Mind Your Business

I’m not going to lie, I love Christmas.  Always have.

It is such a generous time of year,and other than the bursts of early-morning Black Friday violence over a few marked-down flat screen TVs, it always seems to bring out the best in people.  Not to mention that the sparkly lights  make even the mundane a little magical.

Christmas  is also my favorite  time at the office.  Why?   Well because we get to breakout all of our shop local posters and honestly, we are accumulating quite a collection.

Of course the topic of supporting local (ideally SMALL business) is important, and worthy of a little time on my soap-box; but it’s the local-celebrity aspect of these posters we like.  That, and the witty headlines.  It’s true, we do think we are exceptionally clever.  That’s not just a rumor.

Bottom line…if these posters don’t get you shopping local, I don’t know what will!!

We added four new posters this year and I think they capture the spirit of our business community perfectly. Special thanks to Beth Kuychynka of the bayleaf, Jay Roberts of Cascade Custom Homes, Jack Ng and Angela Vosburg of China City and our own Whidbey Coffee team.  We appreciate your holiday spirit and photogenic faces.

We hope you enjoy these posters, and that they inspire you to buy as much as you can here at home.

And in addition to this year’s new collection of celebrities, we have some classic favorites as well.  It’s just a fun way to help us all remember that we are a community.  We are all in this together.  And, there is absolutely no point in taking yourself too seriously….because above all else, the holiday’s should be fun!

Well here is the deal.  I am not a good blogger. Not good at all.

Why?

Lack of discipline (and well,  poor punctuation…but the later is too big of a problem to solve today!)

So my 2011 resolution was to blog consitantly…a minimum of one post a week.  To do this, I tell myself, I will keep it short.  It will be to the point.  It will not ramble.  Adjectives will be used wisely and judiciously.

I will not link  to unnecessary things.  My topics will be simple.  There will be no diatribes. No Ayn Rand 150-plus page  manifestos hidden not-so-subtly in the middle of a my posts.  I will be dependable, moderately entertaining, and try, when possible, to add value to the blogosphere!

So there you have it.

And to start things off right, I am going to keep this week’s post is simple.  Here we go!

I love entrepreneurs.  I LOVE THEM.  I like their spirit, their passion, their risk-taking attributes.  I love that most of them start later in life, often after a few early struggles and missteps. And, if I am honest, I find them all a little sexy. Yes, even the ones that are living out of their best-friends basement.

In fact, did you know that Paula Deen did not set out on the path to become the Paula Deen we know and love until she was 41?  Yes, that’s right people, I don’t make this stuff up. The woman did not put butter back on the map until she was in her forties!

So today I am celebrating the entrepreneurial spirit and dedicating this blog to Missy and John.

I don’t know them, but I have given them a piece of my heart (and a link to their blog!)

I mean, really, you would have to be Ebenezer Scrooge (pre three-ghost visit) to not root for these two great go-getters!

So to John and Missy (my soon-to-be new friends) at WhidbeyFresh.com…I dedicate this,  my first blog of 2011 , to you.

Cheers!

Jill

Here is the truth of it, I love irony.  I really, really do.

Very few things bring me as much joy as something that I find just a little self-mocking by its pure existence.  So how could I not poke a little fun at this mass-mailer I received from SAVEtheFORESTNOW.org.

There is nothing mock-worthy in the content.  It’s a postcard inviting folks to a celebration for saving the Trillium Woods, a protected square mile of land on Whidbey Island just south of  Oak Harbor that will remain a forest forever thanks to an aggressive fundraising campaign and the efforts of the Whidbey Camano Land Trust.

So don’t get all worked up that this is some sort of anti-green, pave-it-all, Republican rant.

It’s not. Chill.

My only reason for sharing this is to spread the joy to my fellow irony lovers.  And if you are one…then I hope you delight in this printed-on-paper, mailed-to-the-masses, postcard with the bold proclamation….“Forest Now Saved.”

Not sure how the trees used to produce this postcard feel about that…but, way to take one for the team I guess!

Enjoy!

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Block City

By Robert Lewis Stevenson

What are you able to build with your blocks?

