After reading Karen Daubert’s glowing review of The Fish Guys, I decided to get my Christmas salmon there. What an experience! One really needs to have at least an hour to spend, as the offerings are much more than fresh fish. There were smoked mussels and smoked black cod. There was an artichoke dip for a last minute contribution to a get-together. There were samples of alder smoked salmon. There are some baked goods from a local place called Patrick’s. And in addition to all the eats, a band was setting up in the northeast corner of the room and my server handed me a flyer: Seattle’s #1 Elvis impersonator would be making an appearance! Unfortunately this is a busy time of year and we didn’t wait for the performance, but do check out this interesting place! You will find many items you can’t live without! ~Diane Snell

One quickly gets used to a croissant breakfast in Paris, but it is a little more difficult here as they are not on every corner…yet. (One can always hope for a better world!) We did find a remarkably good almond croissant at PCC Community Market in Columbia City. The store itself is a pleasure: red and white pots of cyclamen greeted us at the entrance and this store is spacious, unlike its predecessor in Seward Park where a line would back up behind the indecisive customer perusing the bagel selection. PCC has bakery items from Macrina and Rae’s in West Seattle, but the croissants are just in a bin of random baked goods, which appear to be PCC made. This Croissant is good-sized, light and has an intense almond flavor. It isn’t in the same league as the double-baked croissants at Bakery Nouveau, but then again its price is more modest: $2.39. Enjoy! ~Diane Snell

For folks who have swooned over the morning pastry at Meet the Moon, there is good news. The baked goods come from Proven Bread in Woodinville, which will now be selling their products retail at PCC Community Markets. The first time I ate at Meet the Moon, I took a piece of the sour cream coffee cake home to my spouse who was grateful and said he would save half for after lunch, but something happened along the way and he ate it all. And pronounced it delicious! We were later to discover that the muffins are very good as well! Now you can find these goodies even if there is a line waiting to get into Meet the Moon! ~Diane Snell

