Ruminations from the Temple

Yes, it's the end of another year the LORD has granted me, and you as well, if you are reading this post. A great time for reflection and introspection, to be sure. A lot of things rocked our nation this year, and the tremors are still reverberating. I'm hopeful that things will continue to get better financially for the seemingly floundering United States. I praise the Master that I'm not in charge of where this ship is headed, y'know ? We have done our part to boost retail sales (!!) and with the road trip planned for this coming spring, we will be helping the travel industry, as well. It's nice to think that, in some small way, we are helping to restart the economy. *smile* On a personal level, this past 12 months have been pretty busy. Of course, we all know how fast time goes as you age, and I am definitely finding that to be true. The months zoom by, consumed by the weekly schedule of school and Shabbat . All the festivals are a blur in my mind; I...

So, the bulk of the holiday obligations are over - whew...I made it! The feeling of having Hanukkah and Christmas behind me is fabulous. I usually end up with a little cash in my pocket, and with less people in the malls and more free time for a sanity break, I'm a happy girl. Baruch HaShem! I suggested a girls-day-out last Sunday for a little letterboxing and photography, with some shopping thrown in just for good measure - how nice! Lisa, Netanya and I ended up in Olympia on a sweet little trail that was in all it's winter glory. Everything was frosted with ice crystals, the lake was frozen enough to make lovely patterns on the water and we hiked at a pretty good pace because we were absolutely freezing! We were unable to snag that box, but were very happy to have found that little loop trail. In the spring and summer it must be glorious and may require another visit. We were more successful finding a couple other boxes, luckily, even running into some newbies for a ...

I admit it, I have been a holiday snob. I also admit that I do not want to celebrate Christmas. Don't get me wrong, I love the Messiah, and want to honor his birth. But we all know full well that December 25th is not even close to when he was born. Interestingly, some scholars would affirm that his birth was probably closer to Sukkot (the last of the fall biblical festivals). Besides, much to the dismay of Christians everywhere, Christmas in it's modern form isn't all about the birth of the Jesus. I'm not here to convince anyone of when Jesus, or Yeshua, was born. Likewise, I'm not here to talk about all the syncretism that has found it's way into the celebration of Christmas, such as trees, wreaths, mistletoe, etc., although all these things bother me a great deal. In reality, I can choose what to celebrate or not, based upon my faith. However, that does not change the fact that a lot of my well-meaning friends and acquaintances celebrate, even revel in...

So, as everyone else puts up pics of their delicious Christmas cookies and gingerbread houses, I am stuck at the computer. You see, when my children were much smaller, I started a tradition that I was unaware would become an annual requirement; calendar production. I started off just choosing 12 photos to become the photo page for the personalized calendars that you can have printed at various copy stores. Each month only had one photo, however, and that just wasn't gonna cut it for long. After a couple of years of the one-photo-per-page type, I decided to create my own collages to have the copy store produce into my annual calendars. They happily did that, but I still was not completely satisfied...wasn't there a way I could produce these things on my own? The next year I set out to do just that, purchasing photo/graphics software ( The Print Shop ), ink and paper so I could make the calendars just as I wished. A comb-binder is also a must (and can be quite expensiv...

I have been attempting to create a slide show to share with family this year. This is my first attempt using the free Microsoft download Photo Story 3. (This download worked perfectly with Windows 7, despite the fact that MS stated it was for XP.) This program was fairly easy to use, even though I had a little trouble getting the right music attached. When I had it the way I wanted it, the slide show had to be exported to a DVD creator-type program to burn to DVD. No problem, as I had Windows DVD Maker already on my computer (how handy). Unfortunately, when I excitedly tried to play the newly burned DVD, I was not happy with the results - the photos were very pixelated even though they were fairly high resolution photos. So, since this one didn't work, I am off to find another option. I have found another download that I am working with, and so far it has incredible results. It's not a free download, but the $60 price tag may be worth it if the results are exactly what I...

"LORD, is it possible to see some sunshine this morning? It would be so nice, since it's been so gray and dreary the past few days. It would sure help me today, since it's gonna be such a long day with lots of things to accomplish and people to serve..." view out my kitchen window Blessed are You, LORD our G-d, King of the Universe, who sees fit to answer the prayer of your humble servant. Thank you. I cannot ask for more.

By all means, then, let us have psalms and days of dedication anew to the old causes. ~Charles Reznikoff