Castles and palaces, temples and docks.
Rain may keep raining, and others go roam,
But I can be happy and building at home.

Let the sofa be mountains, the carpet be sea,
There I’ll establish a city for me:
A kirk and a mill and a palace beside,
And a harbor as well where my vessels may ride.

Great is the palace with pillar and wall,
A sort of a tower on top of it all,
And steps coming down in an orderly way
To where my toy vessels lie safe in the bay.

This one is sailing and that one is moored:
Hark to the song of the sailors on board!
And see on the steps of my palace, the kings
Coming and going with presents and things!

Now I have done with it, down let it go!
All in a moment the town is laid low.
Block upon block lying scattered and free,
What is there left of my town by the sea?

Yet as I saw it, I see it again,
The kirk and the palace, the ships and the men,
And as long as I live and where’er I may be,
I’ll always remember my town by the sea.

If you think Whidbey Island is one of those beautiful places that more people still need to know about, then you are going to love this!

Here are two examples of Whidbey (and yes, Oak Harbor, that includes you) making some hay in the tourism world.

I could write more…but why?  Especially when these folks have already said it so well.

Top 10 Food Drives in America

Yachting Magazine (2)

Enjoy!

If you didn’t already know, the “Best of Whidbey” awards just came out in the Whidbey News-Times and…Drum roll please…I am a winner!

Best Blog?  Yep, that’s right, you’re reading it.

Can I get a Woot! Woot!?

Anyway, I wanted to thank everyone that voted for me; Mom, Dad, the folks who work for me at the Chamber and all their dependents.  Thank you all.  Your seven votes were enough to sweep the category!!

No seriously, thank you.  This is a very enjoyable experience for me.  I have love having a chance to express myself and give glimpses into life behind the scenes at the Oak Harbor Chamber. I have particularly enjoyed being able to communicate in my own voice. It’s fun and makes me feel just a little famous which each posting.   (Next up my own Bravo TV reality series…Andy, call me!)

Andy Cohen...Bravo TV Producer and future employer

As I gain my footing and become more confident in this process, I am sure we will explore bigger issues together. Soon topics such as the “Top 25 Things to Do before the end of Summer” will be interspersed with…”What is going on with some of those downtown merchants?”

But as of yet, I am not that brave or confident to tackle the tough stuff. We are in a new relationship and I like to take things slow.

Baby steps.

For me, the best part of this blog is that we are taking this journey together, and I appreciate it.  It’s nice to be able to share perspectives and engage in discussion.

I want to thank Marcia VanDyke, publisher of the Whidbey News-Times, who lobbied me for months to write this blog.  You were right.  I also want to thank Marcus Carney, my committed proof-reader and editor and who taught me how to Hyperlink and insert video (as demonstrated needlessly above) into these posts,  and Terri Tinker ,also of the Whidbey News-Times, who at my suggestion (begging) added the “Best Blog” category to the “Best of Whidbey” line up.

Yes it’s true; I had to create a whole new category just so I could win. But so what?  I’m not proud and I really do love a good plaque!

I’m going to be honest here…this winning thing is FUN!  I like it. And it this very moment I think for the first time in my life I have a true understanding of what it must have been like to Sally Field.

Thank you!

I didn’t see the movie “The Bucket List,” but I know a lot of people who did, as evidenced by the fact that this expression keeps popping up everywhere I go…and from the fact that everyone I know is making one.

And as we know, if something involves everyone and is everywhere….well then it’s a foregone conclusion that I am going to want in on that action!

Yes, ever the one to follow a trend, I am making a bucket list too and this is it.

The top 28 things I WILL do before summer (or at least summer as we know it) comes to an end.

And, because I like to be successful at everything I do…I am going to extend my “summer” through to the end of October…just to make sure I have enough time. Sure, that might be a little questionable weather wise…but I can’t believe that October will be any more unseasonable than let’s just say, oh I don’t know…June!

So here it is the official 2010 Summer on Whidbey Bucket List:

1. Walk across Deception Pass Bridge (preferably at sunset…although sunrise is amazing too!)

Photo by PacificPhotoArt.com

2. Buy an Ice Cream Cone from Popsies and eat it as I stroll the two-way streets of Pioneer Way.

3. Go to the Drive-In

Photo by Charlie M.

