If you have been around the past few weeks you will have noticed a lot of French being spoken and you might have already met Massene, Patricia and Cary, two teachers [...]]]>  

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 .  . . [...]]]>

For some of us, our child’s first visit to the dentist was a long time ago and for others, it still seems a long way off.

Whatever phase of [...]]]> ———- Forwarded message ———-
From: karen <sunnysideswapshop©gmail•com>
Date: Sun, Jan 30, 2011 at 7:31 PM
Subject: [sunnysideswapshop] Know Your Neighbor – Dental Resources
To: sunnysidefamilyswapshopindoorplayground©yahoogroups•com

For some of us, our child’s first visit to the dentist was a long time ago and for others, it still seems a long way off.

Whatever phase of children’s dentistry and orthodontia your household is in, my check-in this week with Belmont Family Dentistry , Dentistry for Children  in Vancouver and Parkside Orthodontics right next to Laurelhurst Park has netted many good-to-know dental facts.

Ever heard of a dentist open on Saturdays? I hadn’t. But I’m happy to report that Dentistry for Children (in Vancouver and yet still voted one of Portland’s best children’s dentists) sees patients every Saturday 8-5 and also minor holidays like President’s Day that children are out of school.

What I really, really, really appreciate is how much valuable data we can gather with all three of these great providers before needing to spend our hard earned money on children’s dental care.

Under most circumstances, first visits are free of charge and a can create a lot of piece of mind that everything is off to a good start or at least help you prepare a budget that you can plan for.

Children can come along on your adult visit to Belmont Family dentistry and get comfortable in the office in your lap before they sit in the chair on their own. Depending on what they need, treatments for them on your same visit can be done at a reduced cost or no additional cost.

Dentistry for Children will do a no-charge “happy visit” any time after your child gets their first teeth.

Let me do my best to describe just how happy that will be. Raising two kids through the toddler years in Southern and Northern California and then developing a swap and play environment has put me in more toddler and preschool friendly environments than I can count. I would count Dr Shebani’s medical office as possibly more fun than Disneyland for this age group.

You are going to have to go yourself to believe me but somewhere between the play kitchen, art table, kid operated toy train, walls you can draw on and a prize “closet” that is this magical tree full of toys, your child might not even realize they are at the dentist office. Some of their patients that have moved away plan their dental visits into their vacations to keep the positive relationship they have with the quality of care they already have and the kid-friendly experience that really is quite unique and special.

You may be like me and not have been aware that visits to the orthodontist are complimentary until your child actually needs to start treatment. My youngest, Claire, is in the watch-and-wait phase and happily hops in the chair at Parkside Orthodontics every six months or so to be told that, yes, she will probably need braces but, no, not now.

The earliest orthodontic issue you might find yourself facing comes from thumb sucking or prolonged pacifier use. This should get noticed by your family dentist but Dr. Kuperstein at Parkside can advise you as well. Both of these habits can put enough pressure on the soft palate so the upper jaw develops in ways that cause a cross bite (some of the upper teeth lining up inside the lower teeth) or an open bite (open space between the lower and upper front teeth).

Habits that last beyond the first year are hard to break. If just growing older and being out and about playing with preschool friends doesn’t naturally help thumb sucking and pacifier use fade away, Dr. Kuperstein has sticker charts that kids four and older often respond to well and also a device that can be temporarily anchored in the upper palate so the habit is less satisfying (and does less damage.)

That magic question . . . what age should my child first go to the dentist or the orthodontist? It’s a question that has an interesting answer. Turns out, each of our children has their chronological age – their favorite number if they are old enough to be planning their next birthday party the minute the last one is over – and each child has a different, but equally important, dental “age” which varies child to child. Some children have all their adult teeth by nine years old and some fifteen year olds still have a baby tooth to lose.

So, when first teeth come in, make that first (and often free) happy visit to the dentist. When the first permanent teeth arrive, it’s a good time to make friends with the orthodontist.

I don’t know about you, but I don’t have memories of dentists and orthodontists being “friendly” when I was a kid. I have been very impressed with the knowledge and skill of all these providers but even more impressed with their talents at putting children at ease and coaxing cooperation out of tweens and teens.

