Ann Marie and Joe

Friday, January 11, 2013

Fine Dining

Lovely experience last night.   I was invited to Annmarie and Joe P's house for dinner and they live fairly close, so I walked over for a little exercise.

Joe greeted me on the street entering his house which was very hospitable...and as I reached the threshold to their door, their two sweet cats were the welcoming committee.   And Annmarie was standing there smiling and I felt expected and welcomed.

I loved the food made from scratch...and very healthy. We started out with hearty vegetable soup that included  just about every veggie that our God created.

  Her asparagas receipe I will definitely make.....in the toaster oven with some oil and bread crumbs...and utterly delicious.  In fact, I was watching Joe in the kitchen, a real artist at work, with his wok...and the aroma was wonderful.  His two hands looked like a conductor performing  with a fine orchestra.

The slices of eggplant parmesan was also fantastic...but what was a big bonus about my meal was their cat was climbing up my leg...and it felt so good...just like a dog...a catdog!

After dinner we sat in the parlor and I looked at quite a few paintings.   This family is so talented...all I can do is admire...I'm talentless.

I looked at some paintings that were minimalized...lots of good colors and then maybe was a small shrub or a little chair.    I would not have purchased those but it was fun to look at.   I was told that these paintings were selling.

About a month ago Annmarie asked what kind of painting I would like to own of hers. I was very flattered that she wanted to put one in my house and I told her a farm....because I still watch 'The Walton's.

About 9 o'clock I said I was ready to leave because they were going to present the painting to me...so beautiful...I would never tire of  the scene.

Joe and Annmarie came over with picture, nail and hammer...and Joe found the perfect spot.

This morning when I woke up, even before going to the bathroom, I  went to the living-dining area  to view my new picture...painted for me by my good friend Annmarie.

Now I have pictures that they both gave me...and I feel very privileged and happy to own them.

I just keep looking at it.....thanks, guys!    Oh I didn't leave without a container of the soup..which I shall sup while I admire my picture in its beautiful wooden frame.

Oh Happiness...it's age-friendly here!

Spotting a ramp when you step out of your car is a sign of AGE.   I make an effort to search for an easy ramp nearby so that I would have no  need to step up or down a curb.  Never occurred to me that I would one day watch for these things.


I'm imagining what my life will be one year from now and they're not pleasant thoughts...do I sport a cane...or give over some of my independence with a walker.

I'm completely devoid of time slipping by.  When my son was young, I thought, in my fairytale  mind, that it would always be that way.

I loved all Jeff's boyhood activities...I enjoyed standing on the sideway watching him participate in the marching band and marveling at the  choreography  they were taught when  they marched, while holding a trumpet and pressing the right buttons.

Jeff marched in all the parades downtown,  and you would always find Allen and me  lining the streets watcgubg the musicians as they  marched down the street and we would always kvell.    Our Boy!

I know that tennis in our town was not a spectator sport, but I went to the games and enjoyed the back and forth volleying....and Jeff was good too, he would actually scramble for the ball.  It made me proud.

Allen and I would take Jeff to a lobster restaurant and both my men folk loved having their bibs tied around the necks. and really working with a little tool to get all that good meat out.  This was a night out on the town.

I was never an adventurous eater so I never even tasted lobster...I ordered the same old...same old.  To me the lobsters resembled big bugs.  Not so...this was a gift out of the seas.

Once a week Jeff would dress in his cub scout uniform and when it was our turn to  host, we always served cookies and milk...and made some sort of creative thing for the little boys to take home.

But the years have passed and I still can't believe that fifty years have passed since we lost our president.   Jeff was 11 years old and came home looking very somber...and we hugged each other.   Allen called on the phone and I asked him to come home.

This happened on a Friday and that night we went to Synagogue services...and most other people went to church.

Our hearts were hurting and full.

And here I sit, thinking about all these memories...and now Jeff and Donna have been married 20 years and will retire here in another year.

It makes my heart happy!   I am blessed!   Next week I will see Eric,
Becky and baby Shane.   How I'm looked forward to that.   If you were to ask me what could excite me more ...one million dollars...or seeing Shane.. no contest...my Shane...........................

My old shoemaker shop

I can go back in time.   If I try really hard, I can smell the little shoemaker shop that I went to when I was a child.

His building was just a tad bigger than an outhouse, but it was a very special place.  Was that glue I smelled or leather or what...but I loved that smell.  He always had a beautiful calendar on his wall...the only decoration.