4. Camp at Deception Pass State Park (or at least donate to the Park Foundation)

5. Check out the vertical garden at a Knot in Thyme

6. Pack a picnic lunch from the bayleaf and eat it at the top of the bluff at Ebey’s landing

Photo by Casey McSpadden

7. Walk the entire waterfront trail

Photo by Barb Lyter

8. Go to a Friday night crab boil at Seabolts Smokehouse (on host my own while I am waiting for theirs to start in early fall!)

Photo by Casey McSpadden

9. Try the new Tulip Cottage Cafe for breakfast

10. Kayak

Photo by Casey McSpadden

11. Buy everything I need to make dinner from the Farmer’s Market (this does not mean buying Hot Rock Pizza….again!)

12. Play a round of golf (or a least get to the driving range)

13. Buy a new pair of shoes from the Casual House summer shoe sale (I know I already did this…but just in case they have another sale, I wanted to keep it on my list).

14. Pick berries and make Jam

Photo by Casey McSpadden

15. Tour the Whidbey Island wineries….and sample as I go!

16. Eat dinner at Zorbas when it opens in its new location

Photo by Matt Brown

17. Join in the fun at Driftwood Days (August 21)

Photo by Debbie Skinner

18. Take a Deception Pass Tours Boat Ride (again…I know, I know but I can’t get enough!)

Photo by Casey McSpadden

19. Attend the first at the first ever OH-ster Fest on September 25

Visit www.OakHarborChamber.com for more info

20. Make it to 6:30am Yoga and Lotus Tea Bar and Studio….just once!

21. Feed the birds

22. Splash in a few puddles (look, it’s a Whidbey Island summer list…I need to be realistic!)

23. See Chicago at Whidbey Playhouse

24. Turn in my ballot (ok, not really a summer activity per se…but I need to remember to put my primary ballot in the mail...TODAY!)

25. Fly a kite

26. Tour local artist studios on the Whidbey Island Open Studio Tour (September 25)

27. Enjoy a bowl of Penn Cove Mussels at Toby’s’ Tavern

28. Sit on my deck and do nothing….it’s summer after all, and I need a break!

So there you have it…my list of summer “must dos.” And, just because I really want to see what’s on your bucket list (and because this blog lacks a little locker-room humor) I will end with this ever popular saying:

I showed you mine, now you show me yours. (But really…show me yours…I would love to know what’s on your list!)

Here’s the problem with trying to keep a blog going during the beautiful days of summer…there is so much going on I don’t have time to stop and tell you about what’s happening. On the positive side, you probably don’t have time to read about it either.

So there you have it.  We’re even.

But if you happen to be one of the faithful few who check back to see if there have been any recent updates to this blog,  (yes, Chicago Johnson’s, I’m talking to you) then I apologize.  And I commit, here-to-forth, to do better.

My lack of focus started with Whidbey Island Race Week.  I am now, officially, a member of the Oak Harbor Yacht Club and this was my first experience with unadulterated access to the sailing scene. I wont’ lie, it was fun. In fact, I was enjoying myself so much; I didn’t realize that the rest of the town wasn’t having fun right along with me.

Apparently as I was off sipping Mount Gay Rum and Diet Coke, we developed a few Race Week malcontents around town.  These folks found themselves feeling left out, unloved, and like a lone buoy bobbing up and down aimlessly in the ocean.

POP! (Yep, you guessed it, that’s the sound of my Race Week bubble bursting.)

Now that some time has passed, and I have regained the firm footing that comes from being on dry land. My deck  shoes have been replaced with a very (very) cute pair of summer sandals (purchased at the Casual House summer shoes sale.)  I have had some time to do a little investigating in order to better to ascertain what exactly is going on with all these race week dissidents.

Here is what I have come up with:

1.  Fellow Whidbey Islanders… Race Week isn’t about us, or for us.  It just isn’t.

Sure there are always a select few Oak Harborites can wrangle their way into the event, but in general, this activity is for the racers and their crews. They come to our fine town one week a summer to hoist their sails and compete. It’s their event and we are outsiders.

