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Tag Archives: Purim
I'm Trying to Figure Out How to Raise a Jewish Kid as a Woman Who is Not Jewish
By Elizabeth Raphael
This article was reprinted with permission from Kveller.com, a fast-growing, award-winning website for parents raising Jewish and interfaith kids. Follow Kveller on Facebook and sign up for their newsletters here.
2015 was a year of change for me, facilitated largely by the birth of my lovely dumpling of a daughter in February. Among the normal challenges of being a first-time parent (learning to cobble together a working brain when it has been addled by lack of sleep, perfecting the art of acting casually when your child decides to poop on you in a public place, and so on), I had the additional challenge of being a woman from another faith background raising a Jewish daughter.
A bit of background on me: My religious upbringing can best be described as "vaguely Christian." I went to a Catholic church a handful of times as a child, but I was never baptized, nor did I undergo confirmation (in fact, I had to do a quick Internet search while writing this article to make sure that "confirmation" was even the right term for the process I was thinking of).
My family celebrated Easter and Christmas, but there was never an emphasis on the religious aspects of the holidays. Though my parents made sure my siblings and I knew the meaning behind the holidays, the days themselves were more about getting together with and showing appreciation for family than going to church or performing any truly religious rituals. As I grew older, my naturally skeptic mind led me on a journey of religious exploration that eventually brought me to a place of agnosticism in my early 20s. It was right around this time that I met my husband, who—you guessed it—happens to be Jewish.
He and I met through a mutual friend in 2007. OK, technically we met on a mutual friend's MySpace page, but we tend to leave that part out of our official couple story. We quickly bonded over our love of art, our mutual fondness for grunge music, and our uncanny ability to quote "Seinfeld" episodes from start to finish. Eventually we agreed to meet, and sweet amorebloomed.
Through my relationship with him, I got my first real experience with Jewish culture (well, outside of a childhood fondness for the "Rugrats" cartoon from the 90s). His religious education was more thorough than mine; he attended Sunday School regularly as a child and had his
However, where things between us differed was in the strong connection he still felt toward his culture. He kept (and still keeps) loosely kosher, not maintaining a separate kitchen but avoiding shellfish and pork and never mixing meat and dairy. Every Hanukkah, he would pull out his menorah and sing the blessings over the phone with his family across the country each night.
What I came to realize is that where my relationship with the Christian holidays was one of somewhat superficial amusement (though fun and lovely in its own way), his relationship with the Jewish holidays and with Judaism in general was something more substantial. His was a relationship of preservation. By maintaining those rituals, he was helping to keep alive an ancient, beautiful, and strong culture that had undergone more than its share of challenges over the years. It was this realization that made the decision to raise our daughter as Jewish a natural choice for both of us.
Since our daughter is still only a wee lass—just 11 months old!—her current relationship with Judaism is at a fairly basic level. Last Purim, we dressed her up and took her to temple, delighted to have an opportunity to put her in the bear costume we bought pretty much when we first found out that I was pregnant. For her Hebrew naming ceremony, we waited until Sukkot and had it under the sukkah with the Sunday School classes in attendance. (I managed to only cry a little bit while reading the blessings.) She delighted in all of the aspects of Hanukkah—especially opening gifts, eating latkes with lots of applesauce on top, and watching the menorah being lit. She may not have fully realized the significance behind such events yet, but by undergoing these experiences, she has already become a part of the culture.
In many ways, I am learning about Judaism alongside my daughter. I know that at some point, her education and her experiences will take her to a different place than me, and there will be complicated questions to answer when we come to them. I am not intimidated by this. We will be different, yes, but not separate. I will find ways to help her grow as a young Jewish woman. Already I have adopted the role of helping her appreciate her culture through cooking. (I'm proud to say I have challah, hamantaschen, babka, and matzah ball soup under my culinary belt.) The older she gets, I will find other ways as well.
I await these challenges, and the Gregorian New Year, with open arms and an open heart.
Elizabeth Raphael is a stay-at-home mom and full-time book nerd. She also makes excellent matzo balls.
Judaism through Food and Crafts
Recently, my family and I attended a "Sunday in the Park with Bagels" event sponsored by Big Tent Judaism, which appeared to be a consortium of Reconstructionist and Reform Jewish organizations, including InterfaithFamily.
I didn't research the event beforehand and didn't know what to really expect. Bagels were a great selling point, of course! But I thought it would just be few families camped out on blankets, eating bagels. I learned about the event from the IFF/Chicago's Facebook group, and knowing how my family feels about bagels at any time of day, I knew it would be something we'd enjoy, particularly in a park on a nice sunny morning. I had no idea that we'd be a part of a very well-attended and well-thought-out morning of Jewish education and, yes, bagels.
When we arrived, we found more than a dozen tents, each hosted by a local Jewish organization and featuring a food and a craft activity based on a moment in the Jewish liturgical year.
The first table we visited was Rosh Hashanah, and Laurel jumped at the chance to decorate an apple with stickers and crayons, as well as stringing beads on it to make a necklace. We didn't follow a regular order from table-to-table, as Laurel spent considerable time decorating her apple, and 2-year-old Holly preferred to wander much more speedily from table-to-table in search of games and, preferably, food.
Both children eagerly rolled blue paper around two toilet paper rolls, topped with silver tin-foil points, to make their own tiny Torahs. We found the promised bagels at the Shavuot table, where Rabbi Ari wore a paper crown with green leaves. She helpfully explained that the leaves were a reference to the idea that Mount Sinai had actually been a desert oasis. Both kids ate the bagels with relief and delight! Laurel made a crown, while Holly determinedly stuffed bean bags directly into the goal point of the bean-bag-toss game.
Nearby, we saw representatives wearing gold paper crowns on their heads, and guessed correctly that we'd found Purim. Holly focused on the hamantaschen at the table, while Laurel skillfully decorated the front and back of an appropriately abrasively noisy wooden gregor. We somehow avoided Sukkot, which offered falling-down sukkahs made of graham crackers and melting green icing (in a summery and sugary rendition of a Jewish gingerbread house).
By the time we worked our meandering way to the Shabbat table, I found myself fully in the arts-and-crafts mode, too. At the Shabbat table, the craft consisted of using permanent markers to decorate a challah cover, and I wanted to help little Holly not get permanent marker all over the wrong places (such as her clothes). I grabbed a cut-out of a challah, placed it on the center of the cover, and traced it. Holly scribbled big black lines along the bottom. I grabbed a candlestick and placed it just above and to the left of the challah, and traced it. I was about to trace a Jewish star when I decided it would be really strange not to add the second customary Shabbat candlestick to my challah cover, so I traced a second candlestick as well, and drew a couple of free-hand flames on each. Holly scribbled gleeful blue lines all over the orange challah in the center. When we finished, we all enjoyed a slice of challah to cap the experience.
Working side-by-side with my children, I found an open and accessible entry point into the Jewish childhood I never had, but which my children are clearly enjoying. This version of Judaism centered on food and crafts rather than Torah, Talmud and ritual observance. Certainly, the emphasis came in part from the types of Jewish organizations sponsoring the event, but the end result emphasized Judaism as something accessible and fun for the whole family, even for family members of a different faith. Some of the crafts my kids made, like the challah cover or the gregor, will likely serve a ritual purpose in our home. The crafts allowed even the youngest of children a way to enjoy the Jewish environment.
Even more so, food is the great equalizer. By eating together, people cement their shared allegiance. That morning, it wasn't the food of kosher laws that brought people together, but the simple act of eating foods in a Jewish context—from the menorah dripped with too much icing and sprinkles to the off-season hamentaschen (Purim cookie). Food transcended both age and artistic ability: Everyone, of whatever age or background could enjoy a slice of challah or an icing-dipped graham cracker. No wonder the tote bag said "We 'heart' Jewish food!"
Raising Strong Girls, Telling the Purim (and Passover) Stories
Before I had daughters, I had a pretty clear idea of how I wanted to raise them. I had been raised with what I considered exceptional feminist ideals, and I planned to do a knock-out job of solidifying my future daughters' self-image as strong, powerful human beings who could do anything they wanted, for whom gender would be an afterthought.
Of course, as many women more prolific and eloquent than I have written, this is unfortunately still very difficult work and, as I have now found, a lot easier in premeditation than in implementation with actual living daughters. Still, I am trying my very best to both be a model for my girls and to intercept the stimuli coming at them to help them interpret it toward positive self-image development.
I share this as a context for my thinking about this year's spring holidays. Our family had a very fun Purim. It can be a wonderful holiday, full of jubilant storytelling, costuming and fun. After all, it is a holiday in which we are instructed to party. It celebrates a great triumph – the salvation of our people – with a strong female hero.
But the Purim story is also complicated, and this year I felt these complications as I dwelled on how my girls will learn the story as they grow. There is so much for them to learn from Esther about her great courage, her strategic thinking and her triumph. Simultaneously, there are some real doozies in the story. Esther wins her place by the king's side not through a respectful, loving courtship, but through a beauty contest. To varying degrees, King Ahasuerus, Haman and Vashti are all sizably complex and challenging for children and adults alike.
