Rosh Hashanah 5773

 If you are reading this on Facebook, slideshows and videos are often attached. Click on this live link to my blog: http://www.marilyfe.blogspot.com/ if you would like to get the full experience.

The Jewish New Year, Rosh Hashanah, which almost always falls in September, feels more like a new year to me than the traditional Gregorian new year. For me, it is always an end to the freedom of summer scheduling. With teachers in the family, our wonderful vacations have mostly been in the summer. Saul and I have had the joy of spending many of our previous summers creating the memorable experiences of Camp Bubbie and Saba with our granddaughters. Once school begins, we settle into our new routines for the coming two semesters. We see our granddaughters, who have returned to their school-year schedules, only sporadically. The rush and preparations for the onslaught of a chain of Jewish holidays deflects the melancholy of losing the everyday contact with loved ones that existed during the summer, and softens the blow by creating multiple occasions for family interaction. I do love the holidays!

Saul and I have been consoling ourselves, reveling in our new-found, empty-nest freedom by eating out and shopping on the spur of the moment. When Ari came in for a weekend, we had a very enjoyable banquet dinner with our friends Betty and Jerry and Larry at Jasmine in Glenside. For our anniversaries, Jess and Alex’s sixteenth, and our forty-first, we finally got Ari over to Sushi Kingdom, where we all enjoyed the beautifully-prepared and delicious AYCE sushi and sashimi. Ari’s employer, KPMG, sent an ice cream gift to its employees over the summer, which he forwarded to us. We all enjoyed it together at a birthday Shabbat dinner here for Alex along with a carrot cake that Yona helped me bake. We also finally got to visit Tamarindos with Ken and Randi and Randi’s sister, Sherrie, who had told me she loves Mexican food. Those free, magical margaritas worked their spell on us, and Randi, Sherrie and I spent more time giggling and laughing than I can remember doing in many years. The incredible and imaginative food was an added bonus. Like me, neither of them experienced any headache or hangover after overindulging.  On Selichot evening, we had dinner at an Italian restaurant in Jenkintown with Faith, Larry, and friend and fellow congregant, Michael E., before heading over for a lavish dessert buffet at the synagogue. Rabbi Addison introduced and directed a congregational discussion which culminated with us collectively writing a bit of poetry called a pantoum about our congregation.

Jess and Alex’s new kitchen has been under construction all summer and was finally operational when all the water was hooked up just a couple of days before Rosh Hashanah. I felt great joy as I watched the whole family move around their new sleek and spacious kitchen to prepare, serve, and clean up the visually stunning meal that Alex had prepared for us. After all these years, they finally have a kitchen that is worthy of their talents.

During this past week, we kvelled as on Saturday morning, Jess beautifully chanted a particularly long and linguistically difficult haftarah in the main sanctuary of Temple Beth Sholom. Then, a few minutes later, Sami ably read Torah at the well-attended family service that Alex was conducting. We were joined for lunch at Jess and Alex’s by Ari, who drove in from DC for the long holiday weekend, and an old friend of Jessica’s from Temple Sinai days, Beth L., who drove in from New York. Alex, Jess and the girls shopped for and prepared all the food for the weekend and holiday which was augmented by beautiful produce from their CSA. Our meals were all dairy, as they had put away all their meat implements during the construction. Elaine made a challah, apple cake, and kugel, and I prepared challah, special, multi-colored, braided, round breads, and desserts. Jess had emailed a recipe to me for a peanut butter caramel apple galette that she was drooling over. I made it for us, but it is so much work, I will probably not make it again. I think that I can deconstruct it and it will be just as good in another easier format. We’ll see. On Sunday evening, erev Rosh Hashanah we were joined for dinner by Alex’s sister, Naomi, her husband, Matt, and their daughter, Talia. Ari drove us back and forth from Cherry Hill for our family meals, but the three of us attended our services at Melrose B’nai Israel Emanu-El. Our new facilities are under construction and, unfortunately, as each stage of construction waits for the completion of the previous stage, our bimah truly looked like a construction site. Fortunately, the warmth of the people in our congregation makes up for any deficiencies in ambiance.

Accordingly to our beliefs, a new year has now begun. The metaphor that guides our contemplation of our lives is that of a book that has opened in which our deeds are recorded and measured. The book in which we are inscribed will be sealed on Yom Kippur next week. Unlike the secular new year, which is welcomed with merriment, revelry and abandon, the Jewish new year is welcomed with thankfulness for our blessings, followed by fasting and contemplation to atone for our sins. We pray to be inscribed in the book of life for a fruitful and healthy year to come.

Sweet Summer Memories

If you are reading this on Facebook, slideshows and videos are often attached. Click on this live link to my blog: http://www.marilyfe.blogspot.com/ if you would like to get the full experience.

After Sami returned from Camp Ramah, Jess and Alex’s family left immediately for a one week seashore vacation with Alex’s mom, brother and family, and sister and family at Spring Lake, New Jersey. Larry stayed on with us, convalescing until they returned and it was time for us to begin an abbreviated Camp Bubbie and Saba this summer with all three girls for three weeks.

During this period, Beth sent us an email to tell us that she and Paul had decided to drive down with the dogs, stay at the Trump International, which is dog-friendly, and get married in a Las Vegas chapel on August 11, just about the time the older girls were scheduled to go home to begin two weeks of art camp. Since we had the airline vouchers from being bumped on our way home from Arizona, we decided to use them to attend the wedding. Saul had the brainstorm that we could use our RCI timeshare to find a place there for points. Then, we had the incredible good luck of being online searching when an opportunity came up to book a condo at a gold crown resort, The Grandview, for the unbelievably low price of of 7,500 points. It usually would be about 50,000 for the week. Once we had all our arrangements in place, Jess asked if we would consider having Sami with us for the week since it was her twelfth birthday. Since the condo was off The Strip (about 4 miles away) and since it did not contain a casino, we agreed. There was plenty to do in Las Vegas for a week with a child that did not involve casinos.

The three weeks of camp flew by in such a blur that I can only list the highlights of our summer in no particular order. On an absolutely gorgeous day when there was no chance of rain and the temperature was in the eighties, we decided to leave early and spend the day in Ocean City, NJ. We ate breakfast, packed a lunch and snacks, loaded our beach gear into the SUV, and were on 9th Street beach by 11:00 a.m. We finally tore ourselves away from the perfect ocean at 4:00 p.m., showered off the excess sand on the boardwalk, changed into our clothes in the nice public bathrooms, and had a relaxing sit-down dinner inside an air-conditioned boardwalk restaurant, Clancy’s by the Sea. Then we strolled the boardwalk for a while, and had ice cream at Kohr Bros. Of course, no trip to OC would be complete without amusement rides at Castaway Cove. That night, we drove the girls to their house where Alex was waiting to see that they showered and put them to bed, saving them another hour of traveling to our house. Jess was with Ari that evening, having attended a conference in Baltimore. We picked the girls up the next morning and spent the day at the Philadelphia Art Museum where we saw the Arcadia exhibit. The girls made incredible collages in the children’s art room. Izzy actually constructed a three-dimensional roller coaster with the materials available, and Sami used the materials to make a doll for Izzy to put on the ride. She also took home materials which the docents offered in order to make a doll at home the next day. The museum also gave us wonderful cloth bags in which to store the artwork as we toured the museum. I was a bit nervous about taking a 3-year-old into the Arcadia exhibit, but Yona was fascinated with the phone-like, self-guided, audio gadget. Izzy was the one who embarrassed me with her loud and indignant questions about the nudity of the statues on display. The surrounding patrons all had quite a chuckle as I struggled to explain. At the end, the museum provided comfortable drawing stations, cards,  crayons and markers so that we were able to draw our impressions of the exhibit. We spent an hour there, dropping our final efforts into a clear plexiglass box for the staff to put up in slots along the walls on display and admiring the work of other museum-goers.

We took the girls to DC for a few days. Our first evening, we walked with Ari to a nearby favorite Thai restaurant, Thaitanic II. Then we walked a few blocks more into the heart of Columbia Heights to get frozen yogurt. Yona was so animated that she regaled us with “the chicken dance.” After our visit to the National Arboretum earlier in the summer, we couldn’t wait to take them there. If anything, they enjoyed it even more than we did. We made the mistake of showing them the koi pond first. Eventually, we had to carry Yona away kicking and screaming so that we could show her the rest of the place and only got her to quiet down when we promised to show her the frog pond. As they closed, we left to pick Ari up at work downtown and found a convenient parking spot so that we could have dinner at a very nice kosher restaurant, Eli’s. We spent an afternoon at Glen Echo Park where I finally (after three years of waiting for the perfect opportunity) got to ride on the sumptuously ornate old carousel. Alex’s sister Naomi met us there with her daughter, Talia. Afterward, we took the girls to lunch at a nearby Whole Foods and found the most wonderful little homemade ice cream joint called Wow Cow around the corner in the same tiny strip mall. On a rainy day, we spent a few hours in the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History.

