With Athena

Well I'll bet that most of you forgot one very important thing to do at your Thanksgiving dinner and I must admit that I can't blame you. That one thing was to push back from the table when the second helping come around and now you are really regretting it. After all, Christmas and New Year's Eve are just around the corner and parties are coming up fast and furious. If you are active in clubs, organizations, or just have a very active social life, you probably have at least one or two luncheons a week. Then there are the fund raisers and the end of the year dinners to contend with. Remember you can start pushing back and taking small portions, and take a good walk each day. That way, when January 1st comes around, you will not hate yourself and you don't have to give up the parties.

The Women's Club of the Garden City Country Club had its November Ladies Luncheon/Bridg e this past week and there were 29 tables in play following the luncheon. The first small slam of the afternoon was dealt, bid, and made by Ellen Magnahan and Marie Themaidis. The monthly door prize was won by Norma Spencer. There was no grand slam made that day. Bridge Chairlady Muriel Urban announced that the next Bridge would be held on Thursday, December 6th. Make sure that you get your reservations in for this popular event.

The Long Island Choral Society just finished with its wonderful participation in a concert at Carnegie Hall in New York City and will present Handel's "Messiah, Part 1" on Sunday, December 9th at the Cathedral of the Incarnation at 4 p.m. In addition they will also perform "Das Neugebor'sne Kindelein" by Dietrich Buxtehuda. Advance sale tickets are $19, at the door $25. Don't miss it.

Happy birthday wishes go to Gail Vitale, who will celebrate her special day on the 27th of this month, to Gert Perrini, who will do the same on November 30th, and a belated happy birthday to Marianne Scacco , who celebrated her birthday on the 12th of November. May all the lovely ladies have a great day and a year filled with health and happiness and many more years to come.

There were a number of couples celebrating their 50th (Golden) Wedding Anniversary. From St. Anne's Roman Catholic Church, Jean and Richard Bennett and from St. Joseph's Roman Catholic Church, Dorothy and James Alnwick, Elizabeth and Donald Belger, Claire and Richard Burns, Barbara and John Emmert, and April and Carmelo Garraffo. All couples were honored at a special Mass by Bishop Paul Walsh at St. Rose of Lima Church. The celebration was attended by family and friends of the couples and included the renewal of their marriage vows. What a wonderful way to celebrate. Congratulations to all the happy couples with many more to come.

Jean Bliss and Mary Lou Piffer are two ladies from Garden City who volunteer at Clark Botanic Gardens. They are looking forward to the "Currier & Ives Celebrates Winter" on Sunday, December 2nd at 2 p.m. The program will be presented by Mickey Maxwell Cohen, a student and collector of 19th Century lithographs of Currier & Ives. If you own a Currier & Ives and bring it with you, he will be happy to evaluate it for you. The fee is $10 for members; $15 for non-members. Refreshments will be served. What a nice way to celebrate our winter season. Thanks ladies!

The Friends of the Adelphi University Library celebrated their 60th Anniversary this past Sunday with a luncheon followed by a slide lecture by Ines Powell of the Metropolitan Museum of Art on the current show - The Dutch Masters. Among those who attended the luncheon were Cynthia Brown, Joan Kuster, Gladys Clemmensen, Bernadette Pepin, Ann Sheehan and Muriel and Al Urban.

There was a wonderful turn out for the lecture too and among those were: Elizabeth and Charles Dunleavy, Sally and Tom Richmond, Pat Dalton, Frieda Stark, Marge Mahler, Paula Rega, and many others from Garden City. It was a wonderful afternoon and for those who worry about parking - Sunday is great.

By now it time to shop for Christmas so do remember to shop Garden City first. We have many wonderful shops to fill your list, parking is good, and think of the time you will save so close to home.See you next week!