Christine & Jamie complete move from LA to new home in NYS

Christine and Jamie have moved back across the country and into a lovely house in Schenectady, N.Y. They closed the sale and got the keys on June 25. 

Parents were on hand to congratulate the new homeowners and help with their move-in. Here next to Jamie and Christine are Jamie's dad, Paul; Christine's parents, Dan and Julie; Jamie's mom, Bonnie, and her husband, Jay. 

The house is a 1960-vintage split-level that's been very well maintained and updated through the years. Its large back yard has a swimming pool and plenty of room for entertaining.

And there's a finished basement that is destined to host many board- and video-game gatherings.

By the time they had been in the house for a couple of hours, the couple's two Bengal cats seemed to be adjusting well to their latest move. They were certainly enjoying their new surroundings more than they did the cross-country plane trip.

C&J spent a couple of nights on an air mattress before their furniture and belongings from their Los Angeles apartment arrived on Friday. By Saturday they were making good progress on unpacking.

More photos coming soon

Previous coverage: Christine and Jamie prepare to move back east

Family and friends celebrate Daisy's 1st birthday

Dozens of family members, neighbors and friends gathered to celebrate Daisy's first birthday. Her parents, Shanna and Rick, hosted the gathering at the Rockland Gaelic Athletic Association on June 8. Here, the guest of honor poses with her big sister Lucy and her parents, Shanna and Rick - plus Shanna's parents and brother, Kevin (above) and Rick's parents and sister, Stephanie (below).

Daisy, whose actual birthday was May 31, was presented with a "smash cake" - which, after a few tentative pokes and licks, she dove into wholeheartedly.

Click here to see an album with MANY more photos!

Dan's Class of 1975 feted at Fordham reunion

Class of 1975 group photo. Dan is 3 rows back, 3rd from left.

Dan and Julie attended Fordham University's Jubilee 2025, its annual class-reunion celebration. At a dinner in the Rose Hill campus center on May 30, Dan and the rest of the Class of 1975 were welcomed as the newest members of the Golden (50-year-plus) Rams Alumni Society. More than 40 of Dan's classmates attended, including a handful of old friends he was happy to see.

The event included a brief address by the university's president, Tania Tetlow.

Dan and Julie are seated just outside the right margin of the photo!

Dan decided to go back to campus the next day for a tour of the studios of WFUV - much modernized since his tenure there - plus a "picnic" lunch held in the athletic center due to rain, and a nostalgic walking tour of the campus.

Christine and Jamie preparing to move back east

After three and a half years in Los Angeles, Christine and Jamie are packing up for a move back across the country.

They are in the process of buying a house in Schenectady, N.Y., and expect to close the purchase and move in during the last week of June.

Their decision to move was spurred by their wish to own a house (prohibitively expensive in L.A.) and their desire to be closer to family. They focused their search on New York State because it's the one Eastern state where Jamie's company, Skybound Entertainment, is set up to have employees. And they zeroed in on the Capital District for its affordable suburban neighborhoods and its easy highway access to many of their relatives. They will be about 3 hours from Christine's parents, 4 hours from Jamie's mother, and only about 45 minutes from Andy and Wren's home in Middleburgh, N.Y.

The couple are no strangers to Upstate New York: They met while students at Rochester Institute of Technology. And while the area gets more winter snow than Christine's native New Jersey, it's comparable to southern New Hampshire, where Jamie grew up.

Christmas 2024 wraps up with annual family party

The annual Yonkers Christmas party brought more than two dozen family members together for an afternoon and evening of great food, fun and conversation at Kathy's home on Saturday the 28th. 

The youngest members of the family, Daisy and Oliver, seemed to have a great time meeting so many relatives. 

