"Rabbi" Dave : )

A multi-denominational Seder

Last night was the beginning of the Jewish holiday, Passover....and plans were made to have a Seder (service) here at my home.

I spent several days preparing some of the traditional foods for the Seder: Matzoh ball soup, charoses (apples, nuts, and wine mixture), a beef brisket, a roasted chicken, matzoh stuffing...as well as a jello mold, sauteed asparagus and fresh tomatoes and basil. For dessert I had chocolate covered matzoh, flourless honey cake, and macaroons. Everything eaten during the Passover holiday must be unleavened which can be challenging....but definitely do-able.

My dear friends, Sharon and Gary attended, as well as my nephew (who is currently a student at U. of Alabama) and his girlfriend.

Out of the six of us, four were Jewish and two were not....the girlfriend (Lutheran) and Dave (Presbyterian).

With this in mind, I decided to copy and paste excerpts from the Haggadah (prayer book that is used during the Seder) to make it more understandable for the two of them.

I boldly asked Dave if he would like to be the leader of the service and he shocked me by saying "yes". I was thrilled....and, he did an amazing job...especially for not being Jewish.

It was really a lovely night as we went through the pages that I had printed out and took turns reading the different passages. At times the conversation turned toward some of our different religious beliefs and I loved that. Religion can be such a divisive topic...and, it was nice to see some of the commonalities.

On the Passover "plate" there are several items that are meaningful to the holiday: Charoses-to represent the mortar used by the Jewish slaves to build the storehouses in Egypt;Maror, or horseradish-to symbolize the bitterness and harshness of the slavery; Roasted shankbone-symbolizing the lamb that was offered in the Temple of Jerusalem; parsley (or another green)-that is dipped into salt water to represent the tears felt by the Jewish slaves in Egypt; and, finally, a hard-boiled egg-symbolizing the festival sacrifice that was offered in the Temple as well as representing springtime when Passover occurs.

As I set the roasted egg on one of the Passover plates, I decided to dye the other egg in a bright color with a heart and a peace symbol painted on. I explained to my guests that in honor of the different religions being there, I wanted to have an Easter egg there to represent the love and peaceful understanding that all of us of varied religious backgrounds had that night.

I'm still smiling about that part... : )

In memory of Eva Markvoort

....a poem by Eva ....written 3/11/10

"hope

i need to dwell there awhile tonight

i need hope

it is the only thing i live on and i am dancing in it tonight

i am rejoicing in hope

running

skipping

hopping

tralala

trippingly toppling in hope tonight

every day is one day closer

closer to breathing

to living

to starting my life anew

to waking up

breathing in ease

i am happy tonight

knowing i am hopeful

love love love

i have spoken my word earlier

poetry played pattering across my keyboard

but now too much energy

simpler words

so much meaning

full of love and hope

and the colour red

your girl,

eva"

My blogging world is full of so much joy, friendship, and love.......along with occasional sadnesses.

Today's post is about an incredibly brave young woman named Eva Markvoort who has been in the fight of her life as she has battled the cystic fibrosis that she was born with....but struggled the most with in the last four years.

I found out about Eva through another blog that I frequently visit...and, I began to follow her story. She amazed me with her huge heart and inner (and outer) beauty. Her fire red hair framed this gorgeous 26 year old's pale ivory face and one couldn't help but notice the brightly adorned red lipstick on those smiling lips.

After a double lung transplant, she was okay for a while...until she found herself back in the hospital as her body rejected the new lungs and she was in need of another transplant. Waiting and waiting...getting weaker and weaker....but, always finding time to write on her blog...whether it was her incredible poetry, fun videos, or happy photos with the people she loved....(and, who loved her dearly)...Because she was too weak to finish going to class to get her college degree, she was awarded an honorary degree from the school...in her hospital room.

Her hospital room walls were covered with hundreds of messages from people all over the world...people whose lives she had touched. She gave encouragement to others with cystic fibrosis and crusaded for a cure...as well as organ donations.

I stayed on Eva's journey with her and, even though we hadn't ever met, I felt a closeness to her. Her optimism and hopefulness kept me feeling reassured that she would ultimately win this very tough battle. Adding to this faith were her words of appreciation and "love, love, love" (her words) for life and the people around her from family to friends to caretakers....

Though in tremendous pain and barely able to breathe, she always dreamt of better things and a couple of days before her death she wrote the following on her blog -http://65redroses.livejournal.com/#home:

"...waves of nausea lulling out into

hours of sleepiness once the meds have hit

leaving me daydreaming about stepping out of this room

just getting up

free of tubes and plugs

and walking out the door

pushing open doorways

skipping down the street

breathing free

free..."

