Don't miss the photo gallery at the end.

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Greetings, friends ~

 

While the first few days of Christmas have passed, remember that it has 12 days. The Drummers haven’t even begun to warm up!

We have an excuse for being late with everything this year. (Apologies to friends and family who are sick of hearing about this.) In mid-October Claire slowly backed into the bumper of a large pick-up in our parking lot, leaving a bit of silver paint on his bumper, and making what appeared to be a minor dent in the left rear panel of our Prius. We dropped the car off on November 6, the date arranged by the body shop, where it remained until December 20, when the work was finally completed. During those 6+ weeks we were blessed with the kindness of friends and family, did even more walking than usual, and took great advantage of our SEPTA senior passes on the trains and buses. We’re so grateful we live where all this is possible.

Conwyn Arms got its parking lot and driveways re-sealed and about a third of its brickwork refurbished over several months this fall. Minor inconveniences for us, and the building is looking a lot spiffier.

Family

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We continue to enjoy frequent holiday gatherings with the Colellos in Wayne – nephew Jeremy grilling something delicious in his outdoor kitchen and Karen producing tasty treats inside. On Christmas Day the feast was combined with a cookie bake! Yum-m-m.

We see Claire’s sister Deb and husband Doug on most of these occasions. They invited UB and AC for a special dinner, sleepover and a visit to Deb’s aqua class at her YMCA to celebrate Claire’s birthday in September. Bob’s early B-day gift was a tabletop curling game. See photo in the gallery.

Thanks to our coop veggie garden hosted by Jeremy, we have even more tomato gravy put away along with peppers, garlic, and basil. Bob also tends a few plants on our patio to bring some green to our place.

 

Jerome Jr brought two of his children to visit, along with his dad (Bob’s brother), in late August. Bob and the kids had fun doing math and we all enjoyed a lunch out.

We loved catching up with cousins from the McAuley side of Claire's family. Cousin Mary Jane visited for three days in January. Harry and Adele came for lunch in February and then in October hosted MJ and us at their lovely new home in New Jersey.

Friends

Bob sees Jerome and cousin Luke for occasional lunches up in Bucks County, along with a crew known as the D-Street Gang, a handful of guys who grew up and hung together on the same block (Dorrance St.) in Bristol, PA. They continue to chat away online, posting about a hundred messages a day.

We enjoy sharing meals, concerts and shows with our dear friends, May and Barry Pritchard. May and Claire keep in touch with fellow Dukie Kay in NC via Zoom chats, maintaining a 56-year bond. In the spring another college friend, Carole Franco, came for an overnight, fresh from her travels in Nepal and Bhutan.

Claire chats weekly with Deborah O’Brien in NH, a treasured friend since they taught together in Orford in the 1970s. In October she visited us along with her sister Nancy and husband Mike. In less than three days we managed to pack in trips to the Liberty Bell, Valley Forge National Park, and the Philadelphia Zoo! The first two venues were timely and poignant reminders of the struggles endured for our country’s freedom.

Music

Music remains a central focus of our lives. St. Mary’s Choir provides great music and friendships. We just completed our third season with the Bryn Mawr Renaissance Choir, hosted by Bryn Mawr College. This multi-generational group consists of students, alumni, and faculty of Bryn Mawr and Haverford Colleges, and community members like us. We’re led by a very talented young woman with a master’s in choral conducting.

For our fourth Christmas in PA we re-instituted the tradition of a singing (and eating!) party that we carried on for over 40 years in NH, this time including members of both choirs. Good music, delicious food and wonderful friends. Bob presented St. Mary’s choir with a collection of 32 hymn descants that he composed. 



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Philly and its suburbs offer a multitude of opportunities to enjoy good music. This year we attended several concerts and open rehearsals with the Philadelphia Orchestra, including one featuring Emmanuel Ax and Carmen Burana (not together!), as well as numerous organ recitals.



 

In July Claire attended the 35th annual Ogontz Choral Workshop in NH, which she has coordinated for the past eight years. As always, it was a week of glorious music making in a beautiful environment with friends, both old and new. Given the challenging logistics of make the trip solo (2 trains, a bus and a rental car this year), Claire has decided to step aside as coordinator, allowing the host Foundation to face upcoming challenges with new blood.

The trip to NH provides an opportunity to  connect with longtime friends in the area, including fellow teachers from 1980. We call ourselves the Orfordville Over-the-Hill Teachers Association. Claire was very grateful to be hosted by several friends during her 10 days in the North Country: Deborah O’Brien, Shep and Betsy Holcombe, Toni Lamonica and Larry Young.

Local Outings

Bryn Mawr’s weekly Farmers’ Market is a good place to find good organic produce and “exotic” mushrooms from a farm in nearby Kennett Square, known as the Mushroom Capital of the World because the region produces over a million pounds of mushrooms a day! Maitake (Hen of the Woods) is our current favorite, but oyster, king oyster, and lion’s mane are also scrumptious.

Claire visits AFC Fitness in Radnor two or three times a week to try to keep in shape. She typically takes a barre class and also works out on her own; she and May also enjoy working together with our excellent trainer Tiersa. Feeling much stronger and healthier!

After spending the election season canvassing and writing over 500 postcards, you can imagine the anguish we feel about the results. But the midterms are only  20 months away. Buckle up!



 

If you’re still reading, we thank you and applaud you, and wish you a most joyful holiday season and the best of health in 2025. Come visit!



 

Much love,


Bob and Claire

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