Kathy was joined by Robert and all of her children and grandchildren: Genevieve with her husband, John, and their children, Beatrice, Jack and Liam; Vivien and her husband, CJ, visiting from London with their children, Charlie, Austin and baby Oliver; and Patrick (whose wife, Kelsey, unfortunately wasn't able to make it). Dan and Julie were there with daughter Christine and her wife, Jamie, visiting the East Coast from California. (D&J's son Andy and daughter-in-law Wren were deterred by icy roads.) Brien arrived along with Kevin and Kathy, followed by their daughter Shanna, her husband, Rick, and their children, Lucy and baby Daisy. (K&K's son, Kevin, was kept away by a cold.) Mary also joined the party, as did her cousin Elizabeth.

Following the party, Mary set out on an overnight drive to Dayton, Ohio, to visit her daughter Shannon, son-in-law Frederick, and their 18-month-old daughter, Phoenix. Grandma Mary brought the treats!

Shannon and Frederick, who met while in the Air Force and stationed at Wright-Patterson AFB in Dayton, are back there after a few years at Eglin AFB in the Florida Panhandle. Both have separated from the Air Force, but Shannon is back working at Wright-Patterson as a pharmaceutical technician - this time as a civilian contractor.

Christmas visits in New Jersey and Maryland

Christine and Jamie along with Andy and Wren visited Dan and Julie for Christmas in New Jersey. 

C&J had flown east from California the previous Saturday for a week of visiting family and friends. The traveled first to Cape Cod, where Jamie's mother, Bonnie, hosted her annual big family gathering. They also visited a friend in Rhode Island before traveling to Christine's parents' home. Meanwhile, Andy and Wren drove down from upstate New York.

Christmas morning was, of course, time to open presents. One highlight was a scrapbook Christine had made of photos and keepsakes from Andy and Wren's wedding.

The six enjoyed a big brunch of bacon, eggs, waffles and fruit, an afternoon of conversation and a board game, and a fine dinner (photo at top).

The next day, Andy and Wren returned home to mind their goats and cats. Christine and Jamie joined Julie and Dan in traveling to Maryland to visit with Julie's parents, Hugh and Dolores, at their senior-living community. They had a fine dinner at one of the restaurants there and continued the visit in H&D's apartment. Following that, the foursome were invited to Doug and Lisa's home for drinks, snacks and merry conversation, joined by Christine's cousins Stephanie and Christopher. 

Oliver receives the sacrament of Baptism

Oliver Theodore, son of Vivien and CJ, was baptized on Saturday, Aug. 3, at Immaculate Heart of Mary Church in Scarsdale, N.Y. Brother-in-law John and CJ's sister Grace are the godparents.

Three-month-old Oliver was calm, cool and collected through the service, never crying or fussing. He remained in good spirits through the lovely reception his parents hosted at the nearby Moscato Restaurant.

Pictured here along with Vivien, CJ and Oliver are Vivien's mother, Kathy; sister Genevieve with her husband, John, and daughter Beatrice; and brother Patrick with his wife, Kelsey, holding G&J's son Liam. The gathering also included Oliver's great-grandmother Celestine, grandfather Ted, grandparents Corey and Ellen, and other aunts, uncles, cousins and family friends. 

A grand summer gathering on Long Island

Kathy's summer house has been filled with family this summer. Genevieve, John and their children - Beatrice, Jack and Liam - are spending the season at their house nearby. Vivien, CJ and theirs - Charlie, Austin and little Oliver - are visiting from London and staying at the Fair Play cottage. It's three-month-old Oliver's first trip stateside. 

For a few days in late July, Dan and Julie stayed with Kathy, enjoying her hospitality and the chance to meet Oliver and the rest of the gang. Robert was there for part of the time, but CJ was back working in Europe for that week. Also in the photo above is CJ's cousin Allie, who was staying with Vivien and helping watch the kids. 

Click here to see photos Dan took at the house, the beach, and during a walk he and Julie took on the nature trail at Jessup's Neck.

What is happening up there in the sky?

Wearing their safety glasses, Dan and Julie gaze at the sun as it disappears behind the moon during the the total eclipse of the sun.

