Stefanie and her bandmates in local news feature

A local news outlet did a video feature earlier this month on the Hilliard Darby Marching Band. Sophomore Stephanie (who celebrated her birthday today, Sept. 27!) is seen marching and playing a couple of times during the four-minute report. In particular, she appears on the right side of the screen starting at about the 3:15 mark.

Stephanie moves to the center of the camera's view at the very end of the video.

Click here to see the full report.

You can also watch this video of the band's full performance at the Hilliard Band Festival.

Walk to win against Alzheimer's

Our family team at last year's walk

The New York City Walk Against Alzheimer's is just a few weeks away, on Sunday, Oct. 18. Captain Shanna is once again organizing our family team.

"I have been doing this a walk ever since soon after my Grandma was diagnosed and continue to do it in her memory," Shanna writes. "Hopefully one day, Alzheimer's won't be a part of life, but until then I'd love to show support for this cause and those touched by it."

The walk through Manhattan's lovely Riverside Park raises money for the Alzheimer's Association, which supports research into prevention, treatments and a cure for Alzheimer's and assists families coping with the disease.

To join our team of walkers and/or add your donation, please visit the team page here.

Marie starts new job with web-developer site

UPDATE: CodePen's announcement of Marie's hiring is here.

Marie started a new job this month, working for an online site where web developers can try out ideas and build portfolios of their work.

"I'm the all-around support, social media, and community outreach person at CodePen," Marie writes. She became the company's first employee, as the site's growth promoted its three co-founders to start building a staff.

One of the CodePen co-founders also runs another site for web developers, CSS-Tricks. Marie has been a writer and editor for that site since January (see previous story), and will continue to do so while working for CodePen, all from her home office.

Marie adds: "So, what the heck is CodePen? It's a front-end developer's playground where devs can experiment with code and share their experiments with the world. There's more info and a video here."

As it happened, Marie's first week in the new job coincided with her birthday. (The CodePen crew sent her donuts!) Her first post on the site's blog is here.

Together again on Birch Street

Dan, Kathy, Brien and Kevin managed the rare feat of being in Noyac at the same time on the weekend of Sept. 12-13. They posed together in front of the Birch Street cottage, like they did each year as kids spending summers there with Mom and Dad.

The three brothers spent Saturday doing some clean-up work on the property.

In the process, Brien and Kevin found a "time capsule" -- a handful of items that they and friends Madelon and Eric had buried in a plastic bag more than 40 years ago. They dug up the remains of a sneaker inscribed with their names, a toy car and an aluminum-wrapped piece of paper bearing cryptic phrases, whose significance has been obscured by the mists of time.

Kathy arrived later Saturday, and along with friend Robert, the group went to a local steakhouse for dinner -- followed by an amusing round of pool at a table on the premises.

Marching Band season under way for Stephanie

Stephanie and her bandmates in the Hilliard-Darby Panthers Marching Band made its debut performance of the season at a football game on Friday night.

It's Stephanie's second year playing clarinet in the award-winning band.

Beautiful late-summer days on Long Island

Dan writes: For the first time in a few years, Julie, Christine, Andy and I were all available to spend more than a couple of days at a time in Noyac. And by great good fortune, the weather was exceptionally beautiful for every minute of our five-day visit. So we made the most of it.

We spent an afternoon watching horses and riders compete in various events at the Hampton Classic in Bridgehampton.


That evening, we met Nanette for a nice dinner at a Noyac restaurant.


We strolled around Sag Harbor during the early part of the next day. Then we headed over to Cameron Beach on the ocean, where Christine and Andy showed they haven't forgotten how to enjoy the surf.

The following day, we drove out to Montauk Point to visit the lighthouse.

Christine, Andy and I climbed the long spiral staircase to take a quick look from the top. And we all explored the museum that now fills the former lighthouse-keeper's quarters.

The exhibits have grown over the years. They include the original commissioning document signed by President George Washington and other historical items and information. There's also an exhibit about the successful efforts of Georgina Reed, Dan Rattiner and others in the late 1960s and early 1970s to raise funds and build a system of terraces that saved the lighthouse from erosion, which threatened to topple it into the sea. I well remember the articles in Dan's Papers reporting on the problem and Georgina's solution.

As many times as I've seen it, I'm not sure this view of the light has ever been as picture-postcard-perfect as it was on this occasion.

We then enjoyed a seafood dinner at Gosman's Dock, arriving just before the rush to get a good table (as if we'd planned it that way). And we topped off the evening with dessert at another iconic establishment, Big Olaf's ice cream shop.

On Friday we returned to Jessup's Neck, one of our favorite spots, to commune with the wildlife and take a dip in Peconic Bay.

Chickadees and white-breasted nuthatches took sunflower seeds from our hands, wild turkeys sauntered by, a family of swans swam in the pond and an osprey surveyed the beach from a treetop.

That evening we joined Kathy, Vivien and CJ for a cookout dinner at Kathy's house, against the backdrop of the sunset. A fine finish to a wonderful late-summer week.

