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.

The holiday season begins with finding a perfect tree.

Leland Street Sunday News
December 15, 2008
Editors: Vike and Wendy Vicente
Anyone still needing a Christmas tree can visit Sundback's on Wisconsin Avenue where Patrick Boland is working for the holidays. He'll be happy to help you. Patrick will begin training in Atlanta with Insurance House. After his training he will return to a local Insurance House office to work.


Many families look forward to sharing the holiday with friends and family while the children look foward to a Christmas Eve visit by a man in a red suit.




Leland Street is lighting up for the holidays. Our lovely block is sparkling after dark as we find our way home during the holiday season.




Ann Lee and her family's annual Caroling event brought merriment to a bitter cold first night of winter.

Following the caroling up and down Leland Street, everyone returned to the Lee home for mulled cider, wine, gingerbread cookies, and a tempting display of homemade holiday cookies.

The rain and cold that swept over Chevy Chase this fall has kept neighbors from seeing much of each other, so it was great fun to sgather together and catch up on family news.




Marcy and Arthur want to thank Vike Vicente for the greatest act of neighborly kindness and concern.

Arthur slipped on a pile of wet leaves late on a Saturday night upon returning from a trip to California. Arthur hit the street with such an impact it was immediately evident that stitches were called for. Arthur received terrific treatment at Suburban Hospital Emergency Room including a CAT scan, hand X-Ray and stitches.

After hearing about Arthur's injury, Vike came by to check on him and then returned a few days later to personally remove the stitches. It was great for Arthur to have such personal caring treatment in the comfort of his own home. We are grateful to have such a wonderful neighbor. (your editors humbly state, the Forrest's comments are unsolicited)

Ayaz
We spent Thanksgiving in Arizona this year and enjoyed the sunshine! Arianna and Sophia had a lot of fun with their Grandparents. We celebrated Nicole’s father’s 60th birthday and her brother’s 40th. Arianna learned how to go down the big water slide for the first time! We are excited to be back in Chevy Chase and are looking forward to all of the Holiday festivities. We wish every one a very happy Holiday Season!

Boland
Our wonderful Thanksgiving was followed two days later by the Baptism of Mae Catherine Burkhart, Shannon and Joe's second child. The two events, attended by extended family, created a memorable weekend.
In January, Leanne and Jimmy will enjoy a weekend in NYC seeing "South Pacific" and "In The Heights".




Neighbors have expressed interest in ordering a tree plaque in memory of Dorothy and Henry Bedell, as was done for Sue Patch. Dorothy lived at 4111 Leland Street for 45 years, and Henry for 24 years. The plaque would be placed below a young tree, previously planted by the town, close to 4111. With more donations this plaque could be ordered soon. Kindly send donations to Leanne Boland.

Cosmas
Late breaking news: Daughter Jennifer and her husband Evan Boone had a BEAUTIFUL baby boy on Friday morning (just after midnight) in California. His name is Casey William Armstrong Boone. 7lbs. 8oz. 20.5 inches. Mother and baby are fabulous, but exhausted after 28 hours of labor and an ultimate C-section. His grandfather and I are beyond ourselves. What a magical and wonderful thing to happen just before Christmas.

Will was home for a week at Thanksgiving and it was such a treat to spend so much time with our busy newly minted lawyer.


A high point of the week was meeting the family of his lady-love, Karen Clawson, on Saturday night. Karen, who lives in Cambridge, MA, came from Pittsburgh with her mother and step-father to celebrate the 30th birthday of her brother, Ken, who lives in Germantown. Happily for us, they were all able to join us for a Greek feast at our house. Karen is smart and beautiful. Her family is terrific. In fact, her step-father, Phil, is an affirmed member of the Bad Joke Club. This is an invention of mine to explain the great affection I feel for my husband and Arthur Forrest during joke swapping sessions.

Call it mother's intuition, but watch this space for more Will and Karen news.


Duffy

Matthew and Bonnie travelled to Chapel Hill, NC for a few days leading up to the election. On election morning, we were tickled by this very creative effort to get voters to the polls.

