Anne Lippold’s family is seen here amongst the Chihulys and the cactus during a recent tour of the Desert Botanical Garden in Phoenix, Arizona.
Anyone traveling to Phoenix, Arizona might enjoy the opportunity to visit the to see the magnificent display of Dale Chihuly’s glass sculptures on exhibition through May 31, 2009. This is Chihuly's first exhibition in an outdoor desert environment.
Dale Chihuly is known for his innovative glass sculptures, and his work is immediately recognizable for its grand scale and vibrant colors. Chihuly's spectacular creations are found in more than 200 museums worldwide including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, London's Victoria and Albert Museum and the Smithsonian American Art Museum. Garden exhibitions of his work have been mounted at the New York Botanical Garden.
Nicole Forrest was impressed with Chihuly's glass flower sculptures that flutter overhead at the Bellagio Hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Marcy and Arthur Forrest stood in amazement at the eleven foot tall Chihuly at the Palm Springs Art Museum.
Fidler:
Jody says all is well with the Fidler family. A friend from Connecticut sent us his Flat Stanley their way and they have been taking him on tour of the District. Flat Stanley is a lot of fun for all involved! Here is Jack introducing Flat Stanley to George Stephanopolous.
For those not famililar with The Flat Stanley Project, the project was started in 1995 by Dale Hubert, a grade three schoolteacher in London, Ontario, Canada. It is meant to facilitate letter-writing by schoolchildren to each other as they document what Flat Stanley has done with them.
The character, Stanley Lambchop and his brother Arthur are given a bulletin board.Their Dad hangs it over Stanley's bed, during the night the board falls , flattening Stanley in his sleep. He survives and makes the best of his altered state, and soon he is entering locked rooms by sliding under the door, and playing with his younger brother by being used as a kite.
Students begin the project by reading the book, then they make paper "Flat Stanleys" and keep a journal, documenting their activities in which Flat Stanley is involved. The Flat Stanley and the journal are mailed to other people who are asked to treat the figure as a visiting guest and add to his journal, then return them both after a period of time.
**According to the Feb. 26th broadcast of Countdown with Keith Olbermann, Flat Stanley was on board US Airways Flight 1549 which landed safely in the Hudson River. He was carried to safety in the briefcase of his traveling companion.
Florence Lloyd:
Florence's azalea garden is one of the treasures of Leland Street. Her garden is a glorious welcome to anyone driving up Leland Street in spring. The burst of blooms suggest an enchanted cottage. Then mid-block, the Trocchio home offers another burst of color along their azalea hedge.
Trocchio:
Julie is just back from a from a fabulous trip with her work to Rome and Assisi. Great food, beautiful churches, audience with the Pope ( which is more prep rally than liturgy!) amazing historic sites and wonderful people. Jennie has one more semester down, working on her doctorate in special education. She will be back for a wedding later this month. The dogs are loving these longer days because they are getting more walks in.
Rubashkins:
The Rubashkin-Karasik family hosted Passover with 22 guests for the first night and 25 guests for the second Seder. Wonderfully, David’s parents were able to celebrate with all of us. It was David’s Mom’s first trip out of Sarasota since her stroke last year. We had a fun time singing and saying the Four Questions in multiple languages. Hannah is traveling this month to finalize her decision on where to go to college in the fall. Mira has taken up rock climbing and bought a harness and other gear the day before. Sophie is eagerly awaiting warmer, sunny weather to take advantage of her new racing bicycle. Jacob is learning all about the Greeks in school, playing Orpheus in a class skit.
Forrests:
Having heard from reliable sources that dark chocolate is actually good for one’s health, Marcy made sure the Bunny brought baskets for Arthur, Nicole and Zak. We all enjoyed a lovely family dinner together. It’s tricky timing, catching Nicole just as she had returned from a trip and Zak just before he left for his next venture.
Zak and Chad took ZF-Films to Oakland, California to film GREEN DAY performing the biggest show of their Bay Area tour. The band performed their new album, 21st Century Breakdown, in its entirety. It was a long night of filming.
Warner Bros. just released ZF-Films’ music video of Cavo performing their hit single, Champagne. To see Champagne, click
hereArthur and Marcy just returned from a visit with friends in Palm Desert, California. The drive through Southern California to the desert was such a contrast to the burst of spring blossoms that we left here in Chevy Chase. We had a lovely time, but were happy to come home from the dry heat of the desert to the fresh, cool spring breezes of Maryland.
As an early Mothers Day celebration, Nicole planned a mother-daughter trip to NYC to attend the “Aznavour en Liberté,” concert. Marcy and Nicole are long time fans of Charles Aznavour and had a sensational time. They went from the concert to Sardi’s restaurant for dinner before catching the Amtrak home.
