What Do You See?
Seems like a good time to ask: “what do you see?” Drawing was started by my daughter and finished up by me.
Leora
Another Week Passes
I woke up yesterday morning with the news that Katyusha rockets had hit Northern Israel. It seems like the rockets landed in Nahariya, a bustling little town with a pretty waterfront that is south of Rosh HaNikra. One rocket hit a retirement home. We visited Naharia last June: my kids ate pizza, and I bought a salad across the street (my husband probably wasn’t hungry). Why am I talking about food? Isn’t that easier to talk about than war, self-defense, media bias, Islamic fanaticism?
Here’s what I blogged about this past week
Photo memes:
Sky Watch in New Brunswick
Ruby Tuesday Contrasts
Today’s Flowers in Winter
On Israel:
Focused On Israel
Mothers of Soldiers
Baila, who lives in Modi’in, Israel, wrote on my Focused On Israel post:
It will only be a relief if the job is done, Leora. If Hamas continues to throw rockets at our cities, Israel must continue to respond.
A Sweet Angel Song
The song is one that is in this week’s parsha of Vayechi. There is a chapter in Ancient Secrets by Rabbi Levi Meier, z”l, called the “Art of Dying.” It is about Yaakov on his death bed, and what we can learn about dying from Yaakov. However, I couldn’t bear to write about dying. But I did want to mention that chapter.
Noteworthy (to me) in the Greater Blogosphere
Oh, What A Wonderful Friendly World We Live In (Just Kidding)
(not the real title of the post, but close)
Ilana-Davita learns from Yaakov: “children are different and that [Yaakov] can’t have the same expectations from all of them.”
And I’ll leave with a link to Jack.
Sky Watch in New Brunswick
Sky Watch Friday is a photo meme with photos of sunrises, sunsets, blue skies, gray skies, pink skies, dark skies and any other kind of sky posted by bloggers all over the planet.
I took this photo standing in Highland Park looking across the river at New Brunswick last month in early December. I believe that steeple is in Cook/Douglass Campus of Rutgers (Voorhees Chapel?).
These last two photos were taken this morning. Much bluer sky, right? The above shows the contrasts of old and new architecture in New Brunswick.
This is Easton Avenue in New Brunswick, one block from the College Avenue campus of Rutgers University. I was visiting my favorite computer fix-it folks: Cyber Knight Computers.
Matzo Balls
A companion post to my chicken soup recipe
I’m going to admit I’m cheating on this one. I never measure when I make matza balls. Too much trouble. I just mix 2-3 eggs, some matza meal, some oil, some seltzer, a touch of salt, a bit of pepper until I get a goopy but not too gluppy mixture. Then I refrigerate for a few hours, take it out when my soup is boiling hot, form the balls quickly and throw ’em in the pot.
Since you probably want measurements, I’m taking them off my box of Streit’s matzah meal:
- 1 cup matzah meal
- 4 large eggs (I don’t usually make this much)
- 1/4 cup oil
- 1/4 cup seltzer
- 1 tsp. salt or to taste
- pinch of ground pepper
Beat eggs. Add oil, salt, pepper. Mix well. Add matzah meal and stir thoroughly. Refrigerate for 1/2 to 1 hour. Bring soup to a boil. Moisten palms with cold water (I’ve never done this: have you?). Form mixture into balls 1″ in diameter. Drop balls into boiling water. When all the balls are in the pot, reduce heat to low. Simmer covered for about 30 minutes.
Tricks: don’t handle the balls much. Do use the seltzer.
Anyone else got any good matza ball tricks? My paternal grandmother’s matza balls supposedly floated out the window. The opposite are some I have tasted from a can that would make great golf balls.
In honor of Ilana-Davita who is hosting the Kosher Cooking Carnival at the end of January
Focused on Israel
Today a blog called Real Israel (the blog is new to me, just learned about this last week via Twitter) posted:
Why I Love Israel
I thank her for including my post on Art in Israel (often pics speak louder than words for me).
I just read on the Jerusalem Post that the Israelis are expected to wrap up the operations in Gaza in about a week or so. That will be a relief for many.
