NEWSLETTER

NEWSLETTER
Manager’s Corner
By Jen Schriever
Christmas Tree Disposal
Please bring your
Christmas Tree to the
loading dock in your
building by January
16th to ensure its removal. Before moving
your tree, please wrap
it in a sheet or tarp to
minimize the amount
of needles that are
dropped in the hallway.
Linda
and
Maria
thank
you
in advance!
Junk
Day - January 16th
This month’s Junk Day
will be on Wednesday,
January 16th. Please
bring any unwanted
large household items
to the loading dock in
your building on that
day for removal.
Free Writing Workshop
See page 2 for more
information about the
free writing workshop
offered at ZCC.
continued on p. 2
Best in NW: A Hot Chocolate Round-Up
January 2013
By Michaela Bancud
Hot chocolate. If loving you is wrong
we don’t want to be right. While the
best stuff is usually made at home with
marshmallows and served in a favorite
mug while wearing pajamas, there are
many places in the Pearl District to enjoy a warm cocoa while out and about
in the neighborhood. Here are a few
worth warming up to.
Sister’s Coffee, 1235 NW Marshall St.
Sister’s Coffee, with its Central Oregon
atmosphere and paintings that depict
Three Sisters, Broken Top, and Threefingered Jack mountains, is a little urban
getaway. The upstairs loft is a reading
and study area perfect for doing homework. There’s an upright piano on the
ground level that anyone is welcome to
play. Sometimes piano performances are
scheduled, which are advertised by flyers posted in the café.
Sister’s uses Holy Cacao’s organic chocolate and whole milk for their cocoa,
which is prepared to a nice “not too
hot” temperature. Right now they have
Christmas cookies, too. $2.75 for 8-oz
serving; $3.00 for 12-oz. serving.
Dragonfly Coffee, 2387 NW Thurman
The cozy atmosphere, funky chandeliers, and welcoming staff makes this
neighborhood coffee shop.
Dragonfly offers many kinds of alternative milk in their beverages, such as
Via Delizia’s expertly crafted cocoa.
coconut, hemp, soy, rice and almond milk.
Coconut milk is an especially delicious
change from cow’s milk, the experts say. But
if you go the traditional route, regular, whole
and skim are available.
Dragonfly also has an “After School Special.” Kids can choose fruit and a steamer,
or milk and a cookie for just $2.50. The favorite steamer flavor is vanilla, but holiday
flavors such as eggnog and pumpkin pie are
also available. Prices: $1.75 for 8 oz; $2.10
for 12 oz.
Via Delizia, 105 NW Marshall St
Via Delizia (“Street of Delights”) is famous
among neighbors for its custom, made to
order lattes, which are presented with an
artist’s touch and an optional dusting of cinnamon on top for $2.95. The cocoa is also
very nice here, although the proprietor,
Alex, is modest about his handiwork. “It’s
nothing special,” he says with a shrug and
Sitka Apartments Newsletter | January 2013 | www.thesitka.com
Manager’s Corner
continued from p. 1
Food Drive
Thank you to everyone who donated items to the
food drive for the Oregon Food Bank!
Storage Available
We currently have some storage units available
for rent. Storage units are located in the garages
and prices range from $25-$50/month depending
on the size of the unit. Please contact the leasing
office if you are interested.
EITC and Free Tax Filing Help
It’s never too early to think about filing your taxes
and the Earned Income Tax Credit is a great benefit that you may qualify for. Visit CASH Oregon’s
website - www.cashoregon.com - to learn more
about EITC and other tax credits. CASH Oregon
also provides free tax filing help - look out for
more information in upcoming newsletters.
SAVE THE DATE
for a Valentine’s Day
Brunch!
Saturday, February 16th
10:30 - Noon
Come enjoy Coffee, Juice, Pastries
and Fruit on the Sitka!
FREE Community Writing Workshop
Write Around Portland is holding a 10-week writing workshop at the
Zimmerman Community Center for residents of the Ramona and the Sitka.
Explore the power of writing and community in a safe, respectful and creative environment.
Writing journals, pens and light snacks provided.
When: Tuesdays from 6:30 pm-8:30 pm.
Starting Tuesday February 12th and running for 10 weeks through Tuesday April 16th.
Where: Zimmerman Community Center (@ Ramona Apartments)
1542 NW 14th Avenue
Pre-registration is required. To register, call Write Around Portland at 503-796-9224.
If you need childcare to be provided in order to participate in this workshop, please call
Write Around Portland at 503-796-9224 by Wednesday January 16th to let us know.
We are assessing if childcare would be helpful and if we can provide that service.
For more information, give Write Around Portland a call at 503-796-9224 or visit the
Write Around Portland website: www.writearound.org
2
Sitka Apartments Newsletter | January 2013 | www.thesitka.com
Hot Chocolate
continued from p. 1
a twinkle in his eye. The kid’s cocoa is served in a
small ceramic cup with a handle, whipped cream,
and a straw.