Inspired by recent stories in the news about the veggie garden on the South Lawn, Marcy and Arthur have decided to do some veggie gardening. The plantings include lettuce, tomatoes, radishes, onions and herbs. They are hoping to have the makings for good tossed salads this summer.
Marcy chooses a different palette of color for her spring tulips each year. This year's offering is pale pinks and deep purples including the majestic Queen of the Night tulips.
Molly Strother’s spring afternoon gathering of a few friends was a lovely reminder of how gracious life on Leland Street can be.
Bolands:
The Bolands had a wonderful Easter. After Mass we shared a lovely lunch together (Leanne enjoyed not having to cook!). We have a tradition of hunting for our Easter baskets which have been hidden somewhere on the first floor. Everyone is pretty good at this routine by now and the Easter Bunny has to be creative. It was a pleasure to share the day as a family. Maybe next year, if the weather cooperates, we can have a hunt for the grandchildren.
Leanne enjoyed attending the Candidate's Forum Thursday evening at Town Center. Walking with Marcy and Arthur was an added bonus. Charles Duffy did an excellent job as the moderator. We can all be grateful that there are so many people with various points of view in our community willing to give of their time and talent to serve on the Town Council.
The Bedell commemorative plaque is now installed this week at the base of the young oak between No. 4113 and the Bedells’ former home at No. 4111. I hope everyone can see it when they are out for a walk and remember their dear neighbors. Many thanks to all who participated in this tribute.
Vicente:
Wendy and Vike lost their dogwood tree last fall and replaced it with a weeping cherry. They have enjoyed it's first blooms along with a bright ring of tulips and their redwood tree.
Batemans:
The Batemans enjoyed a nice and relaxing Easter weekend at home. After attending Easter service at National Presbyterian, the whole family, including Will’s friend, Jenny, (but excluding Claire who was sunbathing in Florida) made a delicious brunch at home. Jill and Annie went to a lovely afternoon open house and visited with old high school friends and their parents, while the boys were glued to the Masters. It’s been a special treat to have Annie home for the weekend. She’ll be heading back to Georgia Tuesday to finish up the semester and then will be back home for the summer, working as a counselor at Sidwell Summer. Terry is thrilled with his very green lawn and attributes his success to his new organic fertilizer-effective and very Rugby friendly as well.
Payne/Simpson:
We are enjoying our Spring but are already longing for the summer so we can enjoy weeks of family time at a stretch.We want to thank all our neighbors for helping to keep an eye on Chloe-- she has managed to escape from our backyard several times these past two months and thanks to your watchful eyes and kindness, she always seems to be quickly found and brought back safely to us. Thank you all! We thought we were getting a mid size dog but Chloe doesn't seem to stop growing and we are a bit worried that she soon will be able to step over our 41/2 foot fence. We are also having to spend considerable time reinforcing to the kids (mostly Turner) that she is not a horse and that riding is not an option.
The Payne home has a lovely overflow of delicate flowers and further up Leland Street, the Duffy's tree has left a deep carpet of
soft pink petals that bring to mind nuptial celebrations, prom time and confetti.
Duffys:
We enjoyed spending Easter with Charles’ brother and sister and their families in Virginia. The highlight for Matthew was an impromptu football game with his cousins. He was also thrilled that the Easter bunny brought him a spider man coloring book (“how did the Easter bunny know I love spider man?”}
We are spending this weekend with Bonnie’s sister in Chapel Hill and looking forward to a music festival in nearby Hillsborough.
Taplin/Delancy:
Vicky Taplin wanted to comment on the lovely new plaque placed next to a young tree near the Bedell's house. Leanne Boland was responsible for getting this plaque installed to honor the memory of Dorothy and Henry. Vicky and family have enjoyed seeing it as they walk Ruby and remember many pleasant conversation they had with Dorothy and Henry in that very spot. Thank you Leanne!
Paul has been involved in an especially interesting and unique project of interviewing chefs for his independent media film for school. Earlier in April, Paul and Vicky went to Williamsburg so Paul could interview and film chef, John Gonzales. We had never been to Wiliamsburg, so we had some fun exploring the colonial sites and eating in the taverns. Paul's meeting with chef Gonzales, went very well. He owns "A Chef's Kitchen," which is in downtown Williamsburg. It a restaurant where people come for a 5 course prix fixe dinner and watch the food being prepared with explanations by the chef. It a type of dinner theater where the performer is the chef! Having filmed 4 chefs, Paul has now completed all the editing, music and credits, etc and its a wrap! Russell played guitar selections for the soundtrack.
The Ayaz home and the Delancy home are beautiful compositions of spring flowers, shrubs and trees.
Ayaz:
We took a much needed family vacation to Grand Cayman over the girls’ Spring Break.
