Friday, August 29, 2008

Play Me a Melody

After several weeks of doing nothing creative, I finally finished the mosaic guitar I had started the first of July. It was all done except for the grout, but sat in the bat cave waiting for two weeks.

Grout color is always the most difficult choice for me to make. So I made up my mind I was going to finish it and move on, and try to find my creative energy again. This is the outcome.


The materials used were sheet music, crash/tempered glass, MAC glue, acrylic paint, grout, mirror, Lucite, stained glass and dye. All in all I am pleased with the piece, in particular the technical side of the work, just not sure what to do with it now. Ideas?

This piece made me take a step back and realize I need to take a break form mosaics. Although I love doing them I'm just not sure I am as good at them as I would like. Being a perfectionist that is a hard one. Do I sound whiny? Cause now I'm annoying myself...

On a different note it is Erev Shabbos! And of course I am in the process of getting everything done. So I gotta jet back to work.

This week's parsha is Re'eh.

Monday, August 25, 2008

Please Meet Gilad Shalit

On Thursday, Gilad Shalit’s family will mark his third birthday (he will be be 22), while he is being held in Hamas captivity. Among those expected to take part in the family event are the parents of Eldad Regev HY”D and Ehud Goldwasser HY”D, whose bodies were recently released by Hizbullah in a prisoner exchange deal.

This young man graduated with distinction from Manor Kabri High School. Gilad began military service in the Israel Defense Forces in July 2005, and “despite a low medical profile, he preferred to serve in a combat unit, following his elder brother Yoel into the armored corps.

Gilad was captured early on Sunday morning, 25 June 2006, by Palestinians who attacked an Israeli army post on the Israeli side of the southern Gaza Strip border after having crossed through an underground tunnel near the Kerem Shalom border crossing. Gilad had an injury to his left shoulder, and hand from an RPG that hit his personnel carrier. He was 19 at the time.


There have been rescue attempts, but to no avail. There have been letters sent to the Shalit family, that have been confirmed to be his handwritting. Even as recent as June of this year.

In July 2008 a prisoner exchange was made with Hamas for the return of Eldad Regev and Ehud Goldwasser. The Hamas prisoners were returned from Israel alive, but Eldad and Ehud were not.


On this Thursday please think of Gilad, and pray for his safe return. Soon.

Thursday, August 21, 2008

Applesauce

Due to a combination of not having much spare time, nor the inclination I've not been creating anything for about two weeks. So cooking in preparation for Shabbos was about as close as I've come to being creative.

My Dad loves applesauce. There can be 20 different things on the Shabbos table, but one of those better be my homemade applesauce or the meal will not be complete for him.

In my effort to keep it from becoming boring I've got about three to four recipe versions of applesauce to rotate through. Some with raisins, some with cranberry, some with nuts, some with pears.

This weeks recipe is made from 5 Granny Smith apples, 1/4 cup turbinado sugar, dash of fresh nutmeg, 1 teaspoon of cinnamon, 1/2 cup of plump raisins and about