People

Silas Dressed for Halloween

Photograph taken on Sunday, October 26, 2025 by Henry
Silas Dressed for Halloween

Silas Dressed for Halloween

Iris and Seth invited us, along with the rest of the local family and a few friends, to a Halloween party this evening. We wore costumes, but honestly it was more about getting together than about dressing up. Eloise and Silas did show us their costumes. Eloise was a rain storm, with an “umbrella cloud” and Silas dressed in with this illusion costume being carried by a skeleton. It worked pretty well and occasionally he’d move his legs, crossing and uncrossing them, which really added to the effect.

Cathy and I wore fairly basic costumes. Cathy wore a Tajik dress, an Afghan hat and an Afghan scarf. I put on my cowboy boots, tied a bandana around my neck and wore my cowboy hat. I had already been wearing a denim shirt. So I was a cowboy.

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Cathy at Blockhouse Point

Photograph taken on Saturday, October 25, 2025 by Henry
Cathy at Blockhouse Point

Cathy at Blockhouse Point

We went to Blockhouse Point today, partly to enjoy the fall colors, which were lovely. There didn’t seem to be a lot of people out, which was a little surprising. After walking to the point, where this photo was taken, we walked on the Paw Paw Trail down to the north/east side of the C&O Canal. There were some interesting spots on the trail but in general, not a lot to see. The last bit is quite steep and we didn’t go all the way down, but now I’m wondering if we should have. Maybe next time. We also took the Callithea Trail to its end behind Callithea Farm Special Park.

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SPIRIT Club Mural

Photograph taken on Tuesday, October 21, 2025 by Henry
SPIRIT Club Mural

SPIRIT Club Mural

Through a friend of ours who works there, Dorothy got a commission to paint a mural at SPIRIT Club in Kensington. It turned out to be a bigger job than she anticipated, needing two and sometimes three coats of paint, but we all think it turned out quite nicely. This was one of two walls that were painted, along with three quotes, chosen by the manager of the club. Cathy and I enjoyed helping out a bit and experiencing a little of the SPIRIT Club experience. Their mission is “To offer a universal design for fitness that empowers people of all abilities to exercise successfully in a socially integrated setting.”

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RCE Banquet

Photograph taken on Saturday, October 04, 2025 by Henry
Krystal, David, and Mike

Krystal, David, and Mike

One reason we went to see Dorothy yesterday instead of today was the Romanian Christian Enterprises (RCE) Banquet, which was held this evening. I had been asked if I would take pictures, and I did. As usual when taking event pictures, I took a lot that aren’t all that good but some that I like well enough and a few that I think are really good. This is one of the good shots, featuring our good friends, (from left to right) Krystal, David, and Mike. The sunflower came from Anna’s garden, which I featured two days ago.

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Dorothy’s Birthday

Photograph taken on Saturday, October 04, 2025 by Henry
Jeff, Dorothy, Anna, and Cathy

Jeff, Dorothy, Anna, and Cathy

Late this afternoon Cathy and I went up to Pennsylvania to celebrate Dorothy’s birthday. We stopped in Frederick to pick up dinner, going first to Cava where we bought food for Cathy, Dorothy, Jeff, and Anna and then to Black Hog BBQ where I got some meat for myself. Not the best BBQ I’ve ever had, but not bad. I liked the smoked sausage better than the Texas brisket. Nevertheless, I’d go again and try their Arkansas brisket and smoked pit ham.

We had dinner at Jeff’s apartment and then walked through town to Domino’s Pizza where we bought Chocolate Lava Crunch Cakes. Instead of eating them inside or taking them back to Jeff’s apartment to eat them, they sat on the curb outside Domino’s and ate them there.

