I can report three gorgeous sunny days in a row and everyone saying winter has turned the corner...I even drove down to Richmond Beach yesterday after a showing and just sat on a driftwood log for an hour staring at the waves and watching people walking, running with their dogs, building things with driftwood and stones, and of course taking pictures of each other doing it...since it is Puget Sound, and not really the Pacific, the breakers don't get as big as they do out around the actual ocean shores, but it is still the Pacific Northwest. That means when you are staring out where the sun is going down over the water, you know that past the snowcapped Olympics standing up seemingly out of the waves to the west, is nothing for a very long time, and then ... the Far East. It really does feel like the edge of the world.
Also, regrettably I am now 5 pounds fatter than I hoped to be going into spring, which is the fault of my daughter who gave me a huge box of the loveliest truffles I've ever had for Valentine's Day! (Thank you, dear Mia!) In Seattle when this happens, the traditional thing is to call up all your friends and make numerous dates to walk around Green Lake, both catching up with all the important people in your life and shedding the five pounds in a couple of weeks. As long as I stay away from the truffles.
Tuesday, February 19, 2008
Monday, January 28, 2008
Snow Day! And Rates Fall!
Wow, we woke up and the world was coverd with white fluffy stuff. There is no school, it's an official Snow Day. Sorry, grownup world, but this is wonderful...and as a grownup, I have to go to the airport to pick up a guest from Japan so I will take my camera and see what the city looks like. Meanwhile, got a message from one of my most trusted loan officers, Jack de Cook (IndyMac Bank, Bellingham, his website below) which gave the following information (Thank you Jack!!!!):
Last Week in the News
Following a plunge in global financial markets, the Federal Reserve slashed the federal funds rate on January 22 by three-quarters of a percentage point to 3.5%, the biggest interest rate cut in 18 years. The federal funds rate is the interest that banks charge one another on overnight loans.
On the same day, the Fed also lowered its discount rate to 4% from 4.75%. The discount rate is the rate at which banks can borrow directly from the Federal Reserve. The Fed's twin cuts are designed to keep financial institutions lending money to businesses and consumers, rather than fuel an economic downturn by limiting credit.
For the week ending January 17, rates on 30-year fixed-rates fell to their lowest level since July 2005, Freddie Mac reported January 24.
Falling mortgage rates helped boost mortgage application volume by 8.3% over the same week, the Mortgage Bankers Association said January 24. Applications were 63.7% higher than during the same week in 2007. Refinancing accounted for 66% of mortgage applications compared to 62.7% a week earlier.
The news was tonic to a housing market that saw existing home sales fall 2.2% in December, closing out a year in which sales of single-family homes swooned 13%, the largest amount in 25 years, the National Association of REALTORS® said January 24. The median price for a single-family home dropped 1.8% to $217,000, the first annual price decline dating to 1968 records.
This week look for updates on new home sales on January 28.
Economic data compiled from government reports and news services msnbc.com, cnbc.com, cnn.money.com and Yahoo Economic Calendar.
Click here to visit my website and apply online:
http://www.jdecook.imbhomelending.com/
Last Week in the News
Following a plunge in global financial markets, the Federal Reserve slashed the federal funds rate on January 22 by three-quarters of a percentage point to 3.5%, the biggest interest rate cut in 18 years. The federal funds rate is the interest that banks charge one another on overnight loans.
On the same day, the Fed also lowered its discount rate to 4% from 4.75%. The discount rate is the rate at which banks can borrow directly from the Federal Reserve. The Fed's twin cuts are designed to keep financial institutions lending money to businesses and consumers, rather than fuel an economic downturn by limiting credit.
For the week ending January 17, rates on 30-year fixed-rates fell to their lowest level since July 2005, Freddie Mac reported January 24.
Falling mortgage rates helped boost mortgage application volume by 8.3% over the same week, the Mortgage Bankers Association said January 24. Applications were 63.7% higher than during the same week in 2007. Refinancing accounted for 66% of mortgage applications compared to 62.7% a week earlier.
The news was tonic to a housing market that saw existing home sales fall 2.2% in December, closing out a year in which sales of single-family homes swooned 13%, the largest amount in 25 years, the National Association of REALTORS® said January 24. The median price for a single-family home dropped 1.8% to $217,000, the first annual price decline dating to 1968 records.
This week look for updates on new home sales on January 28.
Economic data compiled from government reports and news services msnbc.com, cnbc.com, cnn.money.com and Yahoo Economic Calendar.
Click here to visit my website and apply online:
http://www.jdecook.imbhomelending.com/
Thursday, January 17, 2008
Mostly Sunny
Although there's still ice on some of the side streets from the heavy snow we had a couple days ago (which all melted off the next day) I checked the 10-day weather report and it looks like mostly sunny, with a few showers. Tomorrow is supposed to be cloudy/rainy though. More later!
