Category: Fl!p’s Pix For Music

CONTENTS 12/30/2020
Soup Delivery Parking Update
Children’s Views
Donations
SwiftHaven Update
Spices For SwiftHaven
Soup Brigade
Found Key
Plumber?
Wash Y’er Paws!
Radio Free Fl!p: End Of Another Year

SOUP DELIVERY PARKING UPDATE

(for next 8 days through holidays):
🌿Drivers of Soup Brigade:
Please park off of Lottie between library and courthouse on Grand Ave.
🌿Camp is having garbage trucks come today, and some clean up done, plus health Department sends lab workers to behind city hall. Give them all extra space.
🌿If Lottie Street is crowded with folks by the Food Tent then wait till it clears, or better yet, signal for a volunteer to help you unload from your car.
🌿If it’s your first time doing a delivery , consider asking an experienced neighbor to come with you.

CHILDREN’S VIEWS

I had an interesting exchange this morning with a grandmother about her 5-year-old granddaughter who learned about the City Hall encampment and wanted to go by and see for herself. So her grandma drove her by. The child was very concerned about the messy conditions and wanted to do something about homelessness when she grows up. Here is an edited version of my own side of that conversation:

You might talk with your granddaughter about this aspect: When people are treated as if their lives don’t matter, everywhere they turn, for a long time, some of them may loose track of the fact that their lives DO matter. And some of them may wind up having trouble treating themselves and those around them with respect.

(I wouldn’t tell a young child this, but I would talk about it with you grownups: add to that, folks are right on the edge. Some of them haven’t been inside a building for months in all this wind and rain. They can’t get dry and they can’t get warm. They have no energy. The person in the next tent can get pretty annoying when you can’t get warm and you can’t get dry and you can’t see an end to it. Some campers are sick, not with Covid, but with pneumonia or cancer or diabetes that’s poorly controlled or so many other things. They just don’t have energy to clean up after themselves. I don’t think a young child needs to, or should, know about that part – about just how harshly the world is treating them. Some campers have been released from the hospital with nowhere to go except the courthouse lawn.

In terms of the mess, it is hard to hire workers to go among the campers for fear of Covid, even though campers are being tested often and test results are pretty good. Folks who test positive get to go stay at the quarantine hotel where it’s dry and warm.

It can be hard to sort out trash from important personal belongings that help people survive. Who decides? Where is the owner’s dignity in it all? If grownups swoop in on a little girl’s bedroom and decide which of her toys to keep, she might feel disrespected herself.

I really don’t think a five year old should be told the harsh details! But she could  still write to the officials herself. Taking action will leave her feeling less helpless. She doesn’t have to wait till she grows up. I’d love to see a children’s campaign, complete with their own ideas of what actions we could take. Maybe the children can come up with ideas we grownups haven’t thought of. And perhaps parents and grandparents can help children adopt a warm tone towards the officials too. They aren’t Bad Guys! They’re stuck.

City Hall’s street address is 210 Lottie Street, 98225.
mayorsoffice@cob.org
ccmail@cob.org

The Whatcom County Courthouse address is 311 Grand Avenue, 98225
ssidhu@co.whatcom.wa.us
council@co.whatcom.wa.us

DONATIONS

Folks who have lost their homes have nowhere to store things. And often no way to dry things out if they get wet. So clothing (or anything else) donated should be things that remain useful when wet. Coats, parkas, heavy wool sweaters, fleece, ski wear, caps and hats, thick wool socks, ski gloves and wool mittens. Outer layers that stop wind. Yoga Mats and other waterproof ground insulation. Cotton does not stay warm when wet. Neither do most thin or non-wool socks.

There isn’t secure storage yet at the City Hall 210 encampment and donations sometimes go astray instead of going to those who need them most. So for now, please hold your donations and tomorrow I will try to set up a spreadsheet so you can say what you’ve got and how you could be contacted. Perhaps a volunteer would be willing to take charge of a Google Doc or some other shareable tool? And let people tell them what folks have to donate, without anyone actually having to move stuff around till we can figure out who can really use it. Please let me know if you might be willing to volunteer to do this, or at least set it up.

HomesNOW.org is a great place to donate money.  They’ve got a 501c3 non-profit designation so your donations are tax deductable. It’s still OK to give me money if you want to. I am buying ingredients (when the volunteers who shop for me permit me to reimburse them), containers, and stuff like, last night I ordered 30 mylar emergency blankets for distribution. I got 4 tents just like the only ones at the encampment that Heather says haven’t blown over in the winds. I respond to what seems most urgent in the moment. I’m not an expert. Sometimes I make mistakes. I’m just your neighbor.

SWIFTHAVEN UPDATE

The tiny houses are scheduled to arrive tomorrow!!! There’s been a crew working all week, and volunteers are bringing them meals until they get everything up and running, after which they hope to be self-sufficient. We might still drop off a meal or two a week just out of love… A neighbor is delivering a propane BBQ grill tomorrow and residents are looking forward to not only cooking on it, but at finally having a source of heat to gather around, since their contract with the city does not permit fires anywhere on site. I bet they could still use more patio and camp chairs. Tomorrow may be too busy with the houses showing up for them to accept anything else except the grill. By tomorrow there should be about 14 volunteers working on site.

SPICES FOR SWIFTHAVEN

If you will be at the Grocery Outlet or Dollar Store in the next couple days, check with me (Fl!p) about picking up some big bulk containers of spices to outfit the new kitchen. I’d rather you check with me so we don’t get all one thing and nothing of others. I’ve been hearing from future residents about spices they’d love to have. I would like to give them control over what they eat.

SOUP BRIGADE

We’ve got almost a dozen great big soup pots here.  We’ve got noodles, rice, lentils, onions (always),  bacon, soup bases, grated cheese, eggs, two cases of canned chopped tomatoes, canned tuna, canned & dried fruit for dessert baking, and more. And we have containers with lids, dinner boxes, and bakery sacks for delivery. You can sign up to take meals for 50 (go round up some friends to help) or snacks for 20. Go to the MealTrain to sign up:

https://www.mealtrain.com/trains/nnmwke

FOUND KEY

I found a single key on the sidewalk on the 2400 block of Spruce street  this afternoon while out for a walk. I was concerned it might be a house key and didn’t want to leave it behind. To ensure it is returned to the right person, it would help if the person the key belongs to could provide a description of it. Thanks,  ~ Sharon Avolio. avolio5@msn.com

PLUMBER?

I am looking for a referral to a plumber to unclog some slow moving drains. Please let me know if you have one you would recommend. ~ Elsa Caron 360-650-0400

WASH Y’ER PAWS!

Handwashing with soap & water is still the preferred method for reducing the risk of passing Covid-19. Still Water Gifts is a local small business that creates plant-based bath products that can keep you clean and sweet-smelling!  This local business that has donated literally thousands of pounds of hand soap to food banks and communities that are in need.   Supporting this local business as this time would be great!

www.stillwatergifts.com or call Sandie for local pick up options.   360-318-6268

RADIO FREE FL!P: END OF ANOTHER YEAR

Written by Bob Zentz. I was asked to record this song for my beloved Guitar Camp community. We usually sing it together at our New Years Retreat. Zeke and I sing it for you too!

https://youtu.be/kbwUJOQ3HJQ

Love/Fl!p 360-671-4511  2518 Cherry Street flip@columbianeighborhood.org

I would love it if you’d add my phone to your contacts, so if I need to call you’ll know it’s me; and if you’d share your own number with me, in case I need to reach you.

If you want to ask me to post something, just email me. If it’s urgent, phone. If it’s a real emergency, call 911.

