September-October 2003

Family activities in September

Sophie and Dalia (and friends) enjoying the late summer weather before the start of school.  Sophie has had her share of illness already during this school year:  a cough, which developed into a cold, which became an ear infection and then mild pneumonia, and then scaled back to a regular cold and cough again.  Dalia even got an ear infection, her first!  This season has been pretty rampant with viruses.  Pertussis, pneumonia, and all sorts of awful stuff is making its way around this area.  I really hope we're done with it!!!
   
"Cousin" Csenge Nagy Magyar, a beautiful new baby daughter, was born  to our dear friends Trixie and Kalman on September 9th.  We brought them Indian food (sort of a tradition, by now!) and all sorts of other things, on our first visit, about a week after the birth.  We played at a nearby park, tried on all the different baby carriers, and had a great time with them.  I was not nearly so relaxed with Sophie at one week as they seem to be!!!  More power to them!!!

We spent a lovely Rosh Hashana with Noel's parents, who came to services with us.  They even babysat for us while we attended Ildi and Laci's wedding that weekend, which was wonderful!!!  A real treat for us, to get out, go to an evening party, and dance and eat and drink and talk just like real adults.  We really must do this more often!

Dalia's drawing, quite the little artist.  She's constantly asking for pen and paper so that she can make all her little squiggles.  She describes it as "There's Daddy and me, and Mommy and Sophie."  

Family activities in October
 
Hiking as a family on a local easement, brushing teeth together, Dalia nursing her Piglet, Dalia "helping" Mommy by scrubbing potatoes, Sophie and Dalia enjoying Shabbat rituals.

 
Judy and Dalia enjoying the Beacon Pumpkin festival.

Judy's ASL weekend
 
Talk about stepping out of the box!  On October 16 and 17, Judy attended a Silent ASL Weekend, during which the focus was ASL Storytelling, a real art form.  Can you believe that I actually signed for most of two days, didn't need to use my voice at all?  It was a nice rest for my vocal nodules, and really, really good ASL practice!!  I met two brilliant ASL storytellers, Peter Cook and Manny Hernandez (1st picture, bottom left), and learned a lot about role-shift, animating objects, setting, perspective, etc. from them and from Eileen Forestal, another presenter.  Fascinating!!!!  I know I'll be able to use this material if and when my own ASL Mommy & Me class ever takes off!  Meanwhile, I'll just practice a lot!

While I was away, Noel took the girls to a Harvest Party in CT, hosted by our friends Gina and Dirck.  They camped out and really had a ball.  It was the best thing he could have done with them--they probably didn't even notice that I wasn't around!!!

 
Our old friend Michael Shalom was a Shabbat guest later in October and snapped these photos of us.

Judy's 40th birthday celebration

For my 40th, I decided to invite several (not all!!) of my favorite women friends (and their families) to have a conversation about turning 40 and share with me any wisdom they had to offer.  The women and I all went out to the lake, leaving the men to play with the children at our house.  Afterwards, we all joined them at our house for delicious potluck food.  I had a really great time, and I think that they did, as well.  Private time to chat uninterrupted with women friends is so rare--it was so special to me to really see my "village," as I call them, all gathered together, eating, drinking, making merry, and celebrating.