I saw a story in the local paper today, the Bellingham Herald. I guess it is a sign of the times but I could not read it without some amusement. I thought that they said, at one time, that you can only count on death and taxes. I guess that maybe death is not as reliable as it used to be. The City of Bellingham, which owns Bayview Cemetery -- the largest cemetery in Bellingham and an institution here -- is not moving enough property. The city wants to maintain the services there, keep it looking nice, but the product is just not moving fast enough. So, apparently, the plan is to put together a buy one plot and get another at half price sale. That sounds like a killer deal to me. The full article is here I have grave worries that the city fathers are making a "grave mistake" with this p... 04/11/2010

Rockhounds will be collecting at the Mt Baker Rock and Gem Club's 49th Rock & Gem Show at Bloedel-Donovan Park, 2214 Electric Ave., Sun April 11th from  10 AM to 5 PM.  The show features "rocks, fossils, gems, jewelry, dealers, door prizes, club sales, an ongoing silent auction, raffle, lapidary and demonstrations, exhibits, food service and special activities for kids." And it's all Free. You can also see the oldest wooden structure in Washington State built with planks sawn at the Whatcom Creek Roeder Peabody saw mill. The Daughters of Pioneers will be hosting an open house & tours 1-4 pm of the 1856 historic home of Capt. George E. Picket who later on in his life as General Pickett led the infamous 1863 charge at Gettysburg during the Civil War. 04/10/2010

It's a beautiful day to get out and watch a soccer game, I'm not suggesting a trip to Seattle to see the Sounders but a trip out to the Northwest Soccer Fields at the corner of Northwest and Smith Roads. The Whacom Youth Soccer League will be playing there today and every Saturday until the end of May. It's a great facility with 12 full size soccer courts. You can watch both girls and boys teams there between the ages of 6 and 14. Some of the kids go on to elite teams called the Rangers that travel the state playing soccer. The league offers summer soccer camp and several tournaments every year. On a beautiful day like to day it's a great place to spend some time, their is an awesome view of Mt Baker from the fields. 04/10/2010

In this field of home inspection, those of us who crawl under houses often have to come out with bad news: rot, carpenter ants, anobiid beetles and all sorts of critters that can make the work necessary on an "affordable" house almost as high as the cost of buying the house. Often, and understandably, these deals go south. But, sometimes, people really want a house and look to the home inspector to provide the name of a specialist or contractor who can get the job done. In the years that I have been doing this job of inspecting, I have had many instances where I had to go back after the work was done and determine if the problems were corrected. Unfortunately, many of the people who do crawl space repairs either think that nobody will see the finished job, or they do not know what they... 04/09/2010

Good Earth Pottery is located in the historic Morgan Block Building next door to Artwood. The gallery has been located here for almost 40 years and is certainly helped influence the artistic nature of the Fairhaven district. The gallery has gone through many incarnations, is presently owned by three local potters and showcases more than 50 local artists. Good Earth pottery features a very wide variety of creatively useful and decorative ceramic ware. You can find a beautiful functional pieces like serving bowls, mugs, platters, planters as well as whimsical pieces from the creative minds of the artists. They also carry handmade jewelry and other unique gifts. If you're out and about in Fairhaven stop by and see what some of the local artists are up to. 04/09/2010

Just a quick note to all of you real estate fanatics out there.  If by chance your in Bellingham, WA on Sunday April 11, 2010 betwee 11 AM and 1 PM with nothing else to do, come on by 2336 Northshore Road and say hi.  I'll be hosting an open house with 3 bedrooms, 2 baths on 1.67 acres of gorgeous land.  It has peek abo views of Lake Whatcom and is ready for a new owner.  Com on by and I'll provide the cookies.  Follow this link to my other site with more information.  Have a great weekend.  Open House Information for Bellingham, WA   04/09/2010

The next state approved fundamentals of home inspection course, a full 120 hours and that includes 40 hours of field training, begins in Bellingham on May 3, 2010. In an effort to, at the least, teach our home inspector students about the law and the differences between structural pest inspectors and home inspectors, we try to arrange to have Dr. Dan Suomi of the WSDA come in and speak. Dan is the enforcement officer who oversees structural pest inspectors and educates them. Dan speaks for three hours. Then, the rest of the day is the regular BTC lecture on wood destroying organisms. This includes a PowerPoint presentation and hands-on samples of damage or specimens including termites, various ants, wood boring beetles and rot. This WDO class is an integral part of the BTC training. Da... 04/09/2010

