New Page----New Day

I continue to read the daily bulletins from my favorite Nefesh B Nefesh site. It amazes me how mundane some of the problems are. I guess , though, that if you gave up your comfort level, the country that you were born in, your friends and maybe even your family, being concerned about light bulbs could become the breaking point. There seems to be a lot of chatter about 110 and 220 volts and lamps. I've read,"just change the bulb" and I've read," change the plug". I think I would have left my lamp in the US  if it was going to cause me such angst. 

What is interesting to read is about Passover. There are day camp activities for the kids, there are ads for one week rentals along the beaches. It isn't just about eating matzohs for a week. It's holiday time. Schools are out, people take vacations. Sounds like fun. I love the first Matzoh of the holiday. That tastes the best, then it is down hill. I may have to be more enthusiastic about the holiday.

It's never too late to think about light bulbs and the possibility of spending a week on the Mederterainian eating Matzohs.

It's been raining so much that I had to think back to some really bad rains that I have experienced. When we were building our cottage, we stayed on the property and lived in a 10x10 tent. In those days, the tents were treated canvas. The rule was that you were not to touch the material while it was raining because where you touched it, it would leak. Tell that to 6 people, in a 10x10 space, trying to stay dry in a rain storm. Our soon to be neighbor took pity on us and asked us to come into their house. We didn't have to worry about our german shepard mix dog. Wally was smarter than all of us and refused to sleep in a tent. He slept in the car, every night.

I also remember a horizontal rain that I experienced while visiting one of our kids who was working in New Orleans. I had never seen horizontal rain before. Before this, I thought rain was a verticle phenomenon .After that rain, the streets were so flooded that people were using pirogues' , a local type of  bayou canoe, to get around the flooded streets. I remember that it was exciting because I was to leave by train later that day and the tracks were under water. New Orleans is below sea level, so that was nothing new for them. By the time we were on our way, it was snowing in Illinois and the train was delayed many hours because the tracks were covered in snow. Go figure.

I remember going back to when I was a kid and my family was driving to Covington, Louisiana to spend time with some family at their summer home. It rained so hard that we pulled over because my Daddy couldn't see out of the windshield. Because we had nothing better to do , we put hankies out of the window, got them wet, and washed down the inside of the car. That was fun.

It's never too late to have these triggers for what you did when it was raining ,long days ago. Good memories all.

 The bulletin from our congregation came out yesterday. The cover story was relating to the wonderful work that some of our members and their "therapy" dogs do for our community. I have never ,yet, met a dog owner that I didn't like. I  can tell you that I had a dog who knew that people who didn't like dogs, usually were not the kind of people that we wanted to know. He was known to pee on my ex son in laws shoes.en

Last night at services, a quiet couple, who usually stay in the back ground, was animated and bubbling with enthusiasm when they were telling stories about the dogs that they have owned. This is what dogs are supposed to do. Make their people happy. That's what the therapy dogs do. They visit people who react so positively to them. I am going to train Cricket to be a therapy dog. With her sweet personality, she's a natural. And she will look so cute in her service vest. It's never too late to give back to my community and Cricket will be the way that I do it.

I just happened to look out of the sliding glass door in our dining room last night and I saw a racoon on my neighbors roof ! He , the racoon, seemed confused and couldn't figure out how to  get down. I'm confused on how he ever got up there.That sighting was the first time I ever saw a racoon on a roof. The other day ,I saw an armadillo sneaking around .When he saw me and Cricket, he ran under a bush. That's good, because I was afraid he would attack me. I worry about these things.

I used to see rabbits, but not so much any more. I feel for these animals. No one likes them around. But there they are. Alive and looking to survive. 

I liked seeing the rabbits. I wonder where they went. They aren't threatening to me. We have more squirrels than we should have. I do not find them attractive. I know they are rodents, so that  helps makes them even less attractive. We must have a good environment for them, because they seem to multiply quickly. Cricket has a healthy attitude about all of these animals. She ignores them. She isn't like some of these silly dogs who bark and tree these rodents. She's too cool to do that.

It's never too late to live and let live with these undomesticated animals. They can't help that they were born in a development. I brake for all of them.

My wonderful kids reminded me that a ring does not make a good marriage. That is so true and I will not whine anymore about loosing my wedding ring. I just think that I will look in one more place ! I didn't check in my friends car, the seat belt thing-y. I helped Bob put on his seat belt and I may have worked the ring off then. It can't hurt to check one more time.

