You Go Girl!

How happy Hillary looked on CNN today!  She honestly looks like she can't wait for whatever her Next Chapter brings.

I can relate. Yes I surely can.  How exhilarating is that first feeling of total freedom, that rush when you realize you have no pressing responsibilities and the knowledge that the world is your oyster.  In Hillary's case she can do anything from lounging in her PJs for the rest of her life to being President of the United States.  

Like many, many others, I have come to respect and admire this hard-working and smart-as-a-whip woman.  I was a little late to the heart-Hillary brigade but I'm a fan now. 

You Go Girl!  Or not.  Your choice...

;-)

Mateo

My old friends from work let me know that little Mateo, Denis' son, passed away over the weekend.  Mateo went through a lot, poor little guy - tubes and surgeries and trachea and prodding and medicine and pain. His parents and modern medicine did everything they could.  

Mateo came home only once in his year of life and now, as Christians like to say, he is in his forever home.  I hope that is true.  I do believe that the presence of our loved ones is there with us forever. 

When I was in Israel last year I bought Mateo a gift, a Bible (Old and New Testaments) in Spanish with a little bit of soil from the Holy Land encased in a bubble on the wood cover.  Denis had asked me to try and find it. 

In Mateo's case you could easily say "this is for the best".  So why is it that I feel so sad? 

Rest in Peace little Angel.

Me and My Sh**box

My 1973 Sh**box

Back in the 70s I owned the worst car I ever had, probably the worst car ever made, a 1973 Fiat, AKA The Sh**box.  It was small and cheap, in an odd shade of green, with a manual transmission and uncomfortable seats. The oil light was perpetually on and it slurped oil like it was gasoline.  Who cared about those things then?  I was young and The Sh**box's gas mileage - remember the 1970s gas lines? - was great. 

2012 Version

The happiest day of the decade was the day I sold The Sh**box with an ad in the weekly Ad Paper.  I sold it cheap but I still feel guilty about sticking someone else with this rolling disaster.  I vowed to never own another Fiat as long as I lived.

Fast forward to 2013.  Fiat has reentered the US market with their cute little cars and lo and behold, they even come in the same weird but oddly comforting green.  I have no idea if they run any better but Heavens Above! I still want one.  Yes, it's true.  

Like a fool pining for that good looking bad-boy, I am helpless to contain my passion.  Am I nuts or what???

;-)

Lose It!

One thing (probably the only thing) that's been a little harder since I retired is watching my weight.  My relaxed schedule and the availability of food has added what I must admit is now a permanent extra 2 1/2 pounds.  No big deal you say?  Just try to lose them hahaha.

I am a firm believer in calorie counting. Not carbs, fat grams, fiber, exercise videos, the latest OTC diet pill or packaged meal deliveries.  So I have tried lots of calorie counting apps and have finally found the perfect one.  It's called Lose It! and it really is easy and fun to use and it keeps you motivated too.  I love the little icons of foods that kind of paint a picture of what I've eaten during the course of the day. And I have found myself making smarter food choices, knowing I have to enter them into my little app.

I received an email today with a "badge" from the folks at Lose It.  It says Keep It Up, it's been three days and you're still with us!  

I am indeed still with you and happy to say 1/2 pound of me is NOT!

;-)

Cookies!

Kyra is selling Girl Scout cookies again this year and godson Scott - the Scoutmaster - has approached this effort with his usual gung-ho enthusiasm and can-do attitude.  We now have on-line purchase options along with email solicitations from a 6 year old!  How easy is this? I just have to click on my favorites (all of them).

Last year my cookies were hand delivered when Scott, Victoria, Kyra and Carter visited a few months after the cookie drive ended.  I told them in no uncertain terms NOT to schlep the cookies down to Florida this year!  But of course I am secretly hoping they will...

;-)

Imaginary Lover

For some reason, the world is fascinated by the story that Manti Te’o, a Notre Dame football star, had a "relationship" with an "imaginary" girlfriend.  Their interaction consisted solely of email, texts and online chats.  The media calls this "a chilling deception" and "an epic hoax".  Was the young man the perpetrator of this elaborate story for personal aggrandizement or a hapless victim?  They question whether anyone could form a deep relationship with someone they had never met "in real life". 

News Flash.  Of Course this could happen and does everyday.  And one does not even need email, texts or a computer.  My folks "met" after Dad's brother suggested Dad write to a young Jewish woman he had met while stationed in faraway Washington state during World War II.  Snail mail letters were exchanged and the rest is history as they say.  Thanks to J-Date, Frumster, Match.com, ChristianMingle, eHarmony and a host of other dating sites, online relationships are now the norm for what I nostalgically term "courtship".

