Lullwater Latest

September 2014

 

It’s still warm, but the end is in sight, and we look forward to a beautiful autumn.

The community-wide Druid Hills Yard Sales later this month will give us all a chance to clean out our closets and garages, make a little cash, and spend it on more stuff to replace what we’ve tossed. Works for us!

I recently had an opportunity to meet with a couple of members of our neighbors the Hare Krishnas, who have property on South Ponce, across from the Springdale section of the Linear Park. We arrived there and asked for “Mr. Das,” as that seemed to be the name of our contact. The person at the door laughed and said, “We’re all named “Das,” because it means “servant,” and we all live to serve others.”

I thought to myself, “What a wonderful lifestyle!” I try to remind myself of this mantra frequently, but often don’t measure up. And I thought about the people who serve others here at Lullwater Estate, by working on the board, volunteering for committees, and even by sending me items and photos for the newsletters. I do so appreciate the latter. If it were not for you, we could not create a newsletter full of such interesting news! I just want to thank those who’ve contributed tidbits; they are all interesting. If you enjoy reading about your neighbors, they are sure to be interested in you. Please keep sending them!

I write this again from afar, as we’re spending this week in Sydney, Australia, where it’s still chilly early spring. It’s a treat to have traveled such that this year we’re experiencing spring several times, beginning in Atlanta. Spring here is considered to begin the first of September. But I doubt it will compare to the loveliness of Druid Hills in April. We’re so fortunate to reside in such a livable area!

 

President's Column

The dog days of August have their residue in ongoing September heat in Atlanta. Meanwhile, preparations are being made at Lullwater Estate for the coming autumn and winter. Repair work was recently done on our somewhat quirky irrigation system. Bids have been taken to fill in and patch a small sinkhole that has appeared back of Unit 29 on the eastern driveway behind the town homes there.

This coming week at its September meeting, the LEOA Board will focus its attention principally upon landscaping and other work on the Estate grounds needing attention before this winter. Board Vice President Jamie Ciomperlik, who also heads the Landscaping Committee, will be chairing the board meeting, since I will be at a remove of sixteen time zones, lecturing in New Zealand. Lullwater Estate residents wishing the board to address immediate landscaping or grounds issues should contact Jamie or other board members before the board meeting scheduled for the evening of Wednesday, September 10.

There will be at least one more general board meeting later to deal with a whole range of questions, including matters preparatory to the Wednesday, December 10, Annual LEOA Meeting. Among other matters, a Board Nominating Committee will be considering persons to be proposed as candidates for board slots opening or due to be voted upon. It is anticipated that at least three such slots will have no incumbent running to fill them, including slots occupied by the current and immediately prior president of the board.

On the common activities front, there are two important dates coming up. The annual Druid Hills Yard Sale Day will be Saturday, September 27. The LEOA Fall Social will be on Sunday, October 19. The newsletter editor and I look forward to seeing you then.

-Chuck Marvin, LEOA President

 

New Neighbors!

We’d like to welcome new Lullwater Estate (mansion) residents Cliff and Millie Amato, who recently moved into Unit #1, in the mansion. She works at Coke, and he works at home. We look forward to meeting them, and hope they’ll have time to get involved with the community!

 

Getting to Know You: Zanice and Frank Muckler, Unit #12

Zanice grew up in Coaltown in the southern coalfields of West Virginia and considers it her hometown. Her mother was the piano teacher and a performer who had Zanice and her sister perform at local musical events where Zanice sang cute little solos which started her love of singing in front of an audience. She obtained her BA at Wake Forest and her Masters of Music at Indiana University. She moved to Atlanta in 1969 and sang with Robert Shaw and the ASO Chorus and taught Choral Music. She has performed with the Atlanta Opera Touring Group and various groups in the Southeast. She has also been a staff singer in various Atlanta churches.

Frank is a native of St. Louis. He served in the Navy for 4 years and returned to finish college at St. Louis University and obtained a degree in Industrial Engineering. He worked for his father’s company, operating manufacturing plants in New Orleans and Atlanta. He started his own company in the Atlanta area manufacturing stainless steel equipment for the food service industry. He sold his business and retired.

They both have a love of music and met because of this love at a high school choral concert given by Zanice’s Choral group students. They married in 1970 and lived in Stone Mountain, prior to moving to LE. They have two children and three grandchildren, all of whom now live on the West Coast. It is a tossup whether the Mucklers will eventually move to join them. Note: (We dare not let Frank leave without getting him to tell someone where all the water shutoffs are for the complex. Apparently, he’s the only one who knows!!!)

Their mutual love of music has continued. They currently are Cantoring at St. Thomas More Catholic Church in Decatur.

They were among the first residents of Lullwater Estates, moving here in 1983 to be closer to Atlanta and avoid the long commute. They chose #12 because the front patio overlooked the front lawn and the rear faced the woodlands, which was like a meadow with few trees and no underbrush. It, in fact, served as a playground for their children. Even the Grotto was in perfect condition and not covered with ivy.

Over the years since moving to Lullwater Estates, Frank was on the first Board of Directors and served 3 or 4 more times including 2 stints as President as well as heading up numerous important committees.