Back at home, we spent an afternoon preparing Shabbat dinner for Jess and Alex. Faith and Larry joined us. The girls planned and shopped for the meal. We made cupcakes together at Yona’s insistence and iced them with all the leftover colors of icing that have been accumulating in my freezer. We spent an afternoon at Wheaton Village. Sami, particularly, was in heaven watching a team of artists as they blew various colors of glass into pretty pumpkin shapes in preparation for the fall season. She was disappointed to learn that she must be at least 16 to blow glass in their workshops. As she toured the shops and museum she insisted on taking many photos of all the pieces that interested her. She was particularly taken with tiny glass and clay animals because she likes to work in miniature. We spent a nostalgic day at Beachcomber’s Swim Club as the guest of our friend Larry C. We went to the township’s castle playground several times and, by coincidence, happened to be there on the one day that the fire truck comes and sprays the fire hoses for the day camp kids. The girls declined to get wet this year. It became our habit to follow forays at the playground with homemade ice cream at Freddie Hill. It became a joke with the girls that we were going to smell poop, a reference to the rather pungent farm animal zoo on display for the children. After initial consternation on Yona’s part as Izzy ribbed her, she got the joke and was very happy after that to go and smell poop.

One of the highlights of our summer was attending a production of “The Wizard of Oz” at the Kelsey Theater of Mercer County Community College where Alex’s mom, Elaine, works. She invited us to join her with the girls for this screening of the classic movie. The costumed actors from the theater group provided grab-bags full of props so that the audience could participate in the action, much like Rocky Horror Picture Show fans do at their screenings. In the bag were kazoos for the witch’s music, lollipops for the munchkins lollipop league, soap bubbles for the arrival of Glenda, the good witch, Chinese yoyos for the tornado, balloons for the wizard, etc. Oversize yellow brick-printed beach balls were circulated through the audience as Dorothy and her companions traveled down the proverbial path. An Oz trivia contest was held and prizes were awarded, as well, for those in the best costumes. The winner was dressed as Dorothy’s house that had fallen on the wicked witch. Afterward, we took the girls to dinner at a nearby Friendly’s where Yona had dessert first in the form of a clown-shaped sundae.

Eventually, it was time for the younger girls to return home as we prepared to leave for Beth’s wedding in Las Vegas. Saul, Sami and I went to the hair salon where they spent an hour blowing out Sami’s thick long hair and ridding it of frizz. I had mine straightened also. I was very nervous about the flight. A big storm had arisen and Adele and Larry had what Adele termed “the flight from hell” as they were delayed on the runway, right before takeoff, for several hours and then had a very turbulent flight. Ari, also ran into the same problem. Jessica, who flew that evening, was not so bad. They all flew the day before the wedding. We were scheduled to leave the same day as the wedding, and any delays would have precluded our being there in time. Fortunately, the weather cleared for us. All our flights were on time and we only had a little turbulence. Saul, Sami, and I arrived in time to pick up our rental car, check into our amazing condo, change our clothes and meet the rest of the family at Trump International in time to leave for the wedding chapel, a five-minute ride away.

Ari, particularly, was delighted to attend a wedding in a little, somewhat tawdry, Las Vegas chapel called “The Always and Forever Chapel.” In fact, attending one of these weddings was on his bucket list. Beth, as always, looked half her age and beautiful in a lovely tangerine dress with a matching, jaunty, straw cowboy hat, which Sami adored and appropriated almost immediately with Beth’s approval for her walk down the aisle as a flower girl. We tried to buy one for Sami the whole time we were in Vegas, but never found its match. Larry and Adele, in casual dress (Larry in cargo shorts), gave away the bride to Paul, who was dressed in a nice casual white shirt and black trousers. Paul alternated between beaming and appearing a little awkward, which was very charming. The wedding was broadcast live on web cam to other members of the family and friends, in addition to Ari Skyping it to Ken and Randi when they had a problem. The service was mostly generic and the abundant silk flowers which adorned the chapel lent themselves well to photographic opportunities. It was all over in about half an hour. For the reception, we adjourned to the legendary buffet at the Wynn Hotel and Casino, which also provided great photo ops with its over-the-top abundance of fresh flowers everywhere, accentuated with great hanging globes of multi-colored flowers. Back at the elegant Trump International, after a mind-boggling and stomach-stretching feast, we regrouped, toasted the new bride and groom, and headed off to our respective lodgings.

The next morning, we joined the rest of the family for a lavish breakfast, ensconced on thickly-upholstered chairs in the lobby of the Trump International. Adele and Larry headed off on the hotel shuttle for the airport after that. Paul went off to play golf in the desert heat, which he told me he enjoys!? Afternoon temperatures while we were there were hovering around 103°F. Nighttime temperatures were around 98°F. as the masses of concrete and asphalt radiated the heat they had absorbed during the day. Beth, Ari, Jess, Sami, Saul and I crossed the street to enter a massive shopping mall famed for their well-showcased fashion shows, which allowed us to walk for blocks in air-conditioning to take in various casinos. We strolled the streets of Venice at The Venetian, watching the gondolas traverse the indoor canal, marveled at the size and scope of Caesar’s Palace, getting lost along the way, and picked up tickets for a performance of Cirque du Soliel’s Mystere that evening at Treasure Island. We shopped and snacked and had a marvelous time just gaping at everything around us. Sami went back to Trump International to hang out at the pool with her mom and Ari and Beth, while Saul and I returned to the condo to rest up a bit for the evening. This was our first live Cirque performance, and we were definitely wowwed, although Ari said he was feeling unaccountably angry at the beginning, perhaps having something to do with his fear and dislike of clowns as a child. One of the main characters was a massive and mean-spirited clown “baby.” He also doesn’t like audience participation-type acts, which were also a feature of the show. The rest of us loved it. After the show, we all had an enjoyable late-night dinner in a Grand Lux Cafe in the casino.

The following morning, after an early-morning foray at the South End near our condo to pick up groceries for the week we met for a gigantic breakfast at the nearby, and highly recommended (on the Web) Peppermill Diner. Then, we drove Jess to the airport for her flight home. When we returned, we met Ari, Beth, and Sami at a souvenir shop. They walked on to tour the Stratosphere and took Sami to see Circus Circus while we waited for them in Ari’s room at Trump International. Saul was having trouble walking long distances in the heat and was having a problem with the bottom of one of his feet. I wasn’t doing too well walking in the excessive heat either. Returning to our condo for a rest in the afternoon, we all regrouped later for a snacky dinner at Lobster Me in the Planet Hollywood Casino complex. I had been overdoing the food for so many meals that I couldn’t eat a thing that night, but felt better after sipping ginger ale for a while as we wandered the shop-lined streets of Planet Hollywood. Saul left us to return to Trump International as we traversed the crowded, oven-like streets outdoors to catch the fountain show at the Bellagio and to wander for several hours taking in the ambiance in various casinos. Early the next morning, after a light breakfast at the condo, we arrived at Trump International to take Ari to the airport. Beth and Paul were ready to start their six-hour drive back to Arizona with the dogs and we said goodbye to them at the hotel. After taking Ari to the airport, we drove to the Silverado Casino to see their aquarium, which Sami and Saul particularly loved. Saul dropped me off at the South Point Casino, down the street from our condo, where I bought sunscreen so that we could hang out at our pool. But we never went. After several days of too much sun, heat, and food, we had mac and cheese for lunch and just hung around the condo and watched movies all afternoon. On most evenings after that, we would venture out to tour some more of the casinos, Excalibur, MGM Grand, Luxor, Mandalay Bay, Paris, and New York, New York. Each had its own delights, aside from the casinos themselves.

We set aside one day to tour Hoover Dam, less than a two-hour drive from Las Vegas. Sami was particularly taken with the angel statues and knew all about them from one of her Percy Jackson books. The vistas were amazing, but the heat was unbearable, climbing to 118°F. We did not want to take the time, or spend the money, for the guided tour, but other than the souvenir shop, nothing else was air-conditioned. So we did not stay long. Sami was fascinated by the large and beautiful collection of native American jewelry in the souvenir shop, particularly the turquoise jewelry, which she had never seen before. We told her we would try to find her a piece of native American jewelry for her birthday, but not at a tourist trap. Then, we traveled over that most amazing and most precarious-looking bridge that can be viewed from Hoover Dam into Arizona to buy a lottery ticket for one of the largest jackpots in history. Understandably, Nevada frowns on lotteries. They want the money to stay at home in the slot machines. Our one-hour journey took us through barren desert to one of the most God-forsaken spots I have ever seen, The Last Stop. The place was bustling as people lined up to purchase lottery tickets. Saul was interviewed by a local newsman as he waited in line and appeared on a local news channel. After that, we headed farther into the desert, thinking we could give Sami a glimpse of the Grand Canyon with just a couple of hours drive. After a while, I Googled Grand Canyon West and discovered that it was not the real Grand Canyon, but a smaller geographic phenomenon on an Indian reservation, for which there was a huge fee. We turned around and headed back to Las Vegas. On the way, passing through Boulder City, I found a jewelry shop, Begay Indian Jewelry, that specialized in native American jewelry that had a pretty good reputation on the web. I did not want Sami’s gift to have been made in China. She chose a lovely fetish necklace.

