It was Girls' Night Out last Thursday night to see The Hunger Games, the latest teen book/movie craze (think Harry Potter and the Twilight saga). Imagine a combination of American Idol meets Gladiator in Nazi Germany with costumes from Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland and you can sort of get the idea. In all honesty, it was not as bad as I had feared.
The best part of the movie? A text from hubby from Boys' Night Out at the Seminole Coconut Creek Casino saying he had just won $800. at the penny slots!
;-)
Jennifer finished the matzo cover and Afikomen holder today, the day before she leaves for her home in Georgia and in time for Passover next week! I am thrilled! They match my new Seder plate from Israel perfectly and I will treasure them forever.
You can see I'm so excited I've started setting the table already!
;-)
When Mom married Dad in 1946 she registered for china. The pattern she picked was Desert Rose* and loving friends and family gifted them with a full service for 12 with lots of extra serving pieces such as the pickle dish and sugar bowl and creamer. Mom and Dad used the set for Passover fleishadic so seeing the dishes reminds me of every Passover Seder of my childhood and beyond.
After I inherited the set I augmented it with current pieces that became available for "today's" family - deeper dish cereal bowls and stemmed water goblets. The pieces made in the 40s are painted slightly differently that those from the 80s and 90s but they co-exist wonderfully on my own Seder table.
The pattern is a true classic and remains popular today. Good things can last a lifetime - and beyond!
*Desert Rose, the largest selling pattern in the history of American dinnerware, made its debut in 1941. It has enjoyed the world's longest period of popularity of any dinnerware pattern produced by a single company. This beautiful handpainted pattern is still one of America's favorite casual tableware patterns. In 1964 the sixty millionth piece had been produced and Desert Rose is now on display in the historical Smithsonian Museum. First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy chose Franciscan Desert Rose for use in the White House. (amazon.com)
Tonight is a webinar on university teaching assignments in China. Hubby is on the faculty.
When I was young I imagined living in "faraway places with strange sounding names" but the second line of that song is "they call me a dreamer, well maybe I am". "Real life" (42 years of work) kind of put a kibosh on such ideas.
They say the time to take a year off and see the world is when you are young and have energy and no responsibilities. But some say the time to do that can also be when you are retired.
Still a dreamer I guess...
;-)
Every woman (at least every woman I know) loves shoes. Me too. I have no idea why.
My shoe of choice is the the humble rubber/plastic flip-flop which can usually be scored for $2.00 or less. It is quintessentially Florida and when I slip them on it's like telling the world "I'm free to be me and so are my footsies". My favorite pair were an impromptu gift from cousins Harvey and Vi and they have cool palm trees and flamingos on the straps with a bit of leather and cushy insoles.
My collection includes my Big Score from the Old Navy $1.00 flip-flop sale. So now I have them in almost every color in the rainbow. My second Big Score was these cool "dress" flip flops with rhinestones and plastic bow. A find from Big Lots at $5.00!
;-)
Rabbi Frazin, retired Rabbi Emeritus, substituted at Friday night's services. His sermon was on "My New Career" where he talked about "life after retirement" and how some people thrive while others stagnate. It was very apropos for me as it came on the day I completed four full weeks of retirement.
With Rabbi Frazin's undeniable vitality and energy, it is easy to see why he is still in demand as a teacher. But his horizons have been greatly expanded because now instead of only teaching students with names like Avi, Rachel, Joshua, Sarah and David, he is teaching students with names like Juan, Shaniqua, Dong-Sun, Naimah and Gianna. His message was that retirees need to find or expand our "core essence" and do those things we were meant to do.
I hope that my horizons will expand as well. At least I have a most excellent role model.
:-)
I couldn't believe it when it first happened but total strangers have asked me "what part of Chicago are you from?" Do I have an accent?? Apparently I do.
So now here comes a funny commercial featuring the GEICO Gecko speaking "like a true Chicagoan". Hahaha. Well, it was nice to see Wabash Avenue (the street that never sees sunlight) again.
I vote for keeping the geckos here in Florida where they belong!
;-)
The nicest souvenir we brought back from Israel (aside from memories to last a lifetime) was this exquisite Seder Plate, purchased in Mea Shearim, the Orthodox enclave in Jerusalem.
I had given my family's matzo cover/Seder plate to godson Scott a few years ago when he made his first Seder. I was happy it would be used by another family for many more years. So this beautiful piece is a most welcome addition to my favorite things.
But best of all, my wonderful friend Jennifer, a Catholic and a Master Quilter (World Class Plus Plus) wants to make us a matching three-tier matzo cover and afikomen holder!!
I will treasure her gifts forever. I am a lucky lady to have her for a friend!
I know I will probably sound like a really, really old lady (which I am NOT!!) but I need to make this comment about growing older. Life gets better as you age. Yes, it really does. At least for me.
So many things that were stressful in my younger days have ceased to matter. Of course jobs and career advancement and planning for financial security are on that list, but there are also things like coping with family or friends' problems, big home improvement projects (ugh), acquiring possessions and status symbols, the lack of time to connect with people and have fun, decorating, dieting and questioning "the-path-I-am-on".
I'm not a drinker but I'm told that wine also gets sweeter with age. L'Chaim!
I will swear I am not a "collector" of anything, but I do own six kaleidoscopes and another would always be welcome. I have been fascinated with them ever since I was a child.
By definition they are a continually changing pattern of shapes and colors, a metaphor for life itself.
My late BFF, a stained glass artisan, made the pink one for me. Of course it is my favorite.
:-)
It was Girls' Night Out last Thursday night to see The Hunger Games, the latest teen book/movie craze (think Harry Potter and the Twilight saga). Imagine a combination of American Idol meets Gladiator in Nazi Germany with costumes from Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland and you can sort of get the idea. In all honesty, it was not as bad as I had feared. 