If you already have a good relationship for your dental care, may this post be a nice reminder to check in this year for the things you need. If, like me, you are in a new town, you are new to this part of town or just new to navigating kid’s dental care, I, along with many other swap shop members, can sing the praises of these talented doctors and their really fabulous staff.

If you need one more nudge make the trip out to see a dentist with a squirming, fussing younger child, I was tickled to discover that down the street from Dentistry for Children right on the way back home to Portland is a gem of a place called Cafe Sip N’ Play . Kids five and under can run around and play while you eat for a small per kid charge. Worth checking out if you are ever in that part of Washington (just off Hwy 14 at 3000 164th street.).

Forgotten the name of a Roost sponsor that you read about in our weekly posts? Scroll down our home page at www.sunnysideswapshop.org to see business cards that click through to the past write ups we have posted and the home pages of some of the best local businesses in SE Portland.

Living local is easy to do when we take the time to get to know our neighbors. Please take the time to thank these neighbors for their generous support of The Roost.

Belmont Family Dentistry

Dr. Aaron Tinkle

5935 SE Belmont, Portland, OR 97215

(503) 234-1218

Dentistry for Children 

Dr. Amna Shebani

1405 SE 164th Ave. Vancouver, WA 98683

360-260-0505

Parkside Orthodontics

Dr. Rebecca Kuperstein

539 SE 39th Street, Portland, OR 97214

503-236-3800

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 [...]]]> 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

jarrett©nworksrealty•com

MortgagesDirect

Melissa Guthrie

office: 503-233-8750

cell: 512-797-4662

fax: 512-233-0571

maguthrie©earthlink•net or mguthrie©mortgagesdirect•com

I had a friend who worked in management for Sears who would entertain us with stories about executive directives to do things like [...]]]> The more I get to know our local businesses in SE Portland, the more reasons I have to brag with complete assurance about what a treasure they all are to our community.

I had a friend who worked in management for Sears who would entertain us with stories about executive directives to do things like carry riding mowers in every store – he didn’t live in inner SE Portland at the time but he did live in a part of the country where no one’s lawn was even remotely big enough to justify the purchase. To keep the great big mowing machines from just taking up display space and collected dust, they took to using them as counter tops for other products.

Nothing takes up display space and collects dust at Veloce Bicycles or Clever Cycles – two great Portland bike stores on Hawthorne.

To say Portland is unique among American cities is probably a generous understatement. Our businesses get to reflect and foster wonderful niches of commerce that feed our need for real products, well made and well supported.

My check in at Veloce took a back seat yesterday to the woman who rolled in with her two-year-old bike cracked through the frame. She wasn’t nervous or agitated. She knew why she spent her money at a local shop with a good reputation so that, if or when this kind of thing happened, she’d have an easy time getting it replaced. She left the bike in good hands and picked out the new handle bar grip tape she was going to add on in process.

In the process of searching out the best products, sometimes Todd and Dean at Clever Cycles decide to take matters in their own hands. The electric assist device that makes commuter bikes manageable was developed by Todd so he could ride the hills of San Francisco (about the equivalent experience to riding our smaller hills with several kids piled on and a bunch of groceries).

Some of the Portlanders I admire most ride so much that switching gear between the road, home and the office begins to seem pretty pointless. Dean and Todd saw a need that wasn’t yet being filled with the clothes on the market and set out to find the ultimate wear-everywhere pants. After a bit of trial and error, they ended up co-creating a product that is just starting to go national.

To me their inspired creation looks like a very basic pair of black pants (and that’s the point so they blend in with everything.) The Hawthorne Stealth Pantaloon is made of wool thin enough to be worn in warm weather and, because they are made of wool, warm in cold weather even when soaking wet. And, best of all, those magic qualities of the chemistry of wool make it so that the odors that would get into and linger in other clothes don’t take hold in the cloth. Work out (or just get a work out going to work) and walk into the office, or your co-op preschool stint, like you just came from the dry cleaners.

The owners of Clever Cycles did the honorable thing and kept the design and manufacture of the pants in the states which means we get to do the honorable thing and pay a living wage for our clothes: $157 a pair. Good thing you can wear them for days on end and they’ll really last so you can get your money’s worth. This is just round two of offering the pants through their store. The first 100 pants sold out last season and another 100 pairs of men’s size 26-38 and women’s size 2-18 are waiting for the next converts to the ways of wool. Some of the best rain gear in Portland for toddlers to adults is waiting for you too.