On our way home, we decided to try the buffet at the M Casino, which was just down the road from our condo and which also was highly touted on the Net. It turned out to be every bit as good as the buffet at the Wynn, perhaps even better, and it was far cheaper. The spectacle of a great Las Vegas buffet is difficult to describe, much as a three-ring circus is difficult to describe. There are so many amazing things going on at the same time that one cannot possible absorb all of them. You can focus on a particular act and enjoy it to the fullest, or just let the entirety of the spectacle wash over you until your senses are flooded. This is the essence of Las Vegas, and it is best experienced in small doses. We resolved to return to the M, but not for a few days.

During our stay in Las Vegas, we hung out at our condo pool, toured a hand-made chocolate factory with a very extensive and beautiful cactus garden, viewed the collection of French Impressionist artwork at the Bellagio, ate incredibly-intense gelato in a number of beautiful settings, and watched high-end fashion shows. On the last evening, we went to an outlet mall so that Sami could pick souvenirs for her sisters. As it turned out, we bought her a nail kit that provides a unique stamping method that creates designs on nails. If anyone can develop expertise in learning this intricate technique, Sami can. The other girls have already delighted in being so decorated.

After our flight back, during which we again stopped at Dallas airport for a meal at Pappadeaux’s, school began for Saul. Sami went home for the last week of art camp with Izzy, and Yona came to stay with us for three weeks as an only child. Mostly, Yona and I hung out at home while Saul was at school. Yona loves being at home and being the sole focus of attention. We painted, cooked together, strung beads and buttons, watched movies, read books, played with toys and had a great time together. Yona loves water and could spend an hour in the bathtub every day. When Saul would come home, we would shop, have dinner out, ride the carousel and play in the children’s corral at Plymouth Meeting Mall. She went home on the weekends, but never protested about being in either place.

One of my favorite days with the family was something billed as “The Mess Fest” at the Franklin Institute. Families were supposed to dress in old clothes to experience messy activities. The day began with Jess’s car breaking down after she filled it with gas to meet us there with the girls. The problem turned out to be a dead battery, which luckily, was still under warranty. We continued on to Jersey and picked them up to take to the museum. Alex took care of the car. The museum provided a plethora of imaginative, hands-on experience that involved creating a bubble-monster, painting with toothpicks and shaving cream, walking through troughs of cornstarch mixed with water, blowing ribbons of soap bubbles through a mesh-wrapped straws, chasing water beads around a plateful of sand, shooting off Alka-Seltzer rockets, exploding multi-colored balls out of trash cans, etc. etc. In the one off-note of the day, a demonstration to create elephant toothpaste went awry. The crowd was warned multiple times that the chemical reaction should not be touched as it could permanently dye skin and fabric and cause rashes. The children sat in a semi-circle well back from the large bottles while the adults stood behind them even further back. The initial explosion sent clouds of orange goop flying through the air to land on those in the very back, including me and Saul. As promised, the orange coloring did not wash off, but I was not so worried about my clothes. I had forgotten about my new Coach handbag which had large iodine-colored spots all over that did not even lighten with soap and water. We went, splotched with orange stains, to dinner at Singapore in Chinatown. Luckily, as soon as the clothes touched OxiClean, all stains disappeared. I made a poultice with it for my handbag and went lightly as I had ruined the last Coach handbag cleaning it with saddle soap. I didn’t do too much damage this time. I love Coach bags, but I am not very lucky with them.

All the girls have gone back to school now. I love having my freedom back, but I also really miss our time together.

My computer had a major crash this summer and I was dismayed to find out that at the Apple Store, it is characterized as a “vintage” computer. In my head, it was only a few years old, but in reality, it was seven! That was put in perspective by the 18-year-old who was kind enough to carry it out to the car after the hard-drive had been somewhat restored. I realized that he was only 11 when I bought it! This is my first blog from my new laptop computer, a 15-inch MacBook Pro with 2.6 GHz Intel Core and 8 GB of memory. May it last another seven years! I am planning to buy a large cheap monitor to which I will link it when I have intricate desktop publishing work to do. The eyes are not the same after seven years either!

My summer was so chock-full of sweet memories, that I have probably left out a few. Getting my photos together since the crash so that I could get back to my blog on a regular basis has been a trial, but, little-by-little, I know it will coalesce. Computers are always changing the way we live, and I am determined to keep changing with them. I am enthralled by the possibilities in modern life presented by instant access to information through laptops, iPads and smartphones. I’m looking forward to a more regular updating of my blogs and that includes trying out new recipes and continuing to catalog the old ones. I have resolved that the house will be sold when the right buyer comes along. I intend to enjoy it without stressing in the meantime. I am looking forward to the changes and adventures of tomorrow as long as we can encounter them in good health.

Lightening Up… (continued)

If you are reading this on Facebook, slideshows and videos are often attached. Click on this live link to my blog: http://www.marilyfe.blogspot.com/ if you would like to get the full experience.

Our whole third week of June was spent clearing out junk and room-by-room, fulfilling a four-page punch list that was given to us by the realtor who had sold both Beth’s house and Jamie’s house in record time, Linda Ventola. This included such items as replacing bedspreads, towels, bathmats, lamps, chandeliers and faucets. We stored, moved, donated and sold many items of furniture. We gave away my large color Tektronix laser printer to a Masonic brother of Saul’s. We wrapped most of our art, photographs, and cherished bric-a-brac in bubble wrap and stored it away. We covered our old-fashioned looking sofa with a new, leather-look slip cover. We washed all our windows inside and out. Linda recommended a cleaning service that was remarkably efficient. Having cleaned my house myself all these years, it was a pleasure to have absolutely everything spic-and-span all at one time. Except for Passover, I clean on an as-needed basis.

That Friday, we went to Jess and Alex’s for a special Shabbat dinner to say goodbye to Sami who was leaving for Camp Ramah on the following Thursday. By Sunday, Father’s Day, we were sick of rearranging and going through boxes of dusty papers and books, but the clean-out work was almost done and we had completed much of the four-page list and were feeling very satisfied as the house began to shape up. Jess was checking out items for her new kitchen at IKEA in Plymouth Meeting and afterward, decided to drive over with Sami and Izzy to assess our progress and have dinner with us. Alex had taken Yona to visit his mother in Cranberry. We had dinner at Tamarindo’s, which worked out beautifully because they had vegetarian and fish options that we all loved. Saul had a whole crispy-skinned grilled red snapper and, of course, I was high on their incredible free margaritas. Jess presented Saul with a new cover for his iPhone that had photos of the girls laminated into it. I slept like a baby that night between the margaritas, the fact that the house was almost completed, and that we were signing the papers to put it up for sale the next day.

Linda seemed extremely pleased with the choices we had made based on her list and we signed the papers while her assistant, Michelle, photographed each room. Within the next couple of days, we finished most of the final touch-up that was necessary.

On Wednesday evening, June 20, Melrose B’nai Israel Emanu-El officially moved out of the building that it had erected as its home for over 50 years and into its own wing of a building occupied by Keneseth Israel on the Old York Road Corridor a few miles away. After a light dinner and mincha service, with klezmer accompaniment, our 11 Torahs were removed from the aron ha kodesh (ark) and placed in the hands of people seated in a number of convertibles that had been assembled in the parking lot for the purpose of moving them to their new home. The temperature outside was in the high nineties, but at least it was not raining. While the congregants drove over and waited for the Torah procession to arrive, our ranks swelled as we were joined by many other members of the community and members of KI. The convertibles parked at the police station a few blocks away and selected members were honored with the privilege of walking the Torahs the final distance and carrying them into their new home, among them, Saul and Larry, who is presently co-president of the congregation. The event was so well attended that every chair in the facility was pulled into service and there was standing room only in the back. Welcoming speeches were delivered and our first ma’ariv service was held in the new building. A lavish dessert buffet followed. Our friend, Faith, who attended also, met us a little later at Friendly’s for ice cream to celebrate as there was such an unexpectedly large crowd surging toward the dessert table we were a little “cowed.”

Early Thursday morning, we drove to Cherry Hill to see Sami off on the bus to camp. Then we took Izzy and Yona to the Adventure Aquarium in Camden for the day. We had a blast there! The crowds had not yet arrived and Yona had an entire tank of manta rays practically to herself in a special tot area that was built especially for small children. For once, Izzy was too tall for an activity. On the third floor, a large area had been opened designed especially for children so that they could climb, crawl, play, and make music. We stayed until Yona showed signs of exhaustion. Saul was thrilled because after he dropped us at the entrance, he discovered a parking area right next to the handicapped area especially for hybrid cars. The temperature hit 102 degrees that day, and we were very thankful for the short walk back to our car.

