Tonight is the first of four days of the 25th Annual Clifford Brown Jazz Festival on Rodney Square in Wilmington, Delaware.   This picture is from the 2012 Festival (Steve Wilson group with Strings). I have been attending this great gathering from the beginning, when it was held on the riverfront behind the Hercules Building, and when Brown’s widow attended. This year they have shortened it from Monday to Saturday to Wednesday to Saturday. With a new mayor in office, it will be interesting to see if the City will take that money they saved by shortening the Festival and put it to good use. They will be off to a good start tonight by presenting the Benny Golson Quartet at 6 PM. Golson composed “I Remember Clifford,” which is played by various trumpeters every year in memory of the late g... 06/19/2013

               Comparing prices from April 2013, we can see that median prices have risen in New Castle County, Delaware. While the April median was $187,500, it was $193,275 in May. While residential inventory in April was 2278, the following month it went up to 2374. For single family detached homes, inventory grew from 1353 to 1421. So there have been some ups and downs, but the good news for sellers was that the prices are moving up. Looking for older homes for sale in Wilmington, Delaware? Contact Carolyn Roland       06/15/2013

    Last night, at an "Evening in the Garden" the Friends of Goodstay Gardens in Wilmington celebrated 20 years of being faithful stewards of this Wilmington area garden gem. The peonies and irises were in full bloom, so this festive evening with a silent auction and heirloom plant sale brought out members of the original steering committee (including ardent conservationist Sidney Craven) and supporters from all over the Wilmington area. Located at the corner of Pennsylvania and Greenhill Avenues next to the U of DE Goodstay Center (an historic stone building) and the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute, the gardens are open to the public. Looking for homes for sale in Wilmington, Delaware? Check with Carolyn Roland, Your Historic Homes Resource!   05/23/2013

My timing was perfect as I waited on the Riverwalk in Wilmington, Delaware on a rainy morning recently.The bridge opening grabbed my attention at first, and then this beautiful tall ship appeared! 05/22/2013

                     The good news here is that new listings were up as of the end of April over April in 2012 for New Castle County, Delaware Real Estate.  Closed and pending sales were also up, although total listing inventory was down 24%!   Buyers are competing for listings which are priced correctly and in move-in condition. But buyers are still fussy about what they consider acceptable. Floor plan awkward?  Kitchen needs updating?  Small rooms?  No central air?  "No thanks, we'll sit this one out," they are saying!  So sellers beware--there are plenty of buyers out there, but they are convinced that a home must be perfect, or it's a "No go" for them!  Searching for that perfect home for sale in New Castle County, Delaware--click here! 05/22/2013

Junk Clean Out Removal Wilmington Delaware Hauling Of Unwanted Items   Delaware Junk Removal is Delawares leading hauling company offering a wide variety of services for a reasonable price.  With years of experience in removing unwanted items from homes in the New Castle County Delaware area we get the job done fast and safely.  We clean out garages, basements, entire homes of its contents. We even take away appliances, hot tubs, pool tables, exercise equipment, pinball machines, swing sets and even old sheds!   05/12/2013

I couldn’t help it, really!! A bus trip with the Delaware Art Museum docents to Washington, D.C. to see the Pre-Raphaelite art exhibit at the National Gallery of Art afforded me a chance to visit old and new friends on the National Mall. Yes, I eventually ended up seeing the Pre-Raphaelites ( some of which were loaned by the Delaware Art Museum), but I had a list of other things I wanted to see. There were old friends like the Peacock Room decorated by Whistler, and new discoveries such as the Korean Ceramics and Chinese mirrors at the Freer Gallery of Art. There were all the Air and Space wonders such as the lunar lander, Saturn rocket, and Piper Cub. And yes, the American History Museum’s star, the Star Spangled Banner (moved since I last saw it to a darkened gallery). There were new ... 05/09/2013

Zoom This is the Princess Eugenie crown, pulled from the Swedish royal site. It seems to say it was created in 1860. It rested on the casket of Sweden's Princess Lillian when she died earlier this year. / Edvard Emanuel Pettersson/Copyright Kungahuset.se/ IF YOU GO WHAT:375th Anniversary CelebrationWHEN: 9 a.m. to 11 p.m. May 11WHERE: Events held at Independence Seaport Museum in Philadelphia; Finnish Monument on Concord Avenue in Chester; Dravo Plaza on the Wilmington Riverfront; Fort Christina Park in Wilmington; and the Chase Center on the Riverfront.INFORMATION: Most events are free and open to the public; Jubilee Dinner is $200 per person ($1,000 per person for dinner and sponsors reception with the King and Queen). Purchase tickets by emailing jubileedinner@gmail.com. For a full ... 05/02/2013