Bonnie reports that callers to the Duffy household should not be surprised if Matthew answers the phone. Editors note: Matthew is a pro, and is more polite than any of the adults I spoke with today (okay, maybe other than Bonnie.) When Matthew pulled into the parking lot of White Flint Mall to see Santa Claus this year, he asked, “Mommy, is this the North Pole?” The whole family looks forward to spending Christmas in North Carolina. Here is a photo of the family gathered in North Carolina. The day after Thanksgiving we celebrated Charles' mother's birthday. All of Charles' siblings and their children were there - Matthew loved being with his large group Duffy cousins.

We all recently enjoyed a trip to Homestead farm where Matthew enjoyed helping Charles cut down our Christmas tree.


Forrest
Arthur and Marcy had a quick trip to California for Arthur’s first production meetings for the NBC Rose Parade. This year’s theme is “Hats Off to Entertainment.”

Upon return, they had a full house prior to and throughout the Thanksgiving week. Zak returned home along with two friends and production buddies from a five day film shoot of concert bands in NYC, Connecticut and ending with the 20 plus band Brainwaves Music Festival in Boston. They immediately immersed themselves in the round the clock editing process before setting out for a project with another rock group.

Also checking into the “Forrest Inn” was recently married, niece Emily and husband Rob. In addition to the pleasure of their company, Rob, a professional photographer, took individual portraits for his project of capturing every extended family member at this point in time.

If there is a Washingtonian happening, it seems Nicole is there. She recently attended the DNC election night party, the reopening of the Smithsonian National Museum of American History


and she also attended the Mark Twain Award night at the Kennedy Center posthumously given to George Carlin. Nicole said it was wonderful to laugh all night long. The guest list included performances by Jon Stewart, Denis Leary, Lily Tomlin, Lewis Black and Bill Maher. Marvelous entertainment. Nicole says, anyone who ever made her laugh contributed their humor to the evening's presentation.
Marcy is preparing for the family Solstice celebration and loves seeing all the holiday decor go up in their home, on the street and in town. She is also quite pleased that our exterior lights went up without any tumbles.



Arthur was honored that Maria Olsen took an interest in writing an article about him for the November-December edition of Bethesda Magazine. Maria did an extraordinary task of sorting out the information and quotes she collected in researching for the article. Arthur particularly thanks Vicky Delancy and Charles Duffy for being kind in their quotes about him....he says he is sure they have material to the contrary!

Kazin/Horowitz
Our big news is that Maia got into Stanford last night. We're all thrilled.

We had a lovely Thanksgiving with friends in North Carolina. Michael is reading Half a Life by V.S. Naipaul, which is brilliant and depressing. Beth is reading a biography of Lincoln by Fred Kaplan, which traces the literary influences on his oratory. The four of us will be in Key West for a few days over Christmas, chasing the sun.


Strother
The Strothers have enjoyed their usual Thanksgiving and pre-Christmas activities, beginning with Thanksgiving dinner for twenty in Blue Ridge Summit, Pennsylvania hosted by Molly's sister and brother-in-law. William is in tenth grade at St Albans, has made the transition from being JV quarterback to lacrosse winter conditioning and Sunday league play, and is winding up his thirty hours of driver's education. Molly was a house chair for the St Albans Christmas House Tour, showing a beautiful Georgetown home that all of us could dream of inhabiting, and Jim helped out with the buses transporting guests between the houses and the school.

Trocchio
We had a houseful for Thanksgiving: my sister and her sons visited from Wisconsin and the boys looked at some colleges. My brother and his family came back from their new home in NYC and of course we had Jennie and Elizabeth. Jennie loves her job at Casa Blanca Academy in Hollywood, a brand new school for autistic children. If anyone wants to make a Christmas donation that would make an impact, the school needs lots of thing. Ask Julie for a wish list.

Your editors wish everyone a safe and happy holiday.