I couldn't take it all on this year, but I tried to start with Vashti. When I was growing up, Vashti was portrayed as a villain, but her primary villainous act was refusing to entertain her husband's guests on demand. Regardless of what more dynamic layers were beneath the surface in their relationship, on its face this is a pretty bad precedent for my girls' future empowerment. So how was Ruthie learning about Vashti, and how could I help her reinterpret the traditional storyline?
Ruthie's class spent three weeks studying Purim. I asked her what she thought about Vashti. She said she thought she was OK. She just didn't want to dance for the king, which wasn't a big deal to Ruthie. She told me that King Ahasuerus and Vashti didn't agree, so they decided to live in different places. That's pretty good for a start. Later in life, we can talk about how if Ruthie and a future partner have a disagreement, they should try to talk about it and work it out together. But as a baseline, we got a chance to explore together that a woman never needs to do something just because her partner tells her she has to, and that it is OK to leave if you don't feel safe.
Purim is not unique in its depth of complexities. The ability to interpret, reinterpret and struggle with these stories is part of what makes Judaism so rich. This year's processing of the Purim story has emboldened me as I approach Passover, the ultimate story-telling holiday. The Passover story orbits around Moses and Aaron, but there are some very dynamic and important women in the story. I am looking forward to sharing Miriam's story with Ruthie, for having Chaya be the one to put the orange on our seder plate, and for trying to get to know Pharoah's daughter a little better this year.
I plan to have a lot of years to explore these stories with my daughters, both for the parts which we will carry with us and which we will leave in the Biblical past. I'm looking forward to our next stop, sitting around the seder table together.
Be Courageous
An email from the family in charge of leading the discussion for the next fourth-grade book club landed in my inbox. It said the selection for this month's meeting was Number the Stars by Lois Lowry. An appropriate choice since we were about to mark the 70th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz.
Some parents were hesitant to let their kids read about the Holocaust. I was not. My son Sammy already knew about the horrors of World War II. He had been introduced to this part of Jewish history when he was in Kindergarten at a Jewish Day School. At the time, I thought six was too young for the lesson, but it was taught whether parents approved or not. Even though Sammy knew about the Holocaust, I was glad the book was about heroes and survival, rather than labor camps and gas chambers.
Number the Stars tells the story of the evacuation of the Jews from Nazi-held Denmark during World War II. On September 29, 1943, word spread throughout the country that Jews were to be detained and then relocated to extermination camps. Within hours, the Danes including average citizens, resistance fighters, and police arranged boats to take 7,000 Jews to Sweden. Lowry fictionalizes this true-story and brings it to life through 10-year-old Annemarie Johansen, whose family harbors her best friend, Ellen Rosen, on the eve of the round-up and smuggles Ellen's family out of the country.
My son loved the story, as did the other kids. As the children eagerly talked about the book, the adult discussion leader asked them if they thought it was possible for a holocaust to happen again.
All the kids agreed that it was possible for a holocaust-like tragedy to happen if a "mad man" came to power, but all felt it was not probable. They said that the United States would never allow it. They believed that the President would protect Jews in the US from such evil and would ensure that our country came to the aid of others if it happened elsewhere in the world.
As the children spoke, the parents sitting on the outer edge of the circle exchanged glances and began to whisper. Should we tell them that the US didn't help the Jews during the war? Should we make them aware of recent genocides and how little America did to stop them? We decided we should.
We told the kids that mass killings didn't end with the Holocaust, they were still happening today. We told them that the response of America and her allies to these atrocities in countries such as the former Yugoslavia, Rwanda, Darfur, Syria, Myanmar and the Central African Republic was anemic. We said that rescuing the Jews targeted by Nazi Germany was not a priority for the US during World War II. We explained that the US government greatly restricted the number of Jews it allowed to immigrate here during the war and sent those fleeing the Nazis by ship back to Europe.
We didn't want to scare the kids. But we also didn't want them looking at the world through rose-colored glasses. We wanted them to understand that the actions of the Danish were truly heroic and that they exemplified the ideal of human decency. Under the leadership of King Christian X, they acted with courage and integrity to save almost the entire Jewish population of Denmark. Their heroism was mesmerizing.
After book club, I asked Sammy if the discussion changed how he felt about the US. He said no, it just highlighted the mistakes our government made and showed that it didn't always act with a conscience. Then I asked him if it changed how he felt about being Jewish. He paused. After a moment, he said it did, but in a good way.
"It made me realize that as a Jew, I have a responsibility to act with decency, treat others kindly and with dignity, and not discriminate. As a Jew, I have a responsibility to be courageous."
Over the next few weeks, we will be reminded of these responsibilities when we celebrate Purim and Passover. Hopefully, we will take the lessons to heart and when faced with a crisis act like Esther and Moses, Christian X and the Danes, the Johansens and Rosens. Hopefully, we will be courageous.
A Halloween Postscript: Why Opposition to Trick-or-Treating Won't Strengthen Jewish Identity
I didn't intend to write a post-Hallowen blog. To be honest, Halloween isn't something that is big in my family. I'm not a costume or candy person, and neither is my husband. While our son Sammy enjoys trick-or-treating in our neighborhood, it isn't something that he wants to do every year.
This year we weren't home for the holiday. We took Sammy to Legoland for a belated birthday celebration. As we relaxed at the hotel on Halloween night, I posted on Facebook pictures of the Shabbat set we built from the box of bricks in our room and scrolled through pictures of my friends' children in costumes.
As I gazed at princesses and zombies, I came across a post by a non-Orthodox rabbi that a friend had commented on. It was a Halloween put-down. It griped about the overly commercialized pagan holiday that encourages children to play tricks on others and eat too much candy. It suggested that costumes be saved for the "truly fun holiday" of Purim.
Some friends of the post's author shared his distaste for trick-or-treating. They said celebrating Halloween sent a confusing message to Jewish children since it wasn't a Jewish holiday. That participating in such celebrations blurred the lines of who Jews were and what they stood for and contributed to the increased weakening of Jewish identity.
Really? I'm certain that Sammy has never been confused about his religious identity because we celebrate Halloween. He has never asked if we're pagans instead of Jews or mistaken Halloween for a Jewish holiday. Like most people, he sees Halloween as an American tradition just like Thanksgiving. The more I read the comments from the Jewish anti-Halloween crusaders, the more I realized how out of touch some of these communal leaders were with the reality of Jewish life in America today.
According to the 2013 Pew report, many non-orthodox Jews now identify as Jews of no religion. They feel a cultural connection to Judaism but have few ties to Jewish organizations. They are Jews of the world–assimilated and cosmopolitan in their thinking and lifestyle. To reach them, they need to be met where they are–in secular life.
Demonizing a holiday that most American Jews view as a harmless, secular observance that enables children to dress up and have fun is not meeting them where they are. Nor is it the way to strengthen the ties of the loosely affiliated or bring Jews with a weak connection back to the faith. Anti-Halloween rhetoric is simply tone deaf.
I state in From Generation to Generation that we need to help all Jews–inmarried and intermarried, affiliated and unaffiliated–answer the question why be Jewish. We can do this by using opportunities presented by the secular and non-Jewish to demonstrate how Judaism is part of this world, not separate from it. Concerning Halloween, we can show families and children how Jewish values and traditions are mirrored in the holiday.
We can highlight the similarities between Halloween and Purim: both are joyous holidays that share a tradition of dressing in costumes, giving gifts of food (mishloach manot) and charity. We can discuss how collecting for UNICEF or donating Halloween candy to charities that help families in need is an act of tzedakah.
We can encourage people to celebrate their Jewish-Americanness by adding some Halloween fun to their Shabbat celebrations–enjoy challah stuffed with candy or a costume party Shabbat. And we can remind families that greeting their neighbors as their children go house-to-house or as they distribute candy is honoring the Jewish principle of loving thy neighbor (Leviticus 19:18 and 19:34).
These kinds of things make Judaism more accessible to modern American Jews because they help them see that they can embrace aspects of Jewish faith and culture regardless of affiliation, marriage partner or belief in God. On the other hand, loud and proud opposition to Halloween focuses on maintaining strict boundaries between Judaism and the secular world.
Jews who view themselves as Jews of the world are not interested in this kind of boundary maintenance. They want to have their candy corns and eat them too. Therefore, the drumbeat of the anti-Halloween crowd will likely do as much to strengthen people's ties to Judaism as intermarriage prevention efforts have done to increase inmarriage and engagement.
Now that Halloween is over, the debate may have died down, but it will soon be back as the anti-Halloweeners turn their attention toward Hanukkah and Christmas. Their rants about the commercialization and inflation of Hanukkah, the syncretism of Hanukkah bushes and menorah trees, and the participation by Jews in any Christmas tradition is coming to your Twitter and Facebook feed. So, grab a gingerbread latte and read their holiday diatribes while you enjoy a little holiday cheer.
What Would Esther Think?
Over the past month, the intermarriage debate has once again flared. On one side are the longtime advocates of in-marriage who convened a group of Jewish leaders to discuss the future of American Jewry and sound the alarm about the impact of assimilation and intermarriage on the community. On the other side are the proponents of outreach who have called for "audacious hospitality" towards intermarrieds and other groups on the fringes of Judaism in order to grow our ranks.