We all loved snorkeling and playing on the beach. Arianna and Sophia really enjoyed feeding the turtles every day.
When we returned we got motivated and planted a flower garden in the back yard along with some vegetables. We are all anxious to see what will survive the weather and the animals. We are enjoying all of the beautiful flowers in bloom around the neighborhood. We are looking forward to seeing more of our neighbors and starting the barbecue.
Nicole's parents were here visiting from Tucson, AZ. They enjoyed taking the girls bike riding on the National Mall and visiting the Lincoln and Vietnam Memorials. We also went to visit Dumbarton Oaks Gardens in Georgetown and loved all of the flowers. We are enjoying all of the beautiful plants and flowers in teh neighborhood and Arianna and Sophia have started an Art Class at the Leland Center. We are also busy with the Spring Soccer.
Lees:
Ann and Maura along with dogs, Kali and Marley, enjoyed the Easter weekend at the beach. Although the weather wasn’t great it was invigorating and refreshing to be near the ocean. The dogs inspired them to be out on the beach in spite of the weather. Ann has some paintings in an exhibit at The Yellow Barn at Glen Echo this weekend.
Cosmas:
Bill and I had a quiet Easter, celebrating the birth of our granddaughter, Jane.
My brother, Ned, and his wife came for our traditional Easter dinner of lamb and assorted Greek goodies in honor of Bill’s heritage. There was just enough chill in the air to justify lighting the fire. I love watching our garden spring to life. This year it seems to have happened more quickly and I’m already trying to figure out how to fill in the gaps after the tulips have gone. How extraordinarily lucky we are to live in such a beautiful, blooming street!
Farrell’s tulips follow the path to her front door from dawn to dusk.
Lippold:
Anne and Paul just returned from a trip to Phoenix to celebrate Paul’s 80th birthday at Susie’s home. All the children came, and Paul’s brother from Illinois attended the party. We had a great time. it was a joyous celebration. Paul was 80 on the 21st of March. We arrived on the 19th in Phoenix with Ishkabible and remained at our daughter, Susan’s home until the 26th.
Our daughter Karen and son David who live here came, as well as, our daughter from Lexington, Kentucky. We all went to a Cub’s baseball game. Paul and Anne grew up in Chicago and remain loyal to their "home team."
We all love Art and spent time at the Heard Museum famous for Southwestern art. I bought two little sculptures of Navaho Folk Art which are now center pieces of our dining room table. Paul had a terrific birthday and the whole family enjoyed celebrating his special day.
Cosmas:
Welcome to the World Sweet Baby Jane.
On March 26th, Jane Lynn Cosmas was born. Daughter of Karen Clawson and Will, Janie weighed 9.2 lbs and was 22 inches long and is the fourth Cosmas grandchild in 3 years! Farrell was present to welcome sweet baby Jane into this world at Cambridge Hospital in Cambridge, MA. She reports that Jane has dark brown hair, just like her daddy, and her mother's long, elegant dancer's body. She is as lovely as any beautiful baby girl can be and is close enough for her grandmother to spoil her endlessly. Will and Karen are terrific parents!
Once again, the Karasik-Rubashkin family, in an effort to hold onto old habits, decided to take advantage of the lovely weather this weekend, and do our journalistic duty on foot. We were fortunate that many of our Leland Street neighbors were home to share their news with us.
Florence Lloyd was sitting in her garden enjoying the warm afternoon
reading Joan Didion’s book , A year of Magical Thinking. It is a sad, but remarkably well written book that I would recommend. We shared information about our common eastern European backgrounds, and about the meanings of our last names in Russian!
It was wonderful to reconnect with friends we had not seen through this cold wet winter, and to enjoy all the lovely blossoms on the magnificent weeping cherry trees that grace Leland Street. A brief visit with Mary Proctor confirmed, she too, is enjoying the spring and the beautiful weeping cherry trees that adorn our block.
In the Karasik-Rubashkin home, we are looking forward to spring break, and to a visit from our extended families over Passover. Hannah, as many of you know, is a senior at BCC, and is faced with the task of trying to decide where to go to college in the fall. She was accepted to several excellent schools, and will be visiting a few of them this month, to help with the decision making. Sophie, a member of Artemis , is delighted that the weather has turned, as the cycling team now rides outdoors, and she can break in her new bicycle which she built this winter. She recently competed in her first race, and is looking forward to the spring season. Jacob, a sixth grader in the Humanities magnet program, is busy working on his Alexander the great project, and getting ready for the Egypt day at school. Both he and Hannah had lovely performances with MCYO at Strathmore this month. Pamela and David are taking a deep breath, as we prepare to feed 20 people many meals over the course of four days!