Meet Our New Neighbors at 4130 - Helland Bay Family


Dear neighbors,
After two months in the US, we have more or less settled in to our new home in Leland Street. A big thank you to everyone who have greeted us and made us feel welcome! This is truly a fantastic neighborhood for adults and children alike. We are really looking forward to the years to come. Please feel free to stop by. We’ve bought a huge trampoline for the backyard (it was meant to be a bit smaller, but with our lack of understanding for imperial measurements – coming from Europe – 12 feet didn’t tell us much). Now we know – it’s huge! - and big enough for anyone who would like to come over for a jump!
As some of you know, we are from Norway. However we’ve lived in Canberra, Australia for the past two years. It feels good to be back in the Northern hemisphere with the Holiday Season being in winter! Sigrid is a diplomat, Tarjei a teacher (but working at the Norwegian Embassy now – yes, we’ve turned the place into a family business…). We have two little girls; Eira 4 years old and Mari 15 months.
Looking forward to getting to know you all better!
Take care,
The Helland Bay Family - Sigrid, Tarjei Eira, Mari

Ayaz
Nicole writes: I enjoyed attending the Towne coffee this month and I'm looking forward to meeting more neighbors through Towne events. The girls have enjoyed the changing of the season and we go leaf collecting throughout the neighborhood almost every day!


We will be celebrating Sophia's 3rd Birthday. We are also planning on visiting Homestead Farm's pumpkin patch.

Bateman
The Bateman's are looking forward to Annie and Claire coming home for fall break (from their first semester at University of Georgia and Vanderbilt respectively). Jill and Terry recently returned from a southern tour of all 3 children's colleges (including Will at Clemson, graduating this December!) Everyone seems happy with a few minor bumps during transition. All are enjoying this beautiful fall weather (Terry is on the golf course every possible moment) and Jill and Terry are really looking forward to the block party. Jill recently saw the Giorgio Morandi exhibit at the Metropolitan Musuem and highly recommends it!


Boland
The Bolands are happy to announce the birth of granddaughter, Mae Catherine, to Shannon and Joe Burkhart. Mae was born at 7:25pm on October 14th, and weighed 6lbs, 10oz. and was 19 1/2". Everyone in the family has been involved with big brother Will who turned two on Sept. 1st. Lucky for Leanne, Will adores his uncles who can be counted on to entertain their nephew.

Honoring Dorothy and Henry Bedell

Leanne Boland knows that there is an interest in dedicating a town tree, and ordering a commemorative plaque in honor of longtime Leland Street residents, Dorothy and Henry Bedell. Please send donations to Leanne so the plaque can be ordered by the town. As we walk our block we will always be reminded of our dear friends, and shaded by a beautiful canopy. --Thank you Leland Street neighbors.

Cosmas
Bill and Farrell have had a very busy October, thus far. Will was home last weekend, as was Farrell's brother Jonathan from Boston, to celebrate family birthdays. Farrell's brother Ned was 60 on October 6th and Farrell was some other number on October 4th.



We had a simply wonderful time all together. Jonathan, the youngest of Farrell's brothers, went to Urban Outfitters for party favors! To say the least, one cannot report what was printed on hats, plates and balloons in this family newspaper. Quite, quite funny.
Son Will is working hard and will be home for Thanksgiving. It was a joy to see him.
This weekend, Bill's nephew, Dean Klovens is visiting from Chicago. As Bill and Dean periodically lapse into Greek, Farrell generally has no idea what is going on, but Bill is very happy. Saturday afternoon we all went to Politics and Prose to welcome the new book by Alan Cheuse about Curtis, the great photographer of Native Americans.



Daniel/Wolf
Miriam writes: I think that we are very lucky to live here in the Fall. Toby and I just returned from a 3 mile hike in Great Falls, Maryland.


I can't tell you who enjoyed it more. It was a moderate hike that included beautiful foliage, hills and valleys and our own Potomac at the end. I believe it was called the Gold Mine Loop with a return via the Berma Road. (Apparently a misguided group once prospected for gold in Great Falls, Maryland but did not find very much of it). The hike was led by my 62-year-old friend who was celebrating her birthday. Delicious birthday carrot cake at the end.

Also, I just had a repair of a hole in my dining room wall completed by an excellent painter and plasterer that I wanted to recommend to any one who needs a painter or plasterer. He does a very careful job and I have used him for several years. (painting and wallpaper) His name is Randy Wirth and his phone number is (301) 253-3863. Call me if you have questions.

