Turkey Day Kids Party at Borders

Celebrate Thanksgiving with the Whole Family! Borders Bookstore is having a kid party at most stores on November 22, 2008 at 2:00 PM.

This is what their website says: “It’s almost Thanksgiving! Join us for a special Turkey Day Kids Party at most Borders stores with stories, games, art and puzzle activities and more! Contact your local store for more information.”

I love bookstores anyway so when there’s a party as well I’m there!

Ballard Locks

I’ve lived in Seattle for 8 years now and I just visited the Ballard Locks for the first time. I know, I’m a little slow. The locks were really interesting to watch.

Boats of all sizes come into the locks and it connects the Puget Sound (salt water) to Lake Washington (fresh water) without mixing the water and adjusts to low tide levels. We saw some expensive boats and some really tiny boats, even a sail boat.

If you’ve never been, I highly encourage it. It’s fun for the kids to see the boats and be sure to check out the salmon run windows. Plus, it’s totally free!

Boats at ocean level

Boats at Lake Washington Level

Thank You!

Today is Veteran’s Day. Originally called Armistice Day, the symbolic end to World War I in 1918 but after World War II the name was changed to Veteran’s Day.

Thank you to all the men and women who have served our country. Today is more than a day “off” for the common citizen. Think off all the sacrifices military personel have made on our behalf. It’s truly amazing!

The McFarland Group has a long relationship with the military. Dave McFarland was a in the Aviation unit of the Marines for 11 years, his Dad was in the Army for 20 years, Dave’s son in law was in the Navy. Robin’s Step-dad was in the Army and flew B-17’s, her mother was a “Rosie the Riveter” and worked as a welder during the war. My grandfather was in the Army and earned a Purple Heart, my Dad was in the National Guard, and my Cousin is in the Navy and leaves for Afghanistan in January.

These are just a few of our loved ones that have served in the military. The McFarland Group has always offered a military discount to any client that has a military background because we know first hand the sacrifices they make.

Seattle Expected To Recover First In Housing Crisis

Forbes Magazine has named Seattle the most likely city to recover from the Housing Crisis! That’s good news for us but bad news for Detroit which was at the bottom of the list. The in-depth article states “Seattle has a reputation for nurturing brainy industries like aerospace and software. That should help it weather the coming financial storm. Seattle also stays strong because of its vibrant, livable downtown where rents are going up and tenants are likely to stick around.”

I wish the article would say when the recovery would start! Houses are still selling so if you are interested give us a call or email us!

Here’s the article from Forbes if you are interested.

Streetview Available In Seattle!

Finally, Google has launched Streetview for the Seattle area. Not sure why Portland, OR and Spokane, WA have been available for a year while Seattle had to sit ad wait but finally our day has come!

Streetview is just that, a view of the street. According to Wikipedia “Google Street View is a feature that provides 360° panoramic street-level views and allows users to view parts of selected cities and their surroundings at ground level.” In other words, it’s totally cool!

I typed in my address and the photos were taken last October because I can see the Halloween decorations up, nice huh, forever known in the google maps as the Haloween decorated house. This is a great tool for researching real estate. Let’s say you are moving out of state but you can’t go see a house you are interested in. Streetview can show you the neighborhood. Or what if you want to see what the house you grew up in looks like today? Streetview can do that!

For a demonstration of how it works check out this YouTube video.

Freebies Just Because you Voted!

Yes this is free advertising but I appreciate major companies encouraging us to vote!

Starbucks – Get a free tall 12-oz. cup of brewed coffee. Limit one per customer. If you live in an area that does not provide proof of voting, stores will operate on the honor system.

Krispy Kreme – Get a free star-shaped donut with red, white, and blue sprinkles when you show them your “I voted” sticker. Participating stores only, so you may want to call ahead.

Ben & Jerry’s – Get a free scoop of ice cream from 5:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. Limit one per customer.