Thank you, Michael Arkin! (to the blogosphere: I also wrote Michael a thoughtful, hand-written note of thanks. Long before I was acquainted with Derek Blasberg's work, I was trained in proper etiquette by my mother).
My college boyfriend's father was gay. I remember the great secrecy and emotion surrounding him telling me about his father in the early 90s. Times are so different today for the gay community and this film gives a broader historical perspective about the lifestyles of closeted gays in the 20th century.
I have been told that I will like Mike Mills' style if I like Wes Anderson's. This is too delicious!
Naturally, I have great affection for Christopher Plummer, who stars in this film, as he will always be the Captain singing "Edelweiss" in my memory.
“Last month, an innocent, modestly dressed 8-year old girl,
Naama Margolese, living in Beit Shemesh, described being spat on and vilified
by religious extremists - - all men who believed that she did not dress
modestly enough while walking past them to the religious school she attends.”
Well-spoken. Well-said. Well-written. Kol hakavod (kudos).
This op-ed piece is written by a very wise Rabbi named Dov Linzer in New York.
photo courtesy of Rabbi Dov Linzer's Facebook profile
I wonder if he knows that he shares the same first name as the wise, creative, successful shmatta tycoonDov Charney in Los Angeles who is noted for his provocative American Apparel ad campaigns.
Does Mr. Charney knows that yeshiva girls and Jewish women are forever grateful for his interlock pencil skirt which enables them to dress both fashionably and modestly? Hypersexualized ad campaigns? No matter. You make the goods and the smart shoppers have found your shmattas and wear them in a tznius (modest) way. I hope he's kvelling. What a way to repurpose an item in an all good way.
Jewish women time and again prove that they are wise beyond their words and actions.
Thank you to both Dovs for your good work on this earth.
This comes via my friend Big Josh aka The Coach.
He is such a gregarious soul, dare I call him a social butterfly?
xoxo to Big Josh, and I can't agree more with this song, part of the film that launched Donna Summer's career!
As I played field hockey in high school (though about 10 years after this film, and therefore no red tube socks), I naturally love the opening sequence with the girls getting on the bus and their field hockey sticks in hand.
Thank you, Barry Bernstein and Rob Cohen, writer and producer respectively, for this beacon of light!
(there is a YouTube video link below: If you are not seeing the image, click through to the website itself and it will appear. Sometimes in the email digest you won't see it)
A few months ago, I decided to stop simply thinking about yoga and start doing it.
So, I went to the Kripalu website, hoping to find some good yoga YouTube videos. Without rhyme or reason, I clicked on a couple of their graduates' profiles. At the 3rd click, I got to Tara Stiles. I never heard of her. Something drew me to her name specifically. I don't believe it was random.
Tara's outlook and style speaks to me. Her whole lifestyle is yoga. She recently YouTube blogged about eating salad for breakfast. Not such a novel idea, but coming from her lips it sounded magical and attainable. She has a great YouTube on doing yoga in bed right as you're waking up. Of course, normally I stretch anyway in the morning, but she showed me how to take it to the next level. Her videos are not just instructional, but also entertaining with her dry-wit sense of humor. I love how she starts off her videos with the following standard phrase, "Hey guys, how are you, I'm Tara Stiles." Totally chill.
She is Deepak Chopra's yoga teacher and also the proprietor of Strala Yoga in Manhattan.
Looks like she's doing a new series for LIVESTRONG Woman.
there is a YouTube video here, so if you are reading this as an email feed, you might not be able to see it. click through to the website www.wholephamily.com and you can see the video link.
Since I have no current plans to visit Strala Yoga, I continue to rely on her most excellent YouTube channel.
We get invited to friends' homes frequently for Shabbat lunch on Saturday afternoon after synagogue. There is always good food, many children, and yummy challah involved. The traditional gift to bring is a bottle of wine or other readily edible food for that meal, but I put together something a little more original.
Glendale Farm Grape Juice from the Finger Lakes, NY with waiter-style table crumber. Buy NOW as by Passover 2012 it will no longer be under the O-U
Organic Glendale Farm Grape juice, 2010 vintage.
Waiter-style table crumber
Tag made from PEZ candy cardboard package.
Bringing to our hosts for shabbat lunch.
Table crumber is essential for the challah crumbs! Easily found in Judaica stores and Kosher food markets. Or, just ask your waiter at Maialino if he has an extra to spare.
With children, grape juice is a necessity for the kiddush (blessing over the wine). It is a 100% acceptable substitute. It's even legit for adults to use it.
