Saturday, December 12, 2009

RUBASHKIN FAMILY ENJOYS A LONDON HOLIDAY

Editor: Maggie Simpson


RUBASHKIN FAMILY:
We had an exceptional thanksgiving holiday. David's sister and family moved to London this summer, and as they usually host Thanksgiving, we all flew over the pond to celebrate with them! They live just outside the city, a short commute away, and we spent five busy days sightseeing in cold (but relatively dry) London. As Sophie said, we went to eight museums, two plays, two concerts, and crossed the Thames on foot countless times.



The city is vibrant, full of people from all over the world, and so much more alive than the last time we were there in 2000.  Highly recommend it! Now we are home, and buckling down for the end of the school semester.  No movies to recommend, but I did read Verghese's new book Cutting For Stone, which was an engrossing novel, especially if you happen to be a physician (as you may have noticed, we have a high number of MD's on this block!). In our house, the kids have begun the count down to winter break. Pamela, David, Sophie, and Jacob (Hannah in absentia sends greetings from NYC)

FORREST FAMILY:
We took a quick trip to L.A. for Arthur’s pre-production on the Rose Parade. While there we dined with Arthur’s long time friend, Hal Cooper.  Hal was the director of the All in the Family and Maude sit coms. The men had a great time over dinner exchanging stories from past productions. 
Marcy Vamoosed up to NYC for a dear friend, Fran Healy’s birthday dinner at Le Cirque.  The ten friends who gathered at the dinner table have enjoyed forty years of friendship.  It was a gloriously happy event.



Marcy had the opportunity to hear the music and reminiscences of two divas.   First, Marcy and Farrell Cosmas attended a dynamic performance by Dee Dee Bridgewater at the Strathmore Performing Arts Theater.   The evening’s tribute to Billie Holiday was a range from ballads to blues.



Secondly, Marcy and Nicole enjoyed a cocktail reception at the New Zealand Embassy for “Conversations with Opera Legend,” Kiri Te Kanawa.” Later that same week, at the Kennedy Center, Nicole and Steve enjoyed Dame Kanawa’s performance, as part of her farewell tour. Zak and Chad took ZF Films to Kentucky to film Foxy Shazam’s  wild stage performance for Warner Bros. They continued filming the rock group from late night into dawn on the street for a music video. 



We enjoyed two nights of Thanksgiving feasting, Thursday night with Steve’s family in The Plains, VA. and Friday night, Steve's parents joined us for dinner at the Bearhouse. It was fun to enjoy our own family as well as another family’s tradition.


(wow ...there is no stopping them...look who sneaked in)

Since the next LSSN will be printed January 10th, I will take this opportunity to recommend the NBC Rose Parade for your viewing pleasure on New Years Day...once again, Arthur serves as Executive Producer and Director of the NBC Production.



This year’s Grand Marshall of the Rose Parade is Captain Chesley Sullenberger, the US Airways Pilot who heroically landed his plane in the Hudson River. The Rose Parade can be seen New Year's Day on NBC . It is a jubilant way to begin your new year.

STROTHER FAMILY:
The Strothers plug along.  We're caught up a bit right now in the St Albans Christmas House Tour, which will have just concluded when the LSN publishes. Molly has been laying mats in the houses; Jim is helping with the buses. Football is over for the season, with St Albans taking the IAC championship, and our William faces the task of repeating the feat next year.

BOLAND FAMILY:
Our Thanksgiving was very nice, but not the usual large group since Shannon and Joe went to Joe's parents in Wisconsin and Jeb and Jen hosted Jen's family.  Monty came home with a turkey from the University Club where he works, so I fixed a mini Thanksgiving on Tuesday for the boys.  On Thursday, we went to Columbia for Thanksgiving dinner, and then to Jeb and Jen's for dessert.  It was the first Thanksgiving in their home which is in the neighborhood across from the Bethesda YMCA on Old Georgetown Road. Monty and Patrick polished off the stuffing I'd made on Tuesday by Wednesday morning, so I fixed some more on Friday to get them through the weekend!

