This Stunning 180-degree Puget Sound/Olympic Mountain/Whidbey Island View from beautiful 3,901sf Talbot Park home. Serene 1/2 acre perched high above cul-de-sac. Gourmet Kitchen, Master Suite w/fireplace/walk in closet & french doors open to fabulous Wrap Around Deck! Views from virtually every room including basement level which boasts potential mother in-law w/private entrance & very cool 1950′s diner style kitchen. Hot tub, huge laundry/project room, study/den, RV parking, prof landscaped & lots more. Priced to sell @ $685,000 for a private showing contact ^the Cobbin Group of exprealty

Because there is wi-fi throughout from the library, it is a multi-use location for people from the community and far and wide; a place to meet friends, sit and rest, refuel and read, get almost anything you need, and enjoy the people watching opportunities.  Because there is a stage and a large gathering space, kids and adults from the community utilize it as a performance and event area.  Because there is such a large and well stocked book store with heart, it’s hard to stay away for long.  It’s like a home away from home for the whole community, relax, enjoy, chat, eat, caffinate, and come back soon!

When I started coming here soon after moving to Lake Forest Park, I wondered what the name Third Place Books meant.  Finally I asked a clerk as I was buying a book.  “It’s a quote” he told me “about what humans do in society.  Our first place is our home, our second place is our work.  But humans need a third place, a place for community, to join together in friendship and act together as a community.  That is what the owner of Third Place Books thought important when he named his business.”  Bingo.

Phil and Pam Boulding, the center of this musical whirl of Holiday sparkle, are magical at holiday time. 

Yuletide Concert Magical Strings Ensemble

The Shoreline-Lake Forest Park concert is the first of their holiday series (which goes from Portland to Mount Vernon) and is, according to Phil, “always exciting, the energy is up and high because it’s the first show of the season.”  This year is specially special…Brittany Boulding, one of their five children, has returned from NYC where she lived for years performing with major orchastras.  It’s her first year back and she is busy as she’s the Concertmistress of the Bellevue Philharmonic, as well as playing with the Seattle Symphony.  She will appear with the Magical Strings group and play a special solo as well as fiddling along with the Celtic music and jigs!  Her brother Brenin, a notable cello player, will also join the group and since his wife is Sara Raney of the Raney Irish Dancers, there has for some years been a cross link and the dancers will be performing at the concert.  More wonderful family, grandaughter Rowen, now 9, is an award winning Irish Dancer (The Tara Acadamy of Irish Dance is run by Sara Raney and her sisters) and will perform a solo. 

Also appearing will be Irish Flute Player Hanz Areki as a guest performer (said to be the “quintessential world music musician”), lyrical juggler Thomas Arthur, vocalists Mark and Colleen Raney, and other special guests.  Phil explained to me that he and Pam compose a lot of their own original music, and have just returned from a spectacular trip to Ireland which inspired some of this year’s program.  I am personally looking forward to a special arrangement for a violin and cello duo that sounds amazing!

Practically a household word in the Northwest, Magical Strings Ensemble enthralls with a tight woven blend of dancing hammers and pulsating strings.   The distinctive music created by the harmonious partnership of Phil and Pam is described in the Washington Post as “warm, graceful and sonically gorgeous.”  Centered around a tight-knit blending of hammered dulcimers and Celtic harps, the performance will be enhanced by pennywhistles, valiha (Malagasy harp), concertina and song  and storytelling.  During the past 25 years Magical Strings has always drawn a great and loyal following all over the world, captivated by sparkling arrangements of Celtic music and their original joyful compositions, intertwining Celtic roots with classical and World Music influences

Could there be more?  Yes, just don’t miss it!  Please take a look at their Magical Strings website for further details  and for other concerts they will be playing for this series in the Holiday Season!  And don’t forget to check out the Shoreline-Lake Forest Park Arts Council website (and maybe bookmark it?) for gallery news and other events of the season.

For an interesting taste of a Hanz Araki balad, try http://popup.lala.com/popup/2810527689712221426.

The lecture was supposed to go from 7 to 8:30, but at 9:30 participants were still eagerly questioning Piper, whose sparkling intensity won her instant fans.  At that moment, for everyone in the room, the most important thing was to understand how our arrangement and choices in our homes are affecting our moods, energy, ability to move forward in life, in fact. The school custodian, however, was begging us to leave so he could close up, and a last few eager questioners gathered around Piper in the dark chilly parking lot, unwilling to let her go.

Explaining that “our surroundings have a powerful effect on us” Piper went on to teach us some of the basics of feng shui, including the bagua, a directional map that you can place over your home to find out which areas are connected strongly with various aspects of your life.  The ancient chinese energy management system includes the symbols of wood, metal, water, fire and air which need to be in balance for joyful and purposeful living.  If you find yourself in a career predicament, check the area of your house which strongly influences career, and you will, according to feng shui teaching, find that there is some rearranging to be done!  Color, type of material, symbols, all can have a negative or positive affect on how things are going in that area.

Piper Lauri Salogga maps participant's home

Natural Balance, Piper’s business which addresses design and feng shui concerns in home and office, has been in existance for 11 years, although she has been working in the field longer.  A child of an architect and a landscape architect, Piper has been living in the world of design her entire life.  Her broad understanding of the principals of feng shui, which she calls the “magic door” to realizing your intentions in the world, was clear and inspiring.  We learned that feng shui is not about thinking about it (or not only) but about taking action, in the form of a focus point, symbol, or element you put into your environment to bring a certainn desired focus into your life.  By doing so you’re “putting it out there” and there is story after story about how the universe responds to focused intention.

