Spring Edition: Editor: Claire Bateman
BATEMAN:
Life is finally slowing down (slightly!) in the Bateman house. After a crazy year of college hunting action, we are finally able to take a deep breath and enjoy the beautiful spring weather we have been having! Claire is excited to say that she will officially be a Vanderbilt Commodore as of the fall, while Annie hasn’t made her final decision yet (the clock is ticking!) as she is trying to squeeze a few last minute visits before she commits!
Rugby is in full bloom, enjoying the break from the cold weather and sporting her short new hairstyle as she greets everyone who passes by from her post in the front yard.
STENSETH/BERGEM:
BOLAND:
Unfortunately, Patrick had a wrist injury while skiing during spring break. He was having so much fun skiing that he decided to try snowboarding which also looked like lots of fun. We got the call on St. Patty's Day from Georgia letting us know that he'd most likely need surgery, so he came home to see specialists. Sure enough he needed the surgery, but it couldn't be scheduled before this week, so he returned to UGA with a splint. This put the breaks on his senior year lacrosse season at UGA which was very disappointing.
Patrick returned home Sunday evening, had more wrist pictures taken, and had surgery Tuesday. Fortunately, it went very well - no ligaments were torn and Dr. Richard Barth put a screw in the fractured bone. Patrick returns to UGA with a red cast. FYI: casts now come in many colors and with various patterns (soccer balls, camouflage etc.)
Despite the reason, it has been nice having Patrick home! During the week the other siblings were able to stop by, and it was almost like "the old days".
Also, we would like to let everyone know that the town will plant a Yoshino Cherry Tree in front of the Patches. It will be planted in memory of Sue. We expect the tree planting to occur in late April. Neighbors look forward to this living tribute to our wonderful Leland Street matriarch.
COSMAS:
The most important news we know is that Jennifer Cosmas married Evan Boone on March 15 in Corrales, New Mexico. It was a magical and beautiful wedding on the ranch of Evan's grandfather. Outside, underneath amazing cottonwood trees with bare branches forming vaults like a cathedral, it was simply wonderful.
Will came from Boston. From San Francisco, Lisa and Mike were front and center with beautiful Josephine (4 months old) and Oscar. It was a small wedding and we all got to know Evan's family and they got to know us. It was a very, very happy time.
Farrell designed the bride’s headress and created the centerpieces for the reception. The assembly was a joyful experience.
And, for insiders on Leland Street, I recommend the Chocolate Turtle B&B and Inn at the Village B&B, both in Corrales about 40 minutes from the Albuquerque airport. Just terrific, friendly folks, great food, comfortable beds.
MARTZ/DAVIES:
Things are moving along at a steady clip in the Martz Davies' household. Baby Penelope, as of this morning, is propelling herself backwards on her tummy, much to her own surprise and delight. To go forward, she tries to approximate an army crawl, but alas, her little tush would not survive combat because it wiggles up in the air as she tries to inch ahead.
One of the best things about spring for me (Steph) is that Kyle's intense hockey schedule is over, for now. Appropriately enough, he spent most of the season without a few front teeth (not related to hockey, but great for effect). Soccer has started for both of the older kids; Nora is starting instructional hockey; and we are debating whether to give in to Kyle's entreaties to quit violin as Nora enthusiastically begins. We are busy but not as busy as it probably sounds -- we've had time for spring trips to Gifford’s after dinner and are enjoying the sound of the slamming screen door as the kids start to re-acquaint themselves with the back yard. Only one other thing means spring for me in Chevy Chase: Azaleas. I am looking forward to May and warm azalea weather!
We went on our yearly trip to the Bahamas for spring break. We stay on a little island in the Exumas called Staniel Cay. This year, we couldn't keep Kyle out of the water as he snorkled himself into some seriously pruny skin and identified far more types of fish than I will ever know. He will either be a marine biologist or a slacker dive instructor -- could break either way at this point. Nora was more chary of the water but seemed to enjoy the sun, sand, shells, cracked conch, "virgin" pina coladas, and family time. Pip ate the sand.
Nothing new on our respective job fronts. Have a wonderful spring, everyone!
DUFFY:
We have all enjoyed the advent of spring - the warmer temperatures, longer days and beautiful flowering trees are among our favorite things. Bonnie's family was here for a visit over Easter, and this week we are looking forward to a visit from Charles' mother. She and Charles plan to attend the Pope's mass. Charles continues to enjoy doing his Political Pulse talk show on Montgomery County Channel 16. This week's guest was Congressman Chris Van Hollen.
FORREST:
April always starts with a celebration for the Forrest Family. Nicole’s birthday is April 2nd. Forrest Family tradition dictates that the fun begins at our home with champagne. Cards and gifts were presented beside a Golden Torso topped off with a cascade of stars
.Then the party moved on to Mon Ami Gabi for a celebration dinner and a birthday wish. Nicole also enjoyed celebrations throughout the week with the special people that fill her life.
This was a busy period for Zak as he continues production of his film, he has also opened his film equipment rental company for business. Last week, zf-films supplied the cameras for two productions of the Al Gore Global Warming awareness campaign.
One segment was filmed at the Capital Building with Nancy Pelosi and Newt Gingrich on the Capital steps in the midst of a torrential downpour. Zak was soaked to the skin, but was very pleased that this important booking went well.
The ZF-Films Production company of Zak Forrest and Chad Liebenguth are on the road, North, South, East, West and into Canada doing a documentary film of the “Stars of the Lid” concert tour. Within twenty four hours of a phone conversation between Chad and SOTL they were packed up and on the plane. This group performs in unusual venues such as museums, churches and planetariums. Zak and Chad Liebenguth are off on an exciting adventure.