I have a sister who lives in Easton and she opened her second paint your own pottery store this week.  The second Clay Bakers is located at 151 Main St. in Annapolis and we will attend the Grand Opening. Karen's original store is located at #1 S. Washington St. in Easton.  My Mom is coming up, as well as another of my 3 sisters, for the opening and we'll enjoy a quick visit.



Friday morning I host my French conversation group which necessitated doing a bit of Christmas decorating earlier than usual.  The Americans have introduced the French ladies to a cookie swap which is lots of fun, not to mention delicious. The French tend to fix things like " les truffes" and "les tartes", but they love our American "biscuits.”  Cookie is new to their vocabulary!



The Bolands welcome the Patches back to Leland Street.  It is wonderful to see the great house alive again with the daily activities of family, rather than the daily activity of the workers!  We wish everyone on the block a wonderful holiday season, and hope that we are all fortunate to be blessed in sharing it with our loved ones.

AYAZ FAMILY:
November was a busy month.  We traveled to Arizona to visit with Nicole’s parents and attend a wedding in beautiful Sedona, AZ.  We highly recommend making a trip to Sedona if you have never been. 


The red rock mountain formations are stunning.  Then we traveled with some friends to Grand Cayman for Thanksgiving.  It was a treat to spend some time in the sun and surf! 


Nicole’s parents and brother are coming to Chevy Chase for the holidays and we look forward to a full house in December!  The most exciting news is that Tony has been promoted to Vice President of Federal Markets at his company.  He has been working extremely hard and it is wonderful that he has achieved this recognition.  Nicole is continuing to work for her California law firm and is enjoying the new challenges. Arianna and Sophia are busy with school and have their first ballet recital this week. 


They have enjoyed their trips but have informed us that they will not be taking another long airplane ride for “a long time”!  We want to thank the Vicente family for taking such good care of our two fish, Sally & Strawberry, while we were away! We wish everyone a very merry holiday season!

Book Recommendation:
Nicole completed” The Great Influenza.”  It is a non-fiction account of the 1918 influenza and really provided a lot of information about the development of modern medicine in the United States.  I found it to be a fascinating read especially in light of the new H1N1 virus.

DUFFY FAMILY:
We enjoyed Thanksgiving in Gastonia, NC with Charles' family.  By the time Charles' 5 brothers and sisters, their children and friends gather, we always have a big group. 

This year we had 40 people, 3 turkeys and countless pies and cakes.  And of course there's the turkey bowl...   As always, the nephews beat the Uncles in football and soccer, with the Uncles limping around and taking lots of advil for the rest of the weekend.  Each year the Uncles declare "this is the last year we're doing this."
 
Matthew is enjoying ice skating lessons at the Rockville rink.  He is determined to become a hockey player (specifically, a goalie) and is asking Santa for a goalie helmut and goalie shin guards.


 We really enjoyed meeting Sigrid's parents during their recent visit - and particularly enjoyed discussing travels to New Orleans, music and politics.
 
MELISSA, DOUG AND FAMILY:
We have been having a wonderful Fall, filled with family and the anticipation of the pitter patter of little paws. On the Sunday before Thanksgiving, one of Melissa's brothers flew in from Washington State and the rest of Melissa's extended family drove to Leland Street to visit and celebrate with a lengthy dinner. It was a wonderful, relaxed event, catching up with family from near and far. For Thanksgiving, we traveled to visit Doug's family in Pittsburgh. Between the numerous cousins, grandparents, snowflakes, and the high level of culinary
offerings, Molly and Gordon were reluctant to come home.



The week after Thanksgiving, Doug and Molly spent Friday night on the road, in an attempt to beat the snow for the Saturday morning pick up of our new puppy! On Saturday afternoon, they drove through the snow from West Virginia to bring home Lucy, our 8 week old Landseer Newfoundland puppy. Lucy did not disappoint, we are all completely smitten with her and, as Gordon said, it's nice to hear the sound of paws in the house again.

BATEMAN FAMILY:
The Bateman's had a wonderful Thanksgiving with everyone home and all cooks in the kitchen! Jill's mother and father were visiting from Florida and Jill's brother Mark came down from NYC.



All enjoyed a lot of great food and good company, a lot of football (the boys) and scrabble (the girls).



