Save-the-date: November 7th!

I am going to try and reschedule my Saturday morning shift at Cursive so that I can visit the NBS fair this year. Hope to see some familiar faces!

A familiar face at the Gift Fair '09

Jessica Dorfman Jones, NBS '87 and me at the NY Gift Fair in January. We bumped into each other in the aisles of the fair. It was so good to see her.

Happy 40th Birthday to all of us!

How did you celebrate your 40th birthday? Did you feel any different? Make and resolutions? Send in your birthday celebrations and I will post it on our blog!

Here's a fun posting from Celene who celebrated her 40th birthday in style in Las Vegas! Read on...

"On the weekend of October 17th I celebrated my 40th birthday with 14 of my oldest friends so of course that included several Nightingale women. Elizabeth Weilbacher, Stacey Street and Emily Robbins all took the time out and traveled from distant places to help me mark this important event in my life. We really enjoyed reminiscing about those days in New York and ended up in tears on many occasions from laughing so hard. It was the best birthday I have ever had!"

Penguins, polar bear & seals, oh my!

Monday, June 30th, Hilary Kaye Kronowitz was in town with her family, through July 4th weekend, and we were able to meet up in the city on my day off.

We met up at the Central Park Zoo with her husband Lowell and their children Amanda (3) and Peter (7) on a very very humid day. I missed meeting their eldest son Jack (9) who had just left for camp in Maine the evening before.

When was the last time you were at the Central Park Zoo? For me, it's been ages, however, it was really pleasant and fun to see penguins, polar bears and seals in the middle of Manhattan!

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Lowell and Hilary at the polar bear enclosure

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Hilary, her kids and I walked down from the Central Park Zoo to the Sony Style atrium on Madison and met up with Hillary Smith Ripley. It was a nice mini-reunion!
(photo taken by Peter Kronowitz)

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An unusual flower at the Central Park Zoo

Donating to Nightingale's Annual Fund!

I am calling out to all of classmates to join me and Celene in encouraging class participation of the Annual Fund which closes this Monday, June 30th!

As of yesterday our class was at 42% down from 52% last year and Celene and I would like to beat 52% this year! Thank you everyone!

Happy New Year!

I had a surprise visit from Mrs. Williamson and she brought Mrs. Seccombe who had never been to ABC Carpet! Mrs. Seccombe is having a book published and invited me to her book party in February. I will be sure to attend and take more photos of the NBS crowd.

NYC Alumnae Reception

Sad news...

Dear friends, Celene received a phone call from Stacey Street saying that her mother, who had been very ill since the summer, passed away on Sunday evening, September 30th just after moving into a hospice that weekend. Stacey said her mother did not suffer and that the family was able to spend time with her which was a blessing.

Celene had a wonderful conversation with Stacey sharing memories of their childhood and her mother. "We have known each other since preschool and we lived very close to one another in elementary school. I am sure everyone will remember Stacey's mother, Sara, as a wonderfully vibrant and energetic woman. Please say a prayer for Stacey at this difficult time." - Celene

Please feel free to email Celene if you would like Stacey's address.

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In memory of Sara Street

My clearest memories of Mrs. Street was her smile, her generosity in hosting Glee Club practices and the unofficial term we gave her: "mother hen" to all of us in Glee Club. We could always count on her to be in the audience for any of our concerts in New York. I've known Stacey since 1st grade and we've had our share of play dates, birthday parties etc... I could always recognize Mrs. Street's voice over the phone and I can still hear her voice now. My deepest thoughts & prayers to Stacey and her family. - MK

Saturday, July 14, 2007

Alexia was in town for a friend's wedding. She dropped by Cursive yesterday afternoon and I took her to my new favorite lunch place, 'wichcraft, for some yummy sandwiches and a quiet place to catch up!

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Photos and emails from last year.

March 6, 2006

Alexia's son Harry

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March 19, 2006

J.A.P. Chronicles: the Musical is almost here! The first preview is April 17th and it's a short run, so get right to it! The show is a lot of fun and full of melody, heart, and humor. I really hope you'll catch it! Ticket info below.

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April 25, 2006

Hi everyone! I, too, am so sad to have missed the reunion. But for a good reason! My first off-broadway show is playing at the Perry Street Theater, called J.A.P. Chronicles, the musical, based on my novel which is now out in paperback. It's a one-woman musical and I'm the woman so if anyone of you are in NY, please come down and catch it. It's lots of fun and you don't need to be a J.A.P. to enjoy it.

