Abandoned Farmhouse - NW Finn Hill and Urdahl Rd Poulsbo

While my son was brushing up on his batting for Little League this spring at a giant sports complex built in the middle of farmland, I walked across the road to acreage for sale. Set back on the property was this farmhouse... obviously abandoned and a little on the creepy side with the weather torn curtains and kicked-open door.
I have some sort of a weird obsession with old houses. They have stories in them that I want to know. There is something particularly disturbing to me when they are abandoned.
When I was walking through the weeds I thought : if my old house was in a more public place... in an area of development, it would have ended up like this. Once development starts on farmland, there is not alot of room for farming any longer. Some folks get cranky when they have to drive past cow smells, and no one likes the sound of roosters, especially the nutball type that sporadically crow 20 hours a day (which, honestly, seems to be the only kind I have ever had.) This vandalized building was once a loved home. There are chintz curtains moving against the broken glass, bright paint in the kitchen and still great condition furniture in the living room. Once an efficient working farmstead surrounded by level agriculture fields, it is now ready for the bulldozer and another big box store. This property is a stones throw from the Home Depot-Walmart-Starbucks-PetSmart-Office Max complex so I am sure the value is in development. And that is the rub. If I owned this, and it was worth 1.2 million as retail property and 440K as a farm... what would I do? What would you? I always like to think I would consider the longterm good of a rural community (which to me is more land, more agriculture - otherwise I would live in a city...) but self interest is a strong motivator.
For the record, I am not saying no to big box stores or to development, (stay tuned for my post of where I got a temp job) but am seriously questioning our need for a monster complex of them every 6.5 miles. I don't remember seeing "shopping" in Maslow's hierarchy of needs.

Where on Earth is Wally World

Pic: All Wallyworlds are in great seas of asphalt... this photo is taken on the hill above Walmart where the Home Despot, Petsmart, Big 5 and Office Max sit. Also, this terraced height is a great place to view fireworks.


When we still lived in Seattle, I would take the kids up to Port Townsend for the day. Port Townsend which was saved the wrecking ball and still retains its Victorian seaport downtown because for decades it was underpopulated, with no industry other than the pulp/paper mill and maritime. So, accordingly, why would development bother to tear down all the late 1800's structures if there was no money to be earned. The towns I see in the NW that still retain a beautiful historic downtown are the ones that had "no value" to construction investors during the hundred or so years following their original construction. Anywho off the soapbox...
We went up to Fort Worden, my fave park. While we were walking to the batteries, there was a fellow that pulled up and opened his trunk. He pulled out airplanes, as in the kind that make the buzz noise and fly around your head by radio control. I thought it a bit wierd (pedophile! luring my sweet children with his buzzing airborne thingies!) but calmed down enough to let the kids fly one of his planes. (This was when I was still a revved-up city gal, and pointless pursuits that took alot of time were suspect...now I realize they are a vital part of life and accept his 'grandfather' excuse for having the planes)
Flying the planes was a blast. I asked him : where do you get this sort of thing? Meaning the cheaper (19.95) easy to fly ones that could withstand Wilder divebombing them to the ground, vs. the lovely large $200 big planes, that could not. He answered : Wally World. I asked if there was one nearby, he said no, not in PT, but there was further on down the road.
When I got home I looked in the phone book for Wallyworld or Wally World. There was no such listing. I searched all of kitsap county for a hobby store starting with W. Went to the library to search local phone books since I lived in King County...did not find it. Could not figure out where this mysterious Wallyworld was, thought I got it wrong.
About a year ago, someone referenced Wally World as in : I need to get to Wally World. The context of the conversation was that they were going to WALMART. I had a huge Aha moment at that point, it was very refreshing. Now, I know you smart readers already had this figured out, but it took me 5 years. I remember asking a storekeep in Silverdale where Wallyworld was, and they literally turned their head sideways, like an attentive dog to a strange noise. Like I was trying to pull their leg. Yes, I can be clueless.