Dan and Julie took a little trip to Upstate New York to follow the sun, and the moon, and witness their rendezvous in the sky on April 8.

After enjoying Brien's parade-watch party on Saturday, D&J followed Andy and Wren up the Thruway. They visited A&W's five goats and two recently adopted cats. Later Sunday, they took a stroll through the campus of SUNY Cobleskill, where Wren is working toward a BA in cybersecurity and made the President's List with a 4.0 GPA in the fall term.

Cats declining to be photographed

On Monday, D&J headed north and west into the eclipse's path of totality. They found a park in the little village of Croghan, N.Y., where a few dozen people - mostly other out-of-towners - had gathered to watch the sky show. It was very near the center of the zone of totality, where the moon would completely cover the sun for about three minutes.

An amateur-astronomer friend of Julie's had said that the difference between an eclipse covering 99% of the sun and 100% is like night and day. Very true!

NASA photo

"Even when the sun was down to a tiny sliver, it was as bright as a typical cloudy afternoon," said Dan. "But once it blipped out, we were in twilight, similar to about a half-hour after sunset. And the thing in the sky looked alien - like a black disk with a shining circle around it." The view was very similar to this NASA photo taken elsewhere along the moon-shadow's path that day.

"It was an amazing sight - certainly worth the trip!"

A delayed St Patrick's Day parade and party

Rained out on its scheduled date, the Yonkers St. Patrick's Day Parade Past Brien's Window was held on April 6, and Brien continued his tradition of hosting a watch party.

Because of the rescheduling, the gathering was a bit smaller than past years (as was the parade), but no less enjoyable.

Our crowd waved and cheered at the marchers, and a number of them waved and cheered back.

Big thanks to Brien for continuing to host this annual event! We look forward to next year's parade and party.

Christmas 2023: The celebrations continue

The annual family Christmas party in Yonkers took place on Saturday, hosted by Kevin and Kathy. 

It was great to have so many of us celebrating together. The gathering included the hosts' children, Kevin and Shanna, along with Shanna's husband, Rick, and daughter Lucy. Vivien, CJ, Charlie and Austin were in from London. Genevieve, John, Bea, Jack and Liam, who missed the 2022 party due to illness, were all on hand this time. Dan and Julie drove over from New Jersey while Andy and Wren came down from upstate. Kathy and Robert were there along with Brien, cousin Mary and her cousin Elizabeth. Patrick joined the crowd although Kelsey was absent, not feeling well. Christine, at home in California with Jamie, popped in via Zoom to greet the crowd. 

Fabulous food, convivial conversation and cheerful children made for a wonderful time to wrap up the year.

Earlier in the week, Kathy enjoyed a visit at her home from all her grandchildren: Jack, Charlie, Austin, Bea and Liam.  

At midweek, Julie and Dan paid a Christmas visit to Julie's parents, brother and sister-in-law in Maryland. Here the group relaxes in Hugh and Dolores' apartment after dining at one of the restaurants in their community. 

Meanwhile, on Facebook, we find this photo of Nanette visiting daughter Courtney in Florida.

We invite everyone in the family to send along your own Christmas celebration photos! Email birchstreetweb@gmail.com (or text to Dan if that's easier).

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Merry Christmas! How we're celebrating in December 2023

Merry Christmas to all our extended family from here at Birch Street Headquarters in New Jersey. Please share glimpses of your own celebrations!

The season began early for Christine and Jamie, who traveled in mid-December to Cape Cod for the annual family gathering at the home of Jamie's mom and step-dad, Bonnie and Jay (pictured at far right).

Christmas arrived just a bit early for Dan and Julie, as they were joined by Andy and Wren on the 23rd and 24th. They had a Christmas Eve-Eve feast and exchanged gifts on Christmas Eve morning. The newlyweds would spend Christmas Day with Wren's dad and family on Long Island before heading back to their farmstead upstate.