CONTENTS 12/28/2020
Writing May Have Helped
City Hall Encampment Immediate Needs
SwiftHaven
Lundquist Woods!
Coronavirus Masks With Valves
Donating Apple Devices
Found Mittens
Handyperson Needed
Cecil Sharp House Tuesday Zoom
Radio Free Fl!p: Tony Rice

WRITING MAY HAVE HELPED

I can’t say for sure, but please don’t stop. Write with your ideas, everything you can think of, towards solutions for homelessness. There is a new emergency Tiny Homes encampment for 25 residents under construction at Civic Field with some City support, and another such under discussion, which might be able to include a legal vehicle parking lot for camping. Cars are far more weatherproof than tents. It will take multiple solutions to support all our current citizens who have lost their homes. Please help to let our elected officials know we support them to make this issue a priority. Be kind, be warm, be persistent.

mayorsoffice@cob.org
ccmail@cob.org
ssidhu@co.whatcom.wa.us
council@co.whatcom.wa.us

CITY HALL ENCAMPMENT IMMEDIATE NEEDS

The need of this week and next to be: Mylar aluminum emergency sheet-blankets and closed cell camping pads the waterproof kind. Householders please hold other items at your homes until other items are requested because outreach volunteers have very limited storage space in their vehicles. But both those items could be brought to our house, 2518 Cherry Street. Fl!p & Zeke. Thank you!!!

SWIFTHAVEN

The new tiny home encampment at Civic Field has a dozen volunteers out in the rain and cold all day this week and next, building the kitchen, and the pallets to put the tiny homes on, and other infrastructure.

Today Zeke and I got to deliver hot soup as an afternoon snack for those workers.  The soup donation from a neighbor was over-the-top in kindness!!! The cardboard box had been swathed in holiday wrapping paper. There was a veggie tray and satsumas, and apple slices, as well as soup. I felt like we were delivering pure love. SwiftHaven is getting there: a tent-kitchen has been raised on a platform. Two refrigerators are in place, plugged in and running. A freezer is due later today. Two big gas burners are set up outside for cooking. Five port-a-potties for 25 people seems pretty good. They’re figuring out how to level pallet bases for tents on the sloping parking lot blacktop, and for the tiny homes when those arrive. There’s a spigot and some electricity. The mood is both excited and determined. There are up to a dozen people working to create a new community.

They are still seeking a big BBQ grill that works on propane, and that works! Does anyone have one to donate, or sell cheap?

Villager requests: hair brush and detangle spray, camping mats, pillows, blankets, lanterns, patio & camping chairs (a place to sit down!). Batteries: double and triple A. Donations can be taken down to Unity Village in Fairhaven for now because there isn’t storage yet at SwiftHaven. Please  label all donations with a location label to indicate where the donation goes (Unity, SwiftHaven, 210 Camp at city hall, or outreach).

Homesnow.org

INGREDIENTS FOR CREATIVITY

Consider cooking! I’m not certain of the #10 ham has been claimed. I’d hate to see it go to waste. The huge turkey is being turned into a wonderful turkey dinner on Wednesday! We have big restaurant roasting trays. We’ve got 20 quart soup pots.  We’ve got noodles, rice, lentils, onions (always),  bacon, soup bases, grated cheese, canned tuna, canned beans, canned fruit for dessert baking, and more. We have an offer of a dozen frozen bananas if anyone wants to make muffins out of them. And we have containers with lids for delivery. If you don’t cook, we’ve got lots of cans of pork&beans, soups, and beef-a-roni that you could heat up and deliver during one of the afternoon snack times.

LUNDQUIST WOODS!

Pat & Bob Lundquist are arranging to bequeath their amazing gardens to us all as parkland! They don’t have children and would like to see their home and beautiful half acre garden at the west end of Jefferson be preserved for public use. Probably like Big Rock Garden, it would be fenced but open to the public and maintained by volunteers. Details are being worked out with the City. Is that wonderful? If you haven’t been down to look at their holiday lights, do it this week. You can see the huge sparkling tree from outside the fence, and it’s worth the walk to go view the lights. It’s a tradition for a lot of Columbia neighbors to go stand outside the fence and enjoy every year. What WONDERFUL news!!!

https://www.bellinghamherald.com/news/local/article248006535.html

CORONAVIRUS: MASKS WITH VALVES

Masks with valves do not protect others. They expel unfiltered exhalations. They are not appropriate for use in the pandemic.

https://www.bellinghamherald.com/news/coronavirus/article247157551.html#storylink=readmore_inline

DONATING APPLE DEVICES

A reader has stepped forward to offer phone set up on Apple devices being donated to the encampment, but adds this caution: A donated Apple device cannot be reused by a new user unless the previous owner has deleted their personal information and erased all contents and settings. It us useless to accept a donated device that cannot be reused. Only the person donating the device will know the passcode and Apple ID password required for these actions. So, if someone offers to donate an Apple device, give them the following information:

Thank you for offering to donate an Apple iPhone, iPad or iPod Touch. Before you donate your Apple device you must delete your personal information and erase all contents and settings. Because only you know the required passcode and Apple ID password, the device cannot be reused until you follow these steps.
Please read and follow these directions:
What to do before you sell, give away, or trade in your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch.

https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201351

Thank you. Love/Fl!p

FOUND MITTENS

Somebody’s cute white & deep red knitted mittens were dropped on the ground in front of our house. They’re drying out on a rock out in front, on Elizabeth St – same block as Franklin Academy. I hope they make it home. Siri Hope Adams

HANDYPERSON NEEDED

I need some jobs done around the house & would like to keep it in the neighborhood. Any handy-person recommendations? Suzanne Paola suzannep@wwu.edu 360-441-9900

CECIL SHARP HOUSE TUESDAY ZOOM

A world-class dedicated folk arts centre, Cecil Sharp House is at the heart of English folk music. This venerable folk club in London has been meeting every Tuesday over Zoom during the pandemic, which means we can listen in with them at noon our time. Videos of previous sessions are available on their YouTube channel.

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLvqDn8d3uUq1a3Wk87Q9GMsW87L6qdFqJ

If you’d like to attend, drop us a line at Sharp’s in Isolation

isolation@sharpsfolkclub.co.uk

RADIO FREE Fl!P: TONY RICE

Tony has left this world at age 69, leaving behind amazing music and a couple generations of inspired musicians. I’m giving you two songs. You can find more pretty easily. The first just seemed appropriate to send him off. The second is a song written by another musician I love dearly, Bob Franke.

Tony Rice & Ricky Skaggs: “The Soul of Man Never Dies”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rSc1205qlX8

Hard Love
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aD4EkDCCyzw

Love/Fl!p 360-671-4511  2518 Cherry Street flip@columbianeighborhood.org

I would love it if you’d add my phone to your contacts, so if I need to call you’ll know it’s me; and if you’d share your own number with me, in case I need to reach you.

If you want to ask me to post something, just email me. If it’s urgent, phone. If it’s a real emergency, call 911.

CONTENTS 12/26/2020
City Hall Encampment
   Please Write Letters
   Red Cross?
   Delivering Food
   Delivering Supplies
   Phone Tech Needed
   Ingredients
   Need Souper Company
Silver-Colored Razor Scooter Found
Water Out, Restored, And Brown
Local Artists, Artisans, Restaurants, Small Business
   Validate-Appreciate
   Mg Dufresne
   Amym5000
   Margie Katz
   Jazz/Classical Piano Player
   Carne
   Cascade Pizza
   Firehouse Performing Arts & Events Center
Radio Free Fl!p: Christmas In The Trenches

CITY HALL ENCAMPMENT

Nothing about us without us. Interviews with campers at the Bellingham City Hall encampment of our houseless neighbors. Most have not been able to go inside any building to warm up and dry out in weeks due to Covid. https://www.youtube.com/watch?fbclid=IwAR11s1goppCZ-jfkp2yFmaoW1MvSPbpgnCh_iJuZCyi-ypnvKaZT6OtwayI&v=OGP_QY6GfaU&feature=youtu.be

PLEASE WRITE LETTERS

I had a long talk with a friend with a lifetime of understanding of how our local politics work. He has deep sympathy for the current elected officials. None of them expected to have to handle this pandemic. Be kind to them, please! My friend had several useful suggestions. 1. Write the City & County Councils as well as the Mayor & County Executive. The Councils will have to approve funds. 2. The problems are deep, national, and long-standing. Don’t expect a quick and simple fix, but don’t give up. There will have to be multiple approaches – there isn’t a one-size-fits-all solution. If you have ideas, include them briefly in your letter. With lots of us thinking, we may generate some interesting thoughts. Please offer your thoughts. 3. And again, don’t give up. Keep writing. Every time you have another thought of something we could do, write them. Talk with your friends and ask them to write too.

mayorsoffice@cob.org

ccmail@cob.org

ssidhu@co.whatcom.wa.us

council@co.whatcom.wa.us

RED CROSS?

