OMG! What a Week!

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Many years ago, I read a children’s story that helps me deal with life’s adversities and serves as a parable for the Conservative view of an all-powerful God as opposed the to the Reform or Reconstructionist view that God has set the world in motion and now commiserates with us, but is powerless, when natural laws arbitrarily cause pain and suffering. It is a story of an exemplary rabbi whose fondest wish is granted when he is permitted to travel the world with the prophet Elijah as he goes about facilitating the work of God. The one caveat he is given is that he may not question Elijah’s actions. If he requires an answer, Elijah will explain, but then they must part company. To try to make a long story shorter, they encounter four situations in which Elijah intervenes to change the outcome. In each of the four situations, the rabbi is appalled at the unfairness of Elijah’s actions and finally can no longer contain himself. He questions, receives the explanations, and then must part company with Elijah. In each of the situations, the full explanation of what has occurred reveals true justice and mercy. You can click on this link if you want to read the whole story.

On a more personal level, I had a very bad week, but I am consoled that it all could have turned out much worse, and some of the events that appeared to be really disappointing, might have even saved our lives. The worst began with a phone message on both my home and cell phones from Abington Hospital that they needed me to return for another mammogram and ultrasound. When I finally reached them after frantically and repeatedly dialing the number they had left, they said that they had seen a “mass” that bore further investigation. I have now spoken with a number of women who have received these kind of phone calls. Universally, it can be said that your heart stops and your life stops at the initial shock. After scheduling another appointment over a week later (the earliest appointment I could get), I left a message at my doctor’s office to please call me as soon as possible. When he did get back to me, about two hours later, his first words were “Don’t panic!” “Too late,” I said. Mercifully, he then patiently gave me about six reasons why I should not be too alarmed. Many of you reading this may benefit from knowing that many diagnostic centers have changed from film to digital and so are able to pinpoint problem areas that were not visible before. I had waited two years since my previous mammogram, and breast tissue changes over time, not necessarily in a pathological way. Because of recent changes in law, both a human and a computer look at everything now and either one alone is capable of triggering further testing. My doctor also said that in my case they should not have called it a mass. It was calcifications that he said could have been caused by something as simple as a bump to my breast. Needless to say, I was very relieved after my conversation with him, but not so much as to put the thought of cancer out of my head for over a week. The funny thing is, about an hour before the phone calls, I had been clearing off my desk and I had just been glancing over a very detailed, glossy brochure that had been handed to me after a synagogue board meeting by my friend, Janet, who is a hospice nurse. I had not wanted to refuse it, as she had taken the time to write a cover letter and prepare a presentation about breast cancer. Just before the phone call came, I had decided not to toss it into the trash bin, buried it at the bottom of a stack of papers to be filed, and said a little prayer in my head that I would never need to look at it again. After I spoke with the doctor, I retrieved it and read it from cover to cover. As it turned out, yesterday, after undergoing the additional mammogram and ultrasound, I was given a clean bill of health and was told to return in six months for another test just to be sure. I was very lucky this time, and I will never go two years again without a mammogram.

Our friends, Laura and Marc were able to be plowed out after our second major record-setting snowstorm on Tuesday night and Wednesday just in time to meet us on Thursday evening for dinner at The Drafting Room to celebrate Saul’s and Laura’s birthdays. We never seem to be able to settle on a date to get together, but when we finally do, we have a great time! Friday afternoon, after I waited at CHC for Saul to finish with meetings, we headed out for Baltimore/DC in our more snow-worthy SUV with Izzy’s 30-inch-tall Cat in the Hat birthday cake secured in the back. Alex had brought his parents down for the weekend, and we were joined by his sister Naomi and her husband Matt, sister-in-law Stacey, with her three children, and Ari for Shabbat dinner. Alex had prepared a delicious baby artichoke appetizer served on ciabatta bread and a huge amount of beautiful, varied and tasty sushi, arranged attractively on large platters. We had brought with us a variety of homemade cookies and cakes that had been taking up space in our freezer since December to make way for the hamantaschen to come. For dessert, everyone seemed to have a different particular favorite, from the lime-anise biscotti to the chocolate toffee squares. We had decided to leave Izzy’s birthday cake in our car until Sunday to keep it chilled and to protect it from the dogs. Before Ari drove us to DC that night, Saul dutifully remembered to give Jessica the keys to our car, just in case it needed to be moved.

Saturday evening, we all decided to get together for dinner in Baltimore. The small restaurant, Thai Arroy which is providing a vegetarian cooking demonstration for Jessica’s Pearlstone Center on Sunday, agreed to seat 10 of us at 6:30 p.m. We let the chef choose our all-vegetarian menu and were extremely pleased with the service, presentation and taste of all the varied dishes, among them, green curry, crispy fish in tamarind sauce, and mock duck. The girls were extremely pleased with the chocolate mousse cake for dessert, while the rest of us were wowed when we sampled their unlikely signature desserts of gingko nut and sweet taro mousse, and pumpkin custard. By the time we left, people were standing in the doorway waiting for our tables. Baltimore was virtually buried in snow, and we were lucky to have found parking. It took us a long time and back-ups into various driveways to negotiate our way around the streets which were only plowed enough for one car at a time going in one direction to traverse down them. In all the excitement and brouhaha, Saul, who had moved our car to allow everyone out of the driveway, forgot to leave our keys with Jessica. On the way back to DC, we hit a bad pothole hard, but were very lucky that the tire did not go flat and we were able to continue on our way home.

On Sunday, the day of Izzy’s 6th birthday party, we decided to go by way of College Park, Maryland, where there is a kosher shawarma restaurant, Pita Plus, that we love. We brunched on great laffa shawarma, picked up extras for Jess and Alex to enjoy, and headed for the party so that we would be there in time to retrieve the cake from the back of the SUV. As we were about to pull into a gas station to fill up, about five minutes down the road, we hit a really big pothole extremely hard. As we pulled up to the gas pump, the tire pressure lights went on and we could hear the air escaping from the tires as we opened the car door. We had flattened both tires on the passenger side. Ari called his free Mercedes Roadside Assistance and discovered that they could not assist us as they could only put on a spare, or bring us gas, or perform other minor services to get us on our way. We tried putting air in the tires, hoping that we had only knocked the air out, but discovered holes in both side walls. Our AAA Plus services were much more helpful and we were able to arrange a flat bed truck to transport us and the car 18 miles in the wrong direction to the only tire store we could locate that carried the specially-sized tires we needed. They only had three in stock altogether. The man who came to rescue us with the flatbed, after we had waited about an hour, looked at the tires and told us that a third tire had a big bubble in it and should be replaced also. If it had blown out on the highway we were about to enter, we very likely would have had a serious, if not fatal, accident. So we called the tire place, NTB, and told them to hold all three tires for us. The bill came to about $700 including the insurance against further blowouts (a good deal considering the number of potholes looming ahead because of the blizzards). The flatbed guy also advised us that if we were willing to wait, the township might reimburse us for the expense of the tires because of the pothole.

