I was just on Facebook where I found this article. I am a Winderemere Agent. It was an easy choice for me, and when you read this article you will see why. This is not uncommon for the Windermere Foundation. In fact a portion of every check an Agent receives goes to this wonderful Foundation. The needs out there are many but every time we can make a difference it is a great thing. As you know kindness spreads and can touch so many. Thank you Windermere!-Dinah Lee Griffey   The Spirit of Philanthropy   From Windermere Foundation Monday, April 27, 2009 at 2:56pm The Windermere Foundation helped pay the mortgage for a family whose 12 yr old daughter was at Children's Hospital awaiting an operation to place a shunt in her brain. Jessica has been in severe pain (yet the nurses say she never ... 05/14/2009

Home is truly where the heart is... or should be. I have heard a lot of talk about equity and investment and value. Value is where you see it. What one may think is wonderful another may not.  I choose to see my home as a place to leave our troubles at the door.Where a hot pot of coffee is waiting to wake you up in the morning. A place to laugh at silly thoughts.A place to cry with one another when there is a loss. A home is where you can be who you are. Where you are excepted regardless of imperfections. A home is not just a building of walls and beams...it is a place to live and find your dreams! 05/14/2009

Some-days are sunny and some days are not. Living in Washington has given us the opportunity to enjoy a lot of indoor activities... due to a lot of rain drops. Do any of you remember rainy day recess at school? I do. I always missed going outside, but we learned to have a lot of fun inside and get all of our energy out...poor teachers! I have put together a list of things that I do with my girls when it is just to wet to go outside. This is my top ten. 1. Watch home movies.You taped it to remember it all and today is a perfect day for reflecting. 2.Make A movie. Let the kids get creative. Trust me you will be laughing at this for years to come. 3. Put a puzzle together. 4. Bake. Take your time. make cookies and decorate the heck out of them. 5. Put pictures in your photo album. Or add t... 05/14/2009

Choosing a color for your home can be a difficult decision. Not only do you wrestle with all of the choices available and how unique your home is, but more than likely you are not making the choice by yourself. One concern that many people have is ..."How will it look on my house once it is painted?" That is a great question and there are easy answers.  I am including a link to Behr Paint.Here you will be able to research all of the most popular colors, and see how they appear on different styles of homes. What may be beautiful on a Spanish Tudor may not be what paints a Colonial home in the best light. Make sure to check with your home owners association before purchasing paint. It is also good to take a look at the neighboring homes to ensure that your color is not identical or clashi... 05/14/2009

Stretching out as far as the thoughts in my mind the shores of The North Bay remember me and I remember them. The cold stones under my feet. The excited child running to my arms to show me their beach treasure. Fireworks shooting over the horizon's edge, Storms reaching out to grab the shore with electric branches , thunder sounding with a deep rumbling rage only to be quieted by the birds call in the dawn. A kite flies red. The picnic has began.A wedding is planned. Welcome to my paradise the shores of North Bay in Allyn, Washington... 05/13/2009

I would definitely have to say that when it comes to your mother/ mom/ mumzy/ whatever you may call her, she only cares about the effort. Most don't even want a gift, especially in these tough times. Its a little late notice, but lets say that you have been slacking and didn't get mom a thing... Make her dinner Wash her car Clean her house Simple flowers that you pick up on the way to her house. A book from her favorite author. Moms are always good for a bath kit or soap kit.   Anyways, I know none of you guys slacked on this and there isn't one of you that didn't do SOMETHING for your mom. Have a great mothers day! Josh Murphy Windermere Peninsula Properties 05/10/2009

Being a mother has been a wonderful experience. I have seen so many sunrises with my daughters and just as many sunsets. They add up quickly- the little baby in my arms that was learning about a new world- to a wobbly toddler asking questions- and a child who wondered where the sun had gone and asked when or if it would return. My daughters are teenagers now and the night sky has new meaning, and well... it has been a while since they have been up early enough to see the sun rise. I know we will have many more of these opportunities to enjoy these special moments and I look forward to every one of them. 05/10/2009