On the personal front, I have a delicious red-haired daughter named Lily who is now 4 and 3/4's (as she'd tell you). I'm currently living down in Tribeca and my fiance owns a terrific coffee house called Pecan so please come in for cup of coffee and a snack. I'll probably be there!

I send love to all.

xo,
Isabel

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April 28, 2006

I wanted to post this email from Lisa Thurston Remsen emailed after Reunion which most of us received.

Hi everyone. How great to see these pictures. I wish I could have been there, but we were enjoying spring vacation in the Bahamas. I attached a picture of Olivia and Chase with their Dad and Grandfather (also a massive barracuda who Chase didn't warm up to). I'm fortunate because I get to see Cameron and her beautiful daughters all the time up at the Lyme School where Olivia attends first grade. Cam lives just over the hill from me!

I'm busy being a mom, wife, Aunt (my little sister Dana has twins, Phoebe and Archer), and a freelance graphic designer. Life in the country is wonderful, it took me this long to realize I'm not a city girl after all. My daughter Olivia falls to sleep at night to "Baby Stories" which are most often tales of my days in a blue uniform at NBS.

Sad to have missed seeing you all, next time I hope the timing is better. :) Lisa

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May 19, 2006

Ken Johnson emailed me to say that Julia (Lee Lee) Walker made a gift last year to NBS and wrote on the envelope with the following news: My family and I live in Jackson, WY where we've been enjoying beautiful May weather. My husband, Chris, and I have two children. Julia is 5 years old and Robbie is 2 and a half years old.

Hope you are all well. I hope you enjoyed Reunion. I thought it was a great weekend.

An email from Heather

Hi MK,
Thanks for the update and maintaining the blog with Celene - it's really enjoyable :) As far as we're concerned, we've had a great summer so far...we just returned from celebrating our Happy 15 Year Wedding Anniversary in Hawaii - it was awesome! We got to do some snorkeling, surfing, helicopter flying and spending lots of time together as a family - wonderful! Attached are a few photos...

Please take care and I hope your sister enjoys her new position!
Cheers,
Heather (and Rich and Kathleen Lee) :)

September 12, 2006 - Kathleen Lee was born to Heather and Rich
- photo taken at Point Pleasant, NJ

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(sorry I didn't post these photos from last year...)

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San Francisco photos

(clockwise from upper left):
1. Close-up of flower in Corrina's (my girlfriend & host) backyard
2. Corrina's youngest daughter's foot
3. Fresh salsa fixin's
4. hydrangeas from the backyard
5. Grilled shrimp
6.Grace (Corrina's 3 yr old daughter) playing peek-a-boo
7. A white still life from a waffle breakfast
8. Bay Bridge reflected in The Slanted Door
9. Me at Kenneth Wingard's store (my former employer)

News from MK & Liane

Hello everyone,

I, too, just returned from a 10-day trip to San Francisco. I love that city and we had amazing weather which made it even more beautiful! I was visiting a girlfriend who moved to Burlingame, CA with her family and I helped her unpack & organize her "mom" desk in the kitchen. A lot of fun, laughter and catching up was the gist of the vacation. I took over 1200 digital photos so I will go through them and post a few...

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Liane Manshel is a co-founder of a new website called Tastybaby: http://tastybaby.com/

Here is what she wrote on April 22nd about the launch of her new website:

"Happy Earth Day!

We are so thrilled to be able to share our new website with you... This is the result of lots & lots of planning, and we're really proud of it and we hope it shows. Our site is all about kids, moms, food, fashion & FUN. It's also about doing the right thing in your own right way - for yourself, your family & the planet. Of course, it's still a work in progress, with plenty of content yet to come in the next few weeks and months.

We are hoping that you’ll take some time to check it out. If you like what you see, PLEASE SHARE IT WITH YOUR FRIENDS! That would mean the world to us. Also let us know your thoughts... we want feedback!

XXX
Liane & Shannan... or, the Tasty Girls!

PS - Don't forget to check the site often because we're going to have some great new features and exclusive content in the days and weeks ahead! If you are interested in receiving additional updates and news don't forget to become a member!!"