Veloce has a new convert or an old, long time fan depending on how you want to look at it. Demetri, long time owner of Veloce and one of the back bones of the Portland biking movement is retiring (actually graduating to running a fitting studio – no bike sales just working with really serious riders fitting them to the best bikes for their ride). In that role, he’ll be keeping close ties with Veloce’s new owner Brent Engstrom.

Brent’s Italian mom and Demetri are getting along great. Brent, at 38 with a 9 year old son – who may find his way to The Roost before long – is in his element keeping the strong relationships going between rider and bike and store and community. He’s been a road and mountain biker since high school and could never quite abide by the high volume sales model of the Performance Bicycle in Beaverton where he did his early years in the business.

He’s been working at Veloce for over a month and the official owner for just 3 weeks. He’s as happy as the rest of us that he’s inherited a shop with an all night mechanic. Bring your bike in by 7pm and Tom will work through the night to have it fixed when the shop opens the next day. Demetri will be in and out for the next month so you can say hellos and goodbyes with one visit before Christmas.

And while you are there, or at Clever Cycles, you can make your all-weather ride a whole lot more pleasant and safe with bike lights, back wheel fenders, water proof bags and all weather tires.

If they don’t have what you need, describe it to them. Next thing you know, they will have found it or found some way to have it made.

Clever Cycles 908 SE Hawthorne Boulevard M-Th: 11-6; Fr: 11-8; 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

No doubt you’ve been promised deep discounts, free shipping and whole number of other things.

Ironic, I suppose, that the season that celebrates our dearest connections with family and [...]]]> If your email account works anything like mine, you’re probably inundated this time of year with “gift giving ideas” from every source that has your address.

No doubt you’ve been promised deep discounts, free shipping and whole number of other things.

Ironic, I suppose, that the season that celebrates our dearest connections with family and friends gets so disconnected in the heated push for commerce.

The best cure I know, for the feeling that all sense of humanity has been sucked out of the holiday season, is to grab an umbrella and wander down Belmont to a few warm spots on the block.

First stop: Stephanie’s little bit of the universe known as Noun: A Person’s Place for Things . She’s usually the one waiting for you to walk on in at the corner of Belmont and 33rd across from Zupans. You’ll have to make it past the St. Cupcakes in the lobby and then you are in one of the most peaceful places to shop for a gift that I can think of this time of year.

A “long” line will be two or three people at the cash register and you’ll feel silly forming a line because it’s easier to just gather around and enjoy each other’s company while she rings you up.

When I give a gift to a friend or a family member, I’m really just trying to say, “I thought of you. Here’s something special that I thought you would like.”

Noun is filled with special things: vintage glassware (very sweet and unique), local jewelry, art and other conversation pieces that Stephanie has picked up at local estate sales throughout the year so you can discover them anew.

She changes her selection by the season but not by the holiday so, while you’ll find little arctic animals or other things that look great on a tree or make a sweet holiday gift for a playful child, everything she’s offering can stay out all year long in your house so you won’t have to pack what you buy away at the end of December.

You only have the rest of December to enjoy our newest Roost Sponsor, Polliwog , in their original location on the corner of Belmont and 29th. Come January, all the cute and well made kid’s clothing, eco-friendly toys and fun hippity hops are moving to a spot right next to Staccato Gelato up 28th just past Burnside.

If you are a swap shop family that appreciates good, local toy stores, let them know you heard about the move through us. Like all of our sponsors Pheobe and Chris do feel good about helping out Roost youth but they are also trying to spend their small marketing budget wisely. Your shout out as you come in to shop helps them know they are making a difference in all the ways that matter.

One great reason to rush over to Polliwog (other than the miniature selection of Japanese erasers that my own daughters can’t get enough of), would be the really amazing soft “playscapes” that are on display right now. A local artist takes bits of old sweaters and crafts them into surprisingly sturdy toy play houses, nature huts and more . . . ideal for the little animals and little people you already have to explore through the imagination of a child (and quiet on the hardwood floor!). Priced between $20 and $40, these unique little treasures are worth the trip just to check them out.

