This fellow lives in the Topeka Zoo in the giraffes' little habitat.  It sort of reminded me of the part in Seabiscuit where they put a monkey in his stable to keep him company.  The bird and the giraffes seem to happily coexist in the large mammals section, and I think this is a "companion bird", but I completely clueless about what it is.  The poof on the head reminds me of a poodle. 09/30/2011

In 1961, I graduated from Topeka High School, in a class with an amazing bunch of kids who grew into some pretty amazing adults.  And this past weekend, we held our Golden Reunion.  It started off with a gathering Friday night, where we all decided that they should have much larger print on the name tags, which we really needed to help us recognize each other.  After hellos and hugs, we met up on Saturday morning for a tour of our old Alma Mater.  It's always been a beautiful school, but now it is on the National Reguister of Historic Places, which has allowed them to obtain some graints for restorations. I'd forgotten how great the library was.  It has the original furniture (it was restored by the inmates of a nearby prison in Hutchinson, Kansas) and the large working fireplace.  In t... 09/25/2011

For the last several days, I've been looking for some good old Kansas beef cattle to photograph.  I've seen a few, but they were along the Kansas Turnpike as we were speeding by at the 80 or so miles an hour speed limit.  But this little guy, who lives at the Topeka Zoo, will have to do for today's shot.  When I first saw him, he was standing so still that I thought I was looking at a statue.  Then he started to chew whatever was in his mouth. When I was growing up in Topeka, the zoo was pretty basic.  The most exciting part was Monkey Island, funky home of a bunch of unruly primates who taught the local kids about the facts of life and tried to throw who knows what across the moat to zoo visitors.  Now it's a " habitat", no longer coed, and looking a bit more like a tropical rain fore... 09/25/2011

Friday Fotos:  Topeka High School Tower This is the bell tower over the main entrance to Topeka High School, my alma mater.  I remembered it as being a pretty place, and was wondering what it would look like after many years.  It's still a pretty awesome structure.  The reunion festivities began tonight and will continue over the weekend.  It will be fun to once again roam the halls! 09/23/2011

When I was growing up in Topeka Kansas in the 1950's, Potwin was a neighborhood of big old Victorian and Queen Ann homes that had become rather thin at the elbows, often used as boarding houses or broken up into apartments.  Now the neighborhood has blossomed, with some of the most beautiful restorations I've seen. Charles Wolcott Potwin bought 70 acres of land in near the Kansas River back in the 1890's, and divided it into 70 lots.  If you wanted to buy one, you had to agree to build a house that cost at least $2,000 to build.  In fact, the homes cost around $5,000 to build, and the neighborhood attracted prosperous lawyers, importers and a few real estate professionals.  The homes have wonderful architetural details, with fishscale shingles, wide verandahs (many of the wrapping aroun... 09/23/2011

I have six weeks to lose fifty pounds and get a major face lift.  Yes, it's coming up.  It's not just a class reunion, it's a "0" year class reunion. So sweetie and I are planning a "Two for the Road" thing - not in my comfortable Lexus with a giant trunk and lots of room and a navigation system, but in his adorable little 2-seater with a trunk barely large enough to hold two little bitty suitcases. Well, his car does get better mileage. We're planning our route, trying to avoid aiming the car down I-70, which leads right from here to Topeka.  Yes, Topeka, Kansas.  The town I ran away from to New York City, where I began my big life adventure. I graduated from Topeka High School, a member of an amazing class of kids.  Like there was about a seven-way tie for class valedictorian, which i... 08/02/2011

05/11/2011

This beautiful well-maintained home features 3 large bedrooms with walk-in closets, 3 full bathrooms, office or 4th bedroom, 2 car attached garage with storage space, large basement with storage & workshop. Home has a large great room with gas fireplace; formal dining and living room; in addition to eat-in kitchen with all appliances. Property items that stay with home include: alarm system, water softener, office furniture, and large bathroom storage cabinet. Large yard includes covered front porch, fantastic deck, mature plants and landscaping with sprinkler system. This home is a must see! Additional info about the property including homeowner contacts could be found here: http://www.fizber.com/kansas-buy-topeka-home-16487986.html     05/17/2010

