Val-isms

Happy New Year - 5769

First of all - what a nice weekend.  Though the weather was SO humid, overcast and drizzly, I was almost ready to shave my head, I survived.

Saturday morning we brought coffee and bagels to a friends' home (Kim & Rob) who had some clothes that Kim had to give to Linda.  Turns out that one of the shirts actually fit Sophie, so they agreed to 'share' it! :)  It was nice seeing them.  We came home and cleaned the house.

Saturday night, the dinner with the Rabbi's went very nicely.  It was nice to just hang out and chat with them.  And I'm sure it was nice for them to be able to be out as a couple, versus as 'the Rabbi's'.  We talked about the elections, upcoming UCONN basketball and other miscellaneous stuff.  Nice.

The brunch we were supposed to go to on Sunday never happened for us.  We didn't know any of the invited guests except for our Rabbi (who would be getting there much later than the arranged time, as she had another obligation), so we were both tentative about going.  We also weren't crazy about the purely vegetarian meal options (we dine there for dinner often, but neither of us are fond of 'fake' eggs), so we got there on time and no one was there, so we waited 15 minutes and then left.

My greatest pet peeve is people being late for an arranged meeting.  If you say be there at 11:30, I'm usually there at 11:25.  I'll give a person 5 minutes, but after that, I'm annoyed.

And it wouldn't have been so bad, except that the organizer had sent multiple e-mails with the time stated and that reservations would be made, etc...  I e-mailed her when we got home later and asked what had happened.  She replied that "oh, I got there about 5 minutes after left, you should have just waited."  Um, no.  I have better things to do with my time than stand around waiting for you.  Sorry.

So we went for a nice 7 mile bike ride.  After coming home, taking a nice hot shower, I watched the DVR'd "Grey's Anatomy" season premier.  Then settled in to see the live premeirs of "Desperate Housewives", "Brothers & Sisters" and "Dexter".  An absolutely specatcular evening of TV.

As I will be celebrating Rosh Hashanah at sundown this evening with my family, I will take the time to look back over the past year, pray for a sweet new year and enjoy the present blessing of being able to celebrate the start of the New Year (5769) with my parents, Linda & Sophie.

L'Shana Tova to those who observe and to those who don't, enjoy the next couple of days, just cuz!

Soggy weekend ahead...

This week started that crisp fall weather.  I loved it.  We had the sliding glass door in the bedroom open about 5 inches to let in that crisp air while we slept burrowed deep beneath the comforter.  Aaaaah.  Very nice.

Last night, it was raining and cold outside.  Perfect evening to watch "Sex & the City- the Movie".  Laugh if you must, but I proudly admit to loving this show when it was on HBO and was eagerly anticipating seeing the movie.  We never made it to the theatre when it first came out and it JUST got released on DVD, so it's been on my Netflix wishlist for awhile.  It arrived yesterday and for 2 and a half hours, I was in heaven.  I didn't want it to end.

Linda dozed a few times, but I think that she enjoyed it, despite the many utterances of "how long is this movie???!!".  (She even shed a few tears!)

The sliding glass door stayed shut last night, though, so the rain couldn't come in and soak the carpet.  But we both slept very well with the sound of raindrops lulling us to sleep.

It's a dark and dreary day out there today and the weekend forecast is for more of the same.  Sometimes the weather lends itself to assist us in our chores.  This is one of those times.  No sunshine will tempt us tomorrow, so after doing a few errands in the morning, we'll stay in and do our cleaning chores while Sophie will get to watch the taped "Dancing with the Stars" show from this past week.  She LOVES this show and loves trying out the moves.  Very cute.

Sophie has a dinner time birthday party to go to that my ex will be bringing her to. 

We are having the Rabbi and her partner (who was recently ordained a Rabbi, as well!)over for dinner and hanging out.  Looking forward to that.  Over the past 3 years, they've had us over after services many times and it'll be nice to be able to reciprocate now that we live in a bigger place.  And the chance to socialize with them as 'just another couple whose company we enjoy' will be nice.

Sunday, we've been invited to a brunch at the local vegetarian restaurant with some people that we met last month at our local lesbian groups' last event.  We have no idea who all has been invited and who is coming other than our host, so that should be fun.

"Dexter" starts up on Sunday night - YAY!

Shabbat Shalom.

Sad

On Monday, I learned of the death of a young person (17) who is the daughter of a friend of my brother & sister-in-law in Israel.

This morning, I learned of the death of another young (30's) person who worked in the deli in the corporate complex I work in.  He went home from work on Monday and made a horrific decision.

Both people took their own lives.

It's startling.  Beyond sad.

One was struggling with an eating disorder and seemed to be on the mend.  Her family and friends were very much aware and had done everything possible to assist and support.

