February 09 2009
I woke up at 3 am to get a drink of water and there was a dusting of snow on the back deck but when I looked out the front window, wet snow was coming down fast and furious and not quit sideways. These pictures were taken around 7 am. And to think the nut hatches were checking out their new digs just last Thursday. I guess it is still winter on the Ridge.
More snow
Yes, I took a hiatus from blogging while I contemplated the future of my blog site. First of all, I think we have several fabulous and professional blogs in the area specifically myballard.com and phinneywood.com. These sites and related neighborhood ones are run by professional journalists who do a really fabulous job. I love these blogs. So, I’ve never thought I was in competition with them but I had to ask myself what can I do that would add value as a neighborhood blogger? I also had a few concerns with some really yucky sites that pop up if you type my blog address in wrong. I belong to a group called Neighborhoods Undressed which is made up of mostly real estate professionals and other related parties who blog under the same umbrella. It is a great group and we all support each other. So… I also had to admit that I do enjoy blogging – especially without restrictions either by a blogging relationship or self imposed. For all these reasons, I plan on continuing my blog as a creative or frustrating release of stuff I feel like writing about,mixed in with neighborhood stuff and mostly real estate facts and information. For anyone who has cruised by my blog or happen upon it…. I hope you like that approach. Kerri Sheehan, Realtor Keller Williams, GRSE LLC
OCTOBER 16TH UPDATE: This house went on the NWMLS on a Monday night, the sign went up 3ish on Tuesday, I held it open Tuesday from 3:30 – 6. A couple came in that night who made an offer that was accepted Thursday morning!!!! Opportunities abound for those ready to buy. The upside future equity opportunity on this house is tremendous. If you are ready to buy – there are loans available and even better, some great opportunities for first time buyers, those interested in new space and investors. Call me at 206-660-7489 if you are interested in buying or selling.
Welcome Home, This is the turn-key, old-world-charmer you’ve been looking for! Enter to gleaming hardwoods and tons of natural light. Updates include tuck-pointed chimney, remodeled bath, new electrical panel and service, and freshly refinished topnailed oak and fir floors. Step out back to your beautiful back yard with a patio and fruit trees. The 900 sq ft. unfinished basement and the 300 sq ft. attic both have high ceilings for future remodel to a finished 2100 sq ft house. A master suit can easily be added upstairs and the basement has tons of potential. Walk to Greenwood & Phinney!! Beautiful street – close to everything.
Stonington is my santuary away from a busy city life. Located at the tip of Deer Isle in Maine, Stonington is a small harbor town with approx. 1200 residents and is supported by the year round lobster fishing industry and tourism.
Located about an hours drive from Bangor or 5-6 hrs. from Boston, it isn’t that easy to get to for a Seattleite but the drive from either direction is well worth it, especially this time of year when the leaves are starting to turn and amazing shocks of color are evident every where. The blueberry fields are especially pretty.
Stonington itself has much to offer. Isle Au Haut, which is part of Acadia National Park, is just a Ferry ride away and offers 18 miles of hiking trails and 12 miles of biking trails some of which can be very challenging. The kayaking in the area is great! Rentals, tours and lessons are all available in Stonington. There are also numerous boat tours available including the opportunity to go out on a lobster boat or just tour the harbor and learn the history of the area. Main street has tons of fun shops and excellent restaurants – you can feast on lobster from breakfast through dinner or you can buy lobster from the co-op and cook it your self. Art galleries are everywhere! The Haystack Mountain School of Art is located on Deer Isle and offers studio classes for beginners to professionals.
Stonington is also a great launching point for visiting other small towns including Castine which is a wonderful historical town first discovered in 1604 and settled by the British in 1759. During the Revolutionary war the Amercians, who arrived by ship, where completely defeated by the British in what many call the worse Amercian naval defeat in history. The British stayed until 1815. As you might imagine, the town is full of historical buildings including John Perkins home and a wonderful museum. Maps are available for self walking tours of the town.
Castine is also home of the Maine Maritime Acadamy which has a beautiful campus. You can sit on the dock and eat a lobster sandwich and watch the students drill.
so much more to write about………. I’ll report back after my next visit.
written by: Kerri Sheehan, Realtor – Keller Williams, GRSE LLC
The unit attached to this harbor view deck is called Ketch and is located on Main st. within walking distance of all Stonington has to offer. Ketch has 2 bedrooms/ 1 bath and is for rent – contact info@islandvacationrentals.com for more details.
It was an impromptu idea and we jumped on it. By 5:00 Friday night, Ron and I were on I-90 heading to Yakima. I had an open house on Sunday so our plan was to wine taste Saturday and drive back Sunday morning.
It was a beautiful drive over and we reached our hotel at 7ish and hit downtown Yakima immediately after checking in. There are a few tasting rooms down town now so we did pop into a couple of those but mostly wandered the historic area. Part of downtown’s main street was closed down as they were setting up for a 3×3 basketball tournament which made it really easy to wander back and forth checking out the various shops and restaurants. Needless to say…. Downtown was pretty quiet.