600 Taylor Street Wilmington, DE 19801 3 Bedroom, 2.5 Bath Short Sale in Wilmington Home Photo Gallery Virtual Tour Property Map Payment Info Request Showing Chris Pataki Office: (302) 234-3800 Mobile: (302) 562-0628 Website: Visit Website Price : $75,000 Bedrooms : 3 Bathrooms : 2.5 Square Foot : 1,475 Lot Size : 1,307 County : New Castle Property Type : Condo or Townhouse Year Built : 2007 click for more information and pictures Property Description You might be pleasantly surprised! - 3 BR, 2.5 Ba Townhouse in City of Wilmington. Easy access to Wilmington business district and Wilmington waterfront attractions. The 6 years new corner lot with an open floor plan is really neat and will help this property sell fast. Request a showing today or you might be crying like a baby who lost h... 05/01/2013

DuPont Environmental Education Center Earth Day Festival Saturday, April 20, 11-3pmFREE! Earth Day is April 22 but Delaware Nature Society is kicking off the celebration early, with an Earth Day Festival on Saturday, April 20 from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. This free, family oriented event takes place onWilmington's riverfront, at the DuPont Environmental Education Center located at the Russell W. Peterson Urban Wildlife Refuge (right).   One of the highlights of last year's festival was canoeing down the Christina River. Free, short canoe trips are back this year, as well as kayaking, sponsored by Eastern Mountain Sports of Newark. You also can catch fish and aquatic insects with nets, join a guided nature walk in the marsh, and try to spot the ospreys on their nesting platform. Kids of all ag... 04/18/2013

Help  promote our wonderful Delaware Valley Colonial Heritage Day on Saturday, April 13th, 2013, from 11AM to 4PM  at Fort Christina Park, 1122 East 7th Street, Wilmington, Delaware, 19801.  This is thought to be where the first Swedes and Finns stepped on shore in 1638 after traveling here on the Kalmar Nyckel (below is the reproduction of the Kalmar Nyckel berthed in Wilmington) and the Vogel Grip.  Fort Christina was built in this area. This year we will be celebrating the 375th Anniversary of the New Sweden Colony.  The goal for Colonists' Day is to provide a venue where local, regional and National organizations and museums can network and celebrate the Delaware Valley's colonial history. The Swedish and Finnish embassies have announced that King Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Silvia o... 04/12/2013

  Above is the market report for New Castle County for March, 2013. As you can see, listings are down from a year ago, as are closed sales, with March sales and pending sales dropping to about 10% below last year at the same time.   So here's my experiment. My house is heated with gas, so I went online and looked at energy usage for March 2012 vs. March 2013. In 2012, I used 91 cubic feet, and in 2013, 177 cubic feet. Almost double!   My conclusion? And what does my gas bill have to do with the real estate market? I think people are stressed out paying their heating bills. I think they are waiting until the market hits bottom (and the only way they will know it's the bottom is after it heads upwards again). Everyone is pinching their pennies. I have a seller who is worried that when she... 04/08/2013

Rubbish Removal Home Clean Up Clean Out Service Wilmington Delaware We remove anything from anywhere - for less Delaware Junk Removal removes everything from a single item to a whole home full of unwanted items.  Unlike other junk removal companies in the area our rates are as low as $50.00!  When you call we will quote you a price over the phone or come to your location to provide you with a firm price to haul away those unwanted items.  We offer same day/next day pickup for our existing and new customers,     TVS, Pianos, Appliances, Furniture, Pool Tables, Sheds, Yard Waste, Construction Debris, Unwanted Items, Storage Units, Rental Units, Estate Clean Outs, Hot Tubs, Exercise Equipment and anything else you need removed! 04/07/2013

