Worry

To be a true Jewish Princess one must master more than kvelling, kvetching and spending large sums of gelt. The sine qua non of true JAPness is Worry. This is one area of JAPness that I excel in, although my dear mother had me beat by a mile.

Some of today's princess wanna-be's actually think one should not be sweating the small stuff and strive to forgo Worry altogether! A slap in the face of our proud Tradition!

Who knows what horrible things would come to pass if I stop worrying? I do not plan to find out...

:-)

Tropical Acres Update

I wrote a few days ago how special Tropical Acres, a true "Old South Florida" landmark for 62 years, is to me.  My place of choice for all dinners I want to remember. 

Yesterday there was a fire at Tropical Acres which damaged part of the 62 year old restaurant.   How sad for the 65 employees and the family that has owned the restaurant for its entire existence. 

And for us, its customers.

Please be back soon!

Miami Herald - Great Story

On a scale

This is my friend who always tells me the truth no matter how unpleasant. I bought my friend from a garage sale about 25 years ago for 25 bucks and it has served me fantastically well. I visit it every day even though sometimes I wish I could forget it. What it tells me directs my day a bit, sort of like checking my horoscope in the paper.


Thank you friend for keeping me on the straight and narrow!

Family Tree

I will always be grateful for finding Geni, the online family tree maker.  With the help of my family, we managed to trace our lineage back to Rashi and even further.  It was great fun, a family project, and set me on a "spiritual journey" of sorts. 

This is only a portion of the entire tree.  I'm the tiny white box in the lower right corner. 
I was very sad that I had no relatives on my mother's side going beyond her parents.  But I knew the name of one of her relatives, a Rabbi Stanley Halpern, and after googling him, I FOUND HIM!  Here's what he wrote:

Hi Evelyn -- We are indeed cousins, and I remember your visit -- which I guess is the joy of getting older -- I can remember things 45 years ago, but cannot remember where I parked my car. If I remember correctly, your grandfather (Sam) and my grandmother (Doris Halpern) were (half?) brother/sister. I vaguely remember your mother, Lee, but, unfortunately, not your father. And I do remember that you lived in Chicago. Am I right that you were an only child? Now that we are in the same area, it would wonderful if we could get together to fill in family ties. I am particularly interested in updating genealogy. I will also let my brother Marvin know that we have made contact. He now lives in San Francisco. I am looking forward to hearing back from you soon. B'Shalom Stanley

 

The Quest continues!

The Joy of Yiddish

What can I say about the joy of Yiddish? It is truly a pleasure to intersperse a word or phrase that only Yiddish can express correctly. It's a link to my ancestors and never fails to bring a smile to my face and everyone else's (even if I'm using one of the many expressive Yiddish curses).

You don't like my stuff???

KISH MER EN TUCHAS!!!
;-)

Supergirl

I'm definitely not Supergirl but I'm very happy that I don't need to take a single prescription drug.   So many of my fellow Boomers are starting to have health problems...

But I do take an assortment of vitamins.  I think of them as compensation for my somewhat erratic eating habits.  When I remember that is. 

I've been doing this for a long time and so far, so good.  I'll also give a shout out to my late Mom and Dad - thanks for the great genes that gave you long and healthy lives!

Life is good.

As Seen On TV

I'm sure everyone believes (or WANTS to believe) those too-good-to-be-true Infomercials on TV at least some of the time.  To help you out, I will share my Hits and Misses in the As-Seen-On-TV department.  Just a disclaimer, I have not actually bought any of these from the Infomercials, I either tried a friend's or got them from Big Lots or the discount As-Seen-On-TV store at the Festival Flea Market.

HIT
Spray On Hair.  Don't laugh, this product may not help a bald guy look like he has hair but it works GREAT for boosting thinning hair if you're truly in dire straits.  A girlfriend with brain cancer and severe hair loss used it and it worked wonders for her hair and her confidence.

MISS
The Buxton Purse.  Touted as being able to carry "everything" it did not even hold a fraction of my necessities without danger of exploding.

HIT
Snap On Pants Shorteners.  These actually stay on and work nicely on fallen pants hems.  Have yet to try them to shorten pants completely. 

MISS
Magic Mender Goo.  Oy! You can see the glue line through any fabric. 

HIT
Green Food Preservation Baggies.  Well, the lettuce did stay fresh longer but eventually it got old and yucky anyway.

MISS
Make Spaghetti by having it sit in boiling water.  I forgot what the thing was called but all you have to do is stick spaghetti in a bowl and microwave it for 12 minutes.

HIT
HD Lenses Sunglasses.  Definitely worth the $5.00 you can get them for at the Flea Market. I wear mine every day.

:-)

Altered States



Victorian Ev



These are me in altered states thanks to various photo editing and fun applications.

Wouldn't it be super cool to have an alternate life to go with each?

Would I trade my Reality for one of them?



Sophisticated Ev






Hot Young Thang Ev

 

Egyptian Princess Ev

Shabbat Shalom

I've been attending Friday night services at Temple "religiously" for the last 8 months, since New Year's Eve 2010.  In some ways this is a departure from my previous lifestyle, but in a more profound way, it is a "coming home", like I belong there and never really left. 

A translation of today's title is "the Peace of the Sabbath" and it is both a greeting and a wish. 

Attending services separates the frenetic pace of the workday week from the relatively slower pace of the weekend.  It's a time to pause, reflect, pray for sick friends, honor our departed loved ones, the victims of the Holocaust & the martyrs of the State of Israel, and be filled with gratitude for all our incredible blessings. 

It does indeed bring me Peace.

Shabbat Shalom!

Taste of Chicago

The kids sent a huge carton of frozen treats from Lou Malnati's. What a surprise!  They know I have a soft spot for deep dish Chicago pizza and Long Grove apple pie and carmel-cheese corn from downtown and Vienna all-beef SuperDawgs. I could not imagine more thoughtful and loving kids and I would hate it if they knew The Truth.

Its not the food I miss (and Lord knows no matter how carefully I follow the directions the stuff never tastes exactly right).   Because if I'm not actually IN Chicago it's just not the same.

The yummy part of the carmel-cheese corn is smelling it wafting down Randolph and Wabash. The delectable joy of the deep dish is eating it in the dark cave of Gino's East off Michigan Avenue and knowing I am in the coolest place on Earth.  And the SuperDawg will never, ever be as good unless I'm looking up at Mr. and Mrs. Dawg on Milwaukee Avenue.

But don't tell the kids!