Hearing our predicament, Jess and Alex arranged for AAA to come to unlock our SUV so that they could get at the birthday cake in time for the party. AAA came to them by 2:00 p.m., a half hour after the party began, so the cake really made a grand entrance. The party was well attended despite the snow. The kids came in costume, dressed as storybook characters. They made scarves, decorated Pinkalicious cupcakes, rolled sushi, and made animals from toothpicks and raw vegetables and fruit. We sat, disappointed in the crowded waiting room at NTB for about two hours, but we were very cognizant of the fact that our situation could have turned out much worse.

We had some dinner with Jess and Alex when we finally arrived, and watched Izzy open her presents, most of which are being donated to Ronald McDonald House. This had been prearranged on the invitations. Then, we headed for home, dropping off Maury and Elaine in Cranberry, New Jersey, and bringing Sami along with us for the week as her Waldorf school was closed this past week.

We all had a wonderful time together this past week. Unfortunately, as warmer temperatures finally arrived and the snow began to melt, a serious problem arose. On Tuesday evening, I happened to look up at my dining room ceiling and was frightened to see wet spots developing along all the cross beams behind the drywall. We went to bed wondering what we should do about the problem. By morning, water was dripping all along the ceiling onto the hardwood floor below, the drywall had cracked, and flakes of it were starting to fall. We feared that the ceiling might collapse and I hastily mopped, put out buckets, and moved rugs, furniture, and curios out of the way. I spoke with my brother, who recommended I call our friend, Isaac, who does home renovations. He was able to send some workmen over by 1:00 p.m. who gouged out the ceiling to let the water run more freely to prevent the ceiling from collapsing, and hacked away the ice that had lifted the roofing tiles slightly, allowing ice to creep under the flashing, which then melted and ran down the beams.

Ari was supposed to come in this weekend, visit his friends Shira and Josh, who were celebrating the birth of their new little girl, and take Sami home on Sunday. Around Wednesday, Jess called to say that the parents of Sami’s class had decided that the program for which she had practiced to read Torah (which was cancelled last week due to the snow), should take place anyway on Saturday. So we all changed our plans midweek, and left for Baltimore/DC late Thursday afternoon after my happy mammogram and ultrasound. Adele came to stay with Sami while Saul accompanied me to the diagnostic center. After dropping Sami off at home in Baltimore, we met Ari after work for a late dinner at The Cheesecake Factory in Bethesda and had a great view out the window during dinner of a very talented crew scooping vast mountains of snow from the street below us, loading it onto dump trucks, and driving it away.

I left the house with large buckets under my dripping ceiling, not knowing what I will find when I return home. But, I am with my family, we all seem to be in relatively good health, Yona cut her first tooth and began crawling on the same day. Sami and I baked hamantaschen, painted on canvas with acrylics, watched movies together, and I taught her how to make origami cranes, to which she attached real feathers from my sewing box and made a mobile. It may have been a week filled with adversity, but despite all that, I feel truly blessed.

And the Big Story this Week is… The Snow!

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The blizzard did not actually begin here until about 7 p.m. on Friday night. All week, though, the weather predictors (or guessers, as Saul calls them) have been saying that we were about to get what might be the storm of the century. We were supposed to be in Baltimore/DC this weekend. Sami had been practicing to read Saul and Maury’s bar mitzvah parashah for her fifth grade class on Shabbat. A preview sample on the phone had both of us wiping tears of joy from our eyes. It was just a coincidence that all three had learned the same parashah—Yitro. The realization hit us both in an instant that we had had the privilege and luck to be alive and well to hear such a thing from our grandchild. Unfortunately, the weather prevented the actual performance.

Earlier in the week, I had my yearly mammogram. Mom and I had always gone to the lab together for this test, and because of her illness last year, I had missed a year. Sitting there in the waiting room, I felt like it had only been a few weeks since we had been waiting there together. Major renovations to the facility were almost at the point of completion while I was there, and I was grateful that I had not come earlier while it was still under the real chaos of construction. Afterward, I stopped at the new Fresh Market to check it out and use up a gift certificate that had been given to me. I was absolutely appalled by the prices, but I found a bunch of esoteric products that I have not seen anywhere else to buy. These included elephant garlic, which I used to get at the local supermarkets, but they no longer carry it for lack of demand; Maldon salt; smoked paprika, chipotle in adobo, Medaglio d’Oro instant espresso powder, watermelon radish (which I used as a striking garnish on the Israeli salad), and heirloom tomatoes. I managed to use up the gift certificate and another $27. For dinner that night, Saul and I had only an heirloom tomato salad with hand-thrown fresh mozzarella, fresh basil, extra virgin olive oil, Maldon salt and freshly ground pepper. It was a taste of summer in February and very good for the diet and the spirit, if not for the carbon footprint.

We were going to make the trip to DC anyway, despite the storm, and get snowed in together with Ari, but then we realized that we would have to dig out two cars. They were predicting as much as 40 inches in the Baltimore/DC area. Ari does not have a garage, and even if we had left the car in Baltimore, Alex would have had to dig it out. By staying home, our cars stayed clean in the garage, and eventually our lawn mower guy will come with a plow and plow out our driveway. Since I did not have to pack, I attended my Thursday morning class with Faith where we discussed the influences of Ezra and the Saadia Gaon on Judaism.

We invited Beth to bring Ilsa and Manuel, her housemates, to Shabbat dinner. Larry stayed home, fearful of having to deal with the predicted storm. I had used up the last of my homemade chicken soup and decided that it was time to make another huge pot. After Saul and I got it cooking, we met Adele for lunch at Wegman’s to pick up from her the specially-shaped pans I need to make Izzy’s Cat in the Hat cake for her sixth birthday party next weekend. For Shabbat dinner we had challah and chicken soup with dumplings, all homemade; romaine salad, Israeli salad, black and white rice, baked fennel and potato casserole, raspberry and herb-glazed boneless chicken breast, fresh fruit and chocolate.

We awoke to at least a foot of snow on the ground and did not venture out of the house yesterday as the storm continued into early afternoon. We are feeling very cozy and well-fed, but a little depressed that we could not be with the kids this weekend. Although another storm is expected in a few days, I am planning to be with them next weekend for sure.

Tu B’Shevat, Jewish Arbor Day, and Marianne’s 80th

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My friends picked a much better week than we did to vacation in a warm climate. Roxy is off in Hawaii this week and Laura is in Puerto Rico. They missed one of the most bitter cold weeks ever, here. Saul and I have been Hawaii dreaming all week, especially Saul, when his arthritis starts giving him pain from the chill. Luckily, last week we decided to exchange our planned Williamsburg vacation during spring break in March to a 10-day vacation on Kauai. For my sixtieth birthday, I will be spending the entire day on an airplane winging my way there. I wish they could just beam me up! Each time I arrive there, I don’t want to come home.

