Bill has settled into Hearthstone at Choate in Woburn, MA. I visited the weekend after the 4th of July and again in September for our 37th wedding anniversary over Labor Day weekend. The staff is professional and compassionate and Bill says he is happy there. I am eager to see him more often.
This has been a summer of excavations, not unlike an archeological site in Greece. After twenty-two years, our house had taken on a life of its own and every object within had either doubled or tripled in number. I have found wonderful photographs of people and places I had forgotten. I unearthed some beautiful pieces of porcelain from my mother, carefully wrapped in boxes underneath one of the beds in our guest room. While at Norwood School, Will made zillions of figures and clay animals and I'm almost sure I've found every one. There are charming drawings, paintings and notes from Lisa, Jennie and Will. Postcards written by Bill from all corners of the earth.
Well, you get the idea. This has been a magical, happy/sad experience. And, at last, 4140 is ready for the open market! Please do come take a look. Tell your friends. This is a very happy house just waiting for another family to enjoy all that is Leland Street!
At the end of August, I flew to Los Angeles to join Will, Karen and sweet baby Jane for the wedding of Ben Luban and Kim Kulik. What a great time we all had! Ben, Will's best friend since 7th grade, married his lovely Kim in a beautiful, elegant ceremony at the Skirball Cultural Center. Every aspect of the wedding weekend was fabulous, beginning on Friday night at the rehearsal dinner that Norm and Naomi gave on Santa Monica Beach at the Jonathan Beach Club. After dancing the night away on Saturday and grabbing a quick breakfast at the wedding brunch on Sunday, I flew home just about as happy as I've been in years.
Two weeks later, Will, Karen and Janie flew down here for the wedding of another beloved friend of Will's, Barton Seaver. Carrie Witherley and Bart were married on a gorgeous farm in Rappahannock County. The day was as bright and beautiful as the bride and groom. Needless to say, the food at the reception was out of this world. (Bart was the founding chef at Hook.)
My little family stayed long enough on Sunday so that I was able to quickly gather some family and friends to meet Jane and to toast the engagement of Will and Karen. Pretty great conclusion to a busy summer!
AYAZ:
This summer we spent a few weeks in Southern and Northern California visiting family and friends. We enjoyed some beautiful days in Manhattan Beach with Nicole’s brother. We then went to San Francisco and visited some of our favorite restaurants. We love the Swan Oyster Depot in San Francisco. It is a traditional seafood bar that has been around for years and is always delicious! Then we were off to stay with friends at their family’s vineyard in Healdsburg, CA. We learned a lot more about how the grapes are grown! My friend’s winery is not open to the public but we always tell our friends to try and go to the Cakebread winery in Napa – it is a wonderful wine!
We finished off our trip visiting Tony’s family. When we returned to Maryland, Nicole’s parents came for a visit. We spent a lot of time at the pool with the girls and attended a few baby showers in Philadelphia. Two of Nicole’s cousins are having babies this year and Tony’s sister is due any day!
We also spent some time exploring the Delaware beaches and really enjoyed our time in Bethany beach. We got to see the annual Bethany Beach talent show and it was a lot of fun. The big news in the Ayaz house is that Arianna has started Kindergarten at Rosemary Hills. She is so excited to take the school bus (with friend Mark Vicente!). Sophia is now in the Pre-K class at Manor Montessori and really enjoying her time there.
The other big news to add is that I am going to start working again! I will be working from our home office for my old law firm in CA. I am thrilled about the flexibility working from home will provide and excited to get back to practicing. Hopefully it will all work out!
We are happy to see all of our neighbors have returned from their summer vacations and look forward to a fun year on Leland Street! The girls are really looking forward to the Halloween block party!
BATEMAN:
The Batemans had a wonderful summer but Jill reports it went by way too fast! The nest was full the entire time with all three young adults gainfully employed, Hallelujah!
Claire, Annie and Will in Bethany Beach
Annie loved working with 12 four year olds at Sidwell Summer. She came home every day exhausted, but full of stories about the children and she bonded with them to the point it was really hard to leave when the session came to a close. Claire worked her second summer at Cactus Cantina. Terry comments that putting her in there with all that food and frenetic activity is like throwing a fish in the water. Will obtained his commercial real estate license and is learning the ropes in the industry, working as an associate with Studley in Tysons Corner.
Will and buddies en route to Jimmy Buffet concert.