This morning it occurs to me that what we have is a refugee camp. People have lost their homes as surely as if there had been a flood or earthquake. But where is the Red Cross? I have heard that the Red Cross has to be requested by the government, and I have no idea of who could call or what  the long term consequences would be. But it seems worth exploring.

DELIVERING FOOD

If someone is taking over a delivery, they should park on Library side of Lottie. Back their car in. Then before getting out of car simply stop, look, listen to notice who is around.  Usually all is fine , but if they see any drama or medic cars in the street, they can wait till scene is clear and then deliver their donation to the front of food tent where one or two college-age neighbors volunteer.  The volunteers will also be happy to come carry soup in. New neighbors volunteering to deliver food, please consider going first with an experienced neighbor.

Although at times new volunteers might feel insecure in their cars doing deliveries to a campsite, help them know there are unsheltered citizens huddled in their tents in the cold and rain, with no car to lock the doors on or to drive away in. They have no sturdy walls or roofs or locked doors to their tents to protect them from intruders or harm. Many have survived trauma or been verbally scorned by citizens who act like bullies. Remind new volunteers that  these citizens are holding on to hope that we will find them when a tiny home shelter village  or county emergency shelter is open. I respect our citizen campers for their courage, their humbleness & independence, & their faith to carry on moment by moment. ~ Heather

DELIVERING SUPPLIES

At this point, other supplies are best delivered off-site. Contact Fl!p for a drop point, and to see if it might make sense to wait a week or so till SwiftHaven is up and running. There are experienced volunteers distributing your donations one-on-one to those who need them most, ensuring resources don’t get lost in the shuffle. Tents are a high priority need.

PHONE TECH NEEDED!

Is there someone who could wipe phones? We need phones donated, but can’t begin accepting them till we have someone who can safely wipe them all. Meanwhile, please hang onto your phones. We’ll call for them when we can handle them. Thank you!

INGREDIENTS

Consider making a great dinner! We have offers to donate a #30 turkey! And a #10 ham. We have big restaurant roasting trays. We’ve got proper dinner boxes for serving in. Add a baked potato or rice & some veggies. Keep it simple. Won’t someone step forward to adopt these gifts and make a couple beautiful big, solid dinners? We also have noodles, rice, lentils, onions (always), potatoes, bacon, soup bases, canned tuna, canned fruit for dessert baking, and more. And containers for serving.

NEED SOUP COMPANY

I have signed up to make soup for 40.  The pot I have may serve more but I didn’t want to over-estimate. How can I recruit someone to make up the 10 more meals for the 4:30 PM dinner on 12/29? ~ Katy Velasquez katyvelasquez@fidalgo.net
[Like this! Somebody want to join Katy? Email her.  Love/Fl!p]

SILVER-COLORED RAZOR SCOOTER FOUND

A silver scooter was found Wednesday leaning on my garage door at 2405  Eldridge.  ~ Maggie Malone   425-747-8684

WATER OUT, RESTORED, AND BROWN

The water was out at the corner of West and North. The utility guys were out there working as fast as they could Christmas morning. Everything is back to normal! Big thanks to the Utility workers coming out today and fixing this so quickly! ~ Joe Postma

Our water is running yellow/brown currently dead end of Jaeger. ~ Kolby LaBree

Almost certainly related. Run your water for a while and it should clear. Each tap may need to be cleared separately.  ~ Fl!p

LOCAL ARTISTS, ARTISANS, RESTAURANTS, SMALL BUSINESS

VALIDATE-APPRECIATE

My wife and I have a small business, Validate-Appreciate.  We build kids furniture, weave stuffies, make growth charts, cribbage boards and Christmas decorations. We are members of Allied Arts and have our items online at allied arts.com and also have a website, validate-appreciate.com.  Thank you, Doug and Sandy Carpenter

MG DUFRESNE

I have a small ceramics business: Henry St+ Studio. Here’s my website. henryststudio.com

AMYM5000 

Professional artist expressing the wonders of nature, quantum mechanics, and consciousness using vivid colors and flowing shapes. Surreal, abstract & stylized imagery using oils, acrylics, watercolor & scratchboard. Commissions welcomed! amym5000.com   email: amym5000@gmail.com -Amy March, Washington Street

MARGIE KATZ

Makes linen (also cotton) crossback aprons, bandannas, quirky throw pillows, seasonal balsam fir needle sachets, organic flaxseed-filled eye pillows with or without lavender buds, knitting bags, and of course masks!  Photos and information at Instagram.com/margiedavida/
Contact:  margiecats13@gmail.com  or text 360-303-1875 (I’m hard of hearing!)

JAZZ/CLASSICAL PIANO PLAYER

Looking for gigs. 10yrs exp. Currently playing at Haggens and Habitat for Humanity. Will play for food, tips, and/or, pay! Contact Sky Leuba @ 360.410.3109 ; sky@skyleuba.com

CARNE

An old fashioned craft butchery featuring pasture-raised meats. You can order in advance so it’s a quick in-and-out. No more than two customers permitted inside the building at a time.
1205 Washington Street
Open again on Tuesday. Usually 11 – 6 Tues – Sat (360) 647-8686

CASCADE PIZZA

Their take n bake lasagna is huge. When ordering I said ‘there is only two of us.’ ‘Then you should get the tray and then you get leftovers’. Well heck yeah!!!!! Love this place. ~ Teresa Boots
2431 Meridian (360) 671-0999 11 – 11 Mon-Sun Since 1978

FIREHOUSE PERFORMING ARTS & EVENTS CENTER

A community treasure! Please help keep the Firehouse doors open, the fires burning, and the arts alive!  Now is the time. There are so many ways you can help:  Make a tax deductible donation here – for any amount through the Firehouse non-profit fiscal sponsor, Allied Arts Foundation, Seattle.

Stop by the cafe’ for coffee, wine, cider, delicious sandwiches, soups, and baked goods – the garden is open, festive, and cozy! Purchase a gift certificate for a friend — or for yourself. You deserve it!

Grab a $5 ticket (yes, only $5) to one of Firehouse Studio’s online performances — many of your favorite artists recorded live in the theatre between early June and November 2020.

Support a Firehouse scholarship to a yoga or dance class in the theater space when it is able to reopen.

Northwest Ballet Theater virtual event. John Bishop and his students combine their 2019 nutcracker with new performances recorded live at Firehouse Studio. free.

Here is a partial list of performances – online & on demand:

John Pinetree & the yellin’ degenerates, part . These guys are sooo good.  All original jazz, funk, soul. Tickets $5 and John Pinetree & the yellin’ degenerates, part II.  More amazing entertainment. Tickets $5.

The Seattle House Rockers. from all-original gut-bucket blues to get-down funk. tickets $5.

From Where They Are.  perspectives of 14 children, ages 7-16, during their time during covid-19. tickets $5.

Fl!p Breskin & Zeke Hoskin — singers, songwriters, musicians, partners. fl!p celebrated her birthday with joyful music and stories. recorded live. free!

JP Falcon Band. much-loved pnw duo, jp falcon grady and michael longeneker, perform their original music. recorded live.  tickets $5.