Happy New Year Leschi! Did the holiday celebrations deplete your cellar? Now is a great time to restock. In the event you missed out on some of the recently high profiled wines, here is a recap of some of the wines that are still available from the always coveted Wine Spectator Top 100. A great way to fill that cellar back up with proven winners. Here are five. 2015 Château de St. Cosme Gigondas ($39.99) #5 Wine Spectator Top 100 of 2017 A textbook version of the brawny side of Gigondas, offers a grippy alder bass line underneath layers of dark currant and fig fruit, while lots of tobacco, rosemary and bay leaf fill in throughout. Muscular and energetic, this is built for the cellar. Best from 2019 through 2030. 95-points. (At deadline, there were still a couple available!) 2015 Clos des Papes Châteauneuf-du-Pape ($131.99) #14 Wine Spectator Top 100 of 2017 This offers a drop-dead gorgeous core of cassis and raspberry pâte de fruit flavors that hold center stage but still allow notes of Lapsang souchong tea, anise, incense and shiso leaf to chime in. Very long, with a sublime feel through the mineral-tinged finish. So seductive already, but this should cruise in the cellar. Drink now through 2040. 98-points. Roederer Estate Brut Anderson Valley NV ($19.99) #25 Wine Spectator Top 100 of 2017 A voluptuous, expressive sparkler, with floral red apple, brioche and cinnamon spice aromas and rich, vibrant flavors that finish on a luxurious note. Drink through 2018. 92-points. 2014 Quinta De Cabriz Red Dão Portugal ($7.99) #46 Wine Spectator Top 100 of 2016 "A crisp and minerally red, with concentrated flavors of dark cherry, roasted plum and dried raspberry, layered with rich, spicy notes. White chocolate details show on the finish, accented by hints of pepper. Drink now through 2020. Best Buy.” 90-points. Chartogne-Taillet Brut Champagne Cuvée Ste. Anne NV ($36.99) #87 Wine Spectator Top 100 of 2017 A bright, finely meshed version that shows beautiful harmony throughout, offering flavors of Gala apple, spring forest, almond pastry and lemon curd riding the creamy mousse. Lasting, spiced finish. Disgorged February 2016. Drink now through 2022. 92-points. In addition to the above Wine Spectator Top 100 offerings, here are a few other wines worthy of cellaring for the upcoming year. 2012 Corliss Estate Cabernet Sauvignon Columbia Valley ($88.99) “A wine that I would put up there with the crème de la crème of Washington State Cabernet's, which is insanely good and does everything right. 97% Cabernet and 3% Petit Verdot. Fabulous notes of toasted spice, chocolate and tobacco leaves. Fabulous purity and freshness, a big, rich mid-palate and sweet tannin that emerge on the finish. Drink 2021–2041. Bravo!” –Wine Advocate, 97-points. 2014 Produttori del Barbaresco Nebbiolo Rouge Piedmont Italy ($39.99) “Fragrant, with cherry, strawberry and rose notes, this elegant red offers flavors of berry fruit, licorice and underbrush, ending with a firm grip of tannins and chewy licorice and spice accents. Best from 2019 through 2032.” –Wine Spectator, 92-points. 2015 Lingua Franca ‘Avni’ Pinot Noir Eola-Amity Hills Oregon ($39.99) “Refined and precise, featuring a structure that's elegantly complex, with raspberry and cinnamon aromas and sleek cherry and mineral flavors. Drink now through 2022. 772 cases made.” –Wine Spectator, 92-points. CHEERS! ENJOY! Kenneth Benner, a Seattle area native, is a trained chef and has worked in such restaurants as Barbacoa, B.O.K.A. Kitchen + Bar, and Dahlia Lounge. Ken is the wine buyer at Leschi Market. He has a passion for learning, a meticulous palate, and a tenacity for searching out the best for his customers while offering some of the most highly coveted wines in the area. His wine column is intended to inspire and explore new choices in wine, learn about wine with his readers, and share his knowledge and experiences in the wine world. Check out the latest at www.LeschiMarket.com or request to be added to email updates or send questions, comments, or suggestions to ken@leschimarket.com and follow the wine department directly on twitter at twitter.com/leschimarket .

Book Review: The Genius of Birds by Jennifer Ackerman, April 2016 by Penguin Press Last winter we began to hear, on dark evenings, the sounds of something that sounded like a distressed monkey. It came from the trees along the path that empties onto East Alder. Primitive. Haunting. An Internet search by my husband, who had taken ornithology in college and knew the sound came from a bird and not a dying primate, turned up a match: the barred owl. This was no fairy tale hooting, so what was this owl “saying?” According to Jennifer Ackerman’s research, birds that continue singing after the season for mating has passed may be vocalizing for their own amusement. On the other hand, maybe it was a statement about territory. Alternatively, because vocalizing in birds releases dopamine and opioids into their nervous systems and thereby relieves aches, pains, and diminishes the sense of cold, these bizarre sounds may have been warding off the insults of winter. How birds sing, navigate, make tools, pass along knowledge and socialize are some of the topics covered in Ackerman’s remarkable homage to the power of the bird brain. Birds can count, make hooks for foraging food, teach their young and kiss. The term “birdbrain” is decidedly a misnomer. Consider that it’s not the size of a brain that determines intelligence, but the number of neurons that respective brain contains. And these pint-sized descendants from dinosaurs have more neurons than elephants! The astounding facts about the intelligence of birds presented in this accessible and delightful book are too immense to enumerate here. Suffice it to say that even for the novice birder or the casual observer of wildlife, there are great treats in store. Did you know that magpies can recognize their images in a mirror, “a form of social awareness that we once believed was restricted to humans”? Or that crows are sensitive to inequity and cockatoos can delay gratification? One of the underlying themes is that the birds that don’t have to solve problems and deal with environmental challenges, lose some of their brainpower compared with their counterparts who do have to contend with more complexities. So, beware depending on Alexa! And birds which are nurtured longer in the nest than related species grow bigger brains. Lesson: Talk to your children, not your cellphone! We are fortunate in Leschi to have enough greenspace to support myriad avian species. That’s the good news. The bad news: Human encroachment and climate change mean that 80% of the world’s bird population might be extinct in the next 100 years. Go out and meet your winged neighbors. Observe their intensity, their energy, their habits, their flights. And rejoice that we live in an environment that sustains such miracles. ~Anne Depue

