Adventures With Mom

As Promised...

2010-01-28T20:35:00.000-08:00

Ok, here it is, photo #1; this week's theme is flowers!

ok, so I lost the pictures on my computer! I Hate when that happens!!!! Tomorrow is another day!

365 Photos

2010-01-28T19:45:00.000-08:00

So this morning I committed to taking a photo everyday for the year; its 10:46 and I haven't taken a photo yet! I thought because we had some snow today I had the perfect start to my project; obviously not. So I'm going to take a meaningful picture right now so I can stay true to my commitments! Be right back!

Quote of the Day

2010-01-14T20:26:00.000-08:00

Today I was listening to Garrison Keeler and his two minute blurb having to do with writing, poems, etc. I think it might be know as his literary moment! He was talking about Maureen Dowd, columnist for the NY Times. He had many interesting things to say about her and mentioned some of her quotes. I was taken by this one: "The minute you settle for less than you deserve, you get even less than you settled for." I totally get this; its like letting the standard drop and before you know it the standard is less than you agreed to...where does it stop! I like the idea of not settling, why should we?

New Year New Post

2010-01-10T18:12:00.000-08:00

Not bad its only the 10th of January...a good day to get back to blogging! This is my year for technology! Last October we lead another Mission to Israel, we came back in early November and I proceeded to load my 500 best pictures on my computer so I could make a photo book. Well that adventure ended when several days later the computer died! Choice: get a new computer or a new hard drive for the existing one...for those of you who know me you know the answer was to get a new one! This time, through the encouragement of my children, I bought a Mac. Now I think this was a good decision, however, until I take a few classes I am in LaLa land. I don't know how to cut and paste; I've spent hours trying to load a video on Facebook and I feel totally lost! I know this will get better but it reminds me of when I first started working with a computer. I wanted to get a short note out to a client and couldn't figure out how to do it; I read an article that said its almost like buying a pair of shoes but first you have to tan the leather, then cut our the pattern, sew the shoe, etc. Yup that's what its like ok! Anyway, I'm going back to the video problem. If is works I'll post it here!

On no! I can't believe it...

2009-08-13T20:48:00.000-07:00

as my friends at Car Talk would say..."you've wasted another hour...". I can't believe the last time I wrote a post was May 31st! Where does the time go. Well, let me catch you up on a fun thing going on in my life...given the stress after my father passed (I always say died but I've learned it is more acceptable to say "passed on" or "passed away" or just plain "passed"). I have started a Digital Camera Club at the JCC. What fun. We have had two shoots, my favorite being the second. We were all give blue and white beach balls which had to be the subject of every picture. I got so totally attached to this ball; at the end of the evening I tucked the little critter into one of the spare beds. I think he's kind of cute. Here's a picture of him!

Final Day of Clown Training

2009-05-31T19:00:00.000-07:00

This was the last weekend of clown training...what an amazing experience. Yesterday we made up skits, jokes, whatever by using props supplied by the experienced clowns..very fun! Then we did role playing by pretending we were going into someones room to do our shtick! Today we arrived in full costume and had our id pictures taken. Oh my! Then we did some actual visits to rooms with real patients in them! That was the very most fun. There were approx 10 rooms with people in them, out of that 10 8 invited us in for a friendly visit. The people loved us! We did a magic trick, sang songs and had a wonderful time. We also brought candy and stickers for the staff. Graduation is next Sunday, unfortunately I'll not be there. Hope they don't dock my pay!

Spring Has Arrived, I Hope

2009-05-23T08:10:00.001-07:00

Well, its Memorial Day weekend and the rain has stopped for the moment! Today is the ideal day; the sky is blue with an occasional cloud floating by; the temperature is in the low 70's and the breeze is strong enough to move the chimes...that melodic sound is definitely Spring to me!!! Today was my first visit to the New Canaan Farmer's Market with my friend Diane. We met at a muffin shop and had coffee/tea and did not give in to the scrumptious aroma of the freshly made muffins (there was cinnamon wafting in the air). After much conversation, advice, laughs and camaraderie we left and went to the Farmer's Market. Not too much product this time of year, however, there was a table from a bakery in the Bronx that was giving samples of pesto with fresh made mozzarella on newly baked whole grain bread...to die for! Most of the vendors were selling plants; one had succulents in beautiful arrangements with white stones around each plant; very lovely. The other interesting thing they did was to take large planters and put cannas in the middle with flowing flowers around the edges; very beautiful! After buying plants I succumbed to the bakery table that was selling blueberry, cranberry, banana or chocolate chip muffins; I made sure not to buy the chocolate chip...that would have been my all time downfall! So, on to a lovely day and thoughts of what to buy at the Market next week!

Clown Pictures

2009-05-19T14:48:00.001-07:00

So here are the pictures from the first day; more to come when they are available! I am happy to say the second day was better than the first! As you can see there were even some changes made the first day...got rid of the white around my mouth and now my cheeks are heavy blush rather than the paint shown here! Now I have to work on my costume!

Clown Training

2009-05-17T20:03:00.000-07:00

This is the most well planned and thought out training program I have been a part of for a long time! The men and women involved with the HaHa Clown Program at Stamford Hospital are extremely professional and dedicated to the program. The first day there was lots of role playing; community building and overall bonding. At the end of the day we spent some time putting on make up. What a fun activity that was. Most of us did not have experience with the clown style of make up and listened intently while the experienced clowns told us what to do and how to do it. Before we left for the evening we were given homework to work on our costume, name and how we wanted our make up to look.

Today was day 2 of the program. We watched a make up demo and then went to work on our own make up. Interesting how the second day went faster than the first and the fine tuning started to take place! Still some internal pressure going on since I don't have a name and haven't decided what I want to look like.

Here's me in my make up first day with the bright red circles on my cheeks and second day with freckles! Which do you like best??? You can also see how on the first day I started with the white around my mouth and decided I didn't like it. So, the evaluation continues!

Some technical problems with the pictures. Perhaps tomorrow?

So how do you blog on a regular basis?

2009-05-15T13:02:00.001-07:00

I find that I have all these good intentions and then life gets in the way! Here's a brief rundown on what I've been up to...David is very involved with the UJF bike ride so I've been posting email addresses so that we can get his dollars raised up...you'd be surprised how much $18 can help! Then we're involved with a Mission to Israel from October 24th to November 2nd...more letters to send out. Maybe I'm just not up on the latest technology; I know how to do a mail merge for Word but can't figure out how to do that for email...thoughts? Anyway, by cutting, pasting and copying I sent out 90 letter...talk about time consuming! Then I have thank you notes to finish up from the Federation Campaign. The good news is I'll be done with this responsibility very soon (next couple of weeks) the bad news is I should be through with the notes by the time I am replaced! Family wise, Mom and I were honored by the JCC at their annual Gala! What a lovely evening standing there with my mom...she is amazing and would you believe spoke and thanked everyone for coming without a note in her hand! My friend Candace would be proud! Any excuse to have the family come to town works for me! Tomorrow I start my training as a clown for Stamford Hospital. I am so totally psyched! Can't wait to see where this new adventure leads me. I'll keep you up on things via this site!

Oh my, so much has happened!

2009-03-19T11:32:00.000-07:00

Well, here's the good news! David and I have become grandparents! Who would have thought, who could have imagined how great this would be! The parents are Matt and Rachel and, their baby is Sam! I would say their little one, however, this is not a little baby! He weighed in at 9 pounds 10 ounces and is just the cutest guy every! As you can imagine, MD is now our favoritest place to visit! Matt and Rachel are an amazing parental team and Sam is the one who is benefiting from their tender loving care. Here's a picture of Sam at 10 days!

Reflections on the Inauguration

2009-02-11T20:18:00.001-08:00

Well, considering it is just shy of a month since the Inauguration it makes sense that I should tell of some on our experiences. The day was amazing; we had some amazing luck and considering we were purple ticket holders it is a miracle that we actually got onto the mall! Our day started at 6:15 when we went to the metro only to have the door stuck and the train not able to move. We decided to get on another train going in the opposite direction and go to the end of the line...later we found out how lucky we were to do that. People who showed up at the metro a half hour later had to stand in line around the block for several hours because of the crowds in the station!

As we proceeded on the train there were announcements of stops that were not being made because of the crush of people! We finally got off and walked to the area of the mall. The closer we got to the purple gate the thicker the crowds! It was impossible to move, however, the good news was the sea of people blocked the wind so we really weren't that cold! We stood on a side street with 2 and a half blocks of solid humanity for over 2 hours barely moving! Finally we decided we were never going to get in so we left the area. In order to do this we moved to the left and as we did that David looked toward the Mall and there was a big sign that said Purple Ticket Gate and there were no people (or very few) waiting! So, we did get in and because so many of the "Purple People" didn't get in it was fairly comfortable standing and experiencing the excitement and being with the people! One minor inconvenience was the tree that was blocking the jumbo tron but you can't have everything!

Watching the people was worth every minute of waiting! more details to come! People had their head bowed as Obama spoke; men and women held hands and cried when he was sworn in! The other event that is memorable was when Bush left; we all cheered as the helicopter took off. Actually it became quite comical to me; I was certain that Bush thought we were cheering in support of him when actually we were so happy he was gone!

We stayed and watched the motorcade. The crowd was so excited...unfortunately we did not see the President when he got out of the car and walked. If we had thought about it we would have stood further down the route; we were too close to the Capitol!

The parade was endless and because it started late it went on forever! And, talk about cold! By this time most of the people were gone; they were smart, probably eating something hot!

Picking up Guys

2009-01-15T14:32:00.001-08:00

OK, here's what I've learned...First, you learn Picking Up Guys from your mother (more on this point in a minute); Second, you can practice the technique anywhere!!!

Yesterday my mother wanted to go to the yarn store to pick up some Fun Fur, a soft, shaggy yarn. I had another errand to run so I told Mom to go do what she had to and we would meet in the yarn store. I finished my errand, went to the wool store and there she was, huddled in a corner having not gone up to the store at all. It seems the elevator was broken and she was concerned about riding the escalator on her own (thank goodness she didn't go up alone!). so, her plan was I would go first on the escalator so when she was ready to get off I could hold her hand and make sure she didn't loose her balance. So, that's what we did...when we got half way up the escalator, so it was too late to get off, it occurred to me, how was I going to get her back down???? Well, we got into the store and I secured a cart for her and sent her off on her shopping expedition while I tried for figure out how to get her back down. I went over to the manager of the store to see if perhaps the elevator was only going down...no such luck, it was totally not working. In the meantime there was Mom, shopping to her heart's content! Well, we finished picking out what we wanted to buy and now we were standing in line at the cash registers. I looked to my left and there was a strong looking, young, high school boy. No problem I was certain he would help me get Mom down on the escalator (which I should mention has a very large immediate drop and continues in a very sharp incline). Well, it seems that he wasn't leaving right away, was on his way to another store so he was sorry but he couldn't help! Now my heart was thumping big time...what do do! We paid for our purchases and went into the hallway and approached the roller coaster style escalator and what did I see coming up the escalator but a very good looking man! He was definitely the hero type, over 6 feet tall, broad shoulders, good looking...definitely worth a try to see if he would help. I asked and he was only too happy to help. He took Mom around the waist, held her hand with his big strong hands and away they went. Oh yes, I continued down the escalator as well! As we all road down Mom told him of her concern of loosing her balance and how grateful she was for his help. I told him that was baloney, she did this trick all day long picking up men! He smiled and said his English wasn't so good but he did understand my joke! Believe me when I tell you I was relieved to get into the car and drive home!!!

Pet Peeve

2009-01-14T06:39:00.000-08:00

So, you know what its like to be exhausted...you were up late the night before and its 6:00 in the evening and, if you had your way, you'd be cozy in your bed with a good book! Well, just how I felt last night...maybe too much of the clicking on the Mah Jongg tiles (NEVER!)...I'm feeling like I can sleep for a week, look at my calendar and see I have a JCC Board Meeting. Ok, not a bad thing; the meetings are over early, so off I go! A light supper is always served! Tonight it is vegetarian chili and a big tossed salad, great! Dessert: assorted cookies! The topic of the meeting is the annual audit (just the meeting to go to tired!) and I've already heard the presentation at the finance meeting, double glazed over eyes! So, I zoned out on a double chocolate meringue cookie with choc fudge in the middle, OMG, delicious! Enter my pet peeve...I am sure there was coffee in that chocolate...I WAS UP ALL NIGHT! Well, not really up just never getting into that ram sleep! I can't believe it! Now I think I'm more tired than when I went to bed last night! Ok, napping is in my future for this afternoon!

Mah Jongg Mania

2009-01-14T06:36:00.000-08:00

Monday night we had another of our Mah Jongg Marathons...it is the best! We all have commented on the wonderful sisterhood we have developed! The food is the best; this time Roberta made a split pea soup with flanken in it...YUMMY! She served in it bowls that looked like vegetable bowls! Perfect! you could be a glutten without looking like one because everyone had the same bowl! The Mah Jongg was relaxed! No crazy people in this game; just fun. We play for $6 each day and you make money; loose money, whatever! So, can't wait for the next one!

Beautiful Weather In Conencticut...NOT!!!