As I have read the back-and-forth between the pro-endogamy and pro-outreach camps, I have found myself wondering, what would Esther think?
Who is Esther and why should we care what she thinks? I am referring to Queen Esther, the brave, beautiful, and intermarried heroine of Purim who rescues the Jews from genocide and ensures the survival of the Jewish faith (at least until the next lunatic tries to destroy us).
The story of her daring actions is told in the Book of Esther, the only book in the Bible in which God is never mentioned. It is an ancient tale that addresses contemporary issues such as bullying, bystander intervention, and anti-Semitism. It speaks to us about courage, standing up for justice and personal responsibility, and because God is absent, it reminds us that heroes can come from anywhere – even interfaith homes.
Esther's Jewishness and marriage tend to be glossed over in the Purim speils that retell her story, but she was like 44% of Jews today – assimilated and intermarried. She might have even defined herself as a Jew of no religion. She was a classic Jew of the Diaspora, exiled from Israel, cosmopolitan, a Jew of the city. (Note: Interpretation of the Book of Esther varies from one Jewish tradition to another). Her husband, King Ahasuerus, had no idea that she was Jewish, and she was content to keep it that way.
But then her uncle Mordecai, who was one of the king's ministers, refused to bow to Haman, another of the king's advisors with whom he had a workplace dispute. Because of the refusal, Haman convinces the king to kill all the Jews of Persia. Now, the saliency of Esther's Jewish identity was to be tested.
When she learns of the decree, Esther is faced with a choice: remain silent and maintain her highly acculturated lifestyle or reveal her faith and risk losing everything, even her life. She makes the courageous choice and tells her husband that she is a Jew. Her action saves the Jewish people.
Like many Jews in interfaith relationships, Esther becomes more conscious of her Jewishness only after she intermarries and her Jewish identity is challenged. In the end, she embraces her Jewish-self, but she also stays married to her not Jewish husband.
Esther is hailed as a Jewish hero, regardless of what kind of Jew she is (you can bet she didn't keep kosher). She is called brave and beautiful, not intermarried. We do not judge her choices; we do not say she did the right thing but. We remember her for her righteous action, not her interfaith relationship. We find in Esther's story something good even though we do not define her marriage or choices as ideal.
Esther reminds us of the on-going struggle to balance worldliness and righteousness, and that there are ways for Judaism and intermarriage to co-exist. I think that, if she were alive today, she would write an op-ed piece in the Jewish press making the case for the inclusion and engagement of intermarrieds in Jewish life.
She would ask us to consider the consequences of her marriage being prevented because of a religious norm. She would point out that her story teaches that everyone has the potential to be a hero including interfaith couples.
She might even suggest that intermarrieds who create a Jewish home are modern day Esthers. After all, they are investing in a Jewish future by raising Jewish children. This may not be as spectacular an action as saving an entire people from extinction, but it is no less heroic. When it comes to preserving Jewish continuity, interfaith families can be Jewish heroes too.
Purim, Revealing the Hidden
One of the themes of Purim has to do with the hidden becoming revealed. Esther hid her identity as a Jew within Achashverosh's castle. When the time was right not only did she reveal her true self, but she revealed Haman's evil plot to destroy the Jews. All the coincidences within the story of Esther all come together in the end and reveal a rich and interesting story. G-d's name is not mentioned at all in the Megillah (Scroll) of Esther, but is hidden within Esther's name itself, which means Hidden.
My husband and I celebrated Purim with a local Jewish organization. I dressed up as Time Flies (I had wings and clocks) and my husband dressed up as Father Time. Father Time was a priest with clock picture on his chest. We felt this was funny on a few levels, since my husband isn't Jewish. I think he appreciated being dressed up as a character that is distinctly not Jewish. He could be his non-Jewish self openly when all through the year he feels like he has to downplay and maybe hide the fact he isn't Jewish.
We had agreed that our son would be raised in an entirely Jewish environment and my husband isn't/wasn't very religious so it didn't seem like a big deal. It does mean though that he gets submerged and swallowed with Jewishness. Kosher food, Shabbat meals, Jewish holidays… he's surrounded all the time.
We celebrate Purim by hiding behind masks and pretending to be what we aren't (or briefly live a fantasy of who we would like to be), just as Esther pretended she wasn't Jewish. My husband got to enjoy the party being openly non-Jewish.
I Don't Like Purim
My first exposure to Purim came when my husband and I brought our then two year old daughter to the synagogue he attended through his childhood. I had her dressed as a fairy, and she was so stinking cute, waving her little wand and clutching her tiara. The rabbi jumped out from behind something and roared at her – he was dressed in a giant gorilla costume. He was delighted and happy, everyone laughed. My toddler was distinctly not amused, she was terrified. I was even less amused – I was just furious.
Fast forward a few years, and Purim didn't really get any better. When my second child was born, Purim was a disaster. He wasn't a fan of crowds anyway, and taking him to the Megillah reading, with all the noisemakers – he screamed louder than any of them. I'd pull him out of the service, but we could still hear the loud noisemakers and every time Haman's name was read, not only would his name be drowned out, the noise of the noisemakers was drowned out as well, by the hysterical sobbing of a terrified boy.
The more I read about the Purim story, the less impressed I was. Queen Esther seems to be held up as a pinnacle of bravery. But she really didn't do much more than be pretty and do as she was told. On the upside, discussion of it did inspire a lot of conversation around here about the role of women and generations of learned Torah scholars interpreting the story to highlight the qualities that were most conducive to keeping women in a submissive position in society. Esther was the king's wife, not because she was smart or brave, but because she was beautiful. And she saved the Jewish people not because she knew it had to be done, not because she independently made the decision to risk her own safety by appearing before the king without being summoned, but because she listened to the male head of her family and did as she was told.
And I don't like hamentaschen. Prune filled cookies are confusing to me, I'd much rather a nice chocolate chip cookie
In early May, I had the amazing opportunity to attend the JCC's of North America Biennial Conference in New Orleans. Most of the conference sessions I attended were about leadership, community and the future of the JCC movement – all very interesting and meaningful to me as a JCC professional. However, the best workshop I attended was the one presented by David Ackerman of the JCC Association and Karina Zilberman, creator of Shababa at the 92nd Street Y in New York City focused on celebrating Shabbat at JCCs. If you live in Manhattan and you have small children, my advice is to RUN, not walk, to the 92nd Street Y for Shababa Fridays and Saturdays. If your kids like music and you like to feel inspired, this is the place. In a room full of 40 adults, Karina was able to create an atmosphere of joy that I haven't experienced really since summer camp many moons ago. Her spirit, creativity and unique enthusiasm had a way of making everyone feel good, and in essence, make everyone feel good about being Jewish. That's a pretty big and important task.
This experience really got me thinking about joy and Judaism – are my husband and I making Judaism joyful for our boys? We try to make it fun by bringing them to the JCC and synagogue Purim carnivals, by taking them to see Mama Doni concerts and by celebrating Passover with their cousins. We try to make it part of our lives by going to religious school on Sundays and participating in the family service each week. We try to make it social by setting up playdates with Jewish friends. But do we make it joyful? How do we really do that?
I think I can see and hear joy when our boys are singing Jewish songs in the car and reading books from the PJ library – but how can we take it to the next level? Overnight camp is one way for sure – Friday night services outside with all of your friends, singing the Birkat Hamazon (blessing after the meal) with all of the "campy" traditions – but until they (and we) are ready for that, what can we do now? How can we ensure that they feel great about being Jewish and that they feel joy when they are doing Jewish things?
Purim is not a Jewish Halloween
I am sure there must be several blog posts with that title. When people ask about Purim, it's a simple answer. It's kind of Halloween. The only thing similar to Halloween is the dressing up. Otherwise there is nothing similar to Halloween (stepping off soap box).
Purim is about giving. We give to charity so that others can enjoy a festive meal. We give food to friends to let them know we care. Purim is about remembering – remembering how with the help of G-d, Queen Esther saved the Jewish people. It's about stepping up – Esther was quiet in the castle. She didn't want to be noticed. But when the time came, she had to come out of her shell and do what was needed.
And the dressing up – to show that nothing is as it appears. G-d is not mentioned in the story of Esther, not once – but He is there – behind the scenes. What appears to be a simple series of coincidences is actually G-d doing what He does best.
And like most Jewish holidays, Purim is about eating – enjoying the festive meal.
I pray that one day I can convey the wonder of Purim to my son so that he can enjoy and cherish the holiday.
We don't have any traditions yet, except the Mishloach Manot. We do two sets, one through a local organization and then we do a few of our own. We don't do anything fancy (tight budget and all). I haven't had time to bake, but I am hoping to include some Hamentaschen in the future with our little boy.
Of course, I am dressing up my little one. I mean a baby in costume – how cute is that? I hope by starting some things young, I can get my son into the spirit (and my husband too).
And hopefully one day, my son won't feel like he is missing out by not celebrating Halloween and loves his Purim celebrations.
What do you do? Do you celebrate Halloween and Purim? How do you distinguish between the two?