Evolution Dance Co. winter showcase 2020. dvds available for sale now at evolutiondanceco.com

Firehouse Cafe located at 1314 Harris Ave. in Fairhaven is open from 7:00am-5:30pm daily. Serving scratch made muffins, scones, cookies, quiche, sandwiches, soup, and hot coffee and tea drinks. There is a walk-up window and covered outdoor eating area. 

RADIO FREE FL!P: CHRISTMAS IN THE TRENCHES

Written and performed by John McCutcheon. True story about the Christmas Truce during WWI.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sJi41RWaTCs

Love/Fl!p 360-671-4511  2518 Cherry Street flip@columbianeighborhood.org

If you want to ask me to post something, just email me. If it’s urgent, phone. If it’s a real emergency, call 911.

CONTENTS 12/24/2020
Happy Erev Christmas!!!
City Hall Encampment
  Write Letters
  Soup Brigade
  Hold The Paper Bags
  Delivery Protocol
  Steering Wheel Lock
  Ask Fl!p
    Soup How-To
       Sign Up
       Set Pick-Up Date For Containers
       Pots
       Ingredients
       Recipes
       On The Day
       Packing Soup
       Delivery
    Burritos?
       Keep Food Warm
       Lots Of Meat
       Labeling
    Christmas Leftovers?
       Food Safety
Clip-On Light Found
Community Meal Dates
Radio Free Fl!p: Santa Claus Is Coming To Town

HAPPY EREV CHRISTMAS!

In the tradition I was raised in, the day begins at sundown. For holidays, the term for the day of preparation is Erev. And there are two widely celebrated holidays in North America that keep that tradition. So Happy Erev Christmas everybody!

WRITE LETTERS

Please keep writing to our Mayor and County Executive. And the city & county counsels while you’re at it. Let them know we support them to spend the money necessary to save the lives of our neighbors who have lost their homes.  The 50 to 100 tiny homes is nowhere near enough for the over 500 hundred unhoused citizens found at the last census. It looks like many of those homes won’t arrive for weeks. Please do not be grumpy! Seth & Satpal have way too much on their plates in this pandemic. If you’ve gotten their reassuring letters back, you may need to write again, saying you got that letter but what about everyone else with no home? If dozens of us are writing every day, asking what new progress has been made today, and what is happening next, it may help. Or we may need hundreds of us asking. Every day, but politely. Invite your friends to write too. No petitions. Everyone in their own words. Be nice, but please do ask. Lives depend on us.
mayorsoffice@cob.org
ssidhu@co.whatcom.wa.us

SOUP BRIGADE

Amazing gifts flowing in and through today! An envelope with $500. A box after box of snacks, socks, and bottled water. A huge load of ingredients and more containers purchased from SmartFood, and the donor refused reimbursement! Sleeping bags, wool blankets, and FIVE fire extinguishers! More offers of help with storage (I’m going to need it!)

HOLD THE PAPER BAGS

I have all I have room for. But don’t ditch them. I’ll ask again when the current wave of supplies dwindles. Gotta have room to move around and reach things. Thank you!!!

DELIVERY PROTOCOL

If you are planning to drop things off at city hall, the encampment is not a Covid safe environment. Residents are increasingly stressed and it sometimes shows in lack of masks and even occasionally in conflict. At this point, if you are delivering ready-to-serve food in individual containers, or snacks in one-person packages, back your vehicle in to a parking slot on the library side and then spend a few minutes in your car, watching the situation around the food tent (about halfway down from city hall front doors – towards the county courthouse end of the block. It’s close to the sidewalk. The food tent is pretty easy to spot. Wait for a calm moment with few residents right there. Make sure your mask is fitting snugly (I add a coffee filter to mine before I go), choose your moment, grab your soup and hand it over to the food tent volunteers. You can ask them if they have pots to get back to me.

If you plan to deliver after dark, think of it as if you were on Holly Street across from the Horseshoe. Things sometimes get rowdy. Wait for calm. Call me if there seems to be no break, and I’ll see if I can get through to a volunteer to meet you at your car.

If you are going down and would be willing to pick up supplies from me on your way, I have stuff people have dropped off here that they need. I would love to be able to send along bottled water, hand warmers and snacks tonight. It’s always worth checking. Things show up here!

STEERING WHEEL LOCK

The encampment volunteers need a “club” style steering wheel lock. Does anyone have a spare?

ASK Fl!P

I’ve gotten some really good questions today and thought I’d just pass them on directly, Dear Abby style!

SOUP HOW-TO

I’d like to bring soup to the City Hall Encampment. Do I come to your house to pick up cups and drop off grocery bags? Also, how, when, where do I bring the cups of soup? Thanks, ~ Sarah

Hi Sarah – Hooray! Thank you. I think this is going to be a long haul winter for making soup. I am deeply grateful for all the helpers.

Sign Up

The first step is to find and sign up for a date here. The MealTrain was modified just today. Sign up for full meals for 50 camper at 7 – 8 AM, Noon, and 4:30. Sign up for mid-afternoon snacks for 20 or more at around 2 PM, and if you’re a late night person, they would love extra snacks between 9 and midnight, also for 20 or more. There are now slots for those times open for sign up. If you would like to do a meal but can’t do a whole one for 50, find a friend or neighbor and sign up together! I expect it’s going to be a long winter and we may need to keep this up for months.

https://www.mealtrain.com/trains/nnmwke

Set Pick-Up Date For Containers

Next, contact me with your date, and we’ll set a pick-up date for containers a couple days before. Soup cups and lids come in stacks of 25. Flat dinner boxes come in stacks of 50. If you want to bake goodies, I have white bakery bags for loading cookies, muffins or cake.

Where?

2518 Cherry Street. It’s a red house with green trim.

Pots

I also have soup pots if you need one or two. And two big flat restaurant pans with lids that are great for casseroles or roasting meat. And a giant mixing bowl.

Ingredients

I also have some ingredients. Generally cooks do a mix of buying their own and getting some bulk items from me. Check in with me about what’s in stock two days before you plan to come and I can hold you some items. I almost always have onions, noodles, rice, lentils, and I usually have grated cheese. If you’re on a fixed income, contact me early and I may be able to get hold of just what you need.

Recipes

I also have a PDF of bulk recipes from a generous neighbor who has cooked for large crowds. If nothing else, that can give you a sense volume needed. Ask and I’ll email it to you.

On The Day

Packing Soup

On the day and time you deliver, while your soup cooks, write the day’s date on each cup lid. Set up a couple nested cardboard boxes to transport your soup. Nesting adds a surprising amount of insulation. Write the soup name and all the ingredients on the inside of the box flap so servers can let campers with allergies know. When your soup is ready, fill the containers and pack them in tight for warmth, 2 or three layers deep. Cover with flattened smaller boxes or a bunch of layers of paper bags for insulation again. And off you go to city hall!

Delivery

When you get there, park on the library side (back in) across from the food tent. You can spot the food tent easily. It’s towards the courthouse from the city hall front doors, right up to the sidewalk. There are likely to be people around it. It is common for there to be folks without masks. Wait till there’s a break in traffic and make sure your mask is well secured in place. (I add an interior layer of coffee filter to mine before I go.) When there are not many people around the tent, grab your soup and head over.

Hand your food to the volunteers in the tent. Ask if they have any soup pots to return. If they do, please bring them here asap so I can get them ready for the next cooks! You can bring me messages too. There are very few cell phones in the encampment.

Thank you!

And then please accept my profound thanks! What an amazing community! This is NOT a task I could accomplish alone!!! Thank you SO much!!!  Love/Fl!p

BURRITOS?

I just signed up for a lunch in January on the meal train. My family will be making burritos and I want to be sure I understand the system. If we individually wrap them in tin foil and put them in a paper lunch bag with an orange will that work?  Or so they need to be in a different type of container? Also-should we make half veggie, half chicken?  Do they prefer all one thing (like all chicken?) ~ Kirke

Keep Food Warm

I’d actually suggest putting your burritos just into foil and then packing them in closely to a right-size nested set of cardboard boxes to keep them as warm as possible. Put the oranges in a separate box. I’ve heard that some cooks have found foil food sheets at the dollar store.

