Rosh Hashana Roundup

So, when last we left you anything useful (relatively speaking) oldest had chicken pox. Remember how I said things couldn't get worse? Remind me to shut up more often. We were all set to send her back to school the following Friday.

Except she couldn't put any weight on her leg. Trip #2 to the doctor. Guess what? She sprained her knee. All's done, right? Nope - sick last Monday too, trip #3 to the doc, and she had a virus. I prayed hard for no more illness.

Most of the first part of last week was a blur of cooking & cleaning as we prepared for Rosh Hashana. Stuffed cabbage, apple cake, chalah, blondies, sweet potatoes & carrots, and finally corned beef. And all this with us only hosting one meal. Even with most of it done by Sunday, we still rushed into the holiday.

The holiday itself was pretty good. Unlike other people's new year, we spend half of it in services. We started at 7:30 AM, and finished around 12:30 PM. It's a long day. I was tapped again to blow the shofar at one of the other synagogues in the neighborhood - it's a long story, but they needed me to blow for the second day of the holiday. Fortunately for them, they got the Certificate of Occupancy on their brand new building on the Friday right before the holiday. I had to walk a little further, but it is a nice building.

My performance was OK - not as smooth as I've been in the past, but I think everyone fulfilled their obligation. I have to say that particular synagogue is not for me on a regular basis. I like the people there fine, but they're lacking some in the decorum department. I recognize it's a long time in services, but you could take your conversations outside the sanctuary if you can't sit still and keep quiet.

The rest of the holiday was fine - we had lunch at some friends on the first day, with turkey and lamb and mashed potatoes and... other stuff I've forgotten. Our across the street neighbors were there too, and then both families plus another came to us on the second day. Fun was had by all, and nobody bothered eating much dinner either night.

That's the wrap-up. If I'm feeling inspired, I'll say something about the meaning of this time of year, but now I should get some work done.