Claire Lends a Caring Hand

Bateman

The Batemans are really enjoying the emergence of spring! Jill spent this weekend at Vanderbilt with Claire (Mom's Weekend) and says the apple blossoms and redbuds are gorgeous. She had a great time with Claire visiting with old and new friends in the Nashville area and checking out the new sorority house on campus (kappa kappa gamma). Claire has just returned from an Alternative Spring Break trip to Xela, Guatemala, where she volunteered at Primeros Pasos medical clinic (which was actually started by a former Vanderbilt student back in 1998). She had a very rich experience and plans to go back, next time as a site leader.
Annie had a great time over her spring break in Grayton Beach, Florida, staying in a house with 27 girls!
Annie and Claire shared the excitement of the day when their colleges played football against each other.....vanderbilt vs university of georgia. They deliberately did their hair alike to further astound their new friends!



Jill and Terry just returned from a beautiful anniversary trip to Carlsbad and San Diego, CA. Jill says the natural beauty of the area is astounding - they plan to spend a lot more time out there as Terry's company is headquartered in Carlsbad. Will is enjoying being at home and is hopeful of new job prospects!


Boland

Leanne went to the Washington Home and Garden Show on friday with one of her sisters. Although they had a wonderful time together, the show itself was somewhat disappointing. There weren't nearly as many garden exhibits as in years past. Most of the convention hall floor space was devoted to vendors instead.

Nevertheless, the outing was inspirational and got us focused on springtime gardening. Already know that we didn't buy enough mulch! Playing a wait and see game with the boxwood standards at the front door...they look pretty dead, but are they really? Advice appreciated.

The March 19th Chevy Chase Historical Society program at the Chevy Chase Village Hall, "Underground Railroad in Montgomery County", was wonderful.



Author Anthony Cohen was a wealth of knowledge and shed new light on the underground railroad journey. Wondering what took us so long to join this organization!
Bolands are looking forward to warmer weather and meeting/greeting neighbors on the sidewalk again.

Delancy/Taplin

We've had some great family visits over the past month. Vicky's 3 nieces came from Massachusetts on their February break. They were hoping to escape the cold New England winter, but it wasn't much warmer here! We did some fun "Washington" things, like the National Gallery and the American History Museum (where we'd hoped to see the special Lincoln exhibit, but the line was just too long!).



More recently, Vicky's cousin from Massachusetts was in town, and we had a chance to have him and some other extended family over for a lively dinner, in between everyone's winter colds.



Paul got a couple of days of snowboarding in at Liberty Mountain before spring arrived (one snow day off from school helped!), while Russell was busy getting in shape for lacrosse season, which has now begun. Ben has been settling into a new job, which has included several trips to San Francisco -- always a pleasure. Vicky has been busy trying to pull summer plans together for all family members, which can really be a puzzle with the kids at this age and going in different directions.

Trocchio

Trocchio's Elizabeth and Julie saw "A Chorus LIne" and loved every minute. Jennie is at a wedding in San Diego. We love that spring is finally here.



Forrest
Marcy and Arthur are enjoying the first signs of spring...crocus popping up on Farrell Cosmas' lawn, a few tulips leaves pushing through in our own garden, the weeping cherry trees look like they are ready to bring that burst of bloom very soon. We are enjoying the brilliant yellow of neighbors' forsythia. Other pleasurable signs of spring, seeing more of neighbors walking their dogs and more children playing on their lawns.

Nicole and Steve ventured to San Francisco and then up to wine country last week. Upon return enjoyed a night of opera at the French Embassy followed by a reception with the performers. Meanwhile, Arthur and Marcy enjoyed a celebration for a friend's son's second birthday. The birthday child's Dad suited up as Elmo for the occasion.



Marcy and Arthur are enjoying their first season as subscribers to the Washington Ballet. It has been a very interesting season of performances.



This week they saw a ballet performance of Peter Pan, it was charming and whimsical and made them wish they had young children again to treat to the performance.

