Caren and Lee

My favorite picture of Caren and Lee

Cousin Caren is getting married next Sunday (incidentally my parent's anniversary) in Chicago.  The third of my cousin Marlene's three daughters, she is the youngest and the last to be married.  A simcha!

When Caren was born her father Larry was in the hospital in the next bed.  He had been fighting cancer since his twenties and about ten years later he was gone way too soon at only 43.  I remember how kind and generous he was and how much he loved my cousin.

Marlene continued to raise the girls and did a terrific job.  They are very close to each other - no surprise - and each girl has found her bashert in the most wonderful of young men.

So it is bittersweet and beautiful to see Marlene walk her girls to the chuppah.  Her brother Howie takes Larry's place.  I cry.

Tevye sang in Fiddler on the Roof "It takes a wedding to make us say let's live another day".
Yes indeed, life goes on. 

Congratulations Caren and Lee!  I can't wait!

Haircut

MY LOOK
 

Today is haircut day.  I have an appointment with Florencia who can work wonders with my not-so-robust locks and give me that tousled messy look that tells the world I am a fun loving and carefree kind of gal.  In truth, I love the messy look because, of course, it's super easy to maintain.  Just wash, run my fingers through it with maybe a touch of "product" and straighten the bangs with my flat iron. 

Florencia is not her real name but it's somewhat close to the true Romanian version.  She was a true "find" and I've followed her from one shop to another.  I get the "senior" cut and without a wash and blow dry it's only $13.  I tip big though.

After all, miracle workers are hard to find...

:-)

Shmaltz

Shmaltz is chicken fat, plain but not-so-simple. Jews today eschew this time-honored ingredient which our Mamelehs and Bubbes incorporated into almost every meal set on their kitchen tables.  Shmaltz has gone the way of other hydrogenated animal fats and has fallen to the same sad status as (gasp!) bacon drippings or Crisco. 

Shmaltz of course is in a class by itself.  My Yiddisha mama would save pieces of chicken skin and fat and when we had enough, she would render the fat by simmering it for hours with a bit of onion and then setting it to cool.  She would then fry the leftover skin into "grivenas", crispy treats that are closest to fried pork rinds if you really insist on finding something similar.

My father would put a shmear of shmaltz on a matzo and sprinkle on a little salt.  Soo yummy!

OK here's my confession.  I still render shmaltz to make grivenas.  I buy a package of chicken necks (lots of skin included) and cut up the neck skin into small pieces.  They go into a Corning wear dish for 15 minutes in the microwave until super-crispy (incredibly easier than hours on the stove top).  Periodically I will stir them to keep them from sticking together.  I drain them well and feed them to hubby along with a prayer that his good heart health holds up.  He smiles and tells me I am a great cook.

The necks themselves, sans fat, make delicious soup. Sadly though, the resulting shmaltz goes down the disposal.  But maybe, just maybe, next time I will sneak a bit on a matzo...

;-)

Deli

I kinda of knew this was happening but when I actually read an article about it I felt a jolt right to my solar plexus.  Jewish Delis are closing all over. 

In the last decade the famous Rascal House in North Miami and the equally storied Wolfies in Miami Beach have closed their doors after decades of being revered and practically historic South Florida landmarks.  And the worst came a year or two ago when Hollywood lost our beloved Deli Den, a true Deli with the best homemade cheese pastries ever.

What a rare and wonderful treat it was when my Dad would take me to Roosevelt and Halstead Streets and treat me to a corned beef or pastrami at Manny's!! 

On the bright side, I still have Mo's in Aventura and Ben's in Boca and Poppie's in Delray Beach.  Deli On Forever!

;-)

 

Help Wanted

I love anything that helps me do my chores faster or better.  The best of these are those that actually do the chores FOR me! So in my quest to find the perfect cleaning companion - outside of an actual live cleaning person - I have tried all sorts of robotic gizmos.

I was an early adopter of the Roomba and the Scooba.  Both were OK but had shortcomings, the worst of which was that they seemed to always run out of battery power while situated under a bed.  There were also "walls" to be maintained with fresh D cell batteries to prevent Roomba and Scooba from sucking up my long draperies. I finally gave up on these and went back to doing it the old-fashioned way.

Now there is a fresh new crop of robotic gizmos: the "Neat" and the "O-Duster" and a few others I think.  The O-Duster is currently circulating around my house as I type.  Its the simplest of the robots - you just charge up its internal battery every night and attach a swiffer type cloth (pricey custom size of course) and it runs around the house seeking dust mites.  So far it's not bad and I figure whatever it does, I don't have to do.  It's also light weight so if it does get stuck under the bed I can easily poke it out with a broom handle.

When I was a little girl, Mr. Wizard promised me that by the time I was a housewife I would have a faucet that ran boiling water, a machine to wash and dry my dishes, and a robot to do my cleaning.  I guess he was right on all counts!

