I do a lot of online searches about Bellingham trying to keep up with not only what is going on in Bellingham, but also what is being said about Bellingham. Every now and then I run into a tidbit that is so completely random, that it is entertaining.

Speaker Wire did a list of random things you never knew and Bellingham made the list.

Did you know…..and old law in Bellingham made it illegal for a woman to take more than 3 steps backwards while dancing? I have no idea why, or when the law was put into place, or when it was removed (I’m assuming that it was removed).

There will be a meeting tonight to discuss how to spend money from the 3rd Greenway levy in Bellingham. The meeting is from 7-9pm at the Squalicum Boathouse in Zuanich Point Park. 

Greenways levy are quite often a hot topic for Bellingham residents. Most of them support the idea (as evidenced by the fact that residents decided to tax themselves more on 3 separate occasions). However, even amongst supporters, there is much disagreement in how the money should be spent. Some want to buy small, but important (and expensive) pieces of land while others want “more bang for their buck” and would rather buy a larger chunk of land to keep as green space, even if the location isn’t as good. 

Would love to hear your thoughts! How do you think Bellingham should spend the Greenways levy? Any particular piece of land that you woul like the city to buy? 

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Students who attend school in the Ferndale School District will not be getting a  mid-winter break this year.  The school district met and decided on a plan to make up four of the district’s snow days between Feb. 20th-23rd.  If you have a student in the district and have already made travel plans you are encouraged to contact the school to plan for arranged absences.  Currently the last day of the year for Ferndale Students is planned for June 22nd.

What are your thoughts on how the Ferndale School District is dealing with the missed school days? 

Do you think other districts should follow suit?  Let us know!

Did you know that you can buy your own island for as little as $150,000? Although that number is defenitely on the low side, you can probably find a small island on one of the great lakes for about that much. Want saltwater? Probably need to boost up that number a bit. But even then, you can get an island for $200,000 and up.

Some of these islands cannot be built on and are therefore more as a camping retreat. Others have strict specifications as to what is allowed. But altogether, it is an intriguiing idea.

If you are interested in owning an island, check out Private Island Online.

If buying a whole island sounds like a bit too much for you, don’t forget about our own Lummi Island here. All the island appeal, with a ferry! Lylene specializes in Lummi Island, so if you have any questions, feel free to ask her at lylene@johnsonteamrealestate.com

Here are this week’s real estate sales statistics for Bellingham, Blaine/Birch Bay, Ferndale, Lynden and Sudden Valley. The following are the pending ratios (percentage of homes listed that have a pending sale) for each of those cities:

Bellingham: 22%
Blaine/Birch Bay: 21%
Ferndale: 18%
Lynden: 16%
Sudden Valley: 25%

Graphs of the real estate sales trends over the past two years in Bellingham, Blaine/Birch Bay, Ferndale, Lynden and Sudden Valley can be seen here.

Web cams are a fun phenomenon that came with the internet. There are multiple cameras set up in Bellingham that allow you to view various parts of the city and county. Most of the pictures are updated every 5-30 seconds. Enjoy!

Bellingham Cold Storage has a webcam looking over the bay. Check it out! The site has all kinds of weather info as well. For you boaters out there, this is a great way to get a peak at the water.

The Barkley District also has a webcam.

Whatcom Educational Credit Unions (WECU) also has a Fairhaven webcam.

The Washington State Department of Transportation has a bunch of webcams set up to view traffic at various places in Bellingham.

Borderlineups offers us a view of the 4 border crossings to give us an idea of how long the line is.

If you know of any more, let me know!

If you want more info on installing bamboo floors check out the Home Repair Blog.

Some other uses of bamboo that I wasn’t aware of.

Apparently, putting in bamboo floors can have health benefits (when compared to carpet).

A few things to be careful of with bamboo.

Everyone always wants to know what the next big trend is going to be. My guess is - bamboo. This very versatile plant has become very prominent in North America in recent years, catching on to the trend that Asia has had for quite a while. In Asia, particularly South East Asia, bamboo is used for everything from scafolding, to home building, to kitchen utensils, to food. With over 1,500 types of bamboo plants, and their ability to grow so quickly, bamboo simply makes sense.

Bamboo flooring has been gaining popularity and for good reason. It’s cheaper than hardwood, and is more eco friendly. Bamboo is a completely renewable resource. You can chop it down and within months it will reach full maturity again, as opposed to decades for trees.

I found a site that talks about the benefits of bamboo and why it is so eco-friendly.

One of my friends recently re-did his place with bamboo flooring and it looks incredible. Although this photo below is not his place, it gives you a good idea of what it looks like.

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I ran across a blogger, Tino Buntic, who decided to make a page with 2000 bloggers! He doesn’t care what kind of blog, he just wants 2000 blogs. Anyone can request that theirs be added, but they have to have a photo on their blog that he can use for the site.

So just for fun, below are all the photos and links to the bloggers that are taking part so far! See if you can find the one for the Johnson Team! I’ll give you a hint - Tino decided to go for elegrance, grace and sophistication, so he cropped the picture down to just Lylene!