Melissa and Doug

Doug and I are trying to train to run the Cherry Blossom 10 miler (and it takes a lot of time for me to log in a ten mile session!), but that is more embarrassing than anything, given my current elapsed time from beginning to end! Doug, however, is doing very well, consistently pulling down his already impressive time, even though it means that he has to wait even longer for me at the finish line.




If anyone else on the block is interested in walking or running a 5k, Melissa is working on the Westland Middle School Wild Dash, a fundraiser for Westland, which will be held on Saturday, April 25th, at 8:30 am. It is a walk/run, many people casually walk the distance. You can find details at http://westlandpta.org/wild_dash.html It will be a family oriented day, everyone is welcome!
Although Molly doesn't like to admit it, she is now taller than at least one of her parents, and Gordon is following close behind. Molly is enjoying tennis at Georgetown Prep and continues to love Westland Middle School. Gordon just finished basketball season, where he fully enjoyed being a head taller than almost every other boy. He is eagerly awaiting baseball season, even though his height advantage doesn't give him quite the boost in that sport. We are all looking forward to the gardening season, and hopefully, barring anymore surprises, a finished back yard!


Strothers

William is beginning the spring as co captain of the St Albans JV lacrosse team. They've won their two opening scrimmages and participated Saturday in scrimmages at the Gilman School in Baltimore, with the Gilman JV team and a visiting Japanese team. We were amazed to discover that lacrosse has a small foothold in Japan.

We're in the initial phases of planning a trip to Maine, where friends have passed along the opportunity to rent a small and very rustic ("primitive" would probably more accurately describe it) cabin. We'll doubtless be looking a schools along the way.


Congratulations to Hannah Rubashkin on her acceptance for admission to The University of Chicago. Hannah wrote one of her essays about growing up on Leland Street.



We thank Hannah for sharing her essay with us as it reminds of, not only of the charm of living on this street of caring and involved neighbors, but also presents to us the lasting impact this block has on childhood memories.
Growing up on Leland Street
by Hannah Rubashkin
My street is not like other streets. It may look like your typical suburban road with twenty-nine single-family homes of varying size and style each with front and back yards but it has hidden depths, some visible curbside. On the Forrests’ porch stand a pair of black bears, one full grown and one cub, which wave to passersby. On Halloween, the larger usually sports an eye-patch and the smaller a tri-cornered hat. Halloween is much more than appeasing waves of trick-or-treaters for this street. It is an event requiring serious preparation and religious pumpkin carving. The Sunday before All Hallow’s Eve plays host to a block party of magnificent proportions. It begins with a parade led by Arthur Forrest, the Grand Marshall of the Rose Bowl, as well as other majestic ceremonies. Following the parade, the younger residents smash a piñata, compete in the pumpkin toss, and venture bravely into Maggie’s haunted house. When darkness falls we adjourn to the top of the street (this block is situated on a hill) and feast on a potluck dinner fit for kings. We roast marshmallows over a fire pit with unbent coat hangers. When I was younger we would play capture-the-flag for what seemed like hours in Lottie’s yard. Capture-the-flag at night is an entirely different ball game. A tame third of an acre with a few dogwood trees magically becomes a dark forest replete with elves and dwarves- the opposing team- who are more than ready with ropes and duct tape if they catch me trying to abscond with their flag (now a heraldic banner). I treasured the pre-Halloween block party as the one day of the year I could pursue my true calling: knighthood.
Living on Leland Street means being a neighbor in the old sense of the word. We gather on Labor Day at the Patch’s to eat ice cream and commiserate about returning to school. I have the time-honored responsibility of scooping ice cream, a task that never fails to make me feel important. Sue started the social when her, now grown-up, children were young. Before she died she would “hold court” on her porch and greet everyone as they climbed the stairs. But this was no ordinary greeting. Sue organized the sign-up sheet for the Leland Street Sunday News, the weekly news rag first published thirty-five years ago. Her six children played journalist and went door-to-door collecting news. I remember my mom sending my sister and me out to bring in the news. We would type our recollection of the events and then brave whatever weather to deliver them. The LSSN has since evolved into a blog on which the adults post photos and amusing stories. Evolution is always positive; but I miss the days of fearless children journalists.
Leland Street celebrates Christmas with Ann’s caroling party. Christmas is a neighborhood affair that crosses religious lines. Sharing holiday spirit only serves to increase it, so we are a very cheerful bunch. We carol in the freezing or sometimes not so freezing weather and gather in her house to drink cider and eat brownies. Our Norwegian neighbors quickly created a fete, the Gløg Party, a traditional Norwegian Christmas celebration. The Hanukkah songs and Christmas carols mingle in the December air and sometimes you can catch the echoes into January.
This street, as the longest in Chevy Chase and the only one that crosses Connecticut and Wisconsin Avenues, has a place in the history books. This particular block of Leland Street deserves one as well, for the abundance of enduring friendships and traditions that flourish in its hearts and homes.