I feel this is a good thing.  Couples can connect based on common interests and beliefs without necessarily judging a potential partner on looks first and compatibility second.  At least that's what I'd like to believe. 

But perhaps like Manti Te'o, I can be fooled too...

;-)

Investigation Discovery

I have a new guilty pleasure, the TV channel Investigation Discovery.  This channel shows one true crime investigation after another and has such intriguing shows such as Deadly Women, Nothing Personal, Dates From Hell, Fatal Encounters and Frenemies.  

I love crime fiction but it has nothing on true crime stories.  Most of IDs stories give new meaning to "stranger than fiction".  Needless to say, the most ruthless crimes are perpetrated by "loved ones" in their "perfect families".  Watch out for Scorned  and Wives With Knives!

Jeez, it seems like you can't trust anyone anymore!

;-)

Bangs

I've worn bangs since I was a sophomore in high school when my Chemistry lab partner, Claire, suggested I try them.  As she was a Junior, worldly, sophisticated and and tres chic, I quickly took her advice and have never looked back.  Now I cannot imagine myself without my bangs and resist any effort to have them swept off my forehead.  And of course, when you reach a certain age they do come in handy in disguising those inevitable "frown lines". 

I guess Michelle Obama has reached the same conclusion because her new style, just in time for her hubby's second inauguration, features bangs.  I think she looks terrific and a lot younger too.

You go girl!  Welcome to the club!

;-)

Dear Abby

Pauline Friedman Phillips AKA Abigail Van Buren has passed away at the age of 94.  Like many others, I relished reading her advice for decades and I even think that her daughter has done a good job carrying her legacy forward.  I like to read the letters and see if my own advice would be the same.  Occasionally it would be exactly the opposite..  

Here's my usual advice for whatever problem you might have:

Take yourself out of the picture.  Pretend you are Dear Abby.  Give yourself a dose of reality from the perspective of someone who is uninvolved and unbiased.

Laura called a few days ago from her car on the way to work.  I could tell she was feeling the stress of her three young children and maybe some other stuff too.  I think she felt a little better after our chat. My advice?  This is what I texted her afterwards:

Always remember, all the kids will turn out great! After all, I was worried about the two of you when you were growing up. 

Her response?  A string of 15 kissing emoticons!

RIP Dear Abby

Marek

Cousin Marek is 86 today.  He still has a hard stomach (he is so proud of that!) and a sharp mind, and of course, the tattooed reminder on his arm that he is a Holocaust survivor.  I love and admire this man and I thank my cousin Jeannie for marrying him nine years ago and  bringing him into our family.

Marek is a testament to surviving and thriving in a hostile world.  He survived the concentration camps and walked across Europe after their liberation.  He lost his entire family but found Yonkel, also a survivor.  They married when they were teenagers and alone in the world and went on to build successful businesses in both Israel and Canada.  After Yonkel passed away, my cousin found her soulmate and true companion in Marek.  He is smart and exceedingly generous and he still works in the businesses he built from absolutely nothing. 

Happy Birthday Marek.  May God bless you with many more.

:-)

 

Jack Lew's Signature

I am very happy that  Jacob Joseph "Jack" Lew, eminently qualified and yes, a religious Jew, will be our next Secretary of the Treasury.  But folks have had a real problem that his signature, which will need to appear on all U..S. paper currency for the duration of his term, is a series of meaningless squiggles.  Many say the number of circles in his signature corresponds to the number of zeroes in our multi-trillion dollar National Debt.

I found this fun interactive app - the Jack Lew signature generator - which will convert your own name into a Jack Lew style signature. 

I am hopeful there will be a few less loops at the end of our National Debt by the time Jack Lew leaves his latest assignment.

;-)

A Florida Thing

This month marks 17 years (!) since we moved to Florida.  One of the best decisions of our lives! I've learned a lot about living in Florida since then. Here are my "top five" in each category.

The Good News about Florida
1) The weather is beyond compare.  Even the "bad" days are good. The sky is almost always blue, the grass is green, there are ocean breezes, beautiful beaches and colorful tropical vegetation grows like weeds. You just feel happier when you can go outside without shoveling snow, cleaning off the car or bundled up in boots and heavy coats.
2) I had the best jobs and the nicest houses I've ever lived in here in Florida.
3) I've met wonderful people and I love the Jewish communities (and the accompanying delis) that stretch from Boynton  to Miami Beach.
4) A melting pot of cultures equals the best dining experiences ever.
5) All your relatives and friends will visit you sooner or later.
51/2) Disney World!