Walking back to my car from Polliwog, I fell right into another South East Portland treasure. Just last August, local singer and songwriter Margaret Smith, opened up White Rabbit Vintage, her own little store full of vintage furniture and house wares with great hand crafted items too .

She has a real love for the things she collects and her prices are very reasonable for old fashioned wagons, funky furniture and all sorts of items of beauty and amusement.

She has a sweet spot for the needs of the homeless and has found a simple way to help out The Roost this holiday season. She gifts 10% of her proceeds every month to a different non-profit cause. I couldn’t be more proud of the times our member families have taken in foster kids and how our Roost sponsor money gives them a warm, dry, friendly place to be at The Roost every week after school.

Margaret isn’t sure how much her small store tucked around the corner from Polliwog on 29th will generate this holiday season. What ever she earns, some of it will be coming back to help our community as we help the kids who need our love most.

Love is what gift giving is all about. We may think about gift giving more during the holidays but I think about these local stores when ever I want to pass some love along all year long and I hope you do too.

I’m delighted that inner SE Portland is full of the kind of stores we can feel proud to patronize. May we all have an abundant enough new year to continue the support we are giving to each other through the swap shop and living and shopping local.

Noun: A Person’s Place for Things
3300 SE Belmont
Corner of 33rd and Belmont across from Zupans
Tues – Sat 10-7, Sunday 10 – 5, open Mondays too 10-5 for the holiday season
(503) 235-0078

Polliwog
Through December – 2900 Southeast Belmont Street
In January – 234 NE 28th near Everett
10-6 Mon- Sat 11-5 Sun
Open Christmas Eve at least until 6 – later if people are still shopping
(503) 236-3903

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

It think there is a corollary . . . everything we need to know about helping our kids with transitions, we can learn from observing what goes on at a great preschool.

With my office right outside of the main entry/exit doors of [...]]]> People say that everything we need to know we learned in kindergarten.

It think there is a corollary . . . everything we need to know about helping our kids with transitions, we can learn from observing what goes on at a great preschool.

With my office right outside of the main entry/exit doors of the Swap Shop, my youngest daughter going to sleep over camp for the first time in about a week and my middle school daughter morphing before my eyes into the young lady she is becoming, I get plenty of glimpses into the challenges and joys of life’s little and big transitions.

While I get glimpses, Michelle LaFollette’s business is transitions. Wren’s Nest, her house-based Montessori school three blocks up from the Swap Shop in the 3800 block of SE Yamhill, is a buzz almost every week of the year with parents strolling up to drop off and pick up little ones.

Whether you are figuring out when and where to make the transition to preschool for your first child or trying your level headed best to stay sensitive to the combined neediness and fierce independence of adolescence, it’s good every once in a while to take a refresher course in healthy transitions.

It starts with not packing too much in one day (wisdom from a busy community builder who keeps learning that lesson the hard way.)

After spending ten years facilitating an early-in-the-morning until 6pm care space in the Bay Area, Michelle couldn’t be happier offering a simpler, more evenly paced house down the street (open only until 4pm) for parents who spend a great deal of time with their own children yet know their kids need their own special environment too.

She knows that the toddlers and preschoolers who transition well into Wren’s Nest have parents who neither linger nor dash through the changes from home to school and school to home. She enjoys helping parents have a brief, simple and loving moment at the door. She knows how our own anxieties can make us either want to rush through too quickly (leaving a stunned and abandoned child) or, thinking we are helping but really sending mixed signals, staying and staying not sure when is the right time to part ways.

Michelle has watched child after child who is not yet confident in a new space or with new people, look to their parents for “signs.” If we are showing confidence in the way we interact, our child’s confidence grows too.

Kevin Bacon, Principal at Hosford Middle School, gave great advice at his incoming 6th grade family gathering that I think rings true at any age. He encouraged the parents to let their student take the lead on how far into school they walk with their student on the first day. If they ask to be dropped off at the curb or a bit down the street, drop them off. If they want you to walk right in to the classroom, walk right in. If they change their mind mid way through, change along with them. Not to say any of us would drop a toddler off down the street, but, age appropriately, I’ve enjoyed watching my daughters run ahead or tug me right along on their life adventures.