As my mother likes to say, “It’s not always about you Jill!”

Disappointing, but true.

But I totally get it, you are feeling left out.  And nobody likes to be left out of a party…especially a good one.

2.  We aren’t getting rich off this thing. We really, really, really aren’t.

You know that line in Jerry McGuire?  “Show me the Money!”

Well that’s one of the problems with this event, there’s just no money to show.Yes, that’s right, you heard it here first…nobody is getting rich off Whidbey Island Race Week.

But, we aren’t going broke on it either.

Look, I don’t mean to deflate your sails, but those “economic impact” numbers of 1-2 million dollars that organizers claim blow into town as soon as the first boat arrives aren’t anything other than a big huge gust of (hot) wind.The days of $100 bills flying fast and loose around town are long, long, long gone. Sorry.

If you are a local Oak Harbor or Coupeville business owner, you are one of the lead Negative-Nellies when it comes to bad-mouthing this event.  And again, I understand why…you are all (wisely) looking for your piece of the pie.

However, you are also expecting your slice to come warm, filled with gooey goodness, surrounded by a light, flaky, buttery crust and heaped with a slowly melting scoop of vanilla ice cream…maybe even with a little warm caramel sauce slowly dripped over the top….(sorry, I know I lingered a little too long on this analogy…but I am sooo hungry! I just lost myself in the moment).

But it’s not just about the pie (yep, still hungry, analogy continues!) some of you are expecting all this warm and flavorful goodness to be served right on up to you…without even taking the time to order it. In other word, the expectations are too high and we are getting lazy.  (See how I brought that back around ? Yep, just like that…back on point my friends, back on point!!)

To be fair to the event however, money IS exchanging hands.  Especially for those who make an effort to go after it.  And that’s the point.

However I hear you and I know where you are coming from, you feel left out…and nobody likes to feel left out. Trust me, I understand. Especially when times are tight and there is a (fictitious or not) perception out there that millions of dollars are exchanging hands and somehow your not getting any of it.

So I agree with you, if this were true, it would be a total bummer!

3.  They don’t want to hang out with us or share their toys.

Race Week snubbed us… or at least that’s how it feels. They  party away from downtown while they hang out at the marina, sleep at the old Navy Train wreck, eat at the Yacht Club, and party behind gates that require an elusive wrist-band to enter.  Then, to top it all off, they added food vendors* to the event this year, giving these folks even more reason to avoid coming into town.  It bugs us!! (and it should.)

However, this is not…I repeat… this is not…a conspiracy (at least I’m pretty sure it’s not but I have a call into Oliver Stone just to make sure!)

*(BTW—these food vendors, they were local guys, so you can’t be mad about that anymore.)

Now (logically) you and I both know that there was not a secret meeting of the cool-kids convention where everyone got together and decided to leave us out.  Yes, I said logically…but that’s sure what this event  feels like, right?

Again, I will be honest with you, until my recent access to the elusive, all-you-can-drink, wrist-band…I felt exactly the same way. Race Week feels exclusive, a little like they want to party amongst themselves and not have any of our Average Joe energy rub off on their turbo-charged “Adult Summer Camp” vibe.  And here is the heart of it.  That’s true….sorta!

Still, I’m sure that if you ask any of these racers, they love Oak Harbor and Whidbey Island. And I’d wager a bet that they are, in fact, some of our best community ambassadors.  I mean honestly, would you spend hundreds of dollars to sleep on the ground – for a week – in a community you didn’t love?

Uh, no.

So it’s doubtful that this feeling of exclusivity is one they try deliberately to create…it’s just something that happens.  They don’t mean to make us feel like outsiders and even if they do; it’s our choice to allow them to make us feel that way.

See the thing is, this is our town, and they are our guests, and we shouldn’t expect them to come to us, we should go to them….even if they do seem a little cooler, and even if they do party behind a fence.  I mean really…get over it,  go say Hi , and then for crying out loud SELL THEM SOMETHING! (As you can see, my Chamber hat is now fully on my head!)

