Ok, so, it’s the holidays, and the Realtors are all running around serving their clients with Christmas trees on their car roofs… well, at least I am! Or was, earlier today. I visited another real estate office and noticed that I’m not the only one juggling real estate business and “extra” holiday activities and errands… and frankly we all are right now. So, I was thinking- What am I going to write about in the Property Blotter this time? I’ve got to take care of my clients and go shopping for Manicotti ingredients, champagne, Martinelli’s and all manner of other Christmas Party necessities. What will I write about? Food comes to mind of course.
I confess, I have been overextended into giving away some of my cooking secrets, and other hopefully interesting tidbits for the sake of expediency! What has the world come to? Anyway, here are a few little things I usually do not pass on to people… but for YOU??? Our Property Blotter reader? Here you go:
Manicotti: I make a killer Manicotti. It’s a well-known fact if I do say so myself, which is due to my dear Grandmother’s guidance and recipe… and which I am NOT giving you (she’d come after me from the afterlife!). So, you’ll have to come up with your own sauce and blend of cheeses, but I WILL tell you the biggest secret of all: ~How To Stuff Manicotti Noodles~ Basically, you stuff them while they’re hard. Using a pastry tube is something I incorporated last year and it worked much better than the “old country” method my Grandmother and I used, which was little by little with teaspoons. You stuff the noodles, line them up in a buttered pan till its filled with one layer, and pour your sauce over them all. Here comes the secret part: You then pour hot water… about 3/4 cup of it, around the edges of the pan, cover tightly with foil and bake according to your directions. The water steams the noodles, and your sauce retains the consistency you intended. Voila! (oops… not an Italian expression)
Hungarian Mushroom Soup: There is a restaurant in Portland called Old Wives Tales that is famous for this soup. I used to drive all the way there and take home large cartons of it. “Anything else, Miss?” “No. Just the soup please.” One day I experimented till I came up with nearly the same flavor. Sophisticated cooks will balk at this part, but I use 2 large cans of Cream of Mushroom Soup from the store. I then add several cloves of garlic (at least 5) chopped, at least a cube of butter, a 16 oz. carton of sour cream, 3 cartons of fresh sliced mushrooms from the produce section, one can of milk, and several tablespoons of paprika. Ta da! Secret, easy Hungarian Mushroom Soup.
Brussel Sprouts: For this I am going to give you a link to a great local cooking blog. A lot of people like to serve brussel sprouts during the holidays, and I believe there is some kind of superstition having to do with good luck when you eat them on New Year’s Eve. Anyway, this recipe is so good I can hardly describe it. The way you cook them is easy, involves lots of heavy cream and freshly squeezed lemon juice at the end. This method takes some of the “bite” our of them, and ends up sending you back for more till there are no leftovers. It’s that good (if you like brussel sprouts that is… and if you don’t, I’d suggest trying them this way to see if you change your mind). Here’s the link: Creamy Braised Brussel Sprouts
Ok, Addendum- Check. Closing Coordination- Check. Research- Check. Repair schedule- Check. Update Clients- Check. Documents Emailed- Check… Off to decorate the tree!
Happy Holiday Cooking to each of you.
Very Best,
Linda
This week we get to take a step back from our daily routine… usually we take a few days to kick back & enjoy family, friends, and good food… and at the very minimum, we enjoy a few extra moments or hours to reflect on all we have to be grateful for.
I have two things on my mind today: Thanksgiving and how much Linda and I are loving writing the PropertyBblotter. I am thinking about Thanksgiving because it is my favorite holiday and because it has been so incredibly gorgeous the last few days. The air is crisp. The sunshine is bright. It just makes me feel grateful to be alive. And somehow those feelings tie into how I feel about the Property Blotter. We have been writing this blog for 20 months. In that time we have had the pleasure of sharing our passion for real estate and for this wonderful town that we live in. We have also been fortunate to have people contact us to get information, and even to buy and to sell homes. We are grateful for our loyal readers and hope that you are enjoying and learning from what we are able to share.
The tax year runs from July 1st to June 30th, but you receive your tax statement in October for payment on November 15th. No wonder people are confused! Not only does the tax year not correspond with the calendar year, but you get your statement at a completely odd time as well. (Is this some sort of a conspiracy?) So when you pay your taxes in November you are paying in arrears back to July 1 and ahead to June 30. You can pay your taxes in one lump sum and receive a discount, or you can pay it in thirds with the final third due in May.
Yes, your property taxes will probably go up this year even though your house value has likely gone down. Right now, this is the most confusing issue about property taxes and is getting a lot of play in the media. This is happening because of the restriction that was placed onto annual tax increases in the mid-1990’s. At that time house values were going up quickly and property taxes were going up at the same pace. This was creating financial hardship because people’s incomes were not keeping pace. A ballot measure was passed that restricted annual tax increases to not more than 3% per year plus any bond measures passed through public vote. Bond measures are those ballot measures that supply funding to build libraries, schools, zoos, etc. Lots of bond measures have been passed in the last 15 years, including an $80,000,000 bond measure that re-built the two High Schools here in Lake Oswego.
Here are a few local events & opportunities currently offered Lake Oswego residents. Wish you were here? We do too! Enjoy:
As with our entire society, the real estate community is rapidly changing due to the expanding availability of computer technology and the Internet. I have found myself musing on this subject because of a telephone call I got yesterday. A gentleman wanted information about a house that I have listed for sale. As I always do when I speak to someone about real estate, I asked him if he was already working with a Realtor. Not that it will make any difference in my answering of his questions, I just want to make sure that he has adequate help and I also don’t want to step onto the toes of any other Realtors. His response to me was that he had 3 different agents helping him, but that he didn’t think any of them were really working for him. This was because all 3 had set up e-mail programs that sent him listing information, but that none of them made the effort to speak to him in person. Hmmmm……
I have a very great fondness for the 
This subject is leading me to a little bit of Oregon history. As you drive around the metro area you’ll see quite a few roads that feature the word ferry in their name: Taylor’s Ferry Rd, Graham’s Ferry Rd, Scholls Ferry Rd. And here in Lake Oswego, Boones Ferry Rd is one of the major streets in town. These roads were conveniently named to lead travelers back in the days before we had bridges across the Willamette River to the many ferries that aided with these crossings. Boones Ferry Road led to the Boones Ferry, which was located where what is now Boones Bridge in Wilsonville (actually the current location of the Boones Bridge across I-5). Boones Ferry was operated by Alphonso Boone, a grandson of Daniel Boone.