Our children don’t just have transitions at the beginning and end of their visit to the Swap Shop, their afternoon at The Roost or their day at school or camp. There are the transitions from inside to outside, from gross motor activities to fine motor activities from playing and learning to eating and resting. This is where clear pathways are key. When there are fair and obvious ways to get from here to there we can clean up and move on to what’s next with . . I wouldn’t say no fuss but . . . with a lot less angst.

Michelle’s Montessori school, the Swap Shop and our new Camp Fire program at The Roost have one main thing in common when it comes to helping children learn their own body and mind enough to make transitions well – age appropriate novelty within a fairly organized structure. Great community programs are set up to have enough structure and familiarity to give our children a sense of security and enough challenge and novelty to allow them to “make mistakes” enough to learn and grow.

Ever wonder how the Swap Shop stays organized and reasonably tidy considering all the families that come and go each week? Wondering how in the world Michelle sets a 1 ½ year old loose among those amazingly intricate activity trays of beads and wooden cubes and cups of water that Montessori is known for? Not sure you want to know what a dozen middle schoolers do in The Roost with three solid hours of after school free time?

Some of the most amazing learning goes on when our kids can find the item they are looking for or run across something new and then know that, within reason, they will be allowed to explore it on their own terms. Even those of us, like myself, who are happy slobs at home or with an unshared office space understand that you have to pick up after yourself in community space. Having clear places to put things back certainly helps.

Michelle knows how important novelty is to allow growing young children to express themselves. She is spending the last part of the summer completing her artist shed, a place much like the arts and crafts room at the Swap Shop or activity room up in The Roost that will allow her to provide uninterrupted hours of both teacher directed and pure and simple student led art in the afternoons at Wren’s Nest.

I think our own Swap Shop member, Margaret Crow, says it best when she stands outside the wooden gate, looks back at the house where she just dropped of her two year old daughter Lucy and says, “I love Wren’s nest.” We all love a place that helps us be a better parent and helps our kids thrive.

Margaret got to watch first hand over the past few months how Michelle transitioned her child into that new preschool world and she knows Lucy got an age appropriate and beautiful introduction into community life. She can already see the changes in Lucy at home in the more confident ways she talks and acts.

The afternoon Camp Fire middle school program at The Roost won’t open up again until after Labor Day but every day is a play day at the Swap Shop and there are spaces right now at Wren’s Nest for nine more families. August, with it’s nice weather, is a great month to enjoy Wren’s Nest’s all-around-the-house play yards.

Michelle accepts children who are not yet two to as old at 6 years. All her spaces available right now are in the 3-6 year old program. 2 ½ to 3 year olds sometimes are ready for the older kids’ program and, because she has a toddler as well as preschool age program at Wren’s Nest, children are not required to be potty trained. If you have a child that will just miss getting into 3 year old preschool in the fall, talk to Michelle. Wren’s Nest may be the perfect place for you.

Two mornings a week at Wren’s Nest for a toddler is $475 a month. Full day, five days a week for a 3 ½ year old to 5 year old is $740. This compares to the $1,200 to $1,500 that other full time day cares charge. If you are wondering if life with kids ever gets more affordable, I hope you are heartened by the fact that two afternoons a week at the Roost for a 6-8th grader rings in at just $90 per month.

Life with kids does get better and better and, at least until college, more and more affordable.

More local business and services with great local owners that work hard at being affordable and community minded are posted on our web site: www.sunnsyideswapshop.org.

Enjoy the journey!

To contact Michelle LaFollette:

Wren’s Nest Preschool
3815 SE Yamhill Street (last block of Yamhill before the Belmont Library).
(503) 235-0093 or vassarlearningcenter©yahoo•com

In my ideal world, swap shops and herb shops will be as common or more common [...]]]> When we first opened the doors of the Sunnyside Swap Shop Co-op there wasn’t anything quite like it. We did a lot more educating about who and what we are then than we do now these three years later.

In my ideal world, swap shops and herb shops will be as common or more common than thrift stores and pharmacies and need no more explanation than the corner coffee shop or the local mall. Until then, it’s great to have this weekly venue to paint a picture of all the possibilities these places offer our families.

