The Ten Commandments

The year was 1956 and I was only 6 or possibly just 7.  We lived in Canada and one night my folks took me to see The Ten Commandments.  It was the first movie I had ever seen or at least most definitely the first movie I remember seeing.  Of course I already knew the story from six Seders but oh! to see it played out "live"!  It was truly like going back in a time machine and as we say on Passover - we should feel like we ourselves were led from bondage in Egypt.  I certainly did.  Needless to say, Moses will forever look to me like Charleton Heston and Rasmes like Yul Brenner. And in my mind I know how the voice of God sounds.

The Ten Commandments was on TV last night, still glorious and beautiful and moving.

My folks gave me this lovely bracelet to remind me of the Ten Commandments.  Somewhere along the line Commandment 8, thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor, went missing.  I think I am OK with that one.  Truth be told, some of the others might need a little work.

Thanks Mom and Dad.  May your memories be for blessing.
 

Let It Be

Believe it or not, sometimes I don't get everything I want.  Sometimes I have to compromise.  Sometimes I have to give up on an idea or put it on hold.  This is tough for me.

Sometimes I have to go through all five stages of grief: denial, anger, bargaining, depression and acceptance.  Yes, even for relatively small disappointments.

Sometimes I have to remember it's not all about me. 

It's OK to feel sad.  It's not OK to crap on other people or kick the dog. 

But it's OK to eat chocolate. 

;-)

Keep Calm

Keep Calm and Carry On was a poster produced by the British government in 1939 at the beginning of World War II.  It was intended to raise morale in the face of widely anticipated mass air attacks on major cities.  It actually was not well known or particularly popular at the time and it's only been in recent years that this bit of wise advice has become ubiquitous throughout the land and propagated in hundreds of mutilated formats.

Helping the effort to bastardize the original is the Keep Calm-O-Matic generator.  I could not resist! 

Keep Calm and Carry On!

Nashville

Hubby has a colloquia in Nashville next month where he'll coach would-be PhD candidates through the arduous but rewarding dissertation process.  When I retired I promised to join him on such trips but only if they were going to be held in interesting places. Nashville certainly qualifies and I'm excited about this junket to the Deep South. I haven't been there since our cross-country over-the-road days.

Nashville is known for the Grand Ole Opry, an exact scale model of the Greek Parthenon, Honky Tonk Row and the homes of country music greats like Dolly Parton and Alan Jackson.  I want to see all those things but to tell the truth, I always opt for the historical sites over any other attraction in any city I visit.  The Alamo, Gettysburg, Mount Vernon - I love to see the places where history was made.

Nashville is home to President Andrew Jackson's estate, The Hermitage, the antebellum Belle Meade slave plantation and the 1864 battlefield known as Pickett's Charge, a disaster for the Confederate forces.  I can skip the country music as long as I can wander around the historic countryside and feel the presence of those Southern ghosts.

;-)

Confidence

Thanks to my efforts at recycling, I am rewarded with a free subscription to O Magazine.  This month's issue is devoted to Confidence! and promises to tell how to build it, radiate it and finally come into your own.

I cheerfully confess that a lack of confidence has never been my problem.  Deep down I always knew - or convinced myself - that I could do pretty much anything I might ever want to do.  I had no problems with job interviews and if I didn't get an offer I figured it was their loss not mine.  I figured my decorating, financial planning, homemaking, tax preparation, public speaking and any other skill I might need were pretty good or at least as good as anyone else's was likely to be.   

So I think I'll concentrate on "The Best Ways  to  Look Beautiful This Spring - Trends to Try, What to Buy, and Deals, Deals, Deals".

I am absolutely confident I can master them!

;-)

Olympus Has Fallen

I have Netflix and a big screen TV and Showtime and Starz but sometimes I simply MUST catch the newest release at the movie theater. Especially those "blockbusters" whose action and special effects can only be truly captured if shown on a screen wider than our first apartment. So today hubby and I went to see Olympus Has Fallen, described as being "Die-Hard in the White House". 

I love seeing a movie in the theater. I love the previews of coming attractions, most of which I give a mental thumbs down.  I love that I can get immersed in the action with no interruptions by the dog or by the siren call of the refrigerator or by the washer or dryer or dishwasher signalling they're done.  I love being in the dark and that I am COMMANDED to detach from my beloved iphone and to sever all communication with the outside world, at least for a couple of hours. I love the popcorn and the giant diet-Coke. And I usually love the movie too, like I did Olympus Has Fallen.