Kitsap County WA Part 1

When I was looking for a house with property to buy outside of Seattle... I drove throughout the surrounding towns and counties circling Seattle. I was looking for a community that WAS a community. Something that the developers did not decide the lay of the land, since for some reason greed wins out over "community" unless there are guidelines for density and requirements for infrastructure. In the last 20 years that seems to have been hucked out of the window of King County.
How I ended up in Kitsap is that it still has retained alot of it's rural nature. It has clear guidelines for density in city limits and outside. It was all written down which areas were slated for development, and they were near the city limits. Rather than checker-boarded allover the county. Which does not make happy rural property owners or development owners... since the reason people buy in a development may be so they don't have to look over a manure pile or have cows mooing next door. Ditto for rural residents. They may want the privacy so they can park as many derelict and dead cars as they want in their front yard and not worry about the neighbors complaining. Or raise pigs.
Over on the Seattle side of the water, former farmland areas to the north, east and south have been and are being filled with endless rows of quickly constructed developments with granite counters, spacious entry ways, walk-in closets and less expensive materials holding it all up.
I did research on rural density designations and development for all the counties I looked at. (and school data, crime data and community demographics) In Kitsap, we attended a meeting on zoning changes. The thing that struck me was the people in charge seem to be fresh outta school. I am all for school, but I think it takes a bit of life wisdom to take what you have learned in school all starry-eyed and dew-cheeked and roll it through the machine of real life, so it can get a semblance of what gritty reality is. Take your theories, actually live and work in the community, listen to the residents and business owners, imagine your county's role in a larger world....and then put something down on paper.
There is a bunch of development issues I have been watching with a keen eye. And it reminds me of the difficulty of the public process. More later....

Seattle Viaduct

The Seattle waterfront has a two-level freeway running next to and above it.
Sometimes when things have always been there (ya know, within your own lifetime) you get used to seeing it and cannot imagine anything else.

The unfortunate truth is that this is duplicate to the freeway in San Francisco that pancaked and fell during the 1989 earthquake. Seattle has been ignoring this fact and dealing with it at the same time. Local news reports after the SF earthquake reported--the Seattle viaduct is NOT like the San Francisco viaduct -- and then proceeded to tell us it is not long for this world and sinking and placed weight restrictions on it. See, the freeway is built upon fill. That fill is supported by wood pilings that date back to early Seattle. When where I was standing in the photo was water and docks. And those pilings have been chewed by piling eating worms. So those pilings really are not supporting the pillars any longer. Hence, the freeway sinking. Hence, the metal supports added in pic #1. I think all that temp work to shore it up was over 14 million. Here is the possible replacement that our governor,

Gregoire, and our former mayor, Nickels were in a pissing match about. Well now Seattle has a new mayor, god help that city, McGinn, such a perfect Seattle can't make a decision, let's make sure we all feel good about it, let's have absolutely no leadership experience or budget handling experience but get people to vote for us because we are not the other guy, let's have endless pointless expensive time wasting meetings about it and then still not make a decision Mayor McGinn. I don't know what his opinion is about it other than he may want half the lanes dedicated to walkers and bikers... which the day I see semi trucks from the waterfront hauling cargo all across the US by bicycle is the day I will stop drinking coffee. This simulation of the viaduct replacement by tunnel under Seattle is brilliant. I did not add the simulated viaduct in an earthquake that is also on youtube... that is the sort of thing that makes people paranoid. (And I think my car was represented in there...) but you can google that in your own time. I will not contribute to american paranoia. Except through my own children.

Under Seattle by car.... : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rgtOTMJt-AI (note, I can't get this to work, if it works for you, let me know)

Zoning changes

As I mentioned before, when buying this house I did every possible type of research to figure out zoning, land-use and projected projects in the area. We are zoned 5-acre rural. I bought waaaay outside of the city limits, since they were going for 'density' in that area. I bought a property with wetlands on it. Protected, yes? I know I have limits placed by county and state regulations as to what I am able to do near it.

Two days ago I got a note in the mail about a public meeting. Why? Because they are going to rezone us rural industrial. Can we say "stressed out and ready for a fight?" Yes, we can say that easily.