If you already frequent The Herb Shoppe in the 3300 block of Hawthorne, read along and let me know if I’ve done justice to one of your favorite places. If you have never walked in or never quite known what to look for or ask for, may this email make The Herb Shoppe, and places like it, more accessible to you and yours.

First, a little history: Dr JJ Pursell, naturopath, acupuncturist, herbalist and now the proud mama of little Cordelia born this past spring, didn’t set out to be the owner of The Herb Shoppe. She came to Portland from Bellingham, Washington to go to grad school at the National College of Natural Medicine (where church trustee Dohn Kruschwitz, who you occasionally see around the swap shop or fixing up some other part of the building, also teaches).

She was shocked to find out how little access Portlanders had to herbal medicine, especially local organically grown or locally harvested wild herbs. And you know how it is here in Portland . . . if what we want and need doesn’t already exist, we design it, build it and create a new business and way of life around it.

JJ opened The Herb Shoppe originally on Burnside and then moved to Hawthorne a few years later. She and her fellow practitioners and staff celebrated their five year anniversary with a remodel of their space that was just completed last month.

Now, if you already know your way around herbs and herbal medicine and you already know what a naturopathic doctor can do for you, you can just head on over to Hawthorne and make yourself at home.

If you are like me and your knowledge of herbs barely extends past cooking and you aren’t sure what naturopath means exactly, a little orientation is in order to make the best of the doctors, other health practitioners and healing remedies just waiting for you when you know enough to know what to ask for.

We call ourselves the Swap Shop but we are also a play place. The Herb Shoppe is, as the name implies, a place to purchase herbal medicine and, at the same time, it is also a medical office with treatment rooms where you can see a doctor (yes, that would be a family doctor who can prescribe all types of medicine including herbal medicines).

While our economy has been forcing tough financial choices for families of all sizes and income levels, The Herb Shoppe with two practicing naturopaths (JJ and our own co-op member Jennifer Curtiss) just keeps getting more and more business. I’m sure this has something to do with the fact that, when you walk into a natural pharmacy specializing in herbal medicine, the solutions to what ails you (or what ails the ones that you love) doesn’t start with an expensive doctor’s visit. Often times is starts with just a few cups of tea . . .tea that you brew for yourself after spending as little as $3 on a blended collection of dried herbs.

And you really don’t have to start with the knowledge of what goes in that herbal tea blend or which medical treatment you need. You just start by saying hi . . . to Katelyn, Ursula or Colleen who greet you when you walk in. All you need is the willingness to share a little description of what’s troubling you or what you want to improve and they can guide you from there.

I can’t remember the last time that I had the thought that the person behind the counter at Walgreens or the Fred Meyer pharmacy could advise me in any substantial way. But substantial resource is the best way I can describe the level of knowledge we have at our fingertips just by stopping in The Herb Shoppe and asking for a little guidance.

You are not alone if you come in with a cold or flu (or not wanting to get a cold or flu), with general life stresses or digestive issues, with questions about women’s health or the need to get a better night’s sleep. Whether you have chronic pain that nothing else helps or the first signs of something you are not sure how to treat, somewhere in the line of options from $3 bags of herbal tea to $12-$15 tinctures, to capsules or formulations in the $18-$25 range, to healing massage starting at $40 to first doctor’s visits at $150 with return visits from $50-$85, you have resources far more affordable and, often times, much more effective than many forms of traditional medical care.

You’ll have to check with your insurance provider for the specifics of your plan but Dr. JJ Pursell is a provider for Blue Cross, Great West, American Specialty Health and Kaiser Complimentary Care.

Dr Curtiss, and other great providers of alternative medicine hold free lectures every Wed. night 6:15 – 7 at the shop. This Wednesday, Jennifer will be talking about vaccinations and Wednesday, October 27th about family immune support.

JJ is bringing a winter basket of herbal treats to our Autumfest auction and offering a first patient visit with her or Dr. Curtiss to our auction bidders. If Cordelia cooperates, she’ll be joining us at the Autumnfest dinner a few Saturdays from now on October 23rd.

When we take the time to support The Herb Shoppe, everyone there gets a chance to support us too. That, to me, is what community is all about.

Be well and, when you are not well (or would like to stay well), think herbal.