We called his sister to see if she wanted to join us for a late lunch. She had just moved into her new apartment and when we arrived to pick her up, she came armed with coupons for a nearby Chinese buffet that was excellent. Yona had fallen asleep almost immediately when we got into the car and it took her almost an hour before she was fully awake in her umbrella stroller in the restaurant and ready to eat something. The selection of food was so extensive, feeding the koi in the fountain in the lobby so entertaining, and the afternoon so hot and humid that we lolled there for several hours sampling various tidbits before taking the kids home. We were so full that dinner was out of the question. As we returned home, Saul got a phone call from our Craig’s List ad about our pool table, the last item left in the basement. We had arranged for Danny to clean and paint the floor, and were afraid he would have to paint around it. Therefore, we were delighted that evening when the three guys arrived with cash, a pick-up truck and the know-how to move it out.

The next morning, the house spotless, lock-boxed, uncluttered, and ready for presentation, Saul and I packed our bags and headed for a mini-vacation with Ari in DC. We had a great, relaxing time. I had not done any personal shopping for summer clothes since last year and most of my tops had small holes in them from repeated washing. Why are most clothes now being made out out of tissue-paper thin cotton or non-breathing rayon or polyester? We spent an enjoyable afternoon together at the Queenstown Premium Outlets and sitting at the waterside at Harris’s on the Eastern Shore. Ari, Saul and I were all extremely pleased with our purchases. We ate out together at some of our favorite places. We did little chores around Ari’s house, like hanging art, doing laundry, stocking the refrigerator, etc. During the week, while Ari was at work, Saul and I took a drive through the National Arboretum. With scores of trips to DC over the years, we had never known it existed, and had been driving by within two blocks of it since Ari’s days at GW. To say we were blown away by the size of the grounds, the beauty of the landscaping, the incredible buildings and facilities, and the diversity of the flora and fauna would be an understatement. And of course, like most of the activities of this type in DC, it is all free!

We returned home in the evening of June 26. Our friend Larry, who is single, was due to have laparoscopic surgery on the morning of June 27 to repair a fistula. Larry has not been in good health since back in September of last year and has been in and out of the hospital while doctors have been trying to find the source of the problem. A bout that put him in a hospital while he was traveling in Cuba recently was the last straw. We waited at Abington Hospital, along with his friend, Ken, while the surgery was performed. When it was over, the surgeon told us that he had discovered a hard baseball-sized mass that required more extensive surgery to remove. Larry wound up with a larger incision and two resectionings. The mass turned out to be benign. The surgeon told us that he would be hospitalized for at least a week. We had expected him to convalesce with us after two days. We stayed with him for a few hours when he was brought up to his room. Then together, we made the decision to return to DC as he would be under constant professional care and would have plenty of friends to visit him and look after his needs. We could always return home in three to four hours if necessary.

We used Thursday to catch up with mail, laundry, and finishing a publication on which I had been working. Saul, who is now president of the faculty senate, had scheduled a meeting at Chestnut Hill College for Friday late morning. On Friday morning, we again packed our bags, headed to the meeting, delivered the disc for the finished publication to my client, and then traveled on to DC. We picked Ari up from work and had an early dinner at The Heights nearby in Columbia Heights, Ari’s neighborhood.

Later that evening, a huge thunderstorm with over 80-mph winds swept through DC downing huge trees and power lines which caused a near catastrophic power outage for more than 1.5 million customers in Virginia, DC and Maryland. We were among the lucky ones because we did not lose power at all. During the following week, and for 11 days in all, temperatures in DC hovered around 100 degrees. With no air-conditioning, and facing a possible week of those temperatures with no power, and in some cases, no clean water, families all around the area underwent hardship and stress, while road crews came by the hundreds from as far away as Canada to work under sweltering conditions to restore power as quickly as possible. Everywhere we traveled, unusual conditions prevailed. In Target, people were sitting around on the floors near electrical outlets, cooling off and charging their cell phones. A Thrift Drug that had retained their power while most of their neighborhood had lost it had been just about cleaned out and was in the process of restocking. Traffic lights that were dead for days, even at large intersections, required careful traversing with the prevailing understanding that they were to be treated as two-way stop signs. The Motel 6 chain in certain areas near DC was charging $500 per night. The local news channels interviewed people that had to trash large quantities of expensive food stored in their freezers and refrigerators. The malls were inundated with people trying to cool off and get something to eat. Several people were killed or maimed by falling tree limbs. During the height of the storm, I was never so happy to be in a 103-year-old, three-story, brick row house. Despite all this, we elected to stay in DC in the comfort of Ari’s air-conditioned townhouse because as things turned out, Larry was hospitalized for almost two weeks.

On July 4, we had breakfast at a dim sum restaurant we recently discovered in Silver Spring, Oriental East. It was as good as the others we usually frequent, but was much less expensive. Then, we went for a drive out to Costco in College Park, but found it closed for the holiday. Since we were already part of the way there, we then drove to Arundel Mills where we toured Maryland Live! the new casino there. Ari played the slots for a while and won a grand total of less than $2. At least he didn’t lose! We spent a few hours happily and successfully shopping at the mall before heading back to DC for the national fireworks display. We arrived half an hour early and found a parking spot near a high school that sits on one of the highest vantage points overlooking the Washington Monument. We let the air-conditioning run until it was time to walk a block down to view them. They were as spectacular as we remembered from picnicking on the fourth, by Lincoln’s left foot at the Lincoln Memorial, on the National Mall, for several years while Ari was in college. The crowd in which we were standing, fueled by much partying and beer, was high spirited and, at various intervals, broke into spontaneous renditions of “America the Beautiful” and “The Star-Spangled Banner.” Returning to Ari’s, we discovered that we no longer need to stand in a crowd in 90-degree weather. From his roof deck, we had a 360-degree view of multiple professional fireworks displays, some so close that the ashes were falling onto the roof and we discovered later that we had all been blackened from leaning on the railings. The displays, both homemade and community, continued until well past midnight. Next year, we hope to host a party at Ari’s house. During our time in DC, we also saw the movie, Moonrise Kingdom, which was offbeat and charming, at the E Street Cinema. We tried a new restaurant that opened down the street from Ari, Kangaroo Boxing Club, that has johnnycakes that are habit forming. We also discovered a great joint in Silver Spring, Urban Barbecue.

We drove back home on the Sunday afternoon following July 4. Not a soul had visited to look at our house the entire two weeks we had been away, and since it had gone on the market. Very discouraging! On Monday, after unpacking our suitcases, we went out for breakfast and a dozen bagels at Manhattan Bagel. Then we began shopping to restock the house, first at Trader Joe’s, then at Costco, and then to Produce Junction. Around noon, we got the call from Larry that he was expecting to be released shortly. We went home, unloaded all the groceries, and then drove to Abington Hospital. We all waited, impatiently, for three more hours until they finally released him just after he had dinner. As we drove home, we called our friend, Faith, who was picking up Larry’s mail and asked her to join us at home for pizza and also to bring the mail. I called and ordered the pizza and it was delivered just a few minutes after we arrived. Larry was in good spirits, being out of the hospital, and joined us for a slice and to schmooze for a little while.

On Tuesday, while I did laundry from our trip, I made Larry some scrambled eggs for breakfast. It was the first decent night’s sleep and decent meal he had had in two weeks. I spent the afternoon preparing some food for the week, deviled eggs, cup custard, kasha and bow ties, and seared tuna.  A visiting nurse came to see Larry and change his bandage.

We all took it easy on Wednesday. I blogged all day while Saul spent most of the day reading The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, a rare pleasure for him. We had watched the English language movie together at Ari’s, which had spurred him to read the book. Now, he has to see the movie again so he can understand what he was watching. We defrosted a big container of Alex’s smoked turkey soup with matzoh balls and had it for dinner. Larry’s health has been improving with each passing day.

By Thursday, Larry needed us to take care of something at the bank for him, and while we were out, we decided to have lunch at a new Hibachi Buffet Restaurant that was opening a little north on Rt. 309. We were disappointed to find that it was still under construction. We decided to have leftovers again for lunch at home. Later in the evening, while Larry turned in early, we treated Ken and Randi to dinner at Earl’s in Peddler’s Village. I had been holding a Restaurant.com certificate for the place for almost a year. When I called to make a reservation and gave them our last name, they knew Saul’s first name from a previous reservation. We have not eaten there in at least six years, so I was shocked that our name was still in their database. The ambiance of the place is top notch and the food is all locally-sourced. We shared a couple of appetizers, and salads. Our entreés were expertly prepared and beautifully presented. The service was friendly and very efficient. We went back to Ken and Randi’s for a while after dinner to catch up with each others’ lives and try to plan a trip to Florida for Thanksgiving.

Since there had been no calls on showing the house, and no signs that there would be, I decided to mess up my kitchen by making Shabbat dinner at home. Our realtor told us that she had sent out 3,500 flyers initially and received not one response. Very discouraging! First thing in the morning, Saul took Larry to his doctor for removal of his staples. I stayed home and blogged. When the guys called to say they were on the way home from the doctor, and it went okay, I made a batch of challah dough and got ready to go out to lunch with them. They picked me up and we drove over to nearby Metropolitan Diner where the owner, Jill, who was a student at Engineering and Science of both Saul and Larry, stopped by our table to chat with us for a while. We drove across the parking lot and I ran into Costco myself to buy a few items while the guys waited. Then we made yet another trip to Trader Joe’s so Larry could walk around a bit. I spent the afternoon preparing dinner—homemade challah, chicken soup and matzoh balls from my freezer, baby spinach salad with hot sesame dressing, chicken paprikash, kasha and bow ties, steamed cauliflower, and jumbo peanut butter, oatmeal, and raisin cookies. Faith joined us for dinner. I really missed Beth! Larry went off to bed early, Faith left shortly after, and Saul resumed reading the book that was consuming him. I polished off the Sunday New York Times Crossword Puzzle in two hours before I fell asleep. I am now playing the puzzle on the iPad that Larry gave me for my birthday, and it is so much nicer to use than pencil and paper! I am allergic to inks and toners, so taking the iPad to bed with me to read a book or play games is so much cleaner and hypoallergenic!

