Whitman Mission National Historic Site - Articles - Zimbio

Recycled Ideas

Mon, 23 Sep 2008 16:00:00 GMT

posted by ecoblog

Shop Name: Recycled Ideas
Shop Link: http://www.recycledideas.etsy.com
Location: Walla Walla, WA (the town so nice they named it twice!)
^ cheesy saying, but it really is a wonderful place to call home
http://www.wallawalla.org/
^ Walla Walla is known for sweet onions and wine.

Ships To: North America and for many products, to Europe

What materials do you use for your ECO friendly products? 100% post-consumer recycled paper makes up the bulk of what I offer, but I also use tree free fibers as well as 100% post-consumer content felt (it's made from recycled plastic bottles).

Why did you decide to make ECO friendly products? As well as doing my part to keep waste down which good for all of us as well as the next generations who inhabit this world, using recycled materials is also cost-effective!

What inspires you? I'm inspired by natural beauty, things I cannot make myself and people who are truly kind and generous.

How long have you had your shop on Etsy? Although I set up an account on Sept 10, 2007, I didn't list anything for sale until October.

Is this a job for you or a hobby? It's definitely a job, but it's one that I very much enjoy.

How did you get into your craft? Many years ago I saw someone demonstrate making paper by hand on TV. I thought it looked fun. That week I went out and bought supplies to make my own equipment to make paper. I made paper for my wedding, another wedding of a friend of a friend, some cards here and there but never really sold it until etsy.

Do you have any advice for fellow Etsy shop owners? Take excellent photos (I've got some tips on my blog for how to do that), write clear and complete product descriptions, and price your work at a rate that compensates you fairly for your time and is line with what buyers are willing to pay you for it.

Anything else you would like to add? I've got all kinds of tips and advice, as well as interesting reading material from the other job and loves of my life on my blog:
http://newfoundlandnews.blogspot.com/

The Wine Blogger: aka Self-Proclaimed Wine Critic

Fri, 27 Sep 2008 05:14:00 GMT

posted by Walla2WineWoman
First of all, exactly what is "blogging?" Wikipedia describes it as:

A blog (a contraction of the term "Web log") is a Web site, usually maintained by an individual, with regular entries of commentary, descriptions of events, or other material such as graphics or video. Entries are commonly displayed in reverse-chronological order. "Blog" can also be used as a verb, meaning to maintain or add content to a blog.

So, what wine subject do you want to read about? Only Washington State Wines? Wines from Long Island, New York? Need to follow a budget of Wines Under $20? Care about the politics and marketing of wine? Want to learn about the wines from Spain and Portugal? Are you a wine drinking hiker ? A Pinot Noir enthusiast? Want to read a blog with a wine magazine point of view? A specific winery? Prefer to take in wine blog reviews via video, instead of reading?

When I first started blogging about wine, over three years ago, there were an average of 300 wine bloggers around the world and of course in the mean time, the numbers have grown - - even wine magazines, newspaper wine columnists, wineries and even retail wine stores are getting into the blogging action - - a very smart move and in some instances, I think, met with the mindset of "if you can't beat them..."

There are now even wine blogging conventions held in the United States and internationally. All I know is from my own experience when I first started blogging: I felt alone. I was one of the few women wine bloggers out there. I was also the only wine blogger in Walla Walla, WA and the only one at the time just blogging about Walla Walla wines - - and even one of the few blogging about Washington State wines. I was met with: "Walla Wall-where did you say? Washington DC makes wine? Oh, you have that little blaaawg. Isn't that cute (pat-pat-pat), she's writing about wines from her little home town."

It was either not knowing any better or stubbornness, but I hung in there like a small yapping terrier dog chewing on whatever bare ankle was visible (hmm...I think I just described my little dog, Chloe...), and my marks must have left some toothy impressions, as the stubbornness is beginning to pay off for me.

Blogging, especially wine blogging, sounds easy doesn't it? It's certainly easy to start one, as there are various free and inexpensive blog publishing tools available to us. And far too often, as soon as we make the decision to blog and the fingers hit the key board, it's even easier to think, "This will become one of the best wine blogs around..."

That thinking is not an impossible goal, but it takes more than matching thoughts to fingers on a key board. I discovered you have to put yourself out there if you want readers, because it is going to be a readership that will make you "the best." You have to be consistent and if people are going to take you serious, you must have patience and wait it out until you get an audience. This is where consistency, and being persistent (or being stubborn) is important. The World Wide Web is huge and you just don't wait for people to come to you! And while I was waiting, I read other wine blogs and was pro-active. I didn't expect any of the wine bloggers to come to me with the wine blog welcome wagon. I introduced myself to other wine bloggers and even found the courage to ask some of them to exchange links. Some wine bloggers wouldn't talk to me about exchanging links until I had a few months of blogging behind me and they knew I was serious.