Unfortunately, Eva's love and determination were not enough to give her the strength needed to survive.... and at 9:30 a.m. yesterday, she passed away.

I will so miss the inspirational posts of this wonderful young woman who leaves behind such an incredible legacy. I have learned so many lessons from her loving spirit.

Eva, may you be breathing freely now as you rest in peace...

Eva Markvoort (March 31, 1984-March 27, 2010)

The many (adorable) looks of Celia!

I am counting the days until she will be here in Bham for a quick visit and lots of hugging----April 26! : )

Dust.

Putting my downstairs room back together has been quite exhausting.

I have never seen so much dust everywhere!!!! Between the new sheet rock dust and the floor dust and the sanding dust and the vacuuming dust and the general "dust" dust...I am going dust crazy.

Then there is the job of replacing all of the "stuff" that I had down there on shelves and in cabinets, and dusting it all off. I told myself that this would be a great opportunity to clear out some of this stuff...but, that would take too much thought and energy right now...neither of which I presently have.

I finally finished cleaning up the exercise area and was able to get back on my treadmill today to get in some much-needed aerobic work. I am even able to do laundry in my nice, clean laundry area. Fun, eh?

The millions of vhs tapes of my kids growing up are back on the shelves...dusted off, but still needing to be copied to cd disks that I promise to get taken care of never someday very soon.....hopefully, before tape players become obsolete!

Break time is over.

I am heading back downstairs to tackle my pottery studio and try to get it back to "normal" and to clean up the rest of the (yep, you guessed it) DUST.

(Exciting, eh?)

My carpet's down! My carpet's down!

Yay. My flood damaged basement is finally starting to take shape!

Of course, I had 4 gentlemen working in my home today....none of whom spoke a word of English.

Wait, that's wrong. Several of them asked me if they could use my restroom in perfectly enunciated English...I guess that they have had to perfect that question in times of need. : )

Of course, I tried to use a little (very little) of my Spanish knowledge from high school (a million years ago!) to talk with them....It was mostly "hola", "gracias", "por favor" and "muy bueno"...that's about it for my Spanish vocabulary. They seemed to get a kick out of my feeble attempts.

All in all they did a great job...it feels so nice to walk on carpeted softness instead of dusty, dirty, cold concrete.

Unfortunately, they ran out of the flooring for the bathroom after doing the laundry area....so, they will have to come back next week to finish up.

But, for now I am happy to see progress finally being made down there...so, no complaints from me!

Mixed marriage?

I took the liberty of editing this section of the Funky Winkerbean comic strip from Monday's paper to use in my blog today.

I loved the play on the words "mixed marriage" in talking about men and women....and, as I shared it with my girlfriends the other day, they all laughed "knowingly".

The sentiment expressed above is so very true. Could men and women be any more different??!?! I don't think so!

I guess that one could say that it keeps relationships interesting...and/or frustrating.... at times.

The whole "Mars and Venus" thing has been discussed over and over, so, I won't elaborate here....

BUT, why can't men be more like women?

Is that too much to ask?

: )

Little bits of Life.

Update: The good news is that my recently flooded basement (new) carpeting will be arriving tomorrow and put down this Thursday! I am so looking forward to not having to work down there with the cold concrete floor.

Maybe now the commode will be put back in the bathroom where it belongs....one can only hope.

******************************************************************

Well, we went from a touch of springtime weather to very cold temperatures in a matter of a day or two. I'm glad that I enjoyed the warmth while we had it.

******************************************************************

My Mah Jongg game on Monday's is back in full swing now. My two friends are finished with their chemo/radiation treatments and the friend with the foot surgery can now drive! We are on the mend.

We are slowly getting better at the game...but still find ourselves laughing hysterically at our little confusions and such. Such fun. I like that we aren't taking it TOO seriously...and I love that I am having to use my (aging) brain at least once a week!

*****************************************************************

I made Dave a delicious birthday dinner last night: crabcakes, polenta, and salad with some red wine and birthday cake for dessert.

He is leaving town to visit with his mom for several days....so, it looks like I will be eating the leftovers! Mmmmmmmm. : )

*****************************************************************

So, Dancing with the Stars has started again. It is quite a varied group again with everyone from Kate Gosselin to Buzz Aldrin. Unfortunately, 80 year old Buzz dances like he still has his moon boots on....but, I have to give him credit for getting out there and doing it.

The Show is a great piece of fluff to keep my mind off of some of the stuff going on all around the world right now...

*****************************************************************

And, speaking about what is going on right now, I am so troubled by the state of affairs right here in our own country. During the Health Care debate....the anger and, even, rage, that was coming out of our leader's mouths was (and continues to be) quite distressing. We have become so divided with each side vehemently feeling that they are right. It is not only divisive and a bit frightening, but quite embarrassing, too.