Helland/Bay:
Sigrid and Eira returned moments before I arrived, from a visit to Norway! Sigrid’s brother and family are now here for a visit, and the best news is that Eira is about to loose a first tooth!
Tarjei, Sigrid and their daughters enjoyed a trip to Mexico the last week of March. They had a great time in Tulum, a bit south of Akumal!
Stenseth-Bergem: Family News Update from Norway:
Like the fresh, pretty blossoms of April, another spring happening occurred, Mira Bergem returned to Leland Street to visit with her friends during spring break. Mira will be spending time with Sopie Rubashkin and make new memories with all of her old friends from BCC. She said she felt quite sentimental walking up Leland Street. She brought a note of family news from Leni to share with us. Leni says that spring is still months away in Oslo. Their cat, Matanui, born and raised in Maryland is also making an adjustment to the Norwegian winter. Here is a photo of the view from the Stenseth-Bergem kitchen window as well as a picture Norway in winter.
Leni, Knut, Mira and Falk are adjusting to life back home in Norway after six years abroad and love being close to family once again. Their newly renovated home is right across the street from Leni’s sister and they have made many new friends since their return to Norway. They have the fondest memories of all the Leland Street traditions and enjoy reading about their Leland neighbors through the LSSN blog.
Neals:
The boys are looking forward to Baseball season, and are happy the weather is warming up. Jane is hoping to have a plan in place for the former Rainey property this spring- Perhaps it will become the new Leland Street Park?
Wolff/Daniels:
Becky is in Seattle, hard at work but enjoying herself. She is looking forward to a trip to the San Juaquin Islands. Larry has just come back from a conference in Charleston , South Carolina with CIES, and he was able to piggyback on a trip to Greenville to visit his recently retired brother and sister in law, who very much like the life style of the south. David is teaching music, and musicianship, as well as music to special needs children, and enjoying all of it. The family is looking forward to a seder for 12, including Miriam’s father who is visiting from Florida. They recently saw Peter Grimes at the Kennedy Center and really enjoyed the performance.
Lee:
Ann had the pleasure of teaching during the Week of Arts, at Blessed Sacrament, where she taught for many years. She led a workshop in collage for 5-8th graders, and they were eager, excited pupils.
Solomon:
Dorothy is very much enjoying spring, and recently purchased a lovely star magnolia bush for the front yard.
Taplin/Delancy:
Russell is off on college road trip this break, split between his mother and father. Father and son are looking forward to Philadelphia Cheese steaks when they get to that fair city. Russell is playing varsity soccer at GDS, and Paul made the soccer team at Eastern , so we wish them a successful season.
Ruby, the family poodle is disappointed that the Obama’s have not chosen a poodle.
Bateman:
The best news is that Will starts a new job with a commercial real estate firm in DC, and that Annie is coming home for Easter. They have promised their parents a big brunch that they will prepare themselves. Claire will be spending her Easter holiday in Florida. She recently performed in a student run dance company called Momentum at Vanderbuilt, which was quite exciting for all.
Duffy:
Charles recently marked 20 years of service with the tax division of the Justice Department, a true milestone! Matthew at 3 1⁄2 is a highly opinionated young man who has a burgeoning love for hitting the baseball in the back yard with his dad. Matthew and "Teddy"
enjoying the spring on a recent trip to NC.
Vicente:
Well Vike has survived what he says is his first and last marathon, which was held in Virginia Beach. (Wendy suggests otherwise). Now that Mark is getting older, Vike and Wendy asked if any one knows of a local piano teacher with an interest in young pupils, who would be willing to come to their house for lessons. If you know a local teacher, please contact them.
Forrest:
Nicole and Steve have just returned from a terrific weekend in Las Vegas in celebration of Nicole’s birthday. They enjoyed good weather, great fun and seeing Le Reve, one of the Cirque de Soleil shows.
Upon return Nicole continued her birthday celebration over dinner with friends at Proof restaurant in Washington, D.C. and with family at Mon Ami Gabi in Bethesda.
Zak made an unexpected visit home and plans to stay for a few weeks which delights his parents immensely.
Kazan/Horowitz:
Maia is looking forward to her schools performance of “Aida, the Rock Opera” in which she plays a Nubian woman. But she is really looking forward to a trip to Ireland to do her senior project. Danny a junior at Columbia, is an Urban Studies major, looking towards a career as a community organizer.
Boland:
Leanne also took in the Washington Ballets Peter Pan, and agreed with Marcy that it was great! We found her busy at work in the garden, taking advantage of a dry sunny spring day. Monty and Patrick are gearing up for a 120 mile bike ride B to B, bike to the beach to raise funds for autism which takes place in July (this is the third year of the ride) . They were doing a practice ride today to Mt Vernon.
