Baby makes five for Genevieve and John

Genevieve and John are very happy to share that baby Liam has arrived!

William Francis was born Oct. 21. Proud mom Genevieve writes: "Bea and Jack are thrilled to have a new brother, and John and I are adjusting to being outnumbered! We can’t wait to introduce Liam to his family and friends."

Austin turns 2, Charlie is 4 - Family celebration at Disneyland Paris

When you're residing in London, the Disney park outside Paris is just a quick hop away. So that's where Austin celebrated his second birthday last month - along with big brother Charlie, who turned 4 earlier in September, and of course, their parents, Vivien and CJ.

Jupiter visits our neighborhood

Jupiter's orbit has brought it closer to earth than it's been in 70 years. On Sept. 26, it was a mere 367,000,000 miles away. The following night, from his front yard in New Jersey, Dan managed to capture this image of the planet and three of its moons - (l to r) Europa, Io and Calisto. It's blurry, taken with a 250mm zoom lens, a 0.10-second exposure, and without a tripod. If you have a good camera, binoculars or telescope, check it out on any clear night soon! You'll likely see a different arrangement of moons.

Charlie, Austin witness history in London

Charlie and Austin joined other residents of London and Great Britain in paying their respects upon the death Sept. 8 of Queen Elizabeth II. They stopped by Buckingham Palace to place some flowers among the tributes at the gate.

The following week, they stood along the route from Westminster Cathedral to Windsor Castle and clapped for the queen as the procession passed by.

Late-summer days on Long Island

Current London residents Vivien, CJ, Charlie and Austin were able to spend August back in the States, mostly on Long Island. They enjoyed time visiting with Vivien's sister, Genevieve; their mom, Kathy; plus John, Bea, Jack and Robert. Dan and Julie were able to join the crowd for a couple of days in late August. This photo captures a rare moment when everyone was awake and in the same spot.

Dan and Kathy were able to take a sail on Loridan, along with Robert. As previously reported, the venerable sailboat is ship-shape again after a few years out of service. Dan and Kathy were last aboard together back in 2016, on a cruise that exposed its need of repair. "It's great to have it back in its home port," says Dan.

Rebecca to curl at world tournament in Scotland

Rebecca and her teammates from the Rochester Curling Club will compete against teams from around the globe in the World Mixed Curling Championship tournament this October in Aberdeen, Scotland.

Rebecca's parents, Doug and Lisa; her Aunt Julie and Uncle Dan; her Aunt Cathy and cousins Christopher and Stephanie all are planning trips to Scotland to cheer her on and do some sightseeing on the side.

As previously reported here, the team won USA Curling's 2022 U.S. Mixed National Championship, held on the Rochester club's ice in April. The team has launched a GoFundMe campaign, "asking friends, family, and curling enthusiasts for a small donation" to help defray travel expenses. Anyone interested can donate here.

Meanwhile, Rebecca earlier this year started a new job in a new field, literally: a flower farm. She is now part of the small crew growing and harvesting blooms at Trademarks Flower Farm in Clifton Springs, N.Y. 

Rebecca says she's happy to have made the switch from an office/lab job to working outdoors in nature. When not on the job, she can be found tending her own home garden, leading hiking trips for RIT students as an adjunct instructor - and, of course, curling.

Midway through summer season on Eastern LI

Your faithful reporter, Dan, paid a quick visit to Noyac this week along with Brien, staying at Fair Play and visiting with Kathy, Robert, Genevieve, John, Bea and Jack.  

Loridan has returned to Kathy's dock on Mill Creek, after some needed refurbishing. The intrepid vessel has been in the family for over 50 years.

Dan and Brien arrived Sunday evening, at the end of a long stretch of 90-degree-plus days. Monday was windy as a cold front approached, but threatened thunderstorms never hit, so they were able to check out the area beaches - including the oceanfront in Bridgehampton, where the surf was churned up by the winds.

Tuesday saw pleasant weather, and Genevieve brought the kids to Kathy's house to play in the yard and then talk a walk to the "back beach."

Later, Kathy, Dan and Brien enjoyed paddling kayaks around Mill Creek before Dan and Brien headed back to the city.

Cathy at the Philadelphia Flower Show

Cathy volunteered at the Philadelphia Flower Show on two Sundays in June, which gave her the opportunity to take many beautiful photos.