From what I have read so far...I do not agree with everything that is in the new bill....but, I am thrilled that all people will be able to be taken care of with insurance whether there is a pre-existing condition or not. It is going to close the gap as far as taking care of our elderly and poorer segments of the population...and, I think that is a right and a necessity.

I am anxious for the healing to begin....soon.

*****************************************************************

I am heading down to the (dungeon) studio to get my hands in clay before the day gets by me...xoxo

Dave's Day

Today is Dave's birthday and in his honor I made him a "golf-themed" cake. It says: "Fore....!? No-----62!" Get it? : )

My dear 62 year old partner is now older than me for a few months...and, I like that!

For all that you do and are, "Happy, happy birthday, Dave!

Have a great day...XOXO

Ahhhhhhh....

With the temperatures in the high 60's (maybe even reaching 70?) yesterday, I am realizing that spring is really going to happen this year! With our unusually cold winter that seemed to linger, I was a getting a bit concerned.

So, to celebrate the warm weather.....at the end of the day, I took myself outside to my patio, got comfy in a lounge chair, poured myself a glass of wine and watched the birds joyously enjoying my feeder...I noticed that many of my shrubs were now sporting a new coat of brand new buds...soon to be filling my yard with flowers...

Dave arrived shortly thereafter and another glass of wine was poured as we talked and took in nature together. The multitude of birds that dine on my feeder was quite entertaining....the sky was as blue as it could get at that time of day....not a cloud in site....and, all was quiet.... with the exception of the bird's sweet songs. It was so nice and relaxing that it was quite difficult to eventually get up and go in and fix dinner...

Welcome spring....and, thanks for the "Ahhhhhh".... : )

"Life is too short to be taken seriously." Oscar Wilde

Memo to myself....no matter how difficult it is to finally get to sleep...do not take a Tylenol PM at midnight!

Result of doing this: I finally dragged my groggy self out of bed this morning at 8:45!

That makes it feel like the day is already half gone.

*groan*

**********************************************************************

Ah...the NCAA basketball tournament has started....and, you know what that means....Dave will be glued to the television all day and night.

I must admit that I actually enjoy watching these games....but, mostly the last quarter. That's when all of the excitement happens. Overtime is even better!

**********************************************************************

Well, the basement is still there....unfinished and uncarpeted and dusty. The outside walkway is still a pile of dirt with chunks of broken concrete piled high. The destoyed landscaping is still that...destroyed.

Like I told a friend this morning, the insurance companies are quick to take your money....but,

s-l-o-w to cover your damages.

I'm trying to cope with it all....thus the saying at the title of this post! : )

**********************************************************************

Today is my middle sister's birthday. Happy, happy day, Sherri! I hope that the sun is shining down there in Florida and that you have a nice luncheon this afternoon.

It still blows me away that you are getting older....especially since you will always be younger than me!

**********************************************************************

Today the reupholsterer (sp?) should be returning my couch cushions. The stuffing had gotten a bit flat and they were going to plump them up a bit.

I am crossing my fingers that they arrive because the large couch is pretty much the only place to sit in my great room...and, I am having dinner company tomorrow night.

**********************************************************************

While in Target yesterday shopping for birthday cards, I noted that the cards in the "specific age" category ranged from 1 year old to 100 years old! I commented to the saleslady that it was so wonderful that people were living long enough these days to warrant a card celebrating birthdays in the 90's and on up.

She agreed while I was thinking that I would, hopefully, merit one of those cards one day... : )

*********************************************************************

Well, it is a beautiful day here in Alabama...so, I am off to take my morning walk.

Don't take things too seriously today...and have a good one!

xoxo

Owen and Audrey in Scottsdale, AZ!

Adam and Jenny just got back from several days of fun with Jenny's family in Arizona...Out of all of the photos from the trip....these three were among my favorites!! I love seeing the two of them playing together.

The only problem that I am having with these two is that they are growing up waaaay too fast!!

Oh, how I miss them!

May 12th cannot get here soon enough....XOXO

I'm not going to bed until is is done.....

Taxes, that is!

Once again, I am faced with the daunting task of getting all of my tax information collected and totalled so that it can be sent to the accountant....which makes one wonder exactly why I pay him when I basically do all of the work?

Nevertheless, it is March 16th and I have made a pact with myself to get through this all today....and I will not go to sleep until it is done.

aaack!

WISH ME LUCK!!!! (I will need it....)

Tax Update.....4 p.m.

Three glasses of green tea, two bags of popcorn, and a watermelon flavored Tootsie Roll pop later....and, as you can see, I have made a little progress.

Onward and upward....!