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Retirement Pig

Photograph taken on Saturday, September 27, 2025 by Henry
Retirement Pig

Retirement Pig

Dorothy and her friends (but mostly Dorothy) planned a harvest festival at the land in Pennsylvania. Once I had announced my retirement at the end of September, she made it a combination harvest feast and retirement pig roast. She had met someone who enjoyed cooking and roasting in particular, and he agreed to cook a whole pig in an pit. They dug the pit, lined it with stones, and built a large fire over it. When the fire had died down, they lowered the pig, wrapped in banana leaves and burlap and tied up with fence wire, into the hole, covering it with dirt.

It had two temperature probes in it, so they could monitor the process. It was in the ground for a long time (I don’t actually know how long, but I think it was more than 12 hours). Anyway, when it had reached the desired temperature, it was dug up, unwrapped, and cut into pieces.

I was given the first piece to taste. It was very, very juicy and flavorful. Of course, I love pork of any kind, so I’m pretty easy to please. Anyway, it was very good.

Dorothy had contacted quite a few of my friends and I had quite a few there to celebrate with me. I was only sorry that I wasn’t able to spend more time with each of them. I felt stretched quite think. But it was a very nice day and a good way to celebrate retirement. A huge thank you to Dorothy and to all who came.

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Retirement Party

Photograph taken on Wednesday, September 24, 2025 by Henry
John, Jon, Beth, Keith, Scott, Henry, Cathy, Soheyla, Katie, Anita, Martin

John, Jon, Beth, Keith, Scott, Henry, Cathy, Soheyla, Katie, Anita, Martin

At the beginning of August, I gave notice to my supervisor that I would be retiring at the end of September. It didn’t come as any great shock, as I had been talking pretty freely about it for a while without knowing the exact date. In early September, one of the folks I work with asked if he could schedule a get together in the company cafe for anyone who was local and available to see me off. That happened today and a few photos were taken. A lot of the people I work with are remote, scattered around the country, but even so, there was a reasonable turnout and it was really nice to have them there to see me off. Another friend and coworker also organized a very generous going away present, a very substantial gift certificate to Second Story Books, which is one of two local used book stores that we frequent. I’m not entirely sure how I’ll spend it all, to be honest, it was so much. I’m very thankful for all the wonderful folks I’ve worked with over the years and while I expect to enjoy retirement and won’t necessarily miss the daily nine to five, I’ll certainly miss the folks I worked with.

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Margaret’s 99th

Photograph taken on Sunday, September 21, 2025 by Henry
Margaret with David, Jim, Jeff, Cathy, Dorothy

Margaret with David, Jim, Jeff, Cathy, Dorothy

This was taken the day before her actual birthday, but at 99 years, a day is only 0.28%, so I think we can round it up. David and Jim both came for the occasion, which was really nice, and Dorothy and Jeff drove down from Pennsylvania (which was also nice). We had a nice visit and Margaret was in good form for the occasion. The tiara was brought by someone for her birthday last year and we felt it was appropriate.

Yesterday we posted a similar photo on Facebook and today we read comments to her, which was nice. She also got a huge stack of cards and we got through some of them, but we saved a few more for tomorrow, her actual birthday.

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Small Art Show in Hanover

Photograph taken on Friday, September 05, 2025 by Henry
Pomegranate

Pomegranate

We drove up to Hanover, Pennsylvania this afternoon for a small art opening at Little Fox. The location, 125 Broadway, Hanover, Pennsylvania, shows up for me on Google maps as being called The Reader’s Cafe, which is closed. Little Fox is a combination cafe and book shop, with new books downstairs and used books along the wall of the loft.

On the end wall, where the stairs to the loft run, Dorothy had some artwork hanging. She also had a few things on a table. There was reasonable traffic through the shop during the evening and I believe Dorothy sold a few pieces. This is one that I particularly liked, of a stylized pomegranate. We were happy to also have our good friends Maureen and Bob come up and then we all went down the block to Famous Hot Weiner for dinner. I can’t say the hotdog was anything special, although I did enjoy the old-timey atmosphere.