Annie and Claire will be home in a few weeks for the Christmas holiday and plans include a trip to New York to see the Christmas decorations and maybe a show. Jill and Terry were charmed by the beautiful snowfall on Saturday.......so enchanting. Also, Jill and Terry saw Pirate Radio Friday night and highly recommend it......very funny and reminiscent.

ANN LEE:
My son, Michael, and Velina were married in a beautiful ceremony in the mountains of North Carolina on November 27.  It was a small and intimate group including my family, spouses and children, my sister's family, spouses and children and Velina's mother (who made the trip from Bulgaria), her brother (who made the trip from Canada) and good friends from Sweden as well as Velina's daughter, Simone who is 8.  There were 10 children under 11 who made the butterflies for the cake ( you have seen a practice cake in a previous edition). We are thrilled to welcome Velina and Simone into our family.  Presently they are renting a house in Somerset but will soon be looking for a permanent home.
 
The caroling party is coming up and all are invited.  It will be on Sunday, December 20 at 7:30 pm.  You will be getting an evite if I can figure it out again.  It's helpful to know who is coming or who might be home due to illness, etc. so we know where to sing.  I love starting out the holidays seeing all the neighbors with such spirit. 

Note from editor:
Ann Lee's painting has been accepted in a juried show at the Yellow Barn Gallery in Glen Echo.  There is a reception today, Sunday, from 5:00 to 7:00 pm but the show will continue until December 20. Congratulations!

LIPPOLD FAMILY:
Paul and I had a great Thanksgiving.  Our four children, their spouses, and seven grandchildren had dinner at our house for the feast with all the fixings. Two of our daughters love to cook and bake so we had both smoked turkey and a “normal” roasted one as well as six different kinds of pies and a delicious cake. 


(Editor’s note: 
Anne did not have a photo to offer but with that many guests and that much food, it may have looked something like this)

The grandchildren that attend Philips Exeter Academy flew in on Tuesday before Thanksgiving and their parents drove from Kentucky. Our youngest daughter came from Arizona. The entire crew ate and spent the week together playing bridge attending the Phillips Gallery and eating at local restaurants. It is the only time a year that our nuclear family gets together.  Paul and I see them in the summer, but they usually come independently of each other. It was a wonderful Thanksgiving. 

PAYNE/SIMPSON FAMILY:
We waited too long to buy our plane tickets for Thanksgiving in Charleston and so we decided at the last minute to take the family to the Homestead as a fun alternative. This is the first time in 15 years we have missed Thanksgiving with Michael’s family in Charleston and while we missed the tradition, we all had a fabulous time at the Homestead. The place was beautifully decorated for Christmas and the kids just loved the ambiance, outdoor ice-skating under the stars – it even snowed! It was a real treat not to have to cook and they served the most fabulous buffet breakfasts and dinners. Other activities the kids loved while there included bowling, swimming, s’mores on the big outdoor firepit and hiking – despite the large warning sign that read: “Bears are very active in this area…fight back if attacked!”

The kids are all excited that their aunts and cousins are flying in for Christmas. We had a wonderful snowy Saturday yesterday in front of the fire, decorating the tree. Now on to the outdoor lights!

PATCH FAMILY:
We are excited to be back on Leland Street - we moved in on Friday, November 20th and hosted 22 family members for Thanksgiving dinner. Owen, Emma, and Erin are all acclimating well to living in their "grandparents house"!



Our tree conservation fences came down the other day, so we must be getting near the end of our year long renovation. Thanks to all our neighbors for putting up with our ongoing construction.



Tracey took the girls up to New York (Rye) yesterday to stay with her twin sister and go to the Rockettes Christmas Show at Radio City Music Hall, while Owen and dad are having a boys weekend that included a Caps game, a Wizards game and lots of college football!



TROCCHIO FAMILY:
Jennie has been named President of Casa Blanca Academy, a new school in Hollywood, FL for children with autism. Last night she attended her first board meeting and says it is going to be a great experience. Julie has been traveling a lot this fall: Atlanta, Chicago, St. Louis, Albany , NYC and places in between. But now she is home until after the holidays. Elizabeth and Julie have been reading “The Help “ about a group of Mississippi housewives and their maids. We love it.