2009-01-07T07:37:00.001-08:00

Well, it is January so having, snow, sleet, rain and whatever else should be expected...doesn't mean I have to like it! Last night I had an interesting adventure...I left a meeting at the JCC at 10:00 with freezing rain steadily falling. The parking lot was a sheet of very thin ice, however, negotiable (thanks to a friend for giving me a ride to my car!). There was not a city truck in site so, of course, those of you who know Quarry Road will know I was getting concerned about getting up the hill. Well, Newfield Avenue wasn't bad...a few slippery spots but not bad, first part ok! When I turned onto Quarry I thought this doesn't seem so bad, made it up the first hill fine! Second part ok! Then I started up the second part of the hill...seemed to be doing ok...hmm, what was that car parked on the left side of the road, with its lights on, just sitting there...poor things, they must be afraid to go down the hill, not me, I'm just zooming up the hill...UNTIL my car started to go sideways and then slowly started sliding down the hill. Good news, I did not hit the car on the left (I found out later they had done a 360 on the hill!). Well, now that I had my foot almost through the floor boards on the brake, I had to figure out what to do...I'm across the road and what do I see but a car deciding to come up the hill!!! I put down my window, waved my arms, blew my horn to get the person to stop but they kept coming, UNTIL they were about 3 feet further up the hill than I was and then, they stopped! (well, truthfully, it made me feel better they couldn't get up...I thought it might have been just me!). So, I called 911 and told them of my problem, they asked if I had been in an accident, I said not yet! So, they said they would be coming...not sure when so I sat there waiting. Eventually (you know it felt like hours!) two young guys came; pushed my car around and watched as I slided to the bottom of the hill and was able to get the car into Blue Rock! Now the challenge was to walk home...David, had come down to meet me by this time, however he was on the other side of the street and getting across the street was impossible! Somehow David made it over to me and we slid, he was going to go home for his ice skates! Well, walking on the snow on the grass worked and, eventually two city trucks came. One didn't have chains and could barely make it up the hill...that made me feel much better! After the road was salted one of the young guys came and drove us home! What an adventure. The good news is, nobody was hurt! That in itself was a miracle! So, how many days until Spring????

History DOES Repeat Itself

2008-12-20T07:04:00.000-08:00

Ok, I get it, history does repeat itself! Many of you know that my friend Ellen and I used to have this wonderful routine when we were teens; both our families had cabins on a lake where we would spend the summer. Our favorite summertime activity would be to take her small, motored, row boat into the middle of the lake, turn off the motor, claim it was broken, and pick up boys to tow us home! My mother couldn't believe how many times she would see us being towed up and down the lake! What fun...I definitely recommend it for summer fun! Well, yesterday my mom (now 91) and I tried to make it home in the middle of the snowstorm...the snow was coming down heavily and I couldn't get the car up the hill. Well, someone "up there" must have know my background because who showed up but an off duty fireman with a jeep and, yes, you guessed it...he towed us up the hill! Oh my, what a life saver he was because quite frankly, I was not sure how I was going to get mom home! The good news is, we're safe and warm in the house and the streets have still NOT been plowed! Interesting considering the storm started 24 hours ago and ended around midnight! The day has the possibility of a true Shabbat! Welcome to Connecticut in the winter! Actually it is still quite beautiful since the streets are snow covered and everything is still and quiet!

Yoga and Meditation Shabbat

2008-12-13T16:13:00.000-08:00

Today was a very special Shabbat/Saturday for me. I'm not a regular synagogue goer; for some reason I can't seem to connect there. For the past few years, Temple Beth El, the conservative Temple in Stamford, has been running a Synaplex every few months. This is a totally different experience. I have attended a few of them. What I especially like is the yoga practice and the Meditation Service. Yoga starts at 8:45am; there is Hebrew chanting; Hebrew music and basic yoga postures. Very lovely and extremely spiritual for me. Yoga runs until 10:00 and then we go upstairs to the library where there is a Mediation Service. This service is totally amazing; no books, some songs, an opportunity to share, if you want and then some activity to connect us to the Torah reading of the week. This week the Torah portion had to do with Jacob wrestling with the angel (some interpret this angel to be God). When Jacob comes out of the encounter unhurt he is told by the angel that his name is no longer Jacob but rather Israel. So, Daveed, our leader asked us what we imagine would have happened to us if we had wrestled with the angel, would our name have been changed at the end, and, what would the name be and why? My reaction was that I would have won the encounter and my name would be Bella because I would have been happy that God was pleased with me and what I am doing with my life. Another portion of the service, the silent devotion, is done by finding a quiet place, by yourself, in the room. Once you find that spot the suggestion is to have a conversation with God...what a very powerful experience. Today I had one of the most powerful Shabbat experiences I ever had!

Chain of Generations Center

2008-11-29T20:16:00.000-08:00

There are always new things to see in Israel. This visit we went the Chain of Generations Center. There were many displays made out of glass with names written in them. It is our tradition to name people after someone who has died; so we are a chain of names from one generation to another. I thought the artwork was so very beautiful. In the middle of the Center was a mikvah (ritual bath) that had been built over with glass so you were actually standing over it. Ok unless you have issues with heights as I do!

We're back!

2008-11-27T18:48:00.000-08:00

View of some of the bridges from the canal.

It was a wet, cold day in Amsterdam!

Our first authentic windmill!

Well, back from our jaunt to Amsterdam, Israel and Morocco! What fun! Let's start with Amsterdam; we spent approximately 8 hours in Amsterdam. We were on a layover on our way to Israel. Through some investigation we found a company called stopover Holland. After many emails we arranged to have them meet us at the airport, take us into the city and arrange for tickets to the Anne Frank House as well as the Fysk Museum. One of the best decisions we could have made. I t would have been impossible for us to make all the connections on our own to say nothing of the stress level! We also went on a boat ride through one of the canals. Definitely wetted my appetite for a return visit. The Anne Frank House was quite an emotional experience. Actually being in her house after having read about it so many years ago, I highly recommend a visit.

New York Botanical Gardens

2008-11-02T18:36:00.000-08:00

Yesterday was a beautiful day in the greater New York area. We went to the Botanical Gardens with our friends Patty and Jim Samuels. The gardens were hosting a show of Moore sculpture as well as showing their Kiku chrysanthemums! The colors were beautiful; not only were their an array of flowers in warm Fall colors; the Japanese maples were in all their splender. No matter how much I think I am unimpressed with the colors; when I acutally see the splender of the colors it takes my breath away. Here are some pictures.

Mah Jongg Gods Are Smiling

2008-10-29T15:53:00.000-07:00

Mah Jongg is a game similar to rummy, played with tiles rather than cards. In China the game is popular among men; there are MJ parlors and, from what I understand, the winnings can get pretty big (that's another way of saying you can loose a lot if you're not careful!). Here in the States the game has been adopted by Jewish women for some reason! I can still hear the tiles being swished around by my mom and her friends and the call of bam, crack and dot as they throw out the tiles! For those of us who were raised with the game it seemed that it was an easy, no brainer game...not as challenging as Bridge...so I, for one, never picked it up. We all knew how to play since Mom taught us so she would be able to play! Well, a few years ago, when Bridge was getting painful to play because the cards were so bad, our Bridge game switched over the MJ! Well, now I've been bitten by the bug! I LOVE to play! As is true of any game of chance, some days you can do no wrong; other days you should just walk in, put your money on the table and have fun! Well, not to scare the MJ gods away; this seems to be a good few days for me; I'm winning. I'm sure in the next few days I'll be crying the blues again about how I NEVER win!

Jewish Arts & Film Festival

2008-10-27T20:16:00.000-07:00

For the past 7 years the Stamford JCC has been hosting a film festival that runs for about 2 weeks. This year it was decided to expand the programs to include literature, photography, dance, music, and, of course film.

Saturday night, opening night, we viewed a movie "Noodle". Very wonderfully done! If you have the opportunity to see I suggest you do so.
Last night former Mayor of NYC, Ed Koch spoke. He is quite the personality; had something to say about everything with a great deal of wit in his presentation.
Tonight the speaker was Zion Ozeri, a photographer born in Israel, his family is from Yemen. He told the story of his parents living in a tent when they arrived in Israel . Not only were they in the tent, they shared it with several families! The good news was that his father was a very observent Jew, therefore, when Succot approached his father built a succah attached to the tent. It was the first time since they were married that his parents could sleep alone without an audience. As you may have guessed, Zion was born 9 months later! Sometimes there are more than the obvious benefits of being observent!

Zion's photography is something to behold. Go to his website and check it out www.zionozeri.com. We had the opportunity to ask him questions be it about the subjects of the pictures, technical questions about shooting the pictures, personal questions...whatever. I was interested in why he shot in black and white, what kind of camera he used and did he use film or digital.

He shoots in black and white because all of the photographers he admires shoot in black and white; also, when he is shooting in under-developed countries, he doesn't want to make it look better than it is with bright colors so he uses black and white. Currently he uses film, although he just bought his first digital camera...he's not sure how he will like it! All his cameras are Nikons.

It was a very exciting evening; hope you like his work.

Oh no, almost another month has gone by!!!

2008-10-22T05:59:00.000-07:00

Where does the time go? I have been spending a great deal of time catching up on my photo books. With the wedding, the party here and the shower that was held in August I have had a lot to do! Well, the good news is just one more book to finish up and then it will be time to do some traveling!!! Yeah, can't wait!

In mid-November we are off to Amsterdam, Israel and Morocco! We are planning on attending the annual conference of United Jewish Communities in Israel and came up with the idea of traveling to some new places for us both coming and going! I have always wanted to see the Anne Frank house, so that is what brings us to Amsterdam. Given the time of year, I'm sure tulips will not be in evidence, however, the canals will definitely be there! Morocco is proving to be more of a challenge. There is so much to see and we will be there a total of 2 and a half days. The only way to experience as much as possible in a short period of time is to use a driver and a guide. Not our usual way of traveling, however, doesn't seem to be a choice!

Look forward to telling you more details as they become available.

As promised, some pictures!

2008-09-28T20:05:00.000-07:00

So here are some pictures of the beautiful couple! See how many you can recognize!

Waiting for pictures

2008-09-19T21:40:00.000-07:00

Oh my, Matthew aka Matt is married! I am so excited I can't stand it! And, in case that isn't enough, they're pregnant! Wow, I'm going to be a grandma! What fun. Will post more with pictures as soon as I get them!

Decisions, decisions, decisions!

2008-09-04T20:03:00.001-07:00

I have been talking about how bad our cell service is at our house for years! Of course, no one in the neighborhood can complain too much since we were one of the first groups to vote down a tower! Who knew that cell phones would be the wave of the future and we had shot ourselves in the foot! Today I went to Costco to find out what kind of special deals they could provide for one of their most loyal members. Well, it seems that you can get a free car charger and headset from them...not bad. Now the big issue, which provider to use. More and more people I know are using Verizon, they seem to be very satisfied, unless you count the ones that say it used to be good but the service is not good anymore...they need more towers, especially in north Stamford! (Yes, that's where we live!) We currently have ATT and that is better than Cingular was, but we don't have to worry about Cingular anymore, ATT gobbled them up! I decided I would try Verizon, I have 30 days to change my mind with no obligation. But what if an upgraded phone on ATT gets better service...and ATT has a pink phone, however, the Verizon phone has a larger key pad! What to do! The only decision I could come up with was to try both and see which works best most of the time! So, that's what I have done; can't tell which is better yet, will make a decision by Sunday!

And the Winner is...

2008-09-01T16:58:00.001-07:00

Noah Stewart! Today we went to Little Italy in Manhattan to witness the Mario Lanza vocal competition. It was wonderful. There were 8 tenors competing and some of them were so very talented! The music was great, the day was beautiful and a good time was had by all! We were standing in the front with our friends so there was lots of opportunity to make eye contact with the performers! The host was someone named Dominick who also did some performing...Very fun! We had lunch before hand at one of the many yummy restaurants and after the competition who could walk away without a gelato! The flavors were outstanding, so very creamy and delicious!

A Little Knowledge is Dangerous

2008-08-27T19:08:00.000-07:00

I have to admit, I am just about convinced that Mac is the way to go! The fact that there is no ready help available from Microsoft other than that damn dancing paper clip, makes me think there must be a better/easier way! I cannot believe that I have spent hours as well as at least 50 pages of labels trying to print out the labels for Matt and Rachel's celebration here in Stamford! I used the program for the Save The Date cards...no problem. This time it was an utter nightmare! First I spent time with Amy with her walking me through the process only to find out that the program was reprinting some labels and not including others! My friend Hillary came over after Mah Jongg today to walk me trough it. Would you believe it took both of us and another 6 or so wasted pages of labels to get it to happen! So, maybe having someone do calligraphy might have been an answer! Considering the money I spent on wasted labels I would have been able to afford at least 10 hand done labels! So, the lesson to be learned here...don't think because you have done something once on the computer it will be easy the second time. What I better do is put an announcement on a local Yahoo site telling of my talent before I forget how to do it again!

Strong Women

2008-08-23T09:06:00.000-07:00

I'm sitting here thinking about the women I know and their strength of character. What brought this to mind was reading Amy's blog and reading her thoughts about Christina Applegate. At first I thought, yes, Christina is strong because she's an actress; perhaps she is just acting. Then I started to think of the conversations I have had over the past few weeks with people, women, who are going through extraordinary experiences. Barbara, a long lost friend from growing up, lost her husband a few weeks ago; he wasn't in great health but he certainly wasn't sick enough to suspect that he would die. Then there is Linda, her daughter was a dog walker, 33 years old, lived in San Francisco. Robyn took some dogs for a walk, fell down/passed out, several hours later, dead. Robyn practiced yoga, ate healthy, who would think this would happen. Linda is picking up the pieces, going back to her yoga and living her life. Marcia, has nursed her husband through cancer for the past year. Jeffrey had just retired and their plan was to do some traveling; within months he was diagnosed with cancer. Marcia is a community activist, she is picking up the pieces and continuing her life. How do these people do it? When I spoke to Barbara today she summed it all up..."Life is not easy; this is what its about, now I have to go through this alone and come out the other side. I know it will be tough but I have to do it myself, you can't help me." Wow, talk about strong! In my heart of hearts I pray I will never have to go through these things but who am I kidding...this IS life and you've got to suck it up and go on with it or you can spend the rest of your life in your bed with the covers over your head!

Interesting Summer Salads

2008-08-10T18:14:00.000-07:00

Well, its that time of year when the produce is so succulent you don't know what to eat first! I have been doing some different additions to the dinner salads that have been wonderful. First, fresh figs seem to be in season. I have added them with goat cheese to the salad along with fresh herbs: basil, tarragon, thyme and drizzled with a bit of raspberry vinegar! Very yummy! Then I remembered last year I made a salad of watermellon, goat cheese and fresh basil with a little balsamic vinegar delicious! Have also been into summer squash. I have been sauteing onions in a little olive oil adding the squash, cookling until tender. Than add fresh basil or thyme. To die for! Anyway, those are the food thoughts of the day! More to come!

