In my area of south King County, we’d had a number of just wet little snow blizzards that melted about the time the flakes hit the ground. What I didn’t know, was that the worst of the storm was just laughing at me … waiting for me to go back into the house to finish my skeptical blog post.

For my area of the Auburn east hill, snow was late to arrive, but when it did, it was daggone serious. Now, remember you east coasters … we’re talking about the Seattle area here. We don’t get much in the way of snow. We may get a few inches here and there, close the schools for a day, and then melt off. There’s little snow equipment in the area, we live up/down on hills and the snow we do get is typically very very wet. None of that dry fluffy stuff that’s fun to ski … just Seattle “concrete.”

This time around was no exception. After fits and starts, snow really started to fall on Wednesday and it was wet wet wet sticky stuff. Great for making snow sculptures. That sort of thing.

Thursday morning around 7am, the power went out. A quick look outside said that it had snowed a bit more. With accumulations around 8 inches or so after it’d melted off a bit. Bummer—I wanted SNOW!—and an adventure! At my house, situated on a small community well, septic systems, electric heat, it was going to be a cold few hours – outside was around 28 degrees or so.

But, expecting the best and dressing in layers, we were prepared! Flashlights, generator, a full fridge and pantry full of food, bottles of drinking water and a bathtub full of water for the necessary stuff. Bring it on. We were ready.

HAHAHAHAHAAAA

Fast forward to late Thursday … it’s raining. That’s what was predicted. It was going to rain off all of our accumulations. No problem. What the weather folks didn’t know, is that the rain was freezing. Encapsulating everything and accumulating a deadly layer of ice on top of the snow. And it just kept on accumulating. By the time the rain stopped and turn back to snow on Friday, we’d gathered about an inch of solid ice on top of our snow layer. Stuff is falling off the trees everywhere. (Nothing like laying in bed listening … creeeekkkk, screee, schuuuuuckkkkk, CRASH!) Outside, it’s a winter wonderland with ice coating everything.

But then the snow kept on coming … again! Now there was about two inches of snow on top of the ice! Yikes! I had no idea. Friday morning I decided to let the dogs out front to avoid the broken tree mess in our back yard … and immediately after stepping off the porch all four legs splayed out on both dogs. Getting purchase and standing back up was a challenge for them.

By late Friday we were able to actually make it out of our driveway and back to the world and what a mess it was. Downed trees, downed wires, cars in ditches; it was total destruction. No wonder we had no power. Lines were down on both sides of our private road, huge trees laying everywhere.

But real estate calls just kept on coming. My cell phone kept ringing with people looking for houses. So on Saturday I decided to go ahead and make a showing appointment and give it a go. Yikes, what a further mess. Now our feeder road was totally blocked off, with power line trucks guarding the road so no one could get in or out. Lots of yellow caution tape. (Yay!! Maybe they were working on restoring power!) With lots of talking, we were allowed to carefully go around all of the barriers and trees and off to my showing. Only to be stood up by the Buyers. Sigh … but it was a fun adventure!

Here’s a shot of my favorite shade tree during the ice storm … and after. What you can’t see here is the line of tree trunks that are now just sticks. There’s gonna be a lot of tree removal again this year. I’m thinking that Mother Nature decided pruning was necessary so decided to help us get a start at it. We were very very fortunate – no real damage, but sure a lot of destruction. (And I was mighty glad to take a hot shower on Sunday when the power was restored!)

My husband, the amateur weatherman, has been obsessively following the build-up to the “Megastorm” of decades, currently predicted for our greater Seattle region. We’ve been watching for days, experiencing a bit of snow here, and a bit of snow there. At our home in east Auburn, so far we’ve accumulated a couple of inches, which largely went away today even through additional flurries of wet heavy snow.

I grew up in Seattle and remember a few good-sized snow storms from my childhood; even one or two while raising our own children. This storm, however, is expected to dump somewhere between 12- and 18-inches in our yard, according to the “Futurecast” radar displayed on one of our local news sites, KIRO7. That’s a significant amount of snow. Significant!

According to AccuWeather, the history of great Seattle snowstorms is as follows:

1. Jan. 5-9, 1880: Est. 36.0″ with 6-foot drifts
2. Jan. 31-Feb. 3, 1916: 33.4″
3. Jan. 26-31, 1969: 30.7″
4. Jan. 12-15, 1950: 26.8″
5. Dec. 23-27, 1965: 14.9″
6. Dec. 30-31, 1968: 13.0″
7. Jan. 23-26, 1972: 12.6″
8. Jan. 25-26, 1950: 12.4″
9. Dec. 26-27, 1974: 9.8″
10. Nov. 20-22, 1985: 9.4″
11. Nov. 27, 1985: 7.6″

Twelve-to-eighteen inches. I’m expecting the roof to be fine, but I’m thinking the tarp-type carport under which we park our riding lawnmower and various “stuffs” to probably take a hit. We’ve brought pellets for the stove into the garage. The chickens are safely ensconced in their coop with plenty of food and water. The dogs are oblivious, but will love it. The cat? Well, we may have to hand-carry him out now and then to visit the kitty potty.