A small red sweatshirt reads “My first Christmas ever,” one of hundreds of pieces of children’s clothing hanging above my head in the Church of St. James Piccadilly in London. The artist Arabella Dorman brought the clothing discarded by refugees on the Greek island of Lesbos, after they had crossed the sea from Turkey in a rubber raft. The Moria camp there houses 5000 refugees in horrendous conditions. Dorman created the installation in order to call attention to the ongoing refugee crisis, particularly for children. Perhaps because they were installed above the nave of a church, my first thought was that the clothing suggested angels flying in the air. But the clothing is not necessarily from children who have died (although some probably have), but from children forced to travel forever without an end, thanks to the EU policy of shutting its borders to refugees. It is almost like dying. Arabella Dorman, Suspended, detail. Image courtesy Henry Matthews I see a single shoe, an African dress, a striped shirt. As I look, the suspended clothing begins to evoke children running, falling, playing, holding hands, perhaps dancing. “Suspended” as a title refers to both the fact of the installation hanging from the ceiling like a massive chandelier, the status of the children who cannot go home or find a new way forward, as well as the state of the government policy towards these children. The UK government had agreed to take 400 unaccompanied children when the Calais camps were dismantled last April. They took only 200. And of course, the total number of refugee children is staggering. The scale of the tragedy is conveyed in Ai Weiwei’s monumental film Human Flow released in London last week. He visited 23 countries, and filmed the refugee crisis from the sea, the land, up close with refugees speaking for themselves (with dozens of translators helping him). We hear from fathers and grandfathers, mothers and grandmothers, youth and children, NGO and government officials, and the Princess of Jordan. Ai Weiwei used drones hovering over a vast expanse of wet tents on the border of Northern Greece or to survey the sterile boxes assigned to refugees in a Berlin airport. Ai Weiwei himself often appears, he talked with them, he helped them get out of boats; he witnessed the blowing sand in Africa and the insides of destroyed apartments in western Turkey as people tried to salvage something. We saw many, many children, held by parents, walking on their own, always moving, until they cannot move as they approach a closed border. (Not in the film, but a newspaper article told of an Afghan child hit by a train and killed when she was forced back onto the tracks by border guards at an EU crossing.) The UK has what photographers Rob Stothard and Silvia Mollicchi call " The United Kingdom’s Immigration Detention Estate.” 30,000 people came through immigration in 2016, and 6,000 are detained. In their photographic project, we see the settings of detention in shopping malls or business parks, in rural areas, or in plain sight, such as at Heathrow airport. Greg Constantine photographs “stateless people” around the world. “Nowhere People,” sponsored by the UNHCR, focuses on people in permanent detention in the UK. They cannot go back to where they came from and they cannot stay in the UK. There are 10 million people around the world who live without a nationality; over 75 percent are from minorities such as the Rohingya, the largest stateless group. Recently we have heard of their suffering as they were forced to leave Myanmar (and some speak in Human Flow). The experience of migration in the UK is far longer and more complex than in the US. The Migration Museum in London provides a selected overview in “No Turning Back: seven migration moments that changed Britain.” The earliest “moment,” the expulsion of the Jews in 1209 followed on years of discrimination. The next event is 1607 when the East India Company first went to India leading to a long history of colonialism: the exhibition focuses on the stories of Anglo Indians, Gurkhas and Lascars. Huguenots came to Britain in 1685 to seek refuge when they were expelled from France. Next is 1905 when the Alien Act limited immigration with intensely xenophobic campaigns, mainly also targeting Jews who were coming from Eastern Europe to escape pogroms. The year 1952 is when the first passenger jet flight profoundly altered migration from the tradition of slow journeys on ships (although today we have a sad return to sea travel, and even the most ancient migration by foot). Rock against Racism in 1978, celebrates a grassroots resistance movement to racism in the music community. The last “turning point” 2011, when the “census reveals rise of mixed-ethnicity Britain,” which led directly to the vote for Brexit (UK exit from the EU) spurred by fears of immigrants taking jobs. Angelica Dass, Humanae, 2017 copyright Angelica Dass. Image courtesy Migration Museum, London. The final segment leaves no doubt as to the situation today. Two photographic art projects, Humanae by Angelica Dass, and Mixed by Andrew Barter both celebrate the diversity of contemporary Britain. ~Susan Noyes Platt www.artandpoliticsnow.com (I have spent the last two months in London.)