A CELEBRATION OF RED, WHITE AND BLUE

Many from Leland Street were amongst the throngs who witnessed the Inauguration Ceremony, the stories continue to be shared. Miriam Daniels spent all of Inaugural morning wandering around with a good friend visiting from California, trying to get into the Purple Section of the Mall. Finally they found a Jumbotron and were happy to see the inauguration. That evening, three of the Wolff family, Miriam, Larry, David, and friends attended the Southern Inaugural Ball and were thrilled to see President Barack and Michelle Obama as well as Vice President Joe Biden and his lovely wife, Jill.


The Kazins had a wonderful time on Inauguration Day. With many thousands of their fellow Obamaites, Beth and Michael watched the ceremonies on a Jumbotron near the Washington monument. The night before, Maia slept at a friend’s house on Capitol Hill and so got a better view the next morning. Danny saw it all on another giant TV perched in the middle of the Columbia University quad in Manhattan.

Some of the Rubashkin/Karasiks did decide to brave the cold and the crowds on Inauguration day. David discovered that Metro bus was running an express bus from CC circle to 18th and L., so Pamela, Hannah, and Sophie, dressed in many layers, with sandwiches in one pocket, a water bottle in the other, and a camera round the neck, headed downtown at 7:30 am. No traffic, and they were downtown by 8 am. They walked to the mall, with a crowd that was happy, excited, and well behaved, swelling in numbers the closer they got to the mall.

They parked ourselves in front of a Jumbotron at 12th and Constitution, surrounded by a group of high school students and their teacher (who had an infant in tow from Alaska!). The crowds kept them warm and out of the wind and the ceremony brought pride to thousands. Except for the crowds trying to get off the mall at the end of the ceremony (for some reason the park service decided that all of those in one section of the mall needed to exit through a six foot opening in a gate at 12th and Independence), the day was perfect. The family made its way back to the bus, and were home by 3 pm, enjoying a hot meal! David and Jacob joined friends in Bethesda, choosing to watch from a warm restaurant. The whole family watched the parade from home and marveled at those hardy souls who waited all day! Now back to work and school (snow storms not withstanding), Hannah and Jacob are preparing for their MCYO concerts this month. Sophie wants very much to get her new racing cycle out for a test ride in the warmer weather.

The Ayaz Family celebrated Arianna’s 5th birthday with a Glamour Girl party! We have enjoyed spending more time with friends in the neighborhood and are headed to Florida for Spring Break! We are looking forward to Spring!


Last month the Duffys enjoyed a trip to Florida. They were joined by Charles’ mother, and all had fun in the sun. One of the highlights of the trip was watching the Pittsburgh Pirates in spring training practice, with Matthew an enthusiastic fan.

Matthew finds fun in both snow and sand. He made a winter friend of the last snowfall. The Duffys are looking forward to the warm temperatures of spring and seeing more Leland Street Neighbors.

