Do you like nature? Do you like photographs? Do you like hearing about good things being done in a small town?
I’ve had the pleasure of working with Arnold Clayton Henderson, a wonderful writer and naturalist, since 2001(?) on the Environmental Commission website. Way back in 2002, about the time my daughter was born, the Environmental Commission submitted the website for an award, and we won! (yes, that little baby is now almost six years old).
This winter I switched the Environmental news site to WordPress. On Friday Arnold took the plunge into what he calls the “brave new world” of Word Press, and there are three new articles up: a plan of the Scentennial Garden, a photo of a seal by Bill Bonner (another talented local–an award-winning photographer), and news of the latest Backyard Bird Count. He also sent me that great photo of a deer running through a forest that is now in the header.
The Highland Park First Aid Squad, a group of dedicated volunteers who give of their own time, often answering calls at all hours of the night, needs your help. The First Aid Squad has been accepted as a possible recipient of up to $15,000 to be used towards a new ambulance by a project called “My Hometown Helper” sponsored by Hamburger Helper.
It’s pea-planting time in New Jersey. I ordered my peas and inoculant; they are sitting and awaiting my having the time and energy to plant them. I already dug a trench where I want them planted.
Digging the “trench” (it’s only about 3 inches wide) was easy because the “dirt” in that spot is a mound of compost. When I started composting, I used to put all my compost scraps in one corner of my yard. But come planting time, I then need to transfer a heap of the stuff to my garden spot. Also, I found the chicken wire I originally used more of a nuisance in terms of turning the compost than a help. Instead, I now pile the scraps one season earlier in the spot where I will later plant. The compost may not be fully de-composed, but that’s OK.
What do I put in my compost? Vegetable and fruit scraps, coffee grinds, egg shells. Animal products are a no-no, as they attract rodents and other unwanted creatures. Every time I put down a pile of these kitchen scraps, I cover it with some soil. That will help keep away any flies. Also, the scraps needs soil to decompose. I also add layers of garden “waste” such as dried weeds with no flowers, dried grass, thin sticks. Every now and then I turn the pile (except in winter; impossible to do when the ground is frozen!).
Key elements in compost are: air (turn it sometimes), moisture (add a bit of water if it hasn’t rained much), soil and/or manure, carbon and nitrogen (which you get from the kitchen and garden wastes).
You can read more about composting online (try http://www.howtocompost.org/, for example) or from a book (I own The Rodale Book of Composting). But my suggestion is: try it! Ask questions as you go along. You don’t need to be a chemist to make compost.
This post is dedicated to all those people who are wondering what in the world do those terms mean! Let’s start with two: Hasid vs. Litvak. When you hear Litvak, think Lithuania. Think the Vilna Gaon. Lots of Talmud study. Emphasis on who’s the smartest. My family is basically Litvak (except for those who married into a hasidic branch or married yekkes or one who married a Yemenite or one who married an Ethiopian). Another term used is misnagdim, meaning those who oppose Hassidim(the ‘im” makes Hasid plural in Hebrew).
In the late 18th Century the Ba’al Shem Tov started Hassidism in what is now the Ukraine. It was in response to the emphasis on Talmud study of the Litvaks. Instead, the emphasis is on prayer, joy, spirituality. Hassidim follow a rebbe. So today you have the Belzer Rebbe, the Gerrer Rebbe, the Satmar Rebbe (disputed leadership). Chabad or Lubavitch is also Hassidic.
There is a tiny branch of the Bostoner Rebbe here in Highland Park. The Bostoner is the only Hasidic branch named after an American city. All the other Hasidic branches are named after towns in Eastern Europe.
Yekkes are German Jews. Yekkes are known for being very punctual. This is as opposed to general “Jewish time” (an event that starts later than it is called for). The term “Yekke” comes from jacket, and it refers to the shorter, more Westernized jackets worn by German Jews, as opposed to the longer coats of Eastern European Jews.
Sephardi refers to Jews who were kicked out of Spain in 1492. However, it has come to refer also to Jews from Iraq, Iran, India or Yemen who never had ancestors who lived in Spain. That’s why in Israel they are called ‘Edot HaMizrach’ or congregations of the East. Sephardim are from countries like Morroco, Italy, Turkey, Greece (especially Salonika), Libya, Tunisia. Many have moved from those countries to France. We belong to a Sephardi congregation in Highland Park, Congregation Etz Ahaim. Why two thorough-bred Ashkenazim and children joined a Sephardi synagogue is a subject for another post. But we are not the only Ashkenazim there! (Ashkenaz = Germany and has come to mean any Jew from Europe).
I haven’t even begun to cover the history of religious Zionism here or how various Hasidic or Sephardic groups have responded to the modern State of Israel.
Ain’t that Absoid, der little Wings is on der Boid!!
Saw these two beautiful crocuses in my front yard and couldn’t resist adding the above poem. Seems to be written by unknown. I am working on a compost recipe post (other possible post topics: writer Aharon Appelfeld, repressed anger in literature, a review cookbook/nutrition book called Nourishing Traditions)…coming soon.
Last week Little Frumhouse on the Prairie (isn’t that a great name?) posted that she is hosting the next Kosher Cooking Carnival. So my mind starts churning…maybe a post on food photography?
I photographed one of the dishes I made for dinner one night. Because it was pretty. And it looks nice against the blue background. Food often looks good against blue, because there really isn’t any true blue in food. Even blueberries are really purple.