People do care about such things. I got a call from one of the places that I called to report that I lost the ring. I thought that was a nice gesture, checking to see if I found it. I will support this organization because they put a caring face to my loss.

So no more talking about my ring. It had a good run, now time to move on.

It's never too late to have a kid remind me that the ring is only a symbol. I still have the real thing.

Something is not right. It is the very end on March, we live in South west Florida, and we just turned our heat on. This is so crazy that I am already wondering what will happen when it is hurrricane season. We have been extremely lucky. Will the other shoe fall and we get hit this year.

Someone has to worry about these possibilities. This will be the year that I will get prepared. After I finish experimenting with the making of matzohs, I will start working on making meals that are from cans and can be eaten cold. I do have this cook book about eating after a storm. I have never used it. This may be the time to try a few recipes.

I did say that I was experimenting with making matzoh. I told the Religious school that I will come and bake matzohs with the kids. I have tried two recipes. Using olive oil and eggs in the recipe is what works. I can not tell you how bad just flour and water taste. Just believe me. And no salt either. The recipe that worked is Saphardic. They are very creative. Olive oil, eggs ,pepper and honey. Good enough to eat. I'll skip the pepper for the kids. Making matzoh will take the feeling of empending weather doom off of my mind. 

It's never too late to think ahead to our hurricane season, but matzohs take priority.

It's true that I take a nap almost every day. If I need an excuse, it is because at a certain time, after lunch, my eyes just want to close. The nap can last from 20 minutes to an hour. Then I am up and running again. I may need this nap for two reasons. One is that napping is therapeutic and two, I get up really early. I have always napped. Not when I worked, but when I had kids at home, I napped when the babies did. Forget using that time for catching up on house work. It was nap time.I was lucky about the kids taking naps. It wasn't an option and no kid questioned it. 

I meet a dog walker in the morning who goes back to bed after she walks her dog. That I can not do. I don't know what the difference is, but that seems weird to me. The day is just starting and that is too exciting for me to miss. After lunch seems more civilized.

I understand that some of my friends ,in late afternoon, sit in their recliners and dose off , watching TV. I like to hear this. It's good to know that I am not alone.

I don't think that I miss too much by taking time for a nap. It's never too late to just admit to the nap attack, be it in a recliner or in your bed. It does a body good.

I haven't seen a rainbow in a while. Are they seasonal ? I did see a cardinal, and as an extra wonderous event, it was sitting on a branch of my  favorite tree. That has to be symbolic of something. Since I always look for symbols,I will say that the cardinal sighting is as good as seeing a rainbow.

I need some intervention right now. I am still searching for my wedding band. I am learning that a number of woman I know, have lost rings. They still feel bad about that. I guess we are bond for life for the symbolism of what the rings   stands for. 

I have decided that I will go to a pawn shop to look for rings as a repalcement for the lost wedding band. I have never been inside of a pawn shop and I have always been curious about them. The only thing stopping me, is ,one that they sell guns and two, someone might think that I am pawning something. I'll have to get over this if I want to go inside one. 

When I went to WalMart yesterday, I looked at their jewelry display. Don't even think of it.

It's never too early to look for a replacement for my ring, but it has to have good vibs, no matter where I get it. 

Today I become a Co. I have co habitated for over 60 years, I have co managed our raising of our 4 kids, and now I will take on another kind of co-ing. Co Pres of our congregation. I'm excited and like a new broom, full of ideas. I think a new broom is supposed to sweep clean, I better find another metaphor.

I am positive about the future and what I can do. That's my pep talk for the day. After the meeting ,in which I hope the congregation approves me, I'll be ready to hit the floor ,running. I'm ready.

I have my little speech all typed out. I want to let everyone   know how excited I am about this new position. 

I am feeling the responsibility. I also noticed that past Presidents usually fade away and after a few years, no one remembers that they had a hand in leading the congregation. What a let down. I'll have to remember this after my term is up. It's never too late to be realistic about what I am about to do. I'll make some good decisions, make a few mistakes, make some new friends, lose some, but hopefully, do a great job for the organization that has my heart. 

Did you know that Jews also have a prayer for finding lost objects? I thought that was a Christian thing. But that is not so. There is a Jewish prayer that lets you offer a donation for the finding of the lost object. In my case, my wedding ring. The prayer as it was intended was to donate oil to the Temple. Now, I think it is acceptable to donate a sum of money to your Congregation. Cool.Oil can be messy.

