Are Violinists At Safeway Really Playing?

 

Who are the violinists that are suddenly sprouting up at neighborhood grocery stores? One has been seen regularly at Safeway next to the University Village and Metropolitan Market. The same male and female, sometimes with a young child, with a nearby parked mini-van were also seen in Renton and Mukilteo according to several neighbors.

The Laurelhurst Blog has heard from many neighbors inquiring about this.  The internet is full of information about these violinists that appear to be actually pretending to play the violin, according to one account in, and asking for money.  This appears to be happening across the nation.

A news report from East Texas says;

What some people are calling talented musicians is just a ring of scam artists, traveling across the state, playing their instrument to already orchestrated music.

“I didn’t want my home to be taken advantage of,” said Jewel Kirkendoll, a talented violinist in Tyler.

These performers are setting up in parking lots and pretending to play music as customers walk by and drop music in their cases.

“People who aren’t familiar with music they hear it and say oh my gosh, it’s beautiful,” said Kirkendoll, “In reality, the track he was playing was doing all the work, he wasn’t even playing.”

Kirkendoll confronted a violinist located in the Broadway Market Center and asked to turn off the music then perform with her.

“I got my violin out and I asked him if I could play with him, and he was like yeah sure,” said Kirkendoll, “He didn’t play, so I said is it because you don’t really know how to play, and he was like yeah, I’m so sorry.”

Several local comments on Reddit say:

I've seem them on different occasions. Saw the same guy in Mercer Island last week, now in Bothell this week. They have signs saying things like, "Help me feed my 3 kids" or "Help me pay the rent. God bless you"

They set up in grocery store parking lots and "play" a violin connected to a speaker with a backing track to try to trick you into thinking they're playing. If you see one, DO NOT give them money. They are going around scamming people. It's becoming a popular scam to take advantage of good natured people.

 Those robot guys are not trying to trick people into thinking they’re real, these violinists are emotionally blackmailing people with a fake talent.

Here are more eyewitness accounts and additional accounts on Reddit from sightings across the nation.

Several neighbors told the Laurelhurst Blog:

I am happy to donate money to those in need, however it is a shame that these folks are misrepresenting themselves to get donations. 

It is disturbing to see a child as part of this seeming scam. Can we give donations to this family in another way?

Barbara's Gardening, Watering and Container Gardening Tips..

Barbara, who was featured in Friday's post has graciously offered some tips to our readers.

The article in the Pacific Northwest Magazine 2 years ago says of Barbara, "This human whirlwind plants 300 'Princess Irene' tulips every fall and several flats of coleus each spring."

Barbara's biggest tip is to improve your soil.

"This is the most important rule of good gardening. We have lots of rich but heavy clay in this region....glacial till, hard pan, and all very dense. I apply a feeding mulch to my soil once in the spring and again in the fall. This autumn the mulch will be applied in thick layers to protect and feed roots of perennials, trees and shrubs...three to four inches as a rule and sometimes eight inches to a foot high where the tender herbaceous plant roots reside underground.

I didn't lose one plant during last winter's freeze). Having said that, it is best not to place mulch against or near the trunks of woody plants (trees, hydrangeas, rhododendrons) as that invites rot and disease.

In the spring I apply another layer of feeding mulch as the fall layer of mulch has decomposed and is traveling through layers of clay to enrich the soil and the plant roots. That is the fertilizer for my garden beds. I do not heap big rotting leaves in my planting beds as in my amateur experience that creates a haven for slugs, snails and other plant devouring bugs to set up housekeeping.

My mulch of choice is Gardner and Bloome Soil Building Compost. It contains lots of nutritious goodies. City Peoples Mercantile stocks it.

Amend your soil. You will not regret the time you devote to doing this simple task. Just think of the calories you are burning and that will make the work more enjoyable.

Take a hot shower for your sore muscles, freshen up, and return to the garden with that glass of wine and admire your work."

Barbara also does a lot of container gardening and says they need the most attention.

She told us "Whoever said container gardening is easy hasn't seen my jungle. Container plants need lots of food and water to live well and flourish. When planting out my annuals in containers I literally dump Osmocote slow release fertilizer into the pots and mix it into the fresh soil.

You notice I said "fresh" soil. Yes, every spring and fall I remove the top eight inches or so from pots and replace it with fresh potting soil. Gardner and Bloome Potting Soil. I also apply liquid fertilizer (Grow Big is my favorite for lush foliar growth). The liquid is added regularly in the containers where I don't want flowers (coleus, bananas, for example). Otherwise I use the product made for blooms as buds begin to set.

My container arrangements are enormous by summer's end and that's what I want- rich, lush, healthy plants spilling out everywhere, looking wildly dramatic but well groomed.

Otherwise, why bother planting containers in the first place, right?"

And lastly Barbara tells us a little about watering.

"On very hot days containers need water twice and sometimes three times a day. I use terracotta in my back garden for more of a natural look. The positive about terracotta besides the warmth in it's coloration: The containers breath and keep the plants warm.

The negative about terracotta? It can crack more easily than clay in cold weather, and the soil and plant roots dry out more quickly. I love the way terracotta weathers so live with those issues.

And Barbara says to check out the The Northwest Horticultural Society site which has lots of great information.

And Barbara leaves us with "My last tip to you, fellow gardener: HAVE FUN!"

Thanks Barbara for all the great tips and information! Sign us up if you ever do classes in the neighborhood!

(Photo courtesy of Pacific Northwest Magazine)

Story about a Very Avid Gardener in our Neighborhood...

