Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas!!

Went over the Cascades to Wenachee (Apple Capitol of the World) a couple nights ago in the moonlight...to pick up my daughter who had been supposedly on a bus to Vancouver BC to visit friends...even the most sincere of girls can get on the wrong bus, I guess! What a trip, how beautiful. Old forest firs covered in snow, that sense of expectancy in the air... now I think Santa must have been somewhere in that forest, preparing for the big day.

I'm working on this blog, it's not really updated yet but the Pike Place Market tour I took will be by January 1st so I will send out the address then...meanwhile, have a truly happy holiday!!!

Wishing you peace & joy in the holiday season and a wonderful 2008.

Seattle is still uniquely itself, humming with energy and a special mix of spice which comes from being The Most Highly Educated City in the US, full of fun and mischief and hopes for the future, and on the Pacific Rim with all the international flavor that brings, each area and neighborhood a delightful treasure trove of things to explore and discover. Of COURSE I found Starbucks coffee under the tree this year, the aroma of coffee is everywhere here, but that's just the beginning. I will try to be better at sharing my experiences of this wonderful place with you as the year progresses.


Hope the coming year gives us many opportunities to spend time together and share our lives.

All the best to you and yours!

Edy

Snow Rain Sun and here comes the 25th

It really has been an especially nice fall season. And it's not that I've done as much as usual, but ... quality people. Thank you, people in my life! Slowing time down and noticing the little stuff. This is not a burning revelation, I know, but it really does make a difference every moment. And it's like... wresting something away from the time monster which is striding down the middle of the road snurffling and holding your (my, our) life in it's hands, headed for the great Time Dishwasher at the end of the freeway exit. When you get there, you're in, hang around with other dirty rushed platters and cups for a bit then zap, it's all over. Whatever happened today is gone and tomorrow is a fresh start. But why don't I feel that clean is the point? Let today linger.

Seattle? Yes, it's there, here I mean. I love driving through Wallingford. On those little narrow streets with the round islands in the intersections so you have to weave around. And if another car starts up the street from the other side, you have to look for a driveway to pull over and let them pass. And you can see Lake Union, the boats, the city and Space Needle behind it in the distance, as you glance up from the narrow street and the green in your face circles and during the whole progress down toward the lake...you are sneaking long timeless glances at the as much as 100 year old homes with various signs of age and glory, most often lovingly cared for and brought with shining honor right up into the present moment by those who live in them and care for them. And saying to yourself... This is Seattle...this is Seattle...this is Seattle...this is sooooo Seattle...

10 Must-Dos in Seattle

Well, on those nights where it's late and I'm tired, I think a simple subject is in order! Not to say that doing these 10 things will actually be simple, but at least they are all neatly laid out for me and I can wrap my mind around them without much real trouble.

I picked up a "Seattle Visitor's Guide" at the airport when I went to pick up Sayaka a couple of weeks ago (Sayaka is a college student from Japan who's staying with us for a few months). I thought it would just be for my clients, but when I started leafing through it, I found it to be full of interesting and even exciting things I felt I just had to rush out and do! These 10 things must be on top of the list!

I am not going into much detail tonight, but at least I can get the 10 things in and then go from there.

1. Ride the Space Needle
2. Explore the Pike Place Market
My Virtual Tour of Pike Place Market
3. Investigate Bill Speidel's Underground Tour
4. Study the Seattle Public Library
5. Dip Into the Seattle Aquarium
6. Wander the Seattle Waterfront
7. Go Wild for Woodland Park Zoo
8. Stroll Olympic Sculpture Park
My Virtual Tour of Olympic Sculpture Park
9. Take A Ferry
10. Trip to Tillicum Village

I know that visitors to the city can get a CityPass and a Go Seattle Card but I still have to check out exactly what these involve. Anyway, since I live here it will be much better to take it slowly and really enjoy each of these awsome ideas for exploring Seattle...I believe everything is better if

Wet with Silver Skies

Today I spent the entire day in West Seattle. We started with cupcakes and coffee at Cupcake Royale at Alaska Junction...that's the large and strollable intersection of Alaska and California. There are 2 rival cupcake and coffee bakery/cafes there, both seem to have wifi and filled with people intent on some vital inner thought... of course it is impossible to know whatis on their mind, but everyone I looked at seemed to have intent expressions...a man in a t shirt with a laptop in front of him, a young woman sitting quite still looking out the window, two cupcakes under plastic domes on the round table in front of her... Within only a few steps is a great used bookstore, a junk/antique store, a bread bakery... anyway, we met a client, sat down had cupcakes (mine was lemon frosted, yum) and planned our ittenary from a selection of homes I'd printed out and brought along that fit within her criteria, and then we all piled into Jim's Jeep and commenced to zig zag West Seattle in search of the perfect 3 bedroom home...saw some very nice ones in fact! There were also a couple that were priced as great investments but needed quite a bit of work, which was not what we wanted on this day. However, we found that one particular neighborhood, ..., had a lot of houses that really might work. In particular one with 1800 square feet and a really great remodeled kitchen was pleasing. It was built in 1912 and retained the solid character, great moldings, and nooks and interesting spaces, but had been redone and really would be easy and rewarding to live in. Great day.

