Christmas party in Yonkers, 2012 edition

Kevin and Kathy were the host and hostess this year as family members gathered in Yonkers for feasting and conviviality.



Here's a short video montage of the gift-giving portion of the festivities.

Do you have photos from this event? Please share!

A winter-break visit to Nashville

Cathy writes:
The kids and I took a much-needed vacation during the week before Christmas, the start of their winter break from school. Our destination was Nashville, also known as Music City. I’ve been there before, but it was the first visit for Chris and Steph - and hopefully not their last.

On our way there we stopped at Mammoth Cave National Park in Kentucky.


There are literally hundreds of miles of caves underground, some of which were discovered in the 1800s. We took a ranger-led tour that lasted nearly two hours and covered approximately two miles through the oldest, most historic sections of the famous caverns. Some sections had ceilings less than 4 feet high and passageways no wider than your hips, so it was a challenging trek. Despite the difficulties, it is quite breathtaking to witness - and to imagine visitors from past centuries being there. Chris and Steph really enjoyed Mammoth Caves.

That evening, we had dinner at the famous Loveless Café, just outside Nashville. It started out as a motel back in the 1950’s. Now it's a restaurant known for its homemade biscuits. Our dinner there was delicious.

The next day began with rain showers, but we didn’t let that deter us. We ventured downtown, which was just a few blocks from our hotel, We purchased visitor passes at the city’s visitor center, next door to the Bridgestone Arena, home of the Nashville Predators NHL team.

From there it was only a block's walk to the Country Music Hall of Fame Museum. Besides the permanent exhibits about the history of Country Music, there was a special display featuring Patsy Cline. The photo at right shows Chris in the Hall where the plaques of all the Hall of Fame members are displayed.

Just outside the Museum is the Walk of Fame, which honors artists from all musical genres that have contributed to the music industry within Nashville. We passed through there on our way to Broadway to have lunch at Roberts Western World, one of the many honky-tonks at the heart of the city. Afterwards we grabbed dessert at the Hard Rock Café, located near the Riverfront Park area where concerts are often held in the summer.


Here is where we next boarded the Music City Trolley to tour many sights around town. You can hop on and off the trolley at a variety of locations around town. Our tour guide was a young aspiring musician filled with lots of facts about the locations we saw along the way. Highlights of the tour included Bicentennial Park, Antique Archeology (featured on the TV show “American Pickers”) and Music Row.

Click the image above (or click here) to see all Cathy's photos, and click below to read the rest of her account.)

More Christmas 2012: Cape Cod & Charleston

A Charleston Christmas tree

Owen, Tish and daughter Lizzie are splitting their holiday time between Cape Cod and their vacation home in Charleston, S.C.

Tish writes: We celebrated Christmas on the Cape a little early with Angela and Gerrit. Now the three of us are in Charleston for some vacation time. This photo of Lizzie was taken at the Grill 225 Restaurant at the Market Pavilion Hotel. We had our Christmas dinner there Tuesday evening.

More Christmas 2012: Manhattan

Vivien and her boyfriend, CJ, had a Very New York Christmas Eve. After checking out the tree at Rockefeller Center, they attended Midnight Mass at St. Patrick's Cathedral.

More Christmas 2012: Ohio

Cathy, Christopher and Stephanie were home in Ohio for Christmas after a vacation trip to Nashville the week before. (Cathy's report and pictures from the Nashville trip are coming soon!)

More Christmas 2012: Yonkers

Brien had a nice Christmas visit with Mom (Lorraine) at Sunrise of Crestwood. They listened to Christmas songs, and Brien said Mom enjoyed the music very much.

More Christmas 2012: Delaware

Genevieve and John are visiting John's mother, Susan, in Delaware, joined by John's sisters Lindsay and Kellie, and by Genevieve's mom, Kathy, and brother, Patrick.

Lindsay and her husband, Mark, are celebrating their son Reuben's very first Christmas.

Merry scenes of Christmas 2012

Christmas is for kids - of any age!

Andy and Christine: Just what they wanted!

Xander and Brian: Jedi Christmas!

Click image at right for more Xander Christmas photos.
	Xander Christmas 2012

For a child is born to us...