Later, I go visit my neighbor, arguably one of the best cooks in Highland Park. Last erev Yom Kippur she gave some of her Gondi, a Persian specialty of ground chicken, chickpea flour and spices rolled into balls and cooked in a sauce. Wish I had a photo of that! Are you making anything special for Purim, I ask. She said always makes something different for the Purim seudah (feast). I could tell her mind wasn’t yet on Purim.
On Friday night my husband came home from shul and said our rabbi spoke about the times one can have the Purim seudah (feast) this year. Purim falls on a Friday, not my favorite timing. Batya doesn’t have this problem. We can have the seudah at a choice of three times: in the morning, after noon, or at the end of the day, right before Shabbat starts. One then says Friday night kiddush in the middle and continues one’s meal. The latter sounds like an interesting idea, but then my husband would need to find a minyan for ma’ariv of men doing similar. We ended up agreeing on a brunch for the seudah this year. Eggs, bagels, fruit, veggies and salmon sound like a plan…
Years ago I made a Persian Purim feast… I can’t for the life of me remember what I served, but rice was certainly on the menu.
So, in the spirit of Nutrition Nerd, I’ll teach you how to make brown rice in a crockpot. It’s SUPER easy. Put in a cup of brown rice and 2 cups water. Cook for 2 – 2.5 hours. If, for some reason (you have nothing else going on in your life, right?) you forget the rice, don’t worry, you’ve just got brown rice with crispy edges. The middle is still edible.
Hope you’ve enjoyed my strung together food photo, exotic Persian dish, halachic (Jewish law) note, and recipe all in one post.
We live in a tiny little borough. You can walk from Cleveland Avenue on the North side to Donaldson Park on the South side in about twenty minutes. We pay a lot of taxes to live here. A lot of those taxes go toward the school budget.
The taxpaying in Highland Park is a little lopsided. Many of the people who own larger homes here, some of whom pay 22K in local taxes, do not send their children to public school. There are two yeshivas in this area, as well as a Solomon Schecter school in East Brunswick. On the South side, there are a lot of rental units and tinier homes (as well as some more large and many medium-size homes). Many renters do send their children to the public schools. Because there are few ratables in this town, businesses that pay property taxes, the bulk of the local taxes must come from the homeowners.
One more note: as the Jewish day schools have limited resources for special needs, many of the frum public students are special needs. This is one more pressure on the budget, as special needs are expensive.
It’s Highland Park School Budget time again, and I got the following in my Yahoo local group: (I edited out the private homes and any names…contact me if you live in Highland Park and need the names).
Please join members of the Board of Education and the Budget Task
Force for discussions to be held at the following:
* Tuesday, March 18, @ 7:30 p.m., Irving School Cafeteria
* Thursday, March 20, @ 7:30 p.m., private home
* Thursday, March 27, @ 7:30 p.m., private home
* Sunday, March 30, @ 4:00 p.m., private home
* Thursday, April 3, @ 7:30 p.m., private home
* Monday, April 7, @ 7:30 p.m., River Ridge, 30 S. Adelaide Avenue
* Wednesday, April 9, @ 7:00 p.m., Reformed Church, 19-21 South Second
Avenue in “the Cave”
Bring your questions!
Board of Education Hearing of Final Budget, March 25, 2008, 7:30 p.m.,
Bartle School cafeteria
Vote on the Budget and School Board Elections will be held April 15, 2008.
My intention had been to write about every day anger and how various people handle it. However, a horrific tragedy gave me pause to focusing at present on the every day. I feel fortunate to have wonderful neighbors here in Highland Park of many different backgrounds. But the close neighbors of Sderot, Israel, where people have been under daily rocket threats, celebrated yesterday’s massacre. CELEBRATED! How could one not get angry?
What I would call a “rabbinic” approach by Therapydoc. Listen up, kids, she seems to say. Consider this as another school killing. Let me tell you a story about angels singing at the death of the Egyptians…
A great way to deal with anger… tell a joke. Maybe then someone out there will get it?!!
Finally, getting back to Highland Park, as I originally meant this to be a blog about Highland Park, I just want to mention with sadness and some anger that Michelle Reasso will be leaving the Highland Park Public Library. At whom do I direct the anger? It can’t be at Mayor Meryl Frank; she gave the library a large donation recently. And not at the other librarians. And not at the taxpayers of Highland Park, we pay too much already. So I’ll direct it at the ridiculous politicians of Trenton who messed up the State budget. Michelle deserves her own post, so I’ll write one soon.
It was one of those days. So, to make myself feel better, I uploaded a watercolor I did a few months ago. See the original photo here.
My friend who has graduated from my stage in life (her youngest is twenty-years old, and she has 5 daughters) said she remembers when her kids were younger: if she was working, she felt like she should be with her kids. If she was with her kids, she felt should be working.
Today, when I had the opportunity to do some artwork, I felt I should be working. And when I went back to working, I wished I could spend more time doing artwork. And I’m with my kids… my mind is on art, work, blogging…My daughter is calling me now…
It’s pea-planting time in New Jersey. I ordered my peas and inoculant; they are sitting and awaiting my having the time and energy to plant them. I already dug a trench where I want them planted.
We live in a tiny little borough. You can walk from Cleveland Avenue on the North side to Donaldson Park on the South side in about twenty minutes. We pay a lot of taxes to live here. A lot of those taxes go toward the school budget. 
Yesterday, I started posting about 