Day 2 for Team Ely: One loss, another win

The second day of the Junior Nationals curling competition saw Rebecca and her teammates lose one hard-fought match, then rebound for a win, putting its record so far at 3-1.

Rebecca & team off to a winning start at curling's Junior Nationals competition

Rebecca and her teammates won their first two games as the 2012 Junior National Curling Championship tournament got under way Sunday in Madison, Wisc.

Andy's rock band makes its debut

A new rock band featuring Andy on drums made its debut at an "Open Mic Night" held Friday night (Jan. 27) in their high school's cafeteria.

The four-piece band, calling itself Mainstream Express, includes Andy's girlfriend Shannon on bass guitar and backup vocals, plus their friends Alex on guitar and lead vocals and Matt on guitar and backup vocals.

The played covers of four songs and got an enthusiastic reception from their fellow students at the event, which was organized by the school's literary-and-arts magazine club.

Here's a video of one of the songs: "Anthem Part Two" by Blink-182. You can find more on the band's Facebook page.

Andy in high school 'pops' concert

The Scotch Plains-Fanwood High School music department presented a "Pops Concert" on Wednesday night, featuring seven of the school's multitudinous musical groups.

We have video clips of two numbers with Andy on percussion. First, with a group called Rhythmsense, here's a number called On Fire, on which Andy is featured on congas.



And with Symphonic Band, a piece called Danse Bohemien. Andy plays snare drum and is part of a unique tambourine-quartet break.

Jersey rocks New York

Celebrating Julie's birthday, Dan and Andy joined her in a trip to Manhattan for dinner and a concert by The Smithereens at B.B. King's Blues Club and Grill.

The band originated in northern New Jersey in 1980, and its leader, Pat DiNizio, lives in Scotch Plains, a few blocks from Birch Street Web headquarters. Julie and Dan became fans in the mid-80s, when they were living in New York and this Jersey band was getting some radio airplay.

Empty boardwalk: Winter in a beach town

Dolores and Hugh are in Rehoboth Beach this week while Dolores teaches art classes for the Rehoboth Art League and the Art League of Ocean City, Md. Things do look different in January than they do in July. There is almost no one on the Boardwalk, but the good news is there is almost no one on the roads either.

The construction equipment on the beach has to do with a beach replenishment program. There will be a nice wide beach for the summer -- if a nor'easter doesn't take it away before then.

Who's got snow? (Updated)

The first snowstorm of 2012 has moved across the Midwest and Northeast. As of 10 a.m. there's about three inches on the ground at Birch Street Headquarters and it seems to be tapering off. Weather.com reports about the same in Yonkers and a bit more than that at our family outposts in Hilliard, Ohio and Fredericksburg, Va. The storm had less effect up in Rochester and Saratoga Springs, with a bit more than an inch of accumulation over the past 24 hours.

Show us what you got! Send pictures! Keep in touch!

UPDATE: Tish posted this photo late Saturday afternoon, saying, "They predicted three inches of snow...we now have a winter storm warning and a prediction of 6-10 inches."

Rendezvous in Rochester

This is back-to-school week for Rebecca and Christine at Rochester Institute of Technology. Sunday also happened to be Christine's birthday. And the Rochester Curling Club happened to be having a women's bonspiel (tournament). The result: A rendezvous in Rochester.

Dan, Julie, Andy, Christine, Rebecca, Liz, Lisa

Julie, Dan and Andy drove up from New Jersey with Christine to return her to campus and celebrate her birthday.

Julie, Dan, Christine, Andy, RITchie

Lisa and Liz traveled from Maryland to take part in the bonspiel. Rebecca joined her mom and sister on the ice for one game (and later practiced with the other Team Ely members for the upcoming Women's Junior Nationals).

Rebecca, Liz, Lisa

Lisa's sister Susan and other relatives in the Rochester area also dropped by the curling club, adding to the get-together. Click here for more photos.

Winter makes an appearance

There hasn't been much snow yet this season in most of our family's environs - except in Garrett County.

Hugh and Dolores welcomed the New Year at their Deep Creek Lake retreat with Cathy, Christopher and Stephanie. "Dolores and I decided to stay until Tuesday to avoid the traffic going home. Whoops! It snowed 12+ inches Monday night."

As anyone who has visited there knows, Garrett County has its own weather, often very different from that of the surrounding parts of Maryland, Pennsylvania and West Virginia.

Wrapping up the holidays

Like all good things, the holiday season has come to an end. Here are some glimpses of what our family was up to as 2011 gave way to 2012.

Doug, Lisa, Liz and Rebecca managed to all be in one place at Christmastime:

Christine and Andy hosted their annual New Year's Eve party with a group of their friends:

Owen, Tish and Lizzie spent a week in Charleston, S.C., and visited friends in North Carolina.

Winter Afternoon, Charleston, S.C.

"It was warm, sunny and just wonderful," Tish wrote. "Great locations with gracious Charleston galleries, great Southern food, sale shopping and best of all: friends."

It's not to late to show and tell how you spent the holidays. Please send words and pictures to the Birch Street Web. In this new year and beyond, let's remember to Keep in Touch.

Happy New Year from the Birch Street Web

Best wishes for a healthy, happy, wonderful 2012 for all of our extended family.

Happy New Year - and remember to Keep in Touch!