Both Jimmy and Leanne Boland were out of town for the Inauguration, but watched the festivities on television. Leanne was helping parents move, and was in Louisiana again this weekend. Patrick is home and working for Insurance House. Monty is training clients in their homes in addition to his work as a certified fitness trainer at the University Club. If anyone needs some help getting into shape, he’s your man and is available daily until 3 pm. (301 767 5356).
Leanne and Jimmy are very blessed to see the grandchildren often, and can’t wait to introduce them to the town’s new playground equipment. Will is 2 1⁄2 yrs and loves to play with his uncles. Mae, quite calm in comparison to her brother, will be 5 months old in a week. Her smiles are showered on all!
Since January, Leanne has enjoyed performances by the American Ballet Theatre, The Washington Ballet and New York City Ballet.


Leanne is looking forward to working in the garden, and plans on going to the Washington Home and Garden Show with her sister who lives in Easton.



Marcy and Arthur Forrest look forward to the ballet season, in particular the astounding Alvin Ailey Ballet, which is an annual family event.

Marcy and her sister, Sheila, enjoyed a few days in Philadelphia for the annual Flower Show. This year’s theme was Italy, which unleashed such a creative force for the presenters of ten acres of the seven regions of Italian landscape, architecture, music and fashions. In celebration of the theme, Marcy wore sunflower colors and Sheila wore her sunflower pattern jacket.


Imagine stepping in from a grey, drizzly winter morning to the sensory explosion of colors, fragrances, as well as, garlic clusters, peppers, and even stalks of pasta. There were waterfalls, fountains, gondolas, statuary and some home settings from all of the regions of Bella Italia! At the close of the day we were treated to live opera performances from heart of the Flower Show .



Nicole and Steve recently spent a few days in NYC. They toured the Calder exhibition at the Whitney Museum,enjoyed a matinee performance of South Pacific, took a carriage ride through Central Park, strolled through the zoo and had brunch and cocktails with friends. Ahh...New York, New York...so much to do and see.


Zak and Chad are busy this month taking ZF-Films to St. Louis, Los Angeles.



The Kazin family has returned to life as normal since the excitement and activity of the Inauguration events, at least as normal as possible during the recession. Maia did travel to Los Angeles to sing with the Maret choir, and Michael spoke at Rutgers on the past and future of liberalism. Zoe clearly enjoyed gamboling in the snow last week—but not as much as when she was a puppy and didn’t give a thought to her freezing paws.


Beth and Michael have become addicts of The Wire, a police drama series set in Baltimore, Maryland, perhaps setting a record for watching more DVDs of the show in less time than anyone in history.

Julie Trocchio is traveling to Scottsdale and LA this week, just when the weather on Leland Street is at its best, oh, well. Elizabeth had her office Christmas party last week, since she works for a caterer, December was too busy! Have you tried the new cheese stand at the farm woman’s market? Farm fresh eggs and milk too, highly recommended.

The Simpson/Payne family went skiing for the first time at Wintergreen. All three kids loved it and after one day at ski school were all doing great. Jack took to snow boarding and has declared it his second favorite sport after soccer.


The family is enjoying a new life with Chloe, a golden doodle. She is keeping them all more fit and is a source of constant entertainment. Jack and Sarah are loving their first year at Chevy Chase Elementary and the whole family is looking forward to Spring on Leland Street. If anyone is looking for last minute ideas for Spring Break/summer, the Simpson/Payne beach house is for rent.
Click on this link for more information and pictures: http://homeexchange.com/show.php?id=100930

Dorothy and Fred Solomon were visited in February by their Williamstown family, including their 13 yr old step-grandson who was especially thrilled by the Spy Museum.


Later in March, they’re expecting a visit from their Philadelphia family—which includes their granddaughter (age 7) and grandson (age 4 1⁄2). Do neighbors have any suggestions for super entertaining events or activities for this age group ? Thanks!

The Lubans are proud to announce the engagement of their son Ben to Kim Kulik, a graduate of UCLA and an LA native. Ben is finishing up an MBA at Columbia Business School. An engagement party will take place April 4 at the Cosmos Club with the wedding planned for August in LA. In expectation of many visitors, the Lubans replaced the floor tiles in the kitchen and family room.
Naomi reports that forty doctors will be at an all day retreat at her home on Thursday for junior faculty at GW medical school and Children’s Hospital. (so Leland Streeters know where to go if there is a Thursday emergency).
Naomi reports that Ben Rainey is doing well at the Armed Forces Home on Oregon Avenue and that she and Norm visit him as well as his wife Dorothy regularly. Ben and Dorothy lived for many years at 4100 Leland Street.