Delancy/Taplin
Paul recently joined the 8th grade Eastern Middle School Humanities Program on a weeklong trip to New York City. The trip was planned with a focus on poetry and using your senses to experience the city. Paul is writing a poem about his experience. To prepare for the trip, the class read the book Time and Again, which was set in NYC in 1972 but involved time travel back to 1882. In 1882, Trinity Church was the tallest point in the city and the Brooklyn Bridge was under construction. Upon arriving in NY, one of the first things they did was walk across the Brooklyn Bridge. Paul was impressed by the view into Manhattan and the sketches along the sides of the bridge that portrayed the 19th century Manhattan skyline – quite different from today!
Also in preparation for the trip, Paul had to identify someone in New York willing to be interviewed by Paul’s class. Paul selected a leading cheese authority, chef and restaurant owner. He had to pitch his idea to his classmates. Ultimately, the class selected and interviewed a stage manager who has worked on Les Mis and other Broadway shows, including the current Please Don’t Eat the Daisies. Paul saw Grease (he liked it) and Stomp (he found it unexpectedly funny.)
At the Tenement Museum, an actress guided them on an experiential tour where Paul’s group played the role of a family living in the tenement (Paul, being the tallest, was given the role of “Papa.”)

Other highlights included a nighttime trip to the top of the Empire State Building, a day view at the top of Rockefeller Center, a visit to the Strawberry Fields memorial to John Lennon in Central Park, the World Trade Center Memorial and shopping at the giant M&M store at Central Park. Paul noticed that the World Trade Center Memorial was the one place in the city where people stand still and take notice.
Paul enjoys New York City but finds that he misses the green, open spaces of Washington. He likes the absence of skyscrapers here and the “friendly” feel of our city.

Duffy
Matthew is very excited about Halloween, and tells anyone who asks that he’s going to be a firefighter, a lion and a baseball player. This week Matthew enjoyed going with his school class to a pumpkin patch, where he had a ball sliding and climbing on bales of hay, on tractors and going on a hayride.


This weekend Matthew also enjoyed some playtime with the Boland’s grandson Will. We think Matthew may have found someone who likes to tackle as much as he does!
We are looking forward to a visit from Charles’ mother, and are enjoying having Bonnie’s brother Stephen with us.

Fendrick
Barbara wants neighbors to be aware of a house nearby for sale. Her daughter, Anne-Marie Fendrick just put her house on the market. There’ll be an open house today, October 19. The address is 4306 Sleaford Road in Bethesda. It is 3 blocks north of East-West Highway, 3 BR, 2 1⁄2 BA- charming home with a nice garden and in-law suite. “Turn-key condition.” The agent, Jane Fairweather, can be reached at 240-223-4663.


(Editors note: For all you Maryland politics buffs – this house happens to be the boyhood home of our Governor, Martin O’Malley.)


Forrest
Marcy had a wonderful evening of chat, laughter, hugs, kisses, flashbulbs and champagne in NYC, at a reunion of The Mannequin Agency hosted by the Elizabeth Arden Red Door Salon. Marcy often gets together with her close circle of friendship that dates back to when these women walked down the runway in the 1960's and 1970's, but a reunion offers the chance to see someone else from the past. The fun began with a luncheon, then on to the event, followed by dinner with several from the reunion and continued with a lunch the next day before returning home. What a whirlwind! See below faces of forty years of precious friendship. (Editors Charles and Bonnie Duffy note: In case you missed it, a photo of Marcy and some of the “Mannequins” she worked with was featured in the Style section of last Sunday’s New York Times.)


Nicole describes herself as a "Culture Vulture" and has discovered marvelous ticket bargains on Craigslist. In the past month she has purchased seats for four different operas and two ballets, all at incredibly discounted prices. She highly recommends this as a source for those who wish to take advantage of the events at the Kennedy Center. Nicole treated Marcy to the Suzanne Farrell Ballet. It was a presentation of pas de deaux, with seven selections including one from Don Quixote and Stars and Stripes. Ms. Farrell shared her thoughts and memories of working with George Ballantine throughout the matinee. It was a beautiful presentation. Marcy was first introduced to The Suzanne Farrell Ballet troupe by Leanne Boland last year. We had especially marveled at the talents of Bonnie Pickard.

Nicole attended three events connected with the Swedish Embassy to celebrate the opening of the Voices Exhibition, which Nicole manages for International Arts and Artists. The opening night was a dinner at the home of the Cultural Attaché. The evening was a social event to introduce the artists and included a performance by a Swedish opera star.

