need new author

Obviously, I haven't had the time to dedicate to Uptown Seattle. I've now relocated to a different Seattle neighborhood. I encourage others to take over!! I'll let the original owners make the choice of who to pass the uptown torch to. Let us know if you're interested.

Liberty Tax Service

This isn't a picture from Seattle, but it IS a picture of the Liberty Tax Service mascot, representing the replacement of some of our fine Queen Anne retail shops up the block from Peso's. The consignment children's clothing store is gone, Monkey Love Rubber Stamps has moved from a smaller shop to a larger one, wiping out the overpriced paperstore off the block and the sweet boutique filled with purses, kama sutra products and cute clothes for skinny women is gone as well. I will miss the smiling face of that store manager, she was always very sweet.

Now, Liberty Tax Service has swooped in. I wonder if we'll see a cheesy mascot of theirs roaming the street in a few weeks. Take a look at flicker (search keywords: liberty, tax) and be afraid. I wouldn't want to see Lady Liberty drunk stumbling out of Chopstix.

Mirabeau Room CLOSED

That's right. The doors have shut and the Mirabeau Room is closed. I hope a buyer will pick it up soon... I love the remodel they did on that place.

You will be missed.

What I Like About You OR Try Not to be Negative

With work and moving (due to condo conversion? Yes, you guessed right!), I have not been able to take advantage of the good (and bad) bars that Uptown has to offer.
Queen Anne is not as much the destination nightclub area as, say it's neighbors, Belltown, Fremont or Ballard. But, there are many places to get your drink on. I have lived in this area over 4 years now, so I tend to see only the negative in the bar life, but herein lies my challenge.
The bars of uptown I've been to, and at least one good thing about each:

Jabu's Pub: one night of the week, they have $0.25 PBR night, until the keg is empty. Pool, cute (Stephanie?) behind the bar. Kick ass happy hour

Floyd's Place: see previous entries. Ignore the negative comments.

Ozzie's: (reach for it...)...actually this is a good place to get your drink on outdoors (the roof!), but now that it grows colder...a good place to go if you need some attention

Melting Pot: great happy hour...chocolate fondue? that sounds like foreplay to me!

The Sitting Room: warm, cosy ambiance and good wine.

T.S.McHughs: a wall of liquor to stare at while you drink some

Racha: late night happy hour and good thai food, mmm!!

Mojito's: dancing, live music,

Moxie's: great, if you're my parents

Ten Mercer: great if you're a bit boring or need a little more light than the sitting room to feel comfortable

Streamliner: darts and beer, can't beat it with a stick

Mr. Lucky's: that it's closed (it is still closed, isn't it?)

Chopstix: friendly wait staff, sing along without getting TOO much attention

Peso's: a great way to remind yourself that in comparison your life DOES have substance...but that's just some of the nightlife crowd. In general: some of the best brunch around

Caffe Lladros: great for foam and non-alcoholic drinks

Mirabeau room: love the nights, the drinks, the atmosphere, the music. AND they dropped their silly mid-week covers!

Mecca: an uptown landmark

Condo conversion

I'm afraid that many uptown folk have recently been uprooted and replaced to other seattle areas because of the recent movement of condo conversions. Tenents in apartments across the city are having to relocate due to their apartment owners selling the property to become high-end living establishments. S & I recently moved from the 5th N. & Mercer area to the lower Queen Anne area along 4th Avenue West. We got lucky - as many apartments continue kicking tennents out by the dozens while creating a lack of housing all at the same time.

Drain, Bite of Seattle,

Drain, Seattle Center, Bite of Seattle, Seattle, WA
Originally uploaded by djwudi.

"Drain"-ed is exactly what many of us felt this weekend with the insane heat that the rest of the nation has had to suffer these last weeks. I'm guessing the attendance to the Bite of Seattle was lower than previous years, as moving and being in the sun seemed like too much effort to many of us.

Monkey Love Rubber Stamps

Monkey Love Rubber Stamps
Originally uploaded by justinbaeder.

A small boutique next to Peso's on Queen Anne Avenue has closed and much to my surprise, Monkey Love Rubber Stamps (a small hole in the wall store selling rubber stamps) is EXPANDING into that space as well. IS there really this large of a demand for a variety of stamps in this world? I do love this store - the woman who owns or manages it was quite helpful a few xmases ago with advice on how to make my cards extra special.
It just surprised me to see such a great piece of property be used for arts and crafts products.

I must admit I was not sad to see Paperspace disappear, taking their overpriced paper cards and merchandise with them.

4th of July at Myrtle Edwards

Nearing Sunset
Originally uploaded by Sean Glenn.

We walked to Myrtle Edwards after a great bbq party with a view of Alki and the sound. The weather was a bit finicky so we waited until a light drizzle of rain passed and then walked down around 6:30pm. We were thinking we would be too late to get a good spot, but the park was relativley sparse. The "4th of Jul-Ivar's" seems to have lost a lot of it's funding, as there were no Elephant Ears (or any food for that matter) or entertainment. There was actually no one around us with music playing - so the fireworks display went unaccompanied. It was a great show, however, the design of the pyrotechnics was very nice - not too over the top and full of the gold/silver sparkling ones that are my favorite. Very low key in comparison to years that have passed.

I heard WAMU's 4th at Gasworks was shoulder to shoulder packed, so it was nice to have space to spread out and enjoy the night.

Beautiful sky and sunset delighted us as we waited for dusk...what a fantastic picture Sean took, seen here.

The park is currently undergoing some construction, which made the walk out a bit stop and go and time consuming. The entrance being right near the train track intersection made it take a while as well, which I guess couldn't have been helped. I imagine it took a lot longer getting out of Gasworks!

Here's to celebrating the freedom we have and another day gone by without a missle being successfully fired at us.