Real Estate Field Notes

A Party with No Guests??

My open house today wasl just like having a party with no guests:  inviting people via the newspaper and with signs & balloons to come and see this vacant home and Not a Soul came by for 2 1/2 hours.  The house was so full of silence, it sliced through the air.  I was chilly because I sat on the stairs where I could see the door.  I don't like to be surprised by people coming in without my seeing them first (safety you know!)  And this home has no way to do that without going upstairs to the front bedroom or sitting on the stairway where there is a nice side window by the front porch. 

 

It wasn't such a bad day either.  It was gray, cloudy and it rained intermittently.  But the sun came out too.  No excuses folks.  This is a decent house in a great area with a large fenced backyard and nice sunny garden space.  So where were you?

It could be that Halloween festivities were to blame.  Parents and kids could have been gathering at the mall all decked out in scary garb getting free candy.  Well, I had free candy too.  And it was even Snickers which are always a favorite I think.  They weren't the big bar like we used to get as kids. Back in the "good old days" they didn't even make the junior bars.  We just had to gorge on the big ones and lots of them.  In those days we also got a carmel apple from one house and money from a doctor who lived up the street.  It was a fun time and I don't remember my parents escorting us either.  It was safe as can be in our "kid friendly" hill top neighborhood in the West Hills of Bend Or.  Yes, we always felt safe.  I guess my sister did get a bit beat up by a couple making out up at the water tower in the woods once.  But that was an odd occurrence.

Back to the open house.  I took my usual new magazines, but not enough this time.  I usually have way to much reading material between new magazines and books I check out at the library.  But today I was short and tomorrow I well may be also.  Yikes.... I will have to take my novel or some fabric to cut out, perhaps!

Stop on by when you see that open house sign.  There could be a lonely real estate agent who needs someone to visit with for a bit.  You might like each other, learn something, or just do a good deed for the day!

Weak (Week) End: keeping track of your life

Is it the end of your week?  Are you feeling kind of weak at the end of your week?  How would you evaluate your accomplishments for this past week?

Life passes way too quickly to not be paying attention.  Looking back helps us move forward hopefully without reliving past mistakes.  Oh, if it were only so.  It seems that the same pitfalls trip me up again and again.  I am very hard on myself although it is hard to know what I am comparing my own self with?  Is it the person in the next cubicle, the office down the hall, or heaven forbid, my husband?

I believe in journal-ling.  Believing does not equal doing.  I like to write and I like to write about what I am thinking and feeling and what the day is like including the weather.  I am sure my kids will enjoy reading all these sexy and horrifying thoughts I have had after I am on to eternal life..  Yes, it could be tantalizing reading.  Or not. 

But I seriously would love to sit down with a stack of my grandmother's journals and peruse her life on a daily basis.  My husband's mom has written a poem book.  It encompasses her thoughts and feelings during her marriage to my husband's father who is deceased.  It has been therapeutic for her.  And writing does make us feel better.  It is like talking to someone freely.  You listen to yourself and learn. 

Try it.  Start with the day, the date, the weather, your schedule, how you felt, plans, ideas, what you wish you were doing.....  Great stuff!

How does YOUR Garden Grow?

Our garden is growing and it is a joy to watch and a pleasure to eat!  One of my favorite parts of the day is walking down to our large compound, open the gate and start picking. Fresh vegetables and fruit are the reward for all our hard work.  We bought our home five years ago with this garden in mind.  It continues to evolve and this year our neighbors have joined to make it more of a community garden.  They have a rototiller that made the work so much faster as we add beds and get rid of all the pesky weeds and rocks.

Yes, it is ZUCCHINI and I haven't yet started leaving it on my neighbor's doorstep.  But they should be happy if I did because it is darn good.  I picked three smaller size zucchini last night and had to come up with a dinner around it.  I did a google search for some ingredients and actually had some.

And here is the  Pasta Ala Shelly Zucchini.  It features some chicken tenders, penne, zucchini sauteed with onions & lots of garlic and  sprinkling of herbs from the garden: parsley, chives, basil

On top I added some shredded cheese with salt and pepper.  At first my husband thought it was bland. But it was far from bland.  I forgot to mention the anaheim chili and a few hot pepper flakes I put in.  I loved it.  Had it for lunch today and it is fresh and filling.

Here is a sampling of lettuce just picked from our wonderful garden.  I snuck in some peppers, too!  The flavor of just picked lettuce is intense.  So yummy!

Let's not forget my absolute favorite:  the berries.  Here you see raspberries (two varieties) some blueberries that are just starting to ripen and josta berries.  Josta berries are like a small tart grape.  Good for you just like all the others.  I love my berry mix on my cereal every morning.  Makes me smile :-)

Next I will be sharing our tomatoes with you Virtually, of course!

Wedding in South Lake Tahoe

We are back from our trip south to South Lake Tahoe, Yosemite National Park and Angel's Camp in the gold rush country of California.  Some highlights of our trip and a link to some wonderful pictures of the wedding below!

View from our condo 7500 ft altitude: nose bleed heights.  Magnificent. 202 Tramway in S. Lake Tahoe.

Merging families meet for first time:  Megan & Eric with Frazier, Shirley, Jeff, Alicia and Elayna, Eric's family.  We had our first breakfast in S Lake Tahoe at Ernie's.  Bert's was just down the street.  Good food, good people.

 

South Lake Tahoe is a strip connecting Nevada & California with casinos on the state line.  Jay and I did a quick walk through of the casinos and basically went in one door and out another.  Not for us; not even the cheap breakfast.

