Statesman Andy Goes to Washington

The Washington Monument as seen from the World War II memorial. Andy took this photo during an evening tour of Washington D.C. monuments.

Andy recently joined his school's chapter of the Junior State of America, an organization that promotes civics education and leadership programs for high school students. He traveled with the group to a JSA Winter Congress in Washington D.C. on Feb. 25-27.

He and his friends joined hundreds of other students from several states who convened in nine parallel Congresses to debate and vote on legislation. Representative Andy introduced his bill - to require women as well as men to register with Selective Service on turning 18 - in the House. But as it had already been soundly defeated in the Senate, it was not put to a House vote. (As it happened, the Senate that took up his bill defeated nearly every measure it considered. A tough group!)

The events took place Saturday and Sunday at the Doubletree Crystal City hotel in Arlington. After the bus ride down on Friday, the Scotch Plains-Fanwood High School group visited the Museum of Natural History. And on Saturday night Andy and his girlfriend, Senator Shannon, joined a group that took a bus tour of the city's monuments, including the Lincoln, Jefferson and World War II memorials.

A portion of the National World War II Memorial at night.

Rock on, dude!

Marie writes: "This is how you rock it in footie pajamas." Go Xander!

You call that a snowstorm?

In San Francisco and the surrounding Bay Area, slight traces of snow fell Friday - astonishing local residents unfamiliar with crystalline precipitation.

So unusual was the event that people took photographs of mere handfuls of flakes, such as this one posted on the San Jose Mercury-News website by a resident of Gilroy.

It was all very amusing to someone who's been through winters in Westchester, Ithaca and Boston.

"It's so silly," Genevieve tells us. "The news coverage of this has been hysterical."

The forecast that measurable snow might fall within San Francisco prompted heavy TV coverage as well as tongue-in-cheek responses: One blogger posted a "ski map" designating various hilly streets as beginner, intermediate and expert slopes.

The city last saw snow on the ground in 1976, when an inch fell.

But in the end, only the merest dusting of snow landed in hilly areas before it changed to rain. The storm system did dump more than 2 feet of snow in the Sierra Nevada mountains.

Meanwhile, in Ithaca--

Ithaca Journal photo

A storm dropped 8-12 inches on Tompkins County on Friday, on top of 3-6 inches earlier in the week. Hardly a surprising event to, say, a current Cornell student.

"I talked to Vivien yesterday but she didn't mention it," Genevieve said. "I guess that's par for the course."

Gallery extends exhibition of "Friends," adds "Water Lillies"

At the conclusion of the Cape Cod Art Association's "Love and Romance" exhibit, Tish's painting titled "Friends" was named the winner of the People's Choice Award. As a result it will remain on exhibit at the association's gallery in Barnstable, Mass., through March 21.

Meanwhile, "Water Lillies," an 18x24 acrylic on canvas, has been accepted to the association's new open juried exhibit, "Breath of Spring." The show opens with a reception Friday, Feb. 25, and runs through March 21.

See Tish's work, and updates on her exhibits, on her web site.

Brennan and Shauna-Rae's wedding: More photos

Pat sent us these additional photos from the Jan. 29 wedding of her grandson Brennan and bride Shauna-Rae, including shots from the church.

See the previous story and more photos.

Lorraine enjoying her new home

Lorraine is enjoying the atmosphere and amenities at her new home, Sunrise at Crestwood. The senior living facility is in Yonkers, close to her daughter Kathy and not far from sons Brien and Kevin. Here, Brien and son Dan, who's about an hour away in New Jersey, visit with Lorraine in her apartment on Feb. 20.

Below, Sunrise under the moon, as seen in December days after Lorraine moved in.

Now it's even more official

Gerrit and Angela's engagement announcement appeared in the Cape Cod Times on Sunday. (Valentine's eve, how nice!)

But remember: You read it here first!

Andy performs with percussion ensemble

Andy performed Saturday with the Scotch Plains-Fanwood High School Percussion Ensemble during school's annual "Day of Percussion."

Outfitted in formal shirt and bow tie, he played snare on "The Entertainer" and, in video below, timpani on "Tijuana Samba."

Andy will be on the school stage again Tuesday night with his Jazz Lab class. On the side he's taking a weekly class at School of Rock, preparing for a hard rock show in May, and just started piano lessons as well.

Job change: Doug moves from Jacobs to Parsons

Doug has left Jacobs Engineering and joined Parsons Brinckerhoff as design-build manager in its Baltimore office.

