If you love sharing nature with others, you might be the perfect candidate for the Discovery Park docent class of 2009.

Docents (volunteer naturalists) participate in 12 weeks of training and commit to at least one year of volunteering. Responsibilities ranger from helping children catch a dragonfly larva for the first time to teaching the public about life in Puget Sound. Docents lead programs for school groups, teach interpretive programs on the weekends, and staff hands-on discovery stations in the busier areas of the park. Class of 2009 begins in February and applications are available now. For more information, contact Kit Benshoof at 206-386-4237.

There’s a new business moving into the Magnolia Village next week.  Katy’s Daisies is located next door to Ichiro at 2436 34th Ave W.  The sign on the door says it will open on December 1.  Katy’s Daisies is a flower shop in the space that used to house a catering business.  We will check it out when they open their doors just in time for the holidays.

An article in The Stranger outlines a dispute in a Magnolia neighborhood. One neighbor’s attempt to beautify the block has turned into a bizarre war filled with screaming matches, threats, and protection orders on Brygger Drive West. In the two years since the problems began, neighbors say they’ve been forced to become “shut-ins,” installed security cameras outside their homes, and forbidden their children from walking in front of certain houses on the block.

It all stems from a 10-foot parking strip. When one neighbor decided to beautify the street by installing large planters on a dry patch of grass on the corner of her home along the parking strip, another neighbor took exception to the beautification efforts because he wanted to park his cars there.

The Stranger was contacted by that man who asked them to write his story about “crazy neighbors,” police harassment, and a cover-up at the city. To read the rest of the story, click here.

Happy Thanksgiving to all of our readers from Magnolia Voice!  We are thankful to all of you who take time to read and respond to our news blog. 

Its not easy selling real estate these days but the two Windermere agents repesenting the new Carleton Park townhomes in The Village say they are confident they will find the right buyers for the homes that start at $1.2 million.

The homes are nearing completion and they expect to have an open house on January 15th. That’s also when they will begin full scale marketing efforts.  Magnolia Voice got a first look inside.

So far only one townhome is spoken for, by the man who sold the former parking lot to the developer, Magnolia resident Tim McHugh. While the agents, Dave Medina and Gregory Walker, admit that the economic uncertainty makes this a challenging time to sell these townhomes, they believe that the right buyers will fall in love with the location and amenities. They hope to sell one townhome each month starting in January.

Each home has a two car garage, an elevator that serves the three story home, an entry level home office space, a central vacuam system and a security system. The finishes in the townhomes are luxurious with two fireplaces, travertine flooring, Brazilian hardwood and top of the line kitchen appliances including custom cabinetry. There are two decks and the homes range in size from 2,500 to 3,000 square feet.

The agents say that landscaping will begin soon and the appearance of the townhomes will be softened by the trees and bushes going into the site.

Here is your chance to share your opinion about the future of the Interbay Golf Course. Seattle Parks and Recreation wants input from the community to update the Golf Course Master Plan and Economic Analysis for all four municipal golf courses.

If you are interested in golf at Interbay, they want to hear from you to help develop the future of the nine hole course, including funding, perimeter trails, club house renovations, driving range expansions and maintenance facility renovations

There is a public meeting at 6:30 on Tuesday, December 2 at Interbay Golf Course. For more information visit the website.

Magnolia merchants are presenting the first Girl’s Night Out in The Village on Thursday, December 11 from 5pm to 8pm. They say it will be a chance to shop, taste, sip and pamper. Sounds pretty good!

There will be exclusive offers, gifts with purchase and door prizes throughout the evening. Participating merchants include Around the Block, Bleu Papillon, Cocoa & Cream, Dish it up!, Lerous Fine Apparel, Magnolia Garden Center, Swirl Wine Bar, Szmania’s and Vixen.

You can start the evening at Szmania’s for Chocolate Martinis at the special price of $5 and some free nibbles before doing some serious shopping.

This just in from the Seattle Police Department:

Sunday morning at about 8:00 AM  officers responded to a call of a young male suspect attempting to break out an apartment window in the 4200 block of 34th Avenue West. The victim heard noises at her front apartment window and also heard someone shouting.

When she went to the window, she saw the suspect break the front window with his hand attempting to gain entry into the unit. When the suspect saw the victim, he left, walking up the driveway. Responding officers conducted an unsuccessful area search for the suspect. Investigation revealed that the same suspect possibly attempted to open another front door at a residence on the same block at about 6:00 A.M.

This new house at Dravus and 28th has been on the market for $1.6 million for over eight months with no buyer in sight.  In what is likely a sign of the times, the four bedroom three bath home is now for rent.

The monthly rent for the home that offers sound and Olympic views, granite counters and top of the line appliances is $4,500.  The home also has a formal living room with a gas fireplace, separate formal dining room and hardwood floors.  

There is a curved staircase, a media room, wine cellar and the house has a three car garage.  Renters are required to put down first and last months rent with a security deposit and there are no pets allowed.

It will be interesting to see if other upper end properties in our area end up as rentals as the housing market continues to struggle.  It will be more interesting to see if anyone is interested in spending that kind of money for a rental.

If you are looking for a good thanksgiving dinner in Magnolia we have two options for you.  