During the beginning of the week, I suddenly became aware that Tu B’Shevat, our Jewish Arbor Day, was beginning on Shabbat eve, January 29, this year, so the focus of our week was the scavenger hunt to find all the exotic fruits and nuts needed to make a beautiful seder. Tu B’Shevat is also known as Rosh Hashanah L’Ilanot, the new year of the trees, and falls at this cold time because the sap is just beginning to run in the trees about now. I invited a bunch of friends over for Shabbat dinner and tuned up our seder script a bit from sources on the Net. Saul and I made the rounds of various stores on Thursday afternoon and evening (in bitter cold weather) to gather supplies, but we were somewhat disappointed with Assi Market this year. Usually, it yields such great and exotic produce as fresh rambutan or lychees, but this year, I could not even get a good mango or persimmon there. We did, however, find a sabra, which was quite exotic to a few of our guests and which allowed us to make a sheheheyanu over a new fruit. We had great fun and had eaten way too much by the time the seder was over and it was time for dinner. We were glad we decided to use grape juice rather than wine for the four cups, or we would not only have been full, but falling off our chairs as well.

Joining us for dinner were Larry, Beth, Terry and Gene, Faith, Elaine, and Sister Lisa from Chestnut Hill College. During the seder, one is supposed to eat at least 16 different fruits and nuts, four from each of the four categories. In the first category, fruits or nuts with a hard, inedible shell that are completely edible inside, we had: pecans, walnuts, macadamia nuts, cashews, pistachios, Brazil nuts and almonds. In the second category, fruits with an edible rind and a pit or pits in the center, we had: olives, dates, peaches, apricots, plums, cherries, apple and Asian pear. In the third category, fruits with a tough, inedible skin on the outside but sweet fruit within, we had mango, banana, sabra, pomegranate, and orange. In the fourth category, fruits which are soft throughout and are completely edible, we had figs, grapes, raisins, kiwi, starfruit (carambola) and blueberries. As appetizers before the seder, we had guacamole (celebrating the avocado) with chips, and Comté cheese with membrillo (celebrating the quince). For dinner, we had homemade challah, chestnut soup, Israeli salad, vegetarian meatballs, macaroni and cheese, and maple-glazed Brussels sprouts. For dessert, we had carob cake and mini chocolate shells with ice cream and whipped cream.

I have included the text of our seder, which I have gleaned from several sources, and which can be modified at will to suit the occasion. Much more elaborate (and time consuming) versions are possible as well, and may include appropriate songs/prayers, 10 modern plagues of the environment, and other ecologically-conscious points of discussion.

Tu B’Shevat Seder
Introduction

In the 16th century in northern Israel, in the spiritual town of Tzfat (Safed), the Jewish mystics created the Tu B’Shevat seder. They recognized the many and varied dimensions of God’s creation and used the fruits of Israel to symbolize the nature of these dimensions of existence.
The Torah characterizes Israel as being blessed with seven varieties of produce: “A land of wheat and barley, of vines, figs and pomegranates, a land of olives and honey. (Deuteronomy 8:8)
In Israel, the holiday is always marked by the planting of trees. School children are taken on field trips especially for the purpose of planting trees, and great importance is placed on this simple act for many reasons. The pledge to make the desert bloom is part of the overwhelming desire to ensure a rich life in the “land of milk and honey.” In modern times, the burning of forests by enemies of Israel has strengthened the resolve to maintain and beautify the land to assure our continued presence there. In the diaspora, the concern of Jews for the land of Israel is expressed through the purchase of tree certificates from the Jewish National Fund. A certificate is purchased which indicates that a tree has been planted in memory of or in honor of someone. In addition to the planting of trees, these monies are used to maintain existing forest.

Hand Washing

Barukh ata Adonai, Eloheinu Melekh ha-olam, asher kidshanu b’mitzvotav,
v’tzivanu al netilat yadayim.
Blessed are You, Source of all life, Who commands us to ritually wash our hands.

The First Cup of Wine

This cup of white wine or grape juice symbolizes winter, the dormant stage of nature and the mystical dimension of atzilut, or emanation, at which God’s energy infused the creation process with initial life.

Barukh ata Adonai, Eloheinu Melekh ha-olam borei peri ha-gafen.
Blessed are you, Source of all life, Creator of the fruit of the vine.

For Adonai your God is bringing you into a good land. A land of brooks of water, of fountains and depths springing forth in valleys and hills, a land of wheat and barley and vines and fig trees and pomegranates, a land of olive trees and honey, a land wherein you shall eat without scarceness, you shall not lack anything in it; a land whose stones are iron and out of whose hills you may dig brass. And you shall eat and be satisfied, and bless God for the good land, which is being given unto you (Deuteronomy 8:7-10).

The First Fruit

Fruit that has a hard or inedible shell or rind on the outside and is soft and completely edible on the inside, such as walnuts, coconuts, almonds, pistachios, pecans.
The hard shell symbolizes the protection that the earth gives us and by representing the physical being as a soul covered by the body, also reminds us to nourish the strength and healing power of our own bodies.

Barukh ata Adonai, Eloheinu Melekh ha-olam, borei peri ha-etz.
Blessed are You, Source of all life, Creator of the fruit of the tree.

The Second Cup of Wine

This cup of wine or grape juice is mostly white, with a little red mixed in, to symbolize the beginning of spring, the earth’s reawakening and the mystical concept of formation and birth, often associated with water.

Barukh ata Adonai, Eloheinu Melekh ha-olam, borei peri ha-gafen.
Blessed are You, Source of all life, Creator of the fruit of the vine.

Blessed shall you be in the city, and blessed shall you be in the field. Blessed shall you be in the fruit of your body, and the fruit of your land, and the fruit of your cattle, and the young of your flock. Blessed shall you be in your basket and your kneading trough. Blessed shall you be when you come in and blessed shall you be when you go out (Deuteronomy 28:36).

The Second Fruit

This fruit is soft with an edible rind and a pit in the center, such as olives, dates, peaches, and apricots.
They symbolize the life-sustaining power that emanates from the earth and remind us of the spiritual and emotional strength that is within each of us, of the heart protected by the body.
The tamar, or date palm, has a further symbolism. In Bereshit Rabbah 41, the rabbis compared Israel to a date palm because it is a tree of which every part is useful.

Barukh ata Adonai, Eloheinu Melekh ha-olam, borei peri ha-etz.
Blessed are You, Source of all life, Creator of the fruit of the tree.

The Third Cup of Wine

This cup of wine is mostly red with a little bit of white added representing the full arrival of spring and the mystical concept of beriah, or creation.

Barukh ata Adonai, Eloheinu Melekh ha-olam, borei peri ha-gafen.
Blessed are You, Source of all life, Creator of the fruit of the vine.

Then God formed the human from the dust of the ground, and breathed into the nostrils the breath of life; and the human became a living soul (Genesis 2:7).

The Third Fruit

This has a tough skin on the outside but sweet fruit within such as mangos, bananas, avocados, or sabra, a desert pear, fruit of a cactus plant.
They symbolize the mystery of the world and our study of Torah. We are constantly seeking to uncover her secrets, and are continually nourished by her fruits.

Barukh ata Adonai, Eloheinu Melekh ha-olam, borei peri ha-etz.
Blessed are You, Source of all life, Creator of the fruit of the tree.

The Fourth Cup of Wine

This cup is all red, symbolizing the full glow of summer, the mystical concept of fire and the idea that within all living things dwells a spark of God.

Barukh ata Adonai, Eloheinu Melekh ha-olam, borei peri ha-gafen.
Blessed are You, Source of all life, Creator of the fruit of the vine.