Google is no more... In an unprecedented decision Google, Inc. has decided to change it's name to Topeka, Inc. in honor of the city's recent decision to change it's name to Google, Kansas.  As April Fool's Day pranks go, this one is a doozy. Not because of any confusion over the name (I'm sure most people understand it's meant to be humorous) but because of the massive reach of this "joke." The name "Topeka" will be in front of the entire world for an entire day. Domestic and international news outlets are covering this story as if it's real news. And, this could be a huge step toward Topeka become a part of Google's ultra high speed broadband effort, although the CEO denies this in his blog. Now, if I could just get Topeka, Inc. to change it's name to Gotham. For more information on th... 04/01/2010

Yep, it's true.  I learned yesterday listening to National Public Radio that my old home town has a new name. On March 1 of this year, the Mayor issued a proclamation that changed the name of Topeka, Kansas (the name is an Indian word that means "a good place to dig potatoes") to Google, Kansas.  They are trying to suck up to Google to become Google's Fiber Project test city.  Should they be chosen, its citizens will have super ultra high speed Internet - about a zillion times faster than what we have now. Google recently announced plans to build super fast, even uberfast, networks.  According to the NPR story, they are looking for towns of about 500,000 - a lot larger than Topeka, um, Google is now.  And Topeka, um Google is not alone.  Several other communities are also trying to get ... 03/23/2010

http://cjonline.com/news/local/2010-01-05/topeka_housing_market_lauded The above link is an article posted by the Topeka Capital Journal online.  In the article, Barbara Corcoran, a consultant for the Today show, named Topeka as the number three city in the country to buy a home, behind South Bend, Ind. and Akron, Ohio.  This article is a testament to how wonderful living in Topeka really is.  Congratulations to all who call Topeka their hometown.  Becky Burghart, Real Estate Professional 785) 640-8811 01/05/2010

This adorable little home has a remodeled kitchen, new windows, new HVAC, new appliances, new hot water heater, new carpet and new paint. Its' best features include hardwood floors and a large cedar walk-in closet in the master bedroom! Roof and siding are 7 years old. The garage needs roof repairs and is sold with property "as is." To directly access this property, use this shortcut: http://www.fizber.com/kansas-buy-single-family-home-11648350.html 12/26/2009

 This adorable little home has a remodeled kitchen, new windows, new HVAC, new appliances, new hot water heater, new carpet and new paint. Its' best features include hardwood floors and a large cedar walk-in closet in the master bedroom! Roof and siding are 7 years old. The garage needs roof repairs and is sold with property "as is." To directly access this property, use this shortcut: http://www.fizber.com/kansas-buy-single-family-home-11648350.html 11/01/2009

Beautiful Briarwood home for sale! 4 spacious bedrooms and 2 full bathrooms. 1428 sq ft. All appliances included, breakfast bar, deck for relaxing, formal dining room, hardwood floors, newer carpet, full unfinished basement, fenceand deck. This home has lots of potential for growth and is priced to sell. To directly access this property, use this shortcut: http://www.fizber.com/kansas-buy-single-family-home-11648385.html 09/29/2009

This lovely 3 bedroom, 1 full bathroom home is located in Southeast Topeka. It's roof, vinyl siding and carpet are 3 years old. Become a homeowner and enjoy the large yard and all the potential this home offers! To directly access this property, use this shortcut: http://www.fizber.com/kansas-buy-single-family-home-11647116.html 07/25/2009

