Meet Some Fresh Faces at Farmers Market Fridays

Happy Friday, Bailey Farm residents and fans! Do you know what Fridays mean in Bothell? Prepare for your weekend guests or other culinary adventures by stopping by the Bothell Farmers Market.

Located at Bothell's Country Village (23718 Bothell Everett Highway, Bothell, WA 98021), every Friday from noon until 6pm, the Bothell Farmers Market is a great place to meet other local residents (hey, you might run into a fellow Bailey Farm neighbor!), farmers, and pick up a fresh array of healthy, locally produced food.

According to Country Village Bothell’s website, the Bothell Farmers Market offers:

A large variety of in season, locally grown, produce straight from the farm, fresh cut flower bouquets (prices start at only $5.00), pasta, balsamics, oils, baklava, hummus, dried fruits, fruit leather, award winning tea, fresh bread, locally made dog treats, NW native plants, shrubs and trees, soy soaps, candles and lotions along with handmade items from local artisans!

In addition, each Farmers Market Friday, local musicians will be on hand with an eclectic mix of family friendly tunes. And of course, Country Village’s numerous shops and restaurants are all great places to visit after you stop by the market.

We’re right in the middle of the farmers market season, which started on June 7 and will last until October 4—so remember to stop by, say hi, and grab some tasty goodies. See below for a mini tour of the Bothell Farmers Market, and follow their Facebook page for special deals and up to date info.

Setting the Table for the WA State Fair’s Contests

One of the area’s most popular community events is slowly approaching: The Washington State Fair, from September 6 to 22 in Puyallup.

Year in and year out, the event is known for its concerts and rodeo—this year’s iteration will also include a photography contest and—wait for it!—a tablesetting contest.

The Northwest International Exhibition of Photography is poised to have tons of great entries from local amateur and professional photographers. The Photographic Society of America will hand out awards for the following categories:

· Best-of-Show Monochrome Print (Large)

· Best-of-Show Color Print (Large)

· Best-of-Show Monochrome Print (Small)

· Best-of-Show Color Print (Small)

· Best-of-Show Photojournalism Print (Small)

· Best-of-Human Interest Photojournalism Print (Small)

· Best-of-Show PID General

· Best-of-Show Nature

· Best-of-Show Authentic Wildlife Nature

· Best-of-Show Photo-Travel

For a complete description of the photography contest, click here (PDF).

There will also be several contests in the areas of the home arts and food, including a tablesetting contest, a quilt contest, a Fine Arts Contest (open to non-photographic works of art) and various food awards. For a complete description of all the Home & Food Arts events, click here (PDF).

For comprehensive information on the Washington State Fair and its contests, visit TheFair.com.

With Record High Temps, Roads Start Cracking Up

It’s been pretty hot around town lately. In fact, it was so hot in the Seattle-Tacoma area last Monday, that roads literally started to crack! In Renton, WA, a major local road, 128th Street couldn’t withstand the 90 degree temperatures, causing the asphalt to buckle.

While temperatures reached record highs last week throughout the Bothell region, it wasn’t quite “historic,” as there were no strong easterly flows coming from the Cascades. Rarely, the air will descend down the slopes of the mountains and compress, resulting in a high pressure atmosphere, and higher temperatures.

Last week’s heat wave in Washington was summed up nicely by the Cliff Mass Weather Blog:

At 1 PM, parts of I5 in north Seattle got to 115 and 120F (road temps are in the rectangle), and plenty of roads were 105-115F. Also notice the contrast in the city for air temperatures: while some locations were in the mid-80s, and parts of the east-side were in the upper 80s, low to mid 70s were available near the water. That is a wonderful thing about living here: you can virtually always escape the heat by going near our cool water. Can't do that in Phoenix!

To read Cliff Mass’s full post on the road-buckling heat wave, click here.

Enjoy Bothell’s Music In The Park This Summer

There’s so much to enjoy during any summer. The weather, the outdoor events, the markets - everyone has a different favorite activity during this time of the year.