The move comes after Doug wrapped up about a year-and-a-half's work on a highway design-build project in Nevada.

The new job will have him splitting his time between Maryland and North Carolina for a while as the company seeks a project there.

A good day on a mountain

Christine, above, and Andy, below, skiing Sunday at Jack Frost Mountain in Blakeslee, Pa., on an annual day trip for members, family and friends of Boy Scout Troop 33. Julie has been the volunteer organizer for the trip the past few years. Dan skis a little but can't keep up with Christine and Andy, who spent more than four hours on the slopes.

The show goes on, eventually

Christine performed on flute in the Scotch Plains-Fanwood High School Pops Concert on Feb. 3. The concert was postponed twice due to snowstorms. Andy was also scheduled to perform, on drums, but unfortunately was laid up with a throat infection. Ah, winter!

Flowering in February

Tish's "Daylilies," acrylic on canvas, is one of the artworks featured in "Flowering in February," a juried exhibition of work depicting things in bloom, at the Cultural Center of Cape Cod's Great Hall and Vault through Feb. 27. See more of Tish's work on her web site.

A great Alaska adventure

Team Ely completed its run at the USA Curling Junior Women's Nationals with a record of 4-5, for a sixth-place finish in the field of ten teams.

The Rochester-based team has a lot to be proud of, having come in second at the GNCC Junior Playdowns to qualify for the nationals in Fairbanks, Alaska, and competing well against the top teams from around the nation.

Now Rebecca and her teammates have some time to enjoy their visit to Alaska.

Two of Rebecca's teammates, Becky and Hannah, pose in Fairbanks' winter wonderland.

"Ate moose, caribou and bear last night," Rebecca posted Friday on Facebook. "Today we're going to the museum, watching the playoffs, and going to the hot springs: things we couldn't do if we were still competing."

Previous coverage:
Feb. 1: Team Ely 3-2 at nationals
Jan. 31: Facing tough competition
Jan. 26: Heading to Alaska Friday.
Dec. 30: Qualified for Junior Nationals

NEW PHOTOS: We found these on the web site of the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner. Team Ely visited Woodriver Elementary School to talk about their sport, and some of the students cheered them on at their next match.

Woodriver Elementary fourth and fifth graders cheer on the Ely Rink of New York as a member of Lank rink looks toward her teammates during the USA Curling 2011 Junior National Championships on Monday, Jan. 31, 2011, at the Fairbanks Curling Club.
News-Miner photo.

Skip Hannah sweeps a rock over the hog line during their match against the Lank Rink of North Dakota during the USA Curling 2011 Junior National Championships on Monday, Jan. 31, 2011, at the Fairbanks Curling Club. Students from Woodriver Elementary took a field trip to the curling club to cheer on the Ely Rink. 
News-Miner photo.

Scenes from a relentless winter

Cathy sends along this photo of her porch seat, nicely glazed and decorated with icicles, forming an interesting pattern along with the vertical slats of the railing. This was taken Tuesday after the first of two rounds of freezing rain passed through Ohio.

Above, a photo Christine took in our back yard in New Jersey after some 15 inches of snow fell last week -- on top of the deep covering already on the ground from the relentless series of winter storms.

At right, Andy demonstrates the depth. More than 50 inches of snow has fallen on New Jersey so far this season.

Yes, the snow and ice are lovely. If you don't have to shovel it, scrape it, drive through it... Unfortunately, most of us do.

Driveway shoveled, again. Photo by Christine.

To help get us through, Tish shares this photo as a reminder that spring will, eventually, come again.

Team Ely now 3-2 in Junior Nationals

File photo

After losing a pair of hard-fought games against top-seeded teams, Team Ely has won three in a row at the USA Curling Junior Nationals in Fairbanks, Alaska.

Tuesday's game against Team Lindgren from Grand Forks, N.D., was another thriller. Lindgren led, Ely tied it up, Lindgren went out ahead again, Ely tied it again and then had a strong finish to win 7-4.

The women's and men's round-robin competitions continue through Thursday, after which the top teams go into playoffs. The champions will represent the U.S. at the 2011 World Junior Championships March 5‐13 in Perth, Scotland.

Follow the action:

• Team Ely's web site has live updates via the team's Twitter feed, plus links to linescores and webcam video.
• The USA Curling web site has live webcam video, line scores and other information (but is difficult to navigate).

Faces in the crowd: Kathy and Shanna

January 11 taping. Can you find Shanna and her mom?

Shanna writes: "Watch Tuesday's episode of the Rachael Ray show. You may see my mom and me in the audience!"