Happy Thanksgiving!

We spent Thanksgiving at Pete and Liz's house in New Jersey. The food was excellent and it was so nice to see everyone. We also got to meet their new little cat, Lily. She is very cute. After dinner, we sang, "Happy Birthday," to Paige, who turned 10 on that day. She loves horses, so her gifts were mostly horse-related. Jill is into reading the Twilight books and also loved the movie. We got a chance to try out their Wii Fit game before we journeyed back to New York City. Above is the group photo of the family.

More photos:

Obama Day in Kenya

My cousin Mark recently celebrated "Obama Day" in Kenya with his family. Here is his note and photo from the day:

Thursday was a national holiday here in Kenya, so I guess Barrack Obama is as important as Joma Kenyatta. We went to one of the local hotels and ate 2 Kg. of roasted goat with all the extras one would usually have with such a meal. Everyone had a good time. Attached there is a picture from our day.

Pictured: Mark, Neema and Nancy

A Gala in NYC

Guillaume and I were recently invited to a gala. Here is a photo of me with some of my current and former colleagues at the party. (l to r) Me, Ingrid, Jenn, Amber and Kristy.

Neema's First Day of School

Neema started school last week. She goes two days a week. Here is a picture of her on her first day! Isn't she the cutest???? She lives far away from us right now, but I can't wait to meet her some day.

More Summer Fun - France!

We went to France in September to visit Guillaume's family and friends. We started out in the South of France, near Spain, in a region know as the Basque Country (Pays Basque) and made our way back to Paris for the end of the trip.

Pays Basque is one of the most spectacular regions of France. The food there is like none I have ever tasted. The houses are well-kept and painted red and white in a perfect contrast with the rolling mountains around them. The Basque people are very proud of their heritage and wear it proudly. They speak Basque, an isolated language, that sounds nothing like French. It has lots of "k's" and "x's."

We spent some time with Guillaume's grandma in Cambo Les Bains. She has the most beautiful terrace on her home. It's so nice to hang out there on during the warm days or the cool nights listening to the crickets and other night time noises.

We also visited Guillaume's uncle, his mom's brother, in Capbreton, a surf town that reminded me a lot of California. We had a lovely evening with his aunt and uncle and then met his cousin Marion to go dancing at a local club. In the morning, we enjoyed an excellent breakfast of pain au chocolat outside in the sun. It was delightful.

After that, we visited the other side of Guillaume's family, his dad's brother, in St. Colome. It was about two hours away. His uncles home was nestled in the mountains. It is a beautiful wooden house that he built himself. The views from the terrace are amazing. After dinner, we drove to the top of the mountain and looked at the beautiful, bright stars. Wild horse and cows were roaming around. You could hear the sounds of the cow bells in the distance. It was amazing.

After that, we spent a few days at the beach in Biarritz and Anglet while enjoying some Gateau Basque. YUM. Then, we got on a plane (EasyJet - come on, let's fly!) and headed to Paris. After the short flight, we met Guillaume's good friend Julien, who was nice enough to get us at the airport and drive us back to Nogent sur Marne.

We spent the next couple of days enjoying the city and seeing Guillaume's family and friends. We were able to visit his grandparents and spend some time with them. It was nice to see them! We also saw some friends from NYC who had moved to France last year. It was a blast.

Of course, it all went by too fast as usual!

More Wedding Pix

Here is the whole Jedinak family at the wedding in August. Don't they look great?

Summer Fun Memories

Before we left for France, Guillaume and I were invited by Bill and Terry to their friend's house in Rhinebeck, NY. They invited a bunch of us to spend Labor Day weekend there. Tara, Ricky, Jeff, Andrew and others were all there. Everyone brought their dogs.

After work on Friday night, we hopped onto the Amtrak train at Penn Station and got to Rhinebeck around 8 PM. We took a taxi from the station and arrived while everyone else was cooking up a big feast of pasta and veggies. We ate outside on a big picnic table with candles and wildflower bouquets. Though it was early September, it was already getting chilly, so we all put our sweaters on.

