“Dear PoP,

Every Thanksgiving for over 30 years the residents of the 17th and 18th blocks on Swann Street have fed the homeless, shut-ins and others who are without plans for Thanksgiving. For the last five years a clothing drive has been added. It will take place this year in front of Rosemary’s Thyme at the corner of 18th and S Streets, NW.

Volunteers willing to make a dish for the meal are needed. Rosemary’s Thyme graciously donates the turkeys and Swann Street provide the hams and paper goods. They also make dressing, green beans, gravy and soup. Wagshal’s Delicatessen supplies pies.

The group anticipates feeding up to 250 people this year. Caroline Mindel says they always run out of beans, sweet and mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce, apple sauce and macaroni and cheese. They would welcome any item people would like to make.

The food can be delivered to 1760 Swann Street, NW until 11 am and to Rosemary’s Thyme after 11 am. They serve from 11:30 am until 1 pm. Please contact Caroline Mindel at 202-232-4653 if you know of someone who is in need of a meal. They can make arrangements to deliver it if necessary.

The Thanksgiving meal was begun by Ruth Long, veteran Dupont Circle activist and ANC member, and is continued in her memory by her husband Isaac Long and Caroline, both DCV members.

Winter clothing is collected between 10-12 and distributed at RT.”

Photo by PoPville flickr user BrennaLM

You can talk about whatever is on your mind – quality of life issues, a beautiful tree you spotted, scuttlebutt, or any random questions/thoughts you may have. I’ll open this thread every Monday and Friday. So anything good happen to you this week?

Well, most of us suspected this for months now but it’s finally official. Makes me laugh when I see their tagline “Real. Honest. Food.” Ah, that still crack me up. Ok, sorry. Lydia DePillis from the City Paper has the word from CM Jim Graham:

“Little did I know how conservative, really timid, they would be come…they’re going to pay for this very bad decision.”

Graham expressed confidence that another organic grocer could be found to occupy the space; discussions are already underway with “a whole group of them.”

Wow, I wonder what “they’re going to pay for this very bad decision” means.

But of far greater interest – who are the other organic grocers that could come?

Photo by PoPville flickr user Mr. T in DC

“Dear PoP,

I live in Eckington, and take the red line from Rhode Island Avenue on a semi-regular basis. Lately, I’ve noticed a great deal of standing water on my way there at the intersection of 4th and RI NE. It looks like someone had opened a fire hydrant in the middle of a downpour! The thing is, there is no fire hydrant in the area (that I can see), no rain clouds, not even a car wash that would explain all of this run-off. It’s been going on for awhile now — it’s there in the early morning and late evening just about every day — and I’m curious; what’s with all this water?”

Hmm, I know I’ve heard nearby Bloomingdale frequently gets flooded in rains. I think it is because of underground rivers or something like that? A reader once explained it here. Anyone know if the samething or something else is going on in Eckington?

Voted one of the best real estate agents in DC by the Washington City Paper Readers’ Choice Poll in 2009, hipchickindc aka the not-so-hip Suzanne Des Marais is an Associate Broker with Urban Pace. She lives (and sells a lot of houses) in Bloomingdale, but works all over DC, with everyone from first time buyers to highly regarded developers. Unless specifically noted, neither she nor the company that she is affiliated with represented any of the parties or were directly involved in the transaction reported below. Unless otherwise noted, the source of information is Metropolitan Regional Information Systems (MRIS), which is the local multiple listing system. Information is deemed reliable but not guaranteed.

Featured Property: 1860 Upshur St NW
Legal Subdivision: Crestwood
Advertised Subdivision per Listing: Crestwood
Original List Price: $895,000.
List Price at Contract: $799,000.
List Date: 04/26/2010
Days on Market: 149
Settled Sales Price: $795,000.
Settlement Date: 11/08/2010
Seller Subsidy: $250.
Bank Owned?: No Short Sale? No
Type Of Financing: Conventional

Original GDoN is: here.

The Listing can be seen: here. Here is the virtual tour.

I’ve been working on a listing in Crestwood since early Spring (currently under contract), and I have to say that I am surprised that more buyers on the hunt for a detached single family house do not include Crestwood in their searches. Sandwiched between Rock Creek Park and 16th Street NW, Crestwood is an enclave of handsome and often unique properties surrounded by parkland, yet with easy access to downtown. Recent sales in Crestwood have included the house built by Giant Foods powerhouse Izzy Cohen, as well as the home that the prolific Crestwood developer, Paul Stone, built for himself in 1938. Those listings can be seen here.