The dog-watching is excellent here, as people make
their daily way to and from the nearby Fields Park.
Little dogs in raincoats shiver in the rain while their
“parents” get their morning coffee and Alex greets
almost all of them by name. Price: $2.95
Ruby Jewel Ice Cream, 428 SW 12th Ave.
Ruby Jewel Ice Cream is located in the West End,
but its worth a streetcar trip from the Ramona to
Ruby for hot chocolate this winter. Served with
choice of house made marshmallows or whipped
cream, even the hot chocolate mix is made in
house. Flavors include: Double Chocolate, Salted
Caramel, Mexican, Malt and Vanilla. $3 for 10-oz.
serving.
Café Umbria, 303 NW 12th Ave.
This sleek Italian café, located in the ground floor
of the Casey Condominiums, serves a traditional,
not too-sweet hot chocolate that uses Italian cocoa.
Barista Paige says, “Italians don’t like a lot of extra
ingredients. They like it pure and simple.” So the
cocoa isn’t served with whipped cream unless it’s
specifically requested. A nice touch here is the flat
screen on the wall of the side seating area, where
European soccer games are aired in high-definition
pretty much constantly.
$2 for 8-oz. serving.
Events Around Town
Portlandia Season 3
FREE
Friday Evenings all month
The quirky show about our quirky town is back.
Head over to the Mission Theater on Fridays this
month to catch episodes from the new season.
The season premiere is January 4th.
Mission Theater, 1624 NW Glisan
Shows at 7:00 pm and 10:00 pm
Skiing, Snowboarding and Snowshoeing with
REI
REI in the Pearl is offering plenty of chances
to get out and practice your favorite (or a new)
snow activity. Check out the store calendar for
information. Most classes and outings are free!
http://www.rei.com/event/45719/session/59713/02112013
Baby Elephant Lily at the Portland Zoo
If you’ve been keeping up with the local zoo
news, you know that Portland’s prized female elephant Rose-Tu gave birth to a mere
300-pound baby named Lily in late November.
Both mom and baby can be seen by the public
during viewing hours. Check the zoo’s website
for updates - www.oregonzoo.org.
Make Your Own Origami Valentines
FREE
Wednesday, January 16th 6:00-7:30 PM
Get creative this winter by making your own
origami valentines! Artist Eileen Holzman
will teach participants to fold various origami
hearts to use as embellishments for beautiful
cards. All levels of experience welcome.
Northwest Library, 2300 NW Thurman
Portland Opera Preview: Tosca
FREE
Sunday January 27th 2:00-3:00 PM
Opera tickets can get pricey, but this preview
is free! This lecture/concert covers historical
background, composer information and musical selections from Puccini’s Tosca.
Portland Central Library, 801 SW 10th Ave.
Sitka Apartments Newsletter | January 2013 | www.thesitka.com
3
Neighborhood Resource: Powell’s City of Books
This month’s neighborhood resource is
no secret. Who doesn’t know about the
independent bookstore empire that many
would include among Portland’s finest
landmarks? Indeed, Powell’s is a great asset to our city for tourism alone, but the
store has many features that locals can
also enjoy.
Powell’s was founded in 1971 by Walter Powell. The business has since been
passed down to younger generations,
first to Walter’s son Michael in 1982, and
then to Michael’s daughter Emily in 2010.
Over the years the Powells have expanded
the business and now there are six stores in
the Portland metro area.
The flagship store at W. Burnside and NW
Couch, which contains 68,000 SF - or 1.6
acres - of retail, is appropriately known as
the “City of Books”. According to Wikipedia
Powell’s online and retail inventory exceeds
4 million books, and they buy around 3,000
used books a day at the Burnside location.
The selection is truly astounding -- it’s easy
to get lost (or lose your shopping partner).
Powell’s tries to aid this problem by color
coding the rooms according to
their subject matter and making
free stores maps available as you
enter the store.
The famous marquee on Powell’s flagship location.
thin out substantially.
Powell’s on Burnside is open every day of the
year (and stays open til 11 pm every night!),
and hosts nearly nightly author readings and
book signings. Their online calendar is a great
place to find out which authors are in town,
and learn about other events. The store hosts
Kids’ Storytime every Saturday at 11 am, and
has regular books groups too.
Powell’s City of Books, 1005 W. Burnside
Another popular feature of the
Burnside location is the cafe,
which is located in the southwest
corner of the store. This is a nice,
if always crowded, place to sit and
peruse books before buying them.
If you’re looking for a quieter place
to hide out for a while check out
some of the upper floors. Once
you get into the red and purple
rooms or higher, crowds usually
This color coded map correspondes to room names in the City of
Books.
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Sitka Apartments Newsletter | January 2013 | www.thesitka.com