The National Gallery of Art was created in 1937  by a joint resolution of Congress, accepting the gift of financier and art collector Andrew W. Mellon. During the 1920s, Mr. Mellon began collecting with the intention of forming a public gallery of art in Washington. In 1937, the year of his death, he promised his collection to the United States.  On March 17, 1941, President Franklin D. Roosevelt accepted the museum, then housed in the newly built building (now the West Wing) and the collections on behalf of the people of the United States of America.

The paintings and works of sculpture given by Andrew Mellon have formed a nucleus of high quality around which the collections have grown. Mr. Mellon's gift to the country attracted gifts from other collectors  in the form of major donations of art from Samuel H. Kress, Rush H. Kress, Joseph Widener, Chester Dale, Ailsa Mellon Bruce, Lessing J. Rosenwald, and Edgar William and Bernice Chrysler Garbisch as well as individual gifts from hundreds of other donors.

The Gallery's East Building, designed by I.M.Pei and located on land set aside in the original Congressional resolution, was opened in 1978. It accommodates the Gallery's growing collections and expanded exhibition schedule and houses an advanced research center, administrative offices, library, and a collection of drawings and prints. That building was accepted for the nation on June 1, 1978, by President Jimmy Carter. Funds for construction were given by Paul Mellon and the late Ailsa Mellon Bruce, the son and daughter of the founder, and by The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.

On May 23, 1999 the Gallery opened an outdoor sculpture garden designed to offer year-round enjoyment to the public. Located in the 6.1-acre block adjacent to the West Building at 7th Street and Constitution Avenue, N.W., the garden provides an informal, yet elegant setting for works of modern and contemporary sculpture.

The National Gallery offers wonderful events in addition to its spectacular collections of art and temporary exhibitions.  It presents movies about art related topics, concerts, and lectures.  The restaurants and cafeterias at the National Gallery make a great place to grab lunch, a cup of coffee or brunch. 

This Sunday the National Gallery is hosting a lecture by Carl Brandon Strehlke, an expert on Italian art from 1300 to 1550 on Bernard Berenson (1865–1959), American art historian and connoisseur.  In 1895, Berenson published a long-awaited monograph on Renaissance painter Lorenzo Lotto; it was Berenson's first statement about the then relatively new science of connoisseurship. Later Berenson said that since writing that book, in which he had tried to regulate every knowable mood of an artist, he had almost never again "taken creative interest in the private, biological, and sociological lives of painters." This lecture explores why Berenson selected Lotto as an artist and as a subject for a study that he described as "an essay in constructive art criticism." 

Strehlke is currently overseeing a catalogue of the paintings collection of the Villa I Tatti, which was the Florentine residence of Bernard Berenson from 1900 to his death in 1959 and now is the Harvard University Center for Italian Renaissance Studies. Explorations in its archives have yielded much new material about the early history of connoisseurship of Italian art from the 1890s to the first decades of the next century.

If you are moving to DC or want to know more about the city and surrounding areas, call Lise Howe, who knows Washington well, and loves sharing information with clients about the great things to do in her hometown! 

One of the best things about the fall is the Annual Waterfowl Festival on the Eastern Shore of Maryland. The festival is your chance to view and buy a variety of wildlife artwork. 450 artists will be on hand to exhibit their artwork. Shooting and fly fishing demonstrations and DUCK calling will also take place! The three day festival runs from November 11 to November 13 in Easton, Md. Tickets are $10 for the three days. For more information visit www.waterfowlfestival.com. Definitely worth checking out!

Here in the mid Atlantic region we have had one wet September. I haave planted my tulips and daffodils. The leaves are starting to fall and we are heading for autumn which makes me start to think of spring when the trees will start to turn green again. My next project is building a rain garden in my yard. Rain gardens are promoted as the easiest and most cost efficient ways to reduce your contribution to storm water pollution. A rain garden is a shallow depression in your yard that you can fill with deep rooted native plants and grasses. The garden should be positioned near a runoff source such as a downspouts, driveway, or sump pump so that the garden can capture rainwater runoff. This keeps the water from reaching the sewer system, particularly important around here since the run off can reach the Chesapeake bay! Diverting your rain water from a roof or driveway into a rain garden allows the water to soak slowly into the ground. Any contaminants are also filtered out of the runoff and not put into the were system. A rain garden can imitate the natural absorption and pollution removal that takes palace naturally in a forest, meadow, or prairie. Because rain gardens are shloow - frequently just 4" to 8" deep but never more than a foot or two deep, they hold larger quantities of rainwater making their overall construction more cost efficient than other green alternatives. Rain gardens also need less technical experience to install and can be created without permits or heavy construction equipment. They can be the perfect solution for the boggy or problem areas of your yard,

1. First You Want to Chill Bulbs. You should plan on chilling the bulbs to a  "refrigerator-like temperature" in some place like a cool garage, unheated basement and or shaded cold frame. 
   
   
2. Schedule your blooms.  Plan for when you want your bulbs to bloom before you force them. While all bulbs have different forcing temperatures and rates, the following timetable will help you plan your forcing schedule: 
   
   
   • For flowers in January, plant in September or early October
   • For flowers in February, plant early- to mid-October
   • For later flowers, plant in October or early November
3. Rocks in Your Vase, Not in Your Head. Use a vase wherewith the bottom third  filled with rocks and the rest filled with water. Once that's done, place the vase in a refrigerator until you see the bulb sprout roots and leaves. 
   