Enter the upscale organic Kosher grape juice. Mix half with seltzer for a "juicy beverage," or, what many folks might know better as a spritzer. Call it homemade soda, it's all the same goodness. We have been buying this for years at Fairway in New York City. It is available via special order through Whole Foods on the East Coast. You need to order a case, and only this size bottle, 22 ounce, is available. [If you are familiar, they used to be in a bottle that looked like the Santa Cruz juices bottle (not kosher), but those days are currently over].
I spoke with the proprietor of Glendale Farm recently. He explained that the juice is now in a bottle that looks like his competitor Kedem (which, in my opinion taste-wise doesn't stand any comparison) because the Orthodox Union gave him no other option. This is getting political and not my bag...
He was not bought out by Kedem.
He is hoping to get certification for his 2012 vintage with the OK Laboratories.
I plan to bring one bottle from my stash coupled with a nice bar of Parve Taza chocolate (also available at Whole Foods).
Taza chocolate is Parve, organic, made locally in Somerville, MA, under the OU
I got to V initially because I was subscribing to W.
And I got into W because, like guys who read Playboy "for the articles," I found such interesting information there. I learned about Richard Gere's B&B in Bedford. And Michael Steinhardt's private animal sanctuary. And so much more.
I strive for information and it also helps me with my wardrobe. I think Derek Blasberg would like all of this. Derek, I will blog about you another time. You are *the best.* I heart Derek, even though we haven't met in person.
But check out this awesome LV ad:
The see-through bag reminds me of what all the women have to carry when they work in the department stores. A total upgrade for Bloomie's employees. And the ice cream shop chairs: Oh, how Peppermint Park (which I hope to blog about another time). It was an end of a Manhattan era when they shut them down. Derek, ask some of your friends who grew up in and around Manhattan. They will tell you how much they loved Peppermint Park. And, nary a good reminiscence online.
If you look carefully, you can see the mini Tootsie Roll on resting to the right of and just below Justin's left shoulder (to orient yourself, put yourself in Justin's shoes...now that's a tough one, but c'mon, you can do it).
And that is why I love V.
They placed one Tootsie Roll right in front of him.
Not a fan of his work, but if that ain't art, I don't know what is.
Alas, I couldn't imagine that my favorite band is in this issue, despite that they sell out New Years at MSG year after year after golden grand year.
It is my friend Seth's 40th birthday today, and I just posted my favorite thing to post on friends' Facebook profiles when it is their birthday. It jazzes up the typical "Happy Birthday." I mean, c'mon, that is so unoriginal.
FYI, Sixteen Candles was one.of.my.favorite.movies.growing.up.
My sister Reba and I can go on ad nauseum with the quotes. Naturally, I longed for a Jake Ryan in my life. Never did happen. But Stango is way better.
I'm getting back onto my Harold and Maude kick lately. I don't care what is out there about Cat Stevens from the past. I don't care about the current politics. What is in a name, anyway. Break down the barriers and just have lots of love, love, love. Yusuf Islam still believes the same message: peace. We'll get there.
There is much to be learned from Ruth Gordon's character in Harold and Maude. And we have Cat to thanks for writing those words.
So, go ahead, do some cartwheels and have lots of fun.
Oh those New Yorkers. Clever they are. Watching this video reminded me of my first subway ride alone in Manhattan in January 1995. I know that My People are so small in numbers, and yet it warmed me when I overheard two women on the subway talking about upcoming bar mitzvah plans.
Eliot and Ilana Glazer capture good stuff here. And when you include the words shlep (Yiddish for "lug stuff." Not derogatory) and schmuck (Yiddish for "complete and inane jerk." Fully derogatory, yet accepted as ok to use in casual conversation.) in your "generic" parody of the original Sh*t Girls Say, you gotta remember that in New York you don't have to be Jewish but it don't hurt to be. Pat Kiernan, what do you think?
Why is it that countless Elliots and Eliots are yidden (Yiddish word for Jews. Not derogatory). One of life's mysteries. Also, guys named Yale.
(disclaimer: if you really want to get it done in 30 seconds, do not watch the embedded videos!)
Yesterday, towards the end of spin class, Rihanna's "Don't Stop the Music" came on the speakers. Ever so conveniently placed, indeed I didn't want the music to end, since I was finally getting my spin groove on. I am not very contemporary with popular music, so I owe much of my knowledge and exposure to it via my excellent spin instructors. In truth, I don't connect much to the music: the beat seems somewhat empty to me. I am a classic rock and Jam band type of mama. I don't like how women are objectified. I certainly don't want my children watching this video. Stango would definitely not be into it.
Rihanna is beautiful despite the fact that I don't agree that she uses her body, sex and overall image to sell herself. Isn't that Hollywood, though? She has made a career out of it, and I give her that. I am sure she is a hard worker.