The next supplemental class in home inspection will begin at Bellingham Technical College on May 3, 2010. We really are getting down to the wire on this one.These inspectors need to go through the training and pass state exams before July 1, 2010. Many home inspectors had previously taken home inspector education, but the courses did not meet current state guidelines. If students had taken a sufficient number of hours, then they are allowed to take 40 hours of supplemental training and that will qualify them to take the state exam. BTC is offering the supplemental course in conjunction with our regular fundamentals classes and, realistically, this is the one to take. Trying to take such a course in June, and then take the test, is a bit much a bit late. Those people requiring supplemen... 04/08/2010

Village Books is a community-based, locally owned,  independent bookstore in the heart of the Historic Fairhaven district of Bellingham. It is a great addition to the community. They have been honored as the 2008 Outstanding Philanthropic Small Business in Washington State. More than just a bookstore, Village Books is a place to meet your friends, talk books, or just while away an hour or two. They have a great cafe on the second floor complete with bay view. They are constantly bringing in little known as well as world renound authors to talk about their books and they sponosor the Chuckanut Radio Hour, a weekly radio variety show.  Tomorrow April 9th you can see Hugh Raffles there talk about insects and his book Insectopedia at 7pm Village Books is taking on the future of book publish... 04/08/2010

Noodle soup is a staple in Asia, and in Bellingham we're lucky to have Pho 99 Vietnamse Noodle House which serves their main dish great Pho for lunch and dinner. Pho is a dish of cooked rice noodles, topped with a variety of meat cuts or chicken in big bowl of beef broth that is simmered for a long time with delicious spices all served with a dish of scallions, sweet basil and bean sprouts. They offer other Vietnamese dishes as well and vegetrian dishes too, my favorite is the vermicelli bowl with veggies and marinated grilled chicken with a great great savory sauce sauce. As a special promotion for the fans of "365 Things To Do In Bellingham" from now until the end of April, 2010 mention you saw this on "365 Things" and they will give you a free springroll with each order. They are loc... 04/07/2010

  Ever since Georgia Pacific shutdown the tissue operation, a few years ago at a prime waterfront location in Bellingham, there has been a great deal of speculation as to what should, and will, go in to fill the space. Many of the old GP buildings are still there and few, if any, are of architectural interest. And you have many public bodies involved in figuring this out -- the city, the port, Western Washington University to name a few. One hope, that fizzled, was attracting NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration)  to move to, and to become an integral part of, this site in Bellingham. Instead, they setup the NOAA shop in Newport, Oregon. The wrangling continues as the powers that be wrestle with what kinds of buildings should be there, how high  they should be (20 stori... 04/07/2010

No building moratorium here! This lot is ready NOW for your dream home! Silver Beach acreage with potential for great views. A very private lot located just outside city limits, close to Lake Whatcom and schools. This property borders million dollar homes. All utilities ready to go! Tree and topo survey complete. Septic design and permit in hand for 4 bedroom home. Full Details: http://www.exitrealtybellingham.com/moreinfo.html?mlsid=14-29097465&noreg=1 Listing Courtesy of Chris Farkas Search All Vacant Land Opportunities in Bellingham. Search Homes By Neighborhood Search Alabama Hill Neighborhood homes. Search Birchwood Neighborhood homes. Search Columbia Neighborhood homes. Search Edgemoor Neighborhood homes. Search Fairhaven Neighborhood homes. Search Geneva Neighborhood homes. Searc... 04/07/2010

Day 22 - Lots to do today, here's a short list! - 1. Washington Women are celebrating 100 years of suffrage! Songwriter Linda Allen will perform songs at this free event at the Deming Branch Library this evening at 7pm. 2. Bellingham Parks and Recreation Department sponsors its annual hunt in the pool for hidden eggs... from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. Play water games, search for underwater treasure and more. 3.The Blaine Library has Afternoon Movies at the Library starting at 3pm, and 4. don't forget the last few hours of 27 hours of improv, at the Upfront Theater! 04/03/2010

The other day a realtor told me about a mistake that was made by a home inspector. It was an easy enough mistake to make, but it probably should not have happened. The home inspector's incorrect guess was later straightened out by an electrician -- who came in to review the problem with "aluminum wiring" in the electric system. By then the alarmed buyer had abandoned the offer on the house. The problematic single-strand branch circuit aluminum wiring was commonly used from 1964 up until about 1978. It is important for the inspector to remember those dates. Simply because a conductor, at a casual glance, looks like aluminum does not make it so. For example, take a look at this photo. The conductors on the right sure do not look like the copper wires on the other side. The first thought ... 04/03/2010