Price: $235,000 FIZBER.com ID 11646511 Single Family with 4 bed, 2.0 bath, in 223 SW Woodlawn Ave Topeka, KS, 66606 http://www.fizber.com/11646511/ 223 SW Woodlawn Ave - For Sale By Owner Property Details: Type: Single Family Address: 223 SW Woodlawn Ave, Topeka, KS, 66606 Sq footage: 2860.0 Floors: n/a Bathrooms: 2.0 Bedrooms: 4 Year built: 1915 View full property details and seller's contacts. View more Kansas homes for sale. Homes for Sale by Owner. Description: Come peek in the windows of this newly renovated Potwin beauty. Upgrades include: new kitchen & baths, master suite, exterior & interior paint, 2nd floor laundry, ceramic tile, refinished hardwood floors, & much more! Nothing to do but move in & enjoy! Seller has a few finishing touches to do before closing! More Photos: 07/07/2009

As we can see in the median table below, Topeka Kansas Real Estate has in July, year after year has had SOLD prices being a very high percentage of the asking (list) price.  Topeka Homes for Sale in July have been selling with fewer DOM (Days on Market) the past two years. Period   List Mean      List Median      Sold Mean      Sold Median Units DOM (Days on Market)   2005 $ 121,742.00 $ 102,500.00 $ 118,971.00 $ 102,000.00 335 99 2006 $ 118,888.00 $ 110,750.00 $ 117,494.00 $ 109,074.00 362 88 2007 $ 133,224.00 $ 115,000.00 $ 130,969.00 $ 111,350.00 339 60 2008 $ 133,806.00 $ 119,900.00 $ 130,634.00 $ 116,500.00 319 64 (All MLS Stats excluding Condo's for the Month of July) List prices for July have continued to climb. SOLD prices for July have continued to climb. However, the number o... 08/30/2008

416 N. Topeka Ave Carbondale Kansas For Lease or Sale 416 N. Topeka Ave., Carbondale, KS 66414 View Map Sometimes when sellers have a property they may want to both list a property For Lease and For Sale. That way if the tenant comes first to lease the place, the seller decides to take the listing off the market for sale and vice versa if the buyer comes first. This place is available for lease or for sale. 1.2 acres of country living with the city conveniences of Carbondale KS; just 10 minutes south of Topeka Wal-Mart, 3 bedroom, 2 bath, 2 car car-port, finished basement, Topeka Blvd is down at the end of the driveway, as you come up to the driveway you come to the home and if you kept going you would continue on to the Carbondale Veterinary Clinic. The Carbondale Veterinary Clinic si... 12/30/2007

Sometimes, when a home is remodeled, you want to remodel it again before you move in, but this owner did it right. The kitchen is light and airy with a neat backsplash area for the counters and they put cool light fixtures in. Decorators can come to this home for tips. They left the beautiful hardwood floors intact and there is an amazing front porch to sit and play your guitar on while your dog sleeps next to you. For this and other homes like it in northeastern central Kansas, give me a call or email. 1108 SW MacVicar Topeka KS 1108 SW MacVicar, Topeka, KS 66604 Click to View Show Enjoy the wonderful open porch with our beautiful fall weather. This two bedroom home with 1067 sqft is 6 blocks east of Washburn Park, 8 blocks west of Stormont-Vail Regional Health Center, 16 blocks east o... 11/29/2007

Topeka Kansas Real Estate and surrounding area SOLD's showed 245 homes for the month of October 2007.  That is (incredibly) up from September's 243.  It looks like in the Topeka area we could have 2007 pass the number of SOLD homes in all three of the previous three years.  Read on...Month: Oct 2007By: ClosingDateJANFEBMARAPRMAYJUNEJULYAUGSEPTOCT2007 YTD2006 YTD2005 YTD2004 YTD$1 $29,999 1314161311102591913143135147163$30,000 $39,999 1181381079109893828593$40,000 $49,999 1266131615912129110133116136$50,000 $59,999 88914151612121210116163138169$60,000 $69,999 11121818202118201512165186196210$70,000 $79,999 13201621222825131525198217250266$80,000 $89,999 12172217303229201912210247231202$90,000 $99,999 11142322252120191317185164168194$100,000 $119,999 18292640423924322521296310310368$120,0... 11/26/2007