Ever interested in connections, I love how she borrows from Michael Jackson's "Wanna Be Startin' Something" when she says "mama say mama sah mama makusa"
Ever thirsty for knowledge, I researched that phrase, which, according to this Wikipedia entry, has its roots in Makossa music, which is popularized in Camaroon cities.
Call me an ignorant American, but I don't know much about Camaroon.
Except for this classic scene from "Trading Places," where Eddie Murphy pretends to be an exchange student from Camaroon.
Which leads me back to the City of Brotherly Love, where this film is largely based.
Despite growing up strongly identified as Jewish (kosher house, Hebrew day school, liberal Orthodox synagogue), my parents were totally fine with me watching the Sunday morning Davey and Goliath series. Who cared about the cross in the beginning of the show: they offered a good message, and they were cute. I knew that it was from a church, but I knew that wasn't my church.
Jump from 1977 to 2012, and to my surprise, just today at my grocery store I noticed on the rounder of spiritual/inspirational books (which just so happens to be located right next to the Kosher section, go figure!) the following:
Who knew that Jan & Stan Berenstain were coming from a Christian perspective!
Invoking Jerry Seinfeld's famous phrase, "not that there's anything wrong with that," I am beginning to realize that it actually is a good idea to know where my children's values are coming from. As strongly-identified Jews, I want them to have Jewish values. We have plenty of Jewish children's books, but publishing is a tough industry, and sadly there aren't many high-quality Jewish children's picture books.
Interestingly, there was a Strawberry Shortcake book on this rounder as well. Was That Character From Cleveland also a Christian? This character is owned by American Greetings, a company owned and operated by the Rose-Stone family in Cleveland. That family has done tremendous acts of kindness in philanthropy for the Jewish community. When Strawberry debuted in the early 80s, my mom collaborated with her friends to collect a few copies of the NY Times Sunday Magazine so I could have a full display of the multi-page advertisement showing various parts of Strawberry Shortcake's body.
Do these things matter, really?
At the end of the day, the message is the same: be a good person, do acts of kindness, give charity, help the elderly. And if my children learn that from Mama Bear, I think that is ok.
But, if know where you come from, who you are, and where you are going...
Rachel Loebl, Hazon's Chief of Staff, has notified me that they will likely sell out this week. This is no surprise as it sounds like an amazing evening line-up of food and music.
I know it's been done, but here is how easy it is to make a healthy snack fun and a fun snack healthy.
The Wolfman's Brother enjoying: 2 dried plums, 2 sugar cookies, 3 veggie straws, 4 chocolate chips, 10 almond slivers. Dill will surely not get eaten. I know, I need more fresh options but at least the dried plums are a good start.
In 4th Grade my classmate Jason brought in this cookbook and demonstrated the recipe for the vegetable monsters. It was a lot of fun. Mother subsequently purchased for me, during Cook Book Book Report Month. My friend, the author and cartoonist Marc Tyler Nobleman always loved that I had this book on my shelf, as he is a super hero all-knowing guru.
Very early adopters of healthy eating guidelines in the early 80s, this book's messages of healthy eating stayed with me throughout my childhood. I believe this is out of print but you can currently get it on Amazon for $75.00
I actually ended up taking Dr. Joan Gussow's course on Nutritional Ecology at Teacher's College of Columbia University. I recently wrote her a note thanking her for her work. I mentioned this book and how much it meant to me. Dr. Gussow didn't remember me, but that didn't matter. She is a trailblazer when it comes to healthy eating. For her I have the highest regard.
Yeah, some locally-sourced fruits would have been a good addition to the Wolfman Brother's snack.
I admit I love the convenience of Costco just like anyone else, and I have gotten used to purchasing my laundry detergent there.
But like my mom has always told me, buying Arm & Hammer detergent when on sale for $1.99 per bottle is the best buy out there.
Easy for you to say, mom, since you are in the suburbs.
Not so easy for the urban mama.
on sale at $1.99 per 50 ounces, this is the best buy for laundry detergent!
If Tide Ultra at Costco is $14.29 for 50 ounces, who cares if what is on sale is not the same brand! This is a no-brainer, and one need not be so brand-loyal when it comes to laundry detergent.
Plus, due to skin sensitivities, we only use Fragrance Free.
Yes, you can and should use Fragrance Free for babies.
Forget about Dreft (I know, you like the smell, but it isn't good for the baby's skin. Trust me).
So, if you find yourself in the suburbs, get to an A&P or SuperFresh or Waldbaum's or Food Emporium where you might find, as I did, a great deal.
