14th Avenue Flyer

14 Avenue Flyer
th
A Monthly Bulletin of News and Events at the
Ramona Apartments | January 2013
Manager’s Corner
Best in NW: A Hot Chocolate Round Up
By Crystal Haight
By Michaela Bancud
Christmas Tree Pickup
The last tree recycling
pickup day will be
Thursday, January 10th.
Please make sure you
have your trees in the
loading dock the night
before the pickup date.
Please wrap trees in a
sheet or tarp to reduce
the debris left in the
hallways for the housecleaners to clean up.
Feel free to stop by the
office to borrow a cart
for hauling your tree out
of your apartment.
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 a lucky kid in the Pearl District
can enjoy a warm cocoa while out and about
in the neighborhood. Here are a few worth
warming up to.
Food Drive
We are happy to say
that with our residents’
donations, we donated
334 non-perishable food
items to the Oregon
Food Bank. Thank you
to all who participated!
Congratulations to our
raffle drawing winners
Cynthia Kiehl and Joseph Gallivan.
Zipcar Meet & Greet
Did you know that
Zipcars live around our
building? With a Zipcontinued on page 3
Sister’s Coffee, 1235 NW Marshall St.
Sister’s Coffee, with its Central Oregon atmosphere and paintings that depict Three Sisters,
Broken Top, and Three-fingered 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.
“We get a lot of kids in here,” says barista Nikki. “They like to sit on the couches by the fireplace and read with their parents.” Smoothies
and Italian sodas are popular in addition to hot
chocolate. 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 a favorite for neighborhood kids,
many of whom attend nearby Chapman El-
Official taste tester (also the author’s daughter) enjoys
hot cocoa at Via Delizia.
ementary School.
Dragonfly offers many kinds of alternative
milk in their beverages, such as 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.
A special touch? The little dollop of whipped
cream that baristas put on the end of the straw.
“The kids really like that,” observes barista
Melissa.
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.
Ramona Apartments Newsletter | January 2013 | www.TheRamona.com
continued on page 3
Zimmerman Community Center and Isobel’s Clubhouse
We’re currently offering the following weekly programs:
• Morning play with Misuzu on
Mondays at 9:30 am
By Kris Moore
• Music with Mo, on Wednesdays at 9:30 am
ISOBEL’S AFTER
• Creative Outlet on Thursday
SCHOOL PROGRAM
afternoons from 1:00 - 3:00 pm.
We’re pleased to annouce that
Stitchery, knitting, painting, hemASAP -- our After School Program
ming, needlepoint - and stories.
-- will begin in February. Melissa
This is primarily for adults, but
is working hard on our end, and
children are welcome to attend
we are working closely with the
One of the lovely holiday paper crafts made
with their caregivers or parents.
Child Care Division of the State
at Morning Play
of Oregon to make sure that every
MOVIE NIGHT!
for volunteers to host each of these
activity we offer is licensed by the
The next Movie Night is coming
Movie Nights; it’s easy, just let Kris
state and meets or exceeds all stanup this Friday, January 4th at Umknow if you’d like to help out.
dards. Contact Melissa at melissa@
pqua Bank. This is free event for
Friday, January 4th, 6:15 pm @
zcommunitycenter.org for more
the entire family. We are looking
Umpqua Bank (1139 NW Lovejoy)
information.
__________________________________________________________________________________________
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
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Ramona Apartments Newsletter | January 2013 | www.TheRamona.com
Hot Chocolate Round-Up
continued from page 1
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 a twinkle in his eye. The kid’s cocoa is served
in a small ceramic cup with a handle, whipped cream,
and a straw.
“How’d they know this is my favorite color?” my daughter wondered
aloud when her
cocoa arrived
with a pink straw
poking out at a
jaunty angle.
The dog-watching is excellent
here, as people
make their daily
way to and from
the nearby Fields Via Delizia’s hot chocolate is sized just
Park. Little dogs right for kids.
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 toosweet 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. The hot
chocolate is served not too hot so as not to scald the
bambinas. 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.
__________________________________________________________________________________________
Manager’s Corner
continued from page 1
car, you can use the vehicles by the hour or by the
day. Representatives from Zipcar will be holding
a Meet & Greet in the Ramona Community Room
on Monday, January 14th at 5:00 pm. Come enjoy a
burrito provided by Zipcar and find out if Zipcar is
right for you.
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.
Junk Day
This month’s Junk Day is Wednesday, January 16th.
Bring your unwanted household items to the loading dock starting Tuesday morning, January 15th.
Please hold off on bringing items until then so residents can utilize the loading dock during the rest of
the month.
Early Bird Winner
Our December early bird drawing winner was
Christina DeYoung – congratulations on winning a
$25 gift certificate! Pay your rent on or before the
1st of every month and your apartment will be entered into the drawing for a chance to win a $25 gift
certificate to the place of your choice.
Ramona Apartments Newsletter | January 2013 | www.TheRamona.com
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Neighborhood Resourse: Neighborhood Notes Website
We live in a digital age. Anyone who’s done a
Google search lately knows the internet is a
vast world full of endlessly useful - and notso-useful - websites, blogs, videos and more.
It’s easy to stumble from one link to the next
without realizing hours have gone by.
Neighborhood Notes (www.neighborhoodnotes.
com) is just one of those sites, though it happens
to be a very useful, and very local one. The site was
founded by Lynnette Fusilier - a long-time fixture
around the Pearl and a go-to source for the latest
neighborhood businesses, bars and restaurants.
What began as a repository for Pearl District news
about the newest condo or business has grown
into a citywide resource for all things local.
The site is outwardly devoted to promoting Portland businesses and neighborhoods, and encouraging everyday citizens to get involved in their local
communities.
With several posts a week, Neighborhood Notes
covers everything from advice for small business
owners to virtual neighborhood tours. Recent
articles include: 5 Noteworthy Things to do in Portland’s
Historic Irvington Neighborhood, Portland Pie Guide: 6
Local Alternatives to Supermarket Chain Pies, and Incubators Help Portland Entrepreneurs Start and Sustain
Businesses.
In addition to regular posts, you can also search
the site by quadrant, then further hone in by Indie
Business, Food + Drink, DIY, Shopping or Local
News.
Another way to search for local businesses is
through Neighborhood Notes’ great business directory - the Localist - which allows you to search
by business category and neighborhood to find local options for everything from places of worship
to hardware supplies.
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The site’s regular columns include:
• Food for Thought - Focused on finding and
supporting sustainable food growing and buying practices and reducing food related waste.
• Craft of Business - A regular series on small
business development created in collaboration
with Supportland.
• Local Alternatives - A series highlighting local
shopping alternatives to national big boxes and
other giant retailers.
• Armchair Mayor - Regular Portlanders chime
in with their thoughts about the direction of
the city.
• Thinking Local - A monthly series that examines the reasons why thinking and buying local
matters to Portland’s economy and neighborhoods.
• Now Open! - A monthly roundup of new
indie businesses around the city.
Neighborhood Notes is also a part of the Oregonian News Network, which runs many of its
stories on the paper’s website.
Whether you’re on the look out for the latest
restaurant openings, looking for advice on how
to start your own business, or want to learn tips
on how to organize your neighbors, Neighborhood Notes is a great resource for Portlanders
of all kinds.
Ramona Apartments Newsletter | January 2013 | www.TheRamona.com