and husband, Bob, live with their two children. The closest we got to warmth was keeping warm in front of the fireplace.

My drawing skills were challenged each day by our two grandsons (Benjamin, 5 1.2, and Zachary, 4), who had me making monster trucks, pickup trucks, trailers and anything that moved on the road. Pop-Pop (Charlie) was the chauffeur and live-in fix-it man. On November 6, 2009, our grandson arrived. Finnigan Robert Melvin weighed in at 9 lbs, 9 oz., our fifth grandson and seventh grandchild. Thanksgiving this year was a meaningful one in Fairfield, where we celebrated with five of our grandchildren and family members, so thankful for everything we have.

Before our departure for Florida, we decided to book a last-minute cruise to the Caribbean. We didn't care which islands we would visit; we just wanted the warmth and pampering we would get on a cruise. We booked with the Holland American Line.

The first night of the cruise happened to be the first night of Hanukkah, and Charlie and I attended a service aboard ship that evening. We were pleasantly surprised to see 50 or 60 other vacationers attending as well. A rabbi and his wife led the service and attended to the computerized music accompaniment. The menorah was lit, and we were told that there would be services each evening, starting with the lighting of the menorah at the front desk, where a display included a large, wooden dreidel, an electric menorah, and a printed story of Hanukkah. Each night of Hanukkah, Holland American prepared and provided wine, challah, jelly donuts, Hanukkah gelt, and trays of potato latkes with sour cream and applesauce. Actually, the potato latkes that first night weren't really that great, but we were so pleased with the cruise line's generosity and thoughtfulness that we didn't really care.

As it turned out, one of the crewmembers attending that first service remarked that the latkes didn't taste like grandma's. She emailed her mother for the family recipe, and gave the recipe to the chef. For the remaining nights, we were in latke heaven. When we returned to our room on the first night of Hanukkah, we were delighted to find on our night table a dreidel, Hanukkah gelt, and the story of Hanukkah. In fact, every passenger aboard ship received this gift from Holland American. We thanked them when we were asked to critique the cruise, and thought we should let other people know of their generosity and caring for the Jewish people traveling aboard their ships.

Keep warm, and we look forward to seeing you in the spring.

Marsha Millman, President
Daughters of Israel

Click here for photographs of the Catch a Star Luncheon 2009

The Sunshine Club sends cards for all occasions. It is an important means of fund raising for the Shul and a nice thing to do. Please call Thelma Novick at (631) 734-6952 .

Do a Mitzvah! Some of our members are homebound and would appreciate receiving a Sunshine card, a note, or a phone call.

From time to time, we've been asked why we were late in commemorating the death date of a beloved family member.

The answer is that the Jewish calendar is lunar, whereas the secular calendar is solar and thus the dates seldom coincide. From time to time, there is a discrepancy of weeks between the actual death date and the Yahrtzeit anniversary. Please allow for this and know that we make every effort to track the dates to give you sufficient advance notice with a letter and a commemorative candle.

Although this is a costly accommodation, we are happy to provide the service and those donations we receive for it, go toward the maintenance of our beloved Shul.

If you wish to have friends and/or relatives entered on our Yahrtzeit list, please furnish their name and address and we will be happy to be of service.

Best wishes to all.

519 Fourth St.
P.O. Box 659
Greenport, NY 11944
Ask for the new-member brochure.