Weekend recap
Oct. 21st, 2002 03:26 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
magid Friday night was a quiet Shabbat dinner. The menu: challah, grape juice, mustard-malt syrup chicken (couldn't find the honey...), cran-grape sauce (experimental: cranberries cooked in grape juice with sugar; worth repeating), roasted potatoes (sea salt, olive oil, freshly ground black pepper), sweet dumpling squash, and butternut squash. Sorbets were available for dessert. I'd intended to make a green salad, too, but lost oomph before then. Ah, well.
After dinner I ended up reading the last two chapters of The Magic Bed-Knob, aka the first half of Bed-Knob and Broomstick, aloud. I've been surprised at how much reading aloud I've done in the last few months, and how much I enjoy it. Of course, some of that may be that I choose to read books I love and want to share, and kid books (a lot of my favorites) have reasonable chapters in length (and some have pictures, too!). I find it harder to focus on someone else reading, when I have nothing visual to focus on (I have a visual sort of memory, and it's easiest to process visual stuff).
Shabbat included morning services, then kiddush. I was pleased to see an old friend I haven't seen in a long while (HH), to hear that all is well with him. It seemed there was always someone I wanted to talk to next; it doesn't always happen that way - it's easy to feel lost in the crowd, emphasized by the horrible acoustics of that room.
I stayed for the rabbi's talk, about how living in Isra el these days is similar to how Abraham had to live his life, on fai th, doing what is possible to be safe, etc. As happens not infrequently with his talks, I was distracted by his verbal tic, adding "right" in after each word/phrase as he neared the place he truly wanted to put it.
Down to the river afterward, a bright windy day for the Head of the Charles. I was surprised to see little whitecaps on the water. Also a truck with a huge alligator ballon on the back. I later saw it closer up, and found it was advertising some men's perfume (no, nothing remotely alligator-like in the name of it, either).
Brief lunch, then I headed out again, this time to the parsha class. It was supposed to be at JFK park, but I checked at Hillel on the way, since it was chilly. No dice. No one at the park, either. OTOH, I did get to see three people walking together: the middle woman in jeans, the outer two men in kilts. It struck me as great to see, somehow.
Back to Hillel, where I found the teacher, and her husband, waiting. I ended up being the class. I was glad to be able to discuss the parsha with her (and her husband), but sad no one else came: I enjoy the class and would rather it continue. (another post on the topics in the class, perhaps).
End of Shabbat, then out to MIT for an a cappella concert. (Another post on this to come.)
I was tired and hungry (didn't eat enough Saturday, and walked many miles), so didn't end up going for a bike ride or to the MIT book sale. I did make a chocolate chocolate bread pudding, though. And I did make it to the Fort Point Open Studios, which was great, even to see part of it, though the stairs were killer (Yes, I'm out of shape. I know it.) (More on Open Studios in yet another post, I think.)
Took the T down to JP, to be part of ZZBottom's surprise party. It took a while to be able to be sociable-yet-not-too-whiny, and then it was a lot of fun (it helped that there was food...). It was really nice to see some people I haven't seen (in person, anyway) in a while.
Particular highlights included:
Talking with D (a paper journaller, not on LJ) about the nature of journalling and how it is different writing to an audience on LJ than writing exclusively for oneself. Lots of head-games can happen (I know I fall into some of those traps), but the organization is so helpful. Still, I miss seeing my handwriting, my little personal labeling icons, the things I chose to glue in, doodles and other things that I don't put in here.
Seeing ZZB's surpris e when he arrived, and his happiness at seeing so many of his friends together.
Seeing funny pictures of ZZB people brought, and the reprise of the Scary Combover (with Cthulhia's help).
All the leis.
Meeting L, a friend of ZZB's I've heard much of before, and finding he has a love of certain food essays that I also find wonderful, and the potential beginning of a bread mania.
Yellow peppers with hummus.
On the way home, we drove on the Jamaicaway, and could see the crowds gathering for the Lantern Parade. I was pleased to get a chance to see the lanterns glowing in the dusk.