Waiting for me at home (besides the load of laundry) was the mail and the latest issue of Entertainment Weekly.  And there it was, the review of Olympus, sporting a big red C. I'm guessing it stands for Crappy. Such a bad review is a sure sign that this movie would be one of my favorites!

;-)
  

Boho Style

I was in line today at the Post Office to get my 30 plus page income tax return weighed for postage ($1.72).  There was a lady in front of me and since the wait was a bit long I had time to study her look. 

She had long stringy hair with lighter highlights held in place by two fuzzy scrunchies placed about 6 inches apart along her back.  She had about 6 or 7 piercings in each ear. Her mani and pedi were in shiny teal blue with little daisy flower art on each big toenail.  She wore blue jeans and flip-flops and carried a Boho crocheted bag.  It was pretty obvious that although she had to be pushing 70 she was trying her best to look young or at least re-live her hippie days.

I can relate 'cause I love blue jeans and Bohemian accessories too.  The "ladies who lunch" look is just not my style. Yet I hope I will grow old(er) gracefully with class and panache.

I kind of felt sorry for the lady in the Post Office line.  Her black walking cane detracted somewhat from her look of carefree easy-spirited youth...

;-)

Prince Charming

I think this is the most beautiful picture I've ever seen.  At least the most beautiful of those that don't have my loved ones in it. 

What can be more beautiful than love that lasts the decades and inspires the same look of rapture after 65 years of marriage? 

This from Wikipedia:
The engagement was not without controversy: Philip had no financial standing, was foreign-born (though a British subject who had served in the Royal Navy during the Second World War), and had sisters who had married German noblemen with Nazi links.  Some of the King's advisers did not think him good enough for her. He was a prince without a home or kingdom. Elizabeth's mother was reported to have opposed the union initially, even dubbing Philip "The Hun". Before the marriage, Philip renounced his Greek and Danish titles,and converted from Greek Orthodoxy to Anglicanism.

Add to this that Elizabeth was only 21 when they married. 

The Prince is 91 now, and has been in and out of the hospital recently.  I wish them both well.

Every girl deserves a Prince like Phillip, or at least to be looked at the way he looks at his Elizabeth.

;-)

Jorel

I can't decide if this kid is Super-Cool or screwed-for-life.  I am leaning toward the latter. Bad enough he is named for a comic book character, hahaha.

I have seen a lot of Jew-Goy marriages and  I can't think of many that produced progeny who internalized and lived their Jewishness into adulthood and taught their Jewish heritage to the third generation. 

It is my personal belief that being Jewish is more than a religion to which one can convert or partially inherit.  Whether you practice the rituals or attend synagogue or keep kosher or not, being Jewish is something in your DNA.  It means you were there with our ancestors throughout pogroms and persecution and torture and attempts at annihilation. And will be again if you must.   

I suspect Jorel will wander away from his Jewishness even though he is embracing (sort of) the rite of passage for young Jewish men. Why?  Because he said it himself in the first lines of his video: "I'm HALF a Jew".

Sorry Jorel, you need to make up your mind.  You're either all-in or you're out.  

Harry Stamps

Of course I never actually met Harry Stamps.  He passed away a few days ago and his daughter wrote this hysterical obituary which I'm sure adequately describes the dear man to a "T".  How warm and wonderful to sum up one's life with humor!  It captures the true essence of the person and not just a boring list of accomplishments and progeny.  In my case such a list would be very very meager so I'm opting for a similar farcical take on my own life when the time comes (waaaay in the future of course).

So how do I want to be remembered?  For my love of Popeyes fried chicken, Chicago hot dogs and my closet full of thrift shop finds?  For my fearless tackling of any yucky task that needed doing?  For the second oven in my home that was hauled away, never used, not even once, when I replaced all the appliances?  For my eclectic taste in reading material and my annoying habit of playing devil's advocate on all political issues? For my devotion to obliterating dirty grout on my hands and knees? For my irrational love of TV shows that are invariably cancelled after a few episodes and movies that are critically panned?  Perhaps folks will remember that I loved bubble baths and cruising and that I eschewed all outdoor activities like camping, running or team sports. Hahaha!

RIP Harry Stamps. You sounded like my kind of guy...