Down to one Kindle

2008-08-04T07:48:00.000-07:00

Do you know what a Kindle is? Well, its an electronic device that you download books to. it is sold by Amazon and I thought it would be the perfect thing to take on vacation and to also remove the clutter of books to be read or already read on my night table. So, after much thought I decided to get one (not inexpensive so had to think it through!). Well, this is a remarkable device. It has the capacity to hold up to 20 books; no book costs more than $9.99 and you can download from where every you are; well, except for my house. The technology is based on the same waves as cell phone coverage. That should have give me my first hint since the cell phone coverage here is limited! Well, after many attempts I could not get online; customer service said according to their info I should be fine. Well, they decided it must be the Kindle they sent me so they sent a new one...same problem. Well this happened a second time; new Kindle arrived and, you guessed it, still didn't work. Now I'm at the point where I'm thinking I may go into competition with Amazon and sell my own Kindles. As a matter of fact I have named the 3rd one Number 3 as this is starting to get funny. Well, it seems that this one (#3) has the ability to work, sometimes. So now Amazon wants the others back! They are no fun! So much for my latest business! Anyway, I suggest going online and checking it out. It is a wonderful convenience although you do have to get used to not turning pages!

Long Weekend Away

2008-08-03T20:36:00.000-07:00

We are just back from a fabulous weekend in the Berkshires! You know you go away for a relaxing weekend and you feel like you've been away for a week. We are so fortunate to have friends with a weekend/summer/winter home in Lenox, Mass, home of Tanglewood. How lucky are we to be invited up there at least once each summer and again in the winter. Have to admit I prefer the warm weather activities to the cold. We went to Tanglewood both Friday night and Saturday night. Friday night was Joshua Bell, violinist; Saturday night was Renee Flemming. What an audience Tanglewood has. They clap for just about anything! If I were an artist Tanglewood would be the venue I would like to perform for. At the end of the evenings my hands were sore from clapping! Well, to sum it all up this was a weekend of culture, good food, and, above all, great company...or was that us, the good company!

David and Matthew do New Jersey Triathlon

2008-07-27T19:14:00.000-07:00

What a weekend! Saturday afternoon David and I drove to Mercer County New Jersey, the site of David and Matthew's first attempt at a triathlon! They were both wonderful! David did a Sprint and Matt an Olympic. I'm not sure of the exact length of either, just know the Olympic is the longer of the two! So the drill is first swimming, then biking and finally running. We sat through the orientation and by the time they were through explaining what you had to do I was totally lost! From what I understand, each participant has an area the width of a bike, where they can put all their stuff (bike while you're swimming and running; sneakers while you're biking and swimming, etc). There are different routes depending on which of the events you are doing. The coordination and planning for this experience is amazing! The facility itself is outstanding. There is a beautiful lake as part of the park. Unfortunately Rachel and I arrived too late for the swimming part of the race, it must have been quite a scene. There were 2500 participants overall! Winners are determined by age group. David came in second for his group! Interesting, they write your age in black marker on your leg along with your bib number. No hiding how old you are!

Here are some pictures.

Left out 2 people!

2008-07-16T18:31:00.000-07:00

So very sorry, I left out Surjit (Marlene's mother-in-law and Tylia.

Pictures from the Tea for Rachel

2008-07-16T18:24:00.000-07:00

OK, as promised, here are some of the pictures from the Tea. It was not only lovely it was also delicious!

In the middle picture Rachel is opening some tea cups from her sister Emily; they came from the Republic of Tea. The holey paper she is holding up is the leftovers from making the tea bags! Cool, don't you think!

Great Weekend it DC

2008-07-13T17:16:00.000-07:00

Just back from DC; what a great weekend. Rachel's sister had a Tea for her in celebration of the upcoming wedding! What a fun event! The sandwiches were yummy, my favorite being chicken salad and also cucumber with butter I believe, very delicious. However, the best was the chocolate brownie! I have NEVER had such a decadent brownie. The chocolate was fudgey and the icing was creamy and yummy! Definitely worth the calories! The other tempting morsel was a petti fore; white cake with creamy filling, a layer of marzipan and then iced all over with white very sweet fondant (I think that's what it was). If you were looking for your sugar fix for the month this was the route to go. Let me tell you, I would definitely put my trust in Emily (Rachel's sister) and Jenny (Rachel's long time friend and growing up next door neighbor) to spend my discretionary calories! As Grammie would say "What a way to go!" I'll post some pictures tomorrow.

My Kindle FINALLY has success!

2008-07-09T21:12:00.000-07:00

Are you familiar with the Kindle? It is an electronic reading device developed by Amazon. I thought it would be such a cool, convenient item to own; so approximately a month ago I decided to splurge and buy one. I had all kinds of rationale. first, it would get rid of all the books on my night table; second the books would cost less than the average book I buy now. The books cost $9.99 or less. The other benefit is you can put approx 20 books at a time on the device. It all sounded so very practical to me. The day arrived and waiting at my door was My Kindle. So, I charged it and got ready to go shopping; one problem, I couldn't get an Internet connection. Well I tried for several days...no luck. Before I could call the Kindle help line they were on the phone with me. We tried all kinds of experiments, no luck...could not connect. Somehow or other the book that I ordered for the device did arrive on Kin during the night. I was able to read the book but not make contact with the site here at home although the customer service dept could not understand why there was a problem. The staff was so very lovely but the connection could not be made.

Several days later a new Kindle arrived at m door. I quick opened the box charged Kin and tried again; nothing! With the old Kindle I could sign on away from home; this new one would not even let me do that. Well, several days later the CS people contacted me again;still not idea why I couldn't log on. The thought, maybe I needed a new device. We talked about it and decided that was not going to solve the problem; I would just have to be patient again!

Well, here we are another 3 or 4 days later and what is waiting at my front door? You're right, another Kindle. At this point I have very little if any hope of it working. However, I do hook it up and would you believe, it worked! I was able to download a new book and reload a previously purchased book to this device! I can't believe it! Let's see how it work tomorrow!

On a loosing streak for Mah Jongg

2008-07-07T19:46:00.000-07:00

Well, if you're looking to make some easy money at Mah Jongg, I suggest you invite me over. Today I lost a total of $12! That's a lot of money! Next time I'll see if they take credit cards! Not sure why my stars are not aligned but will have to work on some new strategies.

On another topic, David and I have been working on putting together a butterfly garden. I have a book that tells what flowers each butterfly is attracted to by region. We'll see how it goes. They are such lovely insects I would be so happy if they adopted our yard as one of their summer homes! Will keep you posted on how that's going.

Where does the time go???

2008-07-05T21:22:00.000-07:00

Tonight we went out to the movies with friends and saw "When Was The Last Time You Saw Your Father?" We all thought it was a fantastic movie. I spent a lot of time thinking about the name of the movie...when was the last time I saw MY father as I knew him? On that same theme, I was looking through some old pictures this afternoon. There was one with a picture of my dad cutting his birthday cake for his 85th. Now, looking at that picture, even then, he was not my father! One of the things that really brought this home to me today was that Uncle Paul (Dad's youngest brother) was visiting this week. I have always felt the two of them look so much alike. So, how far back do I have to look to see when I last saw my father. One of the women tonight commented that out of the 8 of us I was the only one that still had her father. Do I really have him or just physically someone that looks like him?

Been Goofing Off!

2008-06-24T07:35:00.000-07:00

Hi all,

Can't believe how long its been; time to get bac to blogging!

This past weekend was a fun one here in Stamford. United Jewish Federation of Stamford, New Canaan and Darien decided to try something new in the fund raising arena. We sponsored a 60 mile bike ride for Israel's 60th anniversary. The event was a total success! There were 49 riders who were totally challenged by the event! What a wonderful way to build Community; in the Campaign arena; over $55,000 was raised! There were fabulous prizes for the event with first prize being a $3,000 bike by The Cycle Center here in Stamford, Camel's by Lapine Associates, and some other bike stuff (that I don't totally understand) by the Insurance Exchange! Talk about generosity! What a great event! So, next year 61 for 61????

Here are some photos!

Pictures from our trip

2008-04-23T15:38:00.000-07:00

Picture on the left is the center of Obidos; the flowers were plentiful! Picture on the right has some on the flowers from the outdoor market at Caldas da Rainha.

Above left, the castle in Obidos now is a pension; right is David braving the wind as we venture down to the water near our hotel. Big wind buy no rain at this point. We are looking at the Atlantic!

Quiet day in Portugal

2008-04-10T15:23:00.000-07:00

I decided to spend the day close to the resort today. The wind and rain are unbelievable! As you know we're sitting on the Atlantic Ocean; with the wind today you could easily see how ships could capsize! The waves are humongous! Tomorrow we will rent a car and go north. Hopefully it will be a good sized car so it will stay on the road. Another option will be to put a sail on top and save on gas! We'll see how it goes. Just finished my second book of the trip; first was "A Spot of Bother" by Mark Haddon; second was "The Kitchen Boy" by Robert Alexander. They are both wonderful reads, I strongly recommend both of them.

Caldas da Rainha

2008-04-09T16:00:00.000-07:00

This is an interesting city north of where we are staying. The R in the last part of the name is interesting; it is pronounced like a ch in Hebrew. It is amazing the many influences on the Porteges language CdR was a draw for me because they are the only city in the area that has an outdoor market. The day started off in a panic since I had a cab picking me up at 9:30 and I overslept until 9:50; not a fun way to start the day. I dressed and ran down to the entrance of the hotel, ate something in the car and started my adventure. The day started off pleasant enough, no rain! I strolled through the market where there were all root vegetables and fruits of the region; there were strawberries the size of small golf balls and the most Delicious color red! There were stalls with olives and cheeses; again wish I could bottle the aromas! Then I started to wander around to find some pottery stores. I knew I was pushing my luck because within minutes the rains started and this time it was like a small monsoon! I found a pottery store but they wouldn't take a credit card so had to find an ATM. Went back in the teeming rain (should I say swam back???). the woman was so happy to see me, I may have been the sale of the week. She wrapped up my purchases, went into the back and gave me an umbrella; then walked me to the door and opened the umbrella for me. Oh yes, she also wrapped my camera in a plastic bag so it wouldn't get wet! Amazing, just like home...NOT!!! I stopped for lunch before meeting my cab. Things here are so very expensive because of the weakness of the dollar. Lunch, on the other hand, I thought was a good buy. They served me a large bowl of a fish stew (that salted cod but it was not salty)that had potatoes, tomatoes and spices in it. Delicious! I asked for some vegetables; they served me a large head of broccoli that was prepared perfectly; bright green and still a little crunchy! I also ordered a bottle of water; the bill was a grand total of 7.50 euros; I thought a pretty good deal!

In the afternoon the TNS group went on an organized tour of Obidos with booklets that had questions are the area. At dinner there was a game with groups to see who had the most correct answers. We also went on a tour and tasting at a winery. From what I hear the wine was very good.

We'll see what tomorrow's adventures turn out to be!

April in Praia D'El Rey Rey, Portugal

2008-04-08T16:21:00.000-07:00

We are in a Marriott golf resort about one hour north of Lisbon; the facility is beautiful. We are on the Atlantic Ocean (if you want to run to the beach and send us a bottled note we'll run down and get it!). the food has been plentiful, good and expensive! Actually with the dollar being so weak; everything is expensive. Today I took a cab to a small town of Obidos (the "s" is pronounced as a "sh" so it takes a little getting used to. This is a small village with a castle and surrounded with a wall that dates back to the Moors. There are two main streets and, lucky for me, this is off season. If the tourists were here I wouldn't have been able to get a picture without hordes of people! I did meet some travelers; one group from Maryland another woman from Virginia traveling alone. The only negative about the trip so far is that the weather stinks! It has rained since we got here. Most of the time it is on and off drizzle until tonight when it all time poured! The good news is the flowers are in bloom so I have pictures of Wisteria, roses, Calla lillies and orange blossoms! I wish there was a way to bottle the fragrance and bring it back. Unfortunately forgot the cable for my camera so I won't be able to send pictures until I get home. Have something planned for tomorrow if I don't get rained out!

Bridal Showers

2008-04-06T06:38:00.001-07:00

Yesterday I had the pleasure of going to a bridal shower. This shower was not the ordinary eat a filling lunch; watch the opening of endless gifts and then on to an "ok" cake...this shower was called a Kitchen Luncheon Shower! First, the weather that had been predicted to be raining and cool was actually sunny and warm (around 60 degrees), this of course added to the festiveness of the day! The home was lovely. It was in Rowayton, in a house that was totally remodelled with the most up-to-date kitchen I have seen in a long time. What was nice about it was you could see that the kitchen was used! In today's world that is a very nice thing since it doesn't seem to be the trend. I was standing next to the hostess at one point and asked her if the square stainless steel unit in the island was the microwave. No, she responded, that is the steam oven. It seems that steam ovens are used when you bake bread! Well, with everything that she had (including the full sized Wolf range) she did not have a foot pedal for her sink! Oh, these silly women, $200 and you can be a happy camper!

The "entertainment" for the day was a local woman who writes a cooking column for the Stamford Advocate, Ronnie Fein. Ronnie made spanikoptia; delicious chicken salad with Israeli cous cous, oranges, pistachios and a vinaigrette dressing. The interesting suggestion she made for the spanikoptia (Gini, sorry if I've messed up the spelling) was that for a meat meal for Passover, you could leave out the cheese, put in mushrooms and put matzo on the top. The method would be to soak the matzo in water then put it between 2 towels to dry it out and place on top of the spinach mixture. Then brush olive oil on the top so the matzo would brown and be crunchy. Once all the preparation was done you could then freeze everything before cooking. I had read a recipe from a Joan Nathan book where she made a tsimmes (mixture of dried fruit, sweet potatoes and carrots, some people put meat in, I leave mine vegetarian) and put the "batter" for matzo balls on top. I was thinking this could be interesting for the spinach since you would be able to give it more flavor than just the plain matzo. Anyway, I digress, let's continue with the Shower!