Quiet evening, punctuated by getting to see two very different tarot decks, the art in each wonderful.
And how could I forget seeing the full moon rising, a nimbus of light cloud causing a beautiful halo, balanced by seeing the full harvest moon setting this morning (well, early morning)? Both were so gorgeous.
.
After dinner I ended up reading the last two chapters of The Magic Bed-Knob, aka the first half of Bed-Knob and Broomstick, aloud. I've been surprised at how much reading aloud I've done in the last few months, and how much I enjoy it. Of course, some of that may be that I choose to read books I love and want to share, and kid books (a lot of my favorites) have reasonable chapters in length (and some have pictures, too!). I find it harder to focus on someone else reading, when I have nothing visual to focus on (I have a visual sort of memory, and it's easiest to process visual stuff).
Shabbat included morning services, then kiddush. I was pleased to see an old friend I haven't seen in a long while (HH), to hear that all is well with him. It seemed there was always someone I wanted to talk to next; it doesn't always happen that way - it's easy to feel lost in the crowd, emphasized by the horrible acoustics of that room.
I stayed for the rabbi's talk, about how living in Isra el these days is similar to how Abraham had to live his life, on fai th, doing what is possible to be safe, etc. As happens not infrequently with his talks, I was distracted by his verbal tic, adding "right" in after each word/phrase as he neared the place he truly wanted to put it.
Down to the river afterward, a bright windy day for the Head of the Charles. I was surprised to see little whitecaps on the water. Also a truck with a huge alligator ballon on the back. I later saw it closer up, and found it was advertising some men's perfume (no, nothing remotely alligator-like in the name of it, either).
Brief lunch, then I headed out again, this time to the parsha class. It was supposed to be at JFK park, but I checked at Hillel on the way, since it was chilly. No dice. No one at the park, either. OTOH, I did get to see three people walking together: the middle woman in jeans, the outer two men in kilts. It struck me as great to see, somehow.
Back to Hillel, where I found the teacher, and her husband, waiting. I ended up being the class. I was glad to be able to discuss the parsha with her (and her husband), but sad no one else came: I enjoy the class and would rather it continue. (another post on the topics in the class, perhaps).
End of Shabbat, then out to MIT for an a cappella concert. (Another post on this to come.)
I was tired and hungry (didn't eat enough Saturday, and walked many miles), so didn't end up going for a bike ride or to the MIT book sale. I did make a chocolate chocolate bread pudding, though. And I did make it to the Fort Point Open Studios, which was great, even to see part of it, though the stairs were killer (Yes, I'm out of shape. I know it.) (More on Open Studios in yet another post, I think.)
Took the T down to JP, to be part of ZZBottom's surprise party. It took a while to be able to be sociable-yet-not-too-whiny, and then it was a lot of fun (it helped that there was food...). It was really nice to see some people I haven't seen (in person, anyway) in a while.
Particular highlights included:
Talking with D (a paper journaller, not on LJ) about the nature of journalling and how it is different writing to an audience on LJ than writing exclusively for oneself. Lots of head-games can happen (I know I fall into some of those traps), but the organization is so helpful. Still, I miss seeing my handwriting, my little personal labeling icons, the things I chose to glue in, doodles and other things that I don't put in here.
Seeing ZZB's surpris e when he arrived, and his happiness at seeing so many of his friends together.
Seeing funny pictures of ZZB people brought, and the reprise of the Scary Combover (with Cthulhia's help).
All the leis.
Meeting L, a friend of ZZB's I've heard much of before, and finding he has a love of certain food essays that I also find wonderful, and the potential beginning of a bread mania.
Yellow peppers with hummus.
On the way home, we drove on the Jamaicaway, and could see the crowds gathering for the Lantern Parade. I was pleased to get a chance to see the lanterns glowing in the dusk.
Quiet evening, punctuated by getting to see two very different tarot decks, the art in each wonderful.
And how could I forget seeing the full moon rising, a nimbus of light cloud causing a beautiful halo, balanced by seeing the full harvest moon setting this morning (well, early morning)? Both were so gorgeous.
.