Larry wasn’t up to Saturday morning services yet, so we stayed in and relaxed on Saturday, having a large, late, lox and bagels breakfast. I caught some old movies on television and put the house and kitchen back into its formerly pristine state, while Saul finally finished the book. Larry’s co-president, Lori, and her husband, Saul, came for a visit on Saturday evening.

Sami was due to return from her half session of camp on Sunday and the kids were leaving the next day for a beach vacation with Alex’s mother and sister and brother’s families. Saul and I drove over to Jersey with all our beach paraphernalia for them to use, hugged and kissed our granddaughters to pieces, and had an early dinner at Yuki Hana, a new all-you-can-eat sushi joint that is near their home. Sami chose the restaurant, having been seriously starved for sushi at Camp Ramah. From her conversation, we could tell that she truly enjoyed camp very much. We headed home early right from dinner, as most of Sami’s clothes had not arrived yet from camp or had disappeared in the laundry and Jess needed to buy her some things to take on vacation. Later that evening, a violent thunderstorm rolled in with continuous loud crashes of thunder and lightening right over our heads.

This morning, I went with Saul to the doctor for him to have overdue blood work and a routine check-up. The regular nurse was on vacation and the substitute gave up after two sticks. As a result, we had to spend an additional hour and parking fees at Abington Hospital for them to take his blood sample. He had been fasting for the sample, so he was quite hungry by the time they were finished with him. We had a nice breakfast at Lancer’s Diner, across from the Willow Grove Naval Air Station, where Saul had been stationed for boot camp and training when he was a teenager. Jacksonville Lancers was also the name of his drill team while he was serving time in the Navy. Gazing at the airfield through the large windows as we had breakfast brought back lots of old memories for both of us. The day turned into a rather hedonistic one in the end. We drove from Lancer’s to Grin Nails in Spring House where we both had mani/pedis. Neither of us has done this in a few years, and Saul was long overdue. His feet in sandals were positively awful and we bought him a great pair of casual shoes on our shopping trip to hide them. Among our wonderful treatments as we sat side-by-side were hot rock massages to feet, legs and backs. While I had taken Saul with me for pedicures a few times a couple of years ago, he had never had a manicure before. I think he enjoyed it almost as much as the pedicure. By the time we arrived home, I think Larry, who has been feeling better each day was getting cabin fever. He wanted to drive somewhere where he could walk a bit with a shopping cart for support. We had forgotten to get Saul fish oil capsules that he takes for his arthritis on our previous forays, so we went back, yet another time,  and bought some other odds and ends as well. Larry was doing so well and it was such a beautiful day that we asked if he wanted to go for a drive to Owowcow for ice cream. He had never been there and was game for it. We drove the 23 miles to Ottsville, and each of us had the 5-scoop, $5 special because we could not decide on just one or two flavors. None of us were hungry for even a light dinner after that. Returning home, we lounged for a couple of hours before we finally were up for some food. I made Larry another scrambled egg and Saul and I had tea and crackers.

In the afternoon, as we had pulled up to Costco, our realtor called to tell us that since we had put the house up for sale, nothing had gone up for contract except a couple of houses that were very low end. She felt that the record heat and July 4 holiday week had made people lethargic about looking for new homes. We decided to wait and see if things pick up next week. With Larry convalescing here and the girls coming for an abbreviated Camp Bubbie and Saba next week, we are not pushing at the moment. We are enjoying our “light” house for now and trying to remain positive. We feel that we have done everything in our power to make this happen, and that it will happen when it is time. Both of us believe that things happen a certain way for a reason and we are content to wait and see how the future develops.

Lightening Up… or Lightning Up?

If you are reading this on Facebook, slideshows and videos are often attached. Click on this live link to my blog: http://www.marilyfe.blogspot.com/ if you would like to get the full experience.

A long time has passed since I have written. In fact, almost two months have gone by and they have been very productive months indeed. My last blog post was about hoarding and the deleterious effects this can have, sapping one’s time and energy. I am very pleased to say that Saul and I have used the last two months to get rid of almost all the unnecessary stuff that has been clogging our attic storage  spaces, humongous basement, closets, and drawers. The result is that we both feel a tremendous relief at having organized our lives. What is left is the stuff we actually need and use. We were able to sell some of our unwanted items on Craig’s List. The baby grand piano in the foyer that hasn’t been played for many, many years went to a 10-year old boy who lives, literally, around the corner. He came with his father and a piano tuner who took it apart to assess it. Although we had owned it for almost 30 years, we learned a great deal about its previous history in a few minutes. The excitement of this child was palpable when he first laid eyes on the piano. Ari had been the same way when we had purchased it for him. The pool table was purchased by a guy in his early twenties, who came with two friends, a pickup truck, the appropriate tools, and the know-how to carefully disassemble it for moving to a new location. The dented samovar was purchased by someone who offered more than the asking price because we held it for her. We gave away an old coffee table and console table to a young couple that was just getting their first apartment. We sold an old cabinet that nobody but my mother ever liked. We went through carton after carton of old useless papers. We went through thousands of books. We donated cartons of books to Chestnut Hill College, which indirectly sends them to the Phillipines. Saul hurt his back for a few days lugging these, and ten cartons of books with Jewish content to Temple Sinai. Impact sent 20-foot trucks twice to haul away donations and then finally gave up. Adele and Larry came and emptied out half a closet in which I had been storing items for a garage sale. In the end, we hired a wonderful hauling service to clean out the rest. They worked tirelessly in very hot weather and filled a large dumpster on our driveway past the brim and hauled away another packed 20-foot truck with items they felt they could sell. With a few more trunkfuls that we delivered to Impact, we felt elated and that we were finished for the time being. Looking back on the process, it is hard to believe the volume of stuff that has been removed, all of it useless to us and unwanted by our children.

Faith’s last Bible class of the season took place in its usual venue at Temple Sinai and some of the ladies prepared a light luncheon to mark the occasion. I have been attending this class on Thursday mornings for almost 25 years. I hope that, even if the house is sold, I will find occasions to make it back to this area every so often to attend in the future.

I hosted a Mother’s Day brunch for family and friends as I have for many years. It was a lovely day that I knew would be the last time my home would appear pretty much as it had for the last 19 years and probably the last time I would be hosting a big party here. Beginning the following Monday morning, the clean-out process began in earnest.

To mark the end of the Religious School year, we attended a poignant Dalet Class promotion program for Sami.

While Ari was in for Shavuot, we attended my cousin Alan’s daughter Emily’s bat mitzvah. Unsurprisingly, it was a very lyrical and melodic service, in keeping with that part of the family’s musical bent. The synagogue was small and welcoming. Emily, whom we have not seen in a number of years, is a pale and lovely young lady whose resemblance to my maternal grandmother is striking. We were gratified to learn that it was because of her own desire and initiative that she undertook the training and responsibility to become a bat mitzvah. The celebration and luncheon following the service at an historical inn on Philadelphia’s Main Line was lively and fun. The three of us, my brother’s family, and our other cousin, Bob, were able to catch up with Alan’s life a bit and get to know Emily a little better. Adele and Larry and Beth were in the throes of the moving process and could not attend.

About the beginning of May, my niece Beth sold her house next door within a week of putting it on the market. Saul, Ari and I arranged to take off some time to help her drive her stuff and her dogs to Tucson, Arizona, right after Memorial Day weekend. Her fiancé, Paul, bought a condo and is taking a nursing degree there. In addition to packing up and moving across the country, she was faced with the unpleasant task of seeing that her aged dog, Yenta, her companion of 13 years, was put to sleep in the most humane way possible. Yenta had been living on pain killers and could barely walk. She was in no way up to making the long and stressful trip. Beth also gave up her engineering job. She has really shaken up her life.