Lots Of Meat

I would go for all chicken, or at least all meat. Supplemented with cheese too. Campers have a desperate need for protein, fat and carbs. They haven’t been inside a building to warm up and dry out in weeks or months, and it’s freezing, so eating like a lumberjack is life-preserving.

Labeling

Write “Burritos” on the flap of your nested delivery boxes, and it would be kind to also write out the ingredients just once on the flap so campers with food allergies can find out what’s in there. There are more general directions for delivery above.

CHRISTMAS LEFTOVERS?

I wonder if there is a way to have a handful of people commit to packaging Christmas leftovers? Could make for some nice meals the night after. I’d contribute prime rib and mashed potato foil pouches, but probably only enough to feed 8-10. Just an idea! ~ Lara

Food Safety

Excellent idea! To keep meals safe, wear gloves and mask up. Pretend you are a food service worker in a restaurant. Make sure your food is kept hot or cooled promptly and reheated quickly and thoroughly. You can pick up some food boxes from me in advance, and then get your food right back in the oven to hold till you deliver. Bacteria can multiply rapidly if left at room temperature or in the “Danger Zone” between 40°F and 140°F. Never leave perishable food out for more than 2 hours (or 1 hour if it’s hotter than 90°F outside). Keep your refrigerator at 40°F or below.

CLIP-ON LIGHT FOUND

A Mighty Bright clip on light was found by our walkway in the 2700 block of Utter Street today. It still works. ~ Kathy Piscitello, kapiscit@gmail.com

COMMUNITY MEAL DATES

I wanted to give you a heads up about the 2021 dates of the Bellingham Community Meal (BCM). This meal takes place once a month at Assumption’s gym and has been going on since 1983. During COVID, the meals are take-out. This dates for the first 6 months are:
Jan 30
Feb 27
Mar 27
Apr 24
May 29 (Ski to Sea)
Jun 26

RADIO FREE FL!P: SANTA CLAUS IS COMING TO TOWN

I heard Joseph Spence play live back in 1972. I had never heard anything like him. He was from Bahamas, and laid bricks for a living. I was baffled and amazed and fascinated. He kept tuning his guitar but it never did sound in tune to my Western ears. But he was tuning it precisely where he intended. The words were just kind of an anchor for his jazzy vocalizations. Some young men from NYC talked him into coming north (and funded his way) so they could record him. They got him into the studio and started setting up, messing with dials. And Mr Spence just sat down started playing and kept playing non-stop. He knew what was important. They gave up and just recorded in wonder. Decades later at Guitar Camp, during a rare few hours of trying to sleep, I heard someone play Siyahamba. I can sleep through almost anything but great beauty. I stumbled out of my sleeping bag and out the door just as the tune ended, and demanded “Who played that?!” Bob Franke fessed up. I asked when he had heard Joseph Spence. He said he never had. When I said that was impossible, Bob said, well, in fact he had worn out several of Mr Spence’s records but never heard him live. I think Bob may have been jealous! Anyway, once you have heard Joseph Spence’s music, you will never forget. And if you hear Ry Cooder, you’ll know who Ry listened to. The roots go deep. If the music seems chaotic and weird on first listening, give it a little time. Feel your feet and shoulders twitch with a longing to dance. This is music to celebrate to!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r_jRAJZ9_y0

Love/Fl!p 360-671-4511  2518 Cherry Street flip@columbianeighborhood.org

If you want to ask me to post something, just email me. If it’s urgent, phone. If it’s a real emergency, call 911.

CONTENTS 12/23/2020
City Hall Encampment
Soup Brigade
   Big Impact!
   Individual Containers Again
   Dates On Lids
   Meal Train
   Ingredients
   Supplies Needed
Need Phone Tech
Good Vaccine Info
Children’s Books To Gift
Defunct Tents & Broken Dog Collars
Roaming Cat?
Found Dog Is Home
Radio Free Fl!p: We Are The Miracle

CITY HALL ENCAMPMENT

Please keep writing to our Mayor and County Executive. It is helpful to let them know we have their backs to spend the money necessary to save the lives of our neighbors who have lost their homes. So far they are proposing only 50 tiny homes for hundreds of unhoused citizens, and some of those homes won’t arrive for weeks yet. Please do not be grumpy! Seth & Satpal have way too much on their plates in this pandemic. If you’ve gotten their letter back, you may need to write again, saying you got that letter but what about everyone else with no home? If dozens of us are writing every day, asking what progress has been made and what is happening next, it may help. Or we may need hundreds of us asking. Invite your friends to write too. No petitions. Everyone in their own words. Be nice, but please do ask. Lives depend on us.
mayorsoffice@cob.org
ssidhu@co.whatcom.wa.us

SOUP BRIGADE

BIG IMPACT!

The food tent volunteers say we are making a huge difference! People are bringing homemade cookies, muffins and such as well. I have little bakery bags for those. We’ve used about 1/2 of a 2,000 bag box. We’ll get more when we get low. One mama had her children decorate the outsides of their bags before they made their cookies. Talk about love…

INDIVIDUAL CONTAINERS AGAIN

I was just asked by the food tent for us to go back to individual containers. So come and get ‘em. We have two cases here of 16 oz cups with lids. And larger, flatter, rectangular dinner boxes. I warned the food tent folks it may take us a couple days to get switched back over. Please ask to see if there are any pots to bring back to me each time you do a delivery. My address & phone/text is at the end of every post.

I could use a few(!) grocery sacks stuffed with more folded grocery sacks. I’m going through 4 – 10 a day. But I don’t have room for dozens of bags full of bags. Actually, if anyone could use some egg cartons, let me know. (Got chickens?) I am now absolutely certain that I can get more egg cartons from you all any time I need them, and I could use the storage space for other things at the moment. Like grocery sacks. Full size.

DATES ON LIDS

Please write the date on every container lid. And the ingredients on the inside of a carton flap.

MEAL TRAIN

No one is signed up yet for dinner the day after Christmas. Or for breakfast on New Years Day. Look for empty slots, and also for slots that only have maybe half the meals accounted for. For those, click on the cook’s name and write them to coordinate, and to make sure someone else hasn’t already covered that gap. Thank you so much!!!! Here’s that link again.

https://www.mealtrain.com/trains/nnmwke

INGREDIENTS

We have been offered a 30 pound frozen turkey to donate toward food for the tent folks, if there is someone willing to pick it up in Everson and cook it. It doesn’t have to be the same person. Someone else contacted me to offer a #10 ham. I have stacks of 50 folding dinner boxes that will hold full meals. I have rice, lentils, and big bags of pasta. I have cans of tuna, LOTS of grated and block cheese. Canned beans. Canned fruit for dessert baking.

SUPPLIES NEEDED

First Aid Kits. Fire extinguishers. Big insulated chests to keep soup warm. Hand and toe warmers.

NEED PHONE TECH

The encampment has requested a volunteer to unlock phones if needed, and if desired they can add 1-3 months phone call and text coverage. After we find someone, we’ll ask for phones to be donated. First we need someone who can wipe phones and set them up for re-use. Especially for vulnerable older women with health issues, phones can be critical.

GOOD VACCINE INFO

From a beloved blog which I read every night:

Update From An Epidemic, by BetsyBrownMD, Seattle. This particular post is full of accurate, detailed, hopeful information. Click on the link to see her whole post.

