 In addition to being Real Estate professionals,  Larry and I are also musicians--yes, we spend 24/6.5 together! We met at an open mic sponsored by Victory Music, which is now hosted at the Q cafe every Tuesday night. You might even catch us performing there once in awhile! Victory has open mics and concerts in other locations, Tacoma, Lynnwood and at Crossroads Mall in Bellevue and there are many other open mic opportunities around town, to play and also to go listen. We will write more about music and listening opportunities from time to time. 3223 15th Ave W, Seattle 98119 (just south of the Ballard Bridge at Dravus St. exit) • (206) 352-2525 • www.qcafe.orgSign up: 5:45 - 6:15 pm Music: 6:30 - 9:00 pm Cover charge: $3 general public, $2 members. Performers don't pay! Wonderful large venue, very family friendly. Coffee, tea, soft drinks and pastries available.  Lynette Hensley Associate Broker Labels: Magnolia, Music, Seattle, West Seattle
 One of the most wonderful things about living in the Seattle area is that we are surrounded by water, trees and mountains. Trees all around, mountains to the East and West, and big ones to the North (Mt Baker) and to the South (Mt. Rainier). Driving around the area, views will open up to reveal all these beautiful features around us. To fully enjoy the water, it's best to use a boat--and if you don't have your own you may like to take a ferry to locations around the sound, far or near. Larry and I love to take a ferry from Anacortes in the summer to the San Juan islands. Our favorite is probably Orcas Island where there is an indie music festival sometime in mid July called Woodsong. Two days of almost constant indie music....it's worth checking out--ask us for more info--we've been to the festival a couple of times and just love it! But that's actually another blog post! Here's a little photo tour of our ride to and from Port Orchard yesterday where we went to take a BuyerTour of a historic building for sale, an old grange hall that has a dance floor, stage, and a loft as well as a kitchen and meeting space. Zoned residential, it was to be renovated into a residence, but now it's for sale. The Washington State Ferry site is comprehensive, with good access to schedules and fares, and they also have a mobile version if you need to access it by mobile internet.  Lynette Hensley Associate Broker Labels: Ferry, Seattle, Seattle Waterfront, West Seattle
  The Seattle area offers many home shows throughout the year. Larry and I took in the Home Improvement Show at the Convention Center. There we entered lots of contests, signed up to have someone out to bid replacement gutters for our home, and met vendors with many new  products for improving  homes. In no particular order: - Window coverings by Nancy Stock at Residential Solutions
- V-Kool window film for UV protection
- Leaf solution gutters
- Puget Sound Solar Electric systems
- Re-Bath--fit over your existing bathtub
- N Compass construction company remodelers
- Builder Showroom--see kitchen styles to choose from
- REM sleep solutions -- beds and sleep products
- Solatube -- these are cool! Use natural light from a tube through the ceiling.
- Solar Star attic fans -- NW Natural Lighting
- Conner Remodeling and Design
- Walk-in Bathtubs
- WESSCO Blinds
- EPA -- Lead poisoning info for renovators
- Seattle Design Build -- we build sun into Northwest Homes
- Natural Stone Veneers
- Masterheat -- radiant floor heating
And this was just a sampling! Larry and I have contact info for all these vendors, and oh so many more. Just give us a call!  Lynette Hensley, Associate Broker Labels: Home improvement, Seattle
 Larry and I first became aware of the developments in South Lake Union when our church decided to move there a few years ago. Most every Sunday, Union Church has been occupying the Armory, the white Naval Reserve building at the south end of the lake where the Wooden Boats Festival is held every July 4th (Larry and I play music for the festival each year). We (the church) were trying to buy a property to move into, and many were available. Beat out by much bigger purses than the church's, we ended up at the armory for the time being. Soon we will move into our own space.  Bigger, more widely known news is that Amazon is moving their operations to SLU, and many, many other businesses already call the area home. Our favorite cup of coffee in that area can be found at Cafe Vivace, where all the shots are "ristretto" (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ristretto) they only use the best part of the espresso, and it is indeed a lovely cuppa. Also the Southlake Grill, which currently offers half off their entire food menu Sunday mornings. Here's a great website to discover more about South Lake Union: http://www.discoverslu.comIt's a walkable neighborhood complete with a trolley, and several zipcars are based there, and there are also at least 3 Leeds certified Green Built condo buildings. Seattle's best new thing!  Lynette Hensley, Associate Broker Labels: Green built, Seattle, South Lake Union
 I have finished the virtual tour I took of Olympic Sculpture Park. This was a wonderful day when Krista, a client that was relocating from California, and I went to the Olympic Sculpture Park with her dog Bella. A bit later I will fill in my impressions and some history of the park...there's a great website the city has for it which I'll put in too... Edy Kizaki, Realtor Labels: Olympic Sculpture Park, relocating, Seattle