Twelve-to-eighteen inches, followed by rain. It should be exciting!

At least so say the weather stations.

The greater Puget Sound metropolitan area is a unique place when it snows. We’re hilly around here and our typical warm ocean breezes prevent us from getting much in the way of significant snowfall, which means most of the cities and towns in our area have a minimal amount of snow equipment to deal with the mess. We don’t dump a lot of sand or salt on the roads. Some … but not a lot.

Oh sure, once a year or so we get dumped on with a couple or three inches, but then it rains away within the next day or so. I know, I know – you Seattle’ites remember the recent great snowfall of ‘ought eight’ when we had 6+ inches on the ground for a week or so.

It was darned cold out there and the stuff was packed hard on our road. (We happen to live almost at the bottom and no way were we getting out of here.) It was exhilarating! Snowball fights. The dogs romped through the yard like puppies. BIIIGGG snow creatures adorned the yard.

I remember that the Mayor of Seattle got into all sorts of trouble for not arranging to have side streets and a few major hills plowed (as if he could do much about it with the few plows available), and so on. It was chaos out there.

But I love the snow. Snuggling inside with hot cocoa and a good book.

So … just a word to the wise: Beware!! Real estate .. and everything else involving cars … is coming to a screeching halt if we get 1/2” of snow on Sunday. …….

……

……

… of course, then it’ll all start back up again in a day or two and we’ll be raring to go back to work.

Enjoy!

Just imagine how much fun it would be to live in such a place!

Now, of course, I’m totally curious about how well our local building inspectors might appreciate the framing techniques used here:

An overview from the inside of the rafters:

And the windows are perfect too!

The kitchen from the overlooking bedroom balcony:

With many thanks for posting photos and information, please visit the owner’s site at www.simondale.net. SOOO cool!

In some respects, of course, he’s absolutely right. But in others, it’s amazing how little prices have gone up.

Today he sent me a list of a few things and their prices in 1955. Of note, of course, are prices like gasoline – 23 cents a gallon; milk – 85 cents a gallon; eggs – 61 cents a dozen.

A bit of checking around and I see this list, thanks to www.fiftiesweb.com: 

House: $22,000
Average income: $4,137
Ford car: $1606-$2944
Milk: $.92
Gas: $.23
Bread $.18
Postage stamp: $.03
Sirloin chops: $ .69 lb.
Pot Roast: $.43 lb.
Eggs, doz.: $.61
Coffee: $.93 lb.
Milk, ½ gal. $.43
Potatoes, 10 lb. bag: $.53
Starkist Tuna, 6 ½ oz. can: $.25 lb.
Oreo cookies, 11¾ .oz pkg: $.39
Potato Salad, pint: $.29
Cracker Jack, 24 pac: $1.49
Apple cider,½ gal.: $.49
Gum Drops, 1½ lb. pkg: $.29
Ivory Soap, 2 bars: $.29
Mickey Mouse lunchbox: $.88
Slinky: $.88
Nylons, pair: $1.00
Home permanent: $1.50
Baseball Glove: $9.95

As I reviewed this list, I’m thinking … wow, some of these haven’t gone up much at all. I mean, last week’s ad for potatoes was something like $1.48 for a ten pound bag (about 3 times more than 1955); milk – $2.59 a gallon (oof, that’s a big price increase: about 6 times, although I’m pretty sure I see milk for $1.99 a gallon now and then) eggs were something like $1.50 a dozen or so (can’t find an ad anywhere) – up about 2.5 times.

Gas in my area (just south of Seattle) is right around $3.30 a gallon – up 14.3 times (that’s a gotcha!)

Anyway, then I decided to look at the price of housing. According to this chart, the price of a home in 1955 was about 5.3 times the average income.

Hmmmmmmmmmmm

Looking at local statistics, Washington state reports that the 2011 median income for King County (basically the greater Seattle area) is projected to be $66,294. Median house price for sold homes in King County right now? The Northwest Multiple Listing Service (NWMLS) says: $343,700 as of end of November. 5.18 times the median income. Pretty close to 1955.

Now, 1955 is just slightly before my memory (I was two in 1955) … I have memories of some of these though! I wonder what my grandchildren born in 2010 will think when looking back at prices when they’re 55.

Enough analysis this time of the morning!

Thanksgiving is almost here .. almost! Just a few days away.

In our family, that means the kids come to our home with grandchildren in tow (“I’m” the grandma now), with special treats tucked in baskets, games to play and visiting to be done. We’ll spend 2-3 days chasing the little ones around while they decide that “gramma” and “grampa” live on a farm (NOT), have lots of good hot cocoa and whipped cream, hugs, and stories. They’ll likely ride the “tractor,” (read that as the riding lawnmower), chase the dogs, pick up the eggs from the chickens, feed the neighbor’s horses, and try to prevent the cat from bringing his latest mousing finds into the house.

Then there’re the evenings to sit with a quiet glass of wine with the grown children after the crowd of little ones go to bed. (When did my children grow up and become real people with whom a glass of wine is such a treat? They’re all adults now with families of their own.)