“Vaccines are on most people’s minds right now. Lots of questions are rolling around with not many answers. Rumors abound, so finding reliable sites for info is a good idea. I find this University of Washington article reliable, easy to understand, and helpful. It explains about the two vaccine choices that are available now. It explains what we do know, as well as what we don’t know. We know that vaccines are effective and we know the groups that have priority now to receive the vaccine- health care workers and people living in long term care facilities, like nursing homes. Most of us have seen photos of people across the country receiving their vaccine. I am hoping for mine soon.”

https://betsybrownmd.substack.com/

CHILDREN’S BOOKS TO GIFT

I have four beautiful brand new children’s picture books written and illustrated by Jodie Bergsma that I had planned to donate to the Toys for Tots but I missed them and the box was gone when I took them last Saturday. Do you know anyone through the Homeless project or otherwise who might like for some kids for Christmas?  I or my son could drop them off somewhere. ~ Cheryl Crooks, cacrooks@comcast.net

DEFUNCT TENTS & BROKEN DOG COLLARS

I am outfitting a mini van for travel and I am looking for tent material to use – specifically the mesh that is used on windows and doors.  If you have an old, defunct tent lying around that you don’t know what to do with, I would love to take it off or your hands. I’m also looking for broken dog collars.  Thanks, Molly Westring, Walnut Street, mollywestring@gmail.com

ROAMING CAT?

This morning at 6:30am I saw a striped cat with a bell on the corner of Victor and Monroe streets. The cat was very friendly to me. It seemed to be going in the street a lot and I was worried about it and wondered if it was the cat from the catio house on Victor between Monroe and Washington, and didn’t have outdoor skills. If someone is missing this cat, I’m happy to talk to them. Amanda Blaine, Victor Street 617-694-3503.

FOUND DOG IS HOME

Black lab, maybe 70+ lbs, older with mass on his low back. No name tg, just humane society tag. Seems a little chilly! Friendly. Found on Utter St, near Monroe. Taken home by Luke and Ali, Henry Street

[And they already found his humans! Yay!!!]

RADIO FREE FL!P: WE ARE THE MIRACLE

Rob Lopresti, retired government documents librarian and professor up at WWU. Writes mystery stories. Solved a real-life crime that got written up in the Smithsonian magazine! And writes some very cool songs. I want to learn this one but haven’t had time yet. But I keep thinking about it these days.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jiMbXlrt8z4

Love/Fl!p 360-671-4511  2518 Cherry Street flip@columbianeighborhood.org

If you want to ask me to post something, just email me. If it’s urgent, phone. If it’s a real emergency, call 911.

CONTENTS 12/22/2020
Oops! Two posts Tonight
Explosion Tonight
City Hall Encampment
   Yesterday And Today
   Donation Locations
   Ingredients
   Another Option
   Snacks & Hand Warmers
Zipper Repair
Evan Ingalls Sings Carols Old & New
Radio Free Fl!p: Sweet And Low

TWO POSTS TONIGHT

Looks like I never pushed the final button last night. So here are two posts in a row, really truly yesterday and today.

EXPLOSION TONIGHT?

About 9:30 this evening. Pretty loud. May have been down on Cornwall, near the old GP site. I haven’t been able to learn more. 2020 going out with a Bang? (I shouldn’t have said that, and I really hope no-one got hurt!)

YESTERDAY AND TODAY

It’s been an amazing couple of days. I’ve never had such generous support in my life! I’m fumbling my way through, once again Surfing The Tsunami. Getting help organizing all your help. Like, someone who had signed up to cook dinner tonight lost power (in Sudden Valley), so someone else filled in for her at the last minute. Someone called with a load of firewood, and received help delivering it during his lunch hour. A policeman showed up on our porch with box after box of donated ingredients and snacks. Volunteers picking up a load of wool blankets to help warm freezing campers last night. And hot cider mix. Brand new sleeping bags. A SmartFood run for noodles, cheese, soup base. A Costco run that included pesto to flavor soups and stews. Volunteers out in the middle of the night at Fred Meyers getting tarps & mylar blankets. Tomorrow someone is picking up bales of straw.  Whenever I’ve asked for help, help has arrived. You’re magnificent!!! Thank you!!!

DONATION LOCATIONS

All food donations should come here to 2518 Cherry. Non-food donations (sleeping bags, tarps, tents, AA batteries, tent stakes, sleeping pads, hats, gloves (not cotton!) first aid supplies, Pepto-Bismol) can be delivered to 2524 Keesling, just a block from our house. Please don’t take supplies downtown. The folks on-site have nowhere dry and secure to receive, hold, and distribute them as yet. We will deliver supplies as they are requested.

INGREDIENTS

A policeman dropped off boxes and boxes of cans of black beans, cans of tuna fish and lots of cheese. Looks like someone could make chili, and someone else could make a big tuna casserole with cheese. All those cheesy-meaty-starchy lumberjack foods get folks through the cold. There are also some cans of peaches and pears for cobbler, cake or crisp. We need cooks to use it up!

We also now have many #4 bags of noodles, big bags of shredded cheese, rice, lentils, onions. Jars of soup base. Someone dropped off carrots, celery & potatoes. I’ve got Costco pesto to add flavor. There are more eggs, and some hamburger coming tomorrow.  Please come pick up ingredients and make them into hot, nourishing food. (We still need more donated big soup pots.)

ANOTHER OPTION

Another option for soup delivery: I bought 8 quarts from Leaf & Ladle and delivered them to the encampment mid-afternoon on a rainy Saturday. Was easier for me than cooking, and supporting a local restaurant felt like feeding two birds with one crumb. I called ahead to make sure they’d have enough soup. If I do again, I’ll order pints or even cups, which come in paper containers (rather than plastic quarts), and are closer to a single serving. ~ Michael Weaver

And we have 16 oz serving cups with lids, a stack of which you could hand to the restaurant. What a cool idea!

SNACKS & HAND WARMERS

The policeman also dropped off lots of boxes of snack foods which have now made their way down to the encampment. I also learned that hand and foot warmers can be delivered to the food tent and campers can pick them up as needed. Sounds like more are needed. (Also Pepto-Bismol.) Baby, it’s COLD outside!

ZIPPER REPAIR

A few months ago a blind man wrote in to Flips Pics requesting a good place to replace a heavy duty zipper. I wrote him right away with the general location of this unnamed  store. Here are the details:
Sandy and Vale’s Shoe Repair.
1333 Railroad.
Call first because of Covid-19. 360- 647-1274 Their old hours:  Tuesday to Saturday 11am to 7pm. ~ Laya Shriaberg
https://www.mapquest.com/us/washington/sandy-vales-shoe-repair-12615448

SEEKING ABODE

Single, working dad seeking 2 to 3 bedroom house or apartment, available January 15th or sooner, in Columbia neighborhood. Shares custody of two children. Prefer cat allowed.Email Warren Meier at warrenjmeier@gmail.com

EVAN INGALLS SINGS CAROLS OLD & NEW

Wed, Dec 23 at 7pm

In this year of incomprehensible crisis, we need some of the same old things to bring us comfort at the holidays. So after 9 months without performing, I’ll be livestreaming from my living room to bring you the magic of the darkest days of the year. This time, some new songs will find their way in among the old. Make yourself a mug of hot cider and a flaming pudding, and settle in to try to ward off the dark and the wind and the rain.To watch the livestream, follow this link:

https://youtu.be/MOi4WcL74QY

The concert is free for anyone to watch! I will have a donation link up, and will split the donations with a COVID relief fund. Go ahead and invite anyone who you think might enjoy (or need) some wintry music right now!

RADIO FREE Fl!P: SWEET AND LOW

Here’s what my brother Joe wrote about this recording: Flip Breskin and Aimee Ringle singing for/with my mom, Maryann Breskin, 09/06/09, at the Willows, in Bellingham. This is a 145 year old song (1863) that Flip and I often play as a duet, since Flip decoded it one night nearly 50 years ago http://www.breskin.com/mp3-320/sweet_… This is a song that we each learned from mom as a cradle song, when we were infants.  I do not know how Aimee knew it, but she seems to know most of the music of my heart, verbatim.  Words by Lord Alfred Tennyson (1809-1892) musical setting Sir Joseph Barnaby (1838-1896) http://www.recmusic.org/lieder/get_te…  Flip is playing our family’s “Snowden” guitar, acquired by our great grandmother’s sister on a trip to Paris in 1880. Aimee is playing my 1928 Washburn parlor guitar (Aimee and I had met for the first time the evening before and hadn’t made it to bed yet.)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9e5YkQ3uTCQ

Love/Fl!p 360-671-4511  2518 Cherry Street flip@columbianeighborhood.org

If you want to ask me to post something, just email me. If it’s urgent, phone. If it’s a real emergency, call 911.

