This is Alarming

Imagine living next to a firehouse for 30 years. Imagine you got used to the commotion of living with alarms that go off at all hours of the day and night. And then one day you're told your house needs to be torn down to make the firehouse bigger. For 30 years you've lived there and now eminent domain will squash you like a bug. This is the story, by the Magnolia News, of some folks who live near Fire Station 20 at 3205 13th Ave. W, which serves Interbay, Queen Anne and Magnolia.

Turbulent Weekend

What a weird weekend it was. Due to high winds, we lost power at our Magnolia home on Saturday at 9 a.m. and then waited until 4 p.m. to see if the lights would come back on. They didn't, so we packed up and went to the Marriott on the Waterfront. Even though it sounds pricey, it was only $100/night since this is their slow time of year and rates are low. They said most of their customers were from Magnolia or areas of the city that lost power.

We saw the culprit of our outage: around the corner, a big 'ol evergreen-ish tree took out a transformer. By morning we had our power back.

Historic Hotel For Sale -- Concrete

Whenever I see restaurants and bars for sale, I just have to laugh because it taps so many memories of my upbringing. I grew up in upstate NY where my parents had a "restaurant." I wouldn't consider it a restaurant, but rather a tavern. It's where men -- mostly men -- would gather at the end of their day, spending their hard-earned cash from blue-collar trades such as plumbers, mechanics, electricians -- you name it. My parents never referred to them by their real names, only "Joe the plumber," "Frank the mechanic," and "Al the carpenter." And, of course it was a quid pro quo relationship -- "Joe" would always fix our plumbing and Frank our cars. They got free beer and food in return.

Up in Concrete, Washington, where Tobias Wolff wrote a memoir on his upbringing there, is a restaurant/hotel for sale on Craigslist. I know people dream of owning a bar because they think it's fun and exciting. From personal experience, it's a lot of hard work and not so much fun, or exciting. It's actually a 24/7 experience that gets old pretty fast.

Townhouses! In Magnolia! Who Knew?

Just when I thought Magnolia was only filled with ranch homes or 25-room manses, I get the surprise of my life: Townhomes! Down along 30th Ave. W is a set of townhomes by Archstone, which has developed other projects in and around Seattle. They look nice enough, even though they are tucked into an area resembling an alley. The vitals are:

Priced from the lower $500,000’s

2 Bedrooms + Attic Bonus Room / 2 ½ Baths

1,550 Sq. Ft. - 1,750 Sq. Ft

And hey, there's the ever-faithful Honey Bucket...