Seattle So Far Away - Land Use

For work, which I don't really talk about much, I ended up at a meeting. A public meeting where elected officials and community leaders spoke. Here is a quick reason why I am so SO happy to be gone from the city.

Seattle City Council members do endless work and need to be on three committees each. One of the options is to join the Planning, Land Use and Neighborhoods Committee. Only, this year, that committee has been renamed to C.O.B.E. , pronounced like Kobe, Japan. This stands for the Committee on the Built Environment. Built environment. Let's take away the language of "land" use and "neighborhood" and "planning" and change it to we are only supervisors of the built environment, which is all Seattle will be... Buildings, pavement, pocket parks not big enough to throw a ball. Things controlled, designed, created by humans. Ya know, I am fairly sure people move here because it is Seattle. Not New York.

The other point: We have in Seattle a giant public area called Seattle Center. (http://www.seattlecenter.com/)

Leftover from the Seattle World's Fair in 1962, it holds the space needle, rides,(recently sold) science center, and our fave... the Center House with theatre, childrens museum and free public programming. We have seen amazing cultural events and fantastic dance contests. Our kids have even performed on stage.

In this same meeting, it was said that Seattle Center's future would be to become like New York's Central Park. No offense meant, but Central Park is surrounded by nothing but a sea of buildings. You can walk away from Seattle Center and still see trees and single story buildings. Guess my old hometown shall become the name first placed on our shores wishfully by the Terry brothers from 1851... New York.

Photo credit: Bumbershoot Event, Seattle Center. Courtesy Christopher Nelson

1962 World's Fair Postcard

Feisty woman venting action - Seattle

See this lovely condominium? The one that has no parking, is on a busy street (3rd Ave NW and Holman in N. Seattle) across the street from a stripper espresso drive-through and drive through oil change station?

See this restored craftsman? On a busy street in the popular Ballard neighborhood, most of these once single family homes have been demolished and flat-fronted, bland, soon-to be dilapidated quickly built multi-use condominium structures have replaced them.

I have loved this house for 21 years. I always envisioned offering to buy it from them when i won the lottery. (Should probably start buying the tickets if I really dream of winning...) I am glad it is still standing, even though the surrounding single family housing with yards, the quaint courtyard apartments of the 30's to 60's are gone and.. what? what is there? Ah yes. Condominiums.

I am just going to say right now I have a love/hate relationship with the city I left behind... Seattle.

Houses, traffic, and progress

Or, an alternate title: Shopping for that discount. Since I now have this old place, I am loathe to update it with current trends in housing fashions. That could be akin to having a post-war box house and turning it into a craftsman. That is not the house's origins, so it can look a bit funky. I am therefore driven to re-use or renew type stores. The ones that get called in to strip a classic home built like a tank so that thin walled condos can be built. Ah, I am showing my opinions. If you are going to call it progress, can you at least construct the new structures as well as the one you tore down?
Back to topic. So going to used house part stores in Seattle, and they charge more than if I bought it new. Which, I don't understand. BUT I found the habitat for humanity store in bremerton, and that has some old, some new, alot of wood and leftover paint and brass fixtures, etc etc for very reasonable prices. I have been back several times. I shall take out the previous owners walmart updates and at least get it back within 30 years of when it was built. I have no issues with updating the things you can't see.... water lines, electrical. plumbing, it is when the whole house is converted into whatever housing trend is suiting middle America at that exact moment that it irks me. You ask : why care? And I am sure I would not if I had not grown up in this area, and seen the drastic changes in housing, landscape and amount of green our city no longer has. That, and the layer of pollution that hangs over our heads. Gee... what do all those trees do? Suck up water so there is less flooding? Suck crap out of the air? What is it that happens when you develop large tracks of farmland way the bum%$# out from the cities where people work? With no infrastructure to handle that amount of traffic? People drive and drive and drive. The asthma level in our city has skyrocketed. No one talks of this, but everyone knows. My doctor told me to move if I wanted my asthmatic daughter to be able to breathe. Good philosophy, and I did, but not everyone has that option.