CONTENTS 12/21/2020

Happy Solstice!
City Hall Encampment
   Encampment & Snow
   Wonderful Neighbors
   Really Needed
   Word From The Food Tent
   Ingredients
   Pots And Pans
Ride From Port Townsend For Objects?
Radio Free Fl!p: Midwinter Song

HAPPY SOLSTICE!

From this point, the days are getting longer now, as Zeke says, through all the world, except the southern hemisphere…

ENCAMPMENT & SNOW

I think it might be helpful if a couple hundred people phoned or emailed and didn’t get grumpy but did ask what the plan is, when the tiny houses will arrive, whether they have also ordered homes from the Everett firm that could have already delivered last week, and ask who else needs to be contacted to express our concern.

mayorsoffice@cob.org

ssidhu@co.whatcom.wa.us

WONDERFUL NEIGHBORS

At least four different neighbors headed out this evening for critical supplies for camp after the snow. On site volunteers are wrestling to prevent hypothermia among the residents. Two neighbors are out right now buying tarps and one of those point-and-shoot no-contact forehead thermometers to check for temperatures below 95 degrees. Wonderful people have brought in wool blankets, hot cider mix, coffee, and other key supplies for this very cold wet night. (If you would like to be on the team of people I call for help, please let me know. Many hands make light work.)

NEEDED

All size plastic tarps (especially 10×12 – and Harbor Freight may have themc cheapest), stakes, rope, sleeping bags, big stacking plastic bins with hinged lids (Fred Meyers has them on sale: 48 qt). Wool blankets.

WORD FROM THE FOOD TENT

“Sue brought cheesy beefy pasta today and it flew off the shelf. Chili goes well but the mixed veg soups are chosen last. Definitely not gonna say no to them but meat, cheese and hearty foods are A+!!!” ~ Jesse Thurston

INGREDIENTS

In response to Jesse, I have pasta, rice, lentils, onions, and a big bag or two of grated cheese here that you can pick up. By later in the day tomorrow we may also have lots of canned foods that have been donated at the encampment for volunteers to heat up or incorporate into whatever they are making. If volunteers can get hamburger, sausage, chicken, and other meats and cheeses to add, it sounds like a very good idea. Protein and fat help warm people up. When you’re stuck outside with no place to warm up, it helps to eat like a lumberjack.

POTS AND PANS

I have here two lidded “restaurant pans” for huge casseroles, and a speckled turkey roasting pan as well. Think Mac & Cheese or scalloped potatoes (with hamburger or sausage or something?). Right now we have for your use, three soup pots and a huge mixing bowl in the front entry. I’d like to have cooks pick up pots and pans the day before they deliver a meal, and have everyone delivering anything inquire at the food tent about empty pots to bring back here. Also, we could use more donated pots, or pots from Goodwill or Value Village etc. I’ve been able to phone around and locate them at thrift stores rather than going in to browse. The gold standard is the 20 quart pot, but as small as 11 quart is still useful.

RIDE FROM PORT TOWNSEND FOR OBJECTS?

My brother Joe is trying to get a 4 foot long board and a foot square box to me in Bellingham, along with some van keys, and maybe a juicer. No contact pick-up. Does anyone know anybody coming this way from there. Joe is home, like I am home. All. The. Time.

RADIO FREE Fl!P: MIDWINTER SONG

Jean Rohe – The joy of singing together in one another’s presence may be the thing I miss most. Spring will come. I love watching these folks raise and blend their voices.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6GTGBxVBeEE

Love/Fl!p 360-671-4511  2518 Cherry Street flip@columbianeighborhood.org

If you want to ask me to post something, just email me. If it’s urgent, phone. If it’s a real emergency, call 911.

CONTENTS 12/29/2020
City Hall Encampment
  Soup Brigade Guidance & Rule Change
      More Pots Needed
      Pot Reservations
      Ingredients
      Timing
      Mealtrain Sign-Up
  The Current Situation
  Help With Your Help!
  Contact Our Government
Merry Zooming Christmas
Radio Free Flip: Sibling Revelry

SOUP BRIGADE GUIDANCE & RULE CHANGE

I got introduced online to Jessie today. He’s a key member of the food pavilion at the encampment. I’ve got a great source of info. Here’s a big thing! We no longer have to individually pack soup! We still need to pack everything else. I’ve got dinner boxes and bakery bags. For right now it’s just soup that doesn’t need packaging.

  More Pots Needed

I need more really big pots donated. Goodwill brought pots out for curbside pickup for me a couple weeks ago. Value Village didn’t offer that. I’d love other folks to call around and find more. Bring them to my front porch. Don’t bring anything you want back, ok? Let me know you’ve dropped them off, and we’ll get them circulating to cooks.

  Pot Reservations

Contact me to reserve a pot a couple days before you plan to cook, and pick up your pot the day before. I’ll ask my Egg Carriers to ask for and bring back pots from the encampment each morning. We’ll get them clean and back into play.

  Ingredients

I have onions, potatoes, carrots, rice, & macaroni at the moment. Come and get ‘em! Turn them into soup, stews and casseroles.

  Timing

From Jesse:

“If folks want to donate hot food and are not on the meal train I would recommend “off times”. Maybe mid afternoon 2-4 or later at night, after 9. If anyone is a very early riser hot meals between 5-7 are definitely in Desire. We also can clarify that large pots of soup are ok without individual packaging. They stay warmer longer and we have packaging on the ground.” ~ Jesse Thurston

  MealTrain Sign-Up Link

Look for meals that have no one signed up yet, and also look for folks who have signed up to bring fewer than 50 meals. Click on their name, and coordinate with them to bring enough food between you. Your meals don’t have to match. Variety is a good thing. If you are bringing fewer than 50 meals, make sure you note that so others can supplement yours as well. If you can’t find a spot, it’s ok to just take in a pot of soup.

https://www.mealtrain.com/trains/nnmwke

THE CURRENT SITUATION

Blankets, tents, plastic storage bins, tarps, sleeping bags and other supplies are really needed, but please hold off on bringing them for a few days. The situation at City Hall is, as they say, “Fluid.” Campers are cold, wet & stressed, with no place to go inside and warm up through weeks of rain and high winds. The City has announced that on Monday it will erect fences to keep campers 25 feet away from buildings – the most sheltered areas where many small tents have been located. And into this added tension, an anti-mask protest rally has been announced for Tuesday at the courthouse. That’s two very stressful events in just the next couple days.

We’ve been asked to take a deep breath and wait a few days to deliver more supplies (except soup and hot food). Where volunteers are able to take specific items to specific campers, they will contact me.

If you call around for soup pots, you can also ask for wool blankets. See if you can pick them up, and bring them here to 2518 Cherry Street.

HELP WITH YOUR HELP!

Here at home, I’ve had so much help offered that I’ve needed  to organize help with your help! As of today we have two other homes where you will be able to deliver donations. One is just a block from me. But the best bet at the moment is, let us know what you have to offer, and then hang onto it until I ask. If I haven’t asked in a week, remind me again. We’re getting systems set up to be sure donations go accurately to the individuals who need them most.

I adore you all! I am blown away with your support and assistance. Thank you!