After dinner, we did the dishes while listening to music and some of the guys built a bonfire in the backyard. That's when it began misting a little bit. None of us moved, though. We were having too much fun. Eventually, we brought the party inside of the historic house from the 1700s.

The house, called the Feather Farm, is named for the fact that it once had a barn full of birds on the property. The birds produced feathers for hats in New York City. The barn is still there, but the birds are long gone. It's located a little distance from the main house and looks dilapidated and creepy.

Part of the allure of the Feather Farm is that there is no television and no cell phone service. You are completely isolated from the world. Your job can't reach you. You can't check your email. No internet shopping. At first, this was weird for us. We spent most of the day hanging out and laying around and reading. It was very relaxing. One afternoon, we took a walk up the road to see the neighbor's houses.

When we weren't relaxing, we were cooking the next meal, eating a meal or cleaning up after one. Terry made some excellent dishes. We had an egg bake for breakfast that was delicious. There was a plum cobbler (with plums from the tree in the yard) that was excellent. We had ribs and grilled corn. Yum.

All in all it was a fantastic time. We are looking forward to visiting again!

France!

I will fill you in more later on our trip to France in September. For now, here is a picture of the small town where Guillaume's uncle lives. He built a beautiful house in the middle of the mountains there. The views are spectacular. After we ate dinner with them, we went up to the top of the mountain to see the beautiful stars. There were also wild horses running around! 

Jodi and Stephen Visit NYC

In August, Jodi and Stephen came to visit NYC. They came for a Horan family reunion and also to see an exhibit at the MOMA that featured the house that they live in. They own a "Lustron" house. Click here to see the website from the exhibition. They had a model house inside the MOMA that looked just like their house! Since much of the furniture is built-in, it looked exactly like their house.

We had a great time with them. I wish they lived closer! We spent some time catching up at a bar in our neighborhood called "The Other Room." They have an excellent beer list, including belgian beers and this Japanese beer that I love called Hitchino. If they lived nearby, I feel like we'd be spending time together all the time. Unfortunately for Guillaume and me, they live far away....

Bob's Birthday

It was Bob's birthday and we went to Randolph to celebrate with him, my mom and my sister. We had an excellent dinner at Pierre's and then had a yummy cake made by the local bakery.  Here is a picture of Bob and Sue.

Congrats to Zofia and Jozef!

Sorry I've been away for so long. Guillaume and I got very busy toward the end of the summer. Then, we took a short trip upstate with some friends. After that, we were off to France to see Guillaume's friends and family and relax a little. We had a great time, but now we are back to reality.

While we were running around, Zofia and Jozef were getting married in Budimir. The wedding photos are absolutely beautiful. The bride and groom look stunning and so does the rest of the family. I wish we could have been there to see them get married. It looks like it was a lot of fun. I'll leave you with a picture of the bride and groom. They sent us a couple of other great photos of the family. More to follow!

Letter from the Jedinak Family

I received a letter in June from the Jedinak family that was filled with news. Things were so busy, I forgot to report back to you about it.

Here's a quick update: They are having a great summer with nice, sunny days and a little bit of rain. In their garden there are cherries and strawberries. Zuzana is working at a hotel in Kosice Cityand will visit Cyprus for 10 days in September. She hopes to study tourism at the University. Zofia is preparing for her wedding on August 23. They are going to send us pictures after the wedding. (I can't wait to see them!) Katka is doing well and working at the same office. Veronika is enjoying her summer holidays and Dorota will have her first day of school in September! In May, their grandmother Alzbeta Krizovicova (Biacovsky) was in the hospital, but now she's better.

They also sent me a really cool brochure (in English!) about the history of Kosice. Click here to see the website that accompanies the brochure. It's cool.

That's all for now. Sorry I've been away for so long!

Partying in NJ

May and June were extremely busy for us. We spent much of it going from place to place for big events including a memorial, a wedding, a graduation, etc. Also, Guillaume's parents came to visit for two weeks. It has been fun seeing everyone! Here are two photos from a trip to my parents' house to celebrate: Amy's graduation, mom's birthday, father's day and Guillaume's parents' visit. We ate some delicious food that my mom made (despite that it was her birthday) and had a blast. 