Tuesday, January 1, 2008
Happy New Year in Seattle
Three things for today, first are the photos of the Fireworks at the Space Needle on New Year's Eve at Midnight! These are a bit blurry, taken in the middle of the night, but hopefully you'll get the (ooooo! ahhhhhhh!) sense of it...Second, I have finished the VT of Olympic Sculpture Park. And third, I have been promising to get up the tour of Pike Place Market that I took about 2 months ago. Hope you enjoy these!
OK, about New Year's Eve on the Mound in Gasworks Park, watching the fireworks.
Last night around 11:30 p.m. we arrived at Gasworks Park. There were cars everywhere parked nearby, but turning toward the water we discovered the whole parking lot behind the park was empty. But we boldly parked there anyway, and 10 minutes later so did about 15 other people, it just took one car and the whole place filled up! I had never been to Gasworks Park, which is just at the north end of Lake Union, after dark. It is right down the street from my office and famous for a great kite-flying location (there is even a kite shop just down the street from us!) but there is also a great view of the Space Needle and downtown, and there were I would say over 1,000 people sitting on the hillside facing the Lake and the Space Needle.
We only got there 15 minutes before midnight, but was my rear ever cold in those 15 minutes. Next time remind me to bring a blanket or at least a square of cardboard to sit on!! But it was wonderful, a bright black night with lighted boats crusing the lake and the space needle with it's little pointed Christmas tree on top standing up right across the lake from us. The people around us were in high spirits laughing and joking and calling out to the crowd, and one guy kept saying, if they don't do the fireworks pretty soon, then definitely the aliens are going to arrive...it really did look like the scenes in movies where people gather at the top of a mountain and raise up their arms to the sky waiting for the aliens to show up. My son started calling out "We come in peace!"
My camera, not on a tripod, did not get any real crisp photos of the fireworks, so what I have to share here are some blurry, impresionistic images of the lake, night, the lights on Queen Anne Hill and the Space Needle spouting fire and glory...it was definitely the place to be and the thing to be doing, I doubt I will ever be anywhere else ever again on New Year's Eve. If Fremont is the Center of the Universe, then Gasworks Park must be the Center of the New Year in Seattle. We watched 2008 being born on the Pacific Rim, in the dark and the crisp air among a crowd of joyful people who had no intention of letting the joyful event go by unnoticed! May 2008 bear out the promise this celebration brought into life, and bring you all to Seattle to enjoy it with us!
OK, about New Year's Eve on the Mound in Gasworks Park, watching the fireworks.
Last night around 11:30 p.m. we arrived at Gasworks Park. There were cars everywhere parked nearby, but turning toward the water we discovered the whole parking lot behind the park was empty. But we boldly parked there anyway, and 10 minutes later so did about 15 other people, it just took one car and the whole place filled up! I had never been to Gasworks Park, which is just at the north end of Lake Union, after dark. It is right down the street from my office and famous for a great kite-flying location (there is even a kite shop just down the street from us!) but there is also a great view of the Space Needle and downtown, and there were I would say over 1,000 people sitting on the hillside facing the Lake and the Space Needle.
We only got there 15 minutes before midnight, but was my rear ever cold in those 15 minutes. Next time remind me to bring a blanket or at least a square of cardboard to sit on!! But it was wonderful, a bright black night with lighted boats crusing the lake and the space needle with it's little pointed Christmas tree on top standing up right across the lake from us. The people around us were in high spirits laughing and joking and calling out to the crowd, and one guy kept saying, if they don't do the fireworks pretty soon, then definitely the aliens are going to arrive...it really did look like the scenes in movies where people gather at the top of a mountain and raise up their arms to the sky waiting for the aliens to show up. My son started calling out "We come in peace!"
My camera, not on a tripod, did not get any real crisp photos of the fireworks, so what I have to share here are some blurry, impresionistic images of the lake, night, the lights on Queen Anne Hill and the Space Needle spouting fire and glory...it was definitely the place to be and the thing to be doing, I doubt I will ever be anywhere else ever again on New Year's Eve. If Fremont is the Center of the Universe, then Gasworks Park must be the Center of the New Year in Seattle. We watched 2008 being born on the Pacific Rim, in the dark and the crisp air among a crowd of joyful people who had no intention of letting the joyful event go by unnoticed! May 2008 bear out the promise this celebration brought into life, and bring you all to Seattle to enjoy it with us!
Tuesday, December 25, 2007
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
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
Tuesday, December 18, 2007
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...
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...
Sunday, October 7, 2007
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
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
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