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Xmas Puzzle
Enjoy the Christmas with your family using fantastic puzzles!
Xmas Puzzle is a game in which you must solve the different, progressively more difficult puzzles as you advance in the plot.
• Enjoy with 4 friends or family members playing at once.
• Puzzles progressively more difficult.
• Helps develop sensory skills.
• Orchestral music.

subset: commoncrawl


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Millimaci and Donella both shot 42, one behind Auburn's top individual, Larissa Carter, which put F-M in front. Then Kenzie Kingsley and Annie Caputo added matching totals of 48 to equal the work of the Maroons' Alayna Slayton and Maggie Flurschultz, and those four scores of 48 or better made the difference.
CBA, in its opener last Monday against Chittenango, beat the Bears 203-223 at Drumlins. Baumgartner, one of the key returnees for the Brothers, led all individuals with a 46, beating out Mary Burlin, who had a 50. East Syracuse-Minoa started play by going to Skaneateles and falling to the Lakers 236-267.
Right after the J-D loss, the Brothers rebounded at Woodcrest, shooting 196 to again beat Chittenango (221) and also top Skaneateles, who had 207. Baumgartner shot a 45 and had better depth behind her despite the Lakers' Kelsey Fenner managing a 40.
In boys golf, Manlius-Pebble Hill opened with a 243-311 victory over Cato-Meridian and followed it up by topping Fabius-Pompey 232-284 as Mark Murray shot a 37, helped by Gerrit Church and John Alley (45 each).
Bishop Grimes fell to Port Byron 243-256, this happening even though the Cobras' Anthony Ruscitto shot a 47 and Steve Adamitis added a 48. A 239-279 defeat to Bishop Ludden followed amid Thursday's high winds.
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Acts 1:5King James Version (KJV)
5 For John truly baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence.
King James Version (KJV)
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Respond to Review of Sun in Bloom
by kindlizard
Review: I thought the people there were really nice, exuberantly helpful and all that. Glad it is not a chain from that cult or it'd be scary happy. Good to see genuine smiles in nyc. I think this place was a bit confused though. They say its all vegan, (and you list it here as such) though for a coffee joint that has 2 out of 3 creamers on the counter were dairy. Also some places its noted as raw but it isn't. The baked goods were very spendy; they go out of the way to find alternative flours yet use tofutti (a very processed food) in the bulk of the baked goods. This place is not what I imagined it being based on looking online. It is a small takeout stop, w a few seats at the window. The cinnamon thing was overdone by far. [the same creamer issue was an issue other places in hc being listed as veg, aiming for consistency]
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Fixed PriceDelivery by April 27, 2013
Remove background of images.
I have lots of images which you will have to remove the background and resize to a given dimension. One dimension of the image should always be 1000 pixels.
budget is $0.15 per each image.
This is a long term work and it should be straightforward for someone who knows what he is doing.
Client Activity on this Job
Last Viewed: 1 month ago
Proposals: 115
Hired: 1
About the Client
United Kingdom
London 06:16 PM
Jobs Posted
67% Hire Rate, 1 Open Job
Total Spent
49 Hires, 5 Active
Avg Hourly Rate Paid
1,226 Hours


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Mais comes from the English word corn. It is most deffinitely best portrayed in the movie "Grown Ups" when they make fun of their friend for saying mais funny. Everyone loves mais and its a healthy food that you just wanna soak in butter.
Nicole:guess what i just got!? Becca:what!? Nicole: MAIS!! Becca:thats quite aMAISing! Nicole: yes because its MAIS!
by Crosscutie January 25, 2011
Top Definition
synonymous to a really really hot asian chick.
DUDE! Check out that mai.
by shooter January 21, 2005
Vietnamese for "Cherry Blossom"
The girl preferred to be called "Mai".
by Yukira Tsurama July 02, 2003
Stands for good luck, and a very pretty flower
I bought one of those Mai flowers for New Year's
by thi-mai March 09, 2005
mai gurls are hot,sexy,understanding,sensitive,cute, and everything else you can think of...
damn... that gurl Mai... shits... she's everything i wanted!!!
by sexay_babee February 23, 2005
Japanese term of the word Dance. I have a friend named Mai ^^
Fujiwara Mai: fujiwara-"¡Œ´ (wisteria fields) •'-Mai(dance)
by Mi-chan November 05, 2006
"Ami tor kochi mai gulo chuse debo"
by BulaDA December 29, 2010


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Definitions for yellow iris
This page provides all possible meanings and translations of the word yellow iris
Princeton's WordNet
yellow iris, yellow flag, yellow water flag, Iris pseudacorus(noun)
common yellow-flowered iris of Europe and North Africa, naturalized in United States and often cultivated
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An education at Prep doesn't only take place in the classroom. Indeed, life is full of opportunities for growth and the Campus Ministry staff works to help students realize that. The department sponsors several programs to help students and their families approach life in a more balanced way so that the presence of God in the everyday can be fully appreciated.
Prep's Sophomore Conversations and Senior Interview programs, which examine a student's Prep experience through the lens of the Profile of the Graduate at Graduation, are examples of opportunities families have to review a student's time at the school.
Other initiatives, including various leadership programs and student formation opportunities, are available through the Office of Campus Ministry during the course of the year.


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Babolat Custom Dampener
Product Information:
Tailor your favorite racquet to your exact specifications with the Babolat® Custom Dampener. Perfect for intermediate or expert tennis athletes, the Custom Dampener allows you to play with or without the capsule containing steel beads for the ultimate modifications.
- Ability to play with or without the steel bead capsule
- Weight (with capsule): 2 g
- Weight (without capsule): 3.5 g
- Babolat
Country of Origin: TaiwanWeb ID: 13019602
Customer Reviews:
Rated 4.1 out of 5�by 11 reviewers.
Rated 4 out of 5�by Porsche Great product Great but have to adjust it into place from time to time July 28, 2015
Rated 5 out of 5�by CPATM Love this Dampener We really love this dampener. We noticed a difference in the vibration immediately. Huge difference compared to not using any dampeners. July 22, 2015
Rated 5 out of 5�by Anup This reduced the raquet vibration Awesome damper, helps a lot to reduce vibration, loving it July 21, 2015
Rated 5 out of 5�by hurricane good choice as a tennis player i look for any advantage when it comes to hitting the ball. the damper helps absorb the shock and less vibration on the racket. June 16, 2015
Rated 5 out of 5�by Drewbymac97 Excellent product This custom dampener for my tennis racquet is an excellent product. I would recommend this to any tennis player at any experience level. May 22, 2015
Rated 5 out of 5�by Win757 Babolat Custom Dampener works as advertised Babolat Custom Dampener works as advertised - cuts down on racquet vibrations. Shopping at Dick's Sporting Goods has always been a good experience for me. April 28, 2015
Rated 1 out of 5�by Naba9 Flies off We got this for my daughter. First time out with new racket this flew off twice. Glad we bought another type that she can switch it out with. Not worth it to take back so we tossed it garbage can. January 13, 2015
Rated 5 out of 5�by goddess_bless took the shock out of the rackets Love it, helped our wrists to help absorb the shock. May 6, 2014
Rated 1 out of 5�by Kim No thank you. I wish I could get a refund, the dampener will not stay on for the life of me. However, when it is on it does it's job. April 1, 2014
Rated 4 out of 5�by kd This product works well to absorb the vibrations while hitting the tennis ball. I like this product and I bought it in hopes to save my elbow September 26, 2013