Sunday, November 8, 2009

Leland Halloween Festival 2009

Editors: Bonnie and Charles Duffy

Duffy:


Matthew loved the block party, especially playing in the street with his friends. “I wish they would close the street forever, so I could play football there all the time.” We all so enjoyed our Leland Street festivities and Halloween last night, especially the opportunity to see all our neighbors.


Boland:


Leanne and Jimmy had a great time at the Block Party, maybe as much as grandson, Will!


Everything was wonderful - even the weather! As busy as everyone is, it is really nice being able to catch up with so many neighbors. Leanne is visiting her parents with Shannon, Will and Mae for a few days in Louisiana. The great-grandparents and extended family are especially excited to see the children.

Forrest:



The Fall Fun began right here on Leland Street on the occasion of our annual Leland Halloween Fest as Arthur donned his Grand Marshall cape and Marcy grabbed her basket of Grizzzzzzly Bears.


The core committe of Leland Street Ladies made this a terrific day for all. Marcy and Arthur think this event just gets better every year...Special thanks to Maggie Simpson for creating an amazing Haunted House even though she was away.


Sophie Rubashkin was wonderful in supervising the spooky, foggy, creepiness with Sarah and Turner ‘s assistance.


Nicole, Wendy and Jody did a marvelous job with the games.


  This year’s games were even more thematic than ever.  The children all loved the Jack O’Lantern Bean bag toss, the skeleton bone game and the Pumpkin piñata.  The addition of the children’s tables and chairs to the buffet was a nice thought.



Doesn’t the buffet become more sumptuous every year?!  The menfolk were terrific with all the heavy lifting.  Thank you to all who made this year a truly special event for all.

Marcy and Arthur returned from recent travel to Chevy Chase ready to enjoy  all things local.  Marcy attended the Sugarloaf Crafts Festival and the Town Coffee. Together Arthur and Marcy attended the Chevy Chase Dinner Out event at Moon Gate Restaurant; by night’s end they had partaken in Kung Pao and lively conversation.  Then, in appreciation of the glorious palette of fall foliage, Marcy decided to take Arthur on a quick little Mystery Trip.  They got in the car and Marcy told Arthur to just follow the instructions on the GPS system.  About four hours later, the Garmin announced, “You have arrived at your destination.”  And there they were at Frank Lloyd Wright’s Falling Waters in Laurel Highlands, Pennsylvania. 


What an incredible architectural accomplishment!   It was a great day for a walk in the woods and a chance to look over a waterfall from the terrace of this unique private home.   An overnight stay at The Summit Inn added more views, a magnificent sunset and fabulous meals to the experience.

     Nicole and Zak have had a busy month in far-a-way places.   Nicole and Steve spent Columbus Day weekend in Chicago, enjoying fine dining, a lake tour and art exhibitions.  

   
Nicole and Steve celebrated Halloween at a costume party as Lady Luck and a High Roller.   Nicole found a “money” boa” and a poker chip charm bracelet on the Internet to complete her costume.


Zak and Chad took ZF Films to Poland where production on the Stars of the Lid feature film continued. During their week in Krakow they filmed the Stars of the Lid performance in the Gothic splendor of the 15th century St. Catherine’s church.


This is regarded as Krakow's most exquisite Gothic church and boasts the finest acoustics of any house of worship in Poland, so this was particularly suited for the music.      

Rubashkin:


We all enjoyed the block party and jacob is looking forward to halloween. It was great to catch up with friends we haven't seen in a long time.  Sophie and Jacob are finishing up the fall Artermis cycling season, and are anticipating a move to indoor training for the winter. Hannah will be home this weekend, both to celebrate a friends bat mitzvah, and to enjoy home cooked food for a few days. Seems that Columbia University closes for election day! 

Bateman:
Jill and Terry have been busy with multiple "parents weekends".....Jill comments it would've been easier on them if Annie and Claire had chosen the same college but not as beneficial to the girls " individual growth and expression" and that's got to be worth a little extra traveling.   Will and his friend Jenny were honored to drive the pace car for the illustrious Halloween parade this past Sunday......Jenny is from Charleston, SC, and didn't realize how "down home" a Washington neighborhood could be.


All enjoyed the wonderful fall day and the sweet tradition of watching the children parade down the block in their Halloween costumes, and Rugby was pleased to be included in the festivities, wearing Teddy Bear's hand me down pumpkin costume that was only a little on the baggy side.