News from Celene

In early June I had a work trip to Dublin. I thought it would be fun to see if Jenny could join me for the few days in between my meetings when I had free time. I planned to explore Ireland with my colleagues and knew there was room for another travel companion. Luckily Jenny was free!

We met at the airport on a Friday morning and the adventure began. One word of advice, do not rent a mini van in a country where the roads are not wide enough for a regular car! I was in the passenger seat most of the time and often let out fearful cries as my friend Danny tackled the "roundabouts." Ultimately the whole driving experience was a source of amusement for all of us. It was a true road trip with lots of conversation, laughing and snack eating.

We left Dublin and visited Cork for one night and then a small town on the West Coast called Ennis. In the region near Cork we stopped at several castles including Blarney. There was a student group at one of the tourist stops. It reminded me of our Glee Club trip to England when they spontaneously gathered on the green and began singing a beautiful Irish ballad. Our second night was spent on the West Coast.

In the morning we visited the Cliffs of Moher which are breathtaking. The tops of the cliffs are covered with sheep grazing!!!! It was the perfect image to have of Ireland. In the evening we were very lucky to stumble upon a local pub that had live music. Several musicians were in town for a festival and had ended up there to relax and play together. We returned to Dublin two days after we left and it felt like it had been much longer given everything we had seen and experienced. Jenny stayed on an extra day to see the city and I had to get back to work but did so rejuvenated.

So that is my news to share. I thought you would all enjoy hearing that some NBS girls took Ireland by storm for a few days and were reminiscing about the good old days back on 92nd street with all of you. Hope you are all well and enjoying the summer.

Love Celene

Hey everyone, check out this photo above! This is on Nightingale's alumnae page

I discovered this photo in my archives from our 20th reunion!

Here's an email from Hilary that I received this evening:

Hi Mary,
Hope you had a nice summer. We traveled a bit and enjoyed the break from our usual routine. How are things going with you? Did you take any vacation, see any one special?

The Blog is great. I have not posted to one before and am not sure how to do it. So - if this photo can be added - great.

You can add some information if it works - Just the basics I guess - I moved from NY 2 years ago and am living with my husband, Lowell, and 3 children in Savannah, GA. Jack is almost nine, Peter is 7, and Amanda is 18 months old. We bought a family business down here. I am home with the children and working part-time.

That's about it.

Thanks for setting up the blog.

My family: Amanda (18mos.), Me, Lowell, Peter (7) and Jack (9) in Savannah this past July 4th

Sorry for the late posting... I saw Sasha Lazard in April walking through ABC Carpet and ran after her to say hello and of course had to take a photo of her. She looked great and was pregnant back then. I also told her that I was a fan of her cd "They Myth of Red".


Sasha (pregnant) & me

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Several months go by (3 to be exact - July), I am walking up Broadway and on the corner of 84th Street who should be crossing the street but Amy Lassar and her husband Scott. We ended up talking on the corner for the next 45 minutes it seems. Amy and Scott were on visting the East Coast and had just gotten back from Maine with their kids. It was great to see them and they still had some travelling to do before returning to L.A. Amy also mentioned that Celene had stayed with them when she visited L.A.


Scott & Amy



a self-portrait of the three of us...

I bumped into Laura Mann, NBS '89, at the New York Intl Gift Fair which was held at the Javits Center. She immediately recognized me as someone who went to Nightingale and it took me a few seconds to recognize her... Laura is pregnant with her first child and keeps in touch with Dana Thurston NBS '89. Laura was talking with a friend of mine, Robin Kramer, sales manager for Dogeared Jewelry (www.dogearedjewerly.com) in Los Angeles. Dogeared Jewelry makes great gifts for women of all ages especially young girls!

Laura Mann '89 & MK Wong '86

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Laura, MK & Robin Kramer

Just read an email from Heather McLaughlin who wanted to share a bit of news... she and her husband are expecting their first baby... probably within the next week!! Has anyone heard from Cameron Paynter who was expecting in August?

Dear Hilary, in mid-August I photographed a friend's wedding in Rochester, NY which was a lot of fun as I was THE photographer for the entire event. It was great hands-on experience to be thrown into the field. This month I have two weddings: This weekend I will be in Greenport, LI where I am a guest along with the photographer for a friend I met at a lecture last year. Next weekend the wedding is in Richmond, VA for the son of a dear friend of my parents.

I am looking forward to the holiday season at Cursive New York. If anyone is in town I would love to show off this great store!

best,
MK