After lunch, which was the food Ronnie had prepared; we went into the living room and watch the bride open her gifts. I remember some 40 years ago at one of my showers, my mother and her friends saying now they could use a shower! Well, that's what I was thinking as I saw the beautiful gifts being opened! it seems that the bride had put chocolate brownies on her list so, one woman gave the bride a beautiful, LARGE tray with at least 4 dozen brownies! Of course we all at the decadent brownies!

Desert was divine! There was a cake called an Opera Cake that was like a richer, creamier Tiramisu. I had a little sliver and could barely eat it, it was so very rich!

BTW (by the way) don't you just love the bride centerpiece?????

Spring is coming!

2008-04-02T15:42:00.000-07:00

Well, after all the rain we had this winter it is encouraging to know that Spring is on the way. You may ask yourself how am I so confident of its arrival? Well, here's one sure way to tell; the bulbs are pushing their little heads out of the ground and the tips of buds are coming out of them. Seeing the buds is quite an achievement since we never know when the deer will attack them. We know from previous years that the deer love nothing more than the new buds. When we moved into this house my mother gave us many bulbs from her garden. Mom used to have the loveliest tulips. I was certain there was something wrong with our soil, the exposure or, perhaps, how the bulbs were planted. One evening I came around the corner to our house and there was Bambi and all her friends, chowing down on my tulips! So, now I know, the exposure is fine it is the 4 legged critters that love the new spring shoots!

Big day for Mah Jongg Players!

2008-03-27T06:29:00.001-07:00

Well, March 26th was the day this year for all the Mah Jongg players in the US...what could have happened you may wonder; its the day the new cards came out. Every year the National Mah Jongg League puts out a new card. It is a good idea since the card tell which hands you can play and playing the same hands year after year would definitely become boring. So, what did these women come up with...the idea of changing the card every year! So, for 71 years players all over the US spend the last 2 weeks in March pondering when the card will arrive. It was believed for a long time that the new card coincided with Passover (also usually the end of March). So this year there was much concern since Passover doesn't start until April 19th! Oh my, what a frenzy! The good news, went to the mailbox yesterday and there it was! Now the next ritual is to spend the first few weeks with the new card grieving over the hands that have changed; how much we miss them and mourn their loss! All kidding aside, it is a fun game and I'm happy I've become a regular player (well, as regular as I can be!).

Bratislava Book is ready!

2008-03-24T21:02:00.000-07:00

Hopefully you were able to view Budapest; so now here's Bratislava! Bratislava is the capital of Slovakia. The good news is there were very few tourists. Hope you enjoy the book.

http://www.mypublisher.com/bookshelf/index.php

order number: M647858

Password: 1139910

It does work!

2008-03-24T06:45:00.000-07:00

Ok, so here's how to do it! Go to the site; when the page comes up click on Book Store (upper right hand side of the page). Enter the order number (the number preceeded by an "M". After you do that enter in the Password. When the book comes up, follow the instructions on the screen to view the book. Let me know what you think!

Tried it out

2008-03-24T06:43:00.000-07:00

Ok, so here's what you need to do; when the site comes up, look on the top and see where it says Book Store. Click on that, then on the right put in the order number; that is the number preceeded by "M". Then on the next screen you put in the password. The book will come up and then follow the directions on the screen to view the pictures. Hope you enjoy! Let me know!

Where does the time go???

2008-03-24T06:33:00.000-07:00

I cannot believe that it is 12 days since my last post...if you don't follow this blog I don't blame you! Anyway, I spend the weekend making books out of our Budapest and Bratislava experiences. The good news is the Budapest book is up and ready so I'm going to post the link so you can check it out. sorry to send you on this separate journey, but at least this way I'll know you're going to see the pictures! I'll post Bratislava when its ready! Have a great day!

http://www.mypublisher.com/bookstore/book_viewer.py?d=tq%3Ey-cppl%60je%3E32765%3A2

Your book ID # is: M647779Your password is: 1139833

Hope this works, I'll try it out to see!

Chatam Sofer Memorial Bratislava

2008-03-12T06:50:00.000-07:00

Below is a description of a memorial that we visited in Bratislava (the capital of Slovaka). I will post some pictures shortly.

------- CHATAM SOFER MEMORIAL ------- FAMOUS AND UNKNOWN MEMORIAL - IN BRATISLAVA, NEAR THE RIVER DANUBE LIES AN OLD ORTHODOX CEMETERY. RECENTLY UNKNOWN, ALTHOUGH FOR ABOUT HALF OF A CENTURY VISITED BY PILGRIMS FROM THE WHOLE WORLD FROM JERUSALEM UP TO NEW YORK. THE REASON FOR THEIR VISITS IS THE GRAVE OF CHATAM SOFER. THE BRATISLAVA’S RABBI AND SCHOLAR, WHO IS FAMOUS AND IN THE SAME TIME UNKNOWN, SIMILARLY AS THE PLACE OF HIS LAST REST. THE NOTED BRITISH HISTORIAN PAUL JOHNSON IS NOT MENTIONING THIS MAN IN HIS LARGE BOOK A HISTORY OF THE JEWS (1987). HOWEVER, IN THE COMMUNITY OF ORTHODOX JEWS CHATAM SOFER BELONGS TO THE MOST IMPORTANT HALAKIC AUTHORITIES OF THE 19TH CENTURY. THE YESHIVA HE LEADED IN BRATISLAVA AND WHICH WAS THE CENTRE OF THE TRADITIONAL JEWISH TEACHING IN EUROPE, IS FUNCTIONING IN JERUSALEM AS PRESSBURGER YESHIVAH TILL TODAY. CHATAM SOFER, BY OWN NAME MOSHE SCHREIBER (1762 – 1836), WAS BORN IN FRANKFURT AM MEIN. HE LIVED IN CZECH PROSTÌJOV, LATER IN MATTERSDORF . HOWEVER HE BECOME AMOUS JUST DURING HIS WORK IN BRATISLAVA./1/ THE FORMER JEWISH CEMETERY WAS FOUNDED IN THE 17TH CENTURY, WHEN THE BRATISLAVA FAMILY PALFFY HAS ALLOWED JEWS TO BURY THEIR DEAD NEAR THE FORTIFICATION ON THE DANUBE RIVERBANK. IT WAS USED TILL THE YEAR 1847. SINCE THAN IT WAS OUT OF WORK, THOUGH IT WAS PRESERVED. IN THE YEAR 1942 A LIQUIDATION IMPENDED THE CEMETERY. THE REASON WAS BUILDING OF A NEW TUNNEL AND REGULATION OF THE DANUBE RIVER. MOST OF THE GRAVES HAVE BEEN EXHUMED AND THE DEAD RESTS WERE BROUGHT OVER TO THE NEARBY NEW ORTHODOX CEMETERY. ONLY A SMALL AREA – 23 GRAVES INCLUDING THE GRAVE OF CHATAM SOFER – REMAINED. THROUGH THE INCREASE OF THE GROUND LEVEL ON THE DANUBE RIVERBANK, THE CEMETERY GOT IN THE UNDERGROUND. IT WAS COVERED BY CONCRETE PLATES AND REMAINED SO FOR A HALF OF A CENTURY. THE ONLY WAY TO REACH THE CEMETERY LEADED THROUGH AN INARTISTIC TIN SHELTER. ONLY THE NEW POLITICAL AND SOCIAL SITUATION IN NINETIETH ENABLED THE RECONSTRUCTION OF THE CEMETERY. THE UNITED EFFORT OF THE JEWISH RELIGIOUS COMMUNITY, THE INTERNATIONAL COMMITTEE FOR THE PRESERVATION OF THE GRAVESITES OF GEONAI PRESSBURG RESIDING IN NEW YORK AND THE MUNICIPALITY OF BRATISLAVA SUCCEEDED TO REALISE THE IDEA OF CHATAM SOFER MEMORIAL. THE TRAM TRACKS WERE MOVED, THE CEILING OF THE CEMETERY WAS RAISED, THE TOMBSTONES WERE RESTORED AND NEW SPACES FOR VISITORS WERE CREATED. TOWARDS THE ARCHITECTURAL CONCEPT ARCHITECT MARTIN KVASNICA CONCEIVED THE MEMORIAL AS A WAY, A WAY TO A STRANGE WORLD, A PILGRIMAGE TO THE GRAVES OF FATHERS. THE UNAMBIGUOUS LINE OF THE ENTRANCE PATH LEVITATES OVER THE AREA OF THE FORMER CEMETERY, COVERED BY TINY GRAVEL. THROUGH THIS BENCH GETS THE VISITOR TO THE BLACK PRISM, ARCHETYPE OF A TOMB. THE REINFORCED CONCRETE PRISM IS STEEPED BY BLACK COLOUR WITH ADDITION OF SILICATE, WHICH GIVES THE SURFACE INCONSPICUOUS DARK SHEEN. THE PRISM IS AN INTERFACE BETWEEN TODAY AND YESTERDAY, BETWEEN THE PRESENT AN THE PAST, BETWEEN PROFANE AND SACRAL WORLD. THE LIFTED ENTRANCE PATH AND THE BLACK OBJECT WITHOUT CEILING ARE THE STRONGEST AND MOST GENEROUS PARTS OF THE CONCEPT. THE FEELING OF LONELINESS AND ANXIETY THAT OVERWHELMS ONE IN THE CRAMPED SPACE BETWEEN THE BLACK WALLS UNDER THE DISTANT HAVEN BELONGS TO THE MOST REMARKABLE EXPERIENCES. THE WAY LEADS THE VISITOR FARTHER TO THE UNDERGROUND, WHERE THE RELIC OF THE ORIGINAL CEMETERY REMAINED. TWO INNER ROOMS, LIFTED OVER THE LEVEL OF THE CEMETERY, ARE DARK SIMPLE RECTANGULAR SPACES (ONE ROOM IS FOR LAYMEN, THE OTHER SERVES FOR PRAYING BELIEVERS) WITH GLITTERING BLACK FLOOR. HERE THE VISITOR COULD SEE THE GRAVES BEHIND THE GLASS WALL FOR THE FIRST TIME. A SUBTLE STEEL STAIRCASE LEADS THAN TO THE GRAVES AREA. HERE, BY THE GRAVES OF CHATAM SOFER AND OTHER IMPORTANT REPRESENTATIVES OF THE BRATISLAVA ORTHODOX JEWISH COMMUNITY CULMINATES THIS PILGRIMAGE. IN THE UNDERGROUND SPACE OF GRAVES THE CEILING WAS LIFTED AND VISUALLY CONNECTED WITH THE VISITORS SPACES. THE SYSTEM OF ILLUMINATED GLASS PLATES PENETRATES THE CEILING AND PASSES FROM INTERIOR TO THE EXTERIOR. THE FORMER UNCOMFORTABLE FEELING OF LOW, NOT MAINTAINED BASEMENT, DISAPPEARED IN THIS WAY COMPLETELY. LAYERS, SYMBOLS, NARRATIVES AND UNREASONABLENESS HOWEVER, ANOTHER REAL AND ILLUSORY LAYERS ENTER THE CLEAR CONCEPT OF THE MEMORIAL AND ITS SOBER ARCHITECTURE. ON ONE HAND THEY CONTRADICT THE CONCEPT OF THE MEMORIAL, ON THE OTHER HAND THEY DEVELOP THE UNIQUE EXPRESSION OF THE WORK. THE CHATAM SOFER MEMORIAL IS PERCEIVED BY THE PUBLIC MOSTLY AS A MEMORIAL OF THE IMPORTANT REPRESENTATIVE OF THE ORTHODOX JEWS. NEVERTHELESS, ON THE RELICT OF THE CEMETERY ARE BURIED ALSO THE FATHERS OF HEINRICH HEINE, KARL MARX AND OTHER PERSONALITIES, WHICH WERE CREATING THE UNIQUE ATMOSPHERE OF PRESSBURG AND EUROPE OF THE 19TH AND 20TH CENTURY. THE MEMORIAL COULD BE THAN PERCEIVED AS A RELIGIOUS JEWISH PLACE, BUT IN THE SAME TIME AS AN IMPORTANT ELEMENT ON THE MAP OF EUROPEAN MULTIETHNIC AND MULTIRELIGIOUS CULTURE. WE COULD ASK, HOW HAS THIS MOMENT INFLUENCED THE ARCHITECTURE OF THE MEMORIAL? MOST EVIDENT IN THIS CONTEXT IS THE CONTINENCE OF ITS ARCHITECTURE. IN THIS REGION IT IS NOT USUAL TO BUILD MONUMENTAL TOMBS AND MEMORIALS. EVEN THE WAR MEMORIALS, WHICH ARE LARGE FOR LOCAL CONDITIONS, COULD NOT REACH THE ONES BUILT BY GREAT NATIONS. BIG GESTURES ARE NOT SUCCESSFUL HERE./2/ THE WORKS OF ART – COUPLE OF GATES AND THE BOWL FOR RITUAL HAND WASHING WERE DESIGNED BY FRANTIŠEK GULDAN IN CHARACTERISTIC NATURALISTIC-NARRATIVE PENCIL. THE FIRST GATE DIVIDING THE INNER SPACE OF THE PRISM FROM THE SURROUNDINGS IS INTENTIONALLY INARTISTIC TANGLE OF RUSTY STEEL BARS. THEY ARE IDEOLOGICALLY RELATED WITH THE WOVEN SHELTERS OF NOMAD JEWS, WHICH HAVE IN THE SAME TIME DIVIDED AND NOT DIVIDED THE ABODE FROM THE LAND. SIMILAR FABRIC USED TO DIVIDE PARTICULAR PARTS OF THE TEMPLE. COUPLE OF BIRDS HAVE ALREADY MADE THEIR NEST IN THE PLAITS OF THE BARS. THE GATE WANTS TO EVOKE THE THREE THOUSAND YEARS OLD HISTORY OF JEWISH RELIGION AND IN THE SAME TIME DIVIDE THE SURROUNDING WORLD FROM THE DARKNESS OF THE OLD CEMETERY. THE SECOND GATE IS MADE OF COMPACT PATINED STEEL. IT SHOULD REMIND OF THE PLATES ON THE STONE GRAVES. THE BOWL FOR RITUAL HAND WASHING IS A COMBINATION OF THE BASE MADE OF SMALL STONE FRAGMENTS AND PATINED COPPER BOWL WITH A COUPLE OF TIN POTS FOR RINSING THE HANDS. ALL THE WORKS OF ART ARE INSPIRING IN THEIR AD HOC NATURALISM, THOUGH GETTING INTO CONFLICT WITH PRECISE AND RATIONAL PURITY OF THE BUILDING. IF THE WORKS OF ART GETTING INTO CONFLICT WITH THE PURE BUILDING BECAUSE OF THEIR NARRATIVES, THAN THE DIRECT SURROUNDINGS CONTRADICTS THE BUILDING BY ITS ACCIDENTAL QUALITY – THE CONCRETE SUPPORTING WALL, THE TUNNEL PORTAL, THREE PREFABRICATED HOUSES IN THE BACKGROUND AND EVEN THE ENCLOSURE OF THE CEMETERY. HOWEVER THIS IS A NATURAL LOCAL STRATIFICATION, ACCIDENTAL OR SPONTANEOUSLY ACCUMULATED IN THE PLACE OF THE CEMETERY. THE FENCE, WHICH AROSE IN ADDITION, IS COPYING THE VARIOUS LINES OF THE PLOT AND ONLY ITS ENTRANCE PART LOOKS LIKE TO BE IN ADEQUATE CONNECTION WITH THE ABSTRACT BLACK PRISM. THE REALISED PROJECT STANDS THEREFORE SOMEWHERE BETWEEN A GESTURE AND A CLEVER SOLUTION OF A RESIDUAL TERRITORY. “THE MOST SUCCESSFUL CREATIONS OF ITS TIME RESULTED, ON MY OPINION, FROM UNREASONABILITY, WHILE THAT, WHAT RULES THE WORLD, WHAT GETS ON, DOMINATES AND OFTEN KILLS, HAPPENS ALWAYS IN THE NAME OF THE REASON, THE RATIONALITY.” STATED DANIEL LIBESKIND IN CONTEXT OF THE INTRODUCTORY COORDINATES OF HIS PROPOSAL FOR THE JEWISH MUSEUM IN BERLIN./3/ BY THE PROPOSAL FOR THE CHATAM SOFER MEMORIAL PLAYED THE UNREASONABILITY ALSO AN IMPORTANT ROLE. THE FORM OF MEMORIAL IS LIKEWISE A RESULT OF VARIOUS ENTRIES: THE COHENS (THE DESCENDANTS OF TEMPLE PRIESTS) RULES, THE AWARENESS OF ACTUAL ARCHITECTONIC TENDENCIES, THE NARRATIVE SYMBOLIC OF WORKS OF ART, THE PROTECTION FROM THE ANTI-SEMITIC VANDALS, THE ORIGINAL BOUNDARIES OF THE CEMETERY, THE SHAPE AND THE SCALE OF THE CEMETERY RELICT AS A RESULT OF PARADOXICAL HISTORIC SITUATION, THE ORIGINAL CONCRETE BEAMS PLACED ON THE EDGE OF THE PLOT, THE PLANTED GREENERY, WHICH COULD BE ACTUALLY PLANTED ONLY BY GOD... IMAGINATION IN COMBINATION WITH UTILITARIAN REQUIREMENTS, ABSTRACTION AND IN THE SAME TIME NARRATIVES, REMEMBRANCE AND CONCEALMENT, THESE ARE THE CHARACTERISTICS OF THE BRATISLAVA FAMOUS AND UNKNOWN MEMORIAL. ------- HENRIETA MORAVÈÍKOVÁ ------- NOTES: 1 BORSKÝ, M.: CHATAM SOFER. ARCH 7, 2002, N.6, P.24. 2 DULLA, M.: BETWEEN HEAVEN AND UNDERGROUND. CHATAM SOFER MAUSOLEUM IN BRATISLAVA. ARCH 5, 2000, N.2, P.22–24. 3 LIBESKIND, D.: ARCHITEKTUR UND SCHRIFTEN. MÜNCHEN – NEW YORK, PRESTEL 1994, P.100.