Our week-long trip to Tucson and back turned out to be quite an enjoyable vacation in many ways. Ari came home for Memorial Day Weekend which was also Shavuot this year. We attended services with Jess and Alex and the girls. The older girls did a beautiful job reading Torah in the main sanctuary at TBS. Ari stayed with us and worked remotely after that. We found that we were all able to leave on Wednesday afternoon instead of early Thursday morning as we had planned, so we were able to get a jump on the driving. Saul and Ari alternated riding in Beth’s car with the dogs, while I rode shotgun in the 20-foot rental truck with whoever was not driving with Beth (because of my allergy to the dogs). Many of the motels along the way were amused that we needed both pet-friendly and pet-free rooms wherever we went. On that first day, we drove about 300 miles, stopping in Harrisonburg, Virginia, around 9:00 p.m. With difficulty, we climbed a slippery grassy hill behind the Sleep Inn to have a late dinner at O’Neill’s Grill just before closing. On Thursday morning, after a motel breakfast, we left around 9:00 a.m. We traveled about 650 miles that day. We stopped at a Cracker Barrel for lunch and it was so hot that Beth had to keep running out to make sure the dogs were okay in the car. The last few hours of the 12-hour drive were the worst part of the entire trip. We drove into a torrential thunderstorm as darkness fell. We were all exhausted and found ourselves on rain-slick roads in the middle of nowhere Tennessee. Ari was having trouble locating a pet-friendly motel within reasonable driving distance. He finally located one, a Jamison Inn, in Jackson, Tennessee. It was adequate. We walked across the parking lot to have dinner at a Buffalo Wild Wings. By Friday morning, we discovered that we were better off leaving by 8:00 a.m. The Jamison Inn had a somewhat nicer free breakfast than usual.

Our third day of driving was much more pleasant. We drove over 700 miles, but by then, we were mostly driving on sunny, flat, lightly-traveled highways where the speed limit was 80 mph. We hit some heavy traffic when we reached Dallas around the 5:00 p.m. rush hour, but we were only slowed down for about half an hour. Having had a sketchy experience stopping for lunch at Cracker Barrel, we decided that snacking in the air-conditioned car was a better bet. I had loaded up with a bag of goodies at Trader Joe’s before the trip, and we supplemented this with purchases at gas stations along the way. Using Google Maps and Trip Advisor, late in the afternoon, I found a barbecue joint in Hope, Arkansas, that was highly recommended and had outdoor seating so we could keep the dogs with us. We never would have found Big Jake’s without the Internet as this gem was hidden on an industrial road behind a strip of the usual fast food joints. In addition to the homey feel and fantastic barbecue and sides, this place is known for its fried pies. With much difficulty, we chose five different flavors from among about two dozen. Hope, Arkansas, coincidentally, has the distinction of being the locale of the childhood home of former President William Jefferson Clinton which, we gathered from the locals, doesn’t get a lot of tourist traffic.

We spent our third night in Abilene, Texas, at a Best Western. We were still full from our late lunch and went to bed as soon as we arrived. In Abilene, the waffle iron at our free motel breakfast produced waffles shaped like the state of Texas. Everywhere we traveled in Texas we encountered things emblazoned with the state shape or the lone star—even on the highway bridges. Also emblematic of Texas, there is the perception of so much space that new things are built next to old things that have not been torn down or cleared away. One example would be a line of four gas stations right next to each other with only the second one in line being functional. The others had been defunct for at least 20 years. That, plus unsightly commercial/industrial complexes and slapped-together, awful-looking buildings made for much ugly scenery along the highways.

Our reward for pushing so hard to get the bulk of the miles behind us in the first few days was so that we could take our time at the end when we were sure to be road weary. Our fourth day became unexpectedly difficult when we traveled the highway in West Texas that took us along the Mexican border. We encountered high winds that were random and intermittent on roads where there was virtually no speed limit and the semis were passing us at 90+ mph while we had, as the saying goes, “the pedal to the metal.” On several occasions, a sudden gust of wind caught us and just about blew us off the road. Ari, who was driving the truck at the time, found himself gripping the steering wheel with headache-producing tension. When we stopped for gas, Saul drove the truck for the last few hours until we arrived in Deming, New Mexico. There was a customs-type border crossing between Texas and New Mexico where cars and trucks are stopped and are subject to questioning guards and possible searches. Luckily, after a brief wait in line and a few questions about our destination, we were waved through. After that, we began encountering road signs telling us that “Dust Storms May Exist” which in my case caused both amusement and consternation. Luckily, despite the high winds in Texas, we did not have a chance to answer this existential question in New Mexico. Unlike our previous days, we stopped at around 4:00 p.m. The brand-new Hampton Inn where we stayed was the best of all our hotels thus far. We had an early and very pleasant dinner at a Mexican restaurant in quaint downtown Deming called Si Senor which, accurately, was highly touted on Yelp. By the time we were leaving, the restaurant had almost filled up.

Our object was to arrive in Tucson on Sunday morning. Beth had hired a team of movers to unpack the U-Haul on Sunday morning, but since their hours were not flexible, she rescheduled them for Monday so that we would not be pressured to arrive before noon. After yet another very nice free breakfast, we headed for Tucson feeling that the last 250 miles would be a piece of cake compared to all the long hours of driving we had done, and it was. We arrived about 12:30 p.m. on Sunday morning, almost at the time we had set for ourselves. Paul met us at the gate of the condo complex and Saul, Ari and I switched over to Paul’s Mercedes SUV for the rest of the trip. We drove over to our gorgeous resort, Loew’s Ventana Canyon, within walking distance of the condo complex, and situated ourselves into our beautiful and spacious rooms. While Beth and Paul unloaded her car and small rented trailer, Saul, Ari and I lunched on cool salads at a nearby restaurant called Jasper. Then, we decided to indulge in one of our favorite pastimes, looking at real estate, since there were many Sunday open houses. Despite all our previous driving, we visited three open houses. One home was so cool that we revisited with Beth a few days later. That night, we all had dinner together at a very good Chinese restaurant.

Because we had booked our resort stay in Tucson after June 1, it was no longer prime time, and we stayed for the remarkable rate of $99 a night, which included a $25 per day food voucher that covered the most elegant white-tablecloth breakfast imaginable. Nestled against the side of a mountain, we had breathtaking views of enormous branched saguaro cacti, natural waterfalls, spectacular floral landscaping with soothing water features, and a beautiful pool area with hot tub and mini waterfall. The views from our rooms and balconies were just as gorgeous.

Beth’s movers arrived on Monday morning, way ahead of schedule, and she had to scramble out of bed to accommodate them. Ari went over to assist, while Saul and I hung out at the resort. We met for a late lunch at Beyond Bread. With the two days we had left over, Beth came over and joined us for breakfast and hung out at the pool while Paul was in class. Monday evening, we all met for a congenial and delicious dinner at Fleming’s where I used up a bunch of Bonefish Grill (they are related) gift certificates I found in a drawer when I was clearing out my old bedroom furniture. Lightening up does have its rewards! We helped Beth choose a new living room sofa and went to see the cool house we had seen on our first day in Tucson. On Tuesday evening, Beth met us and we had dinner again at Beyond Bread and dessert at a marvelous gelato place nearby. We were supposed to board the last flight of the afternoon (around 3:00 p.m.) out of Tucson, stopping in Dallas, and on to DC. Saul and I were to be picked up the next day in DC and delivered home to Philadelphia by Alex. Our flight was cancelled due to a huge thunderstorm and flooding in Dallas. In rescheduling, we were able to arrange to split up in Chicago, where we would catch a flight to Philadelphia and Ari would continue on to DC. Saul, Ari and I had a cab take us to a nearby Marriott, where we had a disappointing light dinner in their bar/lounge. It was too hot to walk even a few blocks to a restaurant, and we were exhausted with the whole airport scene. Our flight was rescheduled for very early in the morning on Thursday, so early in fact, that we caught the shuttle with some of our flight crew at dawn. So many flights had been cancelled because of the storm that the airport was pandemonium when we arrived because of overbooking, and we all volunteered to be bumped to a later flight in exchange for $300 in flight vouchers and additional food vouchers. To his chagrin, they managed to find a seat for Ari on the original flight. Saul and I waited comfortably for about 3 hours for the next flight, which was also overbooked. We volunteered again, and this time when we were bumped, we were given $500 vouchers and did not have to wait at all. They held the plane at the gate next to us for 10 minutes while we were re-ticketed through Dallas instead of Chicago. We were hustled aboard and took off almost immediately. Our layover in Dallas of 2-1/2 hours was just enough time to have a lovely meal at Pappadeaux Seafood Kitchen. We could have volunteered to be bumped a third time and have made another $300 and had our hotel and meals comped, but by then we were road-weary and I had a special reason for wanting to be home on Friday morning.

Our friend, Marianne, had called just as we were leaving for Arizona. She remembered the carrot cake I had made a year earlier on Mother’s Day and told me she had been dreaming about it for a long time. Her twin sister was coming to visit from Jerusalem and they were having a family party to celebrate. She asked if I would make the cake for the family get-together and some cookies for her grandchildren. She offered to pay me, but I told her she could take us out to lunch sometime instead. The first thing Saul and I did when we awoke on Friday morning (after having arrived home courtesy of a late-nate pickup at Philadelphia International Airport by our friend Larry) was go to the supermarket to pick up the necessary ingredients. The cake and chocolate chip cookies were finished by 1:00 p.m. and were picked up later by her son, John. Shortly afterward, we met our friend Larry for an early dinner before Shabbat at the Metropolitan Diner. Shortly after that, by coincidence, Ken, Randi and her sister Sherrie showed up there for dinner also. We moved to their table outdoors at dessert time and passed a pleasant hour schmoozing before going home to light the Shabbat candles. On Sunday evening, there was a phone message from Marianne raving about the cake and inviting us to dinner and an architectural program along with her sister at Foulkeways. It was a lovely evening. As ever, the setting was elegant and friendly, and the food, delicious and ample.