CONTACT OUR GOVERNMENT

In the meantime, you could email the mayor’s office and county executive to ask whether the tiny “pallet homes” have been ordered yet and when they are expected to arrive. If enough of us are asking, it may speed action. Please remember to keep a warm tone to your contact. Our elected officials are also our neighbors. We can support them to do the right thing instead of trying to bully them. If a whole lot of us reach out, it may help.

mayorsoffice@cob.org

ssidhu@co.whatcom.wa.us

MERRY ZOOMING CHRISTMAS

Have yourselves a merry zooming Christmas!
Keep the germs at bay.
Just hold on
Til vaccines bring a brighter day.
Wash your hands and ventilate your houses,
Wear masks when you’re out.
We’ll be fine
So set aside your angst and doubt.

Soon our lives won’t be so controlled
May I be so bold to say
Faithful friends will come near to us
Without fear for us one day

In the coming year we all can gather
If we take a vow
To celebrate in little Brady Boxes now
And have ourselves a merry Christmas anyhow.

By my friend Shan Cretin, for 2020

RADIO FREE FLIP: SIBLING REVELRY

My big brother Joe Breskin posted a clip of the two of us playing a duet, probably a quarter century ago. That’s me on an 1892 Martin guitar which was my heartstrings for many years (the one replaced by Columbia, the guitar gifted me by my dear neighborhood). Joe was playing our great-grandmother’s-sister’s guitar, which she got in Paris in 1880. I can hear that I was keeping it calm and simple, and letting Joe spiral around me in great joy. Joe used to only half-joke that the primary goal of the music was to let angels cry. Odds are good this instrumental will at least lower your blood pressure. Thanks Joe, for a sweet memory. We’ll play again one of these days.

http://www.breskin.com/mp3-320/se_a_hamba.mp3?fbclid=IwAR2UHp2KdGdNs02wKpdxYz7MyDjAR0qldMpUtjI3ykRstssroOt4cFgu-k4

Love/Fl!p 360-671-4511  2518 Cherry Street  flip@columbianeighborhood.org

If you want to ask me to post something, just email me. If it’s urgent, phone. If it’s a real emergency, call 911.

CONTENTS 12/19/2020
City Hall Encampment
   Stone Soup
   MealTrain Sign-Up
   Soup Brigade Ingredients
   Storage Needed For Donations
   Big Plastic Bins
   Warm Donations Needed
   On-Site Volunteers Needed
   Bulk Recipes And Equipment
   Firewood
   Sunday Egg Delivery?
Increased Security
Good Information On Covid Vaccine
Covid Symptom Study App
Radio Free Fl!p: Stay At Home

STONE SOUP

Be warned that today’s post is not usual. I’m in the middle of a maelstrom of support for the encampment at city hall. It’s wonderful, but I haven’t found my balance yet. I did NOT expect this! I started by trying to help  in a small way, taking in hot hard-boiled eggs every morning. I mentioned it on this list. Everyone has stepped forward to help, in big ways and small. It really adds up! Together we make quite a difference. I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart! Tonight’s update seems to be mostly Soup Brigade and related items.

I’m still gathering posts from artists, artisans, restaurants and small businesses. I’m not even insisting that they are in the neighborhood. If you love them and can write briefly, I’ll take them through tomorrow and try to post on Monday. It’s another way we can care for our neighbors by shopping local.

MEALTRAIN SIGN-UP

Look for meals that have no one signed up yet, and also look for folks who have signed up to bring fewer than 50 meals. Click on their name, and coordinate with them to bring enough food between you. Your meals don’t have to match. Variety is a good thing. If you are bringing fewer than 50 meals, make sure you note that so others can supplement yours as well.

https://www.mealtrain.com/trains/nnmwke

SOUP BRIGADE INGREDIENTS

I have a BIG pile of fresh soup veggies that better go out and get cooked sooner than later. It all came in today: Potatoes, carrots, squash, yellow onions, zucchini, red onions, cilantro, and bell peppers. I also have rice, lentils, beans, and pasta for Mac&Cheese. We have 16oz & 8oz ToGo cups, 2.5” tall dinner boxes, bakery bags for cookies, rolls, muffins, and half sandwiches. We have two great big soup pots with lids, and a roaster pan. More are coming. I’ll need a volunteer to get more eggs on Monday at SmartFood. They have cases of 15 dozen eggs, and I’ve noticed theirs crack less than the ones from other sources. And they’re very inexpensive. Please check with me if you can go so I don’t wind up with 10 cases, though!

STORAGE NEEDED FOR DONATIONS

Our house is pretty well maxed out. Can anyone else take in donated supplies for up to a couple weeks while storage and distribution for the Encampment is worked out? I believe most objects will leave within a few days.

BIG PLASTIC BINS

Sounds like we need a couple dozen bins to go in the newly donated van for orderly storage. Clear bins are best. I still have some donated money to buy some if you’ve got a good source. But donating stacking bins leaves money for other needs. Bins can come to our house asap. 2518 Cherry. Red house with green trim and more garden than yard, mid block.

WARM DONATIONS NEEDED

Wool blankets, warm throws, neckwarmers, first aid kits, handwarmers, Myler aluminum blankets, plastic ponchos, hats, gloves, tarps, tents, & sleeping bags are all needed. But the supplies tent is not secure.Please let me know you have them. I will call for them as soon as storage and distribution are up and running or when I have a way to get them delivered to the specific folks who need them right now. If you can help deliver, please let me know that too. And thank you for backpacks and rucksacks. They will make more than one life easier!

ON SITE VOLUNTEERS NEEDED

If your health will permit, more hands are needed at the encampment. It is NOT low risk! I can put you in touch.

BULK RECIPES AND EQUIPMENT

Carly has volunteered before at a retreat, making large quantities of food. She has all of the recipes, which are all delicious, and include great detail about serving sizes for various groups. We can send these recipes for anyone who wants to cook but isn’t sure what to do/how much to make for 50 people. [Request the pdf file from me, Fl!p]

She also went  to Smart Foodservice and got a large pot and some hotel pans. She guessed a lot of people don’t have the equipment to cook for large numbers of people.  Arrange to pick them up and return them at Fl!p’s. Hooray for Carly Benhaim! Thank you!!!

FIREWOOD

Just for the moment, firewood to donate is best kept at your home till the time is right. If you have some to donate, please let me know, and I’ll keep a list and call for it in an orderly way. Or would someone else like to be the Soup Brigade Firewood Organizer? You wouldn’t have to physically deal with the firewood. Just keep a list of who has offered, what they’ve got, and whether they’ve already donated it.

SUNDAY EGG DELIVERY?

I am looking for someone to take on regular Sunday morning (not too early) egg delivery. Pick up hot hard boiled eggs at our house and drop them at city hall while they are still hot. I’ll have them ready to go at an agreed upon time.

INCREASED SECURITY

The best way to increase your own security is to increase the security of those around you. You cannot increase yours by decreasing the security of others.

GOOD INFORMATION ON COVID VACCINE

Since March, I have read Betsy Brown’s blog every single day. She is a doctor in Seattle who began blogging in response to the pandemic. Her information is accurate and up-to-date. She’s humble and honest about the changing situation as we learn more. She knows how to access, read and understand research. I find her deeply reassuring, kind, and brave. I particularly loved last night’s post about vaccine history.

BetsyBrownMD/substack.com

COVID SYMPTOM STUDY APP

Zeke and I joined this national study last spring. I would like to invite you to join as well. It takes about a minute a day to report on your Covid status. What the researchers are learning is useful to all of us. The more of us who join, the faster scientists are able to learn.

https://covid.joinzoe.com/us-2

RADIO FREE FL!P: STAY AT HOME

A Covid Christmas Carol from Joe Vinikow & Julie Sakahara – This just arrived tonight from a couple long-time Guitar Camp buddies, with a special holiday message for you!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P0xUatIZcD0&feature=youtu.be

Love/Fl!p 360-671-4511  2518 Cherry Street flip@columbianeighborhood.org

If you want to ask me to post something, just email me. If it’s urgent, phone. If it’s a real emergency, call 911.