There's only a 7% chance of a White Christmas in Seattle (defined as 1 inch or more of snow on the ground) for any given year, but Mother Nature gave many places in the Pacific Northwest their first White Christmas since 2008 as a low pressure system made landfall on the Northern Oregon Coast, drawing down cold, dry Canadian air while still spreading precipitation northward into the area. Amounts generally ranged from 1–4 inches around the area, with less near sea level and more up on the hills. The Leschi neighborhood saw approximately two inches by the lake, while amounts were closer to three inches on top of Madrona Hill. Sea-Tac airport, where our official weather observations are taken, recorded 1.6 inches on Dec. 24 and one inch on Dec. 25, with that one inch tying the record for Christmas Day set in 1965. A snowy view from the lookout above the stairs by East Olive Lane. Taken December 25, 2017 by Sara Robertson Snow is exceedingly difficult to forecast in Western Washington due to the fact that temperatures are often right on the edge for accumulating snow. This system was initially predicted to make landfall near Astoria, but it instead made landfall near Garibaldi, decreasing the northward extension of above-freezing air in the mid-levels of the atmosphere and keeping precipitation as snow all the way to sea level. Even Portland saw snow on Christmas Eve, though they switched to freezing rain shortly before midnight as warmer, Pacific air spread into the region aloft while cool, easterly winds kept temperatures below freezing in the metro area. With an average of 4.3 inches per month, January is the snowiest month of the year for Seattle. Even though the days are getting longer, the northern latitudes are even colder in January than December due to the “thermal inertia” of the atmosphere—i.e. the lag in response between incoming solar radiation and the temperature of the atmosphere. January 1950 stands out as a particularly brutal month, with an average temperature of 24.85 degrees and 12 single-digit low temperature readings at Sea-Tac airport from January 1st to February 3rd. January 13th, 1950 featured one of the worst blizzards in Seattle history, with temperatures remaining in the teens all day and 20 inches of snow at Sea-Tac airport. While it’s a safe bet to assume January 2018 won’t be as snowy as January 1950, it’s still too early to know if we’ll witness any other brushes with snow this month. But seeing as five of the past 10 January's have seen measurable snow at Sea-Tac airport and three of the remaining five have seen a trace, I’d say the odds are in our favor to have at least one more brush with the white stuff in the Seattle area this month. I hope you had a fantastic Christmas, and here’s to a splendid 2018! ~Charlie Phillips Charlie Phillips, a Madrona resident, received his B.S. in atmospheric sciences from the University of Washington and works in Portland as a meteorologist forecasting wind energy along the Columbia River Gorge. Check out his weather website at weathertogether.us.