Budapest The Beautiful Day 1

2008-03-06T00:49:00.003-08:00

We are staying at the Marriott right on the Danube. The view is beautiful, to our right is the Chain Bridge, the left we are across from the Cittedel and opposite the Castle. Couldn't ask for a better spot! Yesterday we took the tram (which runs right past our door) to the Parliment, the Musuem of Ethnography, the train station with the fanciest McDonalds I've ever seen. After stopping for a spot of tea we went on to St Stephen's Bescillica. Not to forget something for a very late lunch. Dinner was at a fusion restaurant; wonderful fresh food with offerings from Japan, China, and of course, Hungry. The decor was very modern with the addition of some Tera Cotta warriors! Those guys do get around. When we were told that they did not serve mint tea we decided to return to our hotel for a cup. The TNS group had taken over the bar area so we had tea and dessert in the main restaurant. This hotel has an interesting feature, you can watch the kitchen over a live cam on your tv. We had been watching earlier in the day but weren't quite sure what they were making in the pastry kitchen. We quizzed the dining room manager and then asked if we could go on a tour of the kitchen. What a place! Would you believe besides the main kitchen, meat slicing area, banquet kitchen, room service area, there is a chocolate room (locked), pastry kitchen (how much larger it looked on tv) with its own fridge (locked), vegetable prep area with its own fridge (not locked!)main chef's office, toilets for the staff! What a place. The hotel is in the process of being renovated and they must have started with the restaurant. Good idea, bringing in revenue while renovation continues!

Pictures from Ithaca

2008-02-18T07:34:00.000-08:00

Having some problems posting, here goes again!

Just found out there is a blog problem, so enjoy this for now and I'll get some more out asap. This is Buttermilk Falls.

Weekend in Ithaca, NY

2008-02-18T07:15:00.000-08:00

Well, the family tradition continues, we're still celebrating our anniversary from December! Our friends Len and Susan Mark wanted to go away for a weekend to celebrate with us; we decided on Ithaca since we all have children who attended school there. David and I haven't been there for years so we decided this would be a great time to go. We stayed in a lovely B & B called the William Henry Miller Inn; what a wonderful choice! Thank you Len! Miller was the first architecture student at Cornell and his house proved that. It was built in the 1800's, was restored by this innkeeper and was just lovely! We stayed in the turret room; there was an alcove in the turret that had a bed in it; I would have preferred a chair to sit and read. Oh well, not my Inn! The breakfasts were delicious: each morning there was a fruit, baked with some kind of exotic cream or honey to go with it; breakfast choices were either eggs made into omelets with fresh vegetables or scrambled; French Toast stuffed with a mixture of cream cheese and apricots, garnished with fresh fruit and hot maple syrup. In case you weren't impressed with the breakfast, each evening starting at about 7:00 there were fresh baked desserts, hot tea, coffee and hot chocolate. Always a chocolate dessert, lemon squares, Red Velvet cupcakes, choclate cookies! Wow!

We visited 3 different waterfalls; Ithaca, Buttermilk and Taughannock. They were so very impressive, the power of the water and the beauty of the ice! What an experience!

Interesting story, walking to Taughannock Falls we struck up a conversation with a young man. While discussing cameras, lenses, tablets (need to find out more about these) he suggested that we come to where he works to see some of his equipment. An where does he work?? you guess it Amy, Jon Reis! So now we're into the small world category.

Bee-Luther-Hatchee for Black History Month

2008-02-07T20:15:00.000-08:00

Last night we went to see the current production at Stamford Theatre Works. The Show is called Bee-Luther-Hatchee. This is Black History month; historically STW does a production on this theme in February. This was by far the best Black History Month production I can ever remember seeing. Here's some of the information I found online about the show:

Synopsis:The editor of a best-selling memoir by an 80-year-old african-american woman finally meets the author, whom she has come to think of as a friend, even a mother figure. But the writer's true identify forces her to rethink her most basic beliefs about art and race. BEE-LUTHER-HATCHEE. noun. A far-away, damnable place; the next station after the stop for the Biblical hell; an absurd place or an ironic situation located in a particular place; a mythical place. -- Juba to Jive: A Dictionary of African-American Slang
Shelita Burns, an African-American editor, publishes Bee-luther-hatchee, the autobiography of a reclusive 72-year-old black woman named Libby Price. Shelita has never met Libby, and when the book wins a prestigious award she decides to deliver it to her in person. To her profound shock, the actual author of the book is a white man named Sean Leonard. Furious and resentful, Shelita accuses Sean of perpetrating a hoax, while he defends the book as a truthful work of imagination. Their confrontation, played out on the edge of the racial divide, builds to a jarring act of violence.

"In our world of hot-button topics and uncivil discourse, it's rare that you get to hear an eloquent, complex argument where the sides are so evenly matched that you keep changing your mind about who's "right." It's even more unusual to see such an argument laid out in a contemporary drama with well-rounded characters who are more than authorial mouthpieces. The combination makes Thomas Gibbons' Bee-luther-hatchee...a powerful, provocative piece of theatrical writing. You want to run down the street twisting people's arms to see it... Poetic and subtle, asking penetrating questions without simple answers...one of the best plays of the season. It deserves a large audience."
--Linda Eisenstein, Cleveland Plain Dealer

This production definitely had us debating the premise all the way home, and, it is still very much on my mind. If the show ends up in your area, I strongly suggest you go to see it!

Super Bowl Soup a Success!

2008-02-03T20:20:00.001-08:00

Well, the decision was made, Moroccan Vegetable Soup! The extra bonus of this soup was a farmer's market held in White Plains this afternoon. So, relatively fresh carrots and parsnips! Very exciting! So here's the recipe if you want to try this soup:
1 TBS olive oil
1 onion, chopped
1-1/2 cups chopped carrots
1-1/2 cups chopped parsnips
8 ounces of pumpkin (I used 2 frozen packages of cooked butternut squash)
3 cups of vegetable stock (I ended up adding 2 extra cups of hot water, the soup was much too thick
salt
pepper
pumpkin pie spice

Heat the oil in a large pan. Add theonion and saute for about 3 minutes, until soft, stir occasionaly. Add the carots and parsnips and stir well. Cover and cook over low heat for 5 minutes.
Add the squash, cover and cook 5 minutes longer. Add the stock and seasoning and slowly bring to a boil. Cover and simmer for 35 to 40 minutes until the vegetables are tender.
Leve the osup to cool slightly. Puree either in a food processor,blender or with a submergable blender.

The soup was such a winner that I won the pool for the game! Go Giants!!!

Photoshop Elements

2008-01-31T19:45:00.000-08:00

Well, here's a new experience for me; I have signed up for an online class in Photoshop Elements! It is a unique experience. First of all the classes are very quiet! You get your first class, print it out and then find the items mentioned on the screen. What makes it a challenge is that I have a newer version of the software. So far that doesn't seem to be a problem although locating what they are talking about is often a guessing game. What I have found is if I just noodle around I usually find what I'm looking for. I am not ready to make this my "main" program. For now, I will continue to download pictures into Picassa. This first class has been a tour of some of the tools, now I'll spend the rest of the week practicing what I have been introduced to. A major plus of the class is there is a forum where you can post questions and also read what other people in the class are experiencing! This is big time fun!!!

Pedicure

2008-01-28T19:59:00.000-08:00

So, its been rather cold and damp here so I decided it was the perfect time to get a pedicure. I've been rather concerned about using some of these Korean places so I went to my dermatologists office instead. Having used the Korean places in the past it was interesting to compare the two experiences. First, at the doctor's office, the person speaks to you and its English; the Korean place gives you something to drink (water, soda, etc) as soon as you sit down; doctor's office, nothing! Now the actual pedicure: the doctor's office, warm water and lots and lots of bubbles, in fact so many that at one point I think we are both going to float out of the room; Korean place, very hot water, no bubbles! Then the "fun" part, doctor's office, lots of removal of corns, nails cut very short, the emphasis is on making the feet soft and clean; Korean place, polish is the main concern of the day. Legs: doctor's office some cream on your legs and then hot "boots" on your feet for about 5 minutes; Korean place, honey scrub and your legs wrapped in hot towels, hot towel over your eyes, lean back in the chair and the attendant messages your feet for 5 minutes. Kit of supplies: doctor's office you buy all the disposable materials they use. this includes the polish, files, corn removers, sandals (rubber that can be reused) cuticle softener, base and top coat of polish, cotton, etc). Korean place, you pick out what polish you want and everything else is used by everybody. Cost: doctor's office $65 and one time charge for kit $60; Korean place $45.

so what was my decision for the next time? I'm going to stick to the doctor's office. I like the cautiousness of having my own polish, tools, etc. When I asked why you had your own polish, for instance, she said that they are concerned about fungus that can be transmitted by more than one person using the polish, tools, etc. Maybe I'm just a high maintenance person and the Korean place would be just fine...I just don't want to take chances! Bottom line, pedicures are not my favorite thing, I don't like people messing with my feet! However, I don't seem to be able to do an adequate job myself so it makes sense to me to go to the doctor! Now if only the insurance would cover it!!!

Get out those soup recipes!