You may click on the photo to enlarge it.
A Sweet Angel Song
A beautiful song is in this week’s parsha of Vayechi. The scene is Yaacov on his deathbed, blessing his grandsons Ephraim and Menashe. Part of the blessing has become a pretty song that parents often sing to children at bedtime.
Translation in English:
“May the angel who redeemed me from all harm bless the youths, and may they be called by my name and the name of my fathers, Abraham and Isaac, and may they grow into a multitude in the midst of the land.”
Transliteration:
Hamalach hagoel oti,
Hamalach hagoel oti mikol ra
yivarech et hana’arim v’yikaray bahem sh’mi.
V’shem avotai, V’shem avotai Avraham v’Yitzchak,
v’yidgu larov, v’yidgu larov b’kerev ha’aretz.
Click on the little girl to see the same little girl with Play and Pause buttons. Click on Play to hear my daughter (and me) singing the song. Or click here for song. (I couldn’t get the Flash to embed directly in this post; one still needs a plugin for this.)
Rashi states that “the youths” refer to Ephraim and Menashe. But I like to think of the youths as any kids that are in the room at the time the song is being sung.
Hope you will find this relaxing and a calming way to get through the rest of the week!
Rafi Hosts JPIX
Rafi hosts the “cut short by the war” edition of JPIX, the blog carnival of Jewish photo bloggers. I greatly appreciate his link to my post on the Dead Sea and Ein Gedi and the inclusion of my ibex photo (see that cute guy at right).
Speaking of blog carnivals, Ilana-Davita will be hosting the upcoming Kosher Cooking Carnival, so be sure to submit a food-related post to her. This past sentence will appear on my blog on Asarah B’Tevet, the 10th of Tevet, so I apologize in advance to anyone who reads these words while fasting.
Ruby Tuesday Contrasts
Last week Mary asked for a red sign. I didn’t really want to photograph a stop sign and was fortunate to find the above sign in my archives. It was taken in Modiin, Israel last June, home of bloggers Baila (who has been blogging bits about the war) and triLcat (who is about to give birth, if she hasn’t already).
This is what I would show, if I weren’t showing a sign today. I’m pretty sure this is my chrysanthemum, buried in a December snowstorm. A brief snowstorm, it was.
Lest you think New Jersey looks like the snowy pic, here are recent strawberry leaves. No snow here.
For more Ruby Tuesday pics, visit:
Today’s Flowers in Winter
This is the last flower I can find on my block. It is in a neighbor’s front yard, a neighbor who has many perennials planted in front of her house instead of grass.
I believe this is a kind of heather of the family Erica.
Today’s Flowers is hosted by Luiz Santilli Jr. Thank you, Luiz, for this lovely and fun meme.
What a Week
On my blog
Sufganiyot = Doughnuts
On Saturday night we learned that after 8 years of suffering under rocket attacks from Gaza, Israel has struck back. This rather colored my week, as I anxiously think of family, friends and my people.
Memories of Mums in Watercolor
Today’s Flowers: Dianthus in the Snow
Today’s Flowers seemed to be on vacation last week, but feel free to visit the post that I left up.
My World in Donaldson Park
and
Watery Wednesday in Donaldson Park
A Woman named Serah (parsha post)
Sky Watch: My Daughter’s Sunrise
Let’s Play Pretend (please watch this short video about war if you haven’t already. thank you).
Elsewhere in the Blogosphere
Seraphic Secret, the self-anointed Bob Hope of the Gaza War, has his 10 best movies of 2008 (from Hollywood’s Golden Age). Here’s part one of his picks. I must check these at some point: when movies were movies!
I wish I didn’t have to link to Jack’s latest post of Gaza War links. (that’s the 6th)
Esser Agaroth has a much shorter list of Gaza Updates.
Zivans in Israel report on the “situation“.
West Bank Mama is a good teacher.
And more sad news…
Michelle at Rambling Woods reported that one of her blogger friends lost her husband suddenly.
Janet at Fond of Snape lost her dear father.