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!

How will you greet the New Year?

Times Square, Jan. 1, 1964

Will you be crowding into Times Square? Or just watching it on TV?

Having a party? Or taking a snooze?

Let us know how you celebrate. Tell us your plans for 2012. Or just catch us up on what's happening in your part of our extended family. Just send us a few lines, or a photo, or any kind of missive. Make it a New Year's resolution to Keep in Touch!

Rebecca headed to national curling tournament

Team Ely, headed to Nationals

Rebecca's team won a thrilling "playdown" game today to clinch a berth in USA Curling's national tournament.

It will be Rebecca's third consecutive trip to nationals, and her second with Team Ely, based a the Rochester Curling Club.

Team Ely is one of two squads to advance from the Grand National Curling Club's playdown, held this week in Wayland, Mass. They will represent the Eastern U.S. at the Women's Junior Nationals in Madison, Wis., beginning Jan. 28.

See more photos on Team Ely's Facebook page.
You can also keep up with the team on Twitter.

Holiday visits along I-95

Dan, Julie, Christine and Andy spent Tuesday and Wednesday visiting family in Maryland and Virginia - which meant more hours than expected in the car (traffic was terrible) but a chance to catch up with four generations of relatives.

The plan was to drive straight from New Jersey to Virginia on Tuesday to spend time with Marie, Brian and Xander -- then stop in Maryland on the return trip Wednesday to visit with Lisa, Liz, Hugh and Dolores.

But after hours of slow slogging through heavy traffic and heavy rain, the travelers were given shelter and sustenance Tuesday evening by Lisa at the house in Riderwood. They were joined by Dolores and Hugh (Dolores took the photo above). Liz was at work, while Doug and Rebecca were in Massachusetts for the GNCC curling playdowns (see story below).

Refreshed and cheered by the impromptu stopover, the travelers went on to complete the journey to Fredericksburg, Va., arriving in time to see Marie, Brian and Xander just before the five-year-old went to bed.

Seasons greetings from the dark side

Dan, Julie, Christine and Andy visited further with Marie and Xander on Wednesday (Brian was then at work). Xander showed off his new toys and games, including this impressive Darth Vader costume. The group then took a little stroll through Fredericksburg's downtown district of antique and other shops.

After lunch with Marie and Xander, the travelers headed back north, stopping again in Maryland for another chance to share a meal and conversation with Lisa, Hugh and Dolores, this time joined by Liz. The two-part visits made all the traveling time worthwhile.

Where have you been? Whom did you see? Please share your holiday stories and photos. Keep in Touch!

Rebecca's team in regional curling tournament

Update: Team Ely won its first three games - 13-1 Tuesday afternoon, 15-1 on Tuesday evening and 11-5 Wednesday afternoon. It lost Wednesday night's game 6-1, putting it in a tie for second place going into the third day of competition.

Rebecca's curling team is competing this week in the Grand National Curling Club's "playdown" tournament in Wayland, Mass. The GNCC is the Eastern U.S. regional curling association.

Two of the six teams in the playdown will advance to the USA Curling Women's Junior Nationals competition, which begin Jan. 28 in Madison, Wisconsin. Rebecca is on Team Ely, based at the Rochester Curling Club.

Team Ely has a Facebook page, and you can keep up with its play this week via its Twitter feed.

Christmas festivities continue

Kathy and Ted graciously hosted a Christmas gathering at their home again this year. Highlights were the fine food, a rousing game of Cranium and of course the gift-giving.



The cousins-and-friends crowd included Genevieve and her husband John, in from California; Vivien, whose job has her conveniently posted in New York for now; collegians Patrick (Johns Hopkins), his girlfriend Christina (Delaware), Christine (RIT) and her boyfriend Matt (Rowan), all on winter break; Shanna, Kevin, Andy and his girlfriend Shannon. And in the aunts-and-uncles crowd: Brien, Kevin, Kathy, Dan and Julie.

Christmas merriment and memories

We hope everyone is having as merry a Christmas as Jasper here, enjoying the new ball that Santa brought him. This was Jasper's first Christmas with his family -- Kevin, Kathy, Shanna and Kevin.

Who knew there was a tabletop version of Angry Birds? Apparently Santa did, and it was a big hit with Xander.


Below, Christine and Andy enjoyed feeling like little kids again as they opened their presents under the tree.

Please share some of your new Christmas memories!

Cape Cod Times

Speaking of memories, the Cape Cod Times asked readers to "tell us about a favorite Christmas present that still evokes feelings of joy decades later." The story on the front page of the Christmas Day issue included Tish talking about Mitzie, the stuffed cat she received for her first Christmas. Click here to read the full article on the newspaper's website, or click here for an excerpt.

Merry Christmas from Birch Street