Terry and Jill enjoyed every minute with everyone home.....including a relaxing and fun week in Bethany Beach. Now Annie and Claire have happily returned to school and Will is carrying on (living on the third floor) in what he warmly refers to as "our empty nest." All are looking forward to the change of season.......the fall leaves and of course the Halloween Block Party.
On a sad note, Jill reports the loss of the big red maple which graced the front lawn (and supported the swing) for so long. It took three arborists to finally convince Jill that the tree was indeed extremely diseased and must come down before it fell on the house or somebody. The tree is greatly missed but the new row of crape myrtles should liven things up next summer. Happy fall to all Leland Streeters!
BOLAND:
The Bolands enjoyed a wonderful end of summer. In August Jimmy and Leanne spent a week in Vail, Colorado enjoying delightful days with low humidity, and cool evenings. Leanne was able to return in September for a mini reunion with her three sisters...good hiking, long conversations and happy memories.
Leanne has a new MacBook and frequents the Bethesda Row Apple store where the staff are very patient and offer wonderful classes. She needs to improve her computer skills in order to effectively Chair a guild for the Christ Child Society, an organization that helps underprivileged children in DC.
Jimmy has already been out to Notre Dame for a football game, and is looking forward to returning to campus several times this month. Patrick is a big UGA fan and he, too, returns to campus during football season. Monty continues working at the University Club as a fitness trainer. He is available for personal training in private homes and office gyms. (301-767- 5356)
DELANCY:
Our summers seem to get better every year. This year, ours began with hosting a 13-year-old French boy. This was an exchange arranged through a mutual friend for Paul and the French boy Thomas.
Thomas spent one week with us here in Washington, and second week with us at our family home on the coast of Maine. He fit in very well, and was charming and up for any activity we suggested. While in Maine, he called his mother to get her crepe recipe with the “secret ingredient,” and then prepared delicious crepes for the entire extended family.
His English was quite excellent -- the only thing he admitted to having trouble with was our jokes (they didn’t seem funny…..). We spent some more time in Maine after Thomas left, and Vicky hosted a reunion for people who worked with her at a summer inn there in the mid-1970s.
In late July, Paul left for France to spend 2 weeks with Thomas, and Vicky and Ben tagged along for the plane ride.
While Thomas’s family hosted Paul in Paris and the coast of Brittany, Vicky and Ben played tourist in Paris, Burgandy, the Loire Valley, and at the tail end, dropped by to spend 2 days with Thomas’ family in Brittany. They were as delightful as Thomas, and entertained us royally.
During this time, Russell stayed in the U.S. to work on a history project with a teacher at GDS, work as a camp counselor, and visit college campuses in New England with his grandfather.
September hasn’t been a hardship either. We extended our summer fun by a visit from Vicky’s brother-in-law and nieces over Labor Day weekend (the Newseum, a trip to the top of the Washington Monument, a Nationals game, and best of all: Six Flags!), another from California friends in the middle of the month, and a trip to Provincetown (by boat from Boston) to Vicky’s father’s 90th birthday.
Russell’s in his senior year at GDS, playing off season lacrosse and working part-time at The Burger Joint in Bethesda, and Paul’s started as a freshman at BCC, and is playing on the JV soccer team.
DUFFY:
The highlight of our summer was a trip to Italy with Charles’ family. Matthew proved to be a great traveler as we explored Florence, Venice and Tuscany. We especially enjoyed cooking classes, cycling and touring the museums.
Aside from the airplane ride, Matthew loved the boats in Venice and sampling gelato (all the green flavors) at just about every meal. We can’t wait to go back.
The health care reform debate has kept Bonnie busy at work. Charles is in the midst of a detail assignment to the Office of Financial Stability at the Treasury Department, where he has been working on issues related to TARP.
In August, friends from Holland came for a visit – Charles and Noud became friends when they rode their bikes across the US ten years ago. They had fun reminiscing about their trip and exploring DC together.
Matthew discovered the joys of Funland at Rehobeth Beach and Bonnie realized she’d rather watch than go on the rides. Matthew also went to “mini-tennis” camp at Landon. Initially he didn’t understand why he was going “Mommy I already know how to play tennis” -- but once he was there he loved it. Matthew turned 4 on September 18 - all he wanted for his birthday was a hockey helmut. Who knew a worn out hand-me-down helmut could bring such joy!
With the help of Bonnie’s mother, we are planning a new garden in the front yard. Watching the bushes come down was bittersweet, but we’re excited about the new possibilities. The "Big Dig" began over Columbus Day weekend.
Also, we enjoyed hosting a group of town residents for the town’s progressive dinner Centennial Celebration.
