Mirador - November 2005 Newsletter

November 2005

A mirador is "A turret, window or balcony that commands an extensive view"

Introduction
Buy Local Day
New Items
LED Lights
Video Rentals
Wal-Mart Movie
Incense Update

Introduction

Thanksgiving is just around the corner, so it's about time we get this newsletter out to you. This time of year is incredibly busy for us, what with ordering for the holidays and our great increase in business (thanks!), so it makes it even harder to get time to do the newsletter.

We hope everyone has great plans to share the bounty that Nature provides for us (especially us here in the Northwest) with friends and relatives for Thanksgiving. While a lot of people stick with the tried and true, we like to try different things every year along with the old favorites, to make things more interesting.

And of course Mirador has what you need for your cooking and baking tasks, from pie plates to roasting pans, stock pots to glass basters. So come on by and get what you need from your locally-owned community store. And if you have questions, all of us (Lynn, Steve, Lael and Jenny) will do our best to help you!

Buy Local Day

Mayor Tom Potter has declared the Saturday of Thanksgiving weekend, Nov. 26th as BUY LOCAL DAY in Portland. Make a difference in your community this holiday season by thinking independently and shopping locally owned! We encourage you to support local businesses on that day to keep more money re-circulating in the local economy. Many businesses participating in the campaign are offering special discounts and offers for the months of Nov. and Dec. For a list of offers including Mirador's) please click here. (You must print the coupon to get the offer or discount.)

New Items

Wooden yo-yos and puzzles handmade by Tumbleweed Woodworks in Lakeview, Oregon.
Umbrellas for kids and adults.
Whimsical art featuring chickens and monks – but NOT in the same painting! We met Doug Smith while walking on Hawthorne one day. He was selling his chicken art in the street and Lynn invited him to bring some to Mirador. They were very popular and sold out quickly. We have now restocked and Doug is now selling his art in many locations around the country – and is no longer to be found on Hawthorne sidewalk!
Zen Alarm Clocks are back, both the pyramidal analog clocks with beautifulfaces and the digital one that can also be used as a timer. New this year is a clock whose chime is a brass bowl that produces complex tones when struck.
Holiday cards (single and boxed), recycled wrapping paper, cloth Wrap-Sacks and other wrapping items.A great collection of 2006 calendars (already going fast).
Candles – palm wax, bees wax and vegetable wax tapers, votives and pillars.
Hats and scarves – many of the hats are locally made!
LED holiday lights – enjoy lighting without high energy use.
Yogurt makers with glass jars are back.
Zafus (meditation cushions) and the newly designed Cosmic Cushion™ (see photo). I've been using one of these and it is the best meditation aid I've ever used. It naturally keeps your back straight without strain. I have always had problems sitting without pain for very long but the very first time I used this cushion I sat for an hour in comfort.
Cast-iron wheatgrass juicers are back – less expensive alternative to the stainless steel, though not as resistant to corrosion
Our neighbor, Joe Spooner, who does Mr Portland cartoon for The Oregonian, has just published a children's book called The Elephant Walk. It is based on story he created for his daughter over 20 years ago and concerns a walk that the family takes in the neighborhood (our neighborhood!) to look for elephants. We have signed copies available (thanks, Joe).

LED Lights

We are re-stocked on LED light strings. These lights use less than 10% of the electricity that the mini-lights use and have a limited lifetime guarantee (when's the last time a string of min-lights lasted more than a year or two?). We have them in blue (the favorite), white, orange (Hallowe'en!), green & red and green, red, blue, yellow & orange.

Video Rentals

Don't forget that Mirador rents select videos for $3.00/week (rental fees can be applied to purchase). We rent videos on food, exercise, alternative building and lately have added some political titles.

These include Outfoxed and Wal-Mart: The High Price of Low Cost. These features were both done by Robert Greenwald who will showing and discussing the film Friday, November 17 at the PSU campus. See Wal-Mart Watch's website for more places to see the movie (a LOT more). If you can't make any of these showings rent the video from us or buy a copy here and share it with your friends AND support Wal-Mart Watch. This movie is generating a lot of excitement (and unease amongst Wal-Mart management and supporters) – don't miss it.

Incense Update

We just got in a large shipment of incense from our biggest distributor. Amongst all the refills were a few new ones. We are constantly trying new scents in our efforts to carry not only a lot of incense but the best we can find. We also let go incenses that don't meet our standards (usually because they are too perfume-y).

New incenses include (Indian unless otherwise state): Mugra Amber, Vinason's Patchouli (sister to Vinason's Khus, which is vetiver), Mangal Murti Loban (sister to three other Mangal Murti dhoops we carry), Singiri Dhoop, Laxmi Dhoop (back by popular demand), Shree Chamundeswari's Dhoop, Krishna Leela Cones, Vinason's Chandan Cones, Healing Incense (Tibetan), Tibetan Lotus, Himalayan Cedar String Incense (Nepalese), Shobiko and Cho-Cho Sann cones (both Japanese).

Mirador offers a discount to members of various groups. For details, click here.
Map and Directions to Mirador
2106 SE Division Street
Portland, Oregon 97202
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