The Herb Shoppe

3327 SE Hawthorne Blvd. Portland, OR 97214

503-234-7801

theherbshoppe©gmail•com

Dr. JJ Pursell

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

Doctor’s visits by appointment

Claire and Emily’s grandma can’t be the only one planning ahead this year to save money. Advance holiday reservations have been busy this year for our Roost Sponsor, [...]]]> We haven’t put summer completely behind us and yet I just received an email confirmation of my children’s airline tickets to go see their grandparents for Thanksgiving!

Claire and Emily’s grandma can’t be the only one planning ahead this year to save money. Advance holiday reservations have been busy this year for our Roost Sponsor, Historic Hawthorne Rentals, for their 8 vacation rental homes ranging in size from quaint studios to large SE homes right here in the Sunnyside neighborhood… some places are getting reserved up to 9 months in advance.

If you have relatives coming into town any time this year and you don’t want them piled on top of you in your house or all the way across the river in a chain hotel, you’ll be happy to know that friendly, helpful Clare is still setting up rentals for Thanksgiving weekend starting Nov 25th. For Christmas weekend starting Dec 23rd she has half of the rental properties already reserved. For you really long term planners, spring break is wide open but 4th of July is 100% occupied.

If you do set up an Historic Hawthorne Rental for your out of town guests, they’ll get a great slice of the inner SE Portlandexperience in homes using reclaimed timber repurposed to build all sorts of things including staircases and, in one of the properties, a door into the floor. It operates on a weighted pulley system that is both functional and fun….

Here’s the part I like best –these are vacation homes not hotel rooms. Depending on the size of the property, each has a large or small kids’ play area complete with toys and books along with a TV to watch DVD’s and free high speed internet. If you tell Clare the special needs and ages of your relatives as you make the reservation, she can shuffle around toys and equipment from various properties to better accommodate them. Our co-op members Shelley Carmichael and Chris Landis who own Historic Hawthorne Rentals are parents of a preschooler so they know what it’s like to travel with little ones. They happily provide a Pac-n-Play, crib and high chair for the smallest guests. Every house has a fully equipped kitchen complete with dishwasher, microwave, coffee maker, and washer and dryer (those things you usually miss out on when traveling.)

Taylor House easily sleeps 8 and rents for $200-255 nightly with a 3 night minimum stay. Weekly rate is $1300-1640. There is a $150 cleaning fee and a refundable security deposit of $250. There are no other taxes, costs or expenses.

If you really have a lot of people to house over the holidays or for a family reunion or wedding, The Taylor House shares a lot with the Garden Studio and is only 1 block away from their Hawthorne Studio, Landis House, & Hemingway Flat. It is only 5 blocks from their condo rental and 7 blocks from the Morrison Studio and Duplex.

If you are just looking for a staycation (or can talk grandma into staying at your house when she comes leaving the kids in their own familiar beds while you enjoy a romantic get away), their Garden Cottage Studio is an intimate retreat and has a covered private patio nested in a grove of bamboo with lights and candles. It will sleep four if need be and is half the cost of the larger properties: $100-120 nightly; $600-750 weekly with a refundable $250 security deposit and a $75 cleaning fee. There are no additional taxes; they are included in the rates.

The Swap Shop is like a second home for all of us, especially on rainy days, and the Roost on Friday nights is like going out to a friendly restaurant with half the hassle and half the cost of trying to take kids with us out on the town.

Shelley and Chris and Claire have done an amazing job of creating another kind of home away from home for everyone visiting inner SE Portland.

I’m a big fan of anyone who sees a community need and goes about filling it in a way that’s good for them, good for their customers and good for the community. Small, neighborhood businesses don’t come with large advertising budgets. One of the best ways we can thank Chris and Shelley for sponsoring teens at The Roost is to spread the word about their sweet set of vacation rentals right in our neighborhood.

Clare is great to talk to on the phone 360-910-4783 and easiest to reach by email Clare©HistoricHawthorneRentals•com. You can check out pictures and descriptions of all their properties at www.historichawthornerentals.com. Historic Hawthorne Rentals and all of our Roost sponsors are listed on our Sponsors page. We have our own version of Yelp going on too. All you have to do is click on a sponsor on our web page and type in the comments section. A little of your time can do a lot to help our local businesses thrive.