Speaking of food, (and when aren't we) there are some great choices in the area.  We had wonderful Thai food at a place on Kingsbury Road called "Thai One On".  Their pandango curry was excellent and servings were generous.  We also had a wonderful breakfast at the "Red Hut".  Their eggs and hash browns are excellent and a bowl of fresh berries and fruit was the perfect addition.  Our main source of great food came from Megan & Eric's caterer.   We had a barbecue after the wedding rehearsal potluck style.  And on Saturday the catered dinner was outstanding.

All in all it was an excellent time.  We left Tahoe and traveled through Yosemite National Park to Angels Camp where we stayed two nights and saw some great scenery.  We went to Murphy's, the Ironside Winery and Columbia State Park.  All worth seeing and exploring.

Sample Pictures of the Just Wedding

My Three Sons + 1

This blog post is on a more personal subject: my boys.  The inspiration is the news that my second son, Todd, and his wife Alicia are expecting their 2nd baby and its a boy.  That will make three boys for Todd (he has Jacob from a previous marriage).  Was he a bit disappointed to not have a girl?  I suspect so.  I vividly remember when Todd was born.  In those days we didn't know until the Birth Day what the sex would be so it was a surprise on that April 5th 1975.  I wanted a baby girl.  Sorry, Todd, but that is the truth.  I think we had the name, Sarah or Joanna picked out for a girl.  But I can honestly say today that I couldn't have had a better baby or finer son.  Was he easy to have around?  Oh, my no.  He came in demanding attention.  The nurses had quite a time with him in the nursery.  In those days the baby was not with the mother in the room.  I could hear him screaming down the hall.  I got up, walked down to the nursery and demanded that they give him to me.  The nurse had him all lathered up head to toe hoping a bath would calm him down.  They brought him to me.  He is my son and through good, bad and challenging; he always will be.  And then came Alex.  That is a whole other story.  Older brother Andrew was an only child for almost three years and we had a delightful time.  He has a very laid back personality and they just kept getting busier as they came along.  There is a psychology to that phenomenon I know. 

So now it is Todd and Alicia's turn to welcome a third son, to accept what that little guy brings and to love what he will add to their family.  Girls will come in the form of friends, girlfriends, daughter-in-laws and then maybe even grand daughters!

So Congratulations to the Schenbeck family in Hillsboro. And congratulations to our entire family as we welcome a new little guy in early fall of 2009!

Here are the sons:  Andrew, Alex, & Todd

The BEST Buyers

Did you know that real estate agents have distinct feelings about buyers?  I mean we work with everyone, but there are some buyers you get in the car and things just click.  This happened for me this past weekend when I took Peter and Ana out for a fun Saturday tour of homes.  We had done our homework prior to Saturday.  They have been receiving listings from me and choosing those that were of interest to drive by.  This is a great way for buyers to get a feel for neighborhoods.  The pictures on-line can look great.  But the drive-by tells the true story.  There might be several beat up cars in the neighbor's driveway.  The house across the street could be hot pink. 

Peter and Ana want a private backyard.  That is very important so the drive-by is really important.  Our search started with a late 60's house that the best adjective to describe it is: BLUE.  The exterior is blue, the carpet is blue, the kitchen and bedrooms were blue and yellow as were the family room and bedrooms.  It was cute.  It was too much along with the dated wrought iron railings around the sunken living room.  We marked it off the list.

Next we went to a brand new 8 house subdivision in Lacey.   The location is great for them because of job location.  The house was sheet-rocked and we went up a narrow board to get in.  On the way out we discovered the back door was much easier: stepped right out.  The dining area and living room in this house seemed a bit small, but all in all there is potential for them.  We are talking with the listing agent about another lot in the same area that is more secluded. 

The next house was what we call "the marble house".  It is interesting how we name houses by the most striking feature.  This home had marble kind of mismatched floor tiles on the entire first floor.  My comment is: "interesting."  The house is in bankruptcy, or the owner is I should say.  The floor plan was good and the house was in a setting that they really love.  The siding was in poor condition however and the roof too.  Maintenance was not on the top of this sellers' list!  The hot tub with no cover sat in the back looking very naked and alone.  With all that, it is still on the list.

Our next stop took us to two "milk toast" homes near each other.  I say milk toast because there was no outstanding features to wrap your words around.  No color in the first, new carpet all beige kitchen counters were beige.  Yep, it should be the beige house. 

We are still looking and the clients are revisiting the lender to narrow down loan programs that they qualify for.  They are so excited and they are doing the research to make this a well thought out purchase that they can enjoy for years to come!  I applaud them.  They are serious, they are flexible, they have a sense of humor and they are loyal. 

Making Valentines' Day Special - Past & Present

Back in the "good old days" when my three sons were young I decided to have an all red dinner for Valentines day. It was fun choosing the food to serve, decorating the table and putting on red clothes for supper.  It is those little things that go along way towards making traditions and having fun with your family!

Just today my younger sister, Dawn, called to ask me what I was doing for Jay for Valentine's Day?  Now there is a good question.  He is not easy to buy gifts for; he always takes them back.  He likes to buy his own books: he reads mysteries all the time.  He likes Soduku, but does that online and has a bunch of books.  He gardens all the time and so that may be an idea for me.  A gift certificate at Gordon's Nursery in Yelm might be the best idea for him.  He also likes ice cream and German Chocolate cake.  I may just go with the icecream as our cruise was an eating bonanza if you know what I mean.  I am rethinking this idea though as I recall the pretzel crust dessert we had on Sunday night at our neighborhood meeting.  You might want to click on this recipe for a Milk Chocolate Pretzel Crust Tart.  The pretzel crust adds that "sweet-salty" taste that is so tasty!

This Valentines Day, think about starting your very own family tradition: decorate, cook something special, make one meal a party with little love notes under the plates!  You will love it and so will your guests.