For many wine bloggers, blogging has become a life - a serious hobby and one they do out of love. It's their art, their craft, their personal expression - - the wine blog is their baby. They give their blog-baby love and watch it grow by feeding it with words. Alas, I am not a perfect wine blog parent, but I am protective about my wine blog baby, and my feelings of protection extends to many of my wine blogging colleagues. In fact, a few months ago several of us wine bloggers "took down" a wine column from a newspaper in Florida because it plagiarized one of our own. And my feelings of protection also includes my readers. Some of my readers have commented they wish I would blog everyday. I wish I could! At the very least, I try to publish a blog or two every ten days. Yup, real life happens, but if for some reason "real life" gets in the way of wine blogging or I meet with writer's block, and end up ten days or more without a blog, I try my best to let my readers know - - I owe it to them. However, I want my readers to know that when I am away from the computer I am always thinking, no matter if I am on vacation, having personal time alone, driving in the car, working in the garden, or with family and friends, the following goes through my mind, "How can I share this single experience with my readers?"

Like anything new and unfamiliar, the explosion of wine blogs have been met with controversy. The "word" on the "wine blogging street" is it's about old guard vs new guard - - meaning traditional print/journalists vs blogs/"self-proclaimed wine critics." Wine bloggers are wondering if food bloggers get as much crap from traditional food magazines and if not, is it due to wine being a high profile subject? Wine bloggers really felt the jab of the cellar rat baton recently when a prominent wine magazine was exposed for not doing their research. When caught, the magazine skirted around the issue in one of their chat rooms and ultimately it was the wine bloggers who took the heat for letting their readers know about the magazine's faux pas. Their senior editor said, "This is the problem with the 'blogosphere'. It's a lazy person's journalism. No one does any real research..."

Umm...okay...and who didn't do any real research when handing out their restaurant awards to a restaurant that didn't exist? Explain to me again about lazy person's journalism and real research? And then - - within a week of that stamping of tiny feet, the wine bloggers took another hit: a wine blogger arranged for several wine and food bloggers to take part in a wine review. The wine and food bloggers, who agreed to take part in the tasting and review, were sent a bottle of wine to taste and review all within a certain amount of time. On came more controversy and this time the emphasis was on "ethics." The critics came out pounding their tiny fists, charging that agreeing to accept free wine with review time conditions was unethical and very unprofessional. The critics claimed they would never agree to...blah-blah and blah and have never agreed to...blah-blah and bigger blaaaaaaaaah.

But...but...when a magazine or newspaper receives new books sent to their book editor, new tunes sent to their music editor and wine to their wine editor, isn't it rather "understood" - - an "unwritten code" that if you are going to be the very best reporter/editor you can't let these reviews slide with no time period set for a printed review? The PR firm and/or winery that sent out the items are betting these reviews will be accomplished immediately for them to be effective. What reporter, writer, critic or editor wants to be the last to report a review? Uh huh - yeah - sure - - and movie critics and sports writers always sit in the worst seats (note mocking and sarcastic tone). I questioned what I felt was double-standards, I was told, "No. You're wrong. When we, 'real journalists' receive wine, books, theatre tickets, that's different." Interesting enough, through all of the finger pointing and hypocrisy, I never read a thing about the ethics of the food bloggers who reviewed the same wine.

Here is what I think about these recent controversies, and no doubt there will be more: Ralph Waldo Emmerson said, "Fear always springs from ignorance." I smell fear. Wine blogs have arrived and finally taken seriously and so serious that the naysayers of wine blogs are speaking a lot of ignorance and double standards. Wine blogs are being used as scape goats and being put down as not being equals to the masters in print, instead of being accepted as another media tool. Wine blogging is another way to promote the most beloved, historical, cultural, archaeological, and scientific nectar of them all. The unconventional wine lover turned blogger, no matter the generation or lifestyle, should be used to capture other unconventional and potential wine lovers. To those who are willing to open their minds to something different should look to this new concept of reporting about wine and make it fit in their own lifestyle or business. The criticism and parental finger pointing towards the wine bloggers is getting tedious and most of all, oh--so--transparent.

In the future, I suspect the wine blogosphere will settle down and everyone will find their own niche in the World Wide Wine Web, if they really want it. Sure, there will be those who won't give at least 75% and will fail and unfortunately there will be several. There will be those with life changes and other opportunities who will put their wine blog to rest with intentions of waking it up at another time. Then will be the wine blogger who is passionate about their craft who will succeed and then there is the stubborn...who knows what will happen to the stubborn.

So let me end this missive with: If I have heard it once I have heard it several times, and always with a dismissive tone, "Anybody can start a blog...wine blogs are nothing special. You're all just self-proclaimed wine critics."