;-)

Blanky

With the recent slight chill sweeping into South Florida I've taken to curling up under my blanky.  Do we ever outgrow the nice warm comforting feeling of being ensconced in our blanky?

I must admit I did not always have a blanky.  In Chicago there was a high power electric blanket set to Max Blast.  But a few years ago they came out with these cuddly new blankies made out of some kind of super soft fleece with a velvety smooth covering. I found mine at Walgreens and after one touch I couldn't resist. 

Cousin Barbara gifted me at Chanukah with soft fleece polka-dot PJs made out of the same wonderful synthetic material that feels terrific against my skin.  Normally they are much too warm for South Florida but I do so love the occasional times I'm able to wear them. 

Not only does my blanky keep me toasty, it's a great elixir for mild depression and unexplainable mood swings and it's a wonderful companion for afternoon naps. It's also an antidote if I wake up with an uncontrollable desire to be overproductive or am contemplating such overambitious undertakings like cleaning out the refrigerator.

Cuddle On!

;-)

Gone Too Far

I must be getting old when something has really gone-too-far for me.  I pride myself on thinking nothing can surprise me anymore but this one almost crossed the invisible line in my head to yucky-icky.  I'm glad this is "just" a spoof and not really a full length movie. 

The only Tarantino movies I really liked were the "Kill Bill" series.  Come to think of it, DJESUS UNCROSSED  (if they really did make it) would be a similar Revenge/Get-Even movie, usually my very favoritest theme for books or the small or large screen.

OK Saturday Night Live, you topped yourself this time!   You got me! 

;-)

40 Bags

I heard of a new "challenge" - 40 bags in 40 days.  A friend has started the challenge with her pantry and I've read that others have embraced it as a meaningful activity for Lent. 

Now I am not a hoarder and I kinda practice this "challenge" all through the year. I hate clutter and love when everything I see around me has some kind of meaning, purpose or memory.  Serious bagging would have to involve hubby, whose man-cave (the garage) is filled with stuff we've had for decades. Incredibly, he seems to be able to put his hands on whatever is needed at the moment. 

Yesterday he replaced flickering fluorescent bulbs in the garage.  No trip to Home Depot required, oh no, he miraculously produced two super-long fluorescent bulbs wrapped in newspaper dated November 25, 1995.  They had to have travelled with us from Illinois! 

Perhaps I should forgo this challenge.  Besides, I can't seem to find 40 bags anywhere, hahaha.

;-)

Cantor Rosen

It was New Year's Eve, Friday, December 31, 2010.  I had decided that 2011 would best be welcomed by starting off with Friday night services. I had a lot to be thankful for in 2010 and this seemed a small way to express my gratitude.

We had never before been to Temple Solel. But when I heard Cantor Israel Rosen sing and play his guitar, I knew this would be my new spiritual home.  His "Mi Shebeirach" moved me to tears.

Last night at Friday night services the Rabbi talked about how young Israeli soldier Israel Rosen, only 20 years old, had slept at the foot of the Western Wall on June 7, 1967, the day he helped to return the Wall to Israeli hands and to Jews everywhere.  Wow! Who Knew? 

I chatted with the Cantor's wife after the service at the Oneg and learned that the Cantor's parents had come to Israel on the ship that was first turned away by the British. Two decades later their son, whom they named for the new state, would help liberate the Kotel.  It would be the "Wailing Wall" no longer, as our tears of sadness became tears of joy.

Karma has continued to follow me this week.  This is the second post this week that embraces the Wall...

Fallen Angel

Big surprise, another day, another fallen angel.  Yesterday it was accused murderer Oscar Pistorius; today Jesse Jackson Junior will probably face five years in the slammer, thus joining the sad cadre which includes Lance Armstrong, Tiger Woods and too many politicians to list.

I am beyond sad, I'm actually MAD!  These folks have duped us with their charitable foundations and phony do-good activities.  Oh you say, cut them some slack, they DID do some good along with their other nefarious activities.  And aren't we all just humans??

We are indeed but no I won't cut them some slack.  Most of us mere mortals freely admit we are not perfect.  We do not try to pretend that just because we are driven to excel in sports or in our careers (or whatever) that we are worthy role models for the rest of the world.

I'll give you an example of how we have been hood-winked big time.  See this book: It's About the Money!: How You Can Get Out of Debt, Build Wealth, and Achieve Your Financial Dreams ?  It was written by young Jackson in 1999 for very poor minority audiences who may never have had any training or experience in simple household budgeting, saving a little, living within your means and bettering your prospects through career education. What a farce!  Young Jackson "built" his own wealth (like a $63,000. Rolex) and "achieved his financial dreams" not by living within his means but by embezzling $750,000. from supporters who trusted him enough to contribute to his campaign fund. 

Goodbye Fallen Angel.  You were right about one thing - it was all about the money for you.