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Astoria Rivershore Motel, Astoria
- Free continental breakfast, free WiFi, and free parking
Main amenities
- 43 guestrooms
- Daily housekeeping
- Limited hour front desk
What's around
- Astor Street Opry Company (0.2 mi / 0.3 km)
- Astoria Riverfront Trolley (0.5 mi / 0.8 km)
Enter dates to check prices
Hotel Info: 01 65 69 441from €58
- 1 King Room
- Standard Double Room, 2 Double Beds
- Suite, 2 Queen Beds, Kitchen
- Suite, 1 Queen Bed, Kitchen
Recommended hotels
At a glance
Key facts
Hotel size
- This hotel has 43 rooms
- This hotel is arranged over 2 floors
- Check-in time 2 PM-10 PM
- Check-out time is 11 AM
Required at check in
- Credit card or cash deposit required
- Government-issued photo ID required
- Minimum check-in age is 21
Travelling with others
- Pets not allowed
Extra people
- Rollaway beds available, charges may apply*
- Free WiFi in public areas
- Free WiFi in rooms
- Free self parking (limited)
- Free nearby parking
Nearby Two Star Astoria hotels
In the hotel
- Free continental breakfast
- Front desk (limited hours)
- Number of buildings/towers - 2
In the room
- Coffee/tea maker
- Blackout drapes/curtains
- Shower/tub combination
- Hair dryer
- 27-inch TV
- Cable TV channels
- Free WiFi
- Free local calls
- Refrigerator
- Microwave
- Daily housekeeping
- Access via exterior corridors
Top Astoria hotels
Recently reviewed hotels in Astoria
- Cedars Ocean View InnFrom
"Great View of the ocean from a distance. Upgrading the hotel, but our room was done and very enjoyable. Front desk gentleman could not have been more helpful or professional."Sep 20, 2015
- GuestHouse Inn & Suites SeasideFrom
"Room was small compared to a comparable hotel; NO breakfast is being served, so fridge/micro/coffee maker come in handy if you visit the local grocery store, which is quite a…"Jun 11, 2015
Nearby hotels
Astoria Rivershore Motel, Astoria's small print
Optional extras
Rollaway beds are available for USD 10 per day
Cribs/Infant beds are available for USD 10 per night
We have included all charges provided to us by this hotel. However, charges can vary, for example, based on length of stay or the room you book.
Is the description of this hotel not correct? Tell us


text: You are viewing Two Naked Men Making a Sandwich - 36 of 37 Messerschmitt Special! By ScatteredFilms Fan Favorite Tim returns with Taylor to make this German treat! This episode of Two... more »Fan Favorite Tim returns with Taylor to make this German treat! This episode of Two Naked Men Making A Sandwich is for all you history "buffs". « less Published September 02, 2011 800 views More Info » Full Credits ScatteredFilms Uploader Stats & Data 87 Funny Votes 1 Die Votes 804 Views Published: September 02, 2011 Categories: Web Series Sketch Parody Keywords: tnmmas braunsweiger rye gouda german nazi WWII nude howto diy recipe chefs black aprons taylor mosbey unproductive productions humor comedy laughs funny joke food cooking instructions health diet world educational history Germany silly putty war plane kitchen Up Next: Sardine Boat! AUTOPLAY Up Next In: 10 Sardine Boat! PB&J on 12 Grain! Roast "Beast" and "Monster" Cheese! Turkey and Provolone on Romaine! Follow Facebook Twitter Tumblr Instagram Browse Related Comments Two Naked Men Making a Sandwich 30+ more View All ▶ 40+ more View All ▶ ScatteredFilms Vaguely Related Videos Vaguely Related Pics & Words Advertisement Advertisement


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5 Comments
bebegirl112981 What size did you buy in this?Flag as Inappropriate 64w
Kathleen_t20 It's a mediumFlag as Inappropriate 64w
jessicaerin80 Hi Kathleen.. LOVE LOVE this. Did you wear a medium pre-pregnancy? I am wanting to buy this and am pregnant... not sure if I should size up?Flag as Inappropriate 53w
Kathleen_t20 Yeah I sized up from a small to a medium. I didn't want it to be too tight on my arms and belly. The last thing u want is to be uncomfortable when heavily pregnant, so size up I think.Flag as Inappropriate 53w
Kathleen_t20 The dress suits being a little big too and it's delicate so it could rip if the arms are too tight.Flag as Inappropriate 53w


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Spy-Plane Incident Gives Boost to Powell ; Deft Handling May Shift Balance of Power on Bush Foreign-Policy Team toward Doves
Francine Kiefer writer of The Christian Science Monitor, The Christian Science Monitor
The resolution of the China spy-plane crisis has produced at least one apparent winner in Washington: Secretary of State Colin Powell.
In the first months of the Bush presidency, the relatively moderate Powell often seemed at odds with the rest of the administration's foreign-policy team. Whether it was policy towards Iraq, North Korea, or Europe, Powell's initial statements were often contradicted later by harder-line words from equally high- ranking hawks like Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld.
In the administration's first big test overseas, however, it seems that restraint and nuance carried the day, after an initial burst of aggressive rhetoric. As a result, the country's chief diplomat, Mr. Powell, has increased his standing as a member of the president's national security team, observers say.
"This has definitely strengthened Secretary Powell's personal hand in formulating American foreign policy," says David Shambaugh, a China specialist at George Washington University here. "Prior to this, there were evident cleavages between centrists and hawks and between State and Defense, but this has been managed effectively by Powell."
Of course, one case does not a trend make. But this was a high- profile one, with the potential for a nasty, drawn-out ending, involving a nation of tremendous strategic and economic significance for the United States. It was, say analysts, an important staging ground for Powell, whose roadmap out of the crisis was described by the US ambassador in Beijing as "a key turning point" in the 11-day standoff.
"In my mind, Powell has a feather in his cap, because he managed this well," says Kenneth Lieberthal, the chief Asia adviser to former President Clinton. "But Rumsfeld also has a feather in his cap, because he had the discipline to keep out of it."
Indeed, the Defense secretary was barely to be seen or heard during the run of these negotiations, while it was Powell who first uttered the word "regret," which then progressed to "sorry," and then "very sorry" - all words the president approved.
Mr. Rumsfeld's lower profile during the standoff was a deliberate choice. At a time when the White House was trying to prevent what they called an "accident" from snowballing into a full-blown crisis, President Bush and his aides concluded that the Defense secretary's was not the appropriate voice to project.
Bush's first test
Generally, the administration is receiving high marks from both Republicans and Democrats for its disciplined and nuanced handling of the detainee issue. …


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A Guatemalan colleague was of the opinion that "posadas" are nicer than hostels but not as nice a full service hotels. This was my first experience staying in a posada (which roughly translates as "inn") and having stayed in hostels and hotels over the years, I think my colleague's observation describes Posada de los Volcanes very well. On the one hand each room had its own private bathroom and color TV, there was free Wi-Fi and a free breakfast. The room was clean with solid fixtures and a comfortable bed. So it was definitely nicer than any hostel I have seen.
But there were none of the amenities you would see in one of the business class hotels back in Guatemala City: no telephone, coffee maker, shampoo, alarm clock, air con, or elevator. That is not a complaint or criticism, it is just the definition of a posada. And I did not need those amenities as I had a local cell phone, a travel alarm clock, a heating coil to make tea and instant coffee in the room, etc. The value for the money was excellent, and like I said, the place was clean and pleasant.
In addition, the location is great – just a five minute walk to either dock. Right across the street are several restaurants and a nice bookstore. The local market is worth visiting (and very tourist free) and it was just a 15 minute walk or $1 and 2 minutes via a tuk-tuk. Lots of resources, lots of options nearby.
The other thing that stands out about Posada de los Volcanes is the service. I contacted the inn by e-mail from the states and the e-mail communications were very prompt and clear and I was able to complete the reservation before I left home. And despite some last minute changes to my itinerary due to work once I got to Guatemala, they were able to take care of me.
When we got there, the service was great – the staff speaks Spanish and English very well. They were able to arrange cars and guides for us for different outings during our stay. And here is the key: I usually do not book cars or tours through hotels because there is usually a significant markup over what you would pay if you just walk down the street to the local tourist agency. Not so at Posada de los Volcanes – we compared prices with the local tour operators and found that there was not much of a "hotel mark-up". And their drivers and guides were excellent.
The other nice thing was that while the staff offered to help make bookings for us, there was no pressure to do so. A few times my wife and I have had uncomfortable experiences at hotels where the owners gave us the hard sell to use their tour services. Not so at Posada de los Volcanes and that was a relief.
Overall it's a good place, good location, good service, and good people.