I have waited so long to write, and there are so many important details to record, that I will continue the narrative in another blog post…

Getting Rid of…

 If you are reading this on Facebook, slideshows and videos are often attached. Click on this live link to my blog: http://www.marilyfe.blogspot.com/ if you would like to get the full experience.

I come from a long line of hoarders. I think I understand the motivation. My grandparents who emigrated to the United States were poor to the point of starvation and had to scramble hard just to keep a roof over their heads and their children fed. I can understand that accumulating things when one has nothing can be very comforting (and even when one has lots of things). The grandparents and relatives who were in the United States for a few generations, and were relatively well off, were hit hard by the Great Depression and their children suffered economic woes. The compulsion to keep everything, just in case you might need it sometime in the future, was strong. When my parents and my family combined households 19 years ago, we brought along way too much of the detritus of three generations, despite our best efforts to weed through it. Although we did not know it, my father had only a few months to live when we undertook to build our home together. He died two months before we moved in. In sensitivity to my mother, and because I was overwhelmed as well, at the end we merely threw things into boxes, hired two moving vans and piled the boxes into the ample storage space in our new digs.

When my mother died a few years ago, it took the whole family weeks to sort through her possessions. She still had most of her clothing, coats, and shoes from the 1950s through the current decades. She had drawers and cartons full of papers, pamphlets, and magazines. She clung stubbornly to each tiny thing so that her spacious room was filled with boxes and knick-knacks that she resented us moving when it became medically necessary to clear some floor space for her to walk after hip surgery.

Saul and I are pretty old now and we have been spending a lot of time recently getting rid of the accumulations of not only the previous generation, but ours as well. We’ve had several garage sales over the last three years, and are tired of spending our time and energy preparing for them. Time has become a much more precious commodity as we age, and our energy must be allocated carefully. There is not as much of it as there used to be. As we are getting ready to put our house on the market again, the mantra of the realtors has been “de-clutter, de-clutter, de-clutter.” To this end, we completely filled a 20-foot truck from Habitat for Humanity with most of the contents of our garage. Saul and I decided that he could keep two cartons of his favorite tools, and he did that easily. I’ve sent at least ten trunk-loads of household items to Impact! so far. We expected to feel a little remorseful as we watched the materials that were attached to so many memories disappear, but instead, we both felt lighter and a bit giddy about it. So many people stand to benefit from our charity.

Neither of our children got the hoarding gene, so we feel that we are doing them a favor by taking care of this now. I don’t want as many of their precious hours wasted going through stuff as ours were. We are hoping for more of a gypsy lifestyle as we age that will allow us to travel for extended periods of time and move from place to place depending on the climate. It is surprising to discover how little one truly needs to live comfortably. When the desire to impress other people with our possessions diminishes, we can be much freer.

I am trying to free myself also of the angst associated with this process. After all, we have the luxury of a modicum of good health, a pension, and social security benefits. This change is not being forced upon us, as it is upon so many. We have chosen it for better or for worse.

This past month has been filled with many wonderful moments, besides the ones that have come from the clearing of our living space. Izzy read Torah for the first time and did a confident and masterful job. We’ve had some great and lively Shabbat dinners both at home and with Jess and Alex. We celebrated Yona’s third birthday at a Shabbat dinner with carrot cake cupcakes. A few days later, she received her first haircut. I tried a new recipe for coconut flan baked in a bundt pan that we ate for Shabbat lunch after Izzy’s aliyah which I am excited to add to my repertoire. Izzy was thrilled to learn how to open up a samara and stick it onto her nose like we did when we were kids. In preparing the garden for planting, Saul ran into a horseradish root that he thought must be buried down to China. I have been reading lots of books lately from a Kindle account on the iPad from Larry and love that I can read all night long without bothering Saul with reading lights. I finished the Hunger Games Trilogy; the new fourth Mysterious Benedict Society book, Mudbound, a book about the complex racial relationships in the deep South after WWII; The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo; Madeline Albright’s new book, Prague Winter, which was written with amazing insight in part because of her VIP access to obscure and secret files, and her unique life experiences as the daughter of a Czech diplomat; and who could resist reading 50 Shades of Grey after all the hype? My 45th high school reunion took place this past month, and while I couldn’t attend that day, the correspondence and photos that have been going back and forth for weeks, thanks to the magic of Facebook, have given me a nostalgic and revelatory trip “down memory lane.” Comparing notes with my longtime high school friend, Roxy, has been great fun. Roxy, George, Saul and I had an incredible brunch together at the Wm. Penn Inn and celebrated George’s cane-less, second, successful recovery from hip surgery. Getting an early start on Cinco de Mayo, we had a delicious Mexican dinner at Tamarindos with Beth and friends, Ilsa and Manuel. I drank so much of the delicious, homemade, sulfite-free, free margarita’s which they refill like water, that I had to really concentrate on walking to the car without bumping into anything. It was the most pleasant high I have had since overdosing on French wine (Sancerre) in Paris twenty years ago, and like Paris, there was no painful sulfite reaction or hangover.

I woke up this morning filled with angst again for several reasons. We met with a potential realtor yesterday and the housing market for sellers right now is awful, to say the least. One of Jessica’s best friends, Cheryl, died suddenly of a heart attack at 53, and the funeral was this morning. Faith’s daughter-in-law, Sheri, lost her mother and that funeral was also this morning. As I prepare for Mothers Day for my family this week, I couldn’t help but feel a pang at the sudden loss of these two dear mothers to their families at this time of the year. But, I am determined to put all this in perspective. Saul and I have much work to do and I intend to make the most of every moment we have available. I want to continue to streamline our possessions, de-clutter our home and our lives, and get rid of the unproductive negative feelings that cause stress and diminish my ability to enjoy my life.

Over the Passover Hump 2012

If you are reading this on Facebook, slideshows and videos are often attached. Click on this live link to my blog: http://www.marilyfe.blogspot.com/ if you would like to get the full experience. 

The first seder was on Friday, April 6, this year. After much going back and forth about the venue, we belatedly decided that both sedarim would take place at Jess and Alex’s home in New Jersey. Alex would prepare the bulk of the meal, and I would supply my usual assortment of desserts. It all worked out very beautifully. I was especially pleased because Jess sent Inky to visit with Elaine and Shayna the week before the sedarim, before the house was cleaned from top to bottom, so I was able to spend hours at their home during the seder with nary a sneeze or touch of asthma. Saul and I kashered our kitchen beginning the Saturday night and part of Sunday before the sedarim, and, after a bit more kitchen prep on Monday morning, I was able to get started with my cooking and baking. Saul and I stopped at Simon’s Kosher Meat in Northeast Philadelphia to pick up the meat order on our way to have lunch with Jessica and our granddaughters after Hebrew School. Alex stayed behind to begin his kashering.

We had planned to lunch at Cheesecake Factory in Cherry Hill, but it was so crowded (45 minute wait), that we decided to go next door to McCormick and Schmick’s, which was just about empty. The three girls were ravenous by 2:00 p.m., so we were pleased at the accommodating, quick and pleasant service. The prices for lunch, however, were astronomical. The food was delicious, but the bill for three adults, two children and a two-year-old came to almost $100 with the tip. Needless to say, we won’t be going back anytime soon. There are so many wonderful places to eat in New Jersey without breaking the bank.

My weekdays were spent preparing dishes to feed dessert to almost 40 people during the two sedarim. With the second seder falling on Shabbat, all the cooking for both days had to be finished by sundown on Friday. As usual, Alex outdid himself with the array of dishes for the sedarim—two soups, matzoh balls, pepper salad, guacamole, grilled salmon with horseradish sauce, three different salsas, crudité trays, prime rib, smoked turkey, mashed potatoes and mashed sweet potatoes, tossed salad with homemade dressing, pickled beets and turnips, quinoa pilaf, roasted lamb chops with cherry sauce, short ribs, etc., etc. On the first night, Sami led the seder with Saul’s help, and did a masterful job which made us all kvell. On the second night, we were 23 people and had a very lively seder using Alex’s custom-prepared family Haggadah. Cousin Bob called in sick the day before with a bad cold. In attendance were: Alex, Jess, Sami, Izzy, and Yona, Ari, Elaine W., Saul and me, Aaron, Stacey, Jacob, Lilly and Zach, Naomi, Matt and Talia, Larry, Beth, Elaine S., Aunt Ruth, Anne, and Ben, and Rifka.