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Annual Family Beach Photo

Photograph taken on Thursday, July 31, 2025 by Henry
Annual Family Beach Photo

Annual Family Beach Photo

As mentioned, we had our annual family beach week. It was quite different without mom/grandma there, but we had a good time together, both being with each other and remembering her. Dorothy was not able to stay for the full week, flying home Thursday afternoon, so we took our annual family group photo that morning. As you can possibly see, there was a little fog still on the lens or the sensor when I took this. That’s a common issue when we come out from the air conditioned indoors into the hot and humid outside.

Dorothy had originally planned to fly from Myrtle Beach Airport, where she flew into on Sunday. She found an earlier flight leaving from Wilmington and changed her reservation so she’d get home earlier and have time for band practice. It turns out she needn’t have bothered. The weather in Maryland and Pennsylvania was stormy enough that her flight was delayed and she got home considerably later than she would have on her original flight (although for all we know, that flight might have been delayed even longer). But she did get home eventually.

Cathy and I went to the New Hanover County Arboretum in Wilmington, which we really enjoyed. I’d definitely stop in again if we were in the area.

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Kites, Ocean Isle Beach

Photograph taken on Wednesday, July 30, 2025 by Henry
Kites, Ocean Isle Beach

Kites, Ocean Isle Beach

I made a point of having my camera outside for a little while before we went down to the beach where the kids were going to fly their kites. It’s been quite hot this week and we’re all very grateful for air conditioning (even if some would have wanted it a little less cold inside). One down-side to air conditioning, though, is that when you take a camera from a 70°F environment to something over 90°F with very high humidity, it fogs up immediately and takes a while to unfog. But I planned ahead and was able to get some nice pictures of the kids running around with their kites. There was also a nice sunset.

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Eloise’s Birthday

Photograph taken on Monday, July 28, 2025 by Henry
Eloise's Birthday

Eloise’s Birthday

In years past, we always celebrated my Uncle George’s birthday at the beach, because (obviously) that’s when it fell. With him no longer being with us, it’s nice to have a birthday to celebrate. As you will probably figure out from the candle, this is Eloise’s fifth birthday, and my cousins and their families came over to have cake and ice cream. It was a fairly raucous time with all the ‘littles’ running around and enjoying themselves. But it was a happy, little-kid type of raucous.

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A Smaller Family Reunion

Photograph taken on Saturday, July 26, 2025 by Henry
Family Reunion

Family Reunion

There are certain things that make me think of my mom more than normal. The annual family reunion in northeastern North Carolina is high on the list. We’ve been going to that for years and in recent years it’s just been my mom and me, driving down the morning of the reunion, spending the night with my cousin, and then driving home the next day. This year, it was just Cathy and me and we drove down the day before. It was also on the way to our annual beach week, which is how it used to be but hasn’t been for a few years. There was a much smaller group this year, with only 26 of us able to get together. We usually try to get photos of the generations but with only 26 people there, we decided just to take a single group photo (well, we took three of them, but they’re all basically the same). In spite of the smaller size, we had a really nice visit with some of my favorite people. I’m already looking forward to next year’s reunion.

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Summer Games

Photograph taken on Saturday, July 19, 2025 by Henry
Summer Games

Summer Games

Dorothy and her friends hosted what they called the Summer Games this weekend in Pennsylvania. It was a pretty warm afternoon. Because I was taking pictures, I didn’t actively participate in most of the activities, although I did shoot an arrow (and did pretty well, if I say so myself). They had come up with a wide range of activities from a scavenger hunt, to a tug-of-war, a few races, both individual and team-based. This photo is of the first event, where the teams were to build a frame and carry one of their team members about a hundred yards. The green team (see the bandanas) won this race but the yellow team edged them out in the overall score for the day.

