Janice Roosevelt,Ecobroker, ABR, e-PRO - Matt F

FREE Sunday Mornings in September

Brandywine River Museum

9:30am to Noon

Brandywine River Museum U.S. Route 1 Chadds For, PA

Enjoy complimentary admission from 9:30 a.m. until noon in September at the Brandywine River Museum.

With Free Sunday Mornings in September the museum offers:

~ Jamie Wyeth--Seven Deadly Sins, a new exhibition by the artist that depicts raucous, scavenging seabirds as stand-ins for human sinners, as well as three new paintings completed in 2009 and other related works,

~ Intrepid and Inventive: Illustrations of Rockwell Kent, an exhibition of more than 80 illustrations and paintings related to Kent's travels to remote lands and his masterful interpretations of important fiction such as Moby Dick, The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Beowulf and The Decameron,

~ Self-guided tours of the museum's celebrated collection of American art including works by N.C. Wyeth, Andrew Wyeth and Jamie Wyeth,

~ Fall Harvest Market in the museum courtyard, featuring handcrafted items and giftware and,

~ Free second audio tour with the rental of one at regular price. For more information contact: Brandywine River Museum 610.388.2700 www.brandywinemuseum.org

Credit for beginning to pull out of the recession by year's end is given to the Philadelphia region's diverse economy and not having a volatile real estate market. The forecast is that service industries will be the first to recover while real estate and retail will be slow.

Thomas G. Morr, president and chief executive at Select Greater Philadelphia, believes the region's slumping economy is turning the corner and that the months ahead will show a "positive momentum."

The region's two leading sectors, life science and higher education, remained strong despite the sour economy, said Morr, adding, Those two did not decline over the last year."

Look to the service industry, information technology and alternative energy to lead the upsweing.

Select Greater Philadelphia projects an economic recovery year's end, according to recent Leading Index study done by IHS Global Insight. For the first time since the start of the recession in December 2007, the leading indicator turned up slightly in May.

The Leading Index has shown that the 11-county region's economy was probably approaching the trough of the recession as the month-to-month percent declines have been become less steep.

June data confirmed the trend with a reading of 97.2, up from 97.1 in May and the low point of 96.9 in March and April. The back-to-back positive monthly readings are in stark contrast to the series of declines that began in September 2008, the index said.

The Leading Index tracks all income-generating industries from new construction to real estate, retail, legal, pharmaceutical and shipping in the Port of Philadelphia and the Port of Wilmington and more.

The numbers are relative to 100, the benchmark set in 2000 for the region. The index dropped below 100 in the early part of the decade as the economy slowed, Diffley said, but pulled above 100 in 2007.

The Leading Index provides important signals about the direction of future economic conditions in the Greater Philadelphia region and was launched as part of a growing need to understand how global and national events affect the economy of the region, particularly given the turbulent economic climate.

jroosevelt@kw.com


Select Greater Philadelphia is a private, nonprofit organization and an affiliate of the Greater Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce that is dedicated to attracting companies to the 11-county region.

This past year was the first time since 1984 that the average size of a new home decreased

in square footage.

New homes are now 7% smaller, or the size of one average sized room. Specifically, the median square footage fell to 2,065 square feet in the first three months of this year, compared with the same period last year, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Just like McDonalds had to revamp their menus offering healthier options, so too is our penchant for "McMansions." It sure does cost less to heat, cool, and run a smaller house - not to mention taxes are lower.

Susanka, author of the book, The Not So Big House, says "A new ethic is arising right now that will become commonplace. As more and more people build or remodel homes that satisfy in quality rather than quantity, there will be a huge shift in what we perceive as desirable."

Susanka posits the current downsizing trend mimics one of 100 years ago, when small bungalows replaced large and ornate Victorian homes as Americans's design of choice.

CNN MONEY plauses it could also be the recession citing Kermit Baker, the chief economist for the American Institute of Architects. "Home size gains flatten out or decline during recessions, and we're in the midst of the most serious housing recession in decades."

Personally, the shift in attitude towards conservation of resources and lightening our carbon footprint is refreshing. Leonardo da Vinci quipped, "Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.

Your thoughts?

And, if you're looking for the perfect smaller homein the Kennett Square area, contact me for information about TMG builders and Pennock Greene

jroosevelt@kw.com

One of our area's great treasures, the Philadelphia Museum of Art will be open Labor Day.

Here's one gem of a show you might have missed.

In India, music played a central role in the lives of rulers (rajas) and their retinues, as the visual arts reveal. Depictions of royal assemblies invariably include musicians, as do scenes of festivals and celebrations for birth or marriage. Images of battle show the drums and horns that rallied troops and announced the arrival of the raja's army. Music is also central to the worship, identities, and stories of supreme royalty-the Hindu gods. In the temple, considered the palace of the divine, worship often includes sacred songs, chants, bell-ringing, and instrumental performances. In narrative illustrations such as the delightful painting The Gods Sing and Dance for Shiva and Parvati, the entertainment of the divine court echoes that of the earthly. In addition, the deities themselves may perform, and at times their music-making is inseparable from their identities. Krishna enchants devotees with his flute, Shiva accompanies himself on his two-headed drum as he dances the cosmic cycles of creation and destruction.

A number of the paintings on view come from sets called ragamalas (garlands of ragas). Made exclusively for India's royal patrons, ragamalas blend music, poetry, and painting in a unique synthesis of aesthetic experiences. Artists imagined the modes of classical Indian music (ragas) as vivid scenes from an idealized world inhabited by human and divine courtiers. Depictions of the same raga might show a ruler with his zenana (harem) favorite or Krishna with Radha, his favorite among the village women.

Drawing together a diverse selection of paintings and sculptures from across the subcontinent, Ragas and Rajas: Musical Imagery of Courtly India explores the confluence of sight and sound, god and king throughout a millennium of India's artistic vision.

Curator Yael Rice • Assistant Curator of Indian and Himalayan Art Location Gallery 227, second floor

FREE Homeowner Workshops !

The Lower Merion Township Historical Commission and the Historical Architectural Review Board (HARB) encourage aspiring and current owners of older homes to attend a series of Free Homeowner Workshops presented by the Preservation Alliance for Greater Philadelphia.

The following lecture workshops will take place at the Tacony Branch Library at 6742 Torresdale Avenue in Philadelphia:

- Energy Efficiency in Older Houses- Wed, Sept. 9, 6:30 p.m.
- Wood Window Maintenance and Repair- Wed., Sept 16, 6:30 p.m.
- Flat Roofs: Repair, Maint. and Replacement- Wed., Sept. 23, 6:30 p.m.
- Masonry and Pointing- Wed., Sept. 30, 6:30 p.m.

In addition, these "hands-on" workshops will take place in historic Rittenhousetown, 206 Lincoln Drive in Philadelphia:

- Historic Porch Repairs-Thurs., Sept 10, 6:30 p.m.
- Masonry Repairs- Thurs. Sept. 17, 6:30 p.m.
- Window Restoration- Thurs., Sept. 24, 6:30 p.m.
- Interior Plaster- Thurs., Oct. 1, 6:30 p.m.

These workshops are free and open to the public, but reservations are required. To reserve a space, or for more information, please e-mail Patrick Hauck, director of Neighborhood Preservation Programs at patrick@preservationalliance.com or call (215) 546-1146, extension 4.

jroosevelt@kw.com