America's most beautiful bike ride

From Jodi Heller:

Hi Everyone!

Stephen and I returned home yesterday morning. We had a great vacation beginning in Tahoe. On June 1, I woke up at 5:00 and started my 100 mile ride at 6:15. The majority of the bikers were riding with Team in Training to raise money for Lymphoma and Leukemia. As you know, I decided to ride alone and raise money for The American Cancer Society on my own. Even though I wasn't riding with a Team, they were all very welcoming and encouraging. I did ride with Team Long Island for a while and ran into familiar faces at each rest stop. I repeatedly heard how this was one of the hardest centuries out there from many of the Team coaches. It wasn't hard to believe as I pedaled my way up a mountain only to squeeze my breaks back down the mountain. There were definitely moments of fear riding on a mountain with traffic not bothering to move aside for us bikers. It was a great accomplishment for me, and I'm so glad I took this challenge on! I won't bore you with all the highs and lows of the long day. I crossed the finish line much later than I was anticipating, but I didn't feel as tired or sore as I expected. I'll be sending photos soon. I wish I would've had a camera throughout my ride, but I didn't, so most of the photos are from the day prior when we drove around the lake. Stephen took some before/during and after the ride as well. You can definitely see why this is named "America's most beautiful bike ride!"

Our vacation began to feel like one as we headed to Napa for a couple of days. After that, we returned to San Francisco and spent some time with our friends Liz and Will. 

All of your support and encouragement have been so greatly appreciated! Thanks to so many of you, I raised over $1,200 for the fight against cancer!  The American Cancer Society's Relay for Life is still over a month away, so if you have not yet donated, but would like to, please visit my web site and donate before July 18. 


Please click here to visit my personal page.
If the text above does not appear as a clickable link, you can visit the web address:
http://main.acsevents.org/site/TR/RelayForLife/RelayForLifeMidwestDivision?px=4910347&pg=personal&fr_id=7197&et=AUMDFF8sunSyzX-RGAa17A..&s_tafId=110958

Thanks!
Jodi

For state fundraising notices and the American Cancer Society's Privacy Policy, please paste this link into your browser: http://www.cancer.org/docroot/SU/su_0.asp

Amy Graduates from College

A couple weeks ago, Amy earned her undergraduate degree in Psychology and Art from Susquehanna University in Pennsylvania. It was a huge accomplishment after four years of intense studying. It was so amazing to see her walk across the stage and get her diploma. Around her neck, she has various honors cords. Congrats to Amy!

Jodi Heller Supports the American Cancer Society

From Jodi Heller - a training update on her Relay for Life training:

Hi Everyone!

I've been so busy riding and working that I haven't had a chance to send an update for a while. On Saturday, I put in my longest ride so far- 65 miles. What's 35 more miles? No problem!! I just need to keep myself hydrated and eat throughout the ride.  It'll be nice to have a planned route so I won't have to do the same route 4x in a row to get my miles in. I have a few 15 mile routes that I take quite often, but I'll be happy for the change of scenery. I've never been to Tahoe, but I've heard it will be amazing! I can't wait!

All my training will be put to use in less than a week!!! Now, just a few logistics to figure out, like shipping a bike. I was able to get a bike box from One on One. Thank you Charles for helping me with the box and getting it in my car!!! Now, we just need to get it shipped out tomorrow and sent to the hotel. Luckily Stephen is quite handy, so he'll be able to take my bike apart and fit it into the box. When I signed up for the ride, I never thought about actually getting the bike to Tahoe.

I'll send photos from the ride when we get back! Thank you all again for the great support- I appreciate it so much!

Thanks!
Jodi

If you'd like to check out my personal page or support me and donate to The American Cancer Society, please copy and paste the link below:
http://main.acsevents.org/site/TR/RelayForLife/RelayForLifeMidwestDivision?px=4910347&pg=personal&fr_id=7197&et=AUMDFF8sunSyzX-RGAa17A..&s_tafId=110958

My Eighth Birthday in 1984

Here is a photo from my eighth birthday at my grandparents house in NJ. We also celebrated my grandma's birthday that day. I was super excited about my air brushed cat sweatshirt with my name on it. I also loved wearing pig tails. This was all before Amy was born. The little wind chimes that hung from the lamp over the long dining room table are making a funny shape near my grandma's face. It took us a while to figure out what that was. Also, my mom is making a funny face. She was probably exhausted from the roller skating party we had the day before!