The other was a guy I saw every day that I was in work.  He delivered the milk order up to our floor every week, so we'd have for our coffee.  He was the guy who made sandwicheds, worked the grill and bullshitted with me when I'd go down for lunch.  He was friendly and I enjoyed bantering with him.

Upon hearing the news of his death, I wondered if he had reached out to anyone or if he had put himself in isolation and convinced himself that he didn't matter to anyone.  How awful to feel that alone. 

It really doesn't matter if you know the person who dies or not.  When you hear of something so tragic, it rocks your world.  It's unsettling.  And it's amazing how their deaths will have a ripple affect on the people in their lives.

May their families find comfort.

The power of now

Living in the now.

It's hard to do, when there are so many things that can happen in the now that will bring up 'happenings from the past'.  There is also the problem that they could make you anticipate or worry about 'happenings in the future'! sigh.  :: shaking head and clearing other distracting thoughts:::

But I'm trying.  My better half has been reading books about this.  She has been sharing the information with me and trying to broaden my perspective to be able to do this ij order to make things more calm and enjoyable for myself and those around me.  It does work.

But as with all things, it's a matter of repetition to get these knee-jerk reactions to change.  And with me, these reactions have been a long time in the making!  Since it's something that I WANT to do, that should help.

In the mean time... I'll focus.  Ask Linda, that's the hard part for me! 

Adventures in dough

My friend Yak and her partner Alyce have entered the pizza making world.  Of course, they have.  What other kind of take-out place would an Irish/English gal and a nice Jewish gal own?!!!

Yak has dabbled in real estate deals over the years and Alyce was recently laid off from her long time postion at a bank.  They have been exploring business opportunities and this one caught their eye and within a day, they had put in a bid and had it accepted.  It's been theirs for the past 2 weeks.

The place (already named and in business for many years) is called Pies On.  (cute, no?!!)

Linda & I went down to visit them yesterday afternoon to check out the place and the food.  Little did I know that it would be a hands on experience!  (But with Yak involved, I should have known!)

Here I am with Yak, preparing to start to make the pizza - note how natural I look with that apron on! (As you know, the key to great cooking is to at least LOOK like you belong in the kitchen!)

    

And here we are, that's me poking the dough to get all the air bubles out (hard work, those damn air bubbles!)

   

A close up shot...

   

And the almost completed pie... (it ended up being with sausage, onions & mushrooms and it was excellent!)

 

I highly recommend that if you are in the area, go check them out.

It's a beautiful drive there from Connecticut - just over the Tappan Zee bridge in Pearl River, NY. 

Pies On
2 Veterans Pkwy
Pearl River, NY 10965
(845) 735-0867‎

(No, I get no percentage for blatantly offering free advertising!)

Blog catchup

I've thought about writing this week.  Almost every day.  Then I go to my list (to the left) and read my favorite bloggers and by the time I'm through, I'm at a loss as to what I want to write.

I loved the Sarah impersonation by Tina Fey done on SNL this past weekend.

Linda & I went for a bike ride about our town on Saturday and it was very nice.

Sophie started Sunday school this past Sunday and her teacher was a man (her first male teacher) and she LOVED him.  SHE LOVED SUNDAY SCHOOL.  She actually said it was... FUN!  (feeling ferklempt as iI type this!)  And to add a bonus to the whole experience, the teacher called me and my ex later that day to say he enjoyed having Sophie in his class and hoped that she had a good time. He said that if we had any concerns/issues to give him a call.  (WOW!) I called him to tell him how wonderful I thought he was (I will meet him next week, as my ex took her this past week.  (NOTE:  he called every one of his students)

I'm busily involved with a few projects now that I'm on the board at Temple.  I'm trying not to be too overwhelmed.  (Trying to remember that they can't fire me!)

Sophie is having a minor dental surgery tomorrow and my ex & I decided that we'll tell her as we drive her over to the appointment, as we know our daughter will get herself, LITERALLY, sick to death thinking of all the terrible things that could happen if we tell her tonight.  This way, it'll just happen and she'll be fine.

Linda isn't feeling well tonight.  My first clue.  I came home to find her in bed sleeping at 6:30pm.  She woke up to say hi and then went back to sleep.  No work out?  She's definitely sick.

I'm off to go read for 20 minutes with Sophie (her nightly reading assignment) and then plop her in the bathtub.

8 year checkup stats and an anniversary

Sophie's annual physical was a few weeks late this year, but we went yesterday after shool.

The only thing of concern for Sophie was whether or not she would need a shot (yes, she did - Hep A).  She passed the hearing & eye test with flying colors.  She only cried a little while sitting on my lap when they gave her the shot.  (and today she is unable to move her left arm, as it's still a little bit sore!)