It’s a hectic, chaotic, blessed time.

I’m so thankful!

This upcoming 4th Thursday of November is just the accepted, public time to express thankfulness. Underneath it all, I’m thankful every day for the life we lead. It’s full of stress, but it’s full of laughter as well. It’s full of real estate clients that express hope when they have a real estate need, frustration when things go sideways, gratefulness when things get back on track, and delight when the transaction finally closes. Their trust is a huge responsibility … and I’m thankful to be someone to whom they look to lead them through the quagmire of real estate purchases and sales.

I’m tremendously thankful.

In our family, we’ll all hold hands around the dinner table for a moment on Thanksgiving afternoon and express our thankfulness to each other.

Now it’s time to virtually hold hands with all of you – clients, friends, coworkers, and acquaintances. I’m thankful to have each of you in my life.

Yes, daylight savings time ends on Sunday at 2am. You’ll see plenty of posts reminding you to set your clock back one hour before you go to bed on Saturday night … that’s the no-brainer part.

But with a little tongue-in-cheek creativity, I thought you might find it helpful to examine just what sorts of things you could be doing with that extra hour – you know, the one we lost waaay back in March. Here’s my list … feel free to chime in here.

1. Sleep! (Duh! … actually that’s probably what I’ll try to do. We’ll see if the brain will turn off for the hour and let me).
2. Clean up the garden (Yeah, well, it needs it. You know that’s true. Time to pull out the dead tomato plants)
3. Rake leaves (That’s right up there in excitement with the “clean up the garden” idea. Bleagh)
4. Work out on the treadmill. (Right after I clean up the garden)
5. Walk the dogs. (Hmmmmm, there’s a theme developing here)
6. Catch up with “Castle.” (You know you want to. Richard and Kate are just sure to be up to something and your TIVO’s getting full)
7. Plan Thanksgiving dinner. (Nah … too early. That needs to be saved for the day before.)
8. Read a good book (Ooooh! I LIKE this one!)
9. Snuggle with your hunny. (I LIKE this one even better!)
10. Write an extra blog post. (Of course that takes a bit more creativity. It’ll take me an hour just to think of one.)

Okay, that’s it. I’ve used up all my brain cells for the day. Sunday can’t get here too soon. I think I need that extra hour.

Thank you for allowing me to be of assistance in your home search and purchase. I was truly honored!

And to two of my favorite team members:

• Marilyn Brown at First American Title & Escrow — Thank you for coming through at the last minute. This turned into a last minute affair, didn’t it?
• Dave Jagosh — Nobody does inspections as well as you do them! 

It’s Spring, which means Farmer’s Markets are “Springing” Up All Over!

I love shopping at local Farmer’s Markets. Just mingling amongst all the fresh produce, the local crafts, and flowers is inspiring. I always come away with the zeal to go home and weed. Or something equally as dirty.

Not to mention, of course, my reusuable shopping bag, full of goodies. Veggies, lettuces, fruits…even an occasional quart of fresh fresh milk. Yummy. We eat really well for a few days after my trip.

Near my home in Auburn, Washington are a few Farmer’s markets worth mentioning. I missed all of the grand openings this year, but I definitely stop by a couple of times a month for goodies!

Here’s the info you’ll need to visit. Click the heading for additional information.

 Auburn International Farmers Market

June 12 to September 25
9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.  Auburn Sound Transit Plaza, 23 A St SW

The Auburn International Farmers Market boasts more than 40 vendors offering a variety of fresh locally grown farm-based foods, hand-crafted items, and concession stand that are restaurant-based but feature a home-cooked taste. The 2011 weekly market starts June 12 and runs through September 25. The market will again include free performances, guest chef demonstrations with farm-fresh ingredients, children’s activities, and classes on health, nutrition, and gardening. AIFM 2011 Special Events June 12 Opening Day ceremonies begin at 8:30am June 19 – Sound Transit and Metro Appreciation Day July 10 – Kids Day July 24 – The Dog Days of Summer | Complete with the annual Parade of Market Dogs August 7 – National Farmers Market Week | Vendor Recognition Day September 11 Remembrance Day September 18 – Senior Appreciation Day

Kent Farmers Market, sponsored by the Kent Lions Club

Saturdays, June 4 to September 24
Town Square Plaza — 2nd Avenue &b Smith Street

Kind of like keeping real estate transactions on course. Sometimes it takes a lot of arm waiving and shirt flapping to keep everyone moving in the same direction from start to finish. But persistence does pay off. Sometimes you have to pick one chicken up and carry it to the final destination. Seems like I’ve done that in my real estate career just a few times! Well, I guess I haven’t actually picked up any clients and carried them around, although sometimes it felt like it!

The business of real estate is hard work. It takes perserverance, tenacity, professionalism, exacting and timely actions, smiling personality, and a  lot of arm waiving and shirt flapping as well.

Maybe my career in real estate has trained me well for chicken-keeping! Or maybe it’s the other way around. Give me a call if you ever need someone to herd your real estate transaction through from start to finish.