These are just a few of the pictures Cathy posted on Facebook.

The annual event is produced by The Pennsylvania Horticultural Society. It is typically held at the Pennsylvania Convention Center in early March, and is said to be the oldest and largest indoor flower show in the world, attracting more than 250,000 visitors each year. But last year's and this year's shows were held outdoors, due to Covid-19, and later in the year for better weather.

This year's event at FDR Park included a butterfly exhibit in a large tent. Cathy's volunteer job on the second Sunday involved checking visitors as they left the exhibit - to make sure no butterflies were hitching rides on their clothes or hair!

Dan and Julie visit Christine, Jamie and Dan in California

Dan and Julie traveled to California in early May and had a wonderful time visiting Christine and Jamie in Los Angeles, and then Dan in Santa Cruz.

This was D&J’s first opportunity to see the apartment where Christine, Jamie and their cats have settled in since their cross-country move in late November. It’s in a quiet residential neighborhood in West LA, close to the Santa Monica city line and just two miles from Jamie’s office at Riot Games.

Over the next couple of days, the quartet visited the Santa Monica beach and pier; Griffith Park, in the Hollywood Hills overlooking the LA sprawl; and a botanical garden on the UCLA campus.

Following their weekend in LA, Dan and Julie took a short flight to San Jose, rented a car and drove to Santa Cruz, meeting the younger Dan at his apartment just a half-block from the beach on Monterrey Bay.

The trio visited the Santa Cruz pier, where they looked down at the sea lions and out over the bay toward the Big Sur mountains in the distance. They paid a brief visit to a small lighthouse just up the coast, where they could see more sea lions sunning on a rock and surfers riding low, long waves.

Then they drove several miles inland and uphill to Henry Cowell Redwoods State Park, where they walked a loop trail through a forest of towering Coastal Redwood and Douglas Fir trees. 

“Although it was a quick visit, we packed a lot in, and it was great to catch up,” said Dan.

For a full report on the trip - plus albums of photos - click here.

Mother's Day visit in Maryland

Dolores and Hugh were joined for Mother's Day by their son, Doug, daughter Cathy and grandchildren Christopher and Stephanie. They enjoyed brunch in one of the restaurants at their Oak Crest complex.

Easter in London: Kathy visits Vivien, CJ, Charlie, Austin

Vivien, CJ, Charlie and Austin spent their first Easter in their new hometown of London, and enjoyed a visit from Grandma Kathy.

CJ took these photos during a Saturday visit to Holland Park, blocks from their flat in the Kensington neighborhood. Kathy tells us it's one of the city's Royal Parks. "It includes the boys' favorite playground - and peacocks!"

Gold medal for Rebecca's team in national curling tournament

Winning a national championship in your own house is about as good as it gets in any sport. That's what the team from Rochester Curling Club accomplished Saturday in USA Curling's 2022 U.S. Mixed National Championship.

With Rebecca playing the role of Second, the team won the gold-medal game in thrilling fashion. The game was tied 6-6 going into the final end. Rochester's skip, Caitlin (at left in photo), sent her last stone toward the center of the rings. Rebecca and teammate Jason (at right) swept hard, joined by vice-skip Jeff (2nd from left), to bring it to rest right on the button (the bulls-eye of the scoring area).

Split-screen view of the finale: At left, Caitlin begins celebrating. At right, Rebecca lifts her broom after sweeping the stone to the button.

VIDEO: Watch the final shot!

Rebecca's parents, Lisa and Doug, attended the competition and joined in the celebration.

The victory earned the team the berth to represent the United States at the 2022 World Mixed Curling Championship - date and location yet to be determined.

The same Rochester team took the silver medal at the last pre-covid Mixed Nationals, held in Colorado in 2019.

MORE: Read USA Curling's press release here!

The spectacular cherry trees of Newark

As the city of Newark, N.J., is proud to point out, its Branch Brook Park has more flowering cherry trees than Washington, D.C. Dan and Julie visited the park on a sunny April day and found the trees to be close to their blossoming peak.

A weekday afternoon proved a perfect time to drive and stroll through the Frederick Law Olmstead-designed park, a gem of the Essex County park system. 

Alongside one section of the park stands the Cathedral Basilica of the Sacred Heart, the seat of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Newark. Pope John Paul II celebrated Mass there during his U.S. tour in 1995.