The Davies/Martz’s have lots of news. Stephanie has just begun work as the Chief Counsel to Senator Charles Schumer of NewYork.


Chris was just back from a six week trip to India (Mumbai and Hyderabad) and is returning next week. He is working to defend Price Waterhouse India, the auditors of Satyam Computers, of any liability, after the CEO of Satyam admitted that he was involved in a billion dollar scam.


Kyle’s hockey team won their regular season in the Capital Beltway Hockey league, but they lost 5-3 in the playoffs. Nora had a violin recital, and she is now playing Song of the Wind. Pip has been accepted to the Oneness Family Preschool where she will begin next fall.

The Wolff/Daniels were happy to have a four day visit from Becky who is working in Seattle for Microsoft as “associate product developer” for Windows Live, focusing on improving the look and feel of Microsoft’s web services. Becky says that Seattle is not as rainy as people say and she likes its informal style. She had a nice ski trip to Whistler in Canada. This weekend she met many of her college and high school friends who are living in the DC area.
David has just rented an apartment in Cleveland Park with one of his college roommates. He continues to teach music to preschoolers at Bach to Rock, as well as voice and musicianship to pre-teens, and recently joined the Cantate Chamber Singers, a local group performing classical and modern choral music. For performances go to www.cantate.org.



Larry and Miriam were in Florida where Miriam’s father received a “Lifetime Award for Service” from the American Reform Zionist Association, the Zionist arm of the Reform Jewish movement. Larry will be attending the annual conference of the Comparative and International Education Society in Charleston, SC, where he will be presenting papers on community colleges and on education assessments in Latin America. Miriam has started up again on Hebrew language lessons. After many years of begging others to help him, Larry is learning to use Microsoft Power Point in a course offered by Montgomery College’s extension division.

Leanne Boland’s book club recently compared All the Kings Men, by Robert Penn Warren, to Huey Long, by T. Harry Williams, and watched the 1949 film based on All the Kings Men.


Arthur Forrest is currently reading the new novel by John Grisham, The Associate, and also enjoyed rereading The Manchurian Candidate by Richard Condon.


The town has received the Bedell commemorative plaque and plans to install it once tree mulching has been completed, probably later this month. Neighbors will be reminded of Dorothy and Henry when walking past the tree between 4113 and 4111 Leland Street.

Leland Streeters send their collective thanks to Ann Lee’s Girl Scout granddaughters - those Girl Scout cookies are still the best!

The LSSN looks forward with Leland Streeters to warmer and better days to come!

Everything is Coming Up Roses

Marcy and Arthur enjoyed a rosie start to the New Year at the Tournament of Roses Parade where Arthur once again served as
Executive Producer/Director for the NBC production. This year's theme was "Hats Off to Entertainment."

The new year brings New Neighbors to 4111 Leland Street


We extend a warm welcome to Phil and Jody Fidler.
Jody writes:
We're looking forward to warmer weather so we can be outside more! We arrived here at the beginning of January with Max(10), Jack (soon to be 7) and our shitzu-poo Suzie, after nine years in Fairfield, Connecticut. The boys have been playing a lot of basketball at the Leland Center and they are enjoying the fact that school closes if there is a snowflake sighting. They are both looking forward to playing baseball in the spring and Jack is hoping for "kid pitch". We are very grateful to Melissa, Doug, Molly and Gordon for their hospitality, local guidance on important things like Chinese delivery and most of all, outgrown Pokemon cards! We look forward to meeting everyone. Feel free to stop over! Jody

AYAZ:
Nicole reports that the family celebrated the holidays with many visitors! Nicole's parents came from Arizona and her brother came for his first visit from Los Angeles. They enjoyed several family reunions with relatives visiting from Philadelphia and San Francisco!!!