2008-01-25T20:31:00.000-08:00

Earlier in the winter we talked about trying new soups; well, now we are going to have to put that idea to the test. Our hostess for the Super Bowl has set the theme for the evening to be "New" since both teams have new in their name. I am responsible for the soup. Rules: it must be something new for you to make, in other words a recipe you have never tried. Tonight I have my soup cookbooks spread out to read so I can make a decision. Recently there was a recipe in The Times for Beet Curry Soup, sounds good to me but I know not everyone likes beets. Another recipe is Chicken and Almond Soup, the description says "this spicy soup makes an excellent lunch or super dish when served with Indian nan bread. I'm concerned this may be too spicy. so, back to reading my books!

Art Deco Hotels in Miami

2008-01-19T09:18:00.000-08:00

Friday afternoon the plan was to drive to Ft. Lauderdale where we would be staying with Aunt Shirley (Grammie was already there) and then flying from there back to NYC. We decided before leaving we would do a walking tour of the area. We stopped in to visit a few of the hotels in the area. Here is some of the art work and decor! What a beautiful site!

We're back!

2008-01-19T09:05:00.000-08:00

To those of you who check my blog to see if I've posted anything, thank you for stopping by. I'll see if I can be more regular with postings!

Last week David and I went to Miami for a sales conference held by his company. I have not been to Miami Beach for decades and staying at this hotel made the wait worthwhile. We were at the Loew's Miami Beach which is actually in South Beach. What a place, what a neighborhood, what prices! My experience at the hotel was basically sitting at the pool, reading and paying for food. The food was good and the help was outstanding! The night we arrived David had a meeting which included dinner; I had been invited but decided it would not be fair to him to have to worry about me so I told him to go on his own. I went down to one of the dining rooms and asked to be seated outside. As the hostess showed me to my table I noticed a young woman sitting by herself, reading a book. After I was shown to my table I went back and asked the woman if she would like to have dinner together. I explained I was not trying to "pick her up" (answering a question that would have been my concern) and so we had dinner together. What fun! She is from the Netherlands and was staying with a friend who was at the GE conference going on at the same time. We talked about American customs in eating and serving that seemed strange to her. For instance, why is the coffee always so cold...I told her that the Americans, in most cases, did not heat the milk before they added it to the coffee/tea and hence the cold coffee/tea. We spoke about Landmark Educ, she also had taken some seminars! Wow, it really is a small world! The next night we ate together at Emeril's Restaurant that was also in the hotel. The food was excellent, service, not up to the European standards (mine either!)! Wow, getting pretty demanding, don't you think. We both talked about how quickly the food was served and how fast the check appeared; not at all European! Well, if we go to The Netherlands we definitely have someone to visit!

Photography

2008-01-05T06:19:00.000-08:00

Well as many of you know, photography is one of my very favorite passions. Recently I decided to see what I could do about selling some of my work. My doctor (Alan Falkoff) has invited his patients to display their work in his office. He is an amateur photographer as well and had one of this pictures printed on canvas. What a beautiful process...almost looks like a painting. So I had one of my China photos printed on canvas and it is being displayed in the hair dresser's where I get my hair cut...we'll see. This is the print that I had done. Now I have to decide if I should have another picture done to show more of my work, or, perhaps I'll put together a brochure. Stay tuned!

40th Anniversary

2007-12-31T15:55:00.000-08:00

What a lovely weekend this has been. David and I have celebrated our 40th Anniversary with most of our children with us. Unfortuantely Amy and Stephen were unable to join us, however, we know they were with us in spirit! The "youngins" sponsored the Kiddush at the synagogue, which was such a lovely surprise. There were many of the usual treats but what made it very special were the large bowls of cereal that were placed on the tables. This was definitely a novel treat and specially done for David who loves a bowl of cereal after services! David did the Haftorah and was superb! Then back to the house for soup and summer rolls, a definite "Jewish" tradition after synagogue! More details to follow! Saturday night we celebrated New Year's Eve early with Marlene, Mandeep, Matthew, Rachel, Grammie, Grandma, Rebecca, Steve and Talia. What fun; each person was given several letters of the alaphabet and asked to prepare food using those letters. Very delicious. Appetizers, Baby articchokes and carrot, swiss chard, hmm, I have forgotten D for the moment, edamame, fuiji apples, forgot G, hummus, Islandic Scotch, apricot jam cake, kugel, long grain rice, Matthew's rugelach, forgot N, O and P, quiona, red cabbage, salmon, Tofu stir fry (which we did not make because we had so much food!) no U or V, walnut pie with chocolate chips! We ignored the rest of the letters. It was a lot of fun! Lots of leftovers for the rest of the weekend!

GPS

2007-12-22T07:30:00.000-08:00

Well those of you who know me well know that I have been kvetching (complaining) over getting a gps for months. I had purchased a system for my Palm realized I had to download maps, etc, basically it seemed like a major project. So, for my birthday David encouraged me to pick out the gps of my dreams! What a cool gift. Well, after reading many reviews I decided on the TomTom GO 920T. Talk about bells and whistles, for instance you can speak where you want to go into the unit and it will take you there rather than have to punch in the numbers. One of the major benefits of a gps system that is not part of the equipment of your car is that you can use it while you are driving. A definite benefit since there are times when I'm with David in his car and we want to see alternate routes and you can't put in the address you are looking for while the car is going. A safety standard I'm sure but frustrating when you are sure you're getting further and further from your destination! So, the activity for today will be to get familiar with the capabilities of this fun new device! I am totally psyched!

Snow No-Show Just Ice and Mess

2007-12-13T20:34:00.001-08:00

Well, we have once again wasted a perfectly good snow storm. The media has been talking about nothing else for the past 2 days, 3-5" with sleet and freezing rain. Then it was 2-4" with sleet and freezing rain. Well, actually, in was about an inch, with lots of sleet and freezing rain. The accomplishment of the week was making room in the garage for my car AND the door closes! Wow, talk about miracles. Well it should give my car the opportunity to slide down the driveway so I can get out tomorrow. In our family the tradition is to cook or bake on a snowy day. I made stuffed cabbage however it is more like a casserole than actually stuffed cabbage. I was so concerned that Grammie would want to eat some tonight. I thought having dinner ready for tomorrow night would be a real plus. The good news is we did not eat it tonight. Well the weather report for the weekend is more snow so we'll see what happens with that storm! I haven't heard any numbers yet!

Birthday Celebrations

2007-12-11T20:23:00.000-08:00

Well, today was another birthday with many special wishes from family and friends! The good wishes started with Amy and Marlene calling from London yesterday and then singing happy birthday...definitely a warm fuzzy! Today I awoke to kind wishes from David, a lovely tzedakah (Charity) box from Grammie with a Mah Jongg motif! So I think this means if I have a good day at Mah Jongg I should remember those who haven't and put some money in the box! There was an email from Mal and Tina with HB wishes! Minerva stopped by with a lovely scarf, friends left musical wishes on the phone, then dinner in a great, local Thai restaurant with David along with an anthirum plant. David's gift is a GPS, I just need to do the homework to figure out which one I should get. Any help on this topic would be appreciated! The evening ended with a voicemail from Phil and Kendra and a long conversation with Matt and Rachel! One of my best birthday's yet!

Superest Super Sunday Hits Stamford!

2007-12-02T19:40:00.000-08:00

Super Sunday is the phone-a-thon day for the Stamford Jewish Federation! Hundreds of people are called starting at 9:15 in the morning and running until 9:00pm. When we got up this morning and saw snow on the ground we knew we were in for a great day. We were right, we raised over $360,000 in pledges, that is $100,000 over last year and 40,000 over the year before! Let me tell you, the phones were blazing! it was a wonderful feeling to be part of this dedicated community of volunteers dialing for dollars! Wow, how will we top this next year? Not to worry, we will!

Visit to the Musuem of the American Indian

2007-12-01T13:08:00.000-08:00

Might not have the name of this musuem correct, however, I'm sure you get the picture! Not always easy to figure out a place to visit in DC that will prove interesting to all. One of the suggestions was the American Indian musuem so we decided to give it a try. The building was beautiful; inside was a display of women's outfits. Very beautiful decirated with beads, shark's teeth, etc. We were told that young men save the teeth from the sharks they have killed; when they decide to get married the future bride sews the teeth on her dress. Could look bad if he doesn't get enough. Also watched a native of Guatemla weave some of her stories. Very interesting and the finished product was beautiful.

Now we're up to Chanukah!

2007-11-28T18:26:00.001-08:00

Ok, so now we're up to the Chanukah celebration. When everyone was living in Connecticut it was the tradition for everyone to pull a name and buy a gift for that person. Since we haven't been together we no longer did the tradtional. Due to this celebration it was time to pull out old customs! Even more difficult than the gifts was the decision of which day to celebrate Saturday afternoon was the final decision since Tracey wasn't working and Uncle Mal agreed to not leave to start the drive home until 3:00! Believe it or not everyone was so full from eating we did not plan a menu! Hope you enjoy the pictures!

Indian food at M & M's

2007-11-26T20:37:00.000-08:00

Well, after the 4th+ meal of turkey and the trimmings, it was a welcomed change to have some Indian food. Marlene and Mandeep made a mixture of cheese, peas and fresh skinned pureed tomatoes with a hint of cilantro, delicious! There was also dahl and wonderful rice. This was the most unusual Shabbat meal we had ever had!

Thanksgiving Visit

2007-11-26T06:18:00.000-08:00

Well Thanksgiving was wonderful! We had the family from Virginia, DC, North Carolina, Georgia and Connecticut! And, if you count where Msrc goes to school, Massachusetts was represented as well! The dinner was at Matt and Rachel's with other meals at Marlene and Mandeep's. The turkeys were juicy and delicious and the sides were outstanding! I think David said there were 15 sides, I don't think there were quite that many. We had creamed corn, creamed onions, sweet potatoes with Indian spices and butter, another version for the vegans without the butter, sausage stuffing, vegan stuffing, applesauce, carrot ring with peas, squast with carrots, beets, roasted veggies, mashed potatoes, hmmh that's all I can remember. I think if there were more I'd know since we ate leftovers for days! Not complaining it was great!

Friday night dinner

2007-11-17T07:12:00.000-08:00

As I may have mentioned we have a chicken ban at our house. I think this might come from too much of a good thing! We seem to be in a unique situation in Stamford, CT in the kosher meat arena! We do not have a kosher butcher. Considering that 50 years ago we had 3 kosher butchers and the kosher population is up, not sure why this is happening. I'm guessing that the cost of buying wholesale kosher meat must be too high for the margin you can make on sales. The reason I tell you this is because the easiest kind of kosher "meat" I can buy is chicken or turkey. Well, you can imagine after eating poultry every Friday night for months at a time, a person can become weary! Another hint is when you start to sprout feathers and cluck! (Only joking about this part!) So coming up with interesting ideas for Shabbat dinner can become a challenge. Last night I tried a recipe from Wednesday, November 14th NY Times.Corn Bread and Broccoli Rabe Strata; comment from David: "What did you think of dinner tonight?" Me: "I liked it, what about you?" David: "Well the Broccoli Rabe thing was ok". What does this translate to? Don't make that Broccoli Rabe thing again! A strata usually has some kind of bread soaked in an egg and milk mixture to make the whole thing puff up. This recipe called for corn bread so I think it just got too doughy! Oh well, I made a Pea (green peas) Soup that I liked. Didn't discuss it specifically with David, not sure what the review is! Here's the recipe if you want to try it:

Fresh Pea Soup St. Germain Serves 2-3

butter or olive oil
2-3 shallots, minced
3 cups shelled fresh peas (from about 3 pounds of garden peas) or frozen peas
2-1/4 cups water or vegetable broth
3-4 Tbs whipping cream (optional)
salt
pepper
curry powder to taste
croutons for garnish

Melt butter in a heavy bottomed saucepan. Add the shallots and cook for about 3 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the peas and water and season with salt and little pepper and curry powder. Cover and simmer for about 12 minutes for young peas and up to 18 minutes for large or older peas, stirring occasionally. When the peas are tender allow them to cool and puree the soup in a food processor or use a submersible blender. Stir in the cream. Garnish with croutons.

The last part of the menu was supposed to be stuffing one of the pumpkins that Patty and Nolan bought for us when they were visiting. Frankly the thought of being up to my elbows in pumpkin gook just didn't turn me on so I used the recipe as a casserole instead and added diced butternut squash. Actually this one got rave reviews!
It is from a book called "Olive Trees and Honey". This is a treasury of vegetarian recipes from Jewish communities around the world. This recipe is from Uzbekistan.

Bukharan Stuffe Pumpkin

3 Tbs olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
1-1/4 cups long-grain white rice
2 cups vegetable stock or water
1 tsp salt
ground black pepper to taste
pinch of saffron or 1/4 tsp turmeric
1 Tbs hot water
1/4 cup dried currants or raisins
1/4 cup chopped cilantro or parsley
1 tart apple peeled, cored and coarsely chopped (optional)
1 quince, peeled, cored, and diced (optional)
1/2 cup cooked chickpeas (optional)

1 small pumpkin 4 to 5 pounds

To make the stuffing: In a medium,heavy saucepan, heat the oil over med heat. Add the onion and saute until soft and translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the rice and saute until well coated, about 3 minutes. Add the stock, salt and pepper, bring to a boil, cover, reduce the heat to low and simmer until the liquid is absorbed but the rice is still slightly underdone, about 15 minutes.

Dissolve the saffron in the hot water and stir into the rice. Add the currants, cilantro and any combination of chickpeas, apples and/or quince, if desired.

Cut out a disk from the stem end of the pumpkin about 4 inches in diameter. Scoop out and discard the seeds and loose fibers. Sprinkle the insides with sugar and salt.

Pack the stuffing into the pumpkin and put on the lid. Arrange a cabbage leaf, if using, in the bottom of a deep baking pan or large pot to prevent the bottom on the pumpkin from burning. Place the pumpkin in the pan and add enough water to reach about 1 inch up the sides. Bring to a boil, cover, reduce the heat to low, and simmer, or bake in a preheated 375 oven until the pumpkin is tender, about 2 hours. Cut into wedges or scoop out the filling. Serve warm. I made the mixture in a casserole dish and baked it for 1 hour at 350. Also, for the rice I used the Trader Joe mixture of long rice. It was quite delicious!