  Happy Halloween to all and thanks again to all who contributed to the planning and execution of the block party…especially the moms who provided the fun and games and haunted house.


The Halloween buffet dinner was delicious and the company and conversation even more so.  
As for movies, Jill and Terry have slacked off on their regular schedule of seeing a movie most every weekend.......but did see "Coco" a few weeks ago and thought it was excellent.    The family is looking forward to being on the giving end of trick or treating Halloween night.

Fred and Dorothy:


Fred and Dorothy are looking forward to a special TV event:   On Monday night at 9:00 WETA Ch 26 is showing a new documentary "Washington in the "60s".  There'll also be an extra hour of discussion and interviews airing later in the week. [See schedules, info and previews at WETA web site.]
It's the decade in which Dorothy and Fred were involved in a LOT of worthy activities -- in addition to establishing our little family in the Capitol Hill neighborhood.

photo credit: Hyman Bookbinder

In the documentary, there may be a part about the 1960 protests at Glen Echo Park; we think it'll be featured, but not 100% sure. That's where Dorothy defied a (bogus) police order, risking arrest for "trespassing" on park property with a racially integrated group.  [At the time Fred was in the Public Health Service. So all he could do was to watch, terrified, from the sidelines, preparing to bail her out of jail, if need be.]  This was during Dorothy's first week of living in Washington -- an auspicious beginning to a very intense era.

Taplin/Delancy:


Russell is working at the Burger Joint at Woodmont Triangle in Bethesda, and he reports that school is going well. This weekend he’s playing in a lacrosse tournament in Annapolis, but the school season doesn’t begin until the last week in February. And from Vicky: Paul's been playing in the pep band at the B-CC high school football games on Friday nights, and a few times, he and his friends have wandered over to the Burger Joint after the game for dinner.  The burgers (including lots of delicious non-beef options like the ahi tuna burger) are delicious, as are the sweet potato fries!
In late Sept., we traveled to Boston to celebrate Vicky's dad's 90th birthday.  The main event was taking a boat to Provincetown and spending the night.  We really enjoyed sampling the restaurants, poking into the art galleries, and climbing the Provincetown Monument.  Vicky's dad remembered doing all of that with his family when he was a boy (without the restaurants and art galleries, though).  We also had an excellent dinner in the North End of Boston.  It was very charming being there at night.  We stayed at the airport Hilton our last night there, and the room had a foor-to-ceiling panoramic view of downtown Boston.  Beautiful!
In mid-October, Vicky returned to Massachusetts for her high school reunion.  It was a lot of fun, with quite a good turnout.  Many of her classmates she hadn't seen 30+ years!  It was truly a blast from the past.


Cosmas:


Blog Editor’s note:
Farrell did a marvelous job of crowd control at the Haunted House. She had encouraged bravery and eased anxiety as the children filed in and out of the spooky sub terrain.
Farrell said she had a wonderful Halloween and just loved seeing all the children in their costumes.


She was very impressed by the number of little children and their polite manners.
In fact all creatures great and small were adorable.


Trocchio:


Elizabeth is headed to Fort Worth for TCU’s Homecoming this weekend. Go Horn Frogs! We are bursting with pride that Jennie has been named President of the school where she has been working, Casa Blanca Academy in Hollywood, Florida, a school for children with autism. Julie has been traveling (St. Louis, Austin, Albany, Chicago, NYC and points in between) and working on health care reform.

Strother:


Jim reports that they're enjoying a couple of good books, Molly with Elizabeth Strout's Olive Kitteridge, , and Jim with Gordon Wood's Empire of Liberty.

Lee:


Ann spent yesterday making a “practice” wedding cake for Michael’s upcoming wedding in North Carolina the day after Thanksgiving. Along with daughter Maura and Michael’s fiancé Velina, Ann made a 3-layer cake with vanilla, chocolate and lemon filling. She also painted watercolor butterflies to decorate the cake. For the wedding, Ann’s 10 grandchildren make the actual butterflies that will decorate the cake. Michael and Velina have planned much of the wedding themselves, and the reception will be at the mountain home of Ann’s sister.