian with a separate apartment and a two car garage in the low 500′s.

She has sellers waiting to list because they need to find what they want to buy first -both smaller and larger than what they have now – in the same neighborhood that they already love. If you are looking to trade up or down or are just getting into the neighborhood, letting Jarrett know what you are looking for could help get more houses on the market.

You wouldn’t always think of real estate agents as a resource for rentals but Jarrett often knows of short term rentals and families that almost sold but are deciding to get renters instead.

If you want to live closer to the swap shop or have a need to downsize or upsize your family footprint, Melissa and Jarrett are great neighbors to know.

To put their experience and great neighborhood spirit to work for you:

Neighborhood Works

Jarrett Altman

(503) 407-4200

MortgagesDirect

Melissa Guthrie

office: 503-233-8750

cell: 512-797-4662

fax: 512-233-0571

Weatherizing with Hankins True Value Hardware

Karen Hery — Sat, 23 Oct 2010 20:58:45 +0000

With the main parts of the growing season behind us, we have a whole new set of reasons to visit our neighborhood hardware store. Sure there are the year round trips for plumbing and other maintenance items, but we are also just at the beginning of the weatherizing season.

I don’t know if you’ve weathered a trip to the big box home improvement stores lately. For me that’s always a daunting experience that makes me feel like I should have watched 100 or so hours of home improvement shows first before I got in the car and headed through the giant roll up doors.

I have about as much chance of picking a really great bottle of wine as I have of picking out the right set of supplies for a home improvement project so I’m always happy to see Lois Hankins when I walk into her True Value Hardware store in the 1700 block of Hawthorne. This homey place is small enough that she and her staff know every item well (and picked it for it’s quality and usefulness) but large enough that what I really need is probably there.

And sure enough, there is a whole wall dedicated to weatherproofing. 100 year old houses aren’t known for being draft free. I have a fair understanding of weatherstripping and door sweeps but maybe you are as new to the idea as I am that you can insulate behind your outlets (which I’ve come to learn channel air from cold attics through leaky electrical boxes.) Enough insulation for an electrical outlet is certainly in my home improvement budget this year.

You would laugh as hard as we did when we finally investigated our attic after a year or so of home ownership. We kept wondering why my youngest daughter’s room was colder than everyone elses. Finding that the window was missing some glass seemed a reasonable explanation for a while but the real truth lay in a contractor who finished up insulating some new ducting for the attic part of the heating system by “borrowing” most of the insulation that used to be over the top of her room. Add a few industrious squirrels who snuck in and pushed the remaining insulation into great big nests in the farthest corners of the roof peak and we almost had bare particle board between the attic and her room.

Now if you need enough insulation or boards or pipe to do a complete home renovation, you are going to need to drive to the suburbs for your supplies, but, if you just need to do some filling in like me, it’s good to know that Lois keeps a few rolls of attic insulation on hand for just this kind of problem. I guess I’m not the only person with quick in and out contractors and resourceful rodents.

Lois doesn’t fall head over heals for the latest gadgets and that includes the internet but she’s really proud and delighted with what True Value’s corporate office has done with the national web site www.truevalue.com . A search on the word insulation or just sitting down to read about weatherproofing in their project library is a quick and clear way to get educated on which projects could minimize your heating bill this winter.

Also, you don’t have to decide between supporting a local business or ordering just what you need from a bigger supplier. If you order what you need on their web site and pick it up from Lois, you get free shipping (when it’s shipped to the store instead of your house) and you get a great staff to support your project in the bargain.

As a bonus, you might run into the handyman that you’ll need if you get in over your head while picking up your order. When I chatted with Dan Borg, Swap SHop member with Holly Ann Alswel, while we were standing in front of the ‘wall of screws’ right by their front door, I discovered he’s great at decorative tile and has over 15 years experience doing handyman work in the neighborhood. Can’t keep a resource like this to myself. You can reach him at (503) 577-1401 or dan•borganizm©gmail•com.

Friendly, hard working experts on everything from real estate to dental work and pianos to hardware are becoming our good-to-know friends through the Know Your Neighbor emails. You can bid on some of their great services tonight at the Autumnfest 5-8:30 – dinner at 6 – or look them up any time on the home page of our web site.

And do say hello to Loise Hankins when you go into . . .

Hankins True Value Hardware Store
1720 Hawthorne Street
(503) 236-2372

M-F: 8:00 AM – 6:00 PM
Sat: 8:30 AM – 6:00 PM
Sun: 10:00 AM – 4:00 PM