Happiest of birthdays to cluegirl and [Unknown LJ tag]!

Wednesday night (no guests):
Pot roast
Noodles
Carrots

Thursday Lunch (two guests, in sukkah)
Salad
Meatloaf
knishes
Green beans
Cake

Thursday Dinner: at friends

Friday lunch:
Salami and eggs
French fries
(Or leftovers, if enough)
Salad

Friday dinner: (no guests)
Herbed chicken
Peas
Roasted potatoes

Shabbos lunch (three guests)
Egg salad
Green salad
Herbed chicken
Veggie cholent
Cake

Wine and challah for all

Jewish holidays aren't entirely eating, sleeping and going to shul. There are a few hours when there's nothing to do. Oh, one can take walks or visit friends, or even attend a class, and there's the ever-popular naps (see: sleep.) But I like to read. Some prefer not to read secular novels on Shabbat or Yom Tov, but I'm not one of them.This time around, starting on Yom Kippur, I began reading the complete Chronicles of Narnia, in the proper order of publication, which was also the order in which I originally read them as a teen-ager. Note that, btw. I didn't read these books as a small child. This means I was always somewhat aware of the subtext. ( The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe )( Prince Caspian )( Voyage of the Dawn-Treader )More later.

I'm so sorry about my attitude for your helpful comments on the last post. I'm just so, so *tired*. I haven't done anything for yom tov in terms of cooking - not even shopping, and I woke up tired this morning.Let's see.Wednesday nightRoast Chicken. Roasted potatoes.Green beans.Thursday lunchQuicheSaladThursday DinnerLamb stewcouscousFriday LunchTurkey picattaPastaSaladShabbos DinnerLeftover lamb stew/couscousShabbos LunchAt friend's.Plus wine/challos/honey

Sukkot is one of my favorite holidays, simply because it's so very visible. Most Jewish holidays are NOT visible - houses are clean, we go to synagogue, we eat (or we don't eat) - on Purim maybe we wear costumes and we distribute goodies. Only Chanukah, with the chanukiyot in the windows, is as public.( Read more... )

This is for the daysofawesome community.Summary: "It was Friday night? Damn, she'd lost track of the days again."Angels

RIP Robert Jordan.I guess we'll never know how it all ends.

I could pretty much summarize it as eat, shul, eat, shul, eat, shul eat....:)

( Three Day YomTov )

Next holiday is Yom Kippur, which is this coming Shabbat. And then...more holidays. Just not quite so intense as R"H and Y"K.

Stew is out of the oven and cooling.

In the oven: baked carrots and stuffing.

Baked carrots: three pounds of "baby" carrots, drizzled with honey, plus ground ginger and cinnamon.

Stuffing: celery, onions and mushrooms, sautéd in the chicken fat from the soup, plus a ladle of the soup itself (and salt,rosemary, garlic powder, black pepper and bay leaves.) This mixed with more chicken fat and soup, plain rye croutons and two eggs.) Placed in a baking pan and covered with foil.

Expect cooking spam all day.

The turkey is thawed and sitting on the counter.

I have constructed a beef stew - I browned three pounds of stew meat on top of the stove. Meanwile, I chopped and (if necessary) peeled two onions, half a stalk of celery, a pound of carrots and three sweet potatoes and put them in a roasting pan. As each batch of meat browned (I did it in three batches), I added them to the roasting pan. As the last batch finished up, I added dried rosemary, freshly ground pepper, bay leaves and a large can of diced tomatoes. After I added the last of the stew meat, I poured some water into the browning pan, added a splash of cider vinegar, deglazed the pot and poured that in the roasting pan. I stirred everything up, covered the pan with aluminum foil and put it in a 400°F oven, where it will cook for the next four or so hours, to be replaced by the turkey and the stuffing.

A few months ago, an older couple in our shul announced that they were going to buy a new Torah scroll for the synagogue, and were going to offer everyone a chance to take part in it - people could buy units of the Torah itself (books, weekly sections, aliyot (one seventh of each section), special readings, verses, words or letters), or accessories - mantles, crowns, winding sticks, belts, breastplates. We immediately bought our own wedding parasha (the section read on the Shabbat after our wedding). My inlaws bought a word out of gratitude for their escape. And yesterday, I decided I would buy a word in honor of my Shabbos afternoon women's parasha group. But I'd also announce that during the group and if they wanted to contribute, I'd buy a verse instead - words were $108, verses were $180.

"I vote posuk!" one woman shouted. And so it was. They'll pay me whatever whenever, with any overage going straight to the shul.

After the last letters were filled in, with everyone who bought something standing next to the scribe as he filled in a letter and getting their pictures taken, we turned on the boom boxes and, with the sefer torah under a chuppah, paraded out of the synagogue and into the streets. We'd cleared the route with the police, and walked down residential streets. People came out of their houses to watch, and some to join in the parade, including two of the ladies from my group.

When we got back to the shul, the other sefrei torah came out to meet the new one, and we danced in the courtyard. I made a point of taking Lenore's hands (Lenore and her husband Jack were the sponsors) and dancing with her in the center of the circle of women - she's the "kallah" (bride), after all. And then we brought it in.

Things got a tad confused because all the tables for the lunch had been set, bunched up in the women's section. And some of the women and children decided it was a buffet (It looked nothing like a buffet) and started to eat. Which means they took plates from place settings, and, well, it wasn't nice. I can see feeding hungry kids, but adults couldn't wait five minutes until we finished reading some psalms and set the tables up?

Anyway, that part was over, the caterers, with help from shul people, set up the tables and chairs, and it happened that the seats we grabbed at random were at the same table as our rabbi and rebbitzen, which was a pleasure. We did save seats for other people (using my purse, my knitting bag and my waist pouch), but after awhile, we gave up. Food was lovely - smoked fish, salads, cream cheese plus a hot station with eggs, pancakes and french toast. And the speeches were lovely, with our rabbi being eloquent about poetry and song.

It was a completely joyous occasion, and a marvelous way to start out the holiday season.

Yes, recommending this story highly. Spoilers under the cut.

I spent last night reading cesperanza's latest, Written by the Victors (Stargate:Atlantis, Sheppard/McKay, slash, ADULT) - stayed up to 2AM reading and past that *thinking*. And, okay, I'm on vacation, but I needed to be up before 8 this morning.

( Totally worth it )

And it was nowhere nearly as bad as I thought it would be. :)
( All that whining for nothing. )

Date:	2007-08-28 11:25
Subject:	Bible Meme - Gacked from osewalrus
Security:	Public

( Not bad, considering I guessed at much of NT stuff )

Flap-and-Gusset Socks

Happiest of birthdays, dj_clawson and sollersuk!

Every once in a while, one of my comics posts is picked up by When Fangirls Attack (a linkblog dedicated to, well, women in comics.) This is quite cool.

My post about Comic Book Shops and Me was picked up. Except it wasn't *that* post. It was the one mirrored on my GreatestJournal account. Which is interesting because the LJ one is tagged and icon'd and there are some very nice comments, whereas the GJ one is not tagged, does not have a special icon and it got its only comment after the WFA post.

This is not a complaint or anything of the above. I find it very cool in its own right.

Happiest of birthdays, animamea, coalboy and rebakiva!

( Spoilers )

She's home,and has been home since 10:30 this morning. They did a lot of tests and scans and came up empty. Current theory? Indigestion caused by diabetic meds. She's seeiing her doctor about this.

She's doing fine now.