1) A family I know went to Mabel’s last Sunday morning just before 8 am, looked at the hours on the door, which said they opened at 8 am, and then walked around the block to kill a few minutes. At 8 am, the owner opened the door and said “you know we don’t open until 9? See you in an hour.” And shut the door in their face.

2) Another family I know went for dinner last week on a weeknight and waited so long for their food that they missed all of their evening activities. When the food came 40 minutes after they ordered, it was cold.

So those 2 stories are enough to keep us away, but please comment if you have had a different experience.

And if you ever have the crazy idea to open a restaurant or business on the Ridge, you better understand that you can’t make mistakes like that, because we all hear about it really fast.

Lupe from Dance All Night will be doing an intro Swing Lesson at 7 pm
Live music will be provided by Harley Brumbaugh from 8-10 pm

Location: Mt. Si Senior Center
Cost: $10 per person
Senior Center Members: $5

Help support the Senior Center by joining the Center
that night for only $15 or renewing your membership for 2008 and
still get the Member price for the dance.

Special Senior Transportation will be available and can be
arranged through the Senior Center. Some light refreshments will be available. Those of you who would like to share some of your special treats are welcome to bring them.

The Dance is open to all ages, so please come and support the
Senior Center and bring your friends.

Any questions call the Senior Center 425-888-3434.

The Haunted Graveyard will be giving SCARY guided tours on Halloween Night. There are frights and spooks, moving animatronic trees and owls, a zombie that comes out of the ground, and of course, plenty of surprises.

Visit the Haunted Graveyard website for more info!

Got a tip today that there was a “Closed” sign on Mike’s Cascade Grill… wondering if it’s permanently closed? We heard rumors over the summer that he was trying to sell the restaurant.

Drop us a line at editor@snoqualmievalleyblog.com if there’s any info we can post.

I’m not very adventurous with my Thai food -  I always eat the same two dishes: Tom Ka soup with chicken and Phad See Ew with beef. I’ve also had CC Thai’s Swimming Angel, which is mostly spinach, peanut sauce, and chicken, and I absolutely loved it.  Tonight was our 4th time picking up dinner at CC Thai, and each time has been exceptional on every level.

The family who owns this restaurant is very nice and the service is wonderful, a true step up from our typical experiences in this area.  Their story was recently written up in the Valley Record, detailing how they fled Cambodia in the 1970s, moved to Tennessee, then Seattle… a great story!

Citizens are invited to participate by baking a cake and delivering it to the Festival Grounds between 9:00 a.m. and 10:00 a.m. that day.  Cake mixes along with full instructions will be provided by the City’s Volunteer Coordinator Cynthia Golpe of “Cakes by Cynch”.  Cynthia may be reached at 425-638-9839 or by email at cgolpe@hotmail.com, no later than Friday, July 31st.

The cake will be the centerpiece of the City’s birthday celebration and will be comprised of 154 cakes that will serve 2200 people. The idea originated with local student Annika Laufer who wrote a letter to Mayor Hearing suggesting the City enlist citizens to join together to bake the City the world’s largest birthday cake.  While another City holds the Guinness Book of Records using 30,000 sheet cakes, we thought Annika had a great idea and decided to pursue creating North Bend’s Community Quilt Cake.

For additional information on this and other upcoming events please go the City’s website at www.ci.north-bend.wa.us and click on the Centennial page.

WIGA is a non-profit organization of tribal leaders in Washington state.  It runs a scholarship program for tribal members pursuing higher education degrees.  The program is designed to promote tribal self-sufficiency by providing scholarships for Native American students in Washington seeking to advance their own self-sufficiency and broaden their personal and professional potential through higher education.  The organization also educates the Indian gaming community, the public and all levels of government about gaming issues.

Nicole received a $1,200 scholarship.  Enrolled members of the WIGA tribes and Indian students in Washington state are eligible.  Scholarships are awarded to students pursuing degrees at community and technical colleges, four-year colleges, and post-graduate and professional schools.

“This year, we had many qualified applicants to choose from, which made our selection process very difficult,” said WIGA chairman W. Ron Allen.  “But it reflects the increasing depth of talent among young tribal members.  The winners should be very proud of themselves for standing out among their peers.”

WIGA awarded a total of $30,000 in scholarship funds to 25 students.

For more information about the WIGA Scholarship program, call 360-352-3248 or visit www.washingtonindiangaming.org.

The evening includes:
* Your choice from four delicious entrees;
* A picturesque train ride after dinner;
* Silent auction and lots of special surprises

Tickets: $85 per person/$150 per couple. Please email ticket requests to tickets@woodmanlodge.com or give them a call at 425-888-4441. For more information, please visit woodmanlodge.com