My 2022 Holiday Letter

December 2022

5 Alban Mews

New Albany, Ohio 43054
Email: roderickchu@att.net

A holiday note to my family, friends, and colleagues —

    My sister Laura and I continued to take our time going through stuff in our Mom’s house in Briarcliff Manor, NY, sorting out important papers, family keepsakes, photo albums, and piles of loose photos. Conscious of the high property taxes and utilities we continued to pay for an unoccupied house, we finally started shoveling Mom’s clothing collection into bags for Laura to go through in her home and other stuff into boxes to move to a storage facility for me to continue sorting through in Ohio. The good news is that, almost 2 ½ years after Mom’s passing, the work is now done and we’ve given the empty house to one of Mom’s trusted realtor friends from her Rotary Club to get into shape and sell. Selling a parent’s house is something most of us might do only once in our lives, so few have much experience doing so. I’ve learned a lot in this process and will have to write my thoughts down to share. But here are couple of key suggestions: 1. Find a local charity that’ll pick up donations of anything useful from your front door. Most groups limit things they’ll take, but I eventually found the United Breast Cancer Foundation. 2. Get emotionally prepared to trash a lot of stuff that you’d hope would be useful to needy folk or to recycle. It might not pay to take time sort out this stuff when you’re incurring thousands of dollars in property tax and utility costs on an unused residence. Instead, find a trash hauler who will quickly junk the stuff – ours took only 11⁄2 days to clear out 7 dumpster loads – and donate the saved property taxes etc. to charity.

    COVID continued to run rampant in the U.S. and most of my family members contracted it this year despite being fully vaccinated and boosted. Fortunately, they suffered with no serious problems. Still, I spent much of this year isolating at home, doing what I could to avoid exposure and fortify my immune system. As a result, I have stayed COVID-free. I haven’t been a hermit, though, and have felt comfortable dining with friends and participating in my Cornell, cultural, neighborhood, and church activities.

    All the work cleaning out Mom’s house kept my travels limited to Briarcliff Manor and environs, Ithaca for Cornell gatherings, and Laura & David’s home in Bolton, MA. I drove to each comfortably in my Lexus NX300 (leased, hoping for self-driving cars to become a reality). Many driving hours passed quickly and informatively with my iPhone well-stocked with audiobooks for the trips.

    I’m grateful that this year I have been able to see and spend more time with friends. With Mom’s house now taken care of, I look forward to getting back to traveling and seeing family & friends even more.

    My best wishes to you and yours for a joyous holiday season and a healthy and happy new year! Hope to see you in 2023! 

Sincerely,
Rod

My blogs:     http://rchu.wordpress.com                                       http://www.choosygourmand.wordpress.com 

Friend me on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/rodchu

Cleaning Out Mom's House

In the 2 ½ years since our Mom’s passing, Laura & I squeezed monthly trips into our schedules to go to Mom’s house to sort through her lifetime of accumulated stuff. I recycled bundles of cardboard boxes and over 100 shopping bags we filled with trash papers. Laura took charge of Mom’s clothing collection. The Museum of Chinese in America’s Nancy Yao came over to examine Mom’s custom made cheongsams and was grateful to receive our donation of them as MOCA lost their entire fabrics collection to a fire in January 2020. Tag Along, Mom’s favorite estate sale company, sold her furniture and fine china for us. We packed over 300 boxes of stuff that I need to go through further and had them moved to a Public Storage room near my home so we could empty out the house for sale. Finally, Al’s Junk Removal took away most of the rest to landfills and Mom’s realtor friend from Rotary is now taking care of selling the emptied house.

Family Visits

AUG: Great-nephew A.J. was my houseguest on his 3-day drive from his Boston home to Colorado College for his sophomore year. Among the sights we explored: Columbus’ Topiary Park with 100+ live plant figures from a Seurat painting. NOV: At Laura & David’s home in Bolton for Gianni’s birthday and Thanksgiving. Laura cooked non-stop for 3 days for our gathering with A.J., Gian, Alexandra, & my niece Karen. I’m sad, though, that my limited travels kept me from seeing my nephew Steven and Shari, and my good friend Michael Richardson.

