Windermere is the only realty firm to have our own Chief Economist — and we are so thankful to have him! Matthew Gardner shares his market expertise and forecasts in a quarterly publication called The Gardner Report. If you have questions about where the market is headed, take a look at the most recent report:

The Gardner Report

If you love farmer’s markets, you really have to take a visit up to Mossyback Farm off of the Stanwood/Camano exit. Mossyback operates spring through Thanksgiving, and it’s set up in a tent. You can’t help but love a farmer’s market in a tent. Am I right? Here are a few pictures I took while waiting for my cucumber order awhile back.

Here’s the view from inside.

Colors abound.

And Mark, the owner, will even eat a mushroom for you if you ask.

The signs are decorated with Christmas lights. All by itself, that little fact makes me love this place.

Along with just about every fruit and vegetable imaginable (minus the very exotic ones, like … you know … heirloom Persian variegated cumquats … ), Mark also sells soap.

And jams, jellies, local honey, chili sauce, spaghetti sauce, pickles, etc.

Outside, you are overwhelmed with flowers.

There’s a tiny pond for sitting by, and someone was thoughtful enough to paint these rocks for you to look at while you do so.

Of course, there are seedlings.

And if you happen to arrive at 9:30 thinking to just dash in real quick-like and pick up some pickling cucumbers, only to discover the cucumber man is late delivering the 400 pounds of cucumbers Mark ordered, and you end up waiting until 12:30 to get them, Cody is happy to keep you company while you sit on that one bench just to the left of all the flowers.

Oh, but you are the cutest thing I’ve seen in forever!!! Does Mark know how close I came to accidentally putting you in my car and driving away?

After you play with Cody for a good long while, you will remember to load up on all the garlic, jalapenos and dill you will need for pickles. Dill is magic, I tell you.

And here’s a close-up. I like to call this one, “Dill and Flowers.” 😀

Finally … the cucumber man cometh!

But … what’s this? Not only is he late, but he’s also 250 pounds short? And all but two boxes of those cucumbers are spoken (and paid) for already? And Mark, knowing you’ve been waiting three hours, gives those last two boxes to you, even though there are customers standing just behind you who are also waiting for cucumbers? Oh, this has trouble written all over it.

You’d leave one box and try to make due with one yourself. You would. Except … how do you decide who gets that second box? And don’t forget — your family really loves your pickles. Even with those two boxes, you’re going to have to dole them out a mere two quart jars per month until you’re back at the stand next August, ready to buy the makings for more. And you did wait THREE HOURS for those cucumbers … and the closest other waiter was only about 30 minutes, and she’s already made a big batch of pickles (you know because she told you while you both waited). And if everyone will just come back in a few days, more cucumbers will be waiting. And  … and …

You put your money on the counter. You stack those boxes. You make a run for the car. And this is the scene behind you:

Can you tell I feel just awful? I really do. Now, maybe if I’d only waited two hours and fifty-five minutes instead of the full three hours, I may have been more benevolent. But it is what it is. Or it was what it was. Whatever. Anyway, cukes, dill, garlic and jalapenos in hand, and the angry villagers with pitchforks and torches in my rear-view mirror, I finally headed home to make pickles. Ended up with 25 quarts of hot kosher dills, 10 pints of sweet pickle spears, and a small batch of the cucumber-onion refrigerator pickles my grandma used to make.

So that was my August morning at Mossyback Farm. Look for the tent, and the friendly frog in front. You’ll be very happy you made the drive north.

Just an hour and a half up Highway 2 from our home in Marysville, you’ll come upon the town of Leavenworth. Virtually every store, gas station, hotel, restaurant—-and even Starbucks!—-is decorated in such a way as to make you think you’ve landed in an authentic Bavarian village.

It’s fun any time of the year, but our two favorites months are October and December. We’re taking our family there early in December to see all the tree-festival fun (and I’ll post some pictures of that after), but here’s a peek at our visit last month to Oktoberfest. We really weren’t planning to go for that. We were just driving around on a rare day off together, and before we knew it we’d driven over the mountains. Serendipitous. 🙂

My husband and I refinanced to a 15-year mortgage about 4 years ago, and I have been shocked to see how fast our principle is going down! Of course, initially I was shocked for a different reason … the new payment was obviously higher than before. It took some adjusting, but I'm so glad we did it. We can actually see the light at the end of the tunnel. 🙂

Forbes has a great article on the benefits of a 15-year mortgage. You can read it here:

http://www.forbes.com/sites/trulia/2016/08/16/4-reasons-you-should-consider-a-15-year-mortgage-right-now/#4a7e137d45b3

It's always fun when I get calls from friends saying, "Want to look at houses?" In this case, it was the son and daughter-in-law of one of my closest friends, Cathy–and friends in their own right. I knew these two back before they were married, and it has been a joy to watch their family grow. Baby number three is on his/her way soon!

Here are pictures of the day of signing and the day I got to hand them their key.

Siging the papers at escrow. Who knew it could be so funny? 

New key 🙂 

  Because kitchens should never be empty …

Welcome home, Riley!  

Welcome home, Bhritney!  

Scout approves  

  The Taylors! 

Love this family! 

I really, really love this couple. Friends before they both lost their spouses, these widowers found a second chance at love and got married in June of this year. Farlan had just turned 90 and Bobbie was 83. He liked to joke that he had robbed the cradle. 🙂

On this day, they came to my husband's retirement from 20 years of pastoring. I was so thankful for their support … and their friendship. I have the loveliest clients!

Lovely, pristine rambler in wonderfully quiet neighborhood near Jennings Park. Inviting, fully fenced backyard with gorgeous landscaping, covered deck & water-feature is an Eden-like oasis and will be a favorite spot this summer. Seller is amazing woodworker with the shop to prove it (fully insulated; wired 220). Cabinets & 2 closet doors are his handiwork! RV parking w/power, sewer & water hook-up; garden shed; sprinkler system. Over $60k on kitchen addition & custom shop. See it soon!

SOLD! 

We sold this home in one day … and for $10,000 over asking price.

My clients had found their gorgeous new home in Whatcom County and called me with the news: “We need to list our house immediately–and have a pending offer within 12 days!” So we worked quickly and made it happen. We were on the market within 24 hours, and by the end of that day my sellers were delighted to receive multiple offers, and happily selected one that was $10,000 over asking price.

If you’re looking to sell, I can help you position your home in the best light and negotiate the highest price for you. And if you’re a buyer, I have strategies to help you win in this competitive market.

$308,000 MLS: 932979