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Photo by PoPville flickr user ekelly80

THANKSGIVING BAKE SALE : BAKE SALE to raise money for the DC State Fair)12- 15 local food bloggers and bakers are baking for you: Bakalava, Cookies, Pumpkin Cupcakes w/ a Pumpkin Pie Spice Buttercream Frosting, Apple Spice Cupcakes filled and topped with a Cream Cheese Frosting, Pumpkin Pie Bars,Pumpkin Spice Balls Covered in White Chocolate, Double Decker Pumpkin Bread (Pumpkin bread stuffed with cream cheese filling), Pumpkin Bread with Streusel Topping. Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies, mini pumpkin pies, holiday cookies–oatmeal coconut-cranberry, brownies, Rice Krispy Treats, Ginger Snap Cookies, Apple Pies, etc.

Saturday is the LAST MARKET of 20010 and we will be chock full of great foods for your Thanksgiving tables–and to stock up your freezers and larders.

14&U FM
Saturday
9-1

Bundle Up. It will be cool but sunny. So, come say goodbye to your favorite farmers (who get up at 4 am when it is REALLY cold), and come buy your Thanksgiving goodies.

We will have some FREE HOT CIDER at the market table to warm you up if it is cold.

And please contribute a vegetable to our Martha’s Table basket so that they can make hearty soups for those 1700 homeless, cold people they feed every single day.

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Thanks to Wayan for sending the news:

“Happiness awaits weekend walkers, runners, and cyclists in Rock Creek Park. The trail that follows Rock Creek at Adams Mill will reopen tomorrow after a several month renovation. From the looks of it now, it should be a great addition for park recreation.”

Photo by PoPville flickr user christopher.poole

I’ve gotten a ton of emails about this one. The Post reports:

“Two D.C. Council members from impoverished areas of the city are proposing to end cash payments to long-term welfare recipients to save tax dollars and encourage more of their constituents to find work.

The proposed five-year benefit limit, sponsored by council members Marion Barry (D-Ward 8 ) and Yvette M. Alexander (D-Ward 7), would bring the District in line with most other states, but the proposal is drawing warnings from advocates that it would lead to more homeless families, hungry children and crime.”

While the answer may be complicated, the question is quite a simple one – do you think this is a good idea or would it lead to more homeless families and crime?

I think I once featured one of their signs before but walking by last weekend I realized that this is a prime building that needs new life. I’ve always wondered how good the hoagies once were but obviously that time has passed. It’s time for Hoagie House at the corner of 4th and N St, NW to shed the boarded up windows. Anyone know how long its been boarded up?

Perhaps it’s time for Hoagie House II? You think this would be a good spot for a Taylor Gourmet Deli?

Photo by PoPville flickr user bajidc

You can see all the great entries here.

Congrats to Drfoqui with:

“Luke, I am your son.”

Mom n Pops antiques on Georgia Ave just south of Looking Glass Lounge grabs this week’s honors.

I love this one in Columbia Heights but it’s often hard to catch the details blocked by trees. You can see them a bit better now:

And a bonus above the door:

Image: Ousmane Sow, Toussaint Louverture et la vieille esclave, 1989. Mixed media. Museum purchase, through exchange from Emil Eisenberg and Mr. and Mrs. Norman Robbins, and with funds from Stuart Bohart and Barbara Portman, 2009-8-1. Photograph by Franko Khoury.

Date: Saturday, November 20
Time: 2 p.m.
Place: National Museum of African Art
mezzanine, sub-level 1
950 Independence Avenue, SW
Take Metro to Smithsonian Station

“Senegalese artist Ousmane Sow will make a rare appearance at the Smithsonian National Museum of African Art to speak about his striking work, Toussaint Louverture et la vieille esclave (Toussaint Louverture and the elderly slave). The towering figure of Haitian leader Toussaint Louverture commemorates the bicentennial of the French Revolution and is the centerpiece of the museum’s new exhibition, African Mosaic: Celebrating a Decade of Collecting. The artist will discuss his monumental sculptures with his wife, photographer and filmmaker Béatrice Soulé. The event is free and open to the public.”

We judged Pret A Manger when we learned of their Penn Quarter location at 11th and F Streets, NW which opened this summer. Looks like the 1828 L St, NW will open this winter:

Well it’s been since July ’08 that we first started talking about this building at 1020 Girard St, NW in Columbia Heights. It’s now looks nearly completed. What’s the verdict?