On My Blog

  
  
- Agnon, Joyce, Woolf and Kafka
- What Happens When You Raise Taxes

Elsewhere in the Blogosphere

• Jew Wishes reviewed Izzy’s Fire, a book about a Catholic family who saves Jewish families in Lithuania during the Holocaust.
• Ilana-Davita wrote part one of Jewish History in Hamburg. She also has a fascinating photo of a kosher dining room, where Jewish passengers ate before traveling to America in the early 20th century.
• Cooking Manager has some delightful recipes for black-eyed peas, one of the simanim for Rosh Hashana.
• James took some fascinating shots of Philadelphia through a fountain. My daughter wants to go to the Philadelphia Art Museum, because we got a pamphlet about a Renoir exhibit.

I read Nomad by Ayaan Hirsi Ali – she has led a difficult life, and what she has to say is not easy to hear, but she is a good writer and her story is gripping. I read the book in only two days. I can’t say I agree with her conclusions, but her story of growing up in Somalia, Kenya and Saudi Arabia, then running away to Holland because she doesn’t want to marry the man her father has chosen for her is quite a tale. I amazed that she has made it as far as she has in life (at one point, she was a member of Dutch Parliament; now she is a fellow at American Enterprise Institute).

However, customs vary. For example, a friend writes that her Hungarian grandfather ate the blintzes her grandmother made then they waited a bit and had a meat meal. That’s basically how one brother-in-law handles the holiday. My vegan friends are eating neither dairy nor meat. For myself, I will limit the amount of dairy I eat, as my body just doesn’t do well with dairy (I am lactose-intolerant and beyond).

On Facebook, I asked: “Looking for funny, historical, hysterical or creative reasons why Jews eat dairy on Shavuot.” Some of the responses:

• You’re milking this for all it’s worth. We’d butter not fool around. (She also came up with the title of this post).
• A naturalist answer: It’s approximately the time when goats wean their kids and the mothers have additional milk that’s not being used otherwise.
• Because you may go to a shiur where real ice cream is served. There ought to be one Jewish holiday in honor of cheesecake.
• From a vegetarian: You meat-eaters get ALL the holidays. It’s OUR TURN, people.
• What kind of world would it be if we didn’t have license to eat cheesecake guilt-free at least once a year?!

I’ll conclude with a joke:

Upon Mt. Sinai, Moses is receiving the Torah.

God proclaims through the burning bush “THOU SHALT NOT SEETHE THE KID IN ITS MOTHER’S MILK.”

Moses is a bit confused. “What does that mean, Lord? We should not cook meat in milk?”

God repeats “THOU SHALT NOT SEETHE THE KID IN ITS MOTHER’S MILK.”

Moses responds “But what do you mean, Lord? We should never serve meat and dairy in the same meal?”

Again, God repeats “THOU SHALT NOT SEETHE THE KID IN ITS MOTHER’S MILK.”

Moses continues “Do you mean that we should have two completely separate sets of ovens and cookware? One for meat and one for milk?”

Finally God agrees, “OK, Moses, have it your way.”

One more joke:

Elijah the Prophet resurfaces on Planet Earth in New York City right before Chanukah. He gets very excited when he sees Chanukah decorations, Chanukah parties and Chanukah cards and hears Chanukah music. He declares: if this is what Jews do for Chanukah, I can only imagine what they do for Shavuot!

Kosher Cookers: submit those food-related posts ASAP! Kosher Carnival deadline is this Thursday.

1) When did you realize you wanted to be an artist?

When I was 9 yrs old. I went to my first summer art camp program at Rhode Island School of Design (RISD). Oh I remember it so vividly. I overheard my teacher tell my mother not to worry because when I am older I will be able to “see” more. (I was the youngest in the class). That day, I forced myself to “see” more and painted a house with every detailed shingle on the roof. That painting won an award at the end of the summer. The president of RISD approached my mother to purchase the painting, but she declined. To this day, I challenge myself to look more than I think I know. I challenge myself everyday to paint better than yesterday. Little did I know at nine I “caught the creative bug” that has since fueled me for 44 years!

Thankfully, I have the painting on my bedroom wall. Every morning, it reminds me why I am an artist.

2) How have you used social media (Facebook, blog, Twitter) to promote your art?
I post on blog, twitter and facebook regularly so I can keep my collectors and followers current on new paintings (sometimes still wet on the easel), news and upcoming exhibitions. Also, it’s a great way for followers to join in on the conversation, especially on Facebook. Posting my next exhibition, 9th annual Spring Open Studio on Facebook helps spread the word virally. I still send out postcards to my list and press releases to periodicals. It all works together!

3) What advice would you give to other artists about marketing?
Network.

4) What is your favorite part of being an artist?
Seeing magic happen.

5) Where do you look for inspiration?
Flowers and gardens. I think I was a fairy in my past life. :0)

For more on Lisa, visit:
blog: http://floralpaintings.blogspot.com
facebook: http://www.facebook.com/lisapalombostudios
twitter: http://twitter.com/lisapalomboart
website: http://www.lisapalombo.com

Her next event: Spring Open Studio, May 1 & 2 (12-5pm) 55 Mountain Ave., Caldwell, NJ
  

cardinal in watercolor on paper

You can see the drawing of the cardinal on last week’s post. Thank you for giving me the opportunity to take out the paints.

For more Nature Notes, visit Rambling Woods:

Can you name any of the characters in her drawing? Here is the Book of Esther.

For more posts with a little or a lot of red, visit Ruby Tuesday:

When you are drawing, you concentrate on every detail of what you are looking at – the colors, the texture, the shapes, the depth, the values. And when I drew the bird (it’s going to be a cardinal – wait until I apply the paint), I learned about how the head, body, tail and feet are shaped. And I had to think about how to present the textures of the feathers.

Look forward to showing you the finished painting. Oh, and another reason to draw is your daughter (or son) might then take out her own piece of paper and draw her own bird. I just might show you the bird that my daughter drew as well.

For more Nature Notes, visit Rambling Woods:

Note: When I photographed it, the painting was curled; my daughter didn’t paint it with the curl at the top. Maybe I could have taped it down before photographing it. Next time.

Thanks for playing!

I would greatly enjoying reading which of these images strikes your fancy. Thank you!

Upcoming on Thursday: A Selection of Nature Notes Posts from around the Nature-Loving
Blogosphere. Nature Notes is a meme brought to us by Rambling Woods. Here are some of her favorite images of 2009.