Hats off to Andy Rooney

2007-11-14T04:00:00.000-08:00

Just got this from a friend and had to share it! I think he has definitely figured out the male/female thing!

In case you missed it on 60 Minutes, this is what Andy Rooney thinks
about women over 40:

As I grow in age, I value women over 40 most of all. Here are
just a few reasons why

*A woman over 40 will never wake you in the middle of the night and
ask, "What are you thinking?" She doesn't care what you think.

*If a woman over 40 doesn't want to watch the game, she doesn't sit
around whining about it. She does something she wants to do, and it's usually
more interesting.
*Women over 40 are dignified. They seldom have a screaming
match with you at the opera or in the middle of an expensive restaurant. Of
course, if you deserve it, they won't hesitate to shoot you if they think they can get away with it.
* Older women are generous with praise, often undeserved. They know
what it's like to be unappreciated.
* Women get psychic as they age. You never have to confess your sins
to a woman over 40.
* Once you get past a wrinkle or two, a woman over 40 is far sexier
than her younger counterpart.
* Older women are forthright and honest. They'll tell you
right off if you are a jerk if you are acting like one. You don't ever have to wonder where you stand with her.
* Yes, we praise women over 40 for a multitude of reasons.
Unfortunately, it's not reciprocal. For every stunning, smart,
well-coiffed, hot woman over 40, there is a bald, paunchy relic in yellow pants making a fool of himself with some 22-year old waitress. Ladies, I apologize. For all those men who say, "Why buy the cow when you can get the milk for free?",
here's an update for you. Nowadays 80% of women are against marriage Why? Because women realize it's not worth buying an entire pig just to get a little sausage!

Andy Rooney is a really smart guy!
forward to five fine, fun, fabulous, fancy-free female friends over 40.

"Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don't
matter, and those who matter don't mind!"
---Dr. Seuss

Mah Jongg

2007-11-07T20:20:00.000-08:00

Well, last night Mom helped 4 of my friends relive the world of Mah Jongg! What a great time we all had! Gini seemed to have all the luck, all she did was pick jokers all night! Judie and Joyce were a hoot, they kept teasing each other about their playing and winning (or the lack thereof) and how they had no idea what they were doing. The important thing as per Judie's mother was to play quickly! What was really amusing about them was their mothers used to play in a regular game together. The 4th was Marilyn... I must not have been clear when I asked her to come she thought she was the only novice playing in a regular game! Well, we're on to play together again next week! What fun. And to think I used to make fun of people who played the game, now I'm addicted!

Block Party

2007-11-04T19:29:00.001-08:00

Well, the weather is finally getting cooler so our neighborhood had a block party today! All things considered it was a very lovely day! We decided to have it be late in the afternoon so no one would think we were serving lunch or dinner! People went all out with snacks! We had so many cakes, squares, veggies and fruit it was amazing! With all the food we had it was interesting, very few doubles! One family brought their outdoor fireplace and all the ingredients for s'mores! You're right, that was the highlight! The kids had a real good time playing football on the lawns! What fun! The plan is to have next year's party in the Spring! A much better choice!

Getting Ready for Thanksgiving

2007-11-01T07:19:00.000-07:00

I can't believe there are only 3 weeks until Thanksgiving! Well, that calls for buying all the new magazines (Bon Appetit, Gourmet, Fine Cooking) to learn about the newest way to cook turkey! Actually that isn't the draw for me, I love the new ideas for vegetables and side dishes! Here's one that caught my eye; it's called "Port-Roasted Chestnuts with Grapes". What could be bad about that? I'm thinking this is a special suggestion for our family "ac cross the pond"! I like to buy the chestnuts in a jar, might be cheating but certainly makes my life easier...and isn't that what it's all about???

"Port-Roasted Chestnuts with Grapes"
3/4 cup low-salt chicken broth
1/4 cup ruby Port
2 TBS butter, diced
2 1/4-inch strips orange peel (orange part only) (for those of you who may have just received a microplane, this would be a good time to use it!)
1 tsp sugar
2 7 to 8 ounce jars whole roasted chestnuts
2-1/2 cups seedless red grapes (about 14 ounces)
Coarse kosher salt
3 TBS chopped fresh Italian parsley

Combing broth, Port, butter, orange peel and sugar in large wide skillet. Bring to boil over med-high heat, stirring occasionally. Boil mixture until reduced and thickened enough to coat spoon, about 8 minutes. Add chestnuts and grapes; sprinkle with salt. Reduce heat to med and simmer until Port sauce is reduced to glaze and sauce coats chestnuts and grapes thickly, about 4 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Transfer to bowl, sprinkle with parsley.

This recipe came from Bon Appetit, it can probably be found on their website www.bonappetit.com Last night I made two other recipes from the magazine: Smashed Rutabagas with Ginger-Roasted Pears (I added apples as well, my pears were not it great shape!) and Polenta Souffles with Mushroom Cream Sauce. In this recipe it calls for vegetable broth, I substituted Creamed Portebello Soup. The good thing about this souffle is that it doesn't rise that high so you don't have to worry about it falling!

More recipes for Thanksgiving to come as I continue to try them out!

The Fund Raising Presentation

2007-10-31T18:49:00.000-07:00

Had an email from Amy this morning, she suggested that I post what I said at the meeting. Here it is. If you have any thoughts or comments, let me know. The other thing I want to mention is that what I said was actually about 90% of this. Without reading from a paper I was able to throw in some spontaneous comments!

Before I start I want to give credit to Dr. Misha Galperin,
Ex VP and CEO of the Jewish Federation of Greater
Washington. What I have to tell you is based on
Galperin’s Yom Kippur message entitled Jonah,
A Pair of Jeans and a Story of Jewish Peoplehood:
A Message for Yom Kippur 2007/5768.

Galperin talks about Jewish Peoplehood; “The story of
Peoplehood does not and should not come down to a
well-spread bagel. Peoplehood is the combination of
culture, religion, history and values under a Jewish
umbrella that gives us a profound feeling of being
connected to other Jews. In America we talk about
individual rights being a central and abiding feature
of being an American citizen. However, the American
story is not the Jewish story. The Jewish story is not
about rights it’s about responsibility” and that is what
I want to tell you about!

With this as our background; I want to talk to you about
dreams, however, I want you to consider 2 kinds of
dreams; first your own dreams and second those we
dream on behalf of the Jewish Community. For tonight’s purposes, let’s concentrate on the later!

It’s a warm sunny afternoon, our bus pulls up in front of a low, one story school building…could be any school in Stamford, however, we’re on a Women’s Division Mission in Afula our sister city in Israel.

We’ve come to hear about an afternoon program for children at risk called the SPACE program (Schooling Priorities and Community Empowerment; part of the Ethiopian National Project – in partnership with The Joint and Jewish Agency). This is a comprehensive and integrated package of programs aimed to advance the scholastic achievement of youth and empower the Ethiopian immigrant community in Israel.

What to expect? Who are these kids? Why are they at risk? We are met by someone from the Joint as well as a lovely young woman, I would guess to be in her 30’s , dressed in a Jeans jacket and pants, black turtle neck and a wide hair band holding back her curly hair. What’s different about her? She’s Black, with a red mark on her forehead and a small earring in her nose. She is the first Ethiopian woman we have met since arriving in Israel. Her name is Mahail.

Mahail is the coordinator of the SPACE program. She came to Israel when she was 9 and has been living here for 21 years; she is dedicated to this program because she wants to see her community succeed. She wants her kids (both her own and in the program) to have the same opportunities as other children in Israel. As you may or may not know to get ahead in Israel you have to be able to do well on tests (this includes both the Army and to go on to University). These are dreams we have for our kids; these families have the same dreams. There is, however, a major difference in the Ethiopian Community; the parents of these kids can’t help them. The majority of the parents cannot speak, read or write Hebrew. These immigrants are different from others that have come to Israel. With the Russians, for instance, they had to learn a new language; with the Ethiopians they know no other language. They cannot write at all, most of them have never even seen a pencil! The SPACE program was established to help these kids do better in school and it is working!

The most amazing part of the afternoon is meeting the kids! We split our group in half to make the experience even more intimate. We are introduced to 4 teens: Avitah with the beautiful smile; he loves to play soccer; he learned English in the 3rd grade, he has 2 sisters and 4 brothers, Chaim is also into computers and soccer, he tells us he doesn’t need help doing his homework he can do it himself, Hadassh whose parents came with Project Moses likes books and computers, and Gila who was born in Israel, her parents came with Project Moses. They tell us about the program, how they are doing much better at school and the wonderful personal attention they receive. Then we ask them about their dreams, and you know what, they are just like our kids:
Avitah wants to be a football player and own a Ferrari, not just any Ferrari, a blue one!
Chaim wants to be a bank manager
Hadassah wants to be Prime Minister (and why not!)
Gila is not sure what tomorrow will bring; she wants peace in Israel. She would like to be a journalist or a lawyer
We come away thinking that we can be dream makers; we can keep their dreams alive; just like we would for our kids; we have that responsibility, after all didn’t we bring them to Israel for that purpose???

So what am I telling you? We in this room, along with all the other givers to the Campaign, have a unique opportunity and responsibility. We can change the lives of these kids and thousands of other people in 60 countries throughout the world. We can give them the tools to make their dreams into realities! Join David and me, be dream makers, you will never feel better.

So, what do I want you to do…
if you have not yet pledged to the 2008 Campaign,
take out your pledge card now and join us, make a
commitment, be responsible. Keep in mind, there’s
a time to listen, a time to think and a time for action…
this is the time for action!

Fund Raising Debut

2007-10-30T20:15:00.000-07:00

As some of you know, I am the 2008 Campaign Chair for UJF! Considering I've been on the committee for the past 2 years I didn't think this would add too much more stress to me life...WRONG! Two weeks ago I received an email from the staff person that handles the Campaing...it seems that the President of the organization is going to be out of town for the Major Gifts event so I will have to make The Pitch! Oh my, well not too big a problem, I can do that! David and I were fortunate to have attended a fund raising/talk giving workshop with a woman who taught Dale Carnegie classes, I can do this, no problem! Well, actually, one catch...per our teacher you are not to read to the people you are to talk to them! Oh my, this is a little different from what I've done in the past. You mean, just talk to them! Well, I worked on my topic, emailed it to the staff person and waited for the congradulations I would recieve because of the topic, how I presented it, etc. When I hadn't heard right back I knew I was in trouble. Sure enough I received a phone call (now you know that's serious) saying what I wrote sounded good, however, he didn't like the topic. The good news is he gave me an idea for the topic, the bad news...I was having a difficult time getting passionate about the new topic. Well, re-writing went on until this morning (the day of the event!). At 3:00 I finally got it together and now had to feel comfortable with it! Well according to the people that came up to me after my presentation, it was good! Now, I haven't counted how many told me it was good and how many left without saying anything! I think I'll just take it on good faith that it went well. Hopefully my next attempt will be a little easier!

A Little Bit of sugar...

2007-10-21T20:47:00.000-07:00

Well, we all know the song that Mary Poppins made popular "A little bit of sugar makes the medicine go down"! A little bit, yeah, right! I can't believe how addictive sugar can be. Last night we had people over for desert after the Jewish Film Festival opening night. The deserts were great and I managed to get through the evening without eating or craving any. That was last night; tonight was a whole different story. Friends invited us over for dinner; very delicious! When we got home it was like the leftovers from last night were calling me from the refrigerator! I finally had a small piece of pie, that turned into a brownie followed by a piece of carrot cake. It was like I was another person watching what was going on! Then, of course, the guilt set in. Now I'm feeling nauceous...I have this yucky taste in my mouth! What is so frustrating to me is that I've not had sugar in over 3 weeks! Ok, can't beat myself up...got to get on with it! Just to get the devilish things away from my sight I've asked David to put them out in the garage. Hopefully he'll finish them up tomorrow!

Facebook

2007-10-16T20:42:00.000-07:00

So, I was sitting in the chiropractor's office waiting for my mom to be "adjusted" when I saw an article in Newsweek about Facebook! Little did I know that when I went home there would be an invitation from a friend to join her circle of friends! Well, join I did and now I am slowly, very slowly, finding out what is going on! I know I can "poke" people, classify them as friends, join social events, send people cupcakes! there is no end to the fun! Now if I can add another few hours to my day to continue to play with this I'll be in very good shape!

True Confessions

2007-10-09T19:59:00.000-07:00

Well, it's time to "fess" up and tell you first, the sukkah is down, the holiday is over and I didn't post the final picture! Sorry...well, there's always next year! Second, I have a thing for Mark Bittman of the NY Times food section. Just when I am sure that there is no variety to the food we eat; he comes up with something interesting! This past week David declared our home "Chicken Free"! He said he could finally understand why my Dad started to hate to eat the yellow things! Well, Mark had a recipe for a Zucchini-Pear Soup in this past week's paper that was great; it passed the test, no chicken in it! For those of you who might be interested:

3 TBS butter or extra virgin olive oil, or a combination
1 med carrot, peeled and diced
1 med onion, peeled and diced
1 med potato, preferably high-starch (russet or baking) peeled and diced
1/2 tsp fresh thyme leaves, or a pinch of dried thyme
Sale and pepper
4 med zucchini, trimmed and diced
2 med ripe (but still firm) pears, peeled, cored and diced
4 cups chicken or veg stock, or use water (I used veg stock for obvious reasons!)
mint leaves for garnish

1. Put butter and/or oil in a large skillet over med heat; within butter melts or oil is hot, cook carrot, onion, potato and thyme with a healthy sprinkling of salt and pepper. Stir occasionally, adjusting heat so vegetables do not brown. When onion is softened, about 5 minutes, add zucchini and continue to cook until everything is tender, 10 to 15 minutes.
2. Add pear and cook until has softened, about 5 minutes more. Add liquid and bring to a boil; taste and adjust seasoning. Cook mixture, then puree. Serve cold or reheat and serve hot, garnished with mint, if desired. Serves 4

Well, this is definitely the season for this soup. It's the end of the zucchini season and the pears are wonderful!

