Have a safe holiday
For the 3 people who actually read this blog, happy holidays.
Everyone else…
Be safe. When taking off stop your mail and your newspaper. Stop mail by visiting the US Postal Office’s web site to hold your mail. If you are a subscriber to the Washington Post, go to their subscriber webpage (you may need to register) and get them to stop delivery. The last thing you need to do is alert criminals to the fact that you’re gone with a stack of newspapers and mail.
Shaw_EcoVillage’s_Chain_Reaction_Adult_Bike_Class/Other_In fo
1. BICYCLE REPAIR CLASSES FOR ADULTS
2. CHAIN REACTION WILL BE CLOSED FOR THE WINTER HOLIDAYS
3. USED BIKES ARE AVAILABLE NOW
4. VOLUNTEER NIGHTS CONTINUE…
5. SPANISH SPEAKING VOLUNTEER NEEDED
1. BICYCLE REPAIR CLASSES FOR ADULTS
This Basic Bike Repair course follows the Park Tool-School curriculum, with
six
sessions:
Jan 6: Tubes and Tires: learn the pro’s tricks for fixing flats.
Jan 13: Drive-train Removal, Cleaning, and Installation.
Jan 20: All About Brakes.
Jan 27: Adjusting Shifters, Derailleurs, and Gears.
Feb 3: Adjusting and Overhauling Ball Bearing Systems.
Feb 10: The Science and Art of Wheel Truing.
Classes run from 7pm to 9pm. The class size is small so students get lots
of individual attention.
The full six week course costs $90 and includes a folding allen tool, patch
kit and tire levers — or you can take just one class for $20.
SPACE IS VERY LIMITED, so sign up now. Email: sev.noelpetrie@verizon.net
Phone: (202) 265-2019.
2. CHAIN REACTION WILL BE CLOSED FOR THE WINTER HOLIDAYS
The shop will be closed from Dec. 21 through Jan. 5, when we will resume our
regular winter hours: W/Th/F 1pm – 6pm and Saturday 10am – 4pm.
3. USED BIKES ARE AVAILABLE NOW
Now we have bicycles available for sale every day! Come check out the
selection. Call David at 202.265.0179 for details.
4. VOLUNTEER NIGHTS CONTINUE…
Wednesday nights, from 6:30 to 9:00 pm, you can find dedicated Chain
Reactions volunteers organizing the shop and refurbishing bikes. Sounds
like fun, right? If it’s your first time, join us at 6:30 for volunteer
orientation. As a bonus, volunteers earn time to work on their own bikes in
our repair stands or take repair classes for free. Call David for more
information 202.265.0179.
5. SPANISH SPEAKING VOLUNTEER NEEDED
Chain Reaction needs a Spanish-speaking person to assist with our
Earn-A-Bike (EAB) program starting Monday, January 26 and ending Monday,
March 1. This person would assist 2 teenage ESL students through Chain
Reaction’s EAB Lessons. No bike skills needed.
The Shaw EcoVillage Project, a community based 501(c)(3), engages young
people in making their neighborhoods cleaner, greener and more livable.
Shaw EcoVillage has two main goals, to develop leadership skills and job
readiness in young people, and foster the growth of expertise in
environmental stewardship, smart growth and equitable development on the
local level. We accomplish this through two programs, the EcoDesign Corps
and Chain Reaction.
In EcoDesign Corps, high-school students, ages 14 – 19, design and implement
projects that make the Shaw and nearby neighborhoods of Washington, DC
cleaner, greener and more livable for all residents. Students participate
in internships and fellowships where they apply their critical thinking
skills to solve real-life community issues. Participants focus on issues of
: Clean Water, Air and Land · Community Pride and Identity · Health and
Wellness · Equitable Development · Public Space · Transportation
Chain Reaction educates young people about the role of the bicycle in
sustainable communities and provides the residents of Shaw with safe,
affordable, and pollution-free transportation. Chain Reaction trains youth,
ages 9-19, in bicycle mechanics and safe riding skills through educational
programs; and provides job training and promotes bikes as affordable,
healthy transportation in its community bike shop. Our programs provide
young people with invaluable professional skills including project research,
problem solving, consensus building, action planning, implementation,
evaluation and presentation.
For more information please contact us at: Shaw EcoVillage, 1701 6th St.,
NW, Washington, DC 20001, phone: 202.265.2019 or 202.265.8899, fax: 202.
265.2842, email: sev.noelpetrie@verizon.net
<mailto:sev.noelpetrie@verizon.net> , web: www.shawecovillage.com
<http://www.shawecovillage.com>
#####
1701 6th Street, NW * Washington, DC 20001 * 202.265.8899 *
www.shawecovillage.com
Contributions are accepted and are tax-deductible.
Contribute through the Combined Federal Campaign, Designate #7606
Please join Bloomingdale Civic Association, Inc. for its annual holiday meet and greet.