In acknowledgment of the 100th anniversary of Bette Davis’s birth, the American Film Institute Theater in Silver Spring is presenting a Bette Davis Film Fest. Arthur and Marcy loved seeing, All About Eve on the big screen. Arthur reflected on his own experience with Bette Davis years ago as Director of The Dick Cavett Show with Bette as special guest.
MELISSA & DOUG
Doug, Melissa, Molly, Gordon and Melissa's mom spent a relaxing Spring Break in Hilton Head, South Carolina. We took full advantage of everything that Hilton Head had to offer, with a week full of swimming (the heated pools were wonderful!), shell hunting, family tennis games, boat rides, etc. Gordon and Doug even convinced Molly and Melissa to join them on the golf course and we all coaxed Melissa's mom into a family bike ride on the beach. Melissa's mom had not been on a bike in nearly sixty years and she reports, yes, it really is "like riding a bike" . . . it all comes back easily!
The weekend after we returned, Molly and Gordon spent the night with Grandma and Grandpa, so that Doug and Melissa could run in the Cherry Blossom Ten Miler. Well, Doug ran it, and Melissa's time was probably closer to jogging. It was chilly, it was wet, but it was a wonderful run around the monuments, memorials, and Cherry Blossoms.
RUBASHKIN/KARASIK:
Our spring break was occupied by college tours to the north, and visiting grandparents from the south . Hannah and David put 1500 miles on the car visiting schools in upstate NY, Connecticut, and Rhode Island, while Pamela, Sophie, and Jacob took in Udvar Hazy, some local eateries, and visited with Pam’s parents who were enroute back to NY from Florida. Later that same week, we all went to Williamsburg, where Hannah spent the day at William and Mary, and we visited Jamestown. We were teased by the warm weather there! This past weekend we celebrated a close family friend’s Bat Mitzvah, and had mutual friends stay with us from San Diego. The weekend was full of fun events and parties. Beyond that, we are all very busy with school, work, music lessons, and bike riding. Sophie has joined Artemis, a local competitive riding club, so you may catch her whizzing by on her racing bike. We are excited that the jonquils and early tulips are out, and cant wait for the dogwoods, which sometimes I think are even better than the cherries. We are sending out warm spring greetings to all our neighbors.
LANNOM:
LIPPPOLD:
Our daughter Elizabeth Lippold Armstrong is visiting for a week from Lexington, Kentucky. She is attending a Medical Doctor acupuncture meeting in D.C. She enjoys acupuncture as much or even more than Internal Medicine. It is great to have her "home".
SIMPSON/PAYNE:
We had a great family vacation in Jamaica. The weather was lovely so the kids sailed, swam a lot, went tubing and played tennis. You can't beat those direct Air Jamaica flights out of BWI -- inexpensive and convenient!
Our niece from France will be going to AU in September and she is visiting this weekend to check out the university. Having never lived in the States she is very nervous about her Freshman year!
Can't wait for all the azaleas to bloom around Chevy Chase and for the weather to warm up so we can begin enjoying how beautiful Leland Street is in the Spring. And we are looking forward to meeting our new neighbors across the street!
SOLOMON:
Our grand-daughter's school in suburban Philadelphia was on spring break, so we had a nice, long visit with Lila (age 7) and Noah (age almost 4) along with their parents, Micah and Vandy. The grand-kids had the best time in our "rec room" playing on Micah's old drum set and in the back yard using a tabletop soccer game and other toys once enjoyed by their father and "Uncle Ari". [These items had just been salvaged by Dorothy in the course of cleaning out our attic crawl space !]
The kids also had a warm and rather grown-up conversation with Ann Lee (over the garden fence) about various topics, such as "old times", Ann's showing of her new paintings, and pet dogs. The kids told her about each of their three dogs, the smallest of which used to scare them with his barking -- until he began wearing a device in his collar that gave a mild shock whenever he barked more than twice.
There was a special kick for the family in visiting attractions on the Mall, because Vandy, before she married Micah, had worked at two of the museums: The National Natural History Museum and the National Portrait Gallery. This was her first opportunity to return and to be able show some of the exhibits to their children.
STROTHER:
DANIELS/WOLFF:
David and Larry went to the Museum of Natural History and saw the 3D Movie
"Sea Monsters," which they recommend to families--you could almost touch
the monsters. They also saw the Hope Diamond and were reminded of Sue
Patch, who was a well known expert on the diamond. Becky had a show of
her art (with six others) at Johns Hopkins, and will receive an art certificate when she graduates this spring. After the show and a dinner in a funky restaurant in Hampton, Becky, David, and Larry attended a lecture by Nobel laureate Joseph Stiglitz (now a professor at Columbia), who discussed his recent book on the real costs of the war in Iraq (3 trillion dollars!). Miriam was in Israel for two weeks learning about the many issues facing that country and also helping to develop programs for visitors to Tel Aviv.
David has been offered a job with Bach to Rock, a new music education group with four locations in the Washington area. He will be teaching early childhood music, voice, and beginning piano. Becky is still job hunting in marketing and hoping for good news soon. Larry expects to be doing more work for UNESCO in Africa.
The Daniels/Wolff are happy to see spring arrive and looking forward to the sprouting of all the grass seed they have planted.
TROCCHIO:
We enjoyed having Jennie home this weekend for her spring break. Her big news is that she was just hired as the primary special ed teacher for a new school for autistic children in Hollywood, Florida. Elizabeth spent a busy weekend planning big events at the American Hospital Association's annual meeting.
Wishing all of Leland Street a happy spring.
If anyone has photos of their springtime experiences, please email them to Marcy so that she can include them in the blog!
Thank you all for your news, and we hope that everyone enjoys this beautiful spring!