Ari stayed with us for a few days, and needed food to take back to DC during his work week. All three girls were off from school for spring break and would be staying with me during Passover while Saul went to teach during chol hamoed. On Tuesday, his short day, he took Izzy along with him to her delight. I made a few batches of Chocolate Almond Bars; about six dozen Mocha Mousse Crepes with Raspberry sauce; eight flavors of fresh sorbet, including strawberry, orange, Meyer lemon, pineapple, grapefruit, banana, mango, and white nectarine; six dozen Passover Potato Knishes; two dozen whole wheat matzoh rolls; 100 whole wheat matzoh balls; Passover egg noodles; a Passover apple pie and strawberry rhubarb pie made with the Passover apple pie crust and topping. I reveled in the preparation, especially because I was caught up with all my computer work and could concentrate on the cooking with a clear head and without having to run into the office every so often to put in a few hours. I also decided to prepare a big Shabbat meal at home on the Friday after the sedarim, so I needed to prepare a few things for that as well. I invited Ken and Randi, Jamie and Andy and kids, Haley and Erik, Faith, Beth, Brenna, Larry, and my kids. We would have been 18 for dinner, but Jamie called about an hour before dinner to say that Presley was running a high fever and Erica called to say that Brenna was being punished for bad behavior. In the afternoon, Beth called to say that Paul had surprised her and flown in from Oklahoma, so he joined us and took up some of the slack (or snack?). Jess came to help ready dinner and take the girls home after dinner. The meal was delicious! We had crispy, honey/lemon steelhead trout with horseradish/dill sauce, a wildly successful recipe that the girls and I had invented for a dinner during the week, and which we decided we should repeat. This was followed by Alex’s chicken soup with his gigantic matzoh balls for which Haley was up to the challenge. I think she ate three of them. We had Passover potato knishes, Chicken Paprikash, Israeli salad, glazed Brussels sprouts with chestnuts and pomegranate seeds, orange-glazed roasted beets, and steamed broccoli. For dessert, we had all of the above-mentioned desserts.

On the Monday after the sedarim, between hours of working remotely, Ari helped Sami put together the Lego White House, which turned out to be the most difficult of the three architectural kits (Falling Water and the Guggenheim Museum). Saul was home that Monday also, and we all enjoyed hanging out together for the day. The girls watched movies, shopped, and helped prepare meals most days during the week. We found that our public library in Blue Bell had dubbed versions of Miyazaki’s animations for loan, and we borrowed and watched My Neighbor Totoro, which I had recorded from television in 2005, but was not able to show the girls because I only had the subtitled version, which they were too young to read at the time. Evidently all the Miyazaki movies have been dubbed by the voices of big name movie stars since Disney acquired the rights. We all loved it.

Worse than the preparations for Passover is the cleaning up and putting away aspect of the holiday. Each year as I stow the special pots, pans, dishes and utensils, I wonder where we will all be next year at this time. I have begun getting the house ready to go up for sale again and that is a bittersweet activity. Camp Bubbie and Saba will not be taking place this year as Sami is off to Camp Ramah and Izzy and Yona will be going to different day camps in New Jersey. I am excited to get on with my life—the possibility of more freedom and travel, but apprehensive about what is to come, also. We have had such a wonderful time here for the last 19 years.

Last Wednesday was Ken’s 60th birthday and his girls had a surprise for him. They met him for lunch and presented him with a scavenger hunt they had concocted, which required him to follow rhymed clues and visit various friends and relatives. Our part was to prepare his favorite blueberry pie, which I decorated with his initials in honor of the day.

As the school year winds down and that big bump in my year which is Passover has passed, I look forward to new beginnings and a relaxing summer filled with fun with all the people I hold dear.

Cherry Blossoms in DC

If you are reading this on Facebook, slideshows and videos are often attached. Click on this live link to my blog: http://www.marilyfe.blogspot.com/ if you would like to get the full experience.

Because Saul had a mandatory, college-sponsored lecture to attend, in full academic regalia, by celebrated portrait artist, Nelson Shanks, on Thursday evening, we were not able to leave for DC until Friday morning. We traveled to New Jersey in our SUV so that we would be able to bring home a stack of extra chairs for Passover that were still residing at Ari’s since his house-warming party. We met Saul’s sister, Rif and her husband, Paul, at a Cracker Barrel for breakfast before setting out, with Rif joining us, on the road to DC.

We had a very pleasant trip down. The weather has been absolutely spectacular this month. Last year I wrote that March came in like a lion and went out like a lion. This year, it came in like a lamb and is going out like a lamb. Peak cherry blossom season in DC is a full two weeks earlier than usual. As of this writing the crocuses, daffodils, and most tulips have come and gone already. All our flowering trees and forsythia are in full bloom. Outside, it seems more like early May than late March. After unpacking our gear at Ari’s house, we drove downtown and found a rare parking spot right in front of the National Portrait Gallery. Rif has never really toured DC and, in the two hours we had available, we ran around the enormous museum showing her all our favorite things. Then, we drove just a couple of miles to meet Ari for an early dinner at Founding Farmers. We left the car at a parking garage across the street where the rates went down considerably to $10 for the evening at 5:00 p.m. The attendants were kind enough to wait the ten minutes until the rates changed before validating our ticket and then sent someone across the street to the restaurant to locate us and give us our ticket. We were happy to tip them a few dollars for such great service. We shared a whole bunch of small plates for dinner which was great fun and very delicious. The restaurant is a very hip scene in DC and we would not have gotten a table on a Friday had we not eaten very early. We took advantage of the parking and late sunset by going for a long walk after dinner to see the White House. We had planned to drive to the tidal basin to tour the Roosevelt Memorial and Korean War Veterans Memorial at night, but when we approached the area, we were greeted with masses of traffic at a crawl and masses of tourists walking the streets and pathways around the National Mall. We drove around the clogged arteries looking for a parking spot for about an hour, and then finally decided that we would awaken early the next morning and head to the tidal basin, hopefully, before the predicted rain could wash out the blossoms from the trees. We were on Rock Creek Parkway, heading for Ari’s house when he realized that he had left his new iPad and computer at work. He wanted to finish reading the second book of The Hunger Games Trilogy, Catching Fire, on the iPad, so we decided to go to Moorenko’s for ice cream and then head back downtown to his office. Moorenko’s is really a gem. The ice cream is luscious and many of the flavors truly unique. The featured flavor was honey with sunflower seeds, which could have been bland, but the vanilla and honey flavors burst on the tongue and the seeds added a nutty crunch. Saul and I shared three scoops of different flavors because I couldn’t decide on just one (we also had cappuccino cinnamon and salted caramel pecan). Since office hours were long past, Ari was able to take Rif up to show her his new office space.

We were out of the house by 8:30 a.m. as the rain threatened to come pouring down at any second. We lucked out, however, and after much hunting, located a parking spot that allowed us to tour the new Martin Luther King, Jr. National Memorial and the Roosevelt Memorial with just a short walk through cherry blossom-lined streets. Then, famished, we headed to China Garden in Rosslyn for dim sum, and arrived at the perfect time, just before the crowds, and with a great selection of dishes steaming on the wheeled carts. After breakfast/lunch, we drove further into Virginia to find a Tuesday Morning store which was rumored to have a gadget to froth milk for use with the Tassimo, which has recalled all the capsules associated with milk because they sometimes would burst while in use and cause burns. We didn’t find  the item, but decided that since we were already halfway to Belfort Furniture, we would continue to look for bedroom furniture for the room that Saul and I use at Ari’s house. No luck there, either.  On our way back from there, we tried to stop for dinner at a Fleming’s, but the wait was too long. Eventually, we wound up at yet another Lebanese Taverna in Tysons II Galleria, where we, again, had a very satisfying meal and dessert. We wandered through the mall a bit before heading off to wait in line at a nearby AMC Theater to get good seats for The Hunger Games in the IMAX theater. We agreed that the movie was very well done. From finishing the trilogy, I knew where to avert my eyes to avoid the more violent scenes, but from what I saw, an effort was made to downplay the gorier situations. I was quite happy about that because the books become so gory by the third one that I had considered avoiding the movies altogether. By the time we arrived back home and got into bed, it was 2:00 a.m.

We slept so late on Sunday that we spent an hour driving around the neighborhood to find a place for brunch that wasn’t mobbed. We eventually went back to the place where we started, The Heights, because Saul had the foresight to put our names on the list. We had never eaten brunch there before, and it was exceptional and reasonably priced. I think we will be going often from now on, especially when the weather is nice and we can walk over. We parked on the lot of the Giant Supermarket across the street in Columbia Heights and picked up a few necessary items there before heading back home to drop off Rif, who waited for us while we attended Talia’s first birthday party at the home of her grandparents in Silver Spring. Jess and Alex had driven down with Elaine and the girls after religious school for the party, but left to drive back as soon as the party was over so that the girls would be in bed at a reasonable hour. By the time we arrived in New Jersey to return Rif home, the girls had already had dinner and were in bed. We met Jessica alone at Friendly’s for ice cream because Sunday was her birthday and we wanted to celebrate in some way.

Yesterday, after some minor cleaning up and the installation of LED bulbs in my new recessed lighting fixtures, the work inside my house was officially completed. We met Larry at the Fireside Grill for an early bird dinner and climbed into bed early as we both had residual exhaustion from our cherry blossom weekend. I was so relieved this morning knowing that no one was coming to knock on my door to paint, or sand, or anything. The house looks gorgeous, better, I think, than when it was new. With this beautiful weather, my own weeping cherry tree is in full bloom today.