'Tis the Night Before Christmas...

And someone of us are pretty excited! Waiting for this--

Illustration by Jessie Willcox Smith from a 1912 book
of Clement C. Moore's 'Twas the Night Before Christmas.

He spoke not a word, but went straight to his work, 

And filled all the stockings; then turned with a jerk, 

And laying his finger aside of his nose, 

And giving a nod, up the chimney he rose...

Christmas greetings from Shelter Island

Courtney is sharing Christmas Eve with her mom, Nanette, on Shelter Island, where this lovely tree decorates the living room.


Then both will travel to Florida, where Nanette will visit with Courtney for the rest of the holiday season. (Scroll down to see Courtney's tree in an earlier post.)

Show us your tree! Please share photos of your Christmas decorations and celebrations.

Merry Christmas from Birch Street to your street

Dan writes: Best wishes for a blessed and joyful Christmas from Julie, Christine, Andy and myself to all of our extended family.

Please share some of your Christmas scenes and stories with the family here on Birch Street Web. Remember to Keep in Touch!

Meeting in Manhattan for a Big 'Brass' Brunch

From Long Island, Westchester, New Jersey and Florida, 14 family members gathered in Manhattan on Saturday for some great food and conversation.

Nanette, who recently relocated to Shelter Island, and her daughter, Courtney, visiting from Florida, were in the city to see the Lion King on Broadway. A conversation between Nanette and Dan last month sparked a plan for a meet-up. Vivien then arranged for a wonderful brunch at Lexington Brass, the Midtown restaurant where she is a manager.

The well-fed folks seated around the table from the near left are: Christine, Andy, Patrick, Kevin, Kevin, Shanna, Brien, Vivien, Kathy, Nanette, Courtney, Kathy, Julie and Dan.

Showing their Christmas spirit

Lisa posted on Facebook this picture of her, Doug, Liz and Rebecca in seasonal headgear in front of the Christmas tree at the homestead in Riderwood, Md. Please keep the Christmas images coming! Let us see how you're celebrating the season!

Of trees and tradition at Christmas time

Here's another sign of the season, courtesy of Hugh and Dolores.

 
Hugh writes: Dolores and I were married in June 1954. We set up housekeeping when I was discharged from the Army four months later. Here is our fifty-eighth Christmas tree, for 2012. Probably, somewhere in our archives, are photographs of the other fifty-seven.

In recent years we have used a smaller, artificial tree, so all of the ornaments do not get used every year. There are some old favorites, however, that are usually on the tree. One such ornament predates our marriage.

When Dolores graduated from Syracuse with a brand new BFA degree, her first job was in an art department at Corning Glass. Her job was to illustrate a catalog showing Christmas tree ornaments that were manufactured by Corning. There were several different shapes, but one was a series of diminishing concentric circles that was very modern at the time. The company called it “Design Number 10.” Dolores obtained one, and it has been on her tree every year since.

Let's see the tree!

As Christmas approaches, some of us have put up our trees and decorated our homes. Others of us will get around to it, oh... soon...

Here are a couple of signs of the season that we've spotted so far on Facebook.

Courtney shared this photo: "XMAS time in my house!"

"Christmas tree acquired!" 
Patrick and John outside John & Genevieve's apartment

How about you? Please share your Christmas tree, decoration and preparation photos in the coming days. Thanks!

Visiting family and museums in Virginia

Dolores and Hugh visited Doug and Lisa in Norfolk the weekend of Dec. 8-9.

Hugh writes: We spent all day Saturday in nearby Williamsburg, now decorated for the Christmas season.


We enjoyed the sights and sounds of the town, had lunch at one of the colonial restaurants and took in the Museums of Williamsburg. Those consist of the Abby Aldridge Rockefeller Folk Art Museum and the DeWitt Wallace Decorative Arts Museum, which are now housed at the same location.

On Sunday, we went to the Chrysler Museum in Norfolk, where among other things we saw their glass-blowing exhibition.


Doug and Lisa are living in Norfolk while Doug oversees the Parsons Brinkerhoff engineering team working on that city's Midtown Tunnel Corridor Project.