It is a great time to buy a home in Corvallis, Oregon. Call Jenny Saarloos today to get started!

541-922-8462

www.SoldBySaarloos.com

Check out my website to see all Corvallis, Oregon listings free & directly from the local MLS.

Thinking about investing in Real Estate? Jenny Saarloos works in the Newport, Oregon Coast area as well. Get the beach house you have been dreaming of for a bagain!

Bought lots of seeds at 50% off

found stepping stones for 50 cents each at estate sale & planted some of the starters:

started composting. made the wire circle from chicken wire i found in garage:

tomato starters planted. ring is to stabalize plant as it grown. The shiny side of the CD is suppoed to keep the birds away....

pea starters:

even more starters...now outside. lots of perrenial flowers:

Japanese eggplant starters:

many starter plants have been moved from kitchen window to deck.

April 27, 2009

Objectives: low cost garden for health & sustainability

I dug out a south facing hunk of my lawn with a shovel this spring to plant an vegetable garden. You can start a garden too! I will document the process so you can learn along with me. Enjoy! It turned out to be hard work to dig out my lawn with a shovel. Next time i will consider renting a sod remover & then a rototiller. Thanks goodness for the help of my downstairs neighbor, Mallory.

to kill the grass & weed seed in the sod I started to cover it in plastic:

i worked in the Garden Amender Soil with the existing soil using a small hoe & shovel. i also gave the earth a few turns with a shovel.

meanwhile, in the house I started from seed several kinds of tomatoes...hot peppers...basil...marigolds (to keep the slugs off the tomatoes.)

outside chard, peas & beets start to sprout:

thinking out a plan for all the plants & how they will be arranged in the garden:

here you can see the sod pile next to the garden area. i am killing the grass seed & weed seeds in the sod pile by covering it with plastic. the next step will be to start a compost area. i will slowly mix this sod with the compost & then enrich my soil with it over the next year...

stay tuned. next i will plant my seedlings in the garden (as soon as all danger of frost has past). & i will also start a compost area...photos to follow...i will also construct a path so i can walk though the garden. i'm excited about surrounding the garden with sunflowers...they are sprouting in my window. please feel free to ask questions.

It is a wonderful time to realize your dream of owning a home at the Oregon Coast. Deals abound! I've been shopping for condos on the coast for a few days & the prices are great. I'd love to help you realized you beach house dreams.

Jenny Saarlos, Broker

Keller Williams Realty

541-922-8462

www.SoldBySaarloos.com

jennysaarloos@kw.com

'Saarloos' means honesty, hard work & generosity.

Yesterday was a snow day. No school. A long day at home with my nine year old son. My father called from the SF, CA bay area & when I told him about the ‘snow day' he was mortified. He said, "When I was a boy in Holland during the war we never had ‘snow days'. Sometimes the snow was knee deep, but I still walked to school in my wooden shoes....sometimes we had to duck into a doorway because there were bullets....but, school was never cancelled." He went on to say that there was a curfew every night at 6pm and that sometimes he would be out playing hide and seek with his friends and they would forget about time and then the warning bullets shot by the Nazis  would remind them to hurry home.

There was a bag of grain hidden under my father's bed and if it was discovered the whole family would be shot. I have been hearing these stories all my life, and yet there are details here that are new: the wooden shoes...the bag of grain. My father's house was built into a barn.

After the war my father's family came to America on a boat: feather pillows and all. Who knows maybe they all came over in wooden shoes...I'll report back on this one soon. My father had a sister & two brothers. Another brother was born in California.

Subscribe to this blog to stay tuned for more details.

http://www.SoldBySaarloos.com

Being a 'Saarloos' I enjoy cool 'Saarloos' news. The Saarloos family is full of serious doglovers. And I do mean serious. Our dogs are part of the family. Check out this link to see the Saarloos Wolfhound:

http://www.caninecrib.com/dog/breeds/saarlooswolfhound/

Jenny Saarloos is a real estate agent in Corvallis, Oregon.

http://www.SoldBySaarloos.com

'Tis the season when most of us end up overwhelmed with things to do. How do we stay centered in the midst of the chaos? How do we not get sucked up into the retail credit card drain?