Everyone wants to live inLakeLand Village we have a beautiful PGA level 27 hole golf course, trout stocked lake, Club house, private beach, The LakeSide Bistro and Pro shop...Not to mention all of the friendly neighbors! Living in LakeLand Village is like going back in time to when life was much simpler. People wave, your neighbors look out for one another. We all get together once a year and have a community wide tag sale. The parks are full of laughing children and the streets are strolled by people you know. We have a security patrol who will even let you know if you forgot to shut your garage door at night (Thanks again for the call!) This is the life! So what is selling in LakeLand Village? These are all of the sales and soon to be sales (pendings) for last 3 months. As you can see... 05/09/2009

Through the window the night creeps in upon us. The stars hide behind the misty clouds only to appear as blazing lights when the evening settles in. Pointing the way through a trail of void to a land we will never return from to share. The Moons fragrant glow embodies the shade of night and lets us all know we are never alone. She is there and she is ever watching even from within her disguise of sunlight. To quiet for words and to loud to be ignored. An evening alone with the constellations just for me. 05/07/2009

For those of you local here in Allyn/Belfair Washington, you will probably know exactly what this is. This is a landmark for those of us local in Lakeland Village. I personally took this picture and wanted to share it with you.      This barn STILL STANDING TODAY here in Lakeland Village was built in the LATE 1890's! Thank You for stopping by. Josh Murphy Windermere Peninsula Properties Lakeland Village Resident 05/06/2009

I wanted to share some interesting things that you may not know about the State of Washington. I have included a link so you can research even more and find interesting facts about other areas that may surprise you! Mount St. Helen's lost 1,131 feet of elevation in the May 1980 eruption and spewed forth about one cubic mile of dust, ash and debris.  The blast leveled over four billion feet of usable timber, enough to build 150,000 homes. On the afternoon of July 4, 1947, Frank Ryman, an off-duty U.S. Coast Guard Yeoman, snaps the first photograph of an alleged flying saucer from the yard of his home in Lake City, north of Seattle. Spokane was the smallest city in size to host a World's Fair in 1974 Seattle sells more sunglasses per capita than any other major city in the nation. Seattle... 05/05/2009

What has been going on in April 2009 in the LakeLand Village Real Estate Market? For those of you who do not know about LakeLand Village, check this LakeLand Link out - there are some great opportunities for home ownership and it is a community that offers many amenities within itself as does the surrounding area of Southern Puget Sound and Hood Canal. There are currently 30 homes for sale in LakeLand Village (this is a much better picture than what last year painted for us). This is a "positive" movement for sellers and buyers beware, as this could be a turning point as far as prices go in LakeLand Village and LakeLand's homes for sale inventory!  Looking at the pending sales, we are finally seeing some movement as the buyers realize this market is a GREAT time to take the plunge into ... 05/01/2009

Mason County, State of Washington Real Estate Sales during the period of April 1 through April 15 2009 posted 41 total sales in the amount of $4,394,732.   Single Family Resale's on less than 5 acres totaled 24 Sales. Land sold with a mobile recorded 6 sales, 5 sales of Platted Lots, 5 Short Plats and 1 Unplatted parcel. There were no sales of New Single Family, Single Family Resale's on more than 5 acres, Multi-family, Commercial or Condominiums.   Area A (Shelton, Arcadia, Kamilche) reported 14 sales in the amount of $1,381,631. Area C ( Ayers Point, Belfair, East Shore) also reported 14 sales in the amount of $1,932,851. Area B (Harstene Island, Agate) posted 4 sales totaling $313,750 and Area D (Triton Head, Hoodsport, Union) recorded 9 sales in the amount of $766,500.   The Highest... 05/01/2009

Living in a small town some of our stores carry unique one of a kind items. And today at the Allyn Liquor store I found something very special...Chocolate. Not just any chocolate either. This is special... it is from a secret family recipe that has not been sold since 1946. The one I had today was coconut cream. It was wonderful. The great part is it is only sold in one place and it is only 2 blocks from my house! Allyn is unique in that it is a small village. You can walk anywhere for anything. All of the stores are close including the post office and in LakeLand we also have fine dining at the Bistro. All of this is located on a little hill (okay not so little when you walk up it to get home)above North Bay. Allyn was founded in 1889 and we have been able to  keep the small town atmos... 04/30/2009