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Rachel and Michael’s Wedding

Photograph taken on Friday, July 11, 2025 by Henry
Michael and Rachel

Michael and Rachel

Cathy and I drove down to Raleigh, North Carolina this morning, getting there in reasonable time. We checked into out hotel and had time to visit a municipal rose garden before getting dressed and heading to the church for Rachel and Michael’s wedding. The wedding itself was quite beautiful. The music, not surprisingly considering this was Rachel, was particularly nice. After the ceremony, we drove to the reception location and after hors d’oeuvre (including an Italian ice cart provided by Rachel’s brother) and drinks, Michael and Rachel danced their first dance as husband and wife, before we had a lovely dinner.

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Roadbody

Photograph taken on Thursday, June 26, 2025 by Henry
Roadbody (Dorothy, Andrew, and Vince)

Roadbody (Dorothy, Andrew, and Vince)

It was a busy day today, starting with work where I had a few long meetings as well as getting a copy of a website that we’re moving from government servers to ours (the company’s, not mine). These sorts of things take a fair amount of planning and that’s good, but it can also be draining.

Cathy and I then left at 5:00 and drove up to Gettysburg, where Dorothy, Andrew, and Vince (a.k.a. Roadbody) were playing at Ploughman’s Taproom on the square. We sat with Jeff, Anna, and Rachel and enjoyed the show. I prefer when Dorothy plays the acoustic guitar rather than the raspy electric guitar, since the latter tends to drown out her voice, which to me is a big part of her songs. Nevertheless, we know her songs reasonably well, so even when we could not hear her voice or make out the words, we could sort of sing along.

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Tire Swing

Photograph taken on Saturday, June 21, 2025 by Henry
Tire Swing

Tire Swing

All of the ‘local’ family met up at the Pennsylvania property today. It was a hot and humid day, but still really nice to all be together and outdoors. Dorothy and Jeff had just finished putting up this tire swing on the walnut down near the pond. The old tire swing was on a large maple tree that we had to have taken down in August 2023 because it was threatening to fall on the cabin. The kids (and some of the adults) really enjoyed the new swing and the kids in particular played well on it for hours.

The adults mostly just sat around and talked because it was too hot to do much else. Dorothy and Jeff didn’t come until mid-afternoon, having been with some friends earlier in the day. We cooked dinner over the fire (in spite of the added heat) and then headed home around 8:40. Cathy and I stopped at Rutter’s to buy bottles of refrigerated water and enjoyed the air conditioning in our car on the way home.

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Laura and Grandma

Photograph taken on Saturday, May 31, 2025 by Henry
Grandma and Laura

Grandma and Laura

Cathy’s niece, Laura, arrived last night and this morning we all went to see her grandma (a.k.a. Cathy’s mom, a.k.a. Margaret). Her face really lit up when she saw Laura, and we had a really nice visit. It was a pretty whirlwind visit, though, and we took Laura directly to the Metro to get down to Union Station to catch her train back to New York in the early afternoon. We worked around the yard for the rest of the day, going inside when it started raining and then coming back out again when it stopped.

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National Arboretum Rose Garden

Photograph taken on Wednesday, May 07, 2025 by Henry
Cathy in the National Arboretum Rose Garden

Cathy in the National Arboretum Rose Garden

We decided to take a break from dealing with things and drove to the National Arboretum today. There were a few early roses that were still blooming but this is pretty close to the same date we’ve gone the last two years. Nevertheless, it was a really nice visit and we enjoyed the flowers very much. It wasn’t nearly so crowded as it was earlier in the year when we went on Sunday and the cherry blossoms were in bloom. We had come for the camellias rather than the cherries.

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Dorothy and Kid Goat

Photograph taken on Saturday, April 19, 2025 by Henry
Dorothy and Kid Goat

Dorothy and Kid Goat

Cathy, Dorothy, Jeff and I went out to Rocklands today. Among other things we had a nice, fairy long visit with Janis over a bottle of wine and a pizza. We also walked up to the road where Dorothy had done so much brush clearing a few years back. We also ran into Anna and her kids and we talked with them. Anna’s kids also had a kid, which Dorothy is holding in this photo.

We were there longer than we had expected but it was a beautiful day and nice to be out.

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