Tikkun Olam

I just read my daughter's RSD Blog, and although I had spoken to her about the 4th of July barbeque right after it was held at her Tel-Aviv apartment, and knew what had ensued, I was very moved by what she wrote about it, and decided to post it in it's entirety here.  This is my daughter, in a wheelchair for a year with a so-far incurable nerve disease called RSD/CRPS (Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy, or Complex Regional Pain Syndrome), whose life changed in an instant due to a relatively minor car accident from "normal," to disabled, at the age of twenty-three. Please visit her blog, My Personal Battle with RSD .  Here is her 4th of July post. Perfection, Bliss, and a `whole’ lot of Soul… This past 4 th of July, I bore witness to the most beautiful and pure thing anyone could ever possibly view.  Some people might say that that is a bit extreme of a statement. These people are right. It is incredibly extreme. But, it is true. Imagine seeing a s...

I found this wonderful picture of a tall, cool glass of Limonana , several posts ago.  And it got me thirsty for that wonderful Israeli drink: lemonade with nana, or mint leaves.  There ain't nothin' like it for thirst-quenching during hot, dry (or humid) summer days, whether in Israel or elsewhere. So here's a recipe for you.  It makes approximately a 2-quart pitcher.  Enjoy! Limonana: 1 cup lemon juice (fresh squeezed is best, but bottled works) 1 cup sugar About ¼ cup fresh mint leaves (to taste) + some extra sprigs (optional) 1 or 2 fresh lemons, skins well scrubbed (optional) and then sliced. Grape juice, cherry juice or Grenadine (optional) Chop up the ¼ cup of mint leaves and put in small pan with the sugar and 1 cup of the water. Bring to boil. (Alternately, pour one cup of boiling water over the mint leaves, let steep a minute or two, then add the cup of sugar). Put the mint/sugar mix and the cup of lemon juice in a 2 quart pitcher and add water t...

 (nablopomo day 21) I posted yesterday on our indecision in where to go for an outing to honor my D. H. as a father, on Father's Day, the great American Hallmark holiday.  It was a tug of war between driving to the mountains for an al ha-eish --I mean, BBQ--or taking a hike. So my D. H. basically told me to 'take a hike.' Just kidding.  He actually came up with a plan (called "plan B"), which would be a compromise, and the two of us would get a little of what each wanted (The compromise, by the way, was my idea...). So we went to one of the nice big parks in our city, which has a lake with a path around it, almost one mile long.  There was a free concert scheduled for the early evening, at the bandstand right on the lake.  We arrived early enough for us to 'take a hike' around the lake, and then whipped out our camping chairs and blanket, sat down and listened to a wonderful blues and jazz concert with singer Hazel Miller . Then after the two hour...

(nablopomo day 20) We're going to do something for Father's Day.  It's just the two of us (we spoke to our older son in Israel, who is, G-d willing, days away from being a father).  Yesterday we spoke to our younger son, and wished him a happy father's day. I don't know what we will do.  D. H. and I have different ideas about what's "fun."  I want to go hiking--a mild one, such as a walk, walk, walk around a certain park in town which has a lake. Or hike a mountain trail... He wants to drive, drive, drive to the mountains, and have a BBQ with STEAKS. I wouldn't mind that, if we walk first, you know--help work off the steaks we're gonna have.Wonder if we can come to a compromise.  Meanwhile, the day is passing. . . Meahwhile, happy Father's Day to all you fathers out there!   *Copyright alert: No infringement of any text or graphic copyright is ever intended on this blog. If you own the copyright to any original image ...

It is so beautiful here, I don't want to leave. Found out there was an option to stay one more night, and I took the opportunity: told D.H. I want to stay. He was at first non-commital, but hey--he's not working, so it's not as if he has to be back early for work on Monday, so I convinced him. We had anyway been planning to stay until later today, watching the game (D.H. is; I went hiking and am now blogging!) and barbequeing ( how do you spell that word?!), so we would have had to start the drive back in the dark, which I would prefer not to do if I could avoid it. Besides, I've gotten used to the vertical ladder climb-up to the loft, and it's very cozy up there; it's the kind of bedroom I would have wanted as a child; so I really wanted to stay another night. Getting ready to set up the food, so will finish up this update-post now. *(Nablopomo day#24)

I've posted early this morning (well, 8:00 a.m. to me is early, these days) because D.H. and I are leaving to go on a two-and-a-half hour drive (yay! the open road!) to the woods near the next metropolis over for a small shul-community Shabbaton in the mountains. The previous Shabbaton which we attended was two years ago, when our son, Nathaniel Blumenstein and his lovely wife Noodles visited here from Israel, and we had a wonderful time. I keep thinking, that is the only thing missing from this weekend: our children and their families. We are incomplete for the moment, but I'm sure I will enjoy myself there. A change of environment, especially going to "the country" as I called it as a child, will do me good (growing up in NYC, my heart lifted when we left the city and started to see green again: trees, grass--and also sky; guess you'd say I was a 'country girl' at heart.). ( No, our cabin is not going to look like this one. For one thing, there's ...