And the angel of God appeared to him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush; and Moses looked, and behold, the bush burned with fire and the bush was not consumed (Exodus 3:2).
And God said, “let the earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed, and the fruit trees yielding fruit after his kind, whose seed is in itself, upon the earth,” and it was so. (Genesis 1:9-13)

The Fourth Fruit

This fruit is soft throughout and is completely edible, such as figs, grapes, and raisins. This type symbolizes the highest form of spirituality, God’s omnipresence and our own inextricable ties with the earth. The tasting of this fruit may be followed by the tasting of wheat in the form of cake, bread, or cookies.

Barukh ata Adonai, Eloheinu Melekh ha-olam, borei peri ha-etz.
Blessed are You, Source of all life, Creator of the fruit of the tree.

Closing Prayer

May it be Your will, our God and God of our ancestors, that through our eating of the fruits and drinking of the juices, which we have blessed, that the trees of Israel will renew themselves by blossoming and growing. May the trees we have planted in Israel add to the beauty and blessing of Zion.
We pray that this seder celebration of Tu B’Shevat will inspire in us a deeper sensitivity to nature’s gifts. May the day soon come when we can plant a tree ourselves in Israel in fulfillment of the Commandments.
At this special Shabbat Tu B’Shevat seder, we pray for God to guard us and watch over all the Jewish People everywhere, in Israel, in the United States and in all the other countries where they live, some in freedom, some still in servitude. Our greatest hope is that all people will be free to live in peace everywhere.

Services at MBI-EE on Saturday were followed by a congregational Tu B’Shevat seder, one that was more elaborate in its scope, and then a luncheon. Arriving home, before our Shabbat nap, I completed the previous Sunday New York Times Crossword Puzzle, which uniquely involved folding the finished puzzle ala Mad Magazine to reveal a new abridged set of words within the circles—quite clever. It reminded me of an old, true story, covered once in Philadelphia Magazine, about some too clever boys at Akiba Hebrew Academy who were delayed from their high school graduation as punishment for having surreptitiously designed, and gotten published, a yearbook page that folded in like manner to reveal an x-rated drawing and message.

On Sunday, Adele, Saul, and I attended an incredible birthday brunch upstairs at the Wm. Penn Inn to celebrate the 80th birthday of our dear friend Marianne (Mom’s hospice volunteer) which was arranged by her children. We were delighted to meet in person many of her family and friends about whom we had heard so much. They were an extremely diverse, creative, intelligent and interesting group—a beautiful and cohesive family—not surprising at all considering the warmth and appreciation for life with which Marianne views the world, and this after having come through the Holocaust. Her remaining children, John and Margie, had made a trek to New Brunswick, New Jersey, which evidently has a large Hungarian community, to pick up delicacies from a special shop there so as to please their mother and to give their guests a taste of the family’s special Hungarian foods. Margie made a number of the desserts herself. Marianne’s birthday cake, a Dobos torte, was so delicious that calorie-counting went out the window for the afternoon and we will just have to begin again today. The brunch at the restaurant, even without all the extra treats, is truly exceptional. Many of our family celebrations have taken place there amidst the elegant ambiance and extraordinarily attentive service, not to mention the delicious and abundant variety of beautifully presented food on the well-maintained buffet. At the end, we were greeted by our old friend, Ian, now a manager at the Inn, who used to work with us there when we were in our teens. We assured him that our entire experience that afternoon had been stellar.

After another long nap, Saul and I alternated watching the over-the-top performances at the Grammy awards on television with work on our computers. The long commercial breaks allowed us to get quite a bit of work done. With the help of TiVo, we even had time to fish out our 3D glasses, saved from many years ago, to view, as it was meant to be seen, the 3D presentation on our big flat screen t.v. I love 3D! I am as excited for the proliferation of 3D viewing in the future as I was as a child when we were the first on the block to have a tiny color television screen. I hope I live long enough to be able to see holographic presentations.

Today, we are back to calorie counting in Lose It! and cutting back, trying to figure out just how many calories we have consumed with all the unusual treats we have had in the last few days.

Disney World, Alli’s Bat Mitzvah, and Hitting the Ground Running

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We decided to spend Tuesday and Wednesday at Disney World for several reasons. We felt that the parks were less likely to be crowded on those mid-week days. We also planned it so that we would have Thursday to recuperate from two days at the four parks before having to pack and set out for our 3-hour drive to Jacksonville to attend cousin Alli’s Bat Mitzvah which was to begin with a Friday night Shabbat dinner at their synagogue. With the exception of freezing cold weather, we planned very well. When we set out at 9:00 a.m. on Tuesday morning as Animal Kingdom was about to open, our car was encased in ice and we had to wait about 10 minutes for the defroster to thaw the windshield. The golf course, which our balcony porch overlooked, was a sheet of white-ice-encrusted grass. There was even ice on the Spanish moss hanging from the tree outside our porch. (I thought about titling this post “Ice on Spanish Moss,” very poetic, but that was only a very small part of our adventures.)

We began our foray into Disney World with a Lion King theatrical production, which was a very good way indeed to begin. The show is one of my top five favorite things at Disney. In the cold weather, as opposed to the 90 to 100-degree summer temperatures we usually encounter, we were able to spend the whole day in the park, exploring the new Asia section with its fabricated Mt. Everest roller coaster, the new dinosaur section which has many attractions for very young children, and revisiting our favorites like, “It’s Tough to be a Bug,” and the safari ride. By late lunch time, we were able to doff our winter coats to enjoy lunch in a picturesque outdoor pavilion by a lake with a view of “Everest” in the distance. Instead of the two hungry dogs under the table that we usually encounter at Jess and Alex’s, we had two hungry and very colorful ducks that were begging for food under our table. We lined up for the end-of-day parade at the beginning of the route and were able to follow Mickey Mouse, dancing on top of his souped-up jeep, all the way out of the park at 5:00 p.m. Then, we went to our car and drove to the Epcot Park, just a few minutes away with the hopes of catching a few attractions before having dinner at our favorite Japanese Restaurant in the Japan section of the World Showcase in time to watch the “IllumiNations” fireworks show from a table by the picture window.

Unfortunately, because the restaurant was very busy and they could not guarantee a reservation for the time we wanted, we chose to eat at a table by the window right away. Our quiet little haven had enjoyed such popularity that it had been completely refurbished to accommodate larger crowds. As a result, the menu choices were more limited and the din was deafening. The sushi was delicious and the service very attentive, but we decided to have dessert down the street in “France.” We bought an assortment of French pastries and café au lait at the boulangerie and sat down to enjoy them at a small outdoor table in what looked like a little section of Paris, but even with the hot coffee to warm us, the weather was bitter cold. We stood on a nearby bridge overlooking the Epcot lake to watch the spectacular fireworks presentation and then headed back to the condo, very cold and tired from miles of walking, but feeling very satisfied that we had really enjoyed our rather expensive tickets to capacity.