When we moved to Philly from NYC last summer, one thing that helped me feel so civilized in my new city is that the gas pumps still had the locking mechanism under the handles that enabled me to let the fuel pump on its own. I had done some online research while I was living in the hardscrabble neighborhood of the Northwest Bronx, and learned that due to safety issues the locks are being removed. Each state has its own laws.
Ah, what do they know! Pennsylvania has it right and kept the locks.
Well, I enjoyed about 6 months of gas-station bliss, until this appears yesterday at my local Cumberland Farms gas station:
Note the two holes under the metal lever. Locks have been removed!
Alas, this is the way of the world, and I guess this is just the way it is.
Personally, I am a skeptic to all online information, and I do have to wonder what type of State or Federal regulations are behind all of this, but one thing is for sure:
You might be thinking, "um, Loony? That is a no-brainer."
But it wasn't to me when I first had children. It sort of evolved after seeing more and more friends who had these.
Initially I was totally jazzed with the educational placemats. You can get them at any good independent toy store or brainy toy-type store. Or online our cousins Ellen and Ken Levinsohn's Learning Express store in Bedford and Scarsdale, NY.
However, at $3.99 each, after about 6 months of getting junky and moldy, it is simply another disposable expense. But they are indeed educational and even I have learned more about the United States Presidents than I did in Ms. Gibson's A.P. US History class in 11th grade.
Our table with the learning placemat. It offers a great opportunity to learn!
Our table with the IKEA placemats. It offers great design and looks so pretty!
I am having a feng-shui moment of confusion.
Do I keep the somewhat junked-up ones, but my children will still learn?
Or,
do I get rid of them and use the more trendy IKEA ones, and my children will just be looking at birds, without a lot of educational enrichment.
For the sake of feng-shui, I am choosing to purge.
Old learning placemats are getting put in the giveaway bag. Some other child whose parents didn't or couldn't spend the $3.99 per placemat are now going to benefit.
Plus, the IKEA ones take up less space on the table, fulfilling a true minimalist's dream.
My budding scientists or historians will just have to suffer.
My family has been eating the private label jarred marinara sauce produced by On Point for years. Initially it was produced under the label Master's Choice and we bought it at the Food Emporium, A&P,and Waldbaum's. All the flavors were delicious: Four Cheese, Bolognese, Tomato Basil, Marinara to name a few. All natural ingredients, made with olive oil, no additives or hidden spices. Always the best price for the homemade-quality taste when compared to the specialty brands like Rao's, Patsy's and the like. Also, they were all Kosher. Even the Bolognese was OU-Glatt.
No longer Master's Choice, the sauce is now marketed under the more attractive label of Via Roma. This is still the private label for A&P, and mama mia are they doing a good thing!
For the Kosher folks out there, only the Marinara is certified Kosher parve. (Please, bring back the other flavors! You are very good for the kosher world!). This is the best quality, best tasting, best priced jarred Parve sauce any Kosher consumer will ever have. It is a necessity for Friday night sweet & sour meatballs. I recently tried substituting ketchup, and my kinderlach could taste the difference.
For everyone else: try out all the flavors and see what you like best.
Via Roma Marinara Sauce, $3.99 per jar, currently on sale for $2.49 at my local SuperFresh, Certified Kosher by the Orthodox Union (the O-U)
At $3.99 a jar, this is the best homemade-tasting sauce for your buck.
It is made locally in Pennsylvania, too!
Currently it is on sale at SuperFresh (also an A&P affiliate) for $2.49 a jar, no limit.
My sister Reba dismisses this sauce, as she is more of a food purist and immersion-blends a can of san marzano tomatoes as her sauce, but she doesn't have children yet, and so I wonder if she will start relying more on the convenience foods that most families use when God-willing she has children of her own. But, I hear her. And, she remembers the glory days of when this was part of her after-school snack atop a piece of vegetarian schnitzel(aka tivall in Israel)with melted cheese on top.
The Marinara is higher in fat than the others at 6g per serving, but the Tomato Basil is lower and similarly tasty.
Manga!
And, if this type of stuff matters to you, for further info on the company, read this recent Forbes article on A&P's CEO.
This is a good publication for early childhood, but they have others for older ages: Ranger Rick and Your Big Backyard.
I know what you're thinking: It takes advance planning, and I need to bring a wrapped gift to the party.
Yes, that is sort of true. The child will not receive this magazine the day of.
However, you can order the magazine online at the last minute, wrap up (better yet, place in a regifted gift-bag from your bag of bags) a nature-themed toy or goody bag prize that has lost its way in your home, write up a mock-certificate that they are to receive a subscription to this magazine and call it a day!
Who needs more toys in their house?
Only snag is that you will continue to receive the renewal for this gift at which point you say: let Kayla or Oliver's parents figure that one out!
