Ruminations from the Temple

The G-d of the Universe has painted an incredible picture out my kitchen window this morning. As the sun was inching it's way towards the horizon, Mt. Rainier was oblivious in it's icy repose. Covered in glaciers and snow, it cared not of the light show sneaking up behind it. Vivid red, orange, pink and purple stretching into the last hold of the night sky, while a frosty glaze covered everything. The last of the night lights sent twinkles off of the tiny crystals of ice, prettier than any man could create. A lone bird spread it's wings over the landscape as I took in the painting. I thought of last evening's full moon in it's splendor; a foretaste of this morning's glory, calling us not to miss the show. Baruch HaShem!

Sitting in front of a spectacular view of Jerusalem, Nov. 2006 The turkey has been smoking on our balcony for 15 hours. The smoke winds up in the air currents and creates shadows in the sunlight coming up over Mt. Rainier. The steam from the pan on the stove cooking the giblets mimicks the shadow outside the window, and creates interesting shapes that grab my attention. Just as I appreciate the random artwork, they disappear forever. The fire crackles in the fireplace, lending to a cheerful, holiday atmosphere in the kitchen. The smell of coffee, sage and sticky, sweet cranberry sauce adds to the morning, as well. It is a crisp 29 degrees outside, with a thin layer of frost making everything look magical. Out of the corner of my eye, I get treated to the view of a flock of geese flying straight towards my kitchen window and up over the roof on their way to somewhere important. Awake at 5:30 am is unusual for me, but I guess I have a lot on my mind. Last year, and the year prior, I was

Energized. That's how I would describe my mood after stopping in at Don's Star Wars Shop in Aberdeen, Washington. We had the pleasure of stopping for a third time at the little shop along Aberdeen's main drag yesterday afternoon. Don, who is the very friendly shop owner, was thrilled to see us once again. He knows I'm an avid Obi-Wan fan, so he was ready for me. The first time we stopped was quite a while ago, right after they moved from a house just north of town to the shop downtown. I was not impressed with the prices, the dust on the merchandise and the two lethargic post-teens working behind the counter. We didn't stay long, and I avoided the shop after that. However, as my Star Wars geekiness increased, I felt again drawn to the little shop with a standee of Padme taunting me from the window. When you walk in, your senses are immediately met by sounds of dueling Star Wars episodes, each playing on their perspective sides of the sizeable store. Don is no fool;

make a fire in the fireplace. curl up in a snuggly chair and read a book. stay home. eat latkes...and fudge. stay in bed with the covers over my head. pray for sunshine. clean out my closet and take out all my summer clothing. wear turtlenecks and fleece sweatshirts. listen to Windham Hill. watch my kids play a board game with their father, with the smell of popcorn in the air. light a candle. long for Israel. plan a vacation to somewhere warm... or anywhere, really! drink hot tea...all day long. go to Nordstroms. curse being cold all the time. turn the heat up in the house. put flannel sheets on the bed. organize all the things in my house that are in chaos (my shoes, photos, filing, pantry, etc. etc.) watch an old movie. wear thick socks to bed... oh wait, I do that all year long! complain about 'hat-hair'. pad around the house wrapped in my favorite fleece blanket and my coziest slippers. give my best friend a Hanukkah present. eat pumpkin pie with real whipped cream. sing R

[Nov 12, '07] Yesterday, I had the pleasure of attending a Letterboxing Event, sometimes called a gather. This is not my first, and each one is unique and fun in it's own right. A Letterboxing Event is where a bunch of letterboxers (if you don't know what this is, you need to google it) who gather in one place, be it a park or inside venue and exchange signature stamps, collect area letterboxes and generally shmooze. Sometimes there is food involved, but usually that just gets in the way of the stamping frenzy. Besides, eating finger food with inky fingers is kinda gross. I met some new letterboxers in our area, which is always fun. I exchanged with eleven newer 'boxers yesterday, which is always exciting. It is fun to see people's faces when I introduce myself - I have quite a few planted letterboxes, so most newer letterboxers recognize my name. My favorite part of events is catching up with letterboxing friends that I have met previously. Each time I see th