It's that time of year again! Time for Bellingham Farmers Market to begin it's 18th season. This Saturday (tomorrow!) you can get all the market has to offer, fresh fruits, vegetables, plants, crafts, furniture, artwork, food & all kinds locally produced goods, you can even get a relaxing chair massage. Be there for the traditional "Tossing of the Cabbage" by Mayor Dan Pike at 10am. I'll be at the Market sometime Saturday. Tonight is the Monthly Art Walk in Downtown Bellingham. Get and and see the local art scene. Here's another head's up for tomorrow..The  Golden Egg Hunt up at Mt Baker, big prizes for lift riders and kids hunts for 4 age groups up to 10, 4,000 eggs and over $10...,...000 worth of prizes. http://ow.ly/1s9V5 If you see me, please say hi!   04/02/2010

Day 20 - Skagit Valley Tulip Fields. Yes today we are venturing outside of Bellingham to see the tulips feilds in Mt Vernon. The tulips are up and the colorful fields are an incredible sight. There are loads of pictures at the Skagit Valley Tulip Festival fanpage. The flowers will probably be around for another week or two. Just head down to west of Mt Vernon and you'll see signs all around showing the Tulip Route. Try and make it during the week as it is really busy there on the weekends. The display gardens at RoozenGaarde are outstanding and Tulip Town has beautiful displays and fields for you to enjoy as well. You can even find a field map at The Skagit Valley Tulip Festival website and a bloom map at the Roozengarde website. The Tulip Festival actually starts today and runs through... 04/01/2010

At Bellingham Technical College we are wrapping up another four week session of state approved fundamentals of home inspection training. Actually, two members of the class have just completed a state approved supplemental course as well and they are presently doing the 40 hours of field training. Below is a photo that was taken recently. One student is checking the gutters and others are waiting their turn or looking at other exterior issues. These field training courses are interesting and a learning experience for the instructors and the students. We get some interesting students -- tradesmen -- from licensed electricians, to plumbers to HVAC professionals. For further information on the state approved courses offerend at Bellingham Technicla College, call 360-752-8796.Thanks for sto... 04/01/2010

 Tonight The Librarians are playing at the  Honey Moon "An eclectic urban winery and tasting room in the heart of Bellingham's Market District," . What would a group named the Librarians sound like. The name brings to mind a soft, folksy sound, music to read by, but they know how mix it up with some tunes that would get them asked to leave the Library. They have recently received the  "Best Highway Americana" award at the 9th annual What's Up! Awards show. The Librarians are Carly James, her husband Kevin Nelson, Bruce Shaw, Allegra Ziffle, Kevin Wharton, Joel Ricci and Chris Opteka. "We're friends trying to create beautiful sounds together," band member Carly James said. "Our favorite moments on stage are when it's feeling so easy and natural," The group grew out of  late-night, jam-se... 03/30/2010

The Community Food Coop has been Bellingham’s natural cooperative grocer since 1970. The first store opened in Fairhaven as a 900-square-foot store with few items and has grown to a two-store 12,000-member-strong natural grocer. It is a member owned cooperative but you don’t have to be a member to shop there. They have a large selection of organic produce, meat and seafood, wine, a great deli, an espresso bar, bulk items, natural and organic grocery items, baked goods, dairy, and supplements and wellness products. They have a great cafe with freshly made salads available every day. Part of the Co-op’s mission is to serve our community. They offer a wide variety of classes, including cooking, health and well-being, and other fun stuff, such as soap making or bird-watching sponsor events... 03/30/2010

York Neighborhood Market Statistics - Bellingham Real Estate The York neighborhood Market Statistics for the month of February shows the active, pending & sold homes in the York area of Bellingham Real Estate Market. Whether you are looking to sell or invest in a home, the provided information below will help you in making an informed decision.     York Neighborhood Residential Statistics   February Active Listings 5 Pending Sales 3 Homes sold in the last 30 days 2 Absorption Rate  3 Months Activity Index 2 Months Average SP % LP 95.95 %      In the York Neighborhood, 5 homes are for sale, 3 homes are pending (under contract with mutual acceptance b/t buyer & seller) & 2 homes sold during the month of February '10. Here's a breakdown of the activity in the York Neighborhood for the past... 03/28/2010