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- Home
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My brother in law got married few weeks ago. I attended the wedding. Though we are almost in the same city, the custom of wedding is a little different. They are much more traditonal.Some intimate relatives of my brother in law and the introducers went to the woman's family to take the dowry. The following day, the bride's family held a dinner party, including the lunch and the supper. The groom went to the woman's home and drank a toast to the attenders. Meanwhile, the groom's family held a dinner party on the same day, but smaller, the attenders were intimate relatives, only about 30 people on each meal. Then on the third day, the groom sent a convoy the take the bride, and held a formal dinner party, including the lunch and the supper.
The wedding is complicated, it costs a lot of money and energy, however, most of us only have one in our life, so it still makes us happy. There's something wrong with the internet, I will upload the photos later. Sorry. By the way, the Spring festival of China is around the corner, and we will have a 12 day holiday from tomorrow. What's more, I'm so lucky last night. Our company held a party last night as usual, and I was lucky to get the big prize, an Iphoe 6, and it is the Valentine's Day, I gave it to my wife as a gift. Wish everyone have a good day!
Do anyone here know opal? I thought opal was very expensive, perhaps thousands of dollar each piece. However, several weeks ago, I found that opal is not so expensive, what's more, I can buy it from on the internet.
Opal is very beautiful, and I have already bought one. It is only about 0.5g in weight, so the actual opal is small in size.
I bought two books of opal to learn the related knowledge, so that I can buy the one I want. It is not popular in China, so the price is not very high, I can buy some when they are not expensive. On the other hand, the opal I buy today can also be sold when the price gets higher.
I learned that Japanese and American love the opal. So can anyone tell me the actual situation of opal in America?
Something wrong with the internet. I can't log in for over half a year. When I open the blog, and enter the write an entry, I found "Bill Mitchell sent me a letter this morning, asked me about the earthquake. Thank you. Well, I'm fine since I'm far from the earthquake. The earthquake happened in Yunnan province in the sourthern China. Today is the fourth day after the earthquake, which mean the Gold-Rescue Time has ended. So far, 589 people died (sorry, I gave Bill the wrong number) and 9 missed. I collected some lastest photos, however, there is something wrong with the connect, so can't upload them. Hope everyting is going well and everyone will cherish the life. Thanks, Bill.". It was written long time ago when an earthquake happened in southern China. Anyway, I can see you now and can share something with you. It's a good news.
The Beauty of Worcester is blooming, with over 15 flowers. It is 2 years old now. I think it will have more flowers in the August.
The Westerplatte have the second flower, it is so small, but also very beautiful. I will give him a bigger pot next year.
Two months ago, some of my clematis got ill, the drooping disease. I cut the branch at once and plant them. Now, one of the branch has new leaves and roots.
The Pervenets has new buds now, more than I showed you one month ago. I cut the flower stalk, so the buds will grow bigger.
The weather becomes hot, it's summer now. Though some kinds of clematis died, some brossoms, which are only one year or two year old and strong kinds, so I'm sure they will have more flower next year.
The Passion Extract is also beautiful. I thought it may have a few flowers, however, in every underyear axil, there will be one flower.
It's spring now. Some types of my clematis blossom. Though each of them has only one flower, they can last for almost two weeks. And I know they will blossom more in the next few months.
Bees Jubilee
It has only a few leaves, less than 8. But it blossomed firstly. And I like its stamen. As I remember, when the bud was small, there were three stamen outside the bud, looks like the stab of the bee. I don't know whether all of its flowers has this characteristic.
Multi Blue
It has lots of variant petal, which makes it beautiful. And the color is also charming. I feel its color is stable, whichi is important for the clematis. As you know the color of lots of types are unstable.
The color is dark red with lustre. The photo loses its real color. I like it very much.
It's real color is like the following picture that I got from the internet. It has the Chinese name "China Red ". I don't know why its English name is so different from the Chinese name.
Last weekend, it was a good day, we went to the garden near my home. There are many vegetables.
He will go to the kindergarten in the September, but he can't eat the rice himself, actually, he eats a little rice instead of snacks. Many Chinese consider the KFC as rubbish food mostly because it has a large of energy and make people fat. In my mind, KFC is not rubbish food, since it is lunch or supper to some workman, so it has to supply people with a large of energy. Actually, I think snack is rubbish food, because it makes people less of appetite. What's more, especially in China, lots of snack are unhealthy since they have many unhealthy additives.
We went to the nature museum yesterday again. My son just wanted to see the dragon.
This time I have time to take photos of the museum.
They have done a good job, even the fallen leaves on the soil are real.
My son was born in the Tiger year of China. So I took a picture of him with the Southern China tiger.
He will study in the kindergarten in the September this year.
We visited the Nature Museum Of Zhejiang province about two months ago. The museum is located in a four floor building in the Xihu Square of Hangzhou. The following picture was taken on the square. It was a fine day, but still cold, so we didn't see too many people on the square.
The following picture was taken at the first floor of the museum. On the first floor, there are only a few fossil on the wall. And there is a small shop selling many kinds of rocks. I saw the flower stone too, as I showed you last blog.
On the second and the third floors, there are many kinds of specimens as you can see in the nature museum.
On the fourth floor, there is a big false forest. It covers about 200 square meters, with a hight of 6 meters. Lots of false animals were in the forest, and we could also hear the sounds of birds and animals.
The other day, I bought some nake root of clematis, four kinds, 2 years each one. The root looks healthy, and I'm sure that I can watch a lot of clematis flower this year, since I have bought about 23 kinds of clematis last year.
What's more, I bought the Early Sensation in the flower market. The sailer has about over 50 kinds of clematis these days, but all of them are expensive to me. The 2 years is about 15 dollars each. The Early Sensation is only 1 year, it cost me 6 dollars. I think that the price of Clematis keeps the pace of yours.
Hi, everybody. Long time no see.
I bought two rocks the other day. They are beautiful, so I want to share with you.
First, the flower stone. It was found in south China half a centry ago. The rock is over half a billion years. From the surface of the stone, you can see a beautiful painting by the nature. I described it in the picture. It is over 2 kilos in weight. It costs me 25 dollars.
The second rock is called Xiuyan Jade that is from the north of China. You can three goldfish and a bowl on the surface which is carved by artist. It is over 2 kilos in weight and costs me 30 dollars.
Both rocks are cheap in fact, better one worths hundreds of dollars or even more.
The other day, I visited the Xixi flower market by accident. It locates at the foot of a hill and some of the shops are on the hillside. The market looks beautiful and quiet. It's a pity that there are only a few customer. What's more, I saw a shop that I heard of long ago and wanted to visit.
The clematis are beautiful, however, hard to keep. I find passionflower is beautiful and easy to keep. The following one was found in the market.
It's late autumn here. The lowest temperature is below 10 degree. So only a few plants still blossom. Most of them only show green leaves. It's better than no plants.
I have received the Clematis, however, they are smaller than I expected. Luckily, they are healthy. I hope they will grow fast and blossom next year.
Yaoyao grows bigger and more naughty. We need not to look after him, however, we have to spend time on teaching him. He has bad temper, so it's not easy to teach him. Perhaps we have to learn some skills from the internet.
How about you, my dear friends? I guess it's cold in your hometown.
Have you ever heard of the Red Tea Fungus. It's a kind of fungus made up of Lactobacillus, mycrozyme and vinegar bacteria. All these bacterias are good for the health of stomach. So I bought some on the website and keep them in glass bottles. I feed them with sugar and red tea. After a few days, I can drink the water, very acidic. When half of the water is left, I have to add water, sugar and red tea. It's a little funny, I hope the water will benefit my stomach.
I bought three bird of paradise, one was dead long ago. I put the other into two seperate pots. Three years later, I found that the bird of paradise in small pot grows better than the other one. I can't explain it.
As you remember, I bought some cheap clematis from the website, the detail gave some seeds of bowl lotus. Only one is alive now, I put it in the washbowl. It looks healthy and I'm looking forward to its flower.
I bought the clematis of Bieszczady(http://clematis.ho
php) and Fujimusume(http://clematis.ho
php) on the website recently. They are two years old, and cost me over 20 dollars in all. I can only see the bud of Fujimusume. It's really not a good idea to buy Clematis now. Maybe I should buy it next spring. Next to them is the Rooguchi, which has many buds now. As for the beauty of worcester, it "died" again when I was busy. I'm sure it will be ok, but I have to wait for its recovery.
I have noticed that I haven't been here for two months. It's really a long time. I'm not busy these days, but I have to prepare for a register test. I'd like to share the Clematis with you.
The Rugoochi has more flowers than I could hope. Though it is still small, but it has over 15 flowers and still blooms.
I thought the Beauty of worcester was dead as I showed the picture long ago. However, it doesn't. It has enough leaves now, and I think it will blossom soon.
As for the five cheap Clematis which were purchased from the website, well, one has been dead, two keep static, only the rest two grow obviously. I'm sure they are Clematis, but I'm not sure whether they are the types that I want. Many people said that Clematis can't be so cheap, the retailer cheated you. And they also persuaded me not to spend too much time on it. But I don't give up.
Oh, my son is back. I can't write any more.
Yaoyao had a fever these days, and we had a terrible night. His mother didn't sleep last night, just looked after him. His elder sister took some pictures some weeks ago.
Yaoyao and his nephew. His nephew is some months older than him.
The beauty of worcester died,however, the Rugoochi is still alive, and it blossomed yesterday.
The tomato is getting ripe,Yaoyao loves it very much.
The gardenia also blossomed. The white flower smells perfect .
Bad news:
There is something wrong with my clematis, can anyone help me.
The new leaves of Rugoochi look unhealthy.
The leaves of the Beauty of worcester fade.
Good news.
I bought five kinds of Clematis from the website----taobao. Very cheap (1.4 dollar each one), but real.
After one day, its head comes out of the soil.
And I also bought some new pots for the clematis.
The potato plants grow big. Some have small potatos.
The verbene hybride grows so fast. I love it best.
Worse news: The worcester may be dead. I found the bottom of the trunk rotted. The trunk was so dry, but I still cut it into several parts and put them in the water, hope any miracle would happen. Maybe the root is still alive, then there is still hope.