The Muckler’s love the people of Lullwater Estate, the architecture, and the Druid Hills Neighborhood. They play golf and tennis at Druid Hills Golf Club. (Someday, ask Zanice how she managed to hit her tee shot that landed in back of the tee?)

Their hope for the future is that we strive to preserve the camaraderie spirit that exists at Lullwater Estates.

- by Jim and Jan Eichelberger

 

Renovation Row - Unit 50 Upstairs Guest Bathroom

Jamie and Michael recently renovated their upstairs guest bathroom. This project may be of interest to those with end units as the upstairs bathrooms are very similar. This was a difficult narrow space as it is 18 feet long by five and a half feet wide; with two closets! They removed the closet interior to the bathroom to increase the usable space and make it easier to open the door leading to the guest bedroom. Jamie drew up the design in 3D using Autodesk Maya:

Jamie did the demolition himself, which always helps save on the overall cost. The old shower/tub was removed and the toilet was moved over two feet to make room for a large modern glassed-in shower. They were not able to find a chocolate damask wallcovering sturdy enough so they decided to go with a chocolate brown paint instead. The runner is a persian rug purchased on one of their recent trips to New York City. Polished marble with emperador accents, along with a custom emporador marble vanity, custom bench, and custom mirror can be seen in the image below.

 

Watch Out!

Snakes have been spotted in the dog-walking area, and as we know, they move around, and could be anywhere in the periphery of the property, especially in plantings. It’s said that they are probably more frightened of us than we are of them, but still snakebites have occurred in Druid Hills. It doesn’t hurt to be cautious and watchful,….and being heedless might indeed hurt, a lot!

 

Alaska in August

We gathered in Anchorage at a nice Marriott, about 50 travelers for the Orbridge tour the first week, from various schools. I was with the NC State Alumni group, having been invited by old NC family friends. My friend Susan Gant, who also lost her husband last year, was my travel buddy.

We took a dome top train to Denali and began to appreciate the vastness of the natural wonders - snow capped mountain ranges, temperate rain forest of Western Hemlock and Sitka Spruce with a few aspen and birch, lowlands with wild blueberries, silver clear waterways, caribou and elk and moose, grizzlies and black bears, golden and bald eagles. We visited a ranch that raised champion Iditarod sled dogs, where we were greeted with an armful of puppies each. Jeff King, 4-time winner of that famous race from Anchorage to Nome, regaled us with stories. And don't think he will let you forget it! We rafted a swift flowing stream at the Denali, protected from the icy water by wet suits and boots that made each of us look like the Michelin Man and guided by a fellow who earned his chops with Georgia's Southeast Expeditions on the Chattooga River!! We also found a crab shack that bore a remarkable resemblance to our Southern ones, except the crab legs were HUGE. We were told we were extremely lucky to get a clear of the Denali, aka Mt McKinley; it was impressive.

Back to Anchorage for quick flight to Sitka, where the second week of our journey began on the Admiralty Dream, a 66 passenger vessel that would be home for 6 days as we cruised the upper section of Alaska's Inside Passage. A handful of additional tourists and a fine young crew rounded out a full ship. We had two zodiacs and maybe ten kayaks that could be launched off the apron at the stern. The Captain was retired Coast Guard. Our meals were very good and, like most stories I'd heard about cruise travel, it was easy to eat way too well. The cabins were small, even the largest of them, and we didn't spend many waking hours there.

We put in at Juneau for a day midweek. Fun city to walk around but a little touristy. Again a crab shack was our choice of eatery. Other days and nights we moved to various bays viewing glaciers, hiking, and adding humpback whales to mammals we could watch at quite close range. On a cold day there was a fish hatchery tour which I grudgingly followed that became fantastic when a grizzly emerged from the trees and swiped a few salmon out of the pond. We kayaked a couple of times, saw the whales three days in different places, watched the glaciers sliding into the ocean, 'calving' it's called. I learned most glaciers are losing mass but a few are replenishing the lost glacial ice with more snow added to the ice fields than they lose.

Our time in Anchorage and Sitka helped me see Alaska as place many outdoor folk love to call home, though for most it is a snowbird life, with 7-8 months in the lower 48 and long summers in Alaska. The tourist and related businesses provide the most work. Then there's fishing or oil. Our onboard Tlingit naturalist Lee lives there year round, was raised on a fishing boat. He told some of the clan stories as well as giving short talks on the wild life and the forests and glaciers.

I felt there was great camaraderie among all, quite a fortunate occurrence which sometimes didn't happen automatically. The crew helped on this score too.

Yes, I'd go back and would certainly recommend it, especially to those who like an active trip.

- by Lynn Hart

 

Recruiting Talent!

The newsletter editor is seeking a couple more committee members to help with our seven issues per year. We need someone to look for news items, and write some of them up, and could use another photographer to snap shots of residents and properties. If you feel you could volunteer, it probably would take very little time, and think of the glory! Contact Betsy Marvin, betsyw@mindspring.com.

 

Thanks for reading! The next issue of Lullwater Latest is planned for November.