The Bad News about Florida
1) Watch out for fire ants.  Don't wear flip-flops on the grass.
2) Auto and home insurance is higher here.
3) There are cheaper places to retire but none more better I think.
4) Scams and corrupt politicians abound. But the news is never dull!
5) I can't think of a fifth bad thing about Florida...


 

Rashi's Daughter

I read in today's Sun Sentinel that the author of the Rashi's Daughters trilogy, Maggie Anton, will be in South Florida for Jewish Heritage Book Month.  She will be at the nearby JCC on Tuesday - too bad we have plans for dinner with snowbird cousins from Toronto Chavey and Art.  The article reminded me that reading these books is on my to-do list so I have reserved Book 2 from the Broward County library.

I am starting with Book 2 because, of course, Rashi's middle daughter Miriam is my ancestor, my 25th great-grandmother to be exact.  I cannot wait to read about her!  She lived in Troyes France in the eleventh century, the darling, lively and gutsy middle child of Salomon ben Isaac, Rashi.  Having no sons, Grandpa taught his three daughters Mishnah and Gemara in an era when educating women in Jewish scholarship was unheard of.  A reviewer of this book said it promises to "capture the struggles and triumphs of strong Jewish women"!

I am no Miriam Bat Rashi but my family has certainly had its share of strong Jewish women...

;-)

The Prime Ministers

Cousin Jeannie recommended The Prime Ministers, An Intimate Narrative of Israeli Leadership, a non-fiction but enthralling, gossipy account of the Prime Ministers of Israel and the life-and-death decisions they made.  It came out in 2010 so I am at least two years behind in following up on her recommendation.

All 700+ pages now wait for me at the Broward Library.  I wish it were available on audio but I will valiantly attempt to plow through the print version, much as I did the Alexandre Dumas and Victor Hugo classics in my youth.  And Gone With The Wind, can't forget that magnum opus!

I'm sure I'll find this book fascinating, but I am equally intrigued by the author, Yehuda Avner.  According to his bio, he came to Israel in 1947 (the year of Israel's birth as a modern nation) at the age of 19, an ardent Zionist.  He went on to work for four Prime Ministers as an Ambassador to many countries, advisor and confidant.  And he published this book, all 700+ pages, at the age of 82!

Of 84 customer reviews on Amazon, this book scores a perfect 5 stars.  I am looking forward to adding number 85!

;-)

Kindergarten

Top row, farthest right, yep that's me

Robert Fulghum wrote  "All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten".  Funny that when they took this picture of me I had already learned about 90% of life's lessons.

I found this picture today while undertaking the task of re-taping pictures into the school days scrapbook that Mom made for me.  The pictures were falling out and the tape was brown with age but the memories came flooding back.



So what are some of the things I knew then that I know even better now?

Play fair
Put things back where you found them
Clean up your own mess
Say you're sorry when you hurt someone
Take a nap every afternoon
When you go out into the world, watch out for traffic, hold hands and stick together
The world is filled with wonder ...

Moving On

Yay! Yay!  The first day back to normalcy after the Holiday Season!  I love it!

Stores are open regular hours.  No shopping frenzies, madhouse sales or celebratory calories.  Life has returned to a slower pace.

I have cleaned the house (my normal first step to sanity), paid the bills, balanced the checkbooks, swept the garage, filled up the cars and stocked the pantry and frig.  My calendar is filled with mundane appointments like the dentist and peaceful pursuits like lighting the candles at shul Friday night and the Las Olas Art Fair this weekend.

I like a bit of excitement in my life but I also crave tranquility and simple days...

;-)

The Walking Dead

I'm referring to the TV series, not the party goers suffering the after effects of New Year's Eve.

I recorded the WD Season Three marathon and am attempting to get into this series which has come highly recommended by both friends and Entertainment Weekly magazine.  I am hampered by the fact that I usually hate any movie or TV show that is
1) set in a time after an apocalypse or human-destroying cataclysmic event
2) is of the horror genre
3) has zombies and/or
4) makes squishy sounds after kills

Walking Dead qualifies on all four counts.

After only one episode I have equated the Zombies to pesky, albeit large, mosquitoes.  Most go down quite easily.  Occasionally one or more will inflict severe damage and if I learn to embrace the characters I'm pretty sure I'll enjoy the remaining DVR'd episodes.

;-)