They took Arianna and Sophia to New York to visit the ice rink at Rockefeller Center and take a Carriage Ride through Central Park. The girls were thrilled with the snow in NYC!!! Leland Street was beautiful and the whole family enjoyed everyone's festive decorations. We took the kids sledding at Chevy Chase park. The girls are loving the snow! Nicole sends wishes for a happy and healthy New Year to all her new neighbors!

COSMAS: The Cosmas family had a wonderful Christmas holiday. Will was home and Bill and Farrell spent a quite day with him and Ned and Lisa Fitch, brother and sister-in-law. Before Will went back to move into his new apartment in Somerville with Lady-love Karen, they all saw a lot of his old friends from St. Albans. It was great fun to catch up with all of these young men who used to gather at our house virtually every weekend and who call Farrell "Mama Cos" and Bill "Hot Bill." They are all now thirty and pursuing careers from acting, performing and writing music to promoting sustainable fish cuisine, doctoring and lawyering. Hard to believe! Time does fly.
Bill and Farrell welcome to the world their new grandson, Casey William Armstrong Boone. New born son of daughter, Jenny and husband, Evan Boone.

The family enjoyed a visit by daughter Lisa and her two toddlers Oscar and Josie on January 23rd.

Matthew Duffy and Oscar enjoyed the first snowfall of the year, it was so cold that icicles froze into fangs on Papa Bear at the Forrest home!


Delancy:
Special thanks to Ann Lee for hosting her annual caroling party. It was such a festive start to the holiday season, and a cheerful setting for catching up with neighbors. Most of Vicky's family was here for Christmas and Paul's 14th birthday, which was on the 26th. For a birthday outing, we all went to see the movie "Valkyrie," which worked for all ages, teenagers and up, and then later had dinner at Clyde's in Friendship Heights. Russell and Vicky spent nearly 5 hours at the MVA on new year's eve day and came away with Russell's driver's license. Mission accomplished in 2008!!

Other movies we saw recently and would recommend are "I've Loved You So Long" and "Gran Torino," (though we didn't take the 14-year-old to either of these -- these are adult movies!). Now that school has started again, we are hoping for snowy days and school cancellations, so that we can take the boys snowboarding. Paul's birthday present was a snowboard (or was it his Christmas present?!? --it's all a blur.) May 2009 be a happy, healthy year for all!

We had a wonderful day down at the inauguration. So exciting! I think we did well because we didn't have tickets. We just took the metro down at a reasonable hour and walked over to the WWII Memorial, in front of 2 jumbotrons.



Then later walked over to Ben's office on Penn. Ave. to get a good window view of the parade. Saw the Obamas for a split second before they got back into the car. It was a wonderful, memorable day!!



DUFFY:
Bonnie reports that they all enjoyed being with family in Chapel Hill for Christmas. Afterwards, they joined Charles' sister and family on a short trip to Philadelphia. They found the city to be quite fun and interesting.

Matthew particularly liked the "Please Touch" children's museum and the Fire House Museum. The older cousins were fascinated by the history lessons of Independence Hall. And Matthew's cousin Sophia found out how loud the guards yell when you reach past the cord and touch the liberty bell.
Charles' mother joined the Duffys for an extended visit to ring in the New Year. Matthew enjoyed a January visit by Farrell and Bill Cosmas' grandchildren, Oscar and Josie.

Matthew and cousins got into the full spirit of the 2009 Super Bowl game.

Happy New Year to all our Leland Street neighbors.

FORREST:
Marcy and Arthur flew to California on Christmas Day for Arthur's final production week for the NBC Rose Parade. It is a lively week of socializing with long time friends in addition to NBC events and Rose Parade events. A highlight of the week for Marcy is taking a tour of the Rose Parade float constructions. It is fascinating to see everything from petals to peppercorns attached to the huge floats. Here is a photo of the magnificent "Wizard of Oz" float under construction.

The parade rolled down the streets of Pasadena in bright sunshine and cool breezes on New Year's Day. As Arthur stepped into the control booth and put on his head set, Marcy was joined in the stands by family and friends. Following the parade, Arthur flew home to Chevy Chase and Marcy and her family drove south to Laguna to clear out and close down a family home.

