Ruminations from the Temple

When time and distance separate, I want you to know the depth of my care and devotion to you in my heart, even still and always. Destined companions; a safe place - a respectful refuge; with care and gentleness, valuable iron sharpening iron. And in times of raw honesty, I have to admit that I will forever miss you when we are apart; and yet somehow I will still be with you just as it is a fact that you will forever be a part of me; your voice inside my head... visiting in my dreams. You just must know that you make me feel beautiful, and wanted, yes, smart and witty, too; like you were just not as good without me in your life, and, my dear friend, I certainly will never be as good without you. The greeting smile and the twinkle in your eye, the understanding glance and knowing how I would hurt; the tease and the tears and the yearning for good and the covering of prayer... I always have, and will, want the absolute best for you, oh my dearest of friends.

Your favorite moment in Empire Strikes Back? This is my brother's favorite movie of the saga.  A fact that he reminds me of everytime SW comes up.  Every time.  Somehow, I suspect he is implying that none of the rest are up to snuff.  Hmph. Anyway, my favorite scene...I absolutely quote Vader and Luke most often from this episode.  It's the classic "I'm your father" scene, and remember fondly an old friend imitating Luke as he hears the news.  Thinking of that will always make me smile, Gary. "Nooooooooooooo!" I also love our introduction to Yoda from Empire, absolutely classic. another fun shot from filming  :-)

What started out as a Father's Day weekend camping trip with great expectations ended shortly after it began in a fiery disaster. Thankfully, Dad & Connie got out with their lives. Still alive - Baruch HaShem!

I'm grateful for the beautiful snowball bushes! I'm so grateful that Lisa and I got to spend time with my dad and our friend Connie on Father's Day. What a blessing! I'm so grateful for all the laughter on Shabbat and Sunday; it is, after all, the best medicine! I'm grateful for a clean kitchen. I'm grateful for quiet mornings. I'm grateful for time with my best friend. I'm grateful for Perfect Food . I'm grateful for healing - G-d is so good. I'm grateful for glimpses of summer. I'm grateful for the opportunity to get organized and to get things put right again. I'm grateful that it's not so cold that I can have the windows open to air the place out a bit.  Seems like the house has been closed up forever. I'm grateful for new opportunities to serve those in need. I'm grateful to have found a bunch of my grandma's family history research here in my own home! I'm grateful for now. I'm g

just another little clutter collector, the container meant to catch things that came through the laundry... "Three Rules of Work:  Out of clutter find simplicity;  From discord find harmony;  In the middle of difficulty lies opportunity." ~Albert Einstein Is it a fad right now to de-clutter one's life?  Or it may just be the season of life I'm in...I'm not sure.  Further, if clutter is a noun, de-clutter must be a verb, right?  I suppose so, because I sure get tired and dirty doing it! For about the last two weeks, every day, I have been picking a spot in my too-big home to de-clutter.  I've read blogs of de-cluttering and am inspired to go through just about every dark corner, neglected closet and junk drawer in my home.  Yes, me and my kiddos have been filling up trash cans and making multiple runs to the local Goodwill.  Oh, I know I could spend a lot of time trying to sell some of these items, but what is my time worth, anyway?  Probably more than

Your favorite moment in A New Hope? My favorite memory of Star Wars (it wasn't called A New Hope then) is when I saw it the first time when it came out way back when.  I stood in the Seattle rain with my parents and brother and waited to buy tickets for hours.  Then, safely ensconced in my theater chair...that opening scene with the Star Destroyer coming right over our heads - WOW!  For this 'tween, it was absolutely incredible!  I was hooked. So, my favorite scene would be the garbage scene.  Yeah, I love the banter between the characters as they go down the shoot and while they are inside.  Nicely done, George. In my web search, I came across these fun bookends  which feature my favorite scene - cool! And then, I found this!   haha!  

I'm grateful for the yummy cakes my daughter was making us for Shabbat! I'm grateful for good, healing conversation yesterday with two beautiful souls  after years of painful silence. I'm grateful my bestie was waiting for me afterward. I'm grateful we have so many thrift stores in our area...we wore ourselves out looking at junk! I'm grateful for encouragement and verbal affirmations. I'm grateful for the Torah. I'm grateful for our liturgy...what a comfort and a grounder. I'm grateful for my house that is big enough to absorb a lot of folks all doing different things. I'm grateful that my schedule has opened up a bit giving me room to breathe. I'm grateful to know the truth about someone who was close to me - I praise the LORD for revelation. I'm grateful for a period of de-cluttering, both mentally and physically. I'm grateful for ancestry.com . I'm grateful for people who care about others. I'm gr

Your favorite moment in Revenge of the Sith? I think I'm gonna say my favorite scene or moment in ROTS is when Obi-Wan goes to visit Padme to tell her the awful news of Anakin's fall.  He is the consumate Jedi, even when his heart and life has been ripped apart.  I know, I'm a softy.