FENDRICK:
Barbara Fendrick reports the high point of the summer was an incredible car trip with son, Peter, from Nice to Madrid through the Western Pyrenees. Mile after mile they found a marvelous range of sights, tastes, and memories through museum, cave, restaurant and lodging experiences. They discovered the Bureaus of Tourism in France are very helpful in calling ahead from town to town to arrange accommodations. Friends of Peter hosted their visit in Pamplona. These friends bought a 12th century house and gutted the entire four interior floors and designed a new home. The entire project was completed within eight months and then furnished with furniture shipped from Bloomingdales. So Barbara reports every bed and chair was very comfortable.
They visited the Museo del Prado in Madrid. They saw it all, which involved more walking than Versailles and the Louvre combined. Prado features one of the world's finest collections of European art, from the 12th century to the early 19th century including 1,300 paintings, 5,000 drawings and 2,000 decorative arts objects.
Barbara and Peter ventured into the Niaux caves of the Ariege Pyrenees of France to view the prehistoric art. They walked deep into the cave for an hour on slippery, uneven floors holding a flashlight, until arriving at the site of the superb cave drawings of bison, reindeer, ibex and horses.
Barbara’s artistic eye was particularly appreciative of the Barajas Airport in Madrid. The interior support is a series of undulating “X’s” in shades of blue, yellow and green, the effect is magnificent.
Barbara’s daughter, Lila, a landscape architect, is available for consultation on any project large or small. Anyone considering a new look or adding interest to their current landscape can reach Lila at 301-907-7700.
FIDLER:
. We enjoyed our first summer in MD, especially the atypical weather. Much time was spent at CCRA hanging out with new friends and working on our swim and tennis strokes.
FORREST:
Marcy and Arthur spent most of the summer welcoming friends, family, neighbors and out of town guests to our own backyard to splash in the pool and enjoy cocktails under the pergola. We were delighted that Nicole and Zak were here often entertaining their friends, too. As the summer came to a close, Arthur headed for Las Vegas for production of the Jerry Lewis Labor Day Telethon. Marcy joined Arthur for a few days in Las Vegas before the frenzy of the Telethon weekend began. One evening they dined at the Sinatra room at the Encore Hotel. They enjoyed a moment of nostalgia when they spotted a photo on the wall of Sinatra and Dean Martin from 1976 Jerry Lewis Telethon. The occasion of that photo was entertainment history...it was the twenty year reunion of Martin and Lewis arranged as a surprise to Jerry Lewis by Arthur with Frank Sinatra.
Marcy and Arthur spent a few days of R & R post Telethon at Laguna Beach. It was great to hear the ocean roar, watch the pelicans swoop over the water and wade in the shore line.
Nicole and Steve ventured to NYC especially to see Steve Tyrell at a jazz cafe before flying to Las Vegas for the holiday weekend. While in New York, they visited the roof top of the Metropolitan Museum to see the incredible Roxy Paine steel tree sculpture. This magnificent work of art is 130 foot long by 45 foot wide and will be on display until November 29th. Anyone visiting NYC should treat themselves to the spectacle.
Zak split his summer between Chevy Chase and Los Angeles with his work filming and editing music videos for Warner Bros.
Marcy and Arthur, joined by Jimmy and Leanne Bolond attended the Steve Tyrell concert at the Strathmore. Tyrell performed with a marvelous group of muscians presenting songs from the Great American Songbook, as well as, tunes from his recent album featuring the work of Burt Bacharach and Hal David. It was thoroughly enjoyable to share the evening, all four of us had the same foot tapping appreciation for the performance.
HOROWITZ/KAZIN:
We spent a couple of lovely weeks in Wellfleet and are sorry to see the summer end. Wellfleet is a beautiful little town at the far end of the Cape. It has traditionally attracted artists and academics and (for some reason) psychiatrists. It has gorgeous wild beaches and several fresh water ponds which are wonderful for swimming. There's a fabulous used book store, a charming cafe, some excellent seafood and surprisingly good local theatre. We have some walks we love to take and we rent bikes and take a trail which ends at the ocean. We've been going for years and are all very attached to the place.
Danny is in his last year at Columbia and wishing he could keep it going much longer. Maia has deferred her admission to Stanford for a year and is having a nice relaxing time at home, working in the book department at Child's Play and taking acting classes at the Studio Theatre.
Michael is back at school, Beth is taking calls from people worried about swine flu and hoping for some meaningful health care reform.