Easter 2008

Here's a more recent Easter picture.

Easter at Grandma's in NJ!

We spent most holidays at my grandparents' house in Bridgewater, NJ. I remember these events well. The ranch-style house was filled with my relatives and the sounds of laughter and conversation.

For the first 9 years of my life, I was the

 youngest person at these events, so many times I would just sit at my little red schoolhouse desk and color or draw. Sometimes I would sit on the brown couch in the huge dining room and read books (pictured). My favorite things were to read and draw. It was soothing to hear the chatter of the adults and hear my grandmother and aunt moving around in the kitchen.  Later when my sister was born, I ended up taking care of her or playing with her.  

When the meal was ready, we would be herded

 to our seats in the dining room to find our usual seats. I always sat at the end of the table near the kitchen next to my grandma. My mom sat on the other side of me. Easter was different than the other holidays because it usually entailed two meals -- lunch and dinner. This was a lot of work for my grandma, but I always enjoyed. Later, when my grandmother moved into my parents' house, my mother took on this task.

Many times, my cousins and my aunt and uncle wouldn't stay for the second meal. We usually had roast beef and mashed potatoes and green beans with cucumber salad. Oh, and there was always mandarin orange Jello! 

The picture above shows one of the last Easters we had with my grandpa Jules. He's cut off because whoever took the photo (I guess my mom) had some trouble with the viewfinder. A lot of the photos from that camera turned out that way, so it was probably something with the camera. 

Anyway, Grandpa Jules passed away in 1989. I was very close with him, so it was very hard for me. My sister is just a cute toddler and my grandmother isn't sick, yet. She still has that sparkle in her eye.

Christmas in Bridgewater, NJ in 1987

My parents' house contains lots of treasures and photos related to our family's history. Each time I visit, I try to find some more and add it to the blog. 

Most recently, I found a little pink photo album that contains photos from Christmas at my grandparents' house in 1987. My sister was 2 and I was about 11 or 12. It seems like ages ago.  It's interesting to see my grandparents' house again.

The photos are of my grandfather, Jules, on the loveseat rocking chair in front of the large book case. The book case had tons of interesting stuff inside of it and also some funny ceramic sculptures on it. There were jokes about the ceramic 

piece that my dad made with his Aunt. If you look carefully, you can see it, but I won't point it out. My grandpa was pretty sick at the time when this picture was taken. He passed away in 1989.

My grandma Elsie is perched on one of the kitchen chairs in front of the

 big television. Behind her you can see a religious painting, which I never noticed was religious until now. It was just always there and I never really looked at it before. The doors behind her lead to the giant dining room, where we shared many holiday meals and sunday dinners. 

She liked to wear red and is clad in one of her favorite festive christmas outfits. She is smiling a smile that I remember well. I think she thinks it's funny that I am taking her picture with my toy camera -- she probably wonders if there will even be a real photo or if there is film in it. 

After the portraits of my grandparents, there is a photo of the christmas tree. I loved to look at my grandma's tree because it had really old tin ornaments and other interesting decorations made by various generations of her nieces, nephews and grandchildren. She told us how they used to light their trees with real candles! 

The focal point of the tree was the nativity scene below. It is very famous because her sister, my Aunt Emma, made it herself. It is really really lovely and each year the youngest child would get to put the baby Jesus in the cradle on Christmas. I did it for many years and then passed along the duty to my little sister.

Dinners at my grandparents' house

On Sundays and for the big holidays, we went to my grandparents' house in Bridgewater, NJ.  On Sundays, we would have roast beef, gravy, mashed potatoes and string beans with a salad. Sometimes, my grandmother added orange jello with madarin oranges. There would always be a good dessert. 