And our shoemaker was such a kind man.  His son went to school with me  and was always dressed well, so his father must have made a decent living.

Now this was in the 30's when we just didn't go out and buy new shoes...no, we had them soled.

I never hear of anyone getting a hole in the bottom of their shoe today...but we did back in the day.

Did we walk more?  Was that it.  I remember the poor kids used to line the bottom of their shoes with cardboard.  Did we play harder? 

We got new shoes when we outgrew them....not when they wore out.

Those were the days....

blessing for a surrogate mother

the blogs: nosher / rabbis / keshet / scribe / multitudes / southern / canteen

A Blessing for a Surrogate Mother

 

9

I just had to put this in my blog

“Do you know of a prayer for a surrogate?” The question came over Facebook Chat a few nights ago, sent by a young woman in my community named Tara. In the coming days, Tara will begin carrying an embryo for a couple who were not able to conceive on their own.  For Tara, this has been a deep spiritual journey. She has two children of her own, and felt so blessed by easy and healthy pregnancies. And while cherishing her own beautiful sons, she felt overwhelmed by the deep pain and heartache that infertility causes to so many people. Tara knew she wanted to help.

In the Hebrew Bible, we meet many women who struggle with infertility. There’s Rachel, who watches her sister carry baby after baby, struggling herself to conceive her own beloved sons, Joseph and Benjamin. There’s Hannah, who is so deeply pained by her inability to bare a child, that when she prays with all of her heart, Eli the Cohen believes that her passion and her devotion is a sign of being drunk. Hannah sways back and forth, opening her mouth, and only releasing a voice that is loud enough for she herself to hear. This kavanah, or deep intention, is the model that we use for personal prayer today.

Possibly the most well known story of infertility is found in this week’s Torah portion—Vayera.  After struggling for years to conceive, Sarah is told that she and Abraham will have a child in their old age – and she laughs, and thus the child is given the name Yitzhak. Our rabbis teach that her laughter carries with it a feeling of surprise and even doubt. And yet, I prefer to focus on the essential truth that exists within big, unbridled laughter—tremendous, heartfelt, contagious joy. Sarah would finally know the extraordinary joy of being a mother.

Today, I know so many women and men who desperately want to experience that very same joy.

In just a few short days, an embryo will be implanted within Tara’s uterus, formed by a loving mother and father who are unable to create a baby without Tara’s help. And so, for Tara, I have written this blessing:

Makor HaChayim, Source of Life
= = = = == = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = == = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =

Inspire me to become a holy vessel, blessed with the opportunity to carry this precious seed, providing nourishment and warmth within the deep embrace of my womb.

Infuse me with patience. Through each hour of each day, may I have the strength to feel the blessing of the moment, knowing that with each breath that we share, life is closer to being renewed.

Rekindle within me courage, for in holding this seed, I am not merely making a child—I am also creating a mother and a father. I am forming a family. And within that family, a whole universe of possibility dwells.

And at this time, especially, instill within me the power and potential of love, that I may remain tender and devoted to all those who are connected to my heart.  As my body changes and grows, so may my capacity to embody love expand and unfold as well.

Our Halloween Party

What oh what can I wear to dress up for this momentous occasion.

And then it came to me.  A few days before I was looking at Becky, my niece's facebook and she went dressed like this.

They say that imitation is the best form of flattery...so you should be  flattered, Becky, and thank you.   These are 3 tap lights that light up...and I was a traffic light.

Jeff and Donna pointed me in this direction!

Friday, November 30, 2012

Jeff and Donna pointed me in this direction!

Why oh why do I write my blog???   Is it because I want to be published???     Is it because I think I have fantastic ideas???    Is it because I need to be recognized for my achievement???    Is it ego on my part?  Maybe in part of my brain I would have liked to be a writer but it never came to fruition.


I'm amazed at times how many readers spend some time reading my blog, and not just in this country

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Today I was thinking about if I had my life to live all over again...would I do things differently .

No...the answer is definitely no.   I've mostly enjoyed my life, except for the tragic stuff.   I lucked out and had a wonderful husband who was very easy to live with...and then when Jeff came along, it was a wonderful time.   

My growing up years were sandwiched between the great depression and world war 2.   Now we're saddled with another depression.

I do worry a lot about my children and my children's children and if we're using up too much of everything and there won't be enough for them.

I wonder if my grandparents worried about the same things.   Interesting thought.

I know that God is watching over us...so I'll just let HIM do the guiding and everything will turn out all right.