Barbara Asmervig, a Laurelhurst resident, is an avid gardner. So avid, her beautiful garden was featured in the Pacific Northest Magazine 2 years ago.

Living fairly near to the Laurelhurst Elemenary School, many people see her garden, including one of our staffers who has driven by many times always admiring her garden. Our staffer contacted Barbara curious to know more about Barbara's interest in gardening and how it all came about.

Pacfic Northwest Magazine says "Although Barbara Asmervig has lived in her Laurelhurst home for 23 years, she didn't pay much attention to the garden for the first decade or so. It was only after she retired from her medical sales job nine years ago that she began gardening. And she's been making up time ever since."

And in her own words, Barbara told us "I must emphasize that I am not a professional horticulturist and that gardening is strictly my hobby. This avocation began thirteen years ago when I retired from a long career in sales. Since being project driven and focused I needed something creative to occupy my time.

I joined Northwest Horticultural Society, and immediately began taking classes and attending lectures to absorb all the knowledge available to begin this project. Through NHS I found that gardeners are very generous people eager to share their gardening knowledge."

If you've gone by Barbara's house you will see the very organized blending of lovely colors - various colors of greens contrasting with dark burgundy shades. It's quite a sight to see when everything is in full bloom!

The magazine comments on Barbara's thoughts on these colors, "Flowers have to earn their garden space with strongly saturated color; no pastels allowed. Oranges prevail, in tulips and dahlias like 'David Howard' and 'Ellen Huston.' Asmervig admires dark-leafed plants, but avoids a too-shadowy look by mixing the deeper tones with gold and chartreuse."

Barbara told us that "Gardening is a project which is never finished. It has been referred to as the 'slowest moving of the performing arts'. It is a process.

Depending upon one's own personal attitude toward this activity, gardening can be lots of work or it can be lots of fun. I choose to see it as the latter.

Playing in the dirt is great exercise and can be very rewarding.

Sure there are negatives about gardening: the bugs, the slugs, the mildew, the squirrels all playing their role in eating, mutilating, killing, and moving your plants (re: bulbs..I refer to squirrels here). You have to water, fertilize, prune, mow, treat for disease and your back is killing you.

But the fun part is hunting for those plants and finding them, placing them in the right spot, watching them grow well, and standing back to admire your work. I prefer to do the last part with a glass of wine.

Gardening can be frustrating but it is also very gratifying."

Stay tuned in our next post for Barbara's tips and great information on container gardening.

In the meantime check out Barbara's garden just past NE 50th on 46th Avenue NE.

(Photo courtesy of Pacific Northwest Magazine)

City Selling Old Signs

The City is selling off some old street signs to the public that will be replaced due to wear and tear or damage. For as little as five bucks, you can own a piece of Laurelhurst or other Seattle neighborhoods.

Check out the list of signs for sale.

E. Laurel Drive is on the list - anyone going to grab it?

The site also says, "Additionally we will periodically post signs on EBay that have historical or novelty appeal." Check directly with the warehouse for more information on this.

According to the City website signs can be purchased at the City’s Surplus Warehouse located at 3807 2nd Ave S. Phone number is 206 684-0827.

Family in Need at Ronald Mc Donald House

This information was originally posted on NE Seattle Moms Yahoo Group and is posted here with approval from Jodi, a friend of the family. Please help this family if you can with arranging meals for their daughter who is going through chemo.

On Thu, Jul 16, 2009 at 11:58 AM, Jodi Wilson wrote:

Hello moms,

I am forwarding on this email and am asking you to please help support this family.
You may remember seeing an email about 6 weeks ago asking for help with playdates for their 5 year old son. They are not in need of playdates at this time, but now are in need of meals.

Their 12 year old daughter is in cancer treatment and they are away from their home, friends and family and are living at the Ronald McDonald house at least through Oct.

If you would like to read their story you can do so at http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/sydneyboyer

If you would like to help bring them some meals there is a calendar that you need to create an account www.OrganizeUs.com

You need to register yourself first then send Andrea Harrington at Caringplace@aol.com an email telling her to please add you to the Boyer's calender.

thanks!
Jodi Wilson

Email from Andrea at Caring Place:

Hi Kaycee and gang,

Mikki and I finally met last Friday morning. I had the pleasure of also meeting her husband, Chad, and 5 year old, Brock. Sydney was four days out from a chemo treatment and was tired and ill so I haven't yet met her.

Mikki is unable to leave her daughter's side for any length of time, so going to the market to shop is a challenge. The big need right now would be to help out in providing meals. On May 20, I sent out the link to www.OrganizeUs.com but had no response from any of you.

Could you please go to the web site and register yourself so that you may go to the calendar to select a day to take a meal to Boyers at Ronald McDonald house, if you like. There you are also provided with details of the dietary needs and desires of the family. Chad and Mikki are both Health and PE teachers, they are active and model healthy eating for their family.

Let me know if you have problems with the site. You may also read Sydney's update on http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/sydneyboyer

Thank you for being willing to help the Boyers during their stay at Ronald McDonald House. Looks like a long haul. They will remain through October.


Andrea Harrington
206-523-1190 (home)
425-868-7958 (cell, call or text but no voice mail)

Robins Hatching in our Yard...

Who has had the pleasure of seeing a mother Robin dutifully sit on her blue eggs all day and night until they hatch? How exciting! We've watched the Robin now bring her babies food. Everytime she hears any footsteps she flies just a few feet away still keeping a watchful eye on her babies. Then when all is clear again back she goes to her family.