I was so distraught yesterday as I made my phone calls to leave my name and number, in case my ring turned up at the places I have been, that I forgot my number . I gave a mix of numbers that now, I know, were not mine. On Monday, I have to call the places back and give my correct number. I'll write down my numbers so I don't get upset again.

I know it is just a ring,I know insurance will cover it, but it is a symbol of my marriage. There is no substitue for this circle of gold.

It's never too late to come to the realization that I lost just a ring but not the committment that goes with it.

We are experiencing the most perfect weather right now. No air conditioning needed. No bugs,little humidity. This worries me. We are in for some pay back. The rest of the country had horrific weather this winter. We gloated.

What will happen during hurricane season , which starts before you know it. I was bold enough to unplug my weather radio that gives warning of weather related events in our area. I even have a cook book  ready on how to prepare meals  when you don't have electricity. 

I feel as if we might get our due this fall. How lucky can we be to escape the weather Gods again. I just want to be put on notice that I respect the weather and would never mess with Mother nature.

It's never too late to acknowledge that I do appreciate our wonderful weather and if any relatives want to come and visit, our futon is always opened. Just call first.

Besides seeing a very upsetting movie last night, I looked at my left hand---and no wedding ring.  I couldn't believe it. How did it fall off of my finger and I wasn't aware of it.

Where do I look. I can never replace it. It is not even the sentimentality, because we redesigned my original ring into this one. This was one of a kind. How did it just slip off and I didn't know it. It can be anywhere. I will make calls today to the few places that I have been in the last few days, but I am not hopeful. I'll retrace my walk with Cricket. I'll check the car and the inside of my violin case. I already emptied my purse and turned the pockets of my jacket inside out. 

My finger feels betrayed. It's never too late to hope that it will turn up. This is a pretty optimistic statement to make.

I could never have a desk job. I decided this after seeing 4 movies in 3 days. Maybe it is the seats, but it hurts my hips to sit so much. Now I understand seeing people bringing in their own cushions

I used to have a Cubs tush cush. It was covered in plastic, not very foam-y, and had the logo of the Cubs on both sides. It was a freeby given to the first 299 people who came to Cubs Field. To have it , gave us a sense of pride. We had those cushions for years. We even used them to soften the seat of our metal canoe.

Another cushion that I remember is a "sit upon" we made with the Brownie Scouts. You take one issue of your local, once a week newspaper, put some kind of material around it. Then you sew all four sides, and va la (?) you have a cushion to sit upon at cook outs. Cool, huh.

Anyway, I can see now, that sitting is just not my thing. I think I will stand today at the movie. I only have two more to go. 

It's never too late to make a stop at Sam's Club and check out cushions.

The largest crowd of Jews that I have ever been in was a Debbie Freidman concert. At that time ,I was a little apprehensive about being in such a public space with so many Jews. I was concerned about some crazy person coming in and shooting us. I worry about things like this. There are a lot of people out there with guns and a lot of people who don't like us.

I worry about these things when I go to services on Friday night. Any mashugnah can just walk in.

I worried about this when I attended movies at the Jewish Film Festival.

I passed a gun shop here in Paradise and they had a sign that they had Ozi's in stock. Why should'nt I be worried.

This may be an unrational concern, but someone has to think about these things. It's never too late to share my angst with everyone.

My Mother did such a good job of Americanizing herself that I have never eaten Cholent. I was thinking this as I walked Cricket the other morning. It was something that I never even heard of. Our dinner table had the foods of New Orleans and I don't believe that Cholent fit in. My Grandmother who kept such a Kosher house ,was known to me for her sour chicken soup. I think I have already mentioned that I went to her house every Sunday after Sunday School and had a bowl of her chicken soup mit luchen. She had an old wooden ice box that by Sunday was not very cold. Her soup was slightly off, like it was a little sour. I thought that was the way chicken soup was supposed to taste. I loved it. Anyway, Grandma never ate in our our house. In fact when she went to to the hospital at the end of her life, we brought her meals, three times a day.

I made cholent for the first time . I found a vegetarian recipe that used a crock pot. It was really good, but it could have used more salt. It was hard to distinguish what was in the dish, but it made a good ,solid, stick to the ribs, meal. It won't become a regular on my menu board, but it was something that I had to get out of my system. It's never too late to try everything , at least once.