Bloomingdale Civic Association , Inc.
Holiday Meet and Greet
Monday December 15, 2003
7:00 pm
St. George’s Epeiscopal Church
160 U Street, NW
Come meet new neighbors and old friends. The Bloomingdale Civic Association is asking each guest to bring a wrapped shoebox that includes toilet articles, socks, scarf/hat/ gloves, cologne, comb/brush, underclothes, soap, deodorant, tooth/paste/toothbrush. Mark shoebox male/female.
or
A unwrapped toy for infant/youth no violent toys or toys with small object that can be easily swallowed, stuff or furry toys.
A Holiday Meet and Greet to remember shoebox gifts will be donated to SOME and toys to Childrens Hospital.
Happy Holidays
Cleopatra Jones,
President, Bloomingdale Civic Association, Inc.
Regrets only (202) 234-5399 (202) 387-2497
4 Blocks
Just to note, my little world is a 4 block radius. That’s as far as I’m willing to walk. Yes, horribly lazy. So any new restaurant or new business venture, has to be 4 blocks away. That and west of me. I’ll go north, south and west. Mainly because there are things if interest past the 4 block zone that interest me. North of me, Howard and U Street and Le Droit. South of me, Chinatown, Union Station, Downtown, the Mall. West of me, Logan, Dupont. East, well I’m travelling by car and rushing to Home Depot, so no, not walking. Maybe if a Tarjay (Target) magically popped up somewhere on North Cap, maybe.
It’s cold, 4 blocks is the point things begin to freeze.
An island in Shaw
Catching up with a friend of mine, another DIY homeowner, we talked about some of the changes we noticed in our neighborhoods, mine Shaw, his Bladensburg, MD. Jon had bought his house so he’d be relatively close to College Park. At the time that was important. Now, College Park could be on the other side of PG County and he wouldn’t know the difference. Once we get into our little areas the other parts surrounding sometimes don’t seem all that close on a day to day basis.
I remarked that yes, I’m close to trendy and gettin’ trendy neighborhoods like Chinatown, Dupont, Logan, and U Street. But even with Shaw neighborhoods of U Street and Logan, I’m not feeling the trendy on my walk home from the metro. My little world is Rhode Island Ave, a few houses, the bike shop, the Giant Supermarket, the gas stations, the ghetto marts, liquor stores, greasy carry outs and more houses. Not Rice, the new Thai restaurant 10 blocks away. Not the Starbucks or the Whole Foods or the art galleries or the Studio Theater, also 10 blocks away in Logan. The Chinese restaurants in Chinatown are 10-9 blocks away, not really including the road-of-death (New York Ave). Yet the cool stuff in Chinatown is 10+ blocks away.
I’m on the Eastern Shaw island. Nothing, besides the Giant, is in walking distance that even slightly interests me. Good thing, you can find a parking spot… that would mean more if I had a car.
Repointing Brick
Somehow you are supposed to be able to repoint brick with a pointing trowel. This theory has not worked out for me. Most of the mortar wound up on the ground and not in between the bricks. A better method for me was to take a gloved hand, grab a glob of mortar and smash it into the bricks, smooshing it into the cavities.
3/2006 Update:Link for repointing is dead.
Recycling Theives
Someone done stole my recycle bin. This neighborhood is going to the dogs!
Paint slaves wanted
ET hinted that I might be able to use her paint crew. Her paint crew consisting of her roommate and odd science-fiction reading friends. Pizza and beer can get you a paint crew.
This weekend I hope to get on a ladder and do a bit more repointing. It won’t follow any nice rule, I might shoot the deep holes up with some insulation foam and put in 3/4 of an inch of mortar, then paint over it. The deeper holes I have filled, are a pain to wait for them to dry. The rains have not helped and I had to leave those areas bare of paint.
The sandy mortar mixture recommended for old houses does not stand up that well to moisture, well the mixes I’ve made with sand and limestone. Closer to the gutter I used the pure mortar mix from Home Depot, lest the work I did get washed away with the next downpour.
NCRC public Board meeting Wednesday, November 19 at Howard University
The National Capital Revitalization Corporation and RLA Revitalization Corporation announce their public Board meeting which will be held on Wednesday, November 19 at Howard University’s School of Business in room
322. The meeting is scheduled to begin at 6:30 p.m. and conclude at 8:00 p.m. The Howard University School of Business is located at 2600 6th Street,
NW. NCRC is pleased that special guest speaker Dr. Alice Rivlin, of the Brookings Institution, will make a presentation on “Revitalizing Washington’s neighborhoods.” National Capital Revitalization Corporation (NCRC) is a quasi-public District government agency charged with spurring economic development in underserved neighborhoods. For more information contact Tiffany Simms at 202.530.5750.
Anti-Smoking Ban group HA! Gawd you have a right to give yourself cancer, but really why stop those of us who don’t want your second hand smoke in enclosed places.