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Nigga, champagne...
Lyric Meaning
One of Drake's nicknames is Champagnepapi, (It's his Instagram name). Aswell as the drink symbolizing succes and wealth, Drizzy has achieved worldwide fame and is making millions, he's definently a guy you'll see pop bottles.
When he says "I know you see me working" he is referring to the pictures he has been posting of him sleeping in the studio working on his 3rd Album Nothing Was the Same. While some people may simply see him as someone who spends most of his time partying and drinking, don't fall into that trap, you know?
He's been dropping this coda a lot lately.
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Tom Booth
Tom's Christ-centered lyrics and his genuine expression of faith will resonate with listeners of all ages.
Features appearances by Christian music legends
Offering some of Tom's best music, Cry the Gospel features appearances by Christian music legends as well as emerging young artists whom Tom served as a mentor. With this all-star cast, it's no wonder so many of these songs are familiar as radio hits and concert favorites.
A mix of ballads and high-energy rock songs
Accompanied by classical guitar, flute and cello, Tom joins forces with John Michael Talbot in "I Sought the Lord," a tranquil, spirit-filled duet based on Psalm 34. The late Rich Mullins co-wrote "Nothing Is Beyond You," a poetic, slow-building, piano-based song that stood at number one for some time on the contemporary Christian charts.
Joined by Cyprian Consiglio, Matt Maher and others
Cyprian Consiglio shares lead vocals with Tom on "Rise Up in Splendor," a triumphant song of praise for "our Light" that "has come." Backed by the Nashville Strings and trumpet fanfares, it's a majestic, devotional track that gives shivers. Even Matt Maher and Chris Muglia -- now accomplished solo artists themselves -- joined in this production. Matt plays keyboards on five tracks, showing great talent.
The title track was written for Pope John Paul II
The title track, written and performed for Pope John Paul II on his visit to St. Louis in January 1999, is a singable anthem calling us to holiness -- "cry the gospel" in our daily lives.
Tom's Christ-centered lyrics and his genuine expression of faith will resonate with listeners of all ages.
|Cry the Gospel [Choral Songbook] - Tom Booth
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|Cry the Gospel [Octavo] - Tom Booth
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|Go Ye Out [Octavo] - Tom Booth
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|Bread of the Eighth Day
|Cry the Gospel
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|I Shall Not Want
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|More Than Yesterday
|My Heart Belongs to You
|Nothing Is Beyond You
|Prayer of Abandonment
|Put Your Trust in God
|Rise Up in Splendor
|The Lord Has Revealed
|We Gotta Love
|Bread Of The Eighth Day [MP3]
|Put Your Trust In God [MP3]
|Rise Up In Splendor [MP3]
|The Lord Has Revealed [MP3]
|We Gotta Love [MP3]
|Cry the Gospel [MP3]
|Go Ye Out [MP3]
|I Shall Not Want [MP3]
|I Sought The Lord [MP3]
|More Than Yesterday [MP3]
|My Heart Belongs To You [MP3]
|Prayer Of Abandonment [MP3]
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For Africa there are 689 on Yasni with different names. The most frequently searched first names for Africa are: Legitimate
Among the most common last names on Yasni Africa is on position 3991.
During the last seven days Africa was searched 1 times.
There is no meaning available yet for "Africa".
Send in a meaning!


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All this is not to say that liberals hate every aspect of religion. They don't – they just want to harness some of its aspects in the service of their agenda. Or, to be more exact, some of what they thinkare aspects of religion, like mindless obedience and blind faith. For example, only some sort of quasi-religious, childlike faith in trans-rational truth would allow one to stand in a snowdrift outside the Koch Brothers' offices shivering as he holds up a placard reading, "The End Is Near! Repent Your Global Warming!"
And there are creepier parallels. In ancient Carthage, they worshipped a god called Baal of the Fiery Furnace who demanded the sacrifice of young children. Today, salty feminist grad students play hooky from their classes on how patriarchy kept boys from liking them to shout slogans about how their abortions empowered them as womyn. Apparently, only the death of countless babies can atone for the cruel patriarchy of western civilization. Or something.
Some, embracing the "New Atheism" of Richard Dawkins, Sam Harris and Bill Maher, attack religion directly. Back on August 29, 2013, Matty Yglesias, a liberal blogger known only for his experience in the field of being a liberal blogger, tweeted: "I take an old-school Jacobin-style line that religion should be stamped out."
Here's a helpful hint, Matt. The end with the hole is the one that goes "bang." That's the end you'll want to point at those religious people whose religion you want to stamp out. I know a bunch of people who would die to preserve their religion. I'm not sure Matt would be willing to die to stamp it out – or that he could find any other sucker willing to lose his life trying to fulfill that liberal fantasy.
What Matt reveals is the not-so-hidden desire of the left to wipe out every competing power center in society, and religion is a competing power center. He, and his goosestepping brethren, hate the idea that people might hold and act upon beliefs other than those he and his pals cooked up at some D.C. cocktail party or in some faculty lounge at the local university's Oppression Studies Department. This is why they must break religion to their will. Some, like the alleged Presbyterians who recently divested in Israel, are only too eager to obey by choosing leftism over God's chosen people.
But where they can't stamp faith with their brand, they will seek to stamp it out. My new book,Conservative Insurgency, is a speculative history of the future struggle against the false religion of liberalism, and it anticipates that this war on those of faith will only get worse before it gets better. But then oppression is something the religious (and secular people who defend religious liberty) have faced throughout history. Yet today, the religious have tools they did not necessarily have in the past – first and foremost, a Constitution that protects our right to practice our religion as we see fit. Moreover, we also have social media that allows us to bypass the secular gatekeepers to spread information and organize.
Oh, and we also have God on our side.
Rush Limbaugh defends Rubio's debate answer: He's absolutely right that Obama knows what he's doing | Allahpundit
Time for Team Hillary to break out the gender card for young liberal women who prefer Sanders | Allahpundit


