Old Page Two - July 2008
California update: Dan gets a break
Posted 6/1/2008
Dan checks in from California where he has been, in his words, “CRAZY busy with school and work.” He’s just finished another semester at Gavilan College, where he recently received the school’s Scholarship for Academic Excellence in recognition of his all-A grade performance.
Dan has earned a certificate of achievement in Communication Studies and is working on his A.A. degree in Spanish; he expects to complete that in the fall semester. After that he’ll likely continue his studies at San Jose State University.
“I finally have a small break in between this last semester and summer classes,” Dan writes. He starts his days before dawn working at the Morgan Hill branch of Peet’s Coffee and Tea, a mostly-California chain whose founder basically invented the modern specialty-coffee-shop business.
“We started opening 30 minutes earlier a couple months ago, so I now have to be up for work every morning at 3:45 a.m. It gets a little rough on the days when I'm at school until 5:30pm, but that's over for the time being.”
Christine exhibits at HS art show
Posted 4/24/2008
A couple of examples of Christine's work were included in the 2008 Scotch Plains-Fanwood High School Art Show.
FLASHBACK
This is a cut-and-pasted copy of the original "Page Two" section of the Birch Street Web as it appeared in July 2008. That was the last time this page was updated before the site transitioned to its blog-style format later that year.
The original appearance of the page has been modified to fit this "Google sites" page. Some photos and other elements may not appear correctly.
The 26 dragons forming the alphabet were created in Drawing class earlier in the school year. The Gumby scene was done in Airbrush this term.
Promotion at Saratoga YMCA
Posted 4/22/2008
Pat writes from Saratoga: Mary just accepted the position of "Youth and Family Sports Director" at the YMCA of Saratoga. We are thrilled about her new position. It is really a BIG move up for her. Mary was also appointed to the Board of Directors of the Saratoga Children's Museum a few months ago. Congratulations! Posted 4/22/2008.
Dolores a 'legend' of needle arts
Posted 3/28/2008
During the annual assembly of the National Academy of Needlearts, Dolores was named as the first recipient of the NAN Living Legend award in recognition of her years of service to the organization.
Gail Sirna, who presented the award for NAN, cited the many years of constant service Dolores has given to the organization and her contributions as Director of Judging Certification. She also noted that Dolores has traveled worldwide representing NAN to the International Council of Needlework Associates.
The award is a piece of Swarovski glass depicting an open oyster containing a pearl. The glass oyster is displayed on a two-inch square beveled edge mirror.
Dolores is also a past winner of the organization's Lifetime Achievement Award.
(This year's trip to the assembly in Kansas City was a story in itself. Read it here.)
Chris and his team are tops in chess
Posted 3/22/2008
Chris was part of the Cecil Manor Elementary School Chess Club team that finished in first place at the Cecil County, Md., chess tournament on March 18, 2008.
Also, because he won all three of his matches, Chris received a personal trophy for having a perfect score.
He was interviewed by a reporter and was named in an article about the tournament in the Cecil Whig. Read it here!
Adventures in skiing
Posted 2/17/2008
Dan reports: Andy and I went skiing on a group trip arranged by his Boy Scout troop. All four of us went on the same trip last year (it's open to families) on a day with temperatures that started in the single digits and only got into the teens, but we had a good time, all bundled up in layers. By the end of that trip Andy and Christine were doing fine on the Intermediate slopes.
This time it was just Andy and I. After a few runs down the easy slopes we tried the Intermediate course, and Andy did fine but my legs were wearing out, so he did several more runs on his own or with friends from the troop. At one point just after he and a couple of friends headed down a slope, a snow squall blew in and there were blizzard/whiteout conditions for about 10 minutes. That was a bit scary - but he came through safe and sound. After that most of the crowd left, but the sun came back out, and with a fresh layer of powder left by the squall, he and I had the best skiing of the day (sticking to the easy slopes for my sake).
It took a couple of days for my legs to stop aching, but it was a great time.
Posted 2/17/2008
Penn State University held its annual recognition of alumni celebrating their 25th and 50th anniversaries of receiving their doctoral degrees. Daniel received a 50th Anniversary certificate recognizing his Ph.D. in Fuel Science from the Class of 1958.
Making the best of a bad break
Posted 9/19/2007
Dolores recounts how she dealt with a setback just before she and Hugh flew off to Germany for a Rhine River cruise. The word "unstoppable" comes to mind.
"Fluffy" a hit at Harry Potter book party
Posted 7/22/2007
Andy was in costume as Fluffy, the three-headed dog, at a late night party leading up to the release of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows at a central New Jersey book store July 20, 2007. He won honorable mention in the costume judging and drew the biggest cheer from the crowd. His mom made the costume for Halloween 2004; this photo is from that date. The costume is a bit short on Andy now, so this was probably its final appearance.
Posted 6/24/2007
Pat completed the sale of her vacation house on Lake George in June 2007. Read about that and other news from the North Country.
Cape Cod update, Spring 2007
Owen provided this update in late May:
Gerrit, who graduated May 5 from Nichols College, is looking to get into the field of sports management. On the side, he and four friends from his home area on Cape Cod make up a band called "28" that has been playing regularly around the Massachusetts/Rhode Island area. You can check out their music, photos and other information at their Web page.
Elizabeth is a 6th grader and is very involved in ballet through the school at the Academy of Performing Arts in Orleans, Mass.
The family took a recent vacation trip to Charleston, S.C., and Owen promises to send along a picture or two when he gets a spare moment.