Szmania’s is offering an a la carte menu that includes Roast Turkey with Giblet Gravy, Sage Bread Stuffing, Autumn Vegetables, Brussel Sprouts, Yams and Cranberry-Orange Relish for $27.  There is also a complete turkey dinner for kids 12 & under for $22 including  a salad &  special dessert.  Other menu items available that day include New York Steak, Alaskan Coho Salmon, Jager Schnitzel & Butternut Squash Risotto plus lots of traditional side dishes, appetizers and Pumpkin Pie by Grandma Irene. 

Szmania’s is open from 1pm to 7pm and they have room for families large and small.  For reservations call (206) 284-7305. 

Palisade is also open on Thanksgiving with a traditional turkey dinner that includes Free-range Turkey with rich Apple-Sausage Stuffing, Yukon Gold Mashed Potatoes, Sweet Potato Soufflé, brown butter glazed vegetables and pineapple-cranberry relish for $32.  They also have Thanksgiving desserts including Pumpkin Pie and Pumpkin Caramel Cheesecake. They are also offering their traditional menu including lots of seafood and steak entrees such as Australian Rock Lobster Tail, Rotisserie Prime Rib, Filet Mignon, Cedar Plank Roasted Wild Salmon and Miso Butterfish.

Palisade is open from 1pm to 8pm on Thanksgiving.  For reservations call (206) 285-1000.   

Lexington Fine Homes has announced it will finally break ground on its proposed development at the old Briarcliff Elementary school in the coming weeks. There are 39 homes slated for construction at the intersection of West Barrett Street and 39th Ave West near the water tower. Some equipment and a work shed have now arrived at the site.

In a letter sent to neighbors, the developer say the first phase of construction will extend 39th Ave. W. through the Briarcliff property to Dravus Street, along with improvements to Dravus in front of the property. They will remove the existing fence and the remaining asphalt and install a new fence. The road development should take up to six months to complete. (Thanks David for the tip)

Here is an excerpt from the letter:

We are pleased to announce that the detailed engineering drawings for the roads, utilities, sidewalks, landscaping and other development improvements have been approved by the City. These development activities are expected to be completed during the coming summer. We are continuing to work of the home designs and hope to start construction in late 2009 on the first new home. - John Cochenour, Lexington Fine Homes

We will keep an eye on the project and bring you progress reports as construction gets underway.

This is the rendering of the project. The Briarcliff School was closed for a number of years before it was sold by the Seattle School District to Lexington in 2003. Since then, construction has been delayed as neighborhood groups opposed the project. Critics contend that with so many houses on such small lots there will be traffic problems and congestion.

The Village Holiday open house drew a good crowd last night, despite the fact that the rain started falling just minutes before the tree lighting. This is year 32 for the open house sponsored by the Magnolia Chamber of Commerce.

The evening started off with the tree lighting at the Magnolia Garden Center with carols led by the Magnolia Camp Fire group.

McGraw Street was closed to traffic and merchants invited everyone to visit and enjoy snacks and libations. This is the kick off to the holiday shopping season and a nice effort by our local shops and restaurants. The Magnolia Voice urges readers to consider shopping local whenever possible this year.

Santa was in place in front of ACE Hardware handing out treats to kids.

At Cocoa and Cream crowds lined up to sample ice cream.

At Leroux they were handing out grown up beverages.

And nothing says holiday season like a bunch of grown men in Santa hats!

18 members of the Seattle Mountaineers Club are completing an urban hike today between seven branches of the Seattle Public Library and they got their start in Magnolia.  The “27 Lively Libraries” hikers took off from the Magnolia library at 10:30 this morning on their way to branches in Queen Anne, Fremont, Wallingford, Green Lake, Greenwood and finally Ballard.  Its a little under 12 miles in all.

The hikers, ranging in age from 24 to mid 70s, will walk at about 3 miles per hour .  The goal is to get their Library Passports stamped at each library. Magnolia library clerk Kris Baker gave everyone the stamp with the blue heron focus before they took a tour of the newly remodeled library.

Hike leader Kathy Biever (in red coat) volunteers at the Central Library, and says it was a natural to combine her love of books and love of hiking. The group has hiked to 15 libraries so far and will finish their quest with a final hike to five more libraries on December 4.

Update: The hikers reached the Queen Anne Library, then crossed the Fremont Bridge for this photo before breaking for lunch.

While you are in The Village tonight (Friday) for the Holiday Open House, make sure to stop by Swirl Wine Bar and check out the art exhibit.  Swirl is currently featuring the work of local artist Ethan Jack Harrington. The paintings are very colorful and already several have been sold and will be replaced with new pieces. Swirl will keep Ethan’s work on display through the holidays. All the art hanging at Swirl can be seen here.

Swirl is a Wine Shop and Wine Bar serving small plates and desserts from Upper Crust Bakery. Every wine on the menu can be purchased by the bottle with full and half case discounts. They are also selling wine related products and customized gift baskets to order for the holidays and they are available for private parties.

“We would like to thank the Magnolia community for supporting Swirl. We’ve had tremendous success and look forward to working hard to meet the needs of our customers. We live in Magnolia and try to look for ways to support the community and we shop locally whenever possible to help sustain the Village,” says Annie Hoffman, owner.