Window Boxes and Front Step Flowers Are a Gardener’s Delight in Old Town Alexandria - 06/29/08 02:13 PM
For the most part, front yards do not exist in Old Town Alexandria. Instead, colorful window boxes, stately urns, clustered pots of flowers and geometric topiaries welcome visitors and home owners alike. Enjoy a “walk” on this Scenic Sunday through the streets of Old Town . . .

For lots more pictures visit:
Window Boxes and Front Step Flowers Are a Gardener’s Delight in Old Town Alexandria … (0 comments)

Saturday Night at the Del Ray Music Festival - 06/28/08 09:27 PM
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for more, visit:
Saturday Night at the Del Ray Music Festival … (2 comments)

Gourmet Dining, Classical Music and A Rural Retreat Make for a Perfect Weekend Getaway - 06/25/08 09:23 PM
Local music offerings abound (like the Del Ray Music Festival). But if you’re looking for music AND a weekend getaway AND gourmet dining, consider driving about 4 hrs. west to Bath County. There, snug against the Alleghenies, you’ll find it all in a decidedly rural setting. In fact, Bath County has no traffic lights - and for many Northern Virginia residents that might be reason enough for a getaway!
The Garth Newel Music Center in Warm Springs, VA is the unique vision of Christine Herter Kendall who died in 1981.
For more about this unique offering, visit:
Gourmet Dining, Classical Music … (0 comments)

Live Music, Food and Games at the Del Ray Music Festival, Saturday June 28 - 06/24/08 07:58 PM
Music - and the Del Ray Music Festival - will take center stage on the fields of the Mt. Vernon Rec Center this Saturday, June 28 as part of the ongoing Town of Potomac Centennial Celebration that started in January.
Actually, the full musical line up will take two stages with bands starting at 10 in the morning (be sure and get to the Farmers Market early) and running until 10 in the evening.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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Mortgage Rates Rise Slowly as Food and Energy Prices Increase - 06/23/08 09:34 PM
Driven upward by food and energy price increases, the Producer Price Index (PPI) climbed by 1.4% and mortgage rates continued a slow move upward. Removing those two variables decreases the PPI to a more modest 0.2% but the annualized core reading is still sitting at 3.0% - well above nearly every expert’s comfort range.
The Federal Open Market Committee will meet later this summer and while nearly every expert is predicting that the Fed will stand pat on interest rates, the odds are increasing for a rate hike in August.
Stay tuned next time for the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) final … (0 comments)

Identity Theft with A Real Estate Twist - 06/21/08 09:03 AM
As part of its sweeping Operation Malicious Mortgage, the FBI is finding that mortgage scams are just the tip of the iceberg. Reporting for National Public Radio’s Legal Affairs, Dina Temple-Raston noted that officials have started arresting people for scams tied to home equity lines of credit.
Raston says: “Instead of stealing an identity to secure a credit card, scammers have been zeroing in on people they think have a lot of equity in their homes. They steal their identities, then go online and get a home equity line of credit on that person’s house and take the money. The FBI … (2 comments)

Del Ray Turns Out for the 3rd Annual Kelly Cares 5K Run/Walk - 06/18/08 08:27 PM
Proving once again that Del Ray is not just another pretty neighborhood, hundreds of residents turned out on a foggy June 7 morning for the 3rd Annual Kelly Cares 5K Run/Walk.

Established in memory of Kelly Swanson, a 2005 graduate of T.C. Williams High School, the foundation was formed to support Kelley’s life long desire to make people aware of the need for inclusion regardless of ability.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
To read more about what makes Del Ray so special, go to:
Del Ray Turns Out for the 3rd Annual Kelly Cares 5K Run/Walk … (0 comments)

Boom, Bust, and Aftermath - What Happened to the Biggest Housing Boom Since the 1950’s - 06/17/08 11:10 AM
Over the past three days, the Washington Post has run an excellent investigative series - “The Bubble” - about what happened to the biggest housing boom in this country since the 1950’s.

As much as I have railed about the seemingly endless BAD news about the real estate market in both national and local newspapers, this series is worth your time.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
for links to the three part series, visit:
Boom, Bust, and Aftermath - What Happened to the Biggest Housing Boom Since the 1950’s … (0 comments)

Hydrangea’s Are the Perfect Summer Flower - Big, Blowsy, Beautiful - 06/15/08 05:51 PM
Big, blowsy, and beautiful, hydrangea’s are the perfect long blooming summer flower.
Del Ray is home to hundred’s of red, pink, blue, white and purple blossoms - here are just a few on this Scenic Sunday.


 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
For pictures of home and hydrangea's in Del Ray, visit:
Hydrangea’s Are the Perfect Summer Flower - Big, Blowsy, Beautiful
 
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Morton Sherman Chosen as New Alexandria Schools Chief - 06/03/08 08:50 AM
Veteran administrator Morton Sherman was selected last night in an unanimous vote to serve as the new superintendent of the 10,600 student school system in Alexandria. Currently superintendent of schools in Tenafly, NJ, Sherman was also a candidate for the LeHigh Valley School System in Pennsylvania.
The selection of Sherman marks the end of a process that began in January when the school board issued an early end to the contract of then superintendent Rebecca Perry and scratched its initial search in April , firing one consulting firm and hiring another.
Sherman’s contract will run through 2012 and he officially begins … (0 comments)

For Shopping or Dining, Old Town Alexandria Is a Garden of Delights - 06/02/08 12:44 PM

 
On upper King Street in Old Town Alexandria, J. Brown, Notting Hill Garden, Embellishments, K. Aubrey, Gold Works and Le Gaulois offer delights to buyer and browser alike.
To see 8 more pictures like this, visit:
For Shopping or Dining, Old Town Alexandria Is a Garden of Delights  
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Continued Up Swing in GDP - However Slight - Helps Balance Economic Worries - 06/02/08 12:40 PM
The Gross Domestic Product (GPD) numbers came in this last week at 0.9%. While well below what economists would call healthy, it was enough to start the reverse some recession-leaning positions.

As quarterly reports with the GDP above zero continue, the probability of recession becomes even less likely.
Overall this is good economic news but the downside is that any acceleration in the economy is likely to lead to increased inflationary pressure and mortgage rates MAY creep upward.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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Continued Up Swing in GDP - However Slight - Helps Balance Economic … (0 comments)