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ADA Info
The JSC Federal Credit Union will be hosting a Shred Day in the library parking lot on Saturday, October 20th from 9:00 am to 12:00 pm.
Items you may bring for shredding include:
Flyers are available in the library or you can call 281-488-7070 for more information.
Peter Bowman does what many of us may only dream of doing with our retirement years: traveling around and taking print-worthy pictures of beautiful landscapes and people and sharing them with the world. Mr. Bowman has enough mileage under his belt to legitimately call himself a travel photographer, but he is much more than that. He has an abiding interest in the landscapes of the Southwest.
Through the month of October, the library will be hosting an exhibit of photos Mr. Bowman calls "The Colorful Southwest." If you love the landscapes of the Southwest, or have an affinity for the canyon country, or just love great photography, come by and check out this wonderful display in our gallery.
I am always interested, often amazed, and frequently delighted by the sheer variety of objects people collect as a hobby. Seemingly everything from antique buttons, coins & stamps, butterflies & bugs, shells and zills (look that one up) is subject to the passion of the collector.
Do you have a treasured collection you would like the rest of the world to see? The library has a wonderful lighted display case in our lobby where you can display your items and let other people enjoy your efforts and your enthusiasm - almost as much as you!
Call the library for more information: 281-474-9142
Born May 8, 1984 in Houston, Texas, and raised by my loving parents Velma and Ruben. I have two younger siblings, Jonathan and Nina. I am currently a resident of Seabrook Texas with my beautiful daughter, Delilah, and my partner Chad. I began drawing at the age of 12 years old by creating a mural on my bedroom wall, and art soon became my life's passion. I use pencil, pen, pastels, watercolors and acrylics to create pictures of anime, animals, the supernatural and oriental subjects. I have no formal training…just the love of ART. -- Danielle Zavala
Harris County Texas
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DiscardedYKTTW Sports Festival YKTTW Discussion
|Sports Festival
A school festival, where all the clubs compete in various activities.Needs Examples Description Needs Help Already have?
A school festival, where all the clubs compete in various activities. Not Japanese-exclusive, but far more common there than elsewhere. In the United States, they are referred to as Field Days, but for some reason they don't show up much in fiction.
Examples:Anime and Manga
- In To Aru Majutsu no Index, this gets a twist due to the espers. Powers are allowed in competitions, which means the lesser schools are inevitably completely shown up by the better ones, even with a handicap. Though Touma's class of Level Zeroes does surprisingly well, and not because of his Anti-Magic hand. It's because someone made their teacher cry.
- Haruhi Suzumiya has this of course, with the SOS Brigade winning every single event--most of those victories secured by Haruhi herself. Well, except for the relay race, where Yuki forgot to limit herself to human speeds. It's only much later that everyone remembers that the SOS Brigade technically isn't a club, so they shouldn't have been allowed to compete.
- In Ouran High School Host Club they decide to put on a sports festival. The typical 'bread eating race' is turned into a bread dining event, the bean bags are made by a famous designer, and the cavalry race is scrapped since they think that it would require actual horses.
- In Azumanga Daioh Chiyo-chan and pals participate. Chiyo is adorably slow, and can't get any bean bags into the basket in the bean bag tossing event. Sakaki stands out in the relay, and in the scavenger hunt, Karin has to find an 'idiot' She takes Tomoyo.
- In School Rumble, this is played in the same off-beat manner the show does everything. Ends with Eri spraining her ankle before she can compete in the relay, and then Harima promising to win the race for her. Then they dance together at the bonfire.
- In Revenge of the Nerds homecoming is celebrated with an Olympics-type series of events such as "riding a tricycle while consuming mass quantities of alchohol," the javilin, a burping contest, and a musical/sketch contest.
- When the school is turned into a dungeon in Fortune Summoners Arche asks if it's dungeon sports day.
Replies: 16


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Down 867 this week
Rodger Bumpass
Rodger Bumpass was born on November 20, 1951 as Rodger Albert Bumpass. He is an actor, known for SpongeBob SquarePants (1999), Monsters, Inc. (2001) and The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie (2004). He has been married to Amy Stiller since 2008. See full bio »
Born:Rodger Albert Bumpass
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My focus while building this blog and coming up with posts and educational material (hopefully) has been to provide an alternative form of music education, since most of us know how to look up scales and how to find chords online.
While Guitar Chalk has done some chord and scales explanations (especially early on) the core focus has been on showcasing a more in-depth and natural way of understanding and learning the instrument.
It's my belief that just learning scales and and chords is essentially the same thing as stepping up to the starting line. Once you're there, the entire race is still in front of you.
The "meat" if you will, comes after you've learned those building blocks. You need to, in a sense, put those blocks together, and the amount of formal material on that process seems to be sorely lacking.
Putting the Pieces Together
So with that in mind, what we want to do here is go deeper into the process and provide resources for exactly how to use these pieces. I suppose that's the "alternative" aspect of the method.
This process leaves us with a more practical and applicable way to learn the guitar, or perhaps the "real" way to learn guitar, if such a thing exists.
The battle isn't one or lost in stale chord books and repetitive memorization. It happens by understanding music and learning how to fit the smaller pieces into the larger picture.
The Real Way to Learn Guitar
With that in view, we should be able to identify the primary components of that process and zero in on some methodologies that actually help us apply what we've learned from scales and chord books.
1. Dissecting and Applying Pieces of Guitar Scales [Modes]
By itself, a scale doesn't do you a great deal of good. Once you've memorized it, then what?
What needs to happen, is that you need to identify smaller chunks and pieces of that scale that can be used in certain keys at certain parts of the fretboard. That means the process of applying a guitar scale, will look something like the following steps:
- Take small pieces of the scale in two or three note portions.
- Make a mental note of what key they're being played in (The key of the scale itself).
- Make a mental note of where they are on the fretboard.
- Memorize the pattern.
- Memorize the sound.
Once you do this, you've got a two or three note block that you can start putting together with other two or three note blocks and begin connecting the dots.
Take the following scale chart:
I've circled two three-note combinations, that might not seem like much, but are actually far more helpful than simply playing through the entire scale. All we do now is put them into a tab sheet and come up with a riff to help us associate those notes with the corresponding frets and key.
2. A Music Focused Approach
Training in concepts and ideas specific to the guitar (like modes and arpeggios and the such) are important, but what is equally important is a music-oriented approach to the guitar.
A guitarist's ultimate goal (and primary responsibility) is to be able to decorate or give skin to a piece of music. Particularly for those in a lead guitar role, their focus will be centered around the dressing up of a song.
For someone to be able to effectively do this, they need to have an understanding of how the guitar fits into music as an instrument.
This leads into the following areas of interest and study as it pertains to the guitar:
- The Role of the Guitar: As we've already touched on, the role of the guitar is one of decoration, or the sprinkles on the cake, if you will. Far too many guitar players tend to play like they're driving th song. That's not to say a guitar player can't be rhythmically focused; plenty of them are. However they first need to understand the purpose that a guitar is setting out to fill. It's the dressing and not the lettuce.
- Song Dynamics: A guitarist's ability to distinguish between the low and high intensity parts of a song and everything in between.
- The Difference Between Rhythm and Lead Guitar: The differences between rhythm and lead guitar play an important part in how a guitar player is going to approach the instrument and the music that surrounds it. While that player can focus on both rhythm and lead guitar, the two playing styles need to be taught and understood differently.
- Being Able to Play with Touch and Control: Though control and touch are developed with time, it can still be explained, taught and practiced, and will allow a guitarist to be more in control of whatever chords or lead licks they might be adding to a song.
3. Listening and Playing Along with MP3s
If the goal is to integrate yourself with music, the best way to learn how to do that is to play along with the bands and songs that you're the most familiar with.
Most amplifiers of our day come with an MP3 input, but even if you don't have an amp to handle that, there are plenty of cheaper options that can get you playing along with your iPod.
While it might sound a bit simple, this is a huge part of learning to play in a group and being able to keep up with the pace of the music around you. Constantly playing guitar by yourself all the time doesn't provide that framework or require you to play within a certain timing constraint. Having that is good for a guitar player, and it's simply one of the best ways to learn how to make your notes count.
This is a big part of a music focused approach; big enough to have received its own category. The list of what it can effect in terms of your playing is long, but here are some of the main benefits:
- Improved timing and rhythm.
- Improved understanding of the differences between verses and choruses.
- Improved understanding of note placement and arrangement.
- Improved knowledge of when to underplay.
The more you play along with actual music, the better your understanding of these topics will be. It should be noted that always playing along with your favorite band isn't smart either. There is a balance, but thankfully it's an easy one to strike.
4. Focusing on Rhythm and Timing
Rhythm and timing are perhaps the most undervalued aspect of guitar education. In my opinion, it's the most important part of playing guitar (though I'm sure many would disagree).
If your rhythm is off, than it doesn't matter how great your technique or tone are, it's not going to sound right.
Learning guitar from the angle of rhythm and keeping time doesn't have to be a constant in the way you learn, but it should be something that you focus on, the same way you might devote some time to focusing on chords, scales or other more tangible aspects of your playing.
Rhythm is tough too, because it needs to be understood and practiced somewhat differently than other guitar concepts.
Even still, it's a big part of the learning process and shouldn't be left out just because it's "hard to teach."
In-Depth Focus
In addition to the conventional guitar topics, these areas of focus are necessary to engage the guitar at an in-depth level, instead of constantly being on a surface level understand and hope that these other things just come with practice.
Certainly they will come with practice, but I believe that a better way is to hone in on each idea and develop it intentionally once we're ready.
We'll be more advanced and professional with our instrument in the long run if we're able to practice these things proactively.