Lullwater Latest

October 2014

 

We are welcoming autumn, with relief and renewed energy! Some of us have managed to escape the hot weather by getting off to the mountains or a lake cottage, while others have flown to the far corners of the earth.

Your editor, for instance, traveled to the cool, sublime Baltics, to the quiet of northern NY State (where we turned on the AC a mere 24 hours in July!), and then thousands of miles to the Antipodes, where we experienced early spring, complete with daffodils, cherry blossoms and chilly nights, in September! Throughout the trip, we stayed in touch with Lullwater Estate, living vicariously through the trash pick-up woes, frustration with other infrastructure problems, and the farewells and welcomes to residents on the move. Attending a lovely Fall Social immediately on our return gave us a chance to say hello, and now as we recover from a vicious case of jet lag, we settle in to enjoy one of our favorite seasons.

We've put together our mid-autumn issue, and as always are grateful for contributions from our neighbors. We'll be publishing our hard-copy Holiday Latest in December, and will hand it out at the Annual Meeting.

 

President's Column

As we near the end of 2014 and prepare for the December 10 Annual Meeting of the Lullwater Estate Owners Association, it seems appropriate to make some observations on current infrastructure, grounds, and service questions our community faces.

Our irrigation grid is a rickety maze of pipes that constantly call for patchwork repairs. Repeated damage is caused unintentionally by visiting service personnel or, sometimes, residents themselves. Our community well has been the major source of irrigation water but the metal parts of the current pump are corroded out due to the hard water, so purchased municipal water has been used lately to preserve our plantings.

Appreciable undergrowth is rapidly returning to our Woodlands. Some animal lovers and TV watchers amongst us have suggested that the favorite cast of local Breaking B-a-a-h-ed actors be brought back next year to do their thing.  Behind the main Estate complex, any evidence of an initiative to develop with the adjacent unoccupied buildings and grounds in the lower hollow has disappeared.

After a couple of months of olfactory overload, the garbage and recycling service appears to have returned to normal. Whew!

Lastly, many thanks to Board Veep Jamie Ciomperlik for his efforts beyond the usual range of duty for crisis management while the Prez was off chasing kiwis and kangaroos.

-Chuck Marvin, LEOA President

 

NextDoor Druid Hills

Lately there have been more reports about break-ins and thefts in Druid Hills, as well as sales, charity events, service recommendations and other news in the increasingly complete NextDoor Druid Hills newsletter. We are unable to circulate all these reports individually, as we did in the past. If you are interested in getting this timely and focused news, you may request an invitation from betsyw@mindspring.com. It's free, it's concise, and it's just about our neighborhood. Several Lullwater Estate households have joined, and I hope others will take advantage of this service.

 

Getting to Know You: Jane McAbee, Unit #17

Jane and her late husband, Joe, who passed away in May of 2009, consider Hartselle, AL as their hometown. They both grew up there, attended the same high school but never met until 1964. Joe lived on one side of the tracks, (town side) and Jane lived on what was then said to be the country side of the tracks. They met for the first time through their respective employers, both of whom were in separate insurance claim offices in Hartselle.

On meeting Joe for the first time, she remembers hearing about him and seeing him around the school but did not think he was that good looking back then and also from what she heard, he thought he was too big for his britches. She apparently changed her mind about his looks when they actually met and did not think he was stuck on himself. Joe must have thought she was pretty cute since following their initial encounter, he called her at work without identifying himself but pretended to be conducting a survey at the end of which, he obtained her home phone number under the guise of completing the survey. They were married 1965.

They had 2 daughters, both of whom live in the Atlanta area, 3 grandchildren, (a granddaughter and twin grandsons.) Sadly, all were born after Joe’s passing. In Jane’s words, “It is a shame because Joe would have been a doting and wonderful grandfather.”

Joe continued his insurance claims career following a 4 year stint in the Air Force, eventually holding executive positions with St. Paul Insurance Company and Mag Mutual Insurance Company where he became a vice-president. Because of their many transfers, as a result of Joe’s employment, they lived in many cities in the Southeast. Jane held many positions in property management wherever they were located.

Just prior to moving to Lullwater Estate in 1993, they resided on Artwood Road. For the first several months after moving to LE, Joe would, at least once a week, step out the front door and with a swoop of his arms declare “We have the prettiest grounds and I didn’t have to do any of it.” That, along with the friendliness of the residents, made it and still makes LE a wonderful place to live.

Jane feels that we need to preserve and enhance the curb appeal of the complex. Under no circumstances, should we let it diminish.

- by Jim and Jan Eichelberger

 

Renovation Row - Unit 56 Patio

Todd and Kathy Radde in unit 56 renovated their large patio recently. The old wooden structure was removed and replaced with masonry and tile in a way that matches other end-unit patios found on the property.