Dining at New Albany Country Club

I enjoyed seeing many friends during the year over meals by Chef Kent Rigsby and his colleagues at New Albany Country Club: Jon Tafel & Sandy Miller, Rich & Susan Petrick, Midge & Tally Krumm; Vivian Davis, Lisal & Don Gorman; Easter Egg Hunt with Katie Chio & Athena; Rich & Carol Stoff; Shaun Yoder; Garry Walters & Sylvia Marotta; Liz Tracy & Mabel Freeman; Fathers Day buffet with Warren & Stella Woo, Ambrose Ng, Ping & Virginia Chen, Theresa & S.L. Lee; Linda & Bob Gorman; David Glisson & Jim Miller; Jason Krumm.

Tasting Diners Around Columbus

I indulged my foodie passions almost every month with many-course wine & tasting dinners around Columbus. At NACC: Filet Mignon Rossini with Alison Rodriguez, Winemaker, Hess Persson Estates; Crisp Kurobuta Pork Belly Confit with NACC’s John Squire & Fisher Vineyards’ Lizz Cintron. Sherran Blair’s Refectory dinner with Janet & Terry George and Janice & Herb Wolman. A5 Wagyu Beef with winemaker Natalie Bath of Rudd Estate at Veritas. Fennel/miso/culantro at one of four 8- to 9-course Roys Ave Supper Club dinners at the home of Chef Andrew & Devoney Smith, here with Adam Einhorn & Katie Chio. “Black Chicken” Braised Short Ribs at Carfagna’s Biale Wine Dinner. Collaborative chefs dinners at Degrees: Indie Chefs Kate Djupe, Matt Heaggans, Andrew Smith, and Avishar Barua – Avishar’s Zarcie Bengalskie dish with Angela Liu, Lori Crabtree, and Claire Jennings; French Fry Frosty Macaron at Matt & Kate’s And Friends Sips & Snacks dinner with Claire, Lori, & Adam. Wine importer Jon Offredo’s Peterson Winery Dinner with owner Fred Peterson at Heritage Country Club. 

Dining Around New York City

I took breaks from working at Mom’s house to dine as a guest of friends around NYC. MAR: Tom & Pat Shiah at Alain Ducasse ‘s Benoit for cassoulet. JUN: Cynthia & Bill Ling at Domani in N.J. SEP: James & Jonathan Wong with Chester Mah at Ocean Bay in Queens for Braised Goose; Ray Chen and niece Stephanie with Vatican art expert and Chinese antiques collector Fr. Paul Tabor at Chinatown’s 218 Restaurant.

Special Events

MAR: The Museum of Chinese in America’s annual Legacy Awards Gala at Cipriani South Street in NYC. MOCA Board of Directors’ and Gala Co-Chairs Patty Pei and actor David Henry Hwang welcomed the hundreds of attendees – among them, architect Sandi Pei, artist Maya Lin, Metropolitan Museum of Art curator Mike Hearn, and Dehan Chen & Pamela Tung. MOCA President Nancy Yao introduced speakers including Senator Chuck Schumer, Legacy Awardee Gov. Gary Locke, and Maya Lin, designer of MOCA’s new museum.

APR: Members of former Ohio Governor Bob Taft’s cabinet and staff gathered in Columbus to celebrate his 80^th birthday. It was good to see old friends & colleagues: Joyce & Tom Johnson; Jo Ann Davidson & Betty Montgomery; Ann Womer & David Benjamin; Jim Mahoney & Shaun Yoder. Gov. Mike DeWine was among the political and staff leaders there to offer praise of Gov. & Mrs. Taft. 

MAY: Pleased to represent Columbus friends at Kory Blair & Elie Farkas’s wedding in NJ, with her Mom Sherran, and sisters Kay and Dee. Tons of good food. I learned much, as it was my first Orthodox Jewish wedding, with Orthodox men and women dining and dancing separately, and my being warned not to touch the bride – until Kory rushed up to declare it was okay by giving her “Uncle” Rod a big hug. 