The next morning, we parked the car at the Disney Hollywood Studios park as it opened. We wandered around almost-deserted streets for awhile before heading over to see the colorful and engaging “Beauty and the Beast” musical production. While waiting to see the live “High School Musical” number, one of the guards told us that there were only 13,500 people in that park that day and that there are normally at least 30,000 and as high as 45,000. There were no lines at all for many of the attractions, so we were able to see and do most of what we wanted there before getting back into our car around noon and driving over to Epcot, which holds most of the attractions we like best, such as Soarin’, which we did twice, once with a Fast Pass and once after waiting in line for an hour. I could spend a whole day doing Soarin’ over and over if the lines weren’t so long. Everyone else seems to feel the same way about it. I hope they will add more rides like it eventually. We also twice did a boat tour called “Living with the Land” which also brought us through Disney’s amazing hydroponic experimental greenhouses. There was no wait at all. In “The Sea” pavilion, we also did not have to wait to do “Turtle Talk,” a live conversation with an animated character, Crush, the surfer-dude turtle from “Finding Nemo.” We had a big cafeteria lunch when we arrived at Epcot and decided to skip dinner to see more of the attractions. Saul had an encounter with learning to ride a Segway, and as darkness fell, we decided to hop the monorail over to the Magic Kingdom to catch the fireworks there. While we were waiting for them to begin, we went on the Haunted Mansion ride, which we haven’t done for many, many years and which we can never do with small children in tow, especially Sami. The fireworks display over Cinderella’s castle definitely made the trip worthwhile, and since we still had an hour to spare before the fireworks display at Epcot, we decided to try to catch both, and we did, making it back to Epcot just in time to see IllumiNations again. All you need is stamina and good working legs, which, luckily, Saul seemed to have on this trip. Ordinarily, in summer heat, he rents a mobilized chair to keep up with us. We had a small snack when we arrived back at our condo, and went to bed.

Exhausted from our forays into the four Disney Parks, we slept late the next morning, and ate breakfast and lunch in our condo to use up the small amount of food we had purchased, while Saul spent the day on his laptop catching up with his last bit of preparation before the new semester was due to begin on Monday, and I vegged out and did our laundry. In the evening, we headed back to Bonefish Grill for a delicious meal and to further use up our soon-to-be-expired $20 coupons.

Friday morning, rested and relaxed, we ate breakfast in the condo, packed, loaded the car, checked out and were on the road right on schedule by about 10:30 a.m. The drive was very pleasant and the weather was beginning to return to its usual semi-tropical state, although it was raining lightly. The Hilton Embassy Suites let us check in early and our suite was extremely well-appointed and convenient, a bargain for the money. The suites were arranged in circular configuration overlooking an inviting and lush tropical atrium. The price of the rooms, $89, included a hot breakfast with omelets cooked to order, eaten at the tables strategically placed around the atrium.

Mom’s cousin Ronnie was sitting in a small lounge area right behind us as we checked in and we were greeted with a warm and appreciative welcome immediately, and then briefly introduced to other members of the family and friends. Lonnie and Bruce, parents of the Bat Mitzvah, had provided us with a thoughtful bag of snacks and bottled water, which was presented to us as we checked in. We rested in our rooms for about two hours, changed for dinner, and headed out to the synagogue. We were able to mingle and meet many of the approximately 60 family members, friends and their children before an excellent catered dinner which culminated with a memorable dessert of warm, molten chocolate cake. After dinner, we participated in a service which was geared toward very young children with a special prayerbook specifically designed for them.

Saturday morning, we breakfasted in the hotel before leaving for the morning Shabbat service at the synagogue. Ronnie’s family is accomplished and attractive and Alli was as poised and beautiful as any bat mitzvah I have ever seen, and I have seen many. My mother spoke all her life about Ronnie’s five boys and how difficult it must have been to raise them all. After her first two, Alan and Chuck, she decided she wanted to have a little girl. On her third try, she was blessed with identical twin boys, Bruce and Bob. Then, as she told me last week, her husband, Mort, convinced her that if she was to try yet one more time, statistically, it would likely be a girl. After Fred was born, I think Ronnie finally realized she was destined for boys only. Now, she smilingly told me, she is surrounded by girls, her many loving granddaughters on whom she dotes and their mothers. Both she and Mort are only children, so there are no aunts, or uncles, to round out the family. Services were followed by a lavish buffet luncheon for the entire congregation. Arriving back at the hotel, we changed into comfortable clothing and spent the afternoon playing gin rummy in the atrium with Ronnie and her 21-year-old granddaughter, Jackie (Jacquelyn), Bob’s daughter. Bob’s branch of the family lives in Pacific Palisades in southern California. Joining us also was Bob’s wife’s mother, an expatriate of Philadelphia, who now resides in Florida. Many of the family spent the afternoon working out in the hotel’s gym. Bob had recently successfully completed an Ironman race in California. As darkness fell, we returned to our rooms to change into dressy evening clothes.

Back at the synagogue, the evening began with a sumptuous cocktail hour. A favorite hors d’oeuvre of mine was a sweet red watermelon cube, topped with tuna poké, and finished with a small dab of spicy wasabi mayonnaise. Adjourning to another large reception room for dinner, we felt the irony of the situation of the previous week. The theme of the bat mitzvah was snow and ice. Sparkly snowflake cutouts hung from the ceiling. The beautiful white tablecloths were made from purposely-frayed iridescent organza that gave the impression of an ice-covered snowbank. The tasteful low flower arrangements were pale blue hydrangea and artistically twisted branches. A D.J. kept the kids busy with games and activities during the cocktail hour and with enthusiastic dancing after the delicious dinner and dessert were served. A photo montage of Alli growing up with her family preceded the dinner. Along one side of the room were various activities for the kids when they were not dancing, such as a photo booth, and individually-designed tee shirts. During the evening the D.J.s provided all sorts of flare—flashing multi-colored rings, light sticks, silver hats, and maracas, to name a few.

We arrived back at the hotel well-fed and tired after midnight. With our Hilton Honors benefits, Saul and I were able to arrange for a late check-out at 2:00 p.m. on Sunday. Before leaving for an early brunch at Bruce and Lonnie’s home, we spent an hour in the atrium with Terry, a Philadelphia friend of the family, who happened to be the uncle of two of our former religious school students, and invited Bob’s family, who joined us, to visit us in Philadelphia as they check out some of our local small colleges for their younger daughter, Amanda. Another coincidence was that Alan, Ronnie’s oldest son from Arizona, is in the same obscure line of work (e-discovery) as Ari, and Ari works with a newly-hired, good friend of his, Karen. One of the amazing discoveries of this trip was the resemblance of their family to people in our family. Our son, Ari, looks remarkably like Ronnie’s father as a young man. I knew, even in a roomful of unfamiliar people, that I was related to Alan. He looks just like my mother’s mother, Anna. The twins bear a striking resemblance to my first cousin, Bob, and Ronnie’s Bob’s daughter, Jackie, looks a lot like our Bob’s sister, Julie. Isn’t it interesting that the names are similar also? My brother’s middle name is Alan.