I always remember that Macy’s is on 34th Street. What I forget is the cross street. At the stoplight I asked, “Which way is Macy’s?” Each of the ten to twelve persons standing there pointed to the right. Everybody can find Macy’s! For the first time, I was in New York the week before Christmas. I had to see Macy’s decorations. Nobody does Christmas decorations like Macy’s. I was not disappointed. I walked through the door and stopped immediately. I gazed at the many huge white/silver ornaments, probably basketball size, illuminating the main aisle. All ornaments are attached to greenery. The strings of ornaments and greenery flow from one wall across to another. Down the center of the store are rows of identical ornaments and greenery. The sparkling rhinestones take everyone’s breath away. I stood to the side, watching people enter the store. Mouths flew open. Regardless of age, gender, race, or any other category you choose, everyone stopped, momentarily paralyzed. Anyone not spellbound by the beauty managed an “ahh.” The beauty simply magnified New York’s overflowing energy. I have been in New York for the St. Patrick’s Day Parade, Easter Parade and New Year’s Eve. However, this was my first time being there for the week before Christmas. Walking up and down streets watching others walk up and down streets, purchase hot dogs, chestnuts, soft drinks, pizza, peanuts purses, hats, gloves, watches, scarves, paintings, belts, and just about anything else one can think of from some of the countless vendors can occupy someone not in a hurry for hours. Christmas quadruples—at least—the people and activities, revs up the city. What was different in what I long ago labeled New York’s assaults on the senses was this observer. Age has taken its toll. Sciatica struck June 15; yes, I remember the date. The first time I visited New York I was in my thirties; I am now well past my thirties. New Yorkers seem to think there are no long blocks in New York. Any address seems to be two to five, maybe six blocks away; “You can walk it” they say, cab drivers included. On the other hand, they explain, “You can get there faster by walking Perhaps they can get there faster; I can’t. In ’78, I walked it. Then the subway steps that seem to go almost forever surprised me because of their length; now they are obstacles to be overcome. I beg for escalators and try my best to remember, “to stand to the right.” No one must worry about me walking to the left. I look for landings. I stop at landings. This is new. When once I never looked for elevators, I am terribly aware of their absence. I regret there are no elevators. I wonder was there no one who thought of the older, old, handicapped. The trek from the subway on “mostly flat terrain” to the Metropolitan Museum requires several stops for breath. I recall no such stops in previous trips, and I was talking to one or several companions, acquaintances. I always go to the Museum, always carve out time for this amazing repository of some of the greatest masterpieces of humankind. And once I arrived at the Museum, I must walk farther, stand longer. And I breathe harder. Knowing there is a show on Michelangelo automatically means walking and standing. Walking up the many steps I know I have run up many times, I begin to wonder where are my eyeglasses. I couldn’t have forgotten them because I have several pairs. However, forgetting the glasses is just what I have done! The days of reading the descriptions minus glasses are gone. And I have forgotten them on a day when the Met has Michelangelo and Rodin! I venture to lost and found and discovered they have only one pair of glasses and they are broken, but the employee offered a magnifying glass. Though I have seen work by Michelangelo several times in several places, I am as amazed as ever. No one will convince me that some of the smaller works are unfinished. I think the artist delighted in showing what he could do with marble. He wanted to show what was “trapped” in the marble. Despite the increasing pain, I trudged on. I’m good at telling myself that I can eat, sleep, rest at another time. Whatever I am doing at the time—viewing art in a museum, for example—I may never get a chance to do it again or do it again soon. I always think I must seize the day. The big difference was being technically handicapped. Each time I saw a person using a cane or walker, I wondered if there was pain, if the pain is only temporary. Several times, I spoke to such persons. Lying down three to five hours usually alleviates the pain. Now I am much better, trying not to fear the pain will return once I venture out. As far back as I can remember, I have wanted everyone to be healthy. This trip has made me more sympathetic even as I realize no one’s sympathy eases another’s physical pain. ~Georgia S. McDade

It was all glitter and glam at the Holiday Gala at the Central Area Senior Center on December 2. The women were in their evening best with killer strappy shoes to match. Even some of the men wore jackets with a shimmer! CT Thompson and vocalist Darlene Hudson. Image courtesy John Barber However, they did not outdo CT Thompson who commanded the mike in his sequined red dinner jacket. Thompson and his quartet played many favorites and kept the evening lively. Free group photos were available in the Solarium and the Leschi CC table obliged with a group photo. Past President Thurston Muskelly and his wife, Joyce joined us for the evening. Auction items were available, including handmade quilts from the Center’s quilters. Tables bid against each other for a chance to be first in the Dessert Dash. The difficult part was deciding which dessert to dash for! The Center was beautifully decorated, thanks to Boyce Johnson, decorator extraordinaire!

