EW’s guide to local gifts
For The Urban Homesteader OSU Extension Service 996 Jefferson St., 541-344-5859 Continue reading
Culture: Page 228
Duck Talk
What a difference a weekend makes in the fickle, fanatical world of college football, where the panic and pandemonium of winning and losing wreck havoc with all cool reckonings. It’s all so hard to grasp, much less parse and parlay. A single game can overthrow the whole shebang, sending the number-crunchers scrambling for a new paradigm. Not all that far back, for instance, the wily bookmakers in Vegas suddenly scooted the Oregon Ducks to odds-on favorites for a national title, deeming UO’s chances at 9-2 (22 percent), just above Alabama’s 5-1 (20 percent). Continue reading
Making Memories in the Kitchen
Whether it’s tamales, suet pudding or even lutefisk, many Eugene families keep memories alive by preparing their favorite holiday foods. “We eat mushroom soup every Christmas Eve, in keeping with the Polish tradition of my husband’s family,” says Leigh Christiansen, who co-owns Eugene-based Calypso Fly Fishing Guide Service with her husband, Barrett Christiansen. “We gather chanterelles in the fall, and dry sauté and freeze them for our soup. This ritual is very dear to us.” Continue reading
Sex Positive
From condoms to consent in local high schools
“That’s what she said.” When students walk into Denise Velasco’s sex education classroom at Network Charter School, they see this phrase on a poster. This appeal to juvenile humor is not what it seems: Look closer and you’ll see two women kissing beneath a word in bold letters — “Yes.” As corny as the poster is, it sends a clear message about sex. Continue reading
Grandmas Get High in Washington: Come July they can do it in Oregon, too
"I would do it again — as soon as I get this bag of chips open." "What's queefing?" Grandmas, weed and Cards Against Humanity "I don't feel as high as they look to me." Continue reading
Gender Diversity Awareness Week starts now!
With International Transgender Day of Remembrance coming up Thursday, Nov. 20, several local orgs and businesses (ASUO Women's Center, LCC Gender and Sexuality Alliance, Eugene Office of Equity and Human Rights, UO LGBTESSP, The Redoux Parlour, Community Alliance of Lane County, and Lane Independent Living Alliance) have teamed up to celebrate with Gender Diversity Awareness Week. Continue reading
Spirit of Aloha
Some things come standard with a McMenamins dining experience — craft brews, tater tots, exposed wood beams — but Dan McMenamin, a second generation co-owner of the business, says individualism is key to the success of his family’s empire. “We try to let each location have its own story, its own identity,” McMenamin says. The 50-plus restaurants themselves, he says, “can lead you down the path to what they want to be.” Evidently, what McMenamins North Bank wants to be is something exotic and a bit tongue-in-cheek: a tiki bar. Continue reading
Learn to Love ’Em!
London’s many squares, parks and gardens are planted with a good deal of ingenuity and flair, always with an eye to ease of maintenance and year-round visual value. I have spent quite a bit of time there in recent years, mostly in the colder months, so I have had a chance to observe how much use is made of woody plants that are especially striking in winter. They include winter flowering viburnums and trees and shrubs with distinctive or colorful bark and, of course, evergreens such as Garrya elliptica (an Oregon native) with its long, silvery winter catkins. Continue reading
It’s About Time – November 2014
The extended summer dry spell has turned into a warm rainy period. No frost yet, nor even any really cold nights, although the average first frost date is long past. It means the leaves on the bigleaf maples haven’t been triggered to produce the golden color seen in most years. Instead, the dry leaves just turn brown and fall off while the rest are still green. The tar spot fungus doesn’t have its usual green halo on a golden background because its spores are maturing early, sustained by the whole green leaf. Continue reading
Best of Eugene 2014-2015
Oh, Eugene. We love you, we really do. For as much as we criticize, cajole and complain, this town of ours is near and dear to our hearts. EW considers Best of Eugene a giant shout-out to our Emerald City, and this year, we’re taking it a step further by using our staff picks to highlight some examples of what we think Eugene is doing right. Continue reading