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With an exposed red brick wall, weathered wood accents and a general rustic-bohemian flavor, the newly opened Gilt & Gossamer doesn’t show any signs of its former life as a Rapid Refill ink store at 873 Willamette St. Sprinkle in some nubby sweaters, flirty party dresses and chic house décor, and the shop joins what’s becoming somewhat of a boutique mecca downtown. Continue reading
I recently took a couple of hours to do something I’ve been putting off for ages: cleaning and oiling my gardening tools. Until we moved into a different house five years ago, I kept my tools in a dry, attached garage. Now I keep everything but my best pruning tools in a garden shed that’s more or less open to the moisture-laden air. Although the tools are out of the rain, they are rusting. Perhaps this would have happened eventually in my old garage, but whatever deterioration there was in 15 years, I didn’t notice it. Continue reading
Some people do all their holiday shopping in one day. Others do it at their leisure over the course of weeks. Then there are the procrastinators, who do last-minute shopping at the grocery store. They are good people — they just need a little help. Continue reading
OK last-minute shoppers, you have one more weekend to find that perfect gift. And lucky for you, Down to Earth Home, Garden and Gift in downtown Eugene is there to help you out. Duck into this magical haven of kitchenware, gardening supplies and quirky curios, and you’re sure to find not just a last-minute gift but a fantastic one. Try some of these items on for size. Continue reading
Do Not Sell At Any Price: The Wild Obsessive Hunt for the World’s Rarest 78RPM Records By Amanda Petrusich. Scribner, $18.95. Do Not Sell At Any Price is an engaging, well-paced peek into the world of buying, selling and coveting rare 78-RPM records. (SPOILER ALERT: Did you know one of the world’s leading dealers of 78s lives just down the road from Eugene in Grants Pass?) Continue reading
World Peace Is None of Your Business by Morrissey. $25.98 Continue reading
A good friend of mine in Seattle — an Eritrean immigrant who helped pen that country’s as yet unratified constitution — once pointed out that, should I really want to understand the collision of race and politics in the U.S., read the sports pages. I figured he was being coy, but the more I think about it, the more I comprehend sports as a microcosm of society, where all sorts of racial and social tensions play out, often in the subterranean codes of privilege, ability and competition. Continue reading
All photos by Athena Delene unless noted. On a blustery December weeknight like last night (Wednesday, Dec. 3), it's always a crapshoot what will draw Eugeneans out of their warm little nests and to downtown. Well it turns out Eugeneans will come out in hordes for a LGBTQ happy hour. Continue reading
The duckweed and mosquito fern have been blown to the southeast corner of the pond. It means the wind is coming out of the northwest and it will be cold and rainy. I can feel it in the air; I can smell it swirling around me. It is the source of my joy of walking outdoors. I believe that the feel and smell of nature constitute a subliminal elixir to counteract the poisons of urban living. Even in town, it is important to preserve walking paths through woodlands and prairies in our neighborhood parks. A session on a treadmill in a gym just cannot substitute. Continue reading
In the spacious yurt at the center of Opportunity Village Eugene (OVE), Father Brent Was rummages through his bag with a red-and-white “OCCUPY” screenprint safety-pinned to it. Seated in a wobbly plastic chair, the bearded Episcopal reverend pulls out a simple wooden rosary and begins thumbing the blue beads from his left hand to his right, listening intently to the villager’s council meeting. Continue reading