I am a fan of an inexpensive good time. If you’re caught up in recession-fun too, and you’re tired of hanging around your apartment playing Scrabble, here’s a list of deals that I’ve found while toodling around the Hill. Enjoy.

 

1. Twice Sold Tales Winter Happy Hour (Harvard and Denny)- Used bookstores are always good times when you have no money – they let you sit around and read forever, and you might just be able to afford the book you got so interested in. Now add cats and a 25% off all books for the last two hours Twice Sold is open (6-8pm Sunday through Thursday, 8-10pm Friday & Saturday). Delightful.

 

2. Central Basics Program at Madison Market (Madison and 16th) – After getting a lot of feedback from its members, Madison Market decided to start Central Basics: starting this month, the co-op will regularly rotate deeply discounted organic food staples. The only catch is that you need to be a member of the co-op to take advantage of the discount. Considering that lifetime membership is $60, you can pay as you go along in $5 increments, and I just got 89 cent organic beans today, I think it’s worth it to sign up.

 

3. Meditation Satsang @ 8 Limbs Yoga (Summit and Pike) – Every Thursday from 8:30 – 9:30pm. From the website:”Satsang means a gathering of people seeking “sat”, truth. Join Natasha for meditation, chanting, and lots of bhakti, devotion.” Meditation is good for you, learning more about meditation is good for you, meeting nice mellow new people is good for you. Also, it’s free.

 

4. Seattle Free School (all over Seattle)- Community members learn new skills and teach others new skills, and money never changes hands. Learn how to keep bees! Learn how to keep chickens! Learn how to keep a straight face while improvising!

 

5. Community Workshops by the Department of Neighborhoods

• Technology 101 A Building Community, One Website or Blog at a Time!
  Learn to increase your community’s resources & flow of information through a website or blog. Wednesday, February 11 6:30–8:30 pm
• Sharing Our Gifts & Assets – A Model for Community Change – Share personal & community stories about challenges & opportunities for involvement to improve your community. Wednesday, February 25 6:30–8:30 pm
• Large Projects Fund (aka Neighborhood Matching Fund) Technical Assistance Workshop – January 22nd from 6-7:30pm at Yesler Community Center (917 E Yesler Way).This is an essential class if you, like me, are going to be involved in the Neighborhood Matching Fund application process any time soon.