At the December Leschi Community Council Executive Board Meeting, Tom Goedde from Mt. Baker, Lawrence Pitre, Director of the Central Area Chamber of Commerce and Stephanie Tschida presented the idea to create a giant mural on the retaining wall on the corner of 31st and Jackson. The wall is a perfect candidate for a mural depicting the rich cultural history of Leschi and the Central Area. Tom, Lawrence and Stephanie put out a few proposals of ideas for what to put on the wall, though the most important aspect of it is to get community involvement in the creation of this work of art. We want to engage the community and help make this wonderful art project be a beacon of cooperation for all of us in the Central Area. The group mentioned the work of the Philadelphia Mural Arts Program and how they have modeled a way to garner deep community involvement in public arts works. We would seek out a similar model for developing this wall. You can read more about the Philadelphia Mural Arts Project and their process at www.muralarts.org . There is a long road ahead for the group to make this project a reality. They will have to work with the local communities, the Department of Neighborhoods and the City Council to get support and funding for the wall. The group is planning on presentations that are more public and seeking funding opportunities through grants and crowd funding. One interesting aspect of the wall is the idea to make it an augmented reality project. The concept is that you would use your mobile device to view a part of the mural to get more details of the history the mural is portraying. The team anticipated that local High School students in the area could help out, with not only painting and designing the wall, but also creating the accompanying app to digitally enhance the mural experience. It is important to note that at the December meeting the Leschi Community Council Executive Board did not have a quorum and thus could not support the mural project officially yet, but we anticipate much excitement from the community in the upcoming months as Tom and his team foment interest around the city to make this a reality. If you are interested in getting involved, contact Tom Goedde at goeddeUP@gmail.com for details, and let’s work to bring some beautiful community-driven art into the public spaces of Leschi! ~Trevor Menagh

It was a special evening when a string quartet of Garfield students performed at our annual Holiday party. Mari Morikawa, Nicholas Gjording, Marte Borgemann and Nicole Burns played classical music for an hour to an appreciative Leschi audience. We are so fortunate to have Garfield High School and its talented students close to our neighborhood. Leschi Market sent a sommelier, Lisa, to serve their new private label wine, Leschi Cellars, to complement our table of noshes. Many of you exclaimed about the grapes and one of the cheeses. The grapes were black grapes from Costco. We tried to find the actual name of the Danish white cheddar that had been soaked in red wine before cutting into wedges, even contacting a Danish friend back East, but no luck. The cheese was also from Costco but had little information. Most of the Danish cheeses imported into this country tend to be soft cheeses so the Internet was no help either. We are glad you really liked that cheese and if we ever find out more about it, we will pass that information on!

Happy almost New Year as this newsletter may reach you before we actually ring in 2018. As we reflect on the tumultuous year we have had with great tragedies and great triumphs, our own local community ended the year with celebrations all around. First, there was a drive to assist children in need that attend Leschi Elementary. It was a wonderful success with lots of gift cards that were so appreciated. The Annual Gala on December 2 at the Central Area Senior Center was a magical evening—wonderful dinner, outstanding musical entertainment, lots of glitter, sparkle, terrific auction items and fun was had by all. The Leschi Community Council's annual Holiday Party was held on December 6 with a Garfield High string quartet enthralling all with mesmerizing classical music. Now as we look forward to our year ahead and decide to resolve to do things differently, may I add the following: Endeavor to become more involved in your community, neighborhood, committees that interest you and embrace something new. Become all you can be. Stretch your comfort zone. Try something that challenges your sensibilities. Reach out to someone who needs a smile or a kind word. Let us walk proudly in our individuality and nurture the diversity of our little gem known as Leschi (which I affectionately call the Village of Leschi). A happy and peaceful New Year to all! Janice Merrill Brown President, Leschi Community Council janicemb@comcast.net