This crowd isn’t snubbing us…(in fact after two days of partying; they don’t have the wherewithalll to do that.)  So quit sitting at home crying because you weren’t invited to play… if we as a community aren’t capitalizing on this opportunity, well then it’s our own fault!

I mean really, it’s time to brush that chip off our shoulder and join in on the fun!  After all it’s better to be Tardy for the Party then to not party at all!  (I didn’t really need that last line, but I really, really wanted to link to Tardy for the Party so badly that I just couldn’t help myself!)

In summary (for those of you who are still with me…yes Chicago Johnson’s I am again still talking to you!) Here’s what I have surmised:

So what if Race Week is not all about us?  So what if it’s not bringing in tons of money?  And so what if for one week a year we all feel like we are one table away from where all the cool kids sit? (Most of us have spent an entire lifetime at this table anyway.)

Race Week for all its “faults” really is still a really great event.

It’s beautiful.  The participants are loyal. Our hotels fill up. The tourists buy some stuff.  And we don’t have to close any streets for it!

Plus, the imagery and branding that is created from this event is far reaching and may have the biggest economic impact of it all.

And look on the bright side, if you are still upset that you were left out the action, you can always buy a Whidbey Island Race Week t-shirt. That way, no one will know that you weren’t there.

Photo by Casey McSpadden

Photo by Casey McSpadden

Photo by Casey McSpadden

Photo by Casey McSpadden

Photo by Casey McSpadden

Someone asked me once why I avoid answering the phone at the office.  There are a variety of reasons for this well-cultivated dodging skill ranging from my a) inability to say no (thus costing the organization thousands of dollars in ill-advised advertising opportunities and filling my schedule with babysitting jobs for my friends who will be out-of-town “just for the weekend”); b) I don’t switch gears quickly…so each new caller has the potential to experience what can only be described as an abrupt gear shift…and much like a car engine, it’s not always a pretty sound; and c) well….C has a lot to do with the potential caller on the other end…so I will let “C” speak for itself.

Last Friday afternoon I bravely stepped up and answered the office phone…after all, all four lines were ringing and there wasn’t much I could do (without looking like a total slacker) to avoid picking up the line and diving in….head first.  And so it began…

Me: Oak Harbor Chamber of Commerce, can I help you?

Crazy Woman From Issaquah (CWFI):  I would like to plan a trip to come and visit Whidbey Island and see Deception Pass Bridge.

Me: Well that sounds like a good plan, what can I help with?

CWFI: I’m coming from Issaquah and I need to know if passports are required?

Me: From Issaquah? No.  No you don’t need your passport.

CWFI: Are you sure?

Me: (confused and thinking I misunderstood what she said) I’m sorry, where did you say you were from?

CWFI: ISSSS-SAAAAAY-QWAAAAH! (As you can see, she’s getting a little tone-y with me now)

Me: (still calm) Issaquah?  Near Seattle, right?

(Look I know where Issaquah is…but at this point I’m hoping maybe there is an Issaquah in Canada and that this caller’s questions will all of a sudden make more sense.)

CWFI: Yes! (Said just a little too emphatic and in a manner in which is now testing my patience) Do I need a passport to come from Isssss-sssaaay-Qwaaaaaah?

Me: And you want to come to Whidbey Island, right? (Again, I’m still perplexed…and  trying to make sure there is nothing in this story I have overlooked that will make her question a little more logical.)

CWFI: Yes. That’s why I called you. You are on Whidbey Island aren’t you?

(Now she has broken out a self-important tone that I am quite certain would have resulted in a mouth full-of-soap if I ever tried to be that lippy at home when I was growing up!)

Me: (Ignoring the tone) Well no, you don’t need a passport, you can just head on up.

(Yeah, yeah, OK, I’ll admit it, I didn’t totally ignore her self-important tone and there is a slight (albeit highly likely) possibility/certainty that I was sounding a bit irritated at this point.)

CWFI: Are you sure? Because I really think you needed a passport to go to Canada?

(We have now introduced a mocking tone into the conversation…a tone that implies that I am stupid and that she, oh-wise-woman from Issaquah, already knows the answer and just needs me for validation!)