;-)

Single Dad Laughing

One thing I try to never do is give advice on how to stay married. 

But this twice divorced single Dad, while not saying how to stay married, certainly has some  ideas about how NOT to stay married.  All together, he wrote 31 ways in two blog posts on how to blow-it-big-time. I am happy to report none of his warnings apply to me and hubby so perhaps that's the reason we're still together.

But of all his common-sense suggestions, this is the one that made me smile the most.  I believe it, live it, and consider this rule sacrosanct.  Not up for discussion.  In fact, it amazes me that many couples think it's perfectly normal to have an "open door marriage".   

10. Don’t poop with the bathroom door open.

I don’t know why, but at some point I started thinking it was okay to poop with the bathroom door open, and so did she. First of all, it’s gross. Second of all, it stinks everything up. Third of all, there is literally no way to make pooping attractive, which means that every time she saw me do it, she, at least in some little way, would have thought I was less attractive.

IF I COULD HAVE A DO-OVER: I’d shut the damn door and poop in private.

BONUS! when she does think of your naked body, she’s not going to be thinking about it in a grunting/squatting position.

Thanks Single Dad Laughing!  With everything you've learned I'm betting your third trip to the altar will go the distance.

;-)

Pinterest

I started a Pinterest account today and have one board that I figured could cover everything and anything I would care to see on it. It is creatively named "Evelyn's Pinterest Board", hahaha.

How my Mother would have loved Pinterest if she had ever had a computer!  She would clip pictures of places she had never been to and recipes she would never make and clothes she would never wear from pages stealthily torn from magazines in doctors' waiting rooms.  These would be artfully arranged under a clear vinyl tablecloth on the dining room table or tucked in between the pages of a book or photo album.  Her favorites - words of advice or inspiration - she carried with her in her wallet.

I only have two pictures on my Pinterest board so far.  But if I am anything like my Mom, I'm sure more will follow shortly.  And I promise to keep the reading material in the hair and nail salon and the Cleveland Clinic intact!

;-)

Irish Today

I love St. Patrick's Day, perhaps because I'm from Chicago and lived under both Mayors Daley.  No matter how strapped the City's finances were they would never dream of cancelling the downtown St. Paddy's Day Parade or forgo dyeing the Chicago River soylent green.

I have my own rituals for celebrating March 17th each year: I wear my green socks with the pots of gold, my shamrock earrings and the plastic leprechaun pins my Mom gave me.  I make a fine corned beef dinner with boiled cabbage and tiny roasted potatoes.  And of course when we lived in Chicago we bundled up and gamely stood on State Street waving as the Irish Police Association and various high school marching bands passed by.

Erin Go Bragh!  Ireland Forever!

 

My New Look

Awhile back I blogged about how much I love my bangs and cannot imagine my look without them.  So what's up with Kaley Cuoco (one of my favorites) saying her biggest fashion faux pas was wearing big bangs on the red carpet??
I didn't (and don't) get it but reading the article certainly made me think about perhaps changing my own look a little.  After all, one can't get too complacent can one?  

Some friends have even wondered out loud if I do indeed possess a forehead.  Perhaps they thought it was riddled with frown lines or zits?  Well, I'm going to give them a chance to find out! 

:-)

For A Season

Two friends are leaving Florida, one for Georgia and one for Washington DC.  They are both fulfilling their dreams and I wish them well.

But I am very sad that two of my favorite people will be joining my group of virtual friends who exist only through Facebook, phone calls, texts or emails.  It's just not the same as seeing, hearing and hugging them in person, sharing a meal or Friday night services or shopping or the movies.

I am reminded of this poem that says people come into our lives for a reason, a season, or a lifetime.  Some fulfill a purpose like being your teacher or co-worker and will pass from your life when their purpose is fulfilled.  Some come for a season and will leave you with a lesson learned (think "ex").  Some come for a lifetime and leave only when death claims them.

Some may have two seasons and come into your life a second time. Wow!

Thank you for being a part of my life, whether you were here for a reason, a season or a lifetime.

Macaroons

Passover is coming soon and of all the yummy delicious eating that means, my favorite treat are the MACAROONS!  Those gooey, calorie laden confections are indeed my downfall after I stoutly adhere to a modest meal of chicken soup, gefilte fish, roast chicken and bitter herbs.  Best of all, I seem to be the only one at the table who likes them so, as they say, more for ME!