For holidays, we usually tried to follow the Slovak traditions or at least nod to them. Easter included various Slovak foods. Christmas was a bit more American. I always enjoyed the big meals at the long table at my grandparents' house.  I loved being with my extended family and being in a full house full of relatives. There's a warmth about it that I still feel when I am home for the holidays despite the fact that our family is getting smaller.

Here's a photo of one of the last dinners at my grandparents' house in Bridgewater:

The Andrews' House in Bridgewater, NJ

I have so many memories of my grandparents' house in Bridgewater, NJ.  Though my grandmother left it a decade ago, I can still remember where every piece of furniture was. I walk through the hallways in my dreams from time to time. The kitchen was the heart of the house remains the most vivid for me. I spent countless Sunday nights there, eating roast beef, green beans and mashed potatoes. Usually there would be chocolate eclairs and napoleons for dessert. 

The house is a ranch style, which means everything is on one floor. It had all the basic stuff -- kitchen, dining room, three bedrooms and one bathroom. It was the attic and the basement that both intrigued and scared me. I loved it when grandma would take me to the basement and let me ride my big wheel bicycle around in cycles while she hummed and cheered me on. Life was pretty simple then. 

The house itself was fun, but the outside was even better. The house was surrounded by what we cleverly called "The Woods." As a kid, I loved the woods and would do everything in my power to get my parents or grandparents to walk there. My grandmother would sometimes ask me if I wanted to walk up the mountain and I would always eagerly agree.

A few walks in the woods stand out in my memories. One fall, my grandma decided that we would make decorations out of leaves pressed between wax paper. We collected all different colored leaves outside. Then we arranged them on wax paper and ironed them in the basement. 

The more exciting walks in the woods were with my father or my cousins. They knew were all the cool stuff was. One of them took me to see an old tree house built years ago. It looked like it was an excellent place at one time -- it even had wall-to-wall carpeting in some garish red or orange. I longed to climb up there and walk around in the little house, but the floor was sinking. Even though I yearned to go inside, even I knew that it was impossible. 

Another time, my father and my uncle took me to the waterfall. He didn't tell me where we were going. It was a long walk up a steep hill on a rocky path. I remember being small and tired, but I really wanted to see what he wanted to show me. I remember being amazed that this waterfall wasn't too far from grandma's house. We walked back to the house as the sun was setting and I listened to my dad and my uncle trading stories about work and taking care of the house. 

PICTURED: My family in front of my grandparents' house around 1979. (Back Row: Aunt Kathryn, my mom, me, genevieve, grandma elsie; Front row: Uncle Jim, my dad, Mark, Grandpa Jules.

Introducing Katka's Parents

Katka sent me a couple of photos recently. It was so fun to see more pictures of the rest of our family in Budimir. The last post contains some of them. 

In this post, I'd like to introduce Katka's parents (above). Some of you have already met them. Just in case you forgot, her mom was a Biacovsky just like my grandma was. They are pictured in front of what looks like a castle or the ruins of one. 

Katka's dad and her sister published a book about the history of Budimir. Patty and Dave have it and are trying to translate it into English. I look forward to seeing the book!

More Biacovsky Descendents

I am learning more and more about our family in Budimir through Katka. She is really fun to correspond with. It's really fun to learn more about life in Slovakia and about the family. It's really amazing to think that my great-grandfather grew up in the same place where she is living now. 

There is so much history in her town. It's fascinating to see it now, especially after hearing all the stories my grandmother told me about it.Katka sent us some pictures of her grandmother Alzbeta and her grandmother's sister and brother. They are all descendents of the Biacovsky family. Her siblings are Katherine and Andrew.

Of course, my grandmother never saw it, but she learned about it through my great-grandfather's stories of his youth. I can't even imagine what it must have been like for him to leave Budimir and head for the U.S. not really knowing what it would be like or what was going to happen to him. I believe he started in Milwaukee, Wisconsin where my grandma was born and then moved to New Jersey when my grandmother was little. They lived in two different houses there, but only briefly in the first house.

There was a little rock in front of the first house where they lived in New Jersey and it apparently marked a place where George Washington passed. As a little girl, my grandmother would show "Here's where Washington passed!" to the few cars that passed by at that time.  It's hard for me to imagine her as a little girl, but stories like that one help to paint a picture of her as a child.