Some interesting and even funny stories came out of the evening from participants as well, including how when your fish keep dying it’s a good idea to move them… but that’s just the tip of the iceberg.  For those who would like to see the outline of the class please go to “homework” on Light Up the Future, our project website. 

And if you’re in Seattle (or Lake Forest Park!), you might want to attend Piper and Sara’s Sit and Sip event on 11/21, a home accessories exchange.  There are only 100 seats available so make your reservations qucikly!  The event takes place in the Phinney Ridge neighborhood center, a place I love to go for it’s atmosphere of Seattle history, as it’s an old three brick school with wooden floors and high ceilings!

Some classes Piper teaches (from her website)

• Designing Your Perfect Retreat, One Room at a Time (Perfect Retreat Party)
• OfficeShui^TM , practical powerful tips to create an inspiring and productive workspace
• Your Perfect Retreat groups
• Clearing the clutter, one corner at a time
• 7 Steps to a harmonious environment (Intro to feng shui)
• Intro to feng shui for architects and designers
• Numerology, the story of your life

Most of the classes go for 2 hours with time for Q & A… but if last night is anything to judge by, they are going to go quite a lot longer than that if the participants have their way.

Thank you, Piper Lauri Salogga, for an inspiring and really useful evening.

(for more information on our school fundraiser, please go to www.lightupthefuture.org)

Lake Forest Park is a very highly valued community for its quiet and rich lifestyle as well as it’s proximity to Seattle and being right on Lake Washington.  In fact the Lake Forest Park Civic Center has a boat launch and a private beach that residents use in the summer to enjoy the water and swim.  There are also a few wonderful shops and restaurants.  While not large, it is enough and with enough variety to keep residents pretty busy and amused without going far to find something valuable.  One of the most amusing I always feel is Two Trading Tigers, which is neverendingly different and fun, and the two owners, lovely ladies you would expect to find running an art gallery as easily as a consignment shop, are full of great insights into home decoration as well as fun to chat with!  It’s really more like a friend’s house in a way

Blue white yellow and orange make a summer statement

where everyone is trading stuff that they are tired of but someone else will love.

As they are “consignees of fine goods” you never know what you’ll find but there is always something I NEED. I love their taste and it’s fun to bring things from home that don’t fit in anymore and move them on to a new and loving owner, and get some cash for doing so…which usually goes toward a purchase of something I feel I DO need.  There is art on the walls, sometimes that you can’t live without.  Their jewelry is always very tempting, they have wonderful Asian imports and household decor items, great antique and imported dishware, and of course special clothing.  When you find a great jacket still with the tag on you will feel like a Paris fleamarket mavin.  As we say in Seattle, “Enjoy, sisters!”

Two Trading Tigers
(206) 440-559817171 Bothell Way Ne
(in the Lake Forest Park Town Center)
Lake Forest Park, WA 98155

by Edy Kizaki, Realtor
206-402-9155
edy@seattlepowersearch.com

Fine Consignement Shop

Consignees Of Fine Items, Furniture And Fun Finds, New And Gently Used Fashions

Hooray for the Survivors!!! Relay For Life 2009

Relay For Life, Relay For FUN

Hi there-  I just spent the last 24 hours walkking with my teammates around a track at Skyview Junior High School in the Northshore School District.  Why did my friends and I do that, you may ask?  We were participating in an annual event called The American Cancer Society’s Relay For Life.  Relay For Life was started by an oncologist in Tacoma in 1985…  since it’s inception this fundraiser has brought in more than 3.5 Billion dollars for cancer research and support of patients.  Not only is this my fourth year participating in this important community event, it is my third year of being team captain of Friend’s For The Fight (against cancer).

The object of the event itself is to pay tribute to those that have been taken from us by cancer, and to honor those that have survived and/or continue to fight cancer still.  The event begins with a lap just for Survivors, as the other 600 or so participating members of the community line the track cheering them on in their success.  As a survivor myself I can attest to the powerful transfer of positive energy that this walk of fame gives to the Survivors…  After the initial kickoff lap of Survivors, then all the participants take to the track and continue 3through the night having at least one member of the team on the track at all times.  The symbolism being that cancer never sleeps, and neither do we in our fight/vigilance through even the darkest hours.

Luminaria

One of the most touching parts of the entire event is the Luminaria ceremony.   Around 10 pm, the track is lined with lit Luminaria that have been decorated by participants and members of the community in honor of those who fight and memory of  the people that have gone before.  A lap of silent candlelit reflection follows a short ceremony of acknowledgement, accompanied by bagpipes playing Amazing Grace…  It is hard to convey in words the strength and solidarity this ceremony imparts on the participants.  Join us for it next year!

I would suggest that anybody who has been touched by cancer, whether personally or through a loved one, seek out a community relay event to participate in.  The entire community aspect is so uplifting it benefits all who participate.  I originally became involved in support of some of my clents and their families.  Now I Relay to spread the good word and works of The American Cancer Society, in the hope that a cure is not far away.

The Luminaria Ceremony

A huge THANKYOU goes out to all of my friends that supported me in the fundraising for this worthy cause.  Our team raised more than 4,500 dollars, the relay in total collected 116,000 from 60 total teams.  This money benefits our communities directly through outreach programs for cancer patients, and indirectly through the funding of Bio-Tech research in the fight against cancer.