However, a potential bonus is if you order during one of their promotions, you will get the free gift, not the gift recipient. That means one more pair of binoculars for your child.
Parents will so appreciate it, you get the credit for giving a useful, thoughtful gift without creating more garbage in the house, and everyone will now know the difference between a macaw and a manatee.
Order here (and, no, I am not currently receiving financial support from anyone, be it a company or individual, as it relates to the Whole Phamily. The products I am endorsing are those I believe in.)
(or, insert your own significant other's title there. Or friend. Or dog. Point is that is An Other)
For some reason, the past few weeks we have had toothbrushes that are too alike in look for me to deal with. I use his toothbrush, by accident, a lot. I try not to. I know about the spread of germs, gingivitis, all sorts of dental jargon. So, it happens.
But I know that Stango will just go with it. At the end of the day he will just go with the flow. Yes, he will clearly remind me that we need to maintain separate dental care tools.
The lesson learned is that famous quotation by a famous person who made a lot of money:
"Don't sweat the small stuff."
But what I really need to sweat is at the gym.
Since I am heading out to spin class *right* now. (you do see that it is 5:15am, right? And my Tuesday spin teacher likes to start 15 minutes early and not at the regularly scheduled 5:45am).
And so this use of the toothbrush fiasco only turned into such because I decided to blog about it and now will be a few minutes later than I wanted to get to the gym.
For those of us who cook meat-based soups, we know that plentiful bones are essential for optimum, full-bodied flavor. No bouillons, no cans of stock, no boxed soups masquerading as more healthful stock options. Just lots and lots of bones that enable the stock to achieve its sublime rich taste. But it gets pretty tedious when the time arrives and you have to remove all of those bones and cartilage. I have tried many methods to get a nice golden, stuff-free broth: cheesecloth, collander, and removal piece-by-tiny piece.
I present to you the product that brings the preparation of chicken soup to a new level for the balabusta (female head of household who does the cooking but you can be a balabus too, I am all good with that). The trick: I have seen it only in the kosher supermarkets. Oh, the products they invent for the woman who juggles numerous children, work, and communal commitments! With cooking for shabbes weekly (which, let's face it, is Thanksgiving every week), these bags are truly manna from the heavens.
It is so under-the-radar here in Philadelphia that even our kosher supermarket manager was unfamiliar with them, despite that they were sitting on his shelves.
I use one bag for two packages of chicken bones and an extra chicken thigh thrown in there for some extra meat. The holes in the bag allow the soup to cook thoroughly. They stretch a lot so you can fit in more than you think when you first look at it. I put my vegetables directly into the pot, but these work well for the various herbs and other vegetables like onion that you might not want floating around in the pot. For those of you concerned with the issue of borer (a Jewish law forbidding separation on shabbat), since some of the good soup is being taken away with the thing you don't want in the soup, I can't see why there would be an issue (note: I am not an authority on Jewish law).
Though they don't list them on their website, Rockland Kosher for sure carries them, most likely from 2 or 3 different companies.
Give 'em a call and see if they'll send you a case.
Better yet, take a trip to Monsey and get thineself to the supermarket of kosher supermarkets.
If you went to summer camp, likely you sang "You've Got a Friend," arm in arm, shoulder to shoulder, tears eventually rolling down your cheeks.
I haven't heard it in a long time or thought of it, but along comes this nice cover by Nigel Hall and friends from last week's JamCruise. This talented musician is friends with my friend The Coach. Actually I think I will call him Big Josh from now on, since that is how he referred to himself in another recent online post. Ok, Big Josh?
Jump to start around 2:00
Remember the Neville Brothers? At least one of these musicians, Ivan Neville, is related.
My friend Lisa and I did a cover of this song during our teen tour at a make-your-own-cassette-tape kiosk on Fisherman's Wharf in San Francisco and called ourselves, tongue-in-cheek, The Japettes. Lisa is a good friend to this day and very much *not* that derogatory cultural stereotype.
Here we are, me wearing my Vuarnets, those very 80s preppy sunglasses I referred to in this recent post. when I mentioned the song "Prep School Hippie."
That Martin Luther King, Jr. spoke these words the day before he was assassinated tells me one thing:
He was a Righteous Gentile and a True Prophet, in the larger world picture.
This is one step closer to the true messianic redemption.
The security guard at my kinderlach's school said something I have heard numerous times before: that he knew the end was near for him. What a wise, wise, wise man who did greatness for the people of the United States.
This comes from my mom's Syracuse Facebook friend...
Start at 1:00b to get past the intro.
My mom isn't such a big fan of when Andrew says "I'm the $100 challah cover that you'll never use."