The only connection I had until we were introduced to Katka and her family were the food my grandmother made at the holidays and for special occasions and a couple of stories of when her father went back to Slovakia to visit the family. My

grandmother talked of some very tall cousins, which is apparently why my dad is so tall. She also spoke of us being related to the "Town Crier." 

She told me that my great-grandfather was a very good gardener. I learned later that he took care of the gardens of a castle or some large building. At his house in NJ, he proudly tended to his gorgeous garden. He loved plants and trees.

Each bit of information that we find out brings me closer to better understanding where my family comes from. 

Ahoj Budimir!

Katka sent me a whole bunch of information via regular mail about our family in Budimir. When I got the letter, I was so excited! She promised to teach me a few Slovak phrases and send me some pictures. Written in excellent English, Katka filled me in on the lives of our relatives there.  It was so cool! 

I didn't completely understand our relationship to them so Patty explained it to me: "We are related to them by the grandmother Alzbeta who was [my great-] Grandpa Biacovsky's  brother,George's, daughter. So she was actually [my great-] Grandpa's niece and he probably saw her as a child. That is the main connection, but she also has two other living siblings as well. They also live in Budmir." 

Patty also told me about a book that Katka's father and sister wrote. It is all about the rich history of Budimir. Patty and Dave are trying to translate it from Slovak to English. It must be fascinating. Budimir is located near Kosice, one of the largest cities in Slovakia. I hope to see both places one day.

Dakujem, Katka!!

A Christmas Past

As a child, Christmas Eve was by far my favorite holiday. We spent it at my father's parents' house in NJ and spent Christmas Day at my parents' house with my grandparents.

Christmas Eve was always magical. It started at around 3 or 4 PM when we would arrive at my grandmparents' house with a trunk full of presents. We would walk in and Grandpa Jules would be getting the egg nog ready while my Aunt Kathryn and Grandma Elsie were busily preparing the food in the kitchen. With a flurry of Slovak, my grandma would give instructions to my grandpa. We'd some snacks before dinner - veggies and cheese and crackers and other tasty bits. 

Then, we would have a huge meal around a long table. There would be tons of food and conversation. I would be on the edge of my seat waiting for the adults to finish. Dinner seemed to take forever. Then, dessert and coffee. We usually ate the famous cake from Gaston Avenue bakery - hazelnut cake with hazelnut cream in between the layers and

 thin slices of dark chocolate all around the edges. It was heavenly.

Finally, we would head to the living room to open the gifts. Everyone had their own corner of the large living room. After my g

randfather passed away, I adopted his chair -- a dark brown recliner perfectly angled toward the television -- and my presents were all delivered to that spot. After the presents were opened, we would all head home.

We left the house through the basement and the garage saying our good byes. I rem

ember thinking of what Santa was goi

ng to bring me as I waited by the door to the garage, where my grandma hung some pictures that I made for her. 

On clear nights, the moon would fill the window of the backseat of the car and it felt like it was following us home. The ride was short -- only about 20 or 30 minutes -- but I would usually fall asleep.

While I was in college, my grandmother moved into my parents' house and sold her house as it was getting to be too much to take care of. From then on, either my parents or the Asheys host Christmas Eve.  It's still a fun event for everyone.

PICTURED: Grandma Elsie and Aunt Kathryn at my parents' house for Christmas 2002. 

Connecting to relatives in Budimir

Happy New Year! Before Christmas, Patty and Dave sent me the address of our relatives in Slovakia. I sent them a card in hopes that they would reply to me and tell me more about them. Patty and Dave gave us information from their visit, but I wanted to learn more.

On December 31st, I received an email from Katka, who I think is one of our cousins, lives in the same place where our family came from. She works in Kosice, the second largest city in Slovakia, and lives with her family. She has four sisters -- two older and two younger. It was so cool to hear from her and to finally reconnect with our family there. 

I tried to find good pictures of her town, but I couldn't find much on the internet. Instead, I found some information about Kosice and a tourist guide about the city. I hope to hear back from Katka again soon!