Ronnie told me that Bruce had decided in high school, while doing volunteer work at Moss Rehabilitation Center, that he wanted to develop devices to help disabled people. To that end, he had earned both an engineering and a medical degree. He holds patents now on several devices and is developing others. His success is reflected in their spectacular home that was completed last year and which sits on the picturesque banks of the St. Johns River. The same talented caterer provided a tasty buffet brunch in their dining room with lox and bagels, french toast, kugels, salads, desserts, and omelets cooked to order in the magnificent kitchen. All the rooms were designed to maximize the incredible views of the river and their beautiful boat dock. While there, we used their computer to print out our boarding passes for the airplane and downloaded our scanned images of our common ancestors, along with the photos we took of our chuppah cloth family tree. Back at the hotel, we had plenty of time to pack, check out, return our rented car, and situate ourselves at our gate at the airport. The somewhat-delayed, two-hour flight back home was quite turbulent at the end because of strong tail winds. We caught a shuttle bus back to our car at the pre-arranged, long-term parking lot, SmartPark, almost immediately after retrieving our luggage.

Almost home, we suddenly were hungry, and we resorted to soup and sandwiches at a 24-hour diner nearby because everything else was closed by 9:00 p.m. By 11:00 p.m. we were happy to be back in our own bed and not looking forward to the alarm going off at 6:00 a.m. the next morning to awaken us to the new semester.

After making Saul breakfast and seeing him off, I decided to go back to bed for a short while. One of my clients was coming at two to begin working on a publication that had been delayed by my vacation. When I opened my eyes, it was almost nine. I decided to rest for another five minutes and then suddenly, it was ten! I spent the next four hours hurriedly unpacking, cleaning up, doing laundry, and catching up with the work that had already been e-mailed. I had to sort it out from 70 e-mails that had accumulated while I was away. So both of us hit the ground running after this vacation, but we both felt that we had really had a long, relaxing, and spiritually-satisfying experience.

Shabbat dinner this past Friday was attended by a long-lost neighbor from our childhood in Logan. Ian had contacted my brother, Ken, to see if Ken, with his employment agency, could find him a job in architecture. After much schmoozing about old times, Ken suggested he call me and arrange to get together. I arranged the dinner right before I left for Florida. Attending the dinner were Larry Shipper, Ian and his daughter, Lisa, Adele and Larry, Beth, Randi, Jamie, Andy, and Presley. Ken was sick with a fever and stayed home to build up his strength for Presley’s first birthday party which they were hosting for 70 people the next day. Erica was sick also, which freed up Adele and Larry from babysitting so that they could join us. Beth’s business meeting was canceled at the last minute, which allowed her to join us, and Ian’s wife didn’t join us because she was still recuperating from a hernia operation. Dinner, which Saul spent all day helping me prepare, was deviled eggs; membrillo that Larry had brought back from his trip to Copper Canyon with Comté cheese, homemade challah, chestnut soup, cod lamaize, Mediterranean vegetable lasagna, caesar salad, Israeli salad, carrot cake, and assorted cookies remaining from December’s family cookie extravaganza. Ian brought cinnamon buns from Eiselen’s Bakery and fresh flowers. In honor of the occasion, we opened a bottle of Hagafen’s 2001 cabernet from the case that we had ordered while we were in the Napa Valley a few years ago. Dinner was congenial and filled with so many animated conversations that it was impossible to keep track of them all.

Presley had a Mickey Mouse-themed birthday party, which we attended after services yesterday. Kenny was feeling better, and was up and around a bit, but said he needed a day or two to finish recovering. Erica had been taking antibiotics and attended also. The house was positively teeming with friends, family, and a zillion children. We returned home for a brief Shabbat nap. Late last night, we went to see the movie, It’s Complicated, which had us laughing our heads off. Alec Baldwin is a particular favorite of mine. The movie was not squeamish about showing off the ravages of aging on these stars and, I think, proves that even old people can look appealing in sexy situations, although maybe only to other old people :o).

Today, we went to visit Saul’s mom at Lion’s Gate. She seemed to be in really good spirits and looked much better and not as swollen. We spent an hour with her, downloading new photographs of the family to her digital picture frame, and talking on the cell phone with Jess, Sami and Ari. The only names she seems to remember now are Rifka and Paul. She did not remember her own sister even after hearing her name. She was delighted to see us, especially Saul, and remembered names and who they were for a few minutes. Then, her mind would seem to wander away. She seems contented with her life and says she would not want to go out. She told Jess to come to visit her. Saul felt better, having seen her, knowing that she is feeling okay and is not suffering in any way.

This week should be a little easier than last because we have begun to get caught up with our work. January and February seem to last forever because there is still such a long stretch of time until spring. The weather today was as dreary as it gets, dark, overcast, with drizzling cold rain. I am hoping the sun will come out tomorrow.

Twenty Ten and Beyond

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We packed up the girls and headed down to Baltimore on Thursday, New Year's Eve Day. After dropping the girls at home, along with some perishable food from our refrigerator, we checked into our hotel room at the Sheraton in Towson and took a nap. I was not feeling really well during most of the weekend because I had caught a cold in just the right side of my head. Does anyone else ever get sick on just one side of their body? We rendezv0used at Jess and Alex's at about 8 p.m. to snack on cheeses, chips, Alex's homemade pizzas, and various dips and to watch the animated movie, The Incredibles. By 10:30, Ari was dozing in his chair, I was struggling to stay awake and dealing with my allergies on top of the cold, and Saul was more than willing to call it a night and head back to the hotel, which we did. Jess said that Alex fell asleep on the couch right after we left, and she and Izzy fell asleep about 11:45 p.m. Only Sami was awake to watch the ball drop. Some live wires we are!

Ari drove back home after midnight, after he had snoozed for a while. He wanted to wake up in his own bed in his own good time on New Year's morning. Saul and I slept late, had a late breakfast in Towson Mall at The Cheesecake Factory, and we all met up again at Jess and Alex's for Shabbat dinner along with Alex's brother and sister and their families. For dinner we had chicken soup with Alex's gigantic perfect matzoh balls, his homemade sausages with sauerkraut and an assortment of mustard, mashed potatoes, and salad. Saul and I left right after dinner because of my cold and allergies. Alex's sister, Naomi had brought along their huge golden retriever, Casey, not realizing that Saul and I would be there.

During the weekend, Jess brought the girls over to use the indoor pool at the hotel. I was starting to feel better, but decided to wait for the following day to swim. Because of Ari's Starwood points, we were allowed until 4 p.m. to check out. The girls had a blast in the pool, as they usually do, including Yona, who becomes very contented and Buddha-like when she is in the pool with Jess. We arranged to have a grown-up movie night so that we could all see Avatar in 3-D at the Egyptian Theater in Arundel Mills. While Alex baby-sat the girls at home, Ari met us at the theater and we had a quick meal in the food court before seeing this truly astounding and visually stunning movie.

Saul, Jessica and I took Sami and Izzy out for lunch the next day at The Cheescake Factory where we shared a variety of delectable appetizers which almost covered our ample table. The girls finished up with ice cream, while we shared a slice of key lime cheesecake--a great way to start the new year. Unfortunately, afterward, when we arrived at the pool, we found a sign saying that the pool was closed due to mechanical problems. With very disappointed children, we checked out at 2 p.m. and tried to think of a way to assuage their discontent. Saul and I had taken our 4-wheel drive suv this time, in case of inclement weather, which just happened to contain a large cup of coins from Chuck E. Cheese's, leftovers from Camp Bubbie and Saba. Back at Jess's house, we found a nearby outpost and took the girls there. When we arrived, it was so crowded that we had to wait in line to get in. There were grown-ups who were playing the machines as well as many children. When the girls went to cash out their tickets, there was only one functioning ticket machine and at the front of the line was a man and his son putting in over 2000 tickets one-at-a-time. We left again with very disappointed children, but Jessica keeps a "prize box" at home and she allowed them to choose prizes which they knew were far better than anything they would win at Chuck E. Cheese's. After a bowl of Alex's sausage chili, Saul and I headed back home.