Mom: "What does that mean? Why don't you use your challah cover? At least put it in a frame."
Yep, that's right, go to 1:43 and this fellow Jew is also, "going to all 3 Phish shows this weekend."
Andrew: you do know that there were 4 Phish shows over New Years, right? I imagine you said that because you didn't go to the one on Friday night. But, then, why weren't you using your challah cover?
A Shabbat custom is to have flowers on your table. It is a nice one. We don't do it a lot for various reasons, but I love having flowers. Our shabbes guests brought us tulips on Friday afternoon.
Here is my arrangement:
The Schweppes Bitter lemon came from my trip to Berlin. The Gold's Horseradish is a way of turningzayde's favorite condiment into something hip, and the San Pellegrino is one of my favorite "fancy" sodas that is more readily available here in the states. All are glass bottles.
We got a 2nd bunch of tulips. My mom gave us this cool disposable Made in Israel vase that comes folded up, called the Vazu.
It is throwaway, which isn't my inclination, but it was pretty handy!
A few weeks ago, actress Juliette Lewis was in a YouTube viral video (wow, it is over 10 million hits!) , entitled Sh*t Girls Say. Really funny stuff. Not quite kosher, but I found it great.
Circulating today in the Jewish blogosphere, just before shabbes, is Sh*t Frum Girls Say. Listen for the Canadian accent, as it reminds me of Kids In The Hall. Haha "koisel"...
I gotta say, coming from a frum perspective that is good SHTUFF! (Though I do think the "baruch hashem" could have flowed better from the tongue.)
Lest you think Frum (observant) Jews are the epicenter of the world, they are not.
Jews are so small in numbers. Frum Jews? Even smaller.
The Black girls and Asian girls also have parodies.
Early this morning, I found myself 10 minutes late to spin class. Normally I sit in the same area, but I saw a friend with an open seat in her vicinity and was tempted to sit next to her. I am glad I didn't. I have my reasons: it is near the windows, I like to be up front in the mirrors, and it offers more privacy. It is my makom kavua, or dedicated space, that I return to day after day.
If I succumbed to impulse just to be social, I would have lost out. Don't get me wrong: I love to mix it up. But I would have given up the reasons why I am there in the first place. And one of those is not to catch up with my girlfriends. (actually, we did get a chance to chat, but it was after the class, which is the appropriate time and place).
When it comes to children, routines are essential. They enable them to thrive and yet getting them to stick to the routine is challenging. One area where I have been successful due to sticking to consistency with my kinderlach is in clearing the table. We use the Hebrew word toranut to refer to clean-up. When the Wolfman leaves the table with his breakfast dishes still there, I will say simply, "Did you do your toranut?" Repetition of this question has instilled that he knows it is his responsibility. When he acts like he doesn't want to do this job, I will ask probing questions such as: "Is there something you need help with? Are the dishes too heavy?" Often, this helps.
There is a time and a place for everything, and routines help us get there.
Pete Seeger captured this Jewish concept in "Turn, Turn, Turn," a song popularized by the Byrds. It is based on the Book of Ecclesiastes (which appears in the Old Testament or Tanach). It is called Kohelet in Hebrew and is read in synagogue during the holiday of Sukkot, a harvest festival all about changes of the seasons. As creatures of habit, every year our sukkah has the same look and feel, but the people who come to it bring variety of all stripes.
The Wolfman's Brother is eating his oatmeal with strawberries, a bit of maple syrup and a chocolate syrup drizzle as I type.
If there is one thing that I learned while teaching early childhood with the lovely Original PurpleGirl, it is to use small pitchers for the children so they can pour their own. Here, we have an Arcoroc glass pitcher you can pick up at Crate and Barrel.
This is the perfect size for small hands, and even my older two (The Wolfman is 6 and Concealed Light is 8) find it useful.
Easier than trying to get them to pour from a gallon container.
My sister, Reba, is confused as to what type of blog this is.
It is a me blog.
And a big part of me is seeking out the good stuff.
I am posting stuff here that I like and hopefully it will all make sense.
We have spent a day in Lake Placid the past couple of years en route to our Adirondack Mountain vacation. I love the ADKs, having gone to summer camp there.
On Mirror Lake Drive, the main drag in Lake Placid, you are sure to find touristy shops and restaurants. I believe I found the best one of all, and even on the outside of the store which is called "ADK Outlet" you will not know the goodness unless you go inside.
photo courtesy of the ADK outlet's Facebook page
Awesome oversized patch from ADK Outlet, 2472 Mirror Lake Drive, Lake Placid, NY 12946
There is nothing touristy-cheesy about the ADK Outlet.