I saw one interesting building/sign called the Barrel House (www.thebarrelhouse.net) on N. First St. and figured it was either a furniture store or some type of wine venue so we wandered over and discovered a lovely bar & restaurant. The menu was excellent and it was very hard to decide on what to have. We settled for sharing a braised pork shank with creole risotto. YUM. We could not believe how tasty it was and were mortified when it was gone. The owner/chef Tim Schroeder wandered out and we had to do a few bows to him. I highly recommend the Barrel House for dinner!!! Next time we go we will eat there again.
Pork Shank w/ creole Risotto from the Barrel House
Saturday morning we drove to Prosser and had breakfast at the Red Barn before hitting the wine tasting. Given past experiences we knew we could only handle so many tastings in a day (we even share) so we tried to break it up with a few in Prosser, several in Zillah, hit the casino, few more in Zillah and then Sagelands further up towards the hotel. It was a beautiful day, not too hot although the car did get a bit heated so we bought a cooler at a flea market to keep the wine from cooking in the car. (Note to self: bring cooler for wine).
I had never been to Bonair winery but it was apparently listed in “Washington’s Best Places to Kiss” so we had to check it out. I personally disagree with the listing. The winery is very nice and we did enjoy the wines and a snack but Hyatt smokes them for ambiance.
A beautiful glass door on a shop in Yakima
We had dinner at Santiago’s Gourmet Mexican Restaurant in Yakima (www.santiagos.org) and given the nice warm day, lots of little sips of wine all day…we were done. Had a pleasant drive back Sunday morning, caught up a bit and did an open house. This was a great, quick road trip that we will do again, maybe even this fall. Afterall, we need to have 6 more wineries stamp our passports so we can turn it in and be invited to the wine dinner next year!
written by: Kerri Sheehan – Realtor, Keller Williams GRSE
My favorite style of home is by far a true Craftsman. I once lived in a 1904 Craftsman on lower Phinney that had some interesting add ons (no bathroom back in 1904) and now a 1919 bungalow on upper Phinney that has been restored and updated for modern living. The Craftsman home was popular during the Eclectic Period from 1880 – 1940. It got it’s start in Britain as somewhat of an offshoot or maybe even a toning down of Victorian styles which actually includes a stick style, shingle style and queen anne style all of which are represented in Seattle. Components from each of these styles can be found in the true Craftsman home. Typical elements of a Craftsman home include; low-pitched gabled or sometimes hipped roofs with exposed rafters, very wide overhangs which also include fake braces and beams under the gables (watch out – birds love to hang and try to nest in these areas) and a porch supported by columns. The porches are either full or partial width and the columns typically continue to the ground without a break at the porch level. The columns are wood or sometimes encased in stone. Porches have often been enclosed over the years which can add to the homes live-able square footage by adding electricity and heat to the area. I have seen these enclosed porches move beyond a dry entry mud room to offices and just plain cool reading rooms. I personally have a bungalow where this works.
The California Bungalow is the style that tends to get the most mention and where much of the Northwest bungalow influence came from. The typical bungalow is a one story house with a pitched overhanging gabled roof. In the East it was more common to have a bigger pitch to the roof to allow for a partial second floor and low shed dormers to let light in. You will find this style in and around Phinney/Greenwood as well including gabled dormers. The tapered porch posts are the most obvious feature of a true bungalow.
Bungalows typically have 2 bedrooms with 1 bath and sometimes a basement. In the old days, these “crawl spaces” were not finished and you can still find a lot of those or partially finished basements in Seattle. If your lucky, you might find a bungalow with an unfinished basement with good height which will allow you to add on another 400+ sq feet depending on the supports and foundation. Given how old most of the bungalows in Seattle are, there usually has been some remodeling done to them. I’ll get into materials and age issues in other blogs but remember; older homes can be healed, settling is common (think water, earthquakes…) this fact may or may not be an issue and those plaster cracks …hmmmm – A very thorough inspection is necessary and may include a well versed contractor and a sewer scope to make sure you are not buying a major project.
written by Kerri Sheehan – Realtor, Keller Williams
Welcome to my blog!
I adore the Greenwood Phinney Ridge area and look forward to sharing stories and information about our neighborhood that I hope you find fun and helpful and that you also will join in.
I am proud to say that I am a Northwest Native (note: we use to be a vanishing breed). Although I spent my early years in Lynnwood, my family has a long rich history with Seattle and especially Ballard going back to the lumber years. My Grandparents lived not far from the Barking Dog Restaurant from 1942 until about 2000 and we spent a lot of time with them which introduced me to the area and that is how I ended up here.
I moved into the brick apartments across from the zoo when I got out of college. I loved it. It was a wonderful old building with built in’s and glass door knobs and, I could hear the elephants and the lions in the morning. That is way back when the elephants use to be located on Phinney. Too much fun. Then I got into a house on 4th when they only cost $73,000 (I know… I wish I had been able to buy 10 houses!!!). Then I moved to Blue Ridge for 16 years and now I’m back in the Greenwood/Phinney area. Before I got into real estate I worked at Ocean Beauty Seafoods on the other side of the Ballard Bridge and the joke, partially true, was that I lived and worked in a 3 mile radius. Real Estate definitely gets me out and about and even back to my old haunts up North.
Besides all of the fun shops and restaurants, I love the fact that we have so many events and opportunities to meet our neighbors. I’m looking forward to the Greenwood Parade on the 23rd. If you have never gone, it may surprise you just how big and fun it really is. Keep tuned as we tune this blog site and thank you for visiting.