Reflections on Life by Sylvia

2007-10-05T05:11:00.000-07:00

Several years ago (2004 to be exact) I came up with the idea of interviewing my mom and hearing what her life was like when she was growing up. I had planned on doing a family history years before this with my mother's sisters and never did. Now many of those stories have disappeared because two of my aunts have died. I also wanted an understanding of my dad's side of the family, however, he cannot give me that information. So, Mom and I started on a warm afternoon in July, 2004. The stories were great. There were some that I knew, like how she and Grandma, Aunt Lil, Aunt Helen and Mom used to make flowers out of material that had to be formed by petal, then fastened together into flowers and finally attached to the back of vanity, hand held mirrors. They got paid by the piece for this work. Money was extremely tight and food was scarce.

Well, the project went on hold for 3 years, until yesterday! Earlier in the week I received an email from my cousin Shelly; she is Billy and Marilyn Wallach's younger daughter. She is in the process of putting together a book about mothers and daughters. Here is what she had to say: "...it occurred to me I really knew very little about her. I thought about what her favorite color was and I didn’t know. I didn’t know much about her childhood, her relationship with her mother, her siblings, who were her friends, did she have a boyfriend in high school, how she felt about her life, and so on.

I live in a community of women close to my age..mostly in the baby boomer generation whose mothers, if they’re still alive, are elderly. Most of them said they too knew very little about their mothers. I decided to write a book..a sort of resource guide to spark women to talk to their moms before they run out of time. I sent out a survey (I’m going to forward one to you) and got so many responses. I couldn't’t believe how many people sent back things they wanted to know about their mothers. The idea took on a life of its own"

Doesn't this sound fascinating and I appreciated that it got me back into the conversation with Mom. It is so amazing, we live this life as if the people we know and love will be here forever and that's not how it works. So, last night we continued the conversation we started in 2004. The stories were as wonderful as ever. When David came home he participated as well. We all had such a wonderful time. I taped Mom as she spoke so now I have to transcribe what we talked about.

So, I told you about the piece work, I'll give you some more stories as I get them written up. Now it would be fun to have Aunt Shirley and Mom together and see if they remember things differently! Also, I have to corner Uncle Paul the next time he comes to visit so we can get some of that Plotkin/Barkon history on paper as well!

Birds Feeding Frenzy

2007-09-28T05:30:00.000-07:00

It is Fall here and the dogwood trees are covered with tiny red berries. The birds have located this buffet and can be heard during their feeding frenzy from early in the morning until sunset! Between the birds on the trees, the deer eating the crab apples off the tree in the front of the house (haven't been able to get a picture of them yet) and the bunnies running around it is like an annex to nature's classroom! We also seem to have a family of garden snakes, I try to stay out of their way!

I haven't posted the sukkah in its final stages as the cross branches have not been taken out of the woods yet! I'm sure this will be done by the end of the holiday, or not!

Sukkah Construction

2007-09-25T19:36:00.000-07:00

Well, it is that time of year...Sukkot! Every year we go through the debate about whether or not to build a sukkah; this year David decided to bite the bullet and buy a "real" sukkah! The kit he bought had the sides and brackets to use to hold the whole thing together. You had a choice in construction; you could purchase everything from them or buy the wood yourself. David decided on the later option and he did a fantastic job of purchasing the lumber; cutting it and, eventually putting the whole thing together! As you will see from the final picture WE DID IT! It looks great! With less than 24 hours to go the only part left is to put the branches across the top and the decorations! Promise, a final picture when it is ALL done! The premise of the sukkah is to build a portable hut similar to what our ancestors used when they were traveling in the desert! There are some who sleep in their sukkah, not sure if we'll go that far! The other thing that was interesting about building the sukkah was that we worked on it for so long it was totally dark out, so, believe it or not David agreed to put the outside lights on! Wow!

Yom Kippur

2007-09-20T20:23:00.000-07:00

Well, Yom Kippur is fast approaching (I think I have just made a pun by using the word fast!) Yom Kippur is the Day of Atonement; it is the day we specifically repent for all the not good things we have done in the past year. There are two parts of this process, first we communicate with God and pray for his forgiveness. This is daunting itself, however, the part that can be just as threatening if not more so, is the process where you must go to all your contacts and ask for their forgiveness! Not an easy thing to do! Well the other part that is always stressful is getting to the synagogue the night before in time for the Kol Nidre prayer. This is a very emotional prayer sung by the cantor. The pressure is to finish eating and get to the synagogue for the start of the service. Sounds easy, however, is always a challenge. This year the service starts at 6:40 so we're planning on eating at 5:00; we'll see if that happens!

Putting together the menu requires careful thought. You don't want to eat anything spicy or salty since you can't drink or eat for the next 25 hours! Well the menu will be chicken, stuffed zucchini, salad, challah and pumpkin bread pudding. The bread pudding is an attempt to use up the leftover challah for the past few weeks!

Well, that's what's going on here!

Fresh Mint Tea

2007-09-18T07:25:00.000-07:00

We have fresh mint growing like weeds in our garden; before we left for Scotland David did a major "de-minting". Well, what did we get served by the potful in the Highlands...you guessed it, pots of fresh mint tea! It was delicious and Amy and I were probably the best customers they ever had. So, starting Friday night I've been making fresh mint tea. Rather easy, however, my teapot has one of those "press" pieces. The first time I made the tea I pressed the leaves immediately, not a good idea. The tea just stayed watery. Now I know that you let the tea sit and steep and then press it. It is delicous. The chore today will be to pick as much mint as possible and freeze it! I picture fresh mint tea into the winter! I've also been putting a tad of mint into my green, Sancha tea, lovely!

Time out for Rosh Hashanna

2007-09-16T18:21:00.000-07:00

Well, needed to spend two days in synagogue so now it's time to talk about the Scotland trip! There's lots to tell so it will probably take a few days to reflect on all of it!

We left from Newark airport and flew to Manchester...the plan was an hour layover in Manchester and then on to Edinburgh. Well, you know the best made plans...there was a medical emergency so we couldn't land in Manchester on schedule. That meant, of course, that we missed our connecting plane, so arrived in Edinburgh at 5:00 instead of the scheduled 10:00.

Jean and Craig (Stephen's parents) were our gracious hosts! By far the best B & B we've ever been to! After partaking in some delicious sandwiches and Jean's delicious gingerbread we took the local bus into old town and went to the musuem. The entryway to through the old part of the building was breathtaking! There was so much to see we felt certain you could go back many times and still find new things to see! Just to make sure you're always surprised by the exhibits they change them as well! I was surprised to see an artist that specialized in languages using Hebrew letters in his work! There was an Andy Warhol exhitib in another museum hence the Campbell soup motif!

The organ is from St Giles, in Old Town. What a lovely organ with pipes that reach to the ceiling! Very impressive!

Then the bus back to the Duncan's for a lovely dinner of Jean's special fish pie. Similiar to our Shepard's pie but with smoked Haddock. Very, very lovely!

Early to bed with a mid morning departure to the Highlands!

We're back!

2007-09-13T20:32:00.000-07:00

Well, what a wonderful experience we had in Scotland...that is after you forget about the problem of coming into Manchester too late to make our connecting flight into Edinburgh! Well, the good news is it was the airlines problem, not ours! There was a medical alert and a plane had to land that kept us from coming in!

Rather than do a quick post now I will wait until the weekend to start a description of the trip. On another note, tonight I was able to figure out how to show our pictures on the tv. Jean Duncan showed us her pictures of their latest safari on the tv...it was such a pleasure to see the pictures in such a large size! Well, after umpteen attempts, I was finally able to get the pictures to play! The only bad part is that they are not edited! Oh well, still fun and the Grands definitely enjoyed them! Will start posting some of them in the next few days!

Lorraine

Leaving for Scotland tomorrow night!

2007-09-05T20:17:00.000-07:00

Well, it is time to get our "kid fix"! We haven't seen Amy and Stephen in too long! So, we are flying to Edinburgh to meet them tomorrow night; arriving Friday morning. We will be going to the Highlands to do some hiking and fishing. Stephen and David will be doing some intense hiking while Amy and I will do "our thing"! Can't wait. So, it's 11:30pm and I've decided it's time to do some packing. Must do the packing tonight as I have two meeting tomorrow! This is usually the crunch time when I KNOW I'll forget something! Not a problem, either I'll do without whatever it is or I'll buy it there. Not sure if I'll be able to post while I'm away; if not I'll have lots to write about when we get back!

Labor Day Weekend

2007-09-03T20:08:00.000-07:00

Labor Day; the day that marks the end of the summer! Bah! We wait so long for it to come, you turn around and it's gone! So the way to combat this issue is to plan as many things as possible for the weekend to make it seem longer! Sunday afternoon Grammie and I sat on the deck and enjoyed the perfect end of summer day! The sky was clear, not a cloud to be seem; the termpature was perfect...mid 70's and no humidity! So while sitting on the deck this little yellow and black bird came by for a dunk in the bath! Beautiful don't you think????

This afternoon, Monday, Labor Day we had Tracey and her husband Ethan over to lunch; then we were joined by Mimi and Saul and Grandma for dinner. Tracey and Ethan stayed as well; it was a lovely afternoon and evening. While we were sitting on the deck Grammie was telling us about the hummingbird that comes by every day at 4:30. I must admit I didn't believe it actually came at 4:30; well there he was buzzing around at 4:27! nature certainly is amazing! There was also a red tailed hawk circling from above! More and more like nature's classroom everyday!

Visit to Silverman's Farm

2007-09-01T08:53:00.000-07:00

Phil (my younger brother) and his son Marc have come to visit from Atlanta. Marc is starting his Sophmore year at Wentworth College in Boston; Phil will be driving Marc to school and getting him settled. Actually, I think they want to check out some of the good food that would not normally be in Marc's price range! Well, they landed in Westchester on Thursday afternoon, we took my car and David's and started our drive to Silverman's Farm to visit with cousins Hal and Bess Wallach. (FYI, Bess Wallach is a Silverman) Well, what should have been a 20 minute ride took 2 and a half hours! It was definitely worth the trip. Irv (Bess's brother) and his wife, Nancy, live high on the hill overlooking the apple orchard. It was lovely! You could see all the way to Long Island! The apples looked lovely, however, we were not invited to pick any! Oh well, maybe next time. I just realized that I never explained why we were taking 2 cars to Easton, where the Silverman's Farm is. Easton is very close to Lake Zoar where we had a summer cabin when we were growing up. Phil and his friends bought the cabin from Grampie and Uncle Lenoard and fixed it up. It is beautiful! So, it was my thought that we would visit at the farm and then I would go back to Stamford for an 8:00pm meeting and the others could take a ride up the Lake. Considering we didn't get to the farm until 6:45 that plan didn't work. Needless to say, I did not go to my meeting!

Hal, Bess and their kids (the four men are their sons).

The US Open

2007-08-30T06:28:00.000-07:00

We are so fortunate to have friends that have box seats to the US Open in NY. What a very special experience it is to not only see the matches but to spend the day with good friends. Yesterday was ladies day! We met in Riverside and drove in. The traffic was very agreeable so we made it in about 45 minutes! Parking was part of the deal; although we couldn't get our first preference on lots, we did just fine! The matches were wonderful. The highlight of the afternoon was Nadal playing Jones. Jones was a wild card and gave Nadal quite a run for his money! Nadal was suffering from tendinitis in his knees. The first set and half of the second were pretty difficult for Nadal; so he won the first, lost the second and came back to win the 3rd and 4th. Hope he has a day or two to rest up; hard to heal when you're busy playing! The weather was beautiful, sunny and, thankfully not humid. Even without the humidity it was hot! When I came home and took a shower I could feel my body temperature drop by what felt like 20 degrees!l What a lovely way to spend the day!

Summer flowers

2007-08-30T06:08:00.000-07:00

This year we have had the most magnificent flowers on our deck every! Instead of planting the dahlias in the ground we put them in containers on the deck. This last few weeks, with the weather getting cooler they have gone wild! The colors are beautiful and one of them is so large it is falling over on the stem! And, not to forget the sweet peas with a little visitor!

2007-08-28T14:22:00.000-07:00

Felting 101

2007-08-28T08:36:00.000-07:00

Just had a wonderful relaxing weekend catching up on some knitting projects. Felting has become my new area of interest. The projects are relatively easy and the end results are always a surprise. Here are two pictures, a before and after (not of the same project). As you can see the original knitted item is loosely knit and rather oversized. The next step is to do what anyone who has ever washed a wool sweater is most concerned about...shrinkage. Well, in this methodology that is exactly what you want to have happen. You WANT the item to shrink. When it does that it has the look of felt. Rather interesting since you are not quite sure how the colors will mix and the denisity of the item you will end up with. So, the bluish project is done; the purple will be complete in the next few days. I'll post again when it is complete so you can see how it came out. These are going to be purses, still have to put on handles and zippers! After these are complete (one additional to make) I'm going to try and make slippers.

Well, here we go!

2007-08-24T05:37:00.000-07:00

It's 8:30 in the morning and I'm doing my ritual check of my email! This is how I start everyday. It is the way I stay in contact with my kids; find out what meetings are going on and who has the latest joke to share! My commitments include being Campaign Chair for the 2008 Campaign of the Federation of my area. Today is the first meeting to plan the Major Gifts event for the year. This being Israel's 60 anniversary, we will make that the theme of the event. Now to plan an out of the ordinary and exciting event!

This past year I completed a family cookbook. I included as many family pictures as I had. It seems that people spend more time with the pictures than the recipes! I have now come up with the idea of publishing another book that is nothing but old pictures. What I plan to do is borrow family member's old pictures, identify them, copy them and then publish them divided by family groups. So, in affect, this will be a pictorial family tree. Wonder how long it will take me to do this one? The cookbook was only 2 years!