Zak had a full house between the holidays with production buddies enjoying hours and hours, day after day of friendship, film, food and editing work they have recently filmed at music festivals.
Nicole hosted a holiday brunch with her girlfriends, and enjoyed a full vacation week of holiday fun catching up on newly released films and seeing the classic "It's a Wonderful Life" at the AFI in Silver Springs. She also enjoyed a varied round of holiday parties including a poker party and a New Year's Eve dinner.

Nicole and Steve were among the warm hearted souls with cold feet and frozen fingers on Inauguration Day. They had a great view of the proceedings from the lawn of the Capital. It was a thrilling experience on many levels.

PAYNE: The Paynes had a wonderful Christmas. Maggie's three sisters and their families flew in from France and Ohio to celebrate their mom's life and had a family reunion at the Inn at Vaucluse Springs in Virginia...a wonderful old, rustic country inn only an hour and half from DC. We first read about it in Washingtonian and have been going there for past 2 years...great place in winter and summer...a world away, which we highly recommend, especially the Chumley House.
The whole family then drove 9 hrs to our beach house in Charleston, where we had a fabulous week in 75 degree weather with sunny skies and a very happy puppy.

Yes, our big news is that Santa brought a puppy for Xmas. We have a 12 week old Golden Doodle called Chloe. Our first dog ever and we are loving the new addition. Hope to see all of you more now that we have great motivation to take long walks around the neighborhood. Chloe is particularly fond of the Taplins front lawn polar bear which she will miss greatly when the Xmas decorations come down.

TROCCHIO: The Trocchio's had lots of company over the holidays, travelers from Atlanta to Long Island. Jennie was home for Christmas but went back to Florida where she spent New Year's Eve in Key West. Julie saw Marley and Me and loved it, Elizabeth saw Yes Man and said it was mostly good.


WOLFF/DANIEL: The Wolff/Daniel family spent Christmas and New Years in Sarasota and Long Boat Key, Florida, where Miriam's father lives, and were joined by many family relatives. Highlights included gorgeous weather, wonderful fresh fish meals, tennis, yoga on the beach, beautiful sunsets, and warm reconnecting with relatives. They also spent a morning canoeing and kayaking the Myakka River, where they nearly ran into a six feet long alligator and also paddled up to great blue herons, roseate spoonbills, black vultures, egrets, and ibises.

David spent a long weekend after New Years in Atlantic City with his college buddies and decided that gambling was not for him. Becky has since returned to snow and rain in Seattle, where she works for Microsoft helping to market Windows Live. Toby (dog) stayed home but was happy to see the family again.
Larry traveled to Pretoria South Africa to attend a conference on education assessments in early December. He visited the Apartheid museum in Johannesburg, and began to understand the dynamics of South Africa's multi-racial society. He did not have time to travel around the country but did get to pet baby cheetahs in the mini game park near the hotel.
Elizabeth saw Yes Man and said it was mostly good.

Miriam recommends the Indian movie "Slumdog Millionaire" which is violent yet deeply moving.
The Wolff Daniels wish everyone a healthy, happy, and prosperous New Year.

From from our dear former neighbor, Sylvia Jones exciting news about her daughter in law Emma:
Robert Skalli, chairman of family-owned St. Supery Vineyards & Winery, is pleased to announce the appointment of Emma Swain as president of its acclaimed Napa Valley estate winery effective March 2, 2009. In this newly created position that reports to C.E.O. Michaela Rodeno, Ms. Swain will assume responsibility for vineyard and winery activities as well for SFWAmericas, the winery's import division focused on the Skalli family's wines from the South of France.
Elizabeth saw Yes Man and said it was mostly good.

Ms. Swain brings a strong background in strategy, sales, marketing, finance, operations and export to her new position from 17 years of experience at Sebastiani Vineyards, a venerable Sonoma producer she helped restructure as a super-premium winery, and Niebaum-Coppola.