Smartest City Ever

I am intrigued by this month's Seattle Metropolitan Magazine. There are several great articles, but this one caught my eye right away...Smartest City! This is what I have been hearing everyone talk about for the past summer. First I learned the statistic that Seattle is actually the Most Educated city in the country. Not only is there a great educational system, but then the tech industries draw even more people with lots of degrees and achievements under their belts...now imagine all these people in a relatively small space. I'm going to discuss this a bit more with some of my sources of Seattle Lore, but love this quote from the magazine:

"How Seattle is inventing the future, winning the Space Race, saving lives, and spreading the religion of international geekdom."

It goes on..."Not that it's news to you, but you're living in the brainiest city on the planet. Seattle ranks as the most literate and educated place in America. We have the most bookstores, the highest number of advanced degrees. And we are changing the world...for decades companies like Microsoft and Boeing have lured brainiacs to our fair city. When those minds set out on their own, take up hobbies, or spawn the next generation of geniuses, the results alter the planet. Technology from Seattle is saving lives around the globe, revolutionizing the way information is processed...Seattleites were the first to embrace a word that was formerly a term of derision: geek. Geeks are problem solvers. Geeks aren't afraid to flaunt their astronomical IQs. Embracing the term means embracing the idea that intellect is power, that our minds can overcome any obstacle, that our knack for high-level thinking should be celebrated. Let's face it, geeks run the planet and Seattle is the geekiest place there is. Here's why:"

It goes on to talk about Kirkland's Bungie Studios (gaming..."thumb to thumb combat"), UW Computer Science Professor Oren Etzioni (data mining..."The Sultan of Search"), Dr. Daniel Rubens of Children's Hospital (cause of sudden infant death syndrome..."Man of the Ear"), UW physicist John Cramer (physics/time travel "Back to the Photon Future), The Liftport Group, Bremerton (aerospace/space elevator..."the 27,280,000th floor"), Microsoft product team manager Brad Wright (aerospace ... "backyard rocketeer"), CellarTracker's Eric LeVine(data storage..."Cyber Tipplers"), Allen Institute for Brain Science (biomed..."Mind Over Gray Matter"), Belltown-based Cranium, Pioneer Square's Sceneit, Renton's Wizards of the Coast (entertainment...brainy board games), Western Washington U's Eric Leonhardt & students (energy..."Cow Pie Power"), and eight or nine others.

Wow, I'm stunned. I knew I kept meeting really smart people, but...better get geeking! And by the way, if you are my client reading this, I'd be happy to send you a copy of this month's magazine if you don't have it!

SeattleCentric

This is going to be fun! I've been needing a place to record the events of my explorations and daily ups and downs in this green and enchanting city. Now that we're going into fall, it feels like the perfect time to get going on my blog, as the kids are back in school and I have time to explore.

In fact a couple days ago I went out to Duvall to look at a home for someone and I stopped for a few minutes and did a few photos of Main Street. It has been a while since I was last there, and I have always wanted to stop in the Antique Store down on the next block from the bookstore, so I will have to get back there soon... maybe I can get my friend Caroline to meet me there and have lunch. There were about 5 restaurants that looked really good!

I'm pasting the address of my little virtual tour of Duvall in. You have to know that this is JUST THE BEGINNING of Duvall, just a quick brush over the surface! Meanwhile, I also found some great websites on Duvall, and a little history. To be included next time...
A quick tour of Main Street in Duvall.

Alligator Soul in Everett

We met a young couple in Everett to look at some houses in Lake Stevens. They have been using our website to check out the homes and values and knew exactly what they were looking for! We saw about 5 houses that they liked, and also one in Everett which was a craftsman from early in the last century...I think around 1910, with a lot of charm and character. It had three fruit trees in the back yard, a cherry, an apple, and a plum...amazing how much that affects me, when a yard has been cared about, and something special about people growing fruit and also vegetables and herbs. It really makes it feel like a haven, to me, a loved place.

After they left to go to work (they both work for Boeing) we went downtown to look for what the City Information Center had as a guide to Everett (they have a nice "Welcome to Everett" in newspaper format, I got several copies) and then about half a block away we found a great restaurant with the following on a sign outside:

Southern Cooking
Orders to Go
Daily Specials
Alligator Soul
LIVE MUSIC

This restaurant, Alligator Soul, took our breath away with the amazing food we had! I was not expecting to nearly swoon from having a NEW DISH that was truly the best food I'd eaten in a long time (and I've eaten very nice food at restaurants recently).

Crawfish Etouffee — A lighter, richer version of the traditional Southern favorite. Loaded with lots of buttery crawfish tails & finished with mango salsa. Served up with white rice & cornbread ……………… $16.95

Highly recommended! On the wall was the reprint of a vote by Seattle Magazine readers that Alligator won for Best Other restaurant in Pudget Sound!

By the way, here is the virtual tour I took of Alligator Soul, the street with the event center and the downtown area, and some of the neighborhoods and houses when we drove west to look at the Sound:

photo tour of Alligator Soul, Everett Downtown Streets and some houses, driving toward the Sound.

Alligator Soul Restaurant

And I was checking out Everett websites and here are 3 I thought were very useful:


Everett Chamber of Commerce

Everett, Washington, USA

Map of Everett Neighborhoods