Samarrahs Bat Mitzvah

Howdy all,

Our daughter Samarrah had her Bat Mitzvah this past Friday, along with 25 other fellow classmates who studied Hebrew and other things Jewish ...traditions, Torah....etc.
Through a group funded by Birthright Israel.

It was a very nice evening....with 25 young adults telling their stories...of why they were not bar or bat mitzvahed at age 13....and why they have decided they wanted to do this now....
It was great to hear all the different stories...but one thing seemed constant amongst all....they felt that now .....they appreciate what this means more than what it would have as a 13 year old...".its not about the party or the presents",
as one of the students said....
now at this stage in their life...
Its about community, tradition, and heritage.
Its about making the choice to..
connect to their roots.
Their Jewishness....


Samarrah wrote a beautiful poem....you can hear that on the video....
enjoy....



click on this link to read the interpreted lyrics to So Far by HaBanot Nechama

Mom and Dads 60th Anniversary on the Essex Steam Train

Congratulations Mom and Dad 60 years.....wow




the family

links to other albums....


by tink59

Taras album


by dawnjeffprodigynet

Diagnosis

fractured fifth metatarsal...
splinted will need a cast to keep it from moving....six weeks healing time....
bummer...
i wanted to do some swimming...
its HOT...

update.....didnt need cast......bought special shoe ...

True Colors Tour....wii fit injury....

Howdy all,
Last night Jeff and I had free tickets....to the True Colors Tour....with the below artists...

Cyndi Lauper
The B-52s
Rosie O'Donnell
Tegan and Sara
The Cliks
with Host
Carson Kressley

The goal of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender (GLBT) equality is at the heart of True Colors. From day one, the tour has sought to raise awareness about the discrimination the GLBT community still faces and raise significant funds for the organizations that work everyday on their behalf.

I really enjoyed Tegan and Sara and a few of the Cliks songs....the B52s got the house dancing.....Rosie O'Donnell was funny and had some tender moments when talking about her mother...
And Cindi Lauper was full of energy as usual....

I couldn't get up and dance but danced in my chair....Earlier in the day....i was using my wii fit ....and was doing the advanced step aerobics....well i slipped off the step and fell onto the left side of my left foot...I think it was because i have my sofa pulled out into a bed...and I don't have much room for the side to side steps...i was compensating for the lack of room and well...i slipped...
I cant put pressure on my left foot....I went shopping yesterday morning with my mother and hobbled around...but as the day progressed i couldn't walk as well.....
So to get to the concert i used a cane and Jeff borrowed a wheelchair from the casino and wheeled me around...he thought he was a race car driver......i thought i was going to end up on my face if he hit a bump ....luckily no other injury's...
Today we will go to a clinic and have my foot xrayed to see if i broke something....
I guess i wont be doing the wii fit for a while....I will still do the upper body exercise like tennis, bowling and baseball....maybe a little golf.....
oh well..

Memorial Day at mom and dads

howdy all
here is the Memorial Day video a week later....
better late than never is all I have to say....

Ati and Missys Wedding

Howdy all,

Saturday...we went to the wedding of my nephew Ati and his lovely bride Missy.
I forgot to charge my battery on my camera so i didnt take as many pictures and video as i wanted....oh well...
Tammy took some video as well and will post it as soon as she gets it together...I borrowed some of her still pictures to add to mine.
Anyway....we had a great time...the rain held off...and everyone had fun.


My Brother John, His wife Barbara and Atis daughter Julianna

Mom and Dad

Me, Mom, Dad ..sisters Tammy and Lori..




Ati and Missys Wedding

This is my webshots slideshow...you can click on the slideshow to view or go to my webshots album to see pictures as they were taken...

found old Haiku

As I was spring cleaning I found some old Haiku I had done for my old Homestead website...
I also found a story I started about Ballie...which i will post later....




Cat Haiku

Black boy sits and looks
intently at the toy
hoping it will move.

Overflowing the cardboard box
the cat finds coziness
inside its cramped corners.

Silly boy, Silly boy

he jumps and pounces

on his shadow.

6am fur alarm
stone hits hardwood floor
hungry cat happy with our stirring.

Eyes open in slits
mouth wide in yawn as paws stretch
eyes close...Its Nap time.


other Haiku

The sun sits gently
on my cool face
making it feel like summer.


Pink blossoms unfurl
to breathe in the freshness
of spring.

Coziness, cats and a dog rule
in their household run with love
and collections.

Beautiful woman,
yesterday, struggling teenager
today she saves the world.

Another lifer

howdy all,

Jeff and I went birding this morning at Bluff Point.
We were hoping that there would be allot of migrating warblers.....but it was a windy day..
We did see lots of yellow warblers, a black and white warbler and the lifer of the day was a Blue winged warbler, as it turned out there were actually quite a few blue winged....i believe that they nest here.

We met a biker while we were birding and he showed us a few trails that we haven't been on...so next time we will do a bit more exploring. One of the trails leads to Haley farm...another goes out to Groton long point area. This is a great place for mountain bikers as well as walkers and joggers.

The air smelled so sweet today....there was something blooming that filled the air with a wonderful aroma......we didn't have time to look for shore birds...as we were busy looking for migrants....I think all the birds we saw were migrating locals.....
I think we missed the big migration here which would be the first two weeks of may....but we may check out a few more areas for late migrating birds.

I worked in the garden today....pulled up some brick borders and replaced them so that they would show up a bit more....the soil had covered allot of them...also planted some annuals...
I will do some more gardening later this week....maybe change a few things around.....

anyway....spring has sprung again....ha...our first spring was in North Carolina....
Lucky us to have two springs.....

NYC walking ,birding, eating, and Spamalot

Howdy all,

We had a really great day yesterday....in my opinion, the best that NYC has to offer...
Central Park birding...eating and a really terrific show.

We wanted to take a walk in Central Park and happened upon many birders in the Ramble area....all staring at a Chuck Wills widow...a rare bird here.

We didn't have our binoculars but the birds that we saw were all down low. Canada Warbler, Ovenbird, Black throated blue warbler, Common Yellow throat, Wilson's Warbler, Black and White Warbler, Magnolia Warbler, Verey, Wood thrush, Catbirds, Robins, Cardinals and a few others. Boy did we wish we had our Binos.
We left the birdy area and headed back into town for dinner before our 8pm show.
Dinner was sooooo yummy.....We went to Blossom. Jeff, Samarrah and I all ordered the same entree. Sietan cutlets encrusted with rosemary and nuts pan fried with a garlic cream sauce and cranberries, served with whipped cauliflower and sauteed spinach with garlic. Desert was the most wonderful tofu cheesecake I have had, with a strawberry sauce.
I cant tell u how delicious it was...I am dreaming about it now....it is not an inexpensive restaurant. I think our entrees were 21 dollars each, well worth it for a special treat.

We topped of the night by seeing Spamalot.....it was excellent...hysterical and just plan fun.
Go see it if you get a chance....
I cryed because it was just soooo good.
What a fun day.

Brooklyn Botanical Gardens more photos and a video

by dawnjeffprodigynet

click on the picture to go to the full album

More photos of our walk in the gardens.....I forgot to mention that this is prime migration time for birds and without our binoculars we saw alot of great birds.