Yeah, that's right. If you don't like my wine blog or my wine blogging missive and have something to say about it, then start your own blog- - because after all, anybody can start a blog, right? But can you keep it fresh by being consistent in your blogging? Can you do it for almost little to zero dollars and still make your blog a viable wine information source and gain a readership? Are you willing to put yourself out there? If anybody can do all of this - then do it. I dare you. As the old saying goes, "Put up or shut up."

Looking Through the Eyes of Out-of-Town Visitors and a Dog: The Walla Walla Farmer's Market

Sun, 8 Sep 2008 14:20:00 GMT

posted by Walla2WineWoman
If you have not taken the time to consume the sights, the sounds and the delicious smells of the Walla Walla Farmer's Market you have until the weekend of October 25-26 to do so. Now - - don't expect to find a bottle of Walla Walla wine for sale at the market, located on Main & 4th, but you will find many other items that make perfect accents for wine: from fresh produce to decorated wine glasses.

During the month of June, I had the pleasure of long time family friends from Seattle stay with me for a weekend. I had to work that particular Saturday morning, but I told my guests if they were looking for something to do until I returned, not to miss the Walla Walla Saturday Market downtown. Sometimes those of us who have been living in Walla Walla for many years, and especially before the wine-influence, often take for granted the many things that Walla Walla has to offer. I know I've been guilty. Unfortunately, at that time, I hadn't taken the opportunity to get to the market this season, so it was a great surprise (and reminder) to see the market from fresh eyes and the added benefit of enjoying their Saturday Market “harvest” which included: Monteillet Fromagerie cheese, food-to-go vendors, cookies, baguettes, local produce and fresh herbs. My guests were so impresssed with the assortment, the quality, the fresh flowers, chattered up the bake goods, the Monteillet cheese and of course, being from Seattle, my guests said if only the market had fresh caught fish and seafood from the docks of the Walla Walla Bay (ahem...), it would be even better!

And since my friends visit, I have made several trips back and with different reasons. Here are a few: looking for a morning adventure and in hopes of running into friends and acquaintances, to pick up local fresh produce for cucumber and onion salad, in search of the fresh green bean to fill the needful crave of Grandma's recipe of simmering green beans and Walla Walla Sweets, only fresh basil would do for the evening's spaghettini, finding fresh ingredients to make sofrito to spread on crostinis - - and when toasting crostini, I needed bread from Hidden Valley Bakery and John’s Wheatland Bakery (and at either bakery, I could not resist the fresh fruit Danish and croissants) and one last reason - - to socialize Chloe.
Chloe? Who's Chloe, you ask? She's a beige/white 8-month-old Yorki-Poo, with one blue eye and one brown. She is all but 7 lbs wet and I'm told won't get much bigger. "Chloe-Bird" was the ultimate birthday gift to myself, when a previously planned gift/event had failed. I had known about this little four-legged bundle of energy for awhile and it has been almost two years since I've been without a four legged companion and always having one in the last 25 years. Well, once I saw her - - well - - we needed each other. The Walla Walla Farmer’s Market has been a wonderful outlet to visit with other dog owners and for my little Chloe-Bird to "visit" with other dogs. She especially loves the Walla Walla Farmer’s Market when the “dog treat lady” is there to give out samples. Chloe lines up with the rest of the tail-waggin' customers and samples the delectable hand-made natural treats. Looking at the Walla Walla Farmer's Market from Chloe's view, she keeps so busy that she has to nap on the way home, which is rare for her to stay settled in the car.

When you first enter the market on Main Street, you immediately hear the tunes of local musicians and smell the food from the many vendors. Trust me - you will want to arrive hungry. During one of my last visits, even Washington State Representative Maureen Walsh was grilling up the famous Walla Walla Sweet Onion sausages from Onion World, her family’s business. Graze Catering is also at the market and everytime I walk by the booth to say hi to John, it's busy! At the other end of the market is often my friend Paul Freeman with "The Grill." Paul and his assistants serve up some of the most tender and flavorful Santa Maria-style Tri-tips. At my house, we've enjoyed some of The Grill's specialities and if you're a Cougar fan, you may have already tasted The Grill's BBQ at the WSU Field House during football season (and Paul has recently purchased the historic old town bank building on Main Street in Milton-Freewater, OR).

If you want "fresh," you will find a great selection of local veggies, fruits and herbs from various vendors. I have enjoyed tomatoes, cukes, peppers, green beans, onions, fresh herbs, and even blackberries from vendors such as R & R Produce, Ideal Organics, and Locati Farms, to name a few. And with an armful of bags filled with veggies, herbs, berries, focaccia, baguettes and morning pastries, it's a pleasure, and comfort, knowing the Blue Mt. Humane Society is also in attendance. They are not only featuring their non-profit programs, but guiding pet owners how to care for their furry companions during "the dog days of summer. "
Calling out to Aimee, Bud, Skip and everyone else on the board, including vendors and volunteers: Congratulations on another successful year!

