Halloween visitors.
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Our masked visiter.
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Visiting with Aliceann's Mom.
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Early Thanksgiving dinner at Elaine and Larry's.
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Doctor Bill and Charlie, with Becky and Mary, stopped for a German lunch on their way back
to Ohio.
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Phil's brother Tim came to town for an oyster feast with Paul and Jann.
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Alexander, at three weeks old, is certainly the youngest visitor we have had.
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Kristin has been a frequent visitor to Carol Place and a supporter of Choralis since she and
Aliceann met through their work at the National Gallery. When her Mom, Judy, visits "from
the Midwest," they stop by together.
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Cousin Dan and Vicki recently marked their 30th wedding anniversary with a recommitment
ceremony. The "kids," Kathy, Josh, Ruth, and Mike, organized the event.
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Aunt Betty came to town for Dan and Vicki's anniversary celebration.
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Cousin Jack, here with Aliceann, at Dan and Vicki's anniversary celebration.
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Cousin Jack and David, shown here at their commitment ceremony in 2002, came to town for
Dan and Vicki's anniversary celebration.
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Nick and Allison, whose Mother
has been a treasured friend and sometime coworker for twenty years, returned to DC, this time
to perform with their high school band on the grounds of the Marine Corps War Memorial. As
Nick, Allison, and the 100 plus members of the band moved into place for their brief concert,
a small crowd gathered.
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When the band director realized that the crowd included an Iwo Jima
survivor, he introduced himself to the vet and the vet to the band.
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The band played "Taps" in memory of the Marines who fought and fell at Iwo Jima.
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Jackie and Reg returned to the area to renovate and sell the house Jackie had lived in when she and Aliceann
met. When Phil and Aliceann began dating, Jackie was one of the first of her friends she
introduced to Phil. Jackie stood with us when we were married at First Pres. And when Jackie and
Reg retired to Northern California, they played host to
Tracy and Aliceann,
introducing Tracy to the pleasures of riding a Harley.
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Kay and Mary had talked for years about a weekend trip to DC, in part for the simple pleasure
of it and in part to allow Mary to return to rich memories of her years in this area. We
would like to think that the visits to Carol Place, the Web Site, occasioned by the
wedding in
Bourges, led to their visit to Carol Place, our home.
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We met Samantha at
Tim and Janell's wedding.
At the rehearsal dinner, she helped Phil
move food to the tables. After the dinner, she challenged Phil to a game of HORSE and
gave him a good run for his money. At the reception, she asked the bride if she could
keep the beads that had decorated her table. Janell could not deny her.
She has not yet visited Carol Place. The invitation has been extended, and we expect it
will eventually be accepted--many times.
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This picture has nothing to do with Carol Place. Steve and Marie, shown here on a vacation
in the Summer of 2002, met as grad students in Chapel Hill, the same year Phil and Steve roomed together.
Their joining us for dinner that Summer was the immediate stimulus to Phil's re-establishing
contact with a half dozen other good friends from those years.
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On the first night of the Chapel Hill reunion, we got together with Steve, Margaret, and
Gary for dinner at a Falls Church restaurant.
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Saturday night, Braughn joined Margaret and Gary for dinner at Carol Place. Sunday, Jerry and
Vicky drove in from Shepherdstown to join Steve and Margaret for a Carol Place brunch.
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Becky and Bill are regular visitors to Carol Place, sometimes coming to check on their progeny,
sometimes introducing family or friends to the relaxing and rejuvenating powers of the place,
sometimes (as was the case here, with Caroline) introducing exchange students to the beauties
of Washington, DC.
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Mike and Gladys, on the right, were our first dinner guests. It was a working dinner, with Mike helping
Phil to unpack and configure the various parts of our sound system. Our memory is uncertain as to
the first disc played. Monteverdi's 1610 Vespers? Thomas Talis?
When Bill and Cheryl, the couple on the left,
wed, we hosted the reception at Carol Place. With Mary Margaret's encouragement and assistance,
Aliceann had her first opportunity to bake a wedding cake.
The picture is from a September 2001 brunch at 4 and 20 Blackbirds.
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Yvonne, showing here that she really was taken unawares by her surpise birthday party, was
our first overnight guest at Carol Place. She joined us the day after the movers left, helping
us move quickly from transients to residents.
She moved to DC recently to be closer to her daughter, who years ago learned from
Aliceann the secret of carrying laundery baskets down stairs, and her grandson, Andrew.
He's the charmer in the photo, smiling because of his part in surprising Yvonne.
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For nearly fifteen years, Karen and Aliceann were co-workers, friends, lunchtime walkers at
HUD. Now Ron and Karen have taken their boat, the Winola Joy, and relocated to
South Carolina. Recently, we spent a weekend with them, splitting the time between the boat and
Charleston.
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Aliceann remembers fielding calls from Shauna when she came home from school as a pre-teen.
Your mom's in a meeting right now, she would occasionally have to explain, so let's you and I
talk about the school work you brought home and the chores you need to tend to.
Shauna and Ty have returned to the area from South Carolina. Welcome back.
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We first met Tom, shown with his parents, here for Thanksgiving, when he stayed with us for Jess and Eric's wedding.
He has since become a DC-area resident and a regular visitor to Carol Place. He was,
of course, a key member of Jessica's Summer Singers, a participant in Choralis, and an
occasional participant in the Falls Church Pres choir.
He and Aliceann have entertained a number of gatherings with their recorder duets.
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