Marcy and Arthur express Happy Birthday Wishes to Farrell Cosmas.

Marcy and Farrell laughed through a birthday celebration lunch at Mon Ami Gabi...blowing out that next candle is more fun when perched in a profiterole.

Marcy and Arthur had lively discussion over evening tea at the Vicente home...amazing how animated discussion can be even when you all agree on the subject!

Jones (former residents of 4117)
Sylvia writes: We're enjoying fall in Napa and we have quite a bit of color from maples and sweet gum trees. Here, they call the gum trees "liquidambar" which is a beautiful word. The vines, now almost all harvested, are every color from yellow to burgundy. It still surprises me to see the magnolia trees in full blossom in the middle of October.

We spent 5 weeks in Europe this summer, returning to NY on the Queen Mary ll, for a week with Laura in Brooklyn. Then home briefly followed by a week at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival in beautiful Ashland. Then home for another week before we left to visit old friends in Laguna Beach. We have houseguests this weekend and again next week, old friends from Cedar Lane UU in Bethesda. Bob has promised me that he is really ready for staying at home and enjoying our lovely little garden. I'll believe it when I see it! Love to all our old neighbors; to the new neighbors, we're getting to know you through the LSSN. You're all welcome to visit us in Napa.

Lee
From Ann: Over the last weekend of September I attended my New Trier High School reunion in Winnetka, Illinois. I'd never attended any high school or college reunion and was somewhat apprehensive. It turned out to be fantastic! One thing that made it so successful was that everyone wore a 3X4 card hanging from a ribbon around their neck.

On it was a pretty large picture of them from high school--also their maiden name (large) and city and state where they live. It was so easy to identify and remember people. I might not have attended except that a friend whom I haven't been in contact e-mailed me inviting me to stay with her in her Winnetka condo. How could I pass that up? It was 3 days of hugs and laughter. I had designed the scenery for their big musical called "Lagniappe" where all the script and music is written by the students. While we were touring the school and seeing the 1500 seat auditorium, students were rehearsing for this year's production. Fond memories. One of my old high school friends is a co-founder of Staples. She went to Harvard business school and planned on opening a chain of grocery stores. When she and her partner realized there wasn't much money to be made in grocery stores they decided to sell paper, etc. using the same model

Murtagh
Eric writes: I'll be running my first marathon Oct. 26th - The Marine Corps Marathon in D.C. (My 40th birthday present). I'm a bit uneasy about it as my training schedule was very abbreviated this summer due to a couple of sport injuries. If you see me on crutches, you'll know what happened!
I recently contracted to purchase the Bedell's house at 4111. (I hope I didn't bump someone else from the neighborhood who wished to purchase it).


I appreciate the home's architecture and grounds very much and I'm hopeful that I can work out an arrangement with the Bedell's gardener to continue the maintenance of the yard. I currently have the home up for rent if anyone would like to bring a friend into the neighborhood.

Rubashkin/Karasik
Pamela reports: The family recently went to Homestead Farm for their annual apple picking, where they picked 50 pounds of apples (and this was a light year!) They had a lot of fun, and have just begun the cooking but have already turned out apple cake, apple pie and applesauce.

Hannah is busy with her college applications. Jacob started at Eastern Middle School this year where he is in the humanities magnet program. It is a big transition though he appears to be enjoying it. Everyone is looking forward to the Leland Street Block Party.

Solomon
Fred was tickled to see the big article in Thursday's Washington Post , entitled "Getting to Know Mr. Obama's Neighborhood". The neighborhood is Hyde Park, on Chicago's South Side, around the University of Chicago. It was Fred's neighborhood-- growing up, going to the same Laboratory School the Obama daughters now attend. In fact, he lived there through college and med school, ultimately meeting and courting Dorothy there. The Post article painted a pretty accurate picture of Hyde Park, though it didn't fully capture its warmth and charm.

The Obama home is on the left in the photo below:

For more photos and the Washington Post story...go to this link.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/10/15/AR2008101503728.html
Fred and Dorothy wish to tell neighbors about a remarkable Filipino young man (in his thirties) who keeps our lives working, allowing us to age gracefully in our home. Jerry works for us one day a week, solving almost all the household problems that have accumulated over the previous six days.