LEE:
I had a pretty scary experience on September 15th. While crossing Woodbine Street, walking my dog Kali, I tripped on a particularly bad spot on the street (before it ws repaired). I think Kali heard me trip and ran a few feet causing me to go down fast. I landed on my chin and barely got my hands up. A very nice teenage high school boy who lives in the corner house of Woodbine and Maple ran over to me and asked if he should call 911. I said "No" but asked if all my teeth were broken. He said just one was chipped. He then ran into the house and came out with paper towels and a bottle of water to mop up the blood. He was an angel. It is now several days later and my face is a lighter black and blue, my lip is less swollen, my tooth has been repaired, and my ribs are less sore. I'm on the mend.
On a much happier note, Michael is getting married! The wedding will take place at my sister's NC mountain house. He is marrying a lovely young woman named Velina.
Her 8-year-old daughter, Simone, will fit in well with my grandchildren who are 9, 7, 6 and 3-year-old twins. Our family is thrilled. You may remember my talking about Thanksgiving every year with my sister's family which is extremely musical. There is singing, piano and guitar going on all the time. There will be 11 grandchildren--the oldest around 11. There will be a butterfly theme so I am having all the children watercolor butterflies as well as make butterflies out of fondant for the cake.
SIMPSON/PAYNE:
The Paynes had a wonderful summer. The big highlight was our family trip to Ireland with all the kids and my sisters. We flew into Shannon and stayed in County Clare for a few days to visit the Cliffs of Moher, feast at Bunratty Castle and tour the Burren.
Then we headed South where we rented some lovely cottages overlooking the harbor of the charming little town of Kinsale, Co.Cork -- where the four Simpson sisters spent every summer growing up in their family home, Folly House.
We had a big party with all my parents lifelong Irish friends who live in and around Kinsale to celebrate their lives and dedicate a bench in their honor on the scenic walkway along the Bandon river in front of our old farmhouse.
It was one of the most wonderful trips we have ever had as a family. Ireland is magical place. And if any of you ever visit Kinsale, there is a very peaceful bench that awaits you with a view to match.
The summer flew by and Jack and Sarah are now enjoying 5th and 6th grades at CCES. Jack is immersed in travel soccer and Sarah in dance three nights a week. Turner has one more year at National Presbyterian School and then we will be transferring him to CCES next year to start 3rd grade. We have been delighted with the school and are so fortunate to have such a fantastic public school option just a hop, skip and a jump away. The Payne family recently enjoyed a celebration dinner at Guapo's In Bethesda on the occasion of Jack being elected as Co-President of his class.
A thank you to all the neighbors who continue to help with the ongoing saga of our escape artist, Chloe. If you ever see a friendly, fuzzy looking golden doodle running up and down our street, chances are its her. She is very fast and sometimes despite our best efforts she'll wiggle right out the front door before we can catch her.
KARASIK/RUBASHKIN:
We enjoyed celebrating Rosh HaShanah with all the kid's grandparents in New York and New Jersey.
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We really enjoyed seeing Hannah who is well into her first semester at Barnard. She is enjoying her academic classes (physics, freshman seminar, Arabic, and contemporary spanish theater), and she is really having fun exploring the extracurriculars of college life. She auditioned successfully for the Bach Consort, an ensemble orchestra with voice, and she is interning at the university radio station. Sophie has settled into eleventh grade, meeting the challenges of several AP classes, and a foray into the schools literary magazine. She continues to cycle competitively and is racing this weekend. Jacob, a seventh grader in the humanities magnet program, is facing the mythical IDRIP project. It is the hurdle that all the magnet kids contend with, in depth research and a lengthy paper (with primary sources, no less). In addition, he is studying for his Bar Mitzvah-he has a really long portion-but he is doing great! He too is riding with the Artemis team, and will race for the first time this weekend. The rest of us are keeping busy with work, and the usual things that fill our days.
FRED AND DOROTHY:
Fred and Dorothy are rejoicing over the recovery of a friend who'd been hospitalized at Georgetown because of a dangerous exposure to carbon monoxide (CO). She'd been feeling weak and tired all summer, finally getting short of breath and then fainting in the emergency room. Signs point to the air conditioning vents in her car as the source of the CO. This was our first personal experience with CO poisoning. Scary stuff. [NOTE: The latest issue of Consumer Reports rates various CO detectors for the home and recommends that those that are already own be replaced every 5 years. We discovered that our home monitor was 10 years old. We think car interiors should also be checked!]