 Living in LakeLand Village in the Springtime!   Now that the weather is warming, morning runs or walks around LakeLand Village Golf and Country Club are more enjoyable.  The cherry, apple, and peach trees are blooming, and even the rhododendrens are starting to bloom.  We have enjoyed the Bistro Restaurant on the lake now that it is again open for lunch and dinner.  The food is great!  The lake has been stocked with trout again this year and folks are enjoying the fishing.  Every day there are more golfers taking advantage of the sun and warmer weather to hone their skills and get some excercise.  This is also the time of year to start mowing the lawns again!  I have noticed that people are beginning to show up at my LakeLand Village home listing and we have seen some homes go into pen... 04/29/2009

Almost Heaven Western Washington, snow capped mountains cool Columbia waters. Life is old here- older than trees younger than the Olympics- growing in the breeze. Country roads take me home to the place I belong- Western Washington you amaze me take me home country roads. All my memories gather round Rainier. Majestic giant great land of our fathers Country Roads take me home to the place I belong Western Washington, home of Sealth take me home country roads. I hear the voiceIn the morning hour it  calls to meThe radio reminds me of my home- I'm here to stayAnd driving down the road I get a feelingThat I should have been here yesterday, yesterday Country roads I am home. I found the place I belong Mt. Rainier, columbia river here forever... I am home -country roads 04/28/2009

Live in LakeLand Village Allyn Washington   Allyn Washington is known to the locals as Allyn by the bay. It is a quiet little town on the edge of the Olympic and Cascade Mt. range on the serene waters of Case Inlet. A little secret to be discovered is LakeLand Village located at the top of the hill. LakeLand has a beautiful 27 hole golf course, private lake, and a welcoming neighborhood. Good luck getting down the street without a friendly wave from one of the locals.Families as well as retired people love the close location to all of the local shops- only a few blocks away, as well as being only 20 minutes away from GigHarbor, Port Orchard, and Bremerton. There is 24 hour emergency medical available as well as fire service and the community offers security patrol. If you have not yet ... 04/26/2009

As many of you are aware Windermere Peninsula Properties hosted a workshop on foreclosures, short sales, and current conditions of the housing market this past Thursday. It went over really well...we had a packed house.I wanted to share a little of the info with you that I learned that night from our lender, accountant and attorney. Which by the way had so much great information we could have easily given them each their own night. Mike Spence was our Real Estate attorney. He talked about the step by step process a lender must take to foreclose on a home. Did you know that in the state of Washington you can not be foreclosed on in any less than 180 days. That gives you six months to try and find a solution. Catherine Wolf was the Tax Accountant. She talked about the tax ramifications of... 04/25/2009

Those of you who know LakeLand Village know that it is one of the nicest places to own a home. The 27 hole golf course is PGA level and the Lake is stocked with trout to fish. There are parks and playgrounds, trails to walk, and a Lakeside Bistro to enjoy. The pro shop is top notch and neighbors wave when you walk by. So what is happening in the housing market in LakeLand Village? Below is a chart showing the Active ,Pending and Sold in the last 6 months. Keep in mind these months include winter and there is less activity during the Holidays.So lets look at what is happening in LakeLand Village. 32 Active listings: The High is $690,000              The Low is $182,900                 The Median price is $347,000                                                                            ... 04/25/2009

2008 Activity Recap Fire District #5 in Mason county is asking for a Renewal on their EMS Levy. I personally support their need and will be voting YES. The Levy is collected at 25 cents per thousand of house hold assessed value. It is remaining the same as it has been many years. It is true that at this time the District could use additional funds, but in light of our current economy is only asking for what it absolutely needed. Fire District 5 has been around for over 50 years. In that time it has seen a lot of growth and many changes. One thing that does not change however is the need to have medical and fire response. If anything we need them now more than ever before. Mason County is mostly rural and Fire District 5 has over 11 stations spread out to assist their citizens. They are ... 04/25/2009