Her stats were:  56 lbs and 50" (4'2") tall.  She grew 2.5" since last year!   But, she's still 4lbs shy of being able to be in a car without a booster seat.  As for percentiles, she's in the 50th percentile for both height and weight.  All is good.

After the doctor appointment, we met my parents for dinner at John's Best (Italian restaurant near their home) and shared a nice appetizer of mussels in a red sauce, salad and a large 1/2 pepperoni & 1/2 sausage pizza.

Today is my parent's anniversary - 54 years!  Happy Anniversary, folks!

When I wished them a Happy Anniversary, my Dad's response was: "You know what they say... the first 54 years are the hardest!"  Always a kidder and funny guy, my Dad.  (Except to my Mom!  But fortunately, all of his kids inherited his sense of humor, so we all think he's a riot!)

Here's to the end of the work week and a good weekend wish for everyone. 

For those reading this from the Houston area - be safe and careful this weekend.  Ike is looking mighty fierce.

Shabbat Shalom.

Remembering 7 years ago.

The U.S. was attacked.  We all clung together. 

It changed our perspective.  It changed our lives.

We will never forget.

Special b'day party

Our Kulanu group celebrated it's 5th birthday this past Sunday night.  We had a little birthday party at the Temple and had almost half of the group attend, with their partners and kids.  There were probably about 25 people plus our 2 Rabbi's and Cantor.

We all brought some eating items to share while our Assistant Rabbi supplied the drinks and cake for us all.

Our Senior Rabbi spoke to us briefly as to why this group was important to both him AND the congregation.  He's a cool guy who looked out at his congregation over 10 years ago and instead of seeing who was sitting before him, noted who wasn't.  And he has made it one of his missions over the years to find out how to interest and draw in those missing people.  The LGBT community was high on that list.

When a Congregant came out to him 6 years ago and expressed the feeling that they had had a problem being both Jewish and gay, he suggested the forming of the Kulanu group.  And Kulanu was 'born'!  It only had about 2-3 people in it when I joined the Temple in 2004, but with a list of almost 40 names now, it has grown and word is still spreading!

After eating, and before cutting cake, we lit little tea lights and took turns speaking (if so inclined) about what Kulanu has meant to them.  It was emotional for all who spoke and those who listened to hear how much it's meant to the group members to find their Jewish home at our Congregation.  It's a safe place that provides the Jewish connection for both spiritual and social activities.  It also enables us to do our own and join with other groups within our Congregation to support civil action causes.

It was the first time that we had an event that involved the kids.  At this time, there is only one other couple of lesbians who have 2 children (a girl Sophie's age and a boy 2 years younger) and it was so great for them to get together in a Jewish setting where they saw other families like their own and had their families recognized and celebrated.  We noted that we needed to do more of these types of events with kids included in the future.

Aside from sponsoring a fundraiser for gay marriage  in CT a few years back, we hadn't done anything in the social action arena and had been trying to come up with something. 

Linda heard about this group called the Pajama program, which collects new kids pj's to distrubute/donate to local shelters around the country and the world.  So in the invite to our birthday party on Sunday, we requested that everyone bring either a pair of pj's or a monetary donation so that Linda & I could purchase the pj's for them.  At the end of the night, we had 17 pairs of pj's and $20 to buy some more!

I'm so proud of my congregation and of our Kulanu group.  We have come a long way in the last 5 years and I look forward to seeing where we are in another 5!

NOTE:  In our preparation excitement, no one brought a camera, so the picture of the cake was taken by me using my phone.  Sorry for the blurriness, but trust me when I say the cake looked great and tasted better!

A few political opinions

Am I the only one who is looking foward to the conventions being over?  Shit, I can't wait til the election is over. 

No matter who wins, it's gonna be SO good to be rid of W.

But it had better be Obama.

How can anyone take the Republicans seriously when they seem to be talking from both sides of their mouths.  One side spouts "Straight talk" and the other side states: "equality for all people."

How can it be straight talk for equality when they they discriminate against gay people?

And choosing a woman VP was just so obviously transparent to try and win over the women who were disappointed by Hillary not getting the VP nod.  But to pick a woman who doesn't even come close to having the experience and knowledge that Hillary does is beyond insulting.

Sarah is just a good ole boy wearing a skirt.  She's tough and all, but I think her needs to set her sights on helping her family before she attempts to save our country.

Am I the only one who thinks it hypocritical that a person who is against abortion can proudly kill an innocent moose?

Both sides are saying it's time for a change.  The Republicans had their chance for 8 years and they made enough changes for the worse.  It's time for the Democrats to make some positive changes.

Old man McCain, it's time to retire.  You've earned it.  Sarah, go home and enjoy your 'twin' son and grandchild.

Shabbat Shalom.