Our first week in January was spent organizing things. Adele came over on Monday morning and we went through the remainder of Mom's clothing while Saul prepared for the new semester. Beth had car trouble and borrowed our suv to take to work for a couple of days. On Tuesday, our mission was to buy new suits for Saul. He had not had a new one since Jessica's wedding, thirteen years ago. We spent the day shopping, having lunch yet again at Cheesecake Factory in King of Prussia Mall, checking out Nordstum Rack and finally buying two suits, a Calvin Klein and a Michael Kors at Men's Wearhouse, in preparation for the upcoming family bat mitzvah we are attending in Jacksonville, Florida, this coming weekend. Afterward, we met Ken and Randi for dinner at Bonefish Grill along with Beth. Ken had gone to the hospital in the wee hours of Monday morning thinking he was having a gall bladder attack or a kidney stone, but in fact, discovered that all the pain was from overdoing the rich food in New Orleans during their new year's weekend there. He ate very carefully that night. We met our friend, Faith, for lunch at Pumpernick's on Wednesday. In between all that, while our heating and air conditioning people took another stab, unsuccessfully, at fixing our heat pump, we began to sort out three large cartons of letters and photographs, we completely purged our own closet and donated bags and bags of clothing to Impact, and we began scanning very old photographs to take to the bat mitzvah of ancestors who are related to them. My mother's cousin, Ronnie, has never seen photos of their common grandmother, nor did she even know her grandmother's full maiden name. I discovered a photo I had never seen before of my mother as a six-year-old with an aunt of hers that she also shared with her cousin, Ronnie. It was extremely faded out, but with the magic of Photoshop, I was able to enhance it almost magically.

Armed with a slew of reproduced and enlarged photos, we prepared to leave for our vacation in Florida. Thursday, after I downed a large margarita at lunch (my way of preparing for a flight), we picked up dry cleaning and Saul's newly tailored suits and began packing for Florida. Unfortunately, snow was again expected in the wee hours of the morning, and the temperatures in Florida were setting records for the lowest in recorded history. When we awoke at 4 a.m., snow already was blanketing the ground. The airport, again, was reporting no delays, so we loaded up the suv and headed to our pre-arranged airport parking destination. This time, the snow began to lighten as we approached. Our plane left an hour later than scheduled due to the de-icing procedure, but after that, the flight was blessedly uneventful and smooth. The sun was peeking out and the snow had completely ceased by the time we took off. Uncharacteristically for a trip to Florida, we kept our winter coats, gloves and ear muffs.

Our plane was the emptiest I had ever flown, and our bags for which we paid $20 each, were waiting by themselves alongside of the turnstile in the few minutes it took us to arrange for our car to drive down to Orlando from Jacksonville. We stopped for lunch at a Sonny's Barbecue, a favorite of ours when we are in the South, and proceeded on our drive to Orlando. The weather was rainy and extremely cold with temperatures similar to those we had left in Philadelphia.

We are staying at a timeshare resort called Orange Lake, which is right next to our home resort of Summer Bay, because this week was entirely booked at Summer Bay. We were told that this resort would be even nicer than Summer Bay, and because of that, we were quite disappointed with the accommodations, although they are more than adequate with a beautifully landscaped view of the golf course. Lending an additional disappointment is the fact that for several days, the weather has been frigid. Because of the cold rain, we picked up some provisions at a nearby Publix supermarket, and went to an outlet mall on our first day here and bought some nice clothing to fill the new holes in our cleaned out closet. We spent yesterday walking around Pleasure Island and Downtown Disney after seeing the movie, Sherlock Holmes, there. The movie was enjoyable, but I was bothered by all the holes in the plot. Even though the sun was shining, Saul felt it necessary to put up the hood on his winter coat and I kept my hands in my pockets for warmth. It was really too cold to be outdoors for any length of time. We have had huge breakfasts each morning at Cracker Barrel, Golden Corral and Shoney's. Last night, we dined at Bonefish Grill to take advantage of our gift card coupons. Tonight, we had baked potatoes for dinner, having overindulged at the breakfast buffet. We bought two-day, park hopper, permanent tickets yesterday, and had agreed that we would use them only if the temperature was 40 degrees or above today. When we awoke early this morning to check, the temperature in Orlando was 29 degrees and was not expected to top 36 degrees. Saul spent the day catching up with work on the computer and I goofed off in front of the television most of the day, other than writing this blog post. Tomorrow, the temperatures are expected to rise above 40 to perhaps as high as 70 and sunshine is expected until the weekend. We are hoping and planning to spend the next two days park hopping at Disney World. I hope the weather people are right. I am really glad we brought warm clothing, despite the fact that we thought as we packed that we must be crazy bringing all this gear to Florida. We are looking forward to days at the park, a little rest, and then meeting all these distant relatives during the coming weekend in Jacksonville.

Samara’s Corner—Sami in the Poconos

We went to the Poconos for our winter break this year! We had so much fun because we went skiing for the first 2 times! The first time I went to class and the second time I got to go skiing with Daddy, but Izzy tutored with Daddy both times that we went to Jack Frost/Big Boulder. At the end of the week we left and went to Bubbie and Saba’s house 'til Thursday but we had fun there too! We went to The Philadelphia Art Museum!

Poconos Repose

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Saul and I were thrilled and delighted to be on the road, the SUV fully loaded with boxes of food, towels, sheets, and warm clothing, a full half-hour before the realtor was due to arrive with potential buyers for our home, and all this with only a minimal amount of screaming and yelling about my obsessive need to clean everything, and his frustrating assurances that we can buy anything we forgot “up there.” We stopped for breakfast on the way at a Cracker Barrel near Allentown and had a very large and enjoyable breakfast seated directly in front of a toasty fire in their huge stone hearth. Our waitress was a bubbly joy who anticipated our every need and seemed to greatly enjoy her job, kibitzing with everyone around us. The place had the feel of a neighborhood diner where regulars come in every morning and sit at their usual table and have their usual breakfast, socializing with other regulars. The people at the table next to us had brought a bag of Christmas gifts for some of their favorite waitresses, including ours. The woman at the table on the other side of us was writing holiday cards as her meal arrived, “just as she liked it” according to our waitress.

The snow at our home in the Poconos, in Ari’s words, was just enough to lend the right atmosphere, but not so much as to inconvenience anyone in the least. We spent about an hour unpacking and stocking the kitchen and making the beds. Then, we just hung out in front of our own huge fireplace, playing with our iPhones and watching old Betty Boop and Popeye cartoons on television from a dvd player. We went to bed early, reveling in the peace and quiet and anticipation of seeing our children and grandchildren the next day.