The Chester County Antiques Show with the theme, Architectural Elements in Furniture will be held Saturday, April 6 from 10:00am - 6:00pm and Sunday, April 7 from 11:00am - 5:00pm. $15.00 includes admission, lectures, show catalog, and parking. A new location this year is the Phelps School, 583 Sugartown Road Malvern, PA 19355. One of the special lectures is Saturday at 1 PM, "Elements of Architecture in Furniture" ~ Brock Jobe, Professor of American Decorative Arts at Winterthur. Brock is an excellent presenter (and former client!).     On Tuesday, April 9 The Royal Oak Foundation will present The Very Reverend Philip Buckler Dean of  Lincoln Cathedral speaking on Romans, Normans, and Sir Christopher Wren:The History and Treasures of Lincoln Cathedral   at The Union League of Philadelp... 04/01/2013

Wandering through the Greenberg Toy and Train Show at the Wilmington Riverfront the other day (having started out at the loading dock area where exhibitors entered) I was surprised to see these 2 police cars in the lobby area.   It was like a blast from the past!  I probably was not living in Wilmington when these 2 cars from the State Police and New Castle County Police were on the streets, but I saw similar cars in other towns. A phrase popped up in my head, “Car 54, Where Are You?”   This was a 1960’s TV show from back in the days when I did not have a TV, but Google supplied me with some details. Sounds to me now like it was a dumb show, but looking at shows from that period were of a more innocent past. I do remember growing up with “Ozzie and Harriet,” but that 20 year period with... 03/26/2013

Through my work as a member of the Board of Directors of the Friends of The Furness Railroad District in Wilmington, I am again going to be working Greenberg's Train and Toy Show this Saturday morning. This is taking place this Saturday and Sunday, March 23 & 24, 10-4pm at the Chase Center on the Riverfront in Wilmington. I took the picture below of fellow Board members at last year's show.    They are encouraging everyone to visit the country's largest train and toy show with hundreds of tables of trains and toys for sale, huge operating model railroads, activities for kids and more! Kids 12 and under are FREE admittance- adult admission is just $7- tickets are good for both event days.   Show Features:  300+ Tables of Trains for Sale 60+ Exhibitors from Across the Country Operating M... 03/21/2013

You never know with plants--are they going to bloom early this year, or will it be a late spring?  Will they listen to the Groundhog?   Well, the weather has not been too nice the last week, and at one of my listings we have a contractor waiting to replace a section of sidewalk upheaved by tree roots. All he could do yesterday in the drizzle and wet snow was to remove the offending roots and wait for the sun to shine. It's been almost down to freezing for the last few days!  Didn't they listen to  Punxsatawney Phil? I checked his website, and it says there will be an early Spring! What does he know, hiding in some hole in Pennsylvania (or being kept in some expensive hotel with room service).   The Hellebores in my garden have been slackers this year. Sometimes they bloom in January, bu... 03/19/2013

Tax Deductible Donations Delaware Junk Clean Out Receipt Provided! Get tax credit when you call Delaware Junk Removal to haul away that unwanted furniture or appliance! We will provide you with a tax receipt upon request.  Many times the value of the donations exceeds the cost of our service so its like getting a free clean out!  Delaware Junk Removal hauls away anything from anywhere.  From a single item to a whole house full or estate.  We are the only local junk removal company who does criminal background checks and drug screenings of our workers.  Delaware Junk Removal is a  locally owned and operated business. 03/15/2013

Active Rain members say "Real estate is back," but East Coast figures lag.  Yes, folks, that's us on the Right Coast (the muddy colored patch on the U.S. map below). Data provided by ActiveRain, the #1 social community for real estate professionals. Now, let's look at New Castle County, Delaware, year to date 2013. February looks a little dismal, doesn't it? Prices up .3%, but January helped bring year to date prices to 9%. I did see some houses go for about 10% more than they were going for a year ago in January, but things have cooled off in March, as seen from my perch. OK, so we are hoping April showers will bring May flowers and more buyers and sellers come out of hiding. If not, I may fall off my perch! Come on folks, let's get those Delaware Homes For Sale and contact Carolyn! 03/12/2013

  The City of Wilmington asks as residents, community groups, and neighborhood associations to select a community project and to participate in Community Project Day on May 4, 2013.   Community projects include activities such as: cleaning a vacant lot, planting a tree, organizing a community block clean up, coordinating a project at a local community or senior center, planning a landscaping project, or even trash and recycling door-to-door outreach.   Visit the City of Wilmington website at www.WilmingtonDE.gov/residents/communityprojectday to download the Wilmington Community Project Day application form or call (302) 576-3109 and request an application be mailed to your residence. Submit the details of your project to WilmingtonProjectDay@WilmingtonDE.gov so the City of Wilmington ca... 03/10/2013