Here are some examples: Jerry will pick up a prescription on his way here; install or reset the timer for our outdoor lights; do all the gardening (at Dorothy's direction); get a friend to help him successfully patch a big hole in our asphalt driveway; sew Velcro on a wallet; prepare dinner if we need him to; or repair our basement dehumidifier- --whatever is on our list that week.
We have known Jerry's extended family for several years. He is a kind, loyal, and responsible human being--a compassionate caregiver who can be counted upon in any emergency needing his help. Originally Jerry was an "au pair" overseas for a State Department family; he accompanied them back to DC, where he continued to help raise their four children. He is now a legal immigrant and is totally fluent in English.
As you can tell, we feel Jerry is a real "find". Right now he's available two days a week; he can be engaged either occasionally or on a regular basis. Please call Dorothy at (301)656-3391 with any questions you may have.

Payne/Simpson
Editors note: Maggie’s mother, Mary Alice Simpson, passed away on September 29.



We’ve included her obituary below.
Mary Alice Simpson, 84, from Las Vegas, was a true pioneer of her generation. Her father, Clesse Turner, who worked for Standard Oil, gave Senator Harry Reid his first job as a truck driver. After graduating from Las Vegas High School, she attended nursing school. However, Mary Alice soon had an opportunity she could not pass up. In 1951, she was offered a job working for Nevada’s U.S. Senator Pat McCarran in Washington, D.C., and during that same year, she was named Nevada’s Cherry Blossom Princess. While working for Sen. McCarran, Mary Alice came upon an ad outside the Senator’s office seeking secretaries for a USAID Security Mission in Saigon, Vietnam. At age 29, Mary Alice did what few single women of her time would even consider - she decided to embark on the adventure of a lifetime.

As one of the very first young American women to venture to Vietnam on behalf of the U.S. Government, Mary Alice’s eyes were awakened to a whole new and exciting world. In 1953, Mary Alice Turner (her maiden name) married a Foreign Service Officer and author named Howard R. Simpson, from Alameda, Calif., whom she met on the terrace of the Intercontinental Hotel in Saigon. They both shared the same passion for life - a “joie de vivre,” which they passed on to their four loving daughters, Shawn, Lisa, Kate and Maggie. As the wife of a rising Foreign Service Officer and accomplished novelist, Mary Alice spent the next 55 years seeing the world like few women of her generation have ever done. Her adventurous life assured her a front row seat at some of the most historic military and diplomatic showdowns in American history. In addition to two tours in Vietnam, she lived in Nigeria, Majorca, Australia, Algeria, France and Ireland, to name but a few. Mary Alice often came home to Las Vegas to visit her late mother and well known local community volunteer, Alice Turner, who died in 2002, at the age of 104, and her late brother and renowned Las Vegas engineer, Tom Turner, who died earlier this year. Mary Alice died Sept. 29, 2008, at home in Washington, D.C., with her four daughters by her side, Shawn Simpson of Aix-en-Provence, France; Dr. Lisa Simpson of Cincinnati, Ohio, Kate Simpson of Silver Spring, Md.; and Maggie Simpson of Chevy Chase, Md. She also leaves behind her eight adoring grandchildren.

Trocchio
From Julie: Jennie was home for a friend's wedding and said she had forgotten how lovely Chevy Chase is in the fall. It was great having her home. Elizabeth is getting menus for Brown Bag ready for the holiday season. Julie has been traveling and John is surviving the economy.


Cultural Opportunity at the Swedish Embassy

The Swedish Embassy is located at 30th and K Street, right next to the Sequoia Restaurant at the Washington Harbor front. The glass surround of the Embassy offers beautiful views of the harbor, Kennedy Center, Watergate and Memorials. Currently on display is "Voices of Sweden," a contemporary ceramic art exhibition. Nicole Forrest has organized the United States tour of this collection.

The Embassy exhibition is free to the public and on weekends there is a special additional offering, "Tastes and Sounds of Sweden" which includes an afternoon of music and food. There is also a wonderful photograph exhibition titled, "Sweden from Above."