I don't know when & I don't know why, but at some point I decided to enjoy the holidays. I give small gifts, I give meaningful gifts, but I don't over spend & I don't try to buy something for everyone.

#1. Prioritize. Really get in touch with the important people & things & focus on those.

#2. Simplify. Take in the lights. Take in the change of the seasons. Spend an evening by the fire with a good friend & don't feel like the best things in life have to cost a lot. You can even send a simple holiday card that you make on your computer: a little note & a few photos can be send out to your entire mailing list (if that is something that you don't find to dreadful)...or go green & just send a nice holiday email.

#3.  Exercise. Make the time to get outside or get to the gym. It always feels like we don't have the time. But when we do we feel so much better. Go for a brisk 30 minute walk & see if you don't feel refreshed.

#4.  Appreciate. Take a moment of gratitude.

Stay tuned for more tips to keep it simple & keep it real.  

The name 'Saarloos' means hard work, honesty and generosity.

Jenny Saarloos   http://www.SoldBySaarloos.com

He is a wise man who does not grieve for the things which he has not,
but rejoices for those which he has.
-   Epictetus

 I'm grateful to live in the beautiful Willamette Valley. Grateful for the seasons. Grateful for an awesome active rain community...& the chance to appear on the internet. Grateful for my friends & family.

Many Blessings to you & yours! Jenny

December 10 2008

We are about to get a sprinkling of snow in Corvallis! Very exciting. Enjoy the the Holiday Season & please share what you are grateful for in your life.

Sincerely, Jenny Saarloos

The name 'Saarloos' means hard work, honesty & generosity.

Jenny Saarloos    http://www.SoldBySaarloos.com

Weather in Corvallis, Oregon

Weather in Corvallis is mild throughout the year. Despite Oregon's reputation for rain, Corvallis has an annual rainfall of only forty inches--less than New York, Chicago and even Miami!

Summer days are pleasantly warm, with an average maximum temperature of 80 degrees from July through August. On those rare days when the mercury climbs above 90 degrees, a cool breeze usually wafts in from the Pacific Ocean to cool things off before nightfall. Winter temperatures hover around the 40's-50's. Ocasionally we will get a dusting of snow in Corvallis. The snow rarely lasts longer than a day.

 Wondering about the weather in Corvallis, Oregon? Get the facts at:

http://countrystudies.us/united-states/weather/oregon/corvallis.htm

Contact Jenny Saarloos, Broker, for more info about Corvallis, Oregon. 541-922-8462

 Fall in Corvallis, Oregon

The name 'Saarloos' means hard work, honesty and generosity.

Jenny Saarloos   http://www.SoldBySaarloos.com

Wondering what it is like to live in Corvallis, Oregon?

Click here http://jennysaarloos.yourkwagent.com/atj/user/LinksGetAction.do for great links to Corvallis schools, restaurants, awards & much more.

Feel free to call me if you want to talk about what it is like to relocate to the Corvallis area. I moved here from SF, CA in 2005 and it is an excellent place to live. The Fall By the River photo was taken in Downtown Corvallis.

Sincerely, Jenny Saarloos, Broker

Keller Williams Realty

541-922-9462

jennysaarloos@kw.com

 11/27/08

Happy Thanksgiving. One of the things I love about living in Corvallis is that I hardly ever drive on Hwys. Hwy 5 is 10 miles away & I only head over there occasionally. Most of the time I can take two lane country roads wherever I want to go. I almost never have to sit in traffic. It is mellow here. After 15 years in the SF, Bay Area this is something I try to never take forgranted.

The name 'Saarloos' means hard work, honesty and generosity.

Jenny Saarloos   http://www.SoldBySaarloos.com