History. We start out making relationships.  From the second we enter the world, that seems to be our goal - to make connections, to be linked with others.  Our personal history, as well as the our history on this earth, is a story of links.  One person linking with another, and another, and another.  Which brings me to a conclusion that I have been pondering for months now. Does one every really 'leave' anywhere or anybody?  Oh sure, you may leave physically, and perhaps those left behind want you to leave, but it's the history that will continue to speak.  I have a habit of calling them ghosts, but the fact remains that our memories of time shared are strong, lasting and can be so vivid that it startles you by washing over your senses once again.  Somehow, suddenly, all your senses are reset back to that very moment in time, and for a split second you are there, with those... ghosts ...once again. My conclusion?  We are all inextricably linked;  forever a part of t

I'm grateful for those that are willing to to do good deeds for others. Good morning, my grateful friends! I'm grateful this morning for comfy workout clothes to wear - I like casual days. I'm grateful for cheapy flip-flops from Old Navy. I'm grateful that Padawan and I were able to troop with such quality fellow-costumers Sunday - it was wonderful. I'm grateful for all the people that participated in the Susan G. Komen Race for a Cure in Seattle this past weekend. 15,000 runners and walkers dressed in their best pink and raised money for breast cancer research. How awesome! I'm grateful for Debbie and her willingness to help us put together our Jedi robes so long ago... thanks, Debbie!  They are the best! I'm grateful for good hair days!! I'm grateful for some wonderful time spent with my sister having meaningful conversation and just hangin' out. I'm grateful for loving friends. I'm grateful I didn't have to

This year is my tenth year. Shavuot is my absolute favorite of the festival cycle. I enjoy hearing the shofar on Yom Teruah, and I wait all year to read Qohelet in the sukkah. Pesach is a lot of preparation, but oh, is it so worth it. Hanukkah's beautiful candlelight is definitely a bright spot in the dreariness of winter. But it's Shavuot that truly defines festivals for me. The giving of the Torah.  The ingathering of the Gentiles. The outpouring of the Holy Spirit. The all-night study.  The nosh, the sweet fellowship and meaningful worship. The memories. My tenth year.  The tenth time I've been privileged to celebrate Shavuot. I will remember.  And I pray that I have the honor of celebrating many more. I will remember you Will you remember me? Don’t let your life pass you by Weep not for the memories

Your favorite moment in Attack of the Clones Oh my.  I just don't have one moment in this movie, but many that I anticipate and fully enjoy each time.  I never tire of any scene in which the character Obi-Wan Kenobi is fully functioning as a Jedi.  Period. That's a lot of moments in this movie! ( Sorry I couldn't narrow it down any more than that; I did think quite a while about it, only to come up with that conclusion. So, sue me. *shrug* ) Can I just be this cool, please?   Please?

are you steering the wheel of your life? Do you ever feel like you are not the one in control of your life?  Do you regularly find yourself running around from one task to another, never really accomplishing anything and definitely not managing to make anyone happy, most especially you?  Truly, every believer knows who really is in control of our lives, but on a more earthly level, we all know that there is only one that can control how we respond to things that come our way - ourselves.  I believe there are definite steps we all can take to gain control over aspects of our lives; taking command of the tedium of the everyday may just give us a little of that peace we are all looking for.  In fact, I believe it so much, I'm going through this process presently, taking back control of my life after a long, too long, period of being dangerously out of control on so many fronts.  And I'm here to tell you, it's a good thing. 10.  De-Clutter Your Space Keeping too much s

19 years ago... I'm grateful it's my 19th wedding anniversary. Wow, that's quite a while, eh? I'm grateful for facebook - it gives me the opportunity to keep in touch with so many of my friends. I'm grateful for simplifying my schedule - I needed that. I'm grateful we got Morgan's camp list mostly knocked out this week. I'm grateful gas prices have come down a few pennies. I'm grateful that we were able to plan to do something for Netanya's day off. I'm so grateful that so many got a lovely three-day weekend to enjoy with friends and family. I'm grateful for the entertainment of my cats. I'm grateful I was able to carve a stamp for a friend to use to make her friend's birthday special. I'm grateful for the gift of a little bit of the coveted best-carving-material-ever...PZ Kut. Thanks, Lis! I'm grateful to get things marked off the do-list. I'm grateful my son possesses an excellent work ethic