Highlights of the Solomon summer include:
1. We had a joint venture with Ann Lee having the retaining wall and fence between our backyards rebuilt. (It had been constructed with railroad ties years ago and was falling into Ann’s yard.) Ann followed up with lovely new plantings next to the new fence. Dorothy is still trying to decide.
2. Fred had a great time with his four male first cousins and families at a terrific baseball game at Nationals' stadium. Also in attendance was the French bride of one cousin, who was very patient as she was being instructed on the fine points of "bezbol". I realized how strange this sport must seem through a newcomer's eyes. Actually it's pretty strange anyway. For example, we witnessed a perfectly executed "suicide squeeze". {This a rarely attempted play in which the runner from third base tries to steal home while the batter.... oh
well, we didn't even try to explain that one to her.)
3. The very special movie, "Yoo-Hoo, Mrs. Goldberg"--and the festivities around its opening at the Avalon---were delightful. [HIGHLY RECOMMENDED. DVD out soon.]
4. We were very excited to see our son and our two grandchildren. One highlight was a trip to the zoo in time to see the 10:30 AM washing of an elephant. Elephants love the cool water and are amusingly cooperative (unlike some dogs and children).
Dorothy adds: Isn't our weather stupendous? We still have butterflies flitting back and forth between our two butterfly bushes up against the dining room windows. I've been "heading" the dead lowers off faithfully each day, so the bushes are still in full bloom. What a pleasure.
STROTHER:
The Strothers went on two New England trips this summer. The first was to Rhode Island where William attended a lacrosse camp. While William was at the camp, Molly and Jim saw the Colonial and Gilded Age sights of Newport, ate wonderful food and enjoyed the breathtaking views of Narragansett Bay.
Our next trip was a week in Maine and then with four days in Boston. Unfortunately, we had quite a bit of rain in Maine,and the mosquitoes were horrendous. In Maine, we were in a "legacy" (and falling down) cottage near Brunswick, courtesy of Molly's stepfather -- a week of rain and mosquitoes, so we got in a lot of good reading (more below). We attended a wonderful performance at the Maine State Theater on the Bowdoin campus (really Broadway class), ate a lot of lobster, fried clams and mussels, and made some college trips with William. Plus an obligatory trip to LL Bean
In Boston, we had a nice stay at the Harvard Club in the Back Bay section, bought some MTA passes, saw a few more colleges, and continued to eat more than was probably appropriate, including dinners at the Oyster House, which claims to be the oldest restaurant in the US, and Jacob Wirth's, which is the second oldest restaurant in Boston -- I had always enjoyed it when I spent a couple of months on a ship being fitted out in the Charlestown Navy Yard 49 years ago!
And, as a highlight for me, we spent an afternoon going through the Adams houses in Quincy. (A reminder for the elderly on the block: Get the $10 National Park pass and thereafter visit for free for life.) I'd recently reread The Education of Henry Adams, and the "Big House" figured prominently therein. We did have great food though, and William enjoyed his visits to some of the area colleges. It wasn't an exciting vacation, but we enjoyed it. And the trips to colleges, guided haphazardly by too-small maps, persuaded us to acquire a GPS. Back to the future.
DANIELS/WOLFF:
We wish the whole of Leland Street a sweet and health New Year – for the Year of 5770!
I also want to thank the Town of Chevy Chase for helping to get a County built storm sewer installed on the top of Leland Street. With the very welcome cooperation of the new generation of Patch’s we will finally be able to build effective drainage of our property.
TRANSITION:
Our hearts and condolences go out to the Peppe-Gibson family over the recent demise of their dear Bailey. They selected Bailey from a litter of seventeen Bernese puppies and he brought the family an abundance of fun and laughter for six years. Bailey is gone too soon but will be remembered as the dog of Molly and Gordon’s childhood, much loved and very missed.
Leland Street Neighbors as hosts for The Chevy Chase Centennial Celebration:
The town of Chevy Chase celebrated their Centennial on September 12th with a progressive dinner for town residents. Leland Street was very much a part of making the evening a success. Charles and Bonnie Duffy and Arthur and Marcy Forrest participated as chefs and hosts for the Chevy Chase Centennial DInner Celebration. Chevy Chase residents drew the name of their dinner host during cocktails at the Town Center. Each home served dinner for twelve guests. Following dinner, the groups walked to yet another home for the dessert course. Both the Duffys and the Forrests thoroughly enjoyed their guests and are pleased to hear the concept of the Progressive Dinner is going to be an annual Chevy Chase event.
