My Newest Addition...

Last year, I shared the experiences that I had at the Devorah Quilting Kallah at Olin-Sang-Ruby Union Institute. Things have been a little crazy since I came home, so I've yet to post a full report but...

Yesterday, after a stressful day, I arrived home to find my ***new Bernina sewing machine***!!!! (Okay, I am really excited. Oh, and it's not really new, it's actually 17 years old, but it's new for me.)

First I had to get it out of the box and unwrap all the bubble wrap. Then, of course, I had to try it in order to leave feedback on eBay - so it had to be tonight. {{{Deep breath}}}

Seriously, the woman who owned this machine was amazing - she kept every single item and they're all there. The manual is not as enlightening as I'd like (and uses the word "whilst") and I had to figure out how to thread the thing...which I got right - thanks, Mrs. Procise, my 7th grade home-ec teacher - and then it wouldn't sew...I knew that something was wrong, something simple, but I couldn't figure it out....finally I got it - the bobbin winder - and I was off...

Wow...it's so quiet. It sews like a dream. Tomorrow I will figure out more - like how to change the feet and how to play with the cool stitches and maybe even actually sew something!?

AND it has retractable cords.

See how easily impressed I am!? :-)

Moving from my sweet, lovable Kenmore to this fancy-shmancy Bernina is going to take some adjustment...but I'll manage!!!!

In case you were wondering, her name is Batya and she'll have her Brit Bat next week on the 8th day....okay, just kidding:-)

My Big Brother Dressed Me

Yael, now fully enmeshed in her two-year-old-ness, is absolutely in love with her big brother, Sammy. (Except when she's not, but I think that's a different post!)

She talks about him: "my brother, Sammy" and wants to be just like him.

The other day, he helped her choose her clothes...which meant that he went into his drawer and picked things he thought she would like to wear. She's wearing a sponge-bob t-shirt underneath this football jersey. (Full disclosure: she chose her own pants. She wanted ones with pockets.)

Sam decided that the game would involve tape and bowls. Yael seemed to agree. The Ima just went along with her camera.

"Is this what I'm supposed to be doing, Sam?"

But the game quickly became a game of running and chase. I tried really hard to capture just how much fun they were having, how much joy they were experiencing. Their laughter was infectious and beautiful.

Some days are just like that.

See more best shot Monday posts here...

Jewish Blogosphere Strikes Again!

It's so nice to know that even when I'm away....things still get done around here. 
Go over to The Rebbetzin's Husband and read Haveil Havalim #214 - The Radiant Ziv edition.

Welcoming the New Month of Iyar

Iyar
not Nisan, not Sivan
not slaves and not yet fully free

the month of transition
of transit
not here and not there

wandering

where are we?
what are we doing here?

once we were slaves
now we are free.
so what do we do with ourselves?

we move
we keep moving
always moving
where are we going, again?
who’s leading this show?

Iyar
the month of manna
perfect in its perfection
sustaining
miraculous
delicious

as we fill ourselves with manna
it fills us with its faith

we are
not here and not there
but we are
full of faith
that we will arrive

The new month of Iyar begins this Shabbat. We welcome the month that moves us from Nisan, the month of Pesach, to Sivan, the month of Shavuot. A month of transition, yes, but a month in which it is said that the manna began to fall from heaven to sustain the Israelites on their way.

A truly incredible feature of the manna was that to each person, it tasted different, and to each person it was delicious. Only enough manna could be collected each day for each person's use; a double portion was collected on Shabbat. Any more than was necessary, any leftovers, rotted away overnight. Each day, the newly-freed Israelites had to renew their faith in their invisible God, each day they had to believe that more sustenance would come their way. What a remarkable way for God to create a bond of trust with these former slaves. Faith can be hard to come by.

We all have manna in our lives...the sustaining elements that help to define us and stir our souls. What is it for you? How do you trust that it will be there tomorrow? How do you keep the faith?

May the new month of Iyar bring blessings of sustenance and peace.

It's a "hand" bag!

I'm currently at OSRUI (Olin-Sang-Ruby Union Institute) at the annual Devorah Quilting Retreat. It's a wonderful group of Jewish women getting together to quilt in a spiritual and open setting.

Although we don't usually do "assigned projects" - today we all did this project as a creativity exercise. It's a "hand" bag from this site: http://www.thr3foldjournal.com/ and while the directions were unclear about the end of the project, I think that mine came out really cute!

Hopefully I'll post another update later today or tomorrow. Having a lot of fun....

My Favorite Things?

Some random things that I like. I'm not getting any money for these products, just sharing the things that I like. If Oprah can take over Twitter, I can take over her idea for sharing stuff I like. (I wish I could give it all away like she does!)

Skoy
These are great kitchen cloths for cleaning. They go in the washer, dryer, microwave, dishwasher, and they don't have that funky anti-bacterial smell. They're awesome.

Emerald Nuts Cocoa Roast Almonds
Absolutely delicious. Love these. (Their website is not great, though.)


Sabra Hummus
The closest thing to being in Israel that I can find. Their babaghanoush rocks too.

Bubbie's Pickles
The most wonderful pickles I've ever found. Pure Kosher Dills - they are sharp and salty and crunchy and awesome.


L'Oreal Kids Detangler, Pear Scent
I've started spraying this on my kids' hair each night and combing it through. I love the smell. They love the combing. It's a great deal.

Sedu Flatiron
It works really really well on my very curly hair. Makes it shiny and straight. It impresses me every time.


Do you care about brands? Are you "brand-loyal"?
For the most part, I'm really not. I buy store-brands and whatever happens to be on sale. Then again, I know that store-brand Cheerios are just not as good as the real thing.

From Slavery to Freedom...

We've had a great Passover around here.

Our Seder was a lot of fun! (we actually did two Sedarim, the first with our family, and the kids made it through that one entirely. So I really consider that to be our "real Seder." The second night, I helped lead the Seder at the synagogue. My kids didn't really make it through that one....)

 Our Seder table, featuring the huevos haminados that I made with David. They were beautiful but interestingly enough, didn't taste any different from regular hard-boiled eggs!

 

  

My kids had a great time with the plague masks. I felt that the lice plague was most fitting for them...

Everyone always wants to know if I conduct our family's Seder, being a rabbi and all. Nope. My dad (who wrote my omer counter) has always done it and he does a great job! I pipe up occasionally with new ideas and comments, and sometimes move things along...

 

Each year, we open the Seder with a reading from Mark Twain's "Concerning the Jews." My 93-year-old grandmother offers this reading, which she found many years ago and brought to the Seder.

And....David offered the Four Questions:

The rest of the week has been relatively uneventful. Sam has persisted in asking each day for waffles. I'm quite sure that he did not eat a single bite of matzah in protest. Luckily, he's only 3 so it doesn't matter too much. Our digestive tracts were, um, healthy all week. We made popovers, toasted farfel, grilled fish, potatoes, eggs, tuna, and ate a lot of babaghanoush and cream cheese on matzah. I think I made matzah pizza 4 or 5 times and I made matzah brei twice. (For the Matzah Brei cookoff at the shul, I made Matzah Brei Italian - with marinara sauce, onions, garlic, basil and mozzarella - garnished with Salad Caprese. A huge hit!)

The dishes are packed away, the crumbs are swept off the counter, and another Pesach has come and gone. So much work to prepare and it all seems to end so quickly. But it really is one of my favorite weeks of the year. It is a total change of routine and behavior that consumes us and reminds us with every mouthful of the meaning of freedom.

How was your Pesach?