Camera-Lust, My Deer...

So my dad got a new camera.

I actually have a little taste now of how it must feel to use some of the really cool cameras that so many of you have. It's not an SLR but it is really really cool.

I got to play with it this weekend while we were there. Here are some of my favorite pics that I took using his really great new camera:




We spent a lot of nice time outside on Sunday, in my parents' backyard. Even though they live near a busy street and in a relatively noisy suburban area, there is a large deer population. Someone noticed a really cute little fawn curled up and resting in the "forest" area of the yard, which has been cut back recently. We all walked over to see him (her?) and quietly observe our own little Bambi.

When I brought Sam (age 2) over to see it, the conversation went like this:
Me: Sam, look at the deer.
Sam: Is not a deer, mom. Is a cow.
Me: No, honey, it's a deer.
Sam: No. Cow.
Me: Say "deer"
Sam: "Deer." But is a cow.
...walking away...
Me: I have to go get the camera, this is a blog!
Sam: No, Mommy, is a cow!

(My "Best Shot" for the week...)

See more Best Shots here.

Haveil Havalim is UP!

FrumeSarah did her thing and let me tell you, it's great.

Go check it out. So much to read, so little time!

five places i've been this week

Which companies are green?

Ruth Gruber's excellent op-ed remembrance of 1948

Electric Radiant Floor Heating for Basement....mmm....this sounds nice.

Cool Laptop Skins (i'm so getting one of these for my hubby for dad's day...now you all know and he doesn't because he doesn't read my blog!)

Snacktime! *our new favorite musical obsession*


from my del.icio.us - where have you been?

(I promise to return to some normal posts tomorrow:-)

Some Shabbat Reading for you...

In case you haven't seen it, Jewish Week just published their list of 36 people under 36 years old who are the innovators in Jewish life. Check it out, very interesting to see.

I wrote this post on my other blog about learning conformity at a young age. Go check it out and leave me a comment to let me know what you think.

After yesterday's post on Lag BaOmer, check out BZ's post on why he doesn't observe the day. (I mean, he counts from 32 to 33 to 34, but he doesn't observe it as a holiday.)

Naturemoms had this really interesting article on avoiding commercialism with kids. But the header graphic was the most arresting part of it all, I thought. What an image.

Do you get this e-zine in your inbox? If not, you should. It's got really interesting discussions and articles for Jewish women. This month's issue just came out. Go check it out.

Crunchy Domestic Goddess is tackling the issue of obstetric fistula. Go read her article and be properly outraged. Then do something.

As we embark upon this holiday weekend, Leora helped to remind me that Memorial Day has a deeper meaning than eating barbecue...

Have a great Shabbat. May rest and relaxation find their way into your life.

P.S. Haikus will return next week. I was just too tired this week. I'll go back and do Bechukotai another day...

13 Ways to Celebrate Lag BaOmer

We're in the period of the Omer. You may have noticed that counter over there <---- that my dad made for me. We count the days from Passover until Shavuot, from the Exodus to the Revelation. The period of the Omer is considered a time of semi-mourning, in which certain things are not done. Some people don't cut their hair or have parties or weddings.

But the 33rd day of the Omer, Lag BaOmer, is a little different. (and it starts tonight!)

Why "lag"? It comes from the gematria, or counting, for the day: "lamed", ל, (L, value 30) and "gimel", ג, (G, value 3), making up "Lag" (33) לג. You can learn more about the whole thing here.

The reasons for the significance of the day are a bit mixed. Is it the Yahrzeit of the death of Shimon bar Yochai? (or not?) Does it symbolize the success of Bar Kochba's revolt? Or did it all start with Rabbi Akiva? Who knows, maybe they're all right...or wrong...but either way...

Here are some fun activites to try on Lag BaOmer...

1. Learn to shoot a bow and arrow. (to recall Bar Kochba's revolt)

2. Go on a campout, like Robin.

3. Have a picnic.

4. Make a big ol' bonfire.

5. Study the Zohar.

6. Visit Meron.

7. Cut your child's hair. Jody, are you reading this?

8. Get a commemorative t-shirt.

9. Give tzedakah. It never hurts.

10. Get married. You can't get married any other day of the Omer, so this is your choice between Pesach and Shavuot.

11. Shave...if you're not shaving during the Omer. I hope to post pictures before and after of my brother. Since he hasn't shaved since Pesach. He actually looks pretty good with the beard, tho!

12. Make cookies shaped like the alef-bet. After all, Lag BaOmer is considered a "scholar's festival" and so we should celebrate reading. What other shapes could we make? Books, the Torah, pencils...

13. Blog about it, of course.

More Thursday Thirteen here.

Haveil Havalim WINNER

As promised, one lucky commenter on this week's Haveil Havalim post will win a signed CD by The Josh Nelson Project, the new release Lift.

And the winner (thanks to random.org) is commenter #12, Marci B!!!!!! (I'll be in touch.)

Here are your random numbers:

12 

Timestamp: 2008-05-22 04:00:27 UTC

Thanks for playing along.
Submit your posts for FrumeSarah's version of Haveil Havalim here.

Aren't they cute?

I'm not a gardener. Never have really grown or taken care of anything plant-like.

But somehow, I feel a yen to grow vegetables. (I'm still not taken with the idea of flowers, although they are pretty.) It seems a little like a requirement to start becoming greener...to eat some tomatoes that weren't grown halfway across the world.

I've started reading some gardening blogs. Just a few, mind you, I'm not going overboard here! And, thanks to eating lots of Stonyfield Farms yogurt (a whole other post...how much yogurt my kids eat), I now have a free subscription to Organic Gardening magazine.

So I decided to try "container" gardening. I bought a few big bins, put in some soil, and bought these cool plants that come in pots that don't have to be thrown away! That is the part that worked really well, by the way.

So here they are: three different kinds of tomatoes, oregano, basil, chili peppers, and some lettuce seeds.




Grow babies, grow!

So here are my questions, o wise Internet:

1. I used some organic potting soil mixture that had some composty-type things in it. When I flipped over the bags at home to cut them open, it said "not for containers." (Actually, it was after I had loaded almost all the dirt into the containers that I noticed this sign.) Why? Will it be a problem?

2. I bought a "tomato tower" because my dad assures me that they are going to get bigger. When do I put it in?

3. Besides water and sunlight, what else do I have to do? (For my halachically-minded readers, do the laws of first fruits apply to gardens, or only to gardens in Eretz Yisrael, or not to gardens at all? I've never paid a lot of attention to these laws, not being the growing-things-type.)

Hopefully this will all work for me!