Although I had brought plenty of provisions for breakfast, Saul and I decided to dine out at a favorite breakfast place that we have been patronizing for twenty-five years, Van Gilder’s Jubilee. We have not been up to our Poconos home for almost two years and wanted to see if the restaurant was still the same. For the most part, it was. After breakfast, we decided to take a 20-minute drive to The Crossings, a huge outlet mall. We thought that right before Christmas it would be incredibly busy and we were prepared to turn around if it was. As it turned out, we were there early enough in the day to avoid the crowds, truly enjoyed ourselves puttering around in all the shops, and came home with some fantastic bargains. Jess called to say they would be arriving shortly just as we were beginning to get fatigued and the crowds were starting to arrive. When we returned home, I put dinner to warm in the oven, set the table, and Saul started a roaring fire. Everyone was relieved and happy to be sitting down to dinner together. Ari called to say that he would be driving up after work. He arrived before the grownups went to bed and I slept like a baby that night knowing that my whole family was together and that we would have a few relaxing days together. Early in the morning, Izzy wandered downstairs, began a sleepy conversation with Ari, and then told him that he looked just like Uncle Ari. He told her that that was because he really was Uncle Ari. Yona, for the first time ever, slept for a full 12 hours.

Alex and Jess were out with the girls first thing in the morning, all dressed and bundled for a day on the slopes. Saul, Ari and I stayed home to bond with Yona. Ari has hated skiing all his life. When he was six, I promised him that if he went down the slope standing on the skis of one of Beth’s friends who was a ski instructor, I would never bother him about learning to ski again. By age six, he had been skiing numerous times and I was convinced that once he had the thrill of zooming down the hill really fast, he would love it and want to continue to learn. After much trepidation, he tried it, hated it, and I have kept my promise. Yona, as usual, was an angel baby. She babbles away happily whenever she is awake and looks as though she might walk before she crawls. She is just starting to get the hang of getting her knees underneath her, but she takes steps if you stand her up. She turned eight months old this week.

The slopes were nearly deserted. The staff said that the resort had been that way since the opening of the season, and it was not just because it was Christmas Eve day. With rental of the girls equipment, and lift passes for Alex and the girls (Jessica decided not to ski) the total came to over $180. I fear that the lack of disposable income has affected the ski resorts in this part of the country, but perhaps it is just the lack of good skiing weather for the time being. The weather on Friday and Saturday was dreadful. We awoke to misty sleeting rain and wind, and everyone had work to finish up on their laptops which was made possible with a Wi-Fi connection from a new system that Ari brought with him (MiFi) that allows computer hook-ups anywhere. Eventually, we spent the day hanging around the house in front of the fireplace, and eventually, playing cards. We taught Sami how to play poker. For Shabbat dinner we had a choice of soups, Alex’s lentil and his chicken soup; homemade challah; Israeli salad; iceberg lettuce salad; warm edamame; smoked turkey in giblet gravy; black and white rice; chestnut stuffing; cranberry apple chutney; sautéed sugar snap peas; and kohlrabi coleslaw.

On Sunday, the weather finally dawned beautiful, sunny, and not too cold. Most of the snow was washed away, but Alex decided to chance taking the girls skiing again because they both loved it so much. The rest of us began cleaning up the house in preparation to leave, but both Ari and Jessica wanted to have breakfast at Jubilee for old time’s sake, so we dropped what we were doing to get there early, in advance of the usual Sunday morning crowd. In the past, we have had to wait almost an hour for a table if we arrived after 10 a.m. on Sunday. We were surprised to find the restaurant with plenty of tables, and when we left after 10 a.m. the crowds had not materialized.

After breakfast, we went to The Crossings, with Jessica on a quest to find boots and a new ski jacket for Sami. She found the boots, and a gorgeous jacket, and adorable, funky, high-top embroidered sneakers for Izzy. Ari got a toaster oven and two beautiful sport jackets from Brooks Brothers. Saul bought a well-made black leather jacket at Eddie Bauer that fit him like it was tailored to him, a remarkable find. We bought other items as well and were all very pleased with our purchases. Alex called to tell us to take our time shopping, that the girls had exhausted themselves on the slopes, had eaten some lunch and were asleep, and that he was not particularly tired. Because the slopes were not crowded, they were able to make multiple runs down the mountain without having to wait in line for the ski lift. The resorts have done away with the half-day passes they used to sell, but skiing for a whole day without breaks in between is exhausting. When we returned, we finished cleaning a packing and everyone left for home.

Sami and Izzy returned with us as they are off from school this week and both Alex and Jessica have to work. Yona has been taking turns reposing in both Alex’s and Jessica’s offices. This is the first time the girls have been here since Mom’s shiva and they both were a little shocked at the emptiness of her room now that her possessions have been distributed among the family and I have prepared the room for showing the house. On the way home from the Poconos, we stopped for dinner at King Buffet, their favorite sushi restaurant. Jess, Alex and Ari found a fantastic restaurant in Harrisburg on their way home with memorable dishes that Alex is now recreating at home.

We discovered on the net that the Philadelphia Art Museum was open on Monday this week because of the holiday and decided to take the girls there for the family crafts workshops that they run. We had so much fun that the girls did not want to leave and, as it turned out, we never got to see any of the museum itself. We took them to a kosher restaurant on South Street called Chickpeas and had a huge late lunch of kebab, shawarma, hummus, salad and chicken soup. We were all too tired to return to the museum and headed for home where we all took naps. I made the girls a light dinner of ravioli and, after some t.v., they went back to sleep at the usual time.

On Tuesday we were waiting around for our air conditioning compressor to be worked on, but we finally rescheduled when they kept changing their time of arrival later and later. Beth called and we decided to have dinner together at Bacco, a nearby Italian restaurant for which I had purchased a Restaurants.com $25 certificate. The food was very good, but pricey. The coupon made the visit worthwhile. I was also pleased that they had finally gotten rid of the raucous, loud music that had made conversation impossible on previous visits years ago. At dinner, Beth said that she had wanted eat at King Buffet but that it was no fun to eat there alone, so we arranged to meet for dinner there the following evening. When Saul and I returned home, we had some leftover chocolate cake with the girls and curled up in bed together to watch The Parent Trap.

Yesterday morning, Jessica informed us that she was not able to get coverage for the dogs on New Year’s and would not be able to join us for the weekend. We immediately made plans to stay at the Sheraton in Towson, which has an indoor pool, so that we can all be together. So, we are heading off to Maryland again today. Since we will not be in Philadelphia for New Year’s, we headed out early yesterday to the Convention Center to watch the Mummers rehearse and check out the floats. When we arrived downtown, Izzy was hungry and we popped into Reading Terminal Market, across the street from the Convention Center, for ice cream cones from Bassett’s, my favorite place for ice cream on the planet. Then, we were extremely disappointed to discover that the information that was published both on the web and promotional materials had been incorrect. We would not be allowed in to see the Mummers perform until 4:00 p.m. We headed back to the Art Museum where we spent a few hours crafting again and I finally was able to tour some of the museum with the girls. They decided they would rather have dinner with Beth than see the Mummers perform, so we met Beth at the restaurant as planned. Everyone went to bed early.