Pat Kennedy - Your Washington, DC Real Estate Connection

There will be a neighborhood Halloween party for Crestwood children of all ages this afternoon at "The Point", located at 18th and Shepherd Streets NW. 

It starts at 3 and ends at 4:30.

There will be treats, and contributions of anything with sugar (well, not coffee) from grown neighbors are welcomed.

It could get scary as our little goblins and gouls collect their first candy of the day and check out the woods, that I'm sure will be appropriately decorated for the festivities!  So grab your costume and, if possible, find a child to bring with you. 

It should be fun!

© 2009 Patricia Kennedy. Unless otherwise noted, the content, both written and in pictures, is the property of Patricia Kennedy . If you would like to use this image, please  email me (housepat@mac.com) with your request. I'll almost certianly say yes, and ask only that you provide a link back to my original content as well as an acknowledgment.  The same thing applies to any other material you see posted here on Active Rain or on any of my other blogs.

Twice a year, two churches on 16th Street each has a wonderful festival, with food, music and fun. 

This weekend, just in time to celebrate my sister's birthday, St. Georges Antiochian Orthodox Church attracted parishioners and visitors from all over town.

For dinner, there was traditional middle eastern fare, with falaffal, hummus, kababs and desserts, all made by the parishioners. 

We drank wine from Lebanon and came home with some ouzo from Iraq.

There was music and dancing, even a few belly dancers! 

And there were a lot of people, including a lot of my neighbors.

Then next weekend, we repeat this fun ritual at Sts. Constantine and Helen Greek Orthodox Church at 16th and Shepherd Streets NW. 

This kind of friendly competition between these two neighbors is fun for the entire community!

Last night was our first meeting. 

On many Friday nights, my neighbors and I get together at my neighbor, Jean's, house for a meeting of the Webster Street Cocktail Club.  But last night, we did something different, turning it into a book club.

We started off reading Christopher Buckley's memoir about losing his parents.  The book is a beautiful tribute to his eccentric parents and their marriage, and he writes about something that many baby boomers have or will soon face with their own parents.

Part of the fun was, of course, the food and the sugar-free Mohitos!  Everyone brought something, so the menu was pretty eclectic.   And I don't think that, in spite of all the healthy stuff on the table, any of us lost weight last night.

And as I looked around the room, I couldn't help but notice that most of the women there had either been my clients when they moved to the neighborhood, or had bought one of my listings! 

Yesterday, I held open a pretty house in Crestwood, the neighborhood where I live.  And while people oohed and aahed over the pretty house, the fabulous family room, and the screened in porch, there was one feature of this fine home that got lots of comments.  And that was this guy at the top of the stair well between the first and second floor!

So does he convey?

What?  Of course not!

But wait!  This is a super crappy market, and before I say that Elvis is not included as a "fixture" (he is, after all, attached to the wall)  perhaps I should check with the sellers.  If it takes Elvis to sell a home with a price point of a million and a half, maybe they'd throw him in!

No harm in asking, is there?

Arnold is my next door neighbor.  He's what some of us might call an old hippie - his old car boasts bumper stickers like "Love Animals, Don't Eat Them" and "If You Don't Go Within, You Go Without - Meditate!".  He's a wonderful neighbor to all of the single women on the block, as he possesses significant handyman skills.

Arnold was literally born in the house next door, and when he was a little boy, he planted some lily bulbs in his front yard and in the little garden strip between our houses. 

When I first moved into my house back in 1982, his front yard was still full of lilies.  And every June, his yard and our shared garden strip were wall-to-wall bright orange lilies. 

A few years later, he decided that after several decades in the house, he wanted grass, and he dug up all the bulbs in the front yard (almost all of them).  I took advantage of the empty strip to plant some flowers and herbs.

And then, the lilies came back - at least in the shared garden strip.  And I'm not going to do any thing to disturb them.

Every June for a couple of weeks, they are just amazing!  And this happens to be their time this year!  So I hope you enjoy them as much as I do!

Crestwood is just about my favorite neighborhood in Washington.  It's where I've lived for the past 25 years.  And two favorite Evers & Company colleagues, Guy-Didier Godat and June Gardner, have just listed a wonderful home here.

It is a traditional Washington center-hall brick colonial, on a large lot backing up to the park like setting of "The Rocks", an aptly named large estate owned by Jay and Sharon Rockefeller. 

This house has 5 bedrooms and 3 1/2 baths on four finished levels.  But my favorite thing is the gigantic screened in porch at the back of the house, where you can enjoy fresh summer breezes.

The kitchen and baths were recently renovated, with granite counters and high end appliances in the kitchen.  The lower level is finished and can accommodate the nanny and a home office.

Crestwood is approximately three miles north of the White House, bounded by 16th Street on the East and surrounded on the other three sides by Rock Creek Park.  It is an easy walk to the concerts and plays at the Carter Baron Amphitheater and tennis stadium. 

This home is offered for sale at $1,475,000 and can be seen by appointment.

This is becoming an annual thing. 

Adorable little kids in costume and their parents stage a parade through the neighborhood.  And there is a one-man marching band. 

I sat at my desk and heard an "Ump-ah" getting progressively louder.  Has one of the neighborhood kids taken up the tuba? There go the real estate prices!

Then I remembered, it's Halloween!  It's the parade!  So I grabbed my camera and ran outside for the photo op.

Like last year, the kids were adorable.  The costumes were all pretty wholesome - no vice-presidential candidates.  Princesses and dinosours.  And as I edited the photos, I realized that the leaves on the tree outside my office window are more gold than green! 

So, I was glad that I decided to work at home this morning! 

Here it is!  Three levels of living.  Old world charm and gingerbread.  And it was mine for just one single dollar!

Every year, my friend and neighbor, Jean, organizes a block long front porch sale.   The homes on my block are basically Wardman style towhhouses with big front porches.

The idea is that we all spend the week ahead of time gathering up all of our junk from closets, attics and basements, then we lug it to the front porch, price it and wait for the hordes to come and buy it.

I didn't quite get my act together for the sale.  And instead of getting rid of stuff, I actually bought my new house!  It's a big cookie jar that my neighbor Ruby was selling.

I did, however bring a couple of side dishes to the after sale barbecue that we set up on the side yard of the old Latvian embassy!  

So tonight, my neighbors are all feeling virtuous.  And I'll catch up with them.  I'll gather up everything and then call the Salvation Army to come and get it.  I'll probably do better giving it away and getting a tax deduction than I would spending the day on my front porch bargaining with people to sell it.

If you want to go out to dinner and you live in Crestwood, you usually have to hop in the car and drive.  But not on the weekend of the Saints Constantine and Helen Greek Festival!  And people come in droves!  Parishioners, neighbors and people from all over town drop in for great Greek food and shopping opportunities.

There is a lot of food.  The chicken oreganato melts in your mouth like butter.  Then there are these lamb meatballs, the stuffed grpae leaves, moussaka, and then the sweet stuff!  Oh!  My!  Yum!  I'm going to go into a honey coma any minute!

After stuffing your face, there are shopping opportunities, like if you need some new icons, hand-made jewelry, scarves, and my favorite purchase, my "Got Oozo?' tee shirt.  I can wear it to the gym next week as I'm trying to work off all the damage from the baklava and bird's nests that I'm about to eat!

These are the beautiful icons.  I was looking for one of St. Anthony, but he isn't big in the Greek church.

And here is some of the jewelry

And my new favorite tee-shirt!