Me: Yes, you’re right,  you do need a passport to go to Canada…but you are not coming to Canada, you are coming to Whidbey Island and that’s in the United States.  So you won’t need a passport to come and visit.

CWFI: Hmmpfff….I don’t know. Are you sure?

Me: Yes. (Insert my own mocking tone here!)

CWFI: Well I’m not sure you are correct, is there anyone else I can speak with who might know?

(I kid you not…this conversation is really happening…and at this point I am wondering if I might be starring in an upcoming episode of Punk’d! and begin to scan the room for Ashton!!)

Me: Well, why don’t you try the Langley Chamber of Commerce,  I don’t think you need a passport to get to there either, but here’s their phone number in case you want to check with them.

(Although at this point,  the thought of needing a passport to  get  to South-Whidbey doesn’t seem like such an inane question…I have often wonder if we should require passports to go down there myself!)

(Just teasing…it was a joke,…RELAX!)

CWFI: Thanks, I’ll call and check with them.  (And under her breath before I can even hang up… I hear her say…..IDIOT!)

Funny.  Those were my thoughts exactly!

Ah yes, the tourist season has arrived.

Now truly most of the folks who call here are kind,  intelligent and refrain from calling me names under their breath (I know, I know…but I said “most”). However,  occasionally you get one where the pressures of living in the Seattle suburbs apparently just get to be too much…and although these callers may appear irritating,  they are actually my favorite.  I mean let’s be honest here, after a call like that I just can’t help but feel a little closer to the intellectual side of the Bell Curve!

Yep, I kid you not, this time of year this blog can almost write itself, which might just make answering the phone just a bit more fun!!

I love change…as long as it doesn’t impact me.  And that’s the truth of it.

You may not know this, but every Friday night my family goes out to dinner in Oak Harbor. Typically, my Dad pays (and when I say typically, I mean always) and it’s a mini-tradition that I plan my weekends around.

The Johnson’s are not really an adventurous bunch. We don’t ski, mountain climb, or do anything that one would define as “risky.” We are more, what’s a good description of it…predictable folk.  And, we are loyal.

So each Friday night we rotate through a list of local establishments that are on the list of family favorites. The list is based on atmosphere, food quality, price (I mentioned Dad pays, right?) location, and the food must not be “spicy” in any way (please once again refer to who pays for further explanation.)  Our list includes: China City, The BBQ Joint, The Jumbo (or as well call it Big Butt) Buffet, Seabolts and the go-to restaurant of choice, Zorbas, which makes it into rotation more than any other.

So not surprisingly last Friday night we went to Zorbas for our farewell meal together at that location. In fact, after last night you won’t be able to get a table there anymore…even if you do know the owners.

Yes, that’s right, Zorbas is on the move.

Now, I am excited for owners Chris and Helen, and I am excited for Oak Harbor because the new Zorbas’ location (right next to the Coachman Inn), might expose new people to what is nothing short of a flavor-packed meal.  But, if I were to be honest, (and that’s what this blog is all about) I am also a little sad.

I love being downtown, and I loved the ambiance of Zorbas.  The big windows that provided the perfect view of people desperately trying to parallel park their supersized SUV between two obviously South-Whidbey Hybrids’, or someone (like me) who, despite nearly30 feet of available parallel parking space, still manages to get at least one wheel onto the curb taking out another decaying piece of sidewalk and nearly one or two pedestrians.

There’s a lot of action going on just outside those windows and I enjoy watching it all.

Zorbas’ new location won’t open again until early August. And although I am sure it will be a fantastic addition to the town (just like the relocated China City), it is still a very long time to go without Spanokopita!  (Fortunately, I also like San Remos so I guess I’m fine…but since they have their own parking lot, the view/entertainment just won’t be quite the same.)

Something new will go into the old downtown location (proving that Pioneer Way is still alive and kicking!) And I am excited to see what emerges.  Hopefully it will be something that will break into the Johnson family top five….although I can assure you, a new restaurant may take Zorbas old “space” but nothing will ever take its place.

Ah, change…I may advocate for it…but I sure don’t love it. It’s just not predictable enough for me.