While waiting at Blush Nails today to get my eyelash extensions removed, I found this recipe in a Real Simple magazine.  Wow, so simple even I could do it!  And guess what I found when I stopped in afterwards next door at Big Lots?  Yes!  A 14 ounce package of "premium quality sweetened fancy flake COCONUT".

It just HAS to be Karma, don't you agree?

;-)

The Finished Product :-)
 

Bittersweet

How can something be both bitter and sweet at the same time?  How does my heart swell with happiness while my eyes are so filled with tears I can hardly type? That is what being here in Chicago does to me    ;-)

Scott and Laura are doing so fantastically well but my BFF is not here to see it.  My cousins are older and grayer but they still remember my parents and tell me stories I never knew.  A trip down Lake Shore Drive still excites me even though Chicago is wrapped in the dreary rainy cold fog I remember so well. 

Our first apartment looks better than ever and so does the old hotel where we were married.  The same letters are still on my old high school but Devon Avenue is unrecognizable.  Neighborhoods I'd be scared to walk in are now "gentrified".  Superdawg still waves at me from Milwaukee Avenue and Gino's East (the original) is still my favorite pizza joint.

"It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness... we had everything before us, we had nothing before us." 

Yes Mr. Dickens, you said it well. 

Puttin' On The Ritz

The wedding Sunday is at the Ritz-Carlton in Chicago and I am certainly doing my part to "put on the Ritz". 

I have my (almost could pass for a) designer black dress and sky-high black patent pumps, I cleaned all my jewelry so they sparkle, my nails are painted in vampy darkest plum and I have eyelash extensions!  

I'm ready!

;-)

Miss Israel

The new Miss Israel is 21 year old Ethiopian beauty Yityish Aynaw, a former IDF Army officer who made aliyah (resettlement in Israel) when she was 12.  Mazel Tov!

How very fascinating and heart warming is the story of the Ethiopian Jews in Israel.  Although not without problems, the efforts of the Israeli government to resettle and embrace Beta Israel, this ancient Jewsih community, are to be commended.

My Rabbi is somewhat of a skeptic.  He feels that the Ethiopian Jews are unlikely to be the lost tribe of Dan or the descendents of Menelik, the son of King Solomon and the Queen of Sheba.  He thinks it is most likely that they converted to Judaism after some Jewish traveler settled among them. Hahaha, sometimes I think my Rabbi takes a bit too little on faith!

Yityish means "a look to the future" in the Amharic language of Ethiopia.  She is well named.

And beautiful too!

Magical Act

Vi and me dressed for Mea Shearim

My hubby taught me this one - sometimes one should make "a Magical Act of Faith".  This normally involved making a major purchase like buying a house that stretched our budget or giving up a solid job for a new opportunity.  Usually the act of faith was well rewarded, occasionally not.  But I do know that sometimes you just have to "go for it".  If people didn't do that I'm sure no one would ever get married or have babies, haha.

A few days ago while I was in Ross Dress For Less just window shopping with no intention of buying anything, I meandered over to the clearance section.  There were two long skirts, the frumpy kind I would never wear but perfect for the ultra-Orthodox section of Mea Shearim in Jerusalem. When we visited Israel in 2011, I had to borrow a long skirt and hat from cousin Vi who packed several of those kinds of outfits thinking everyone in Israel dressed like her sister-in-law and my cousin Sandy does in the US (she's frum). 

So I made a Magical Act of Faith and bought the skirt that fit, the long brown jersey one, my favorite of the two choices.  Now the Temple's 2014 trip to Israel is far from a done deal (we may not get enough people who want to go) and it's 15 months away, but I am really hoping it comes to fruition and I'll get to Mea Shearim again. 

But I'm doing more than hoping.  I'm making a Magical Act of Faith.

;-)

Harlem Shake

Student protesters in Egypt

It's a funny looking dance that would normally make the Americans who started shaking their booties look like silly dilettantes.  But it has evolved into a symbol of protest throughout the world. 

This week marks the 48th anniversary of the Selma civil rights protest that's known as Bloody Sunday.  Hundreds of civil rights demonstrators were attacked and many beaten viciously. One was killed.  Tear gas was used as well as charging horses.

March 7, 1965 - Bloody Sunday

Surely it is better to have a peaceful protest that is fun and incidentally good exercise than to resort to violence.  There will always be worthwhile causes to champion and there will always be brave and strong willed people who believe in them and put their bodies and booties on the line.

