News of 2010
Greetings, Y’all!Hope this finds you and yours ending your year in happiness and good health, and living in open defiance of the burdens and troubles of these times.
2010 was a year of big events in our immediate and extended family. In January, we celebrated our 15th anniversary and Clark’s 48th birthday. In February, we went to New York City with our travel friends Maurice Cottingham and David Schairer, and celebrated the 5th anniversary of our friendship with a group of amazing women (Mary Beth, Patty, Marlene, Rosemary and Kathi) who we first encountered, by chance, at a Broadway show in 2005, and who, as luck would have it, also live in the DC area. This ‘merged’ group of like-hearted souls, which we dubbed “The New York 9,” spent a long reunion weekend of shows, museum-ing and lots of good food and wine! In May, Clark’s brother, Jason (aka “Dr. Goose”), received his PhD in botany from the University of Mississippi. On the same day, and several hundred miles away, his niece, Kristian, received her bachelor’s degree in business at the University of Alabama. We feted both at a major cookout at Clark’s brother Keith’s house in Bessemer, AL. In July, Mike hit the big 5-0. We celebrated the event with Maurice and David at VOLT, the restaurant of “Top Chef” finalist Brian Voltaggio in Frederick, MD. It was a meal to remember! In September, Clark, Keith and Jason hosted a golden anniversary party for their parents, Bill and Christine Chesser, at the Bright Star restaurant in Bessemer, a place where Bill and Chris had dated back in the late 1950’s (and still looking much the same, according to them). Nearly 30 close friends and family members came to share stories and celebrate this milestone anniversary. Our Thanksgiving was huge, with the two of us, plus Clark’s parents, Mike’s mom, Ann, his sister, Katie, brother-in-law, Bryan, and nieces Jenny and Amanda, along with Maurice, David and David’s mom, Mary Anna. It was a 2-turkey event! Our Christmas will be comparatively quiet. Mike’s mom is visiting, and we’ll spend time with Katie, Bryan and the girls, and with as many friends as we can squeeze in.
Our travels this year were all domestic and mostly close to home. Our graduation trip to Mississippi and Alabama included several days in Memphis, TN, where we made the required pilgrimages to Graceland and Beale Street, visited the ducks at the Peabody Hotel, had some outstanding Memphis BBQ, and toured a marvelous and little-known museum dedicated to the artists of the STAX record label (which included Otis Redding, Isaac Hayes and the Staple Singers, among others). We traveled to Colonial Williamsburg and other historic sites in Virginia’s tidewater area with Maurice and David in May, and Mike took Katie and Ann on a trip to St. Michael’s, MD, and the eastern shore of the Chesapeake as an early celebration of Ann’s birthday in August. Day hikes in the mountains of Virginia with our friends Tim Thornburg and Steve Conrad were a highlight of the early fall.
Our vegetable garden largely flourished this year, thanks in part to our phenomenally wet winter, featuring back-to-back 2 ft. snowfalls that were locally dubbed “The Snow-pocalypse”. We had good harvests of peas in the spring, and tomatoes, peppers, okra and sweet potatoes in the late summer. Clark also won a victory over our tomato-thieving squirrels by enclosing the tomato bed in a 9’x9’ cage, which we called “the tomato room.” Once we plugged a few ‘holes’ in the superstructure—and soaked the rodents with a garden hose—they gave up.
Mike finished his third year leading a software analysis team on a defense contract with ATS Corporation, and was instrumental in writing the proposal that won them a new 4-year contract in September. Mike also completed a training course for obtaining a Project Management Professional Certification, which he’ll take the exam for in early 2011. Clark’s job as a telecom engineer at Booz Allen Hamilton continues to be challenging and rewarding. He managed two major projects from start to finish and got kudos for each. He took three courses during 2010 to prepare for the Cisco Certified Networking Associate (CCNA) Certification exam, which he also hopes to take in 2011. We continue to be active in our church, Clarendon Presbyterian, with whom we have been able to participate in projects to feed the homeless and to help feed and house the working poor. In September, Clark joined a 100+ member a cappella singing group, The Alexandria Harmonizers. He had his first concert in December, and hopes to go to a singing competition with them next year. So we already have lots to look forward to!
We wish you, our dear friends and family, a happy, peaceful and healthy 2011!
It happened
in 2009
Some of you were concerned when you did not receive our 2009 holiday letter. Actually, we didn’t send one. The reason we didn’t may be summed up in three words: MAJOR… HOME… RENOVATION. Eight years after our realtor first recommended it, we had the layout of the main level of the house reworked, added a new living room at the back, moved the dining room to the front, created a new kitchen between the two that is open, larger and more utilitarian, and created an entry hall and a new powder room. The design-build firm that we hired was amazing, finishing on time and on budget, so we could not have asked for a better experience. Despite that good fortune, we were still without a kitchen from April 20 – August 7. Clark cooked our meals in the garage and we grilled (a lot!), Mike did the dishes in the utility sink in the laundry room, and we ate on a tiny patio table set up in our den. It was quite an adventure, but so worth it! It inspired us to work on other rooms with our own labor. We installed a “floating” bamboo floor in our den and repainted. It has completely transformed the room. Fortunately, the year was not completely consumed by construction projects. We spent an amazing week in Ireland a month before the construction started, and shortly after we moved into our “new” space, we had a long visit with our friends Craig Cowden and Kurt Laidlaw at their beautiful home in Tacoma , Washington Museum of Glass in Tacoma , Kubota Gardens , Pike Place Market and the Space Needle in Seattle , Mt. Rainier National Park and Hood River , Oregon