The City of Bothell has done its part to bring some delightful events to the area for the summer; the area’s 2013 Music In The Park concert series kicks off tonight and continues throughout the month of August. Here is a full list of upcoming performances:

July 5: Mach One Jazz Orchestra kicks off the series tonight by performing a variety of music (i.e. Big bands golden age classics to contemporary jazz)

July 12: Cherry Cherry scheduled to perform a Neil Diamond tribute show

July 19: Spazmatics will perform hot hits from the ‘80s

July 26: Chance McKinney is set to perform country and southern rock tunes

Aug 2: Danny Vernon will take the stage as Elvis

Aug 9: DoctorfunK has ordered some prescription soul tunes just for Bothell

Aug 16: Crème Tangerine will perform a Beatles tribute show

Aug 23: Blues Power Revue is set to wrap up the series with a tribute to the Blues Brothers

Original show schedule and full list of sponsors can be found here.

Time To Make A To-Do List For After Move-In Day

Move-in day is an extremely exciting time. Whether it’s your first apartment in general or your first apartment in a new city, moving into that new apartment always marks the beginning of a new chapter in someone’s life.

But what exactly are we supposed to do after move-in day? Once the trucks are gone, the car is parked, and the boxes are sorted, what do we do next?

Apartmentguide.com has the answer! Check out their article to see what you should do during day one, week one, and even month one after you’ve moved into your new place. It’s super informative and extremely helpful.

And once you’ve moved into your new Bothell apartment, we also recommend doing any of these five things from explorebothell.com (more are listed here) - you’ll feel at home in no time!

● Go wine tasting.

● Go two-wheeling.

● Go shopping!

● Take in a show.

● Visit Seattle!

Live Green: Here’s 22 Easy Ways To Save Water and Energy

Earth Day may have come and gone, but that’s no reason to stop your efforts to “greenify” your living space. Believe it or not, even apartment dwellers can find ways to live a green lifestyle without making major modifications to their living space.

Don’t believe us? Here’s three simple tricks to use around your apartment, courtesy of TLC Home, that help save water and energy:

●      Displace water in your toilet tank by getting a plastic bottle, filling it with gravel, and placing it in your toilet tank. That’s it! You can leave this for the next tenant so they can continue saving water as well.

●      Use CFL Bulbs, which save a lot of energy, whenever possible. (Also, turn off lights when you are not in the room. It’s simple but effective!)

●      Pay attention to your fridge. Keep its compressor coils clean to ensure your energy bill stays low and that you’re using as little electricity as possible. Another thing you can do is line your fridge with water jugs to keep it full and colder. It sounds silly, but it can save a lot of energy!

That’s just three simple, easy tricks that save water and energy. You can get more tips like this by clicking here: the original article listed 22 ideas for saving water and energy!

Do you have photos of these items on your phone? You should!

Phones today are the most useful and necessary tools that a lot of people have at their disposal. Forget voicemails and texting - our phones now help us navigate, find new music, calculate how much money we should leave as a tip, and a whole plethora of other things.

But are you taking full advantage of one of the simplest features on a modern day phone? It’s not a secret that many people use their phones in place of a camera. It’s also not a secret that many people use their e-mail or a Notes feature on their phone to keep track of little details. But why not combine the two into a far more useful reminder?

A picture is far more vivid and helpful than a few words that you may misspell or forget the meaning of. So what should you be taking pictures of and saving in your phone? Apartmenttherapy.com has the answer:

Here are a few things that can easily be remembered with a quick snap of your camera phone's shutter button:

• A reminder of where you parked. Parking in the city is no joke.

• Your printer cartridges. Make sure you can see the refill numbers.

• Your family members' clothing sizes.

• The measurements of your air filter.

• Travel confirmation numbers. Take a screenshot of the email your airline sends you. When you check in later and need to find confirmation numbers, your photo album will be less cluttered than your inbox.

• Pictures of current medications. Make sure you can see the prescriptions' names and dosages in the photo.

• The types of lightbulbs that fit your home fixtures.

• A recipe from a book or magazine that you want to use soon.

• Anything "borrowed" that you might want to buy later, like the brand of a smooth-writing pen at the bank or a great-smelling hotel shampoo.

• Expensive home furnishings you just know you can DIY at home. Get shots of all the important angles for when you're ready to DIY.

Read the full original article here - and tell us in the comments if you use your camera to help you remember anything else that’s not on this list!