 

Fall Landscaping Improvements Update

The Landscaping Committee and owners have been hard at work with Fall plantings and other grounds improvements. The largest project was the improvements in front of unit 52. The Association agreed to pay for three new white camellias, some minor irrigation improvements, and the removal of a large stump and some overgrown compacta holly. Units 50, 52, and 54 pooled their money to purchase the Japanese maple, some fescue sod and a smattering of annuals.

Other improvements this fall included three Wintergreen Boxwoods in front of unit 737, to help hide the window well (not shown), and three PeeWee Oakleaf Hydrangeas around the front porch of unit 31, to replace some azaleas that had died. All plants this fall were purchased and planted by the Landscaping Committee, which easily saved half the cost.

Our Fall and Winter annuals were also installed recently. This year the committee chose a blue mix of pansies, lavender snapdragons, and yellow daffodils. The daffodils will be installed in December.

 

Marvins on the Move

Although we had lived in or visited many countries, Australia and New Zealand had remained Terra Incognita to us, and so when Chuck's daughter went to live in Perth, Western Australia, we took it as a sign that we should see that part of the world. We flew from LA to Sydney, spending four days in that spectacular city, Leaving a sizzling southern California in late August, we were a little shocked by the chilly air that far south, but then it was late winter when we landed.

After a few days, we took a flight over to Wellington, to see New Zealand's capital city and visit a cousin there. As we were even farther south, it was yet colder. So of course off we went to Dunedin, the farthest south either of us had ever been. We loved this town; it reminded us of our hometown in Kansas, hilly and pretty with an attractive mid-19th century main street, and a lovely university. Here as in several other NZ cities with law schools, Chuck lectured on the law of sustainable development. One day a guide took us out on the gorgeous Otago peninsula, but we missed seeing the only albatross to show up that day, just before we arrived at the Albatross Center, the only land these fowl ever touch.

We visited Christchurch, devastated by a number of earthquakes 3-4 years ago, Rotorua, home to Maori people who share their culture through entertaining shows and dinners, and Hamilton, whose remarkable Botanic Gardens showcase gardens of many cultures around the world. We spent some time in Auckland, enjoying the port and lunching with old friends whom I'd known in Germany, back in the early '70s.

Back we flew to Melbourne, a large city, easier to negotiate and friendlier than Sydney. We loved a wonderful museum of film and another beautiful set of gardens, but our favorite place was the Queen Victoria Market, where we found souvenirs, toys and clothing, and a high-end gourmet food area. This sort of market always makes me wish we were staying longer!

But we had places to go... Our next site was the Great Barrier Reef, served by the rather touristy town of Cairns. We took boats out to see the reef, an old train up to a rain forest, and a swinging gondola down across a canopy of tropical trees. We learned about flora and fauna; our favorite plant was the Lawyer Vine (Calamus nuelleri), so-named for its sharp and grasping qualities. Really!

From there we flew to the center of the continent, to the magic of Uluru, also known as Ayers Rock. Here we stayed several days in the beautiful resort, in the middle of a red desert carpeted by sage-green trees, shrubs and even yellow and white flowers. And always the huge rock, the world's largest monolith, within sight. We met some of the local aboriginal people, and I took a dot-painting class from an artist. We went for breakfast watching the sun rise, out on a lonely mound, and dinner watching it set near another rock formation. An astronomist's lecture and didgeridoo concert enlivened this "dinner under the stars." Most of our activities were imbued with a mystic quality, quite unexpected.

We stayed in Perth about a week, including a few days in the beautiful green Margaret River valley, with sheep meadows, rolling hills of vineyards and masses of Calla lilies under a tall open forest of eucalyptus trees, very striking.

Our final stop before flying home from Tokyo was Singapore, a tropical city-state where Chinese, Malay and Indian cultures blend and yet keep separate elements. We delighted in the wonderful spicy food, and enjoyed learning about customs, fabulous architecture and charming people.

It's not possible to describe this trip in only a few paragraphs, but I hope to have given a sampling of our experience.

- Betsy Marvin

 

Guidelines for Contributions

We love having guest contributors, and welcome your tales of travel, stories of staying home, and other small articles! Please send them anytime to Betsy Marvin.

The newsletter needs photos! We welcome photographic contributions of our residents and around the community grounds. Please send any you might have taken to Jamie, and please include a caption or explanation of your picture!

We place “classifieds” only for residents, who also may, on a one-time basis, recommend a service or business they have used.

 

With the move of the newsletter to our website (we're sending you the link, instead of a PDF), please note that you can enlarge any of the photos included. Just click on the picture you'd like to see better, and voila! Thanks to Jamie for this improvement!

 

Thanks for reading! The next issue of Lullwater Latest is planned for the Annual Meeting in December.