Gardening

 

APR-OCT: Wanting to try my hand at growing vegetables, I rented a 4x8’ plot in the New Albany Community Garden, behind our village hall. It was a good learning experience and my efforts resulted in some nice herb plants, a few tomato plants, and tasty snow & sugar snap peas. Meanwhile, the perennials in my front garden did well as did my houseplants that I moved out to my patio, with a Garden Tower planter letting me grow over 50 plants in it, including strawberries, marigolds, chives, and herbs. Mom’s Night Blooming Cereus rewarded me with 3 rounds of big blossoms before I moved the houseplants back indoors to my sunroom and living room just before our first frost.

Friends' Cooking Classes

 

OCT:  Sharon Dunn taught a small class at New Albany’s Heit Center to make Montreal-style Bagels. My team made Everything Bagels and they turned out beautifully! Now I’ll need to regrease my 50-year-old Kitchen Aid Stand Mixer so I can make more of these at home. NOV: Shawnie Kelley’s Tuscan Farmhouse Feast class at Columbus State Community College’s beautiful culinary facility. My teammate Barbara and I were among 8 teams that made a yummy grilled flank steak, mushroom risotto, arugula salad, and Florentine chocolate budino dinner.

Columbus' BalletMet

FEB, APR, MAY, SEP, OCT: I’ve been thrilled that with Edwaard Liang’s arrival as Artistic Director of BalletMet 10 years ago, the company has developed to offer truly world-class quality performances. I’ve attended all their shows when I’ve been home this year including the classic Giselle, and Edwaard’s Cinderella and Four Seasons. As a donor, I’ve gotten to attend private informational rehearsal sessions. I was honored to be elected to the Board of Trustees of BalletMet in June, letting me tap my arts experiences as a trustee of Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival and as a 25-year member of the Metropolitan Opera Club. The new season began with a free outdoor performance at Bicentennial Park with excerpts of the upcoming season’s ballets. I was delighted to invite Jenny Bowen, Mike Durik, and Kate & Tony Thomas to be my guests for the season opening performance of BalletMet at the Ohio Theatre and Jim Miller for Dracula at the Davidson Theatre.

Cornell Meetings

MAR: With Cornell’s October Trustee-Council Annual Meeting having been canceled for two years due to COVID, we happily gathered on campus in the spring for a Cornell Leadership Week. Gligor Tashkovich & I congratulated fellow Johnson School alumnus Kraig Kayser as Cornell’s new Board Chair. Joe & Marney Thomas again hosted my stay with superb wines and food in their lovely home where I admired  Marney’s prowess in raising the cutting from Mom’s Night Blooming Cereus plant to a lush 6+ foot tall beauty. I was among the family and close colleagues who celebrated the life of our beloved late President Frank H. T. Rhodes in Sage Chapel, emceed by Susan Murphy – televised on campus and webcast – and at a private reception: Joe greeting Rosa Rhodes; Ezra Cornell & past Board Chair Bob Harrison.

OCT: Back to Ithaca for the Trustee-Council Annual Meeting on our normal fall schedule. Joe, Marney, and I enjoying wines from his cellar and their magnificent Cayuga Lake view. Wine expert Richy Petrina welcomed us with some wine in his new wine tasting/event space in downtown Ithaca. Fall colors were the most vibrant they’ve been for TCAM in many years. I joined many fellow prior recipients to welcome the new class of Frank H. T. Rhodes Exemplary Alumni Service Award winners at dinner in the Statler Hotel’s Carrier Ballroom. 

Peace Lutheran Church

DEC’21: Our Children’s Ministry again conducted a COVID-safe Drive Thru Nativity for the local community to enjoy. Spent a quiet Xmas at home. APR: Arose early for our Easter Sunrise Service led by Pastor Tony Katko on a chilly morning with Alan Hewett. JUL: Using my power washer, my team cleaned years of dirt from the Labyrinth at our Memorial Columbarium, making the path more visible to guide walkers.

Printed 2022 Letter

 I fit all the above into one double-sided legal sheet to include with my Christmas cards. Since Adobe stopped supporting its InDesign app except on a monthly subscription basis, I bought Affinity Publisher at a reasonable one-time purchase cost and made the easy switch to it to lay out this year's letter. If you'd like a hard copy, I'd be happy to mail you one - just send an email with your mailing address to me at roderick.chu@att.net.