 Here are the photos of the Fireworks at the Space Needle on New Year's Eve at Midnight! These are a bit blurry, taken in the middle of the night, but hopefully you'll get the (ooooo! ahhhhhhh!) sense of it. I will never forget New Year's Eve on the Mound in Gasworks Park, watching the fireworks. Last night around 11:30 p.m. we arrived at Gasworks Park. There were cars everywhere parked nearby, but turning toward the water we discovered the whole parking lot behind the park was empty. But we boldly parked there anyway, and 10 minutes later so did about 15 other people, it just took one car and the whole place filled up! Gasworks Park is just at the north end of Lake Union. It is right down the street from our office and famous for a great kite-flying location (there is even a kite shop just down the street from us!) but there is also a great view of the Space Needle and downtown, and there were, I would say, over 1,000 people sitting on the hillside facing the Lake and the Space Needle. We only got there 15 minutes before midnight, but was my rear ever cold in those 15 minutes. Next time remind me to bring a blanket or at least a square of cardboard to sit on!! But it was wonderful, a bright black night with lighted boats crusing the lake and the space needle with it's little pointed Christmas tree on top standing up right across the lake from us. The people around us were in high spirits laughing and joking and calling out to the crowd, and one guy kept saying, if they don't do the fireworks pretty soon, then definitely the aliens are going to arrive...it really did look like the scenes in movies where people gather at the top of a mountain and raise up their arms to the sky waiting for the aliens to show up. My son started calling out "We come in peace!" My camera, not on a tripod, did not get any real crisp photos of the fireworks, so what I have to share here are some blurry, impresionistic images of the lake, night, the lights on Queen Anne Hill and the Space Needle spouting fire and glory It was definitely the place to be and the thing to be doing, I doubt I will ever be anywhere else ever again on New Year's Eve. If Fremont is the Center of the Universe (as you may know this truth was discovered more than 20 years ago by a Fremont native), then Gasworks Park must be the Center of the New Year in Seattle. We watched 2008 being born on the Pacific Rim, in the dark and the crisp air among a crowd of joyful people who had no intention of letting the joyful event go by unnoticed! May 2008 bear out the promise this celebration brought into life, and bring you all to Seattle to enjoy it with us! Edy Kizaki, Realtor Labels: Gasworks Park, New Year's Eve, Seattle, Space Needle
Merry Christmas!! Went over the Cascades to Wenachee (Apple Capitol of the World) a couple nights ago in the moonlight...to pick up my daughter who had been supposedly on a bus to Vancouver BC to visit friends...even the most sincere of girls can get on the wrong bus, I guess! What a trip, how beautiful. Old forest firs covered in snow, that sense of expectancy in the air... now I think Santa must have been somewhere in that forest, preparing for the big day. Seattle is still uniquely itself, humming with energy and a special mix of spice which comes from being The Most Highly Educated City in the US, full of fun and mischief and hopes for the future, and on the Pacific Rim with all the international flavor that brings, each area and neighborhood a delightful treasure trove of things to explore and discover. Of COURSE I found Starbucks coffee under the tree this year, the aroma of coffee is everywhere here, but that's just the beginning. I will try to be better at sharing my experiences of this wonderful place with you as the year progresses. Hope the coming year gives us many opportunities to spend time together and share our lives. All the best to you and yours! Edy Kizaki, Realtor Labels: Apple Capitol of the World, Pacific Rim, Seattle, Travel in Seattle, Wenachee
 It really has been an especially nice fall season. And it's not that I've done as much as usual, but ... quality people. Thank you, people in my life! Slowing time down and noticing the little stuff. This is not a burning revelation, I know, but it really does make a difference every moment. And it's like... let today linger.
Seattle? Yes, it's here. I love driving through Wallingford every day on the way to the office. On those little narrow streets with the round  islands in the intersections so you weave around. And if another car starts up the street from the other side, you look for a driveway to pull over and let them pass. And you can see Lake Union, the boats, the city and Space Needle behind it in the distance, as you glance up from the narrow street and the green-in-your-face circles... and during the whole progress down toward the lake you are sneaking long, timeless glances at the as-much-as-100-year-old homes with various signs of age and glory, most often lovingly cared for and brought with shining honor right up into the present moment by those who live in them and care for them. And saying to yourself... This is Seattle...this is Seattle...this is Seattle...this is sooooo Seattle...
Tell you what, you've been good so next time I drive down those streets I'll take a few shots of lovely Wallingford character homes and put them in this post to try and give you a sense of the neighborhood.
Edy Kizaki, Realtor Labels: character homes, Lake Union, Seattle, Space Needle, Wallingford
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In addition to being Real Estate professionals, 
Larry and I are also musicians--yes, we spend 24/6.5 together! We met at an open mic sponsored by Victory Music, which is now hosted at the Q cafe every Tuesday night. You might even catch us performing there once in awhile!
Lynette Hensley
