What If I Gave A Blog And Nobody Came?

Thanks for posting Bec, and saving me from the dreaded "zero comments curse!" I checked out your blog, loved it! I will be posting regular updates on the sukkah project in the weeks to come. Hopefully, I'll include a photo of the Civic Club president fainting dead away at the mere sight of it. She once sent around an e-mail to Civic Club members (mandatory membership in our 'hood) tearing her hair and rending her garments because someone had offended "our dear lord and savior" the baby jeezus by putting out some heavy trash for pickup the week before x-mas. Who knew he was so freakin' sensitive; maybe he should look for a new line of work?? That's life in the bible-belt...

Pimp My Sukkah

Each year around the High Holy Days, I start feeling sorry for myself since my family isn't Jewish and, until recently, I haven't been affiliated with a synagogue or havurah: wah, wah, no one sends a card to me at Rosh Hashanah whine, whine. No one understands about Yom Kippur, wee, wee, wee.Blech. (and I'm using that in the Mad Magazine sense, not talking about a stove cover used on Shabbat...)This year, I decided to get everyone involved! Here's the e-mail I sent to one and all:
In October, I am building a sukkah, and I need your help. What, might you ask, is a sukkah? A sukkah is a three-sided temporary dwelling that -in part - symbolizes the 40 year trek of the Jews through the desert , highlighting the transitory, uncertain, but beautifully abundant nature of life. Sukkahs are built in the middle of High Holy Days** & left up for seven days: we often eat and sometimes sleep in them! Friends and family stop by for meals and singing, too. Here's where you come in. Sukkahs come in lots of forms, large, small, pre-fab, plain, all as individual as the people who erect them, but the best ones are homemade with loads of decorations. My Sukkah is going to be a large wooden frame with "walls" of decorated white sheets. The roof has to be natural material through which you can see the stars and feel the rain, so I'll use some palm fronds from my tree. I'd like to send you a plain white sheet and some indelible markers or paint sticks for you to use to decorate it. Typical decorations would be olives, pomegranites, pumpkins, gourds, Stars of David, biblical-looking towns, palm trees, prophets (7 prophets are supposed to "visit" the Sukkah!) , camels, sheep, "Israel or Bust" signs, you get the idea. Sign your names somewhere on the sheet and if you want to add any embroidery or sewn-on beads (wooden or glass) to your artwork, go for it. Anything rain-proof is great! These sheets will be out in the elements then will be cleaned and used again, I hope, year after year. I'll also send a stamped-self addressed large padded mailer for you to return the sheet in and later, pix of the finished sukkah. All you have to do is have fun and be creative.I thought of this idea because most of my family is far-flung and not Jewish (although we have Jewish ancestry from my Mom), nor are many of my dearest friends. I want you all to be "with me" in some way during this special time, and I would be both tickled and honored to be "surrounded" by you while in the Sukkah. I'll add a few chairs, a small table, candles, fairy lights, paper lanterns some hanging fruit, paper chains and toast you with a glass of wine! If any of you are in town during Sukkot, (you know who you are...) you hafta come over and hang out in the Sukkah. I'll send the dates later.So, unless you want to embitter and depress your (circle one) Aunt, Sister, Ma, In Law, Best Friend, please give it a go! So far, everyone seems jazzed about it, can't wait to see my sheets!

Welcome Readers!

Dear Diary,
By way of introduction, here's an ad I "almost" placed on Craig's List until my trusty common sense prevailed.

Looking for Friends Who May Not Have Much Time to Get Together And Aren't Crazy About Talking On The Phone But Like to E-mail?

Are you a "woman of a certain age" (I'm 56) who's out of step with most people in your age group? Would you rather talk about Isa Chandra Moskowitz' s Post-Punk Kitchen than Rachael Ray's 30 minute meals? Marjane Satrapi than Danielle Steele? Freecycling than Martha Stewart? Would you rather dig into Indian food than a burger and fries? Convert a car to run on french fry oil than buy a new gas-guzzler? Go to Women's Roller Derby rather than get a manicure? Would you like to go back in time and vacation in the Catskills to see the late, great Borscht Belt comedians rather than stake out the grassy knoll in Dallas on November 22, 1963?? Are you holding your breath and turning blue until the movie version of "Watchmen" comes out?
Are you now or have you ever been interested in any of the following?
cats (we have 6!) dogs (4!) animal rescue, animal welfare, nature
tikkun olam , celebrating Shabbat!
organic gardening & composting
international cooking/restaurants
mystery novels, film noir /docs / non-blockbuster movies
graphic novels (latest fave rave: "Hereville: How Mirka Got Her Sword" by Barry Deutsch)
studying Hebrew
alternative medicine
music (Klezmer, Patti Smith, Joe Strummer, Beatles, Pete Seeger, blues, jazz, native folk music from everywhere - a little of everything)
puppet shows (tip o' the hat to Houston's Bobbindoctrin)
theater
women's roller derby
all things Indian (the country) & Japanese
Israel
Japanese game shows
classic tv

This list pretty much sums up why my circle of friends is so doggone small. Thank G-d for the handsome, witty, ever-available Mr. Smith, my best friend, who relishes almost everything in the above list and keeps me laughing.

Here's one shameless, but sincere plug: check out the CD "That Purple Bastard" on iTunes- a cerebral, spooky, electronic wonderland by my son (yay!) aka Curtis Crunk.

So, let me hear from you already. Shalom y'all.