Oregon - Update: Grant County Assault, Burglary, Attempted Robbery Suspect Arrested

Sun, 3 Nov 2008 21:07:46 GMT

posted by steveabat
The suspect sought by Grant County Sheriff’s Office and Oregon State Police related to an investigation of a Halloween night attempted burglary and assault of an award winning medical marijuana provider in the Long Creek area was arrested Saturday night in Walla Walla, Washington. According to Grant County Undersheriff Todd McKinley, BOBBY LEE RUSTON, age 31, [...]

Gob’s Grief

Mon, 20 May 2008 04:32:48 GMT

posted by edwinturner

It’s the greatest open secret, that death will take everyone, that every person is as transient as a shadow. Embracing this knowledge…was how sane people managed their grief.

In his debut novel Gob’s Grief, Chris Adrian explores the turbulent political, cultural, and social reforms of the immediate post-Civil War era through the lens of personal loss–specifically, the loss of dead brothers. Gob Woodhull, fictional son of agitating feminist Victoria Woodhull, suffers from intense grief and guilt after not running away to war with his twin brother Tomo, who dies at Chickamauga. Deciding that he must perform the impossible, Gob sacrifices his pinkie finger (and much more!) to a sinister, cave-dwelling magical being called the Urfeist, who takes young Gob on as an apprentice. Under the Urfeist’s tutelage, Gob begins designing and building a Frankenstein machine that will bring both his brother and all of the dead back to earth. Gob describes his machine and its purpose:

Don’t you understand? What’s grief if not a profound complaint? It’s what the engine will do; it will complain. It will grieve with mechanical efficiency and mechanical strength. It will grieve for my brother and for your brother and for all the six hundred thousand dead of the war. It will grieve for all the dead of history, and all the dead of the future. Man’s grief does nothing to bring them back, but just as man’s hands cannot move mountains, but man’s machines can, our machine will grieve away the boundaries between this world and the next.

The Urfeist agrees with Gob’s strange logic, explaining just what’s in it for the dead:

Unhappiness is the lot of the spirits. They are denied bodily delight, but they are creatures of desire. Desire is all that’s left to them. They want to live again! They want to be with you, all you desolate millions. How will you live without them? How will they continue without you? What sort of heaven can there be when brothers are apart?

Aiding Gob, often against their better judgment, are Walt Whitman (yes, that Walt Whitman), Will Fie, and Maci Truffant; both Will and Maci have also lost brothers in the Civil War, and these fraternal ghosts literally haunt them. Whitman too has lost a brother, but the poet more keenly misses Hank, a young man who Whitman becomes very attached to while volunteering at a hospital. Although Hank dies, his voice remains in Whitman’s head. Walt, Will, and Maci all make unique contributions to Gob’s bizarre machine. Maci serves as an engineer, Will as a visionary builder, and Walt, “the Kosmos,” serves as the battery that powers the strange, mansion-sized contraption. Added to the mix is Pickie Beecher, an unearthly little kid birthed during an early trial run of the machine.

The novel is divided into three distinct sections, each focusing on the different perspectives of Walt, Will, and Maci, and the most interesting moments of the narrative are when the events overlap, revealing the differences between these characters (the first section, focusing on Walt Whitman, is easily my favorite; it even made me go back and reread portions of Leaves of Grass). Adrian also employs interchapters focusing on young Tomo running away to the war and the Urfeist’s education of Gob. At times, this structure is fascinating, but it often gets in the way of characterization and detail: at nearly 400 pages, Gob’s Grief is a fairly long book, but it feels like it should be much longer. Adrian is fascinated with the cultural, economic, and social upheavals that preceded the Gilded Age, but much of the fine tuning seems edited away in favor of repeated descriptions of, uh, grief (at a certain point, I wanted to yell, “Okay–I get it! He’s mourning! He’s sad! Move on”). I also found the elements of magical realism, particularly the backstory of the Urfeist, to be underdeveloped, often overshadowed by a concern for the tropes of historical fiction.

Still, in Gob’s Grief, Adrian conveys a marvelous aplomb rare in debut novels, a promise he lives up to in his fantastic follow-up The Children’s Hospital (Pickie Beecher shows up again in that novel, and its main protagonist, Jemma Claflin, is a descendant of Woodhull). In all likelihood, Adrian will continue to perfect his craft. And while we’re waiting for his next great novel, we can read A Better Angel, a collection of short stories set to drop this August.