So Shake On!  Even if it's just in your own living room...

;-)

AHA!

Lots of folks experience AHA! moments.  I think they can be loosely defined as a moment in time when someone's perceptions were altered, a grand truth was revealed, and their life was changed.

Sometimes the AHA! will be tied to a major life event like a divorce, becoming a parent or a loved one's passing.  Sometimes it's triggered by  a "rock bottom" juncture like waking up and finding one's self in the gutter with a big hangover. 

I too have experienced an AHA! moment.  My life (already wonderful) did not change but rather, I changed.  My epiphany came when I no longer believed in miracles, or thought there possibly could be miracles, I KNEW without a doubt that miracles do exist.

A passage from the Friday night siddur says: Blessed are You, Adonai, who gives life to all (who revives the dead).  Baruch atah, Adonai, m'chayeih hakol (hameitim).

AHA!

Jewish Journal

A nice perq of living in South Florida is getting the Jewish Journal for free at local establishments or in my case, Bagels and More.

There are interesting articles with a pro-Israel slant, ads for Passover supplies and rants by folks who love to opine on everything from what the sound of the shofar meant in Biblical times to how Obama's trip to Israel will be a disaster.  Where else would I find out that there is a whole movie devoted to the history of Hava Negilah and that it is playing in three theatres, one conveniently located in each of the three South Florida counties? 

Too bad I will miss the "Rock and Soul Shabbot" at Temple Beth El (the other Reform Temple in Hollywood) next week.  But the February 28th issue was a little late in talking about the Anti-Defamation League speaker at the Sunrise Jewish Center - he spoke on February 1st, 4 weeks ago.  There are listings for restaurants offering no-cook Seders and ads for Chinese Buffets, computer tutors, rentals in upstate New York, cemetery plots, fine jewelry, Nosh Fest (I'll miss that too) and home health care.  Are you visually or reading impaired?  Do you need a large print Hagaddah?  The Jewish Braille Institute will set you up for free!

Got to love the Jewish Journal!

;-)

Hey Tomorrow

I guess every day is a mixture of small triumphs, happy things and hopefully tiny disappointments.  Yesterday was no exception:

The Good News
* I'm looking forward to a weekend outing with Barb and Morry
* My friend Anne whom I have not seen in a loooong time wants to go to lunch 
* I finally finished the latest Jonathan Kellerman best seller which was approximately 3X longer than it should have been
* The "Sequester" AKA Federal budget cuts kicked in.  Does anyone really believe these relatively tiny cuts will cripple our economy and send us into a third world status?

Danny (on the left) and his band

* I made an appointment to get temporary eyelash extensions (first time!) so I'll look pretty next week in Chicago
*The stock market hit a new five year high
* I had a lovely lunch at the Harvest Cafe (delicious homemade chicken soup)
* Dinner was delivered from Domino's

The Bad News
* It was too nasty out to go to the Catholic Church's Carnival and see my friend Danny's band
* The scale is stuck on +3 pounds
* Bonnie Franklin died
* I had to throw out a former favorite pair of jeans 'cause they were so stretched out they wouldn't stay up
* Detroit is bankrupt

The Worst News
* Someone I love is very ill

Hey Tomorrow!  Where are YOU going anyway?

;-)

Anne at the Oscars

It seems that the world is very upset with Anne Hathaway for wearing "an ill fitting gown that emphasized her nipples" at the Oscars last Sunday. 

I did catch Ms Hathaway on the red carpet before the Oscars and although I did not care for her gown I did not catch any hint of nipple flaunting.  I thought she looked stunning.  The interviewers were having a dumb contest - "guess what's in the box under the sheet" - and Anne immediately got it with a simple clue - Judy Garland's ruby red slippers (on loan from the Smithsonian).  I thought to myself "how smart she is!"

Anne was a shoo-in for Best Supporting Actress.  Her performance as Fantine in Les MIserables will haunt me for years.  And I have never, ever heard "I Dreamed A Dream" like the way Anne did it.

So I was suprised that Anne actually APOLOGIZED for her dress!  Listen up girlfriend, take it from me, you are gorgeous, talented and you seem like a good person.  You can wear a potato sack (and still look fabulous) if you want.  Take that well deserved Oscar of yours and bash any nay-sayer over the head with it.

And don't apologize afterwards!

;-)