Postcards from summer travels

Several family members have traveled far and wide this summer, and while we don't have much information about their trips, we have collected some photos they posted on Facebook.

In August, Kathy visited Switzerland:

Chermignon d'en Bas

Feeding 6-month-old calves

Hiking above the tree line, 6,200 feet

In late July, Genevieve, John and five-month-old Beatrice vacationed on Nantucket:

At Dionis Beach

In June, Vivien and CJ were in England's Cotswolds:

The Roman Baths in Bath, England

Whatley Manor

What are we missing? Tell us about your travels or other summer activities!

It's Band-Camp time for Stephanie

This congregation of clarinets, with Stephanie at top center, is one section of the Hilliard Darby Panthers Marching Band, which is in the midst of summer Band Camp.

Last week was "home band camp" at the high school. Then on Sunday, the band boarded buses for a week of "away band camp."

The band will spend the week in intensive learning and rehearsals at Heartland Conference Center, finishing up with the annual Ice Cream Social.

Scenes of Summer 2015 (so far)

Glass half-full. By Kathy.

This still-life photo taken by Kathy in the back yard of her Noyac house is just a terrific evocation of the joys of summer.

Here are few other idyllic scenes captured on Long Island this season. Please share your summer scenes!

Cameron Beach. By Dan.

Shelter Island. By Courtney.

Ferry dock, Shelter Island. By Courtney.

Sunset July 4. By Dan.

Enjoying some Shelter Island summertime

Courtney has been enjoying a beautiful summer week on Shelter Island, visiting her "favorite lady" -- her mom, Nanette.

The Florida resident calls Shelter Island her home-away-from-home.

"The beauty and charm of this island is enough to brighten anyone's day," she wrote on Facebook. "I just can't get enough!"

Gerrit & Angela have a baby boy!

Gerrit and Angela welcomed their son, Nolan, into the world this morning.


A happy Grandpa Owen shared these photos of the joyous occasion. Nolan arrived at Beth Israel Hospital in Boston, weighing in at 6 pounds 2 ounces.

"Angela, the baby and Gerrit are all doing well," Owen reports.

Marie, Brian, Xander visit NJ, NY & Panem

Up from Virginia for the weekend, Marie, Brian and Xander visited with Brian's parents and Marie's dad and trekked into Manhattan to see the Hunger Games Exhibition.

Above, after a cookout dinner Saturday, they enjoyed a midsummer's night in the backyard at Birch Street Headquarters with Dan, Julie, Christine, Andy and Andy's girlfriend, Shannon.

Note the image of the Moon on Xander's t-shirt. Earlier that day, he posed in front of a green screen for a photo with the flaming Hunger Games logo superimposed. The greenish tint of the Moon image caused the logo to show right through him!

The exhibit of costumes, props and interactive displays based on the "Hunger Games" movies is running this summer and fall at Discovery New York, in Times Square.

Gerrit & "28" play at Cape Cod's Sand Bar

Gerrit (center) and his bandmates in "28" rocked the Sand Bar in Dennis, Mass., on July 11. Word has it they have a couple more shows planned in August.

Below is a video a friend put together of highlights of the show. The sound quality is poor, but it sure looks like everyone's having fun!


28 at the Sand Bar 7/11/15 on Vimeo.

Glimpses of our family's festivities on the Fourth

These two cuties, Brooklyn Rae and Brennan Alexander, were dressed in style for the Fourth of July at home in Broadalbin, N.Y. The daughter and son of Brennan and Shauna-Rae are growing quickly! Young Brennan will have his first birthday later this month (July 22) and Brooklyn is three-and-a-half.


And speaking of growing quickly -- Beatrice Kathleen turned four months old on the Fourth! Here's a great shot of her with her mom, Genevieve.

As previously reported, a dozen family members gathered at Kathy's summer house in Noyac and watched from her back yard as fireworks went off in all directions. Here's a look at the younger half of the crowd.

While Nanette joined that party, her daughter, Courtney, got together with friends at Sailfish Point Country Club, not far from her Florida home.

Courtney posted the photo below of fireworks, which looks like it was taken from a boat. Great view!

Likewise, this photo posted by Gerrit in Cape Cod looks like a view over the transom of a boat. He has a video clip, too, on his Facebook page.


Shanna and Rick spent the holiday weekend in upstate New York. Among other stops, they visited the Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum in Cooperstown -- because, Shanna posted, "What is more American than baseball?"

In another part of Upstate New York, Doug and Lisa and daughter Rebecca joined members of Lisa's family at Conesus Lake for the annual "Ring of Fire." By tradition, residents and visitors gather along the lake shore on the night of July 3 and light torches, ringing the late with fire. Fireworks follow.


Meanwhile, Doug and Lisa's other daughter, Liz, "missed" the Fourth by being out of the country. In fact, she was visiting friends in London.



As a huge Harry Potter fan, Liz had a great time at the "Making of Harry Potter" exhibit at Warner Bros. Studio Tour London.

How did you celebrate the Fourth? Let us know!