   
4. Put a Smile in Your Life. Once the bulb sprouts roots and grows leaves, you should take it out of the refrigerator and put it in the window. The light will help the bulb send up its leaves and flowers. To ensure straight stems, water frequently and turn your pots occasionally so that the plant won't bend toward the sunlight. 

I confess that I am in the midst of the Buffini 100 Days to Greatness class. It is being given by Coldwell Banker, my company, so I am surrounded by fellow agents whom I haven't met before the class. I am having a great time learning from the class work and from my fellow agents.

One of the things that Buffini recommends is pop bys to visit past clients.  Since Buffini is a referral based approach to developing your real estate business, pop bys (quick visits) are a key component of the program.  

I am trying to think of items of value to bring along as part of the pop by - things that are not expensive but special and unusual.  Here are some ideas I have come up with, but I really welcome your ideas for fall pop bys - And oh yes, I will be back asking for new ideas in the winter. 

1. a little package of fall bulbs like 10 daffodils

2. a small jar of apple butter

3. an assorment of spices like cinnamon and ginger and some cute measuring spoons

4. a jar opener

5. batteries for a smoke detector since October is fire safety month. 

Hooray! You have settled on your new home.  You have survived the anxiety of the homebuying process.  Now you have a home and a yard to care for! What to do?

Now that you're in a new home, don't just dig into the dirt. Take some time to plan your course of attack! 

Make your Jack O'Lantern last a week longer!

After all your hard work scraping out the seeds and string of a pumpkin and then carving it into a beautiful art from, there is nothing worse than having it rot away in two days!  Here's how to preserve and protect it!

Pumpkins rot because

• Organisms (fungi, bacteria, molds, fungi, protozoans, insects)  get inside it once you carve it and then the pumpkin starts to break down.
• Oxygen in the air can also easily enter and break down the pumpkin (oxidation).
• Simple dehydration (drying out) will will begin the moment the pumpkin is carved.

All of this will turn your beautifully carved pumpkin into a mess in several days time!

How to stop pumpkin aging:

• Sterilize the pumpkin's carved surfaces (to kill fungi, mold, bacteria, bugs)
• Seal the surfaces to prevent drying and to keep out new "little buggers" and reduce drying

Here are the simple steps:

1. Remove dirt: Wipe the exterior surfaces of the pumpkin clean using a damp cloth.
2. Make a bleach solution of1 tablespoon of bleach (typical brand name "Clorox) per quart of water and put it in a spray bottle.
3. Spray the pumpkin inside and all cut areas of the pumpkin with the solution.  This will kill much of the surface bacteria and mold that cause rotting.
4. Let it penetrate and dry for about 20 minutes
5. Next, rub all of the carved or cut surfaces with petroleum jelly. This will keep out new bacteria and molds as well as dramatically reduce the dehydration!
6. Wipe away excess with a paper towel!
7. Now, keep your pumpkin out of direct sunlight and try to keep it as cool as possible (but above freezing!) and you should get at least a week's enjoyment out of it! 

The good news is that there are lots of opportunities out there in this bumpy market for savvy buyers.  

Click here to see some of those homes - mostly single families, but some condos- and each one a beauty. 

When working with a Realtor, you want to make sure that you chose someone who knows your target market, The Lise Howe Team has been working in Bethesda for over 20 years! We know Bethesda. We sell Bethesda!

We even have a website, BethesdaHomesforSale.com, because we love Bethesda so much!

According to a recent report referenced by CRS, Short Sales Are Losing Favor With First-time Buyers - SLIGHTLY

Short-sale transactions are becoming less popular among first-time homebuyers, according to the latest Campbell/Inside Mortgage FinanceHousing Pulse Tracking Survey. 39.7 percent of all short-sale purchases in August were made by first-time homebuyers.  In constrast, first time homebuyers purchased 54.1 percent of all short-sales in November 2009, just before the original federal homebuyer tax credit was set to expire. It marks the third straight month that short-sale purchases among first-time buyers declined. 

On the other hand, maybe it is not that first tme homebuyers are turning away from short sales but rather that more non-first time homebuyers are getting into the fray.

As everyone knows, short-sale transactions can be problematic for both buyers and sellers, because typical approval times of several months.  Still many first-time buyers are willing to tolerate the delays in exchange for getting a lower price on short sales, because they sell for an average of 27 percent less than non-distressed properties.  Everyone always looks for a bargain - particularly in this market! 

Apparently home buyers frustrated by the approval delays are resorting to placing offers on multiple properties, with the intention of closing on only one of them. This practice can further slow the short-sale approval process at mortgage servicer.

If you want to find a great deal in the DC Metro area, you should give Lise Howe a call. Whether you are looking for a short sale or just a great deal, call Lise at 240-401-5577.

Some lucky buyer is going to love living at 811 Westmore in a completely renovated 900 sq ft rambler in the heart of Rockville, MD, just a pleasant stroll from the Metro and the Rockville Town Center! The owner has lovingly updated this special home with a fabulous kitchen, marble bath, hardwood floors, and a huge deck.

If anyone you know wants a real home instead of a condo - wants a home with room for a grill, a big dog, or a hot tub, this is the place for them! Listed for $259,000 this home has over $80,000 in upgrades! To see it, just give Lise Howe of Coldwell Banker a call. 240-401-5577