Last summer we finally met the proprietor of ADK Outlet. His name is Tom Dalton. He played guitar in the store with my children. He currently has no web site but produces a lot of preppy-inspired reproductions. Rugbies, felt college banners, vintage-looking college shirts for Syracuse, Michigan and other popular schools. He himself exudes the prep-school boy ski bum image, though he is well past the school years and is from Upstate New York. You feel like he is Ralph Lauren (nee Lifshitz)'s long-lost brother. He is doing preppy for cheaper.
Tom lives in China half of the year where his quality goods are produced. Last summer I purchased some jersey-knit knee-length skirts that I have not found anywhere else. The quality is is superb. He embroiders the skirts right on-site. For those frum readers among you, these are the best comfy "sweatshirt" A-line skirts you will ever find. They are elastic waist with drawstrings. They are really the perfect skirt I have been looking for years for. Colors include: cobalt blue, black, hunter green, gray. I sniff a business idea. Not.
His shop is decorated beautifully with a plethora of vintage collegiate memorabilia including felt pennants, sporting equipment, and Adirondack hiking gear. If someone blindfolded you and brought you into his store, you would think it was Ralph Lauren.
This all reminds me that I have never heard "Prep School Hippie" and there isn't even a YouTube since Phish no longer plays it, but here are the lyrics:
Prep school hippie
Or hip school preppie
I can't decide
Should I spend my adolescent days wearing tie dyes or Vuarnets
I can't decide
Big ten kegger at the frat
Or watching Jerry shake his fat
Prep school hippie
Or hip school preppie
I can't decide
I can't wait till I'm 21
Doesn't this give you the hankering to get back to Oak Bluffs?
Further to my recent entry on Feng Shui, I am finally able to part with some items from 1st and 2nd grade (late 1970s).
The first are the remnants of my Hello Kitty address book.
My childhood friends in 2nd or 3rd grade. I only hope that Concealed Light will have really great friends, too.
My brother's work. Let's just call him The Goalie
In 2nd grade we did an imaginary trip to Australia with Mrs. Burn.
We made Koalas stuffed with popcorn kernels. We cut out the fabric and sewed the koalas. I remember looking through the travel brochures about Australia and all the kids laughing when we got to the photos of the nude tribal people. Things were looser back then.
Koala Feeding Instructions
The Koala just hanging out in its box
Here is the Koala, whom I have had since 1980.
Now it's time to say goodbye to my Koala. He's had a good run.
My sister is a phenomonal jewelry designer using semi-precious stones. These would make great Bat Mitzvah necklaces. Contact here here at her Etsy store.
These are the Saucony Grid Lightspeed gym shoes which I purchased yesterday at DSW. Alas, a quick Google search just now doesn't reveal this most awesome color combo anywhere on the Internet. Just goes to show ya, the Internet isn't the end all be all.
I recently blogged about Nike, and I think they're a great company. I initially bought, at DSW, a pair of their pretty well-known shoes from their "Free" line, which look similar to the pair above.
I got sucked in to following the herd (since all the cool kids at the gym wear Frees, I wanted a pair, too and also their ad that I linked to in the recent blog entry where talked a bit about Nike, I am confident will agree it is a great advertisement) and not trusting my instinct. I was a product of being marketed at!
Over the years I have had numerous pairs of Saucony Jazz. Black, red, navy, green and yellow, etc. They are, without a doubt, the most comfortable but cool (some can say hipster, that is fine with me) fun sneaker out there.
Anyway, I got home, put on the Nikes and They.Didn't.Feel.Comfortable.
Saucony always, always, always did right by me, so I persuaded DSW to let me use a $5 birthday coupon which I didn't even have with me but didn't use this year.
With all this recent purple discussion, it was funny to see the Philadelphia Phillies baseball team mascot all decked out in Superhero purple on this children's book I saw at my local 5 and 10 Mapes Store, a real gem and relic if you ask me. Go there for toys, party supplies, office stuff (not bulk, though, but for hard-to-find items they have it!)
Good thing I didn't buy this book, though, since it cost $6.31!
I guess that is where licensed products get ya...more pricey. Call it brand recognition. Though from this cover you pretty much don't see any Phillies logo branding...
Anyway, that price of $6.31 is cool because if you reverse the last two digits you get $6.13 which is the number of mitzvot there exist in the Torah.
Talk about finding numerology stuff at a 5 and dime store. Now, that is fitting!
Just now as I was tucking in the kinderlach, I finally got around to weeding out some of the summer and fall clothes that I inevitably leave lingering in the drawers just in case we get one of those random warm nights in the winter. Or for that one time we go to the JCC pool, I have not just one but two bathing suits in the drawers. And rash guards. Like they're gonna get sunburns indoors in December. At least I don't have swim diapers hanging around anymore. Guests who need a diaper because they forgot one? Sh*t outta luck, pun intended.
All of my mama friends agree that with children, the clothing situation is never-ending. The switch of seasons. The new shoes. The growing kids. The mismatched socks. The laundry to be done. The laundry to be put away. The missing slipper that you just located behind the other child's bed. The raincoat. The winter coat. The fleece. The hoody that is too tight. The dress that bubbe bought that Concealed Light insists on wearing despite being a size too big. The hangers falling off the closet rod because she is too lazy to get a stepstool to reach. The ponytail holders that end up all over the house. And, of course, the clothing left behind on the floor.
But this is all for good reason.
Thank God, my children are healthy. That is truly the part that matters the most, and I should feel blessed that I have such things to deal with. I have three healthy children who are fun, engaging, musical, and avid readers. I need to remind myself that these are all good things and the clothing pile-up is something that all families (usually the moms) need to conquer.
And now, one of Reba Magdalene's favorites. This was on cable ad naseum and is apropos to this message.
And now I have to get up to the attic to put away the old stuff.
"I first heard this from Ric von Schnidt. He lives in Cambridge.
Ric is a blues guitarplayer. I met him one day on
the green pastures of the Harvard University."
Those Green pastures now have people placing ads in the Crimson Classifieds for shidduchim.
Back in the 90s, feng shui was all the rage. Riding the subway, I often heard women talking about tossing away the stuff they didn't need in the end. They only kept what was important since this would lead to ultimate streamlining of their space. They knew who was their friend: the perpetual giveaway bag. Feng shui took it to a higher level, and for that I have great respect. Leave it to the Eastern traditions to bring us great wisdom.
And I ask you why if you open a magazine today, you see nary a reference to feng shui. It is all about the yoga this, the yoga that. Did you know that the great late Shel Silverstein practiced yoga daily?
Back in the 2002, Stango and I took a monumental trip to Amsterdam. (1 year anniversary and 30th birthday...so many things went down there that we just don't understand... watch a youthful Jerry looking really great here for some of that good stuff. interestingly the quotation I am looking for is not included in that video, but historic it was so I decided to post it. better look here at Jackie Greene's version, more up-to-date oy, can't find it in that one, either! wow, he looks so much like Dylan! ok, last try with the studio version jump to 1:33 ...and yet everything happens for a reason and therefore things like the Ninja Rebbe, Marc Chagall's fiddler wearing lots of purple and our Anne Frank Haus visit are become more clear now...I do pray to take a monumental trip to Israel for the 10 year follow-up to that).
It was there that I saw a Nike bus stop billboard ad featuring a woman in a yoga position. The series was entitled "Yoganista." We saw nary an ad like that back in the states.
(this isn't the same ad campaign, but from another genius product line Nike has out)
Let's not forget about feng shui. I am not going to. This blog will help me clear out some of the childhood relics I can't seem to part with. I am going to keep this one that Grandma Martha framed in 1978 or so, but at least I can share it here:
Want to upload photos of the Koala I made in 2nd grade. Will do soon. Recently, the Coach referenced the PurpleGirl and Cute Indian Girl in this Yoga video. Pretty funny. And here is the song I inferred in the first sentence of this entry : jump to 2:58 for a quick fix of "Theme from the Bottom" oh, one more thing. Didn't feng shui always remind you of Wang Chung? What memories, what memories. PurpleGirl, I doubt you are gonna read thus far, but DIG THE DUDE'S SWEETEST PURPLE TAILS!!! Shaweet, I say!
Suzy Greenberg is the name of a ficticious girl and the title of a classic old-school Phish song. Without a doubt, she is Jewish. I think many Phish heads aren't particularly into it because they have heard it so many times or perhaps they aren't impressed with its musicianship. However, from the moment I first heard this tune, I couldn't help but make the direct connection to Carole Kane's character in Annie Hall.
It is almost as if the songwriter had this clip in mind when writing Suzy:
please advance to :48
(thank you, Mr. Woody Allen, for creating such iconic Americana on the silver screen)
Here is an old performance of the song:
Some reflections on the lyrics:
Growing up, I was sometimes called "Loony bin"
I am not a sociologist, rather an American Studies major (at Brandeis, like Woody Allen's cultural stereotype)
"She's out of her mind and she's not of this earth." Hmm...I have been told this blog is too Loony.
"An artist she may be, but a genius she is not." I am not an artist, but my sister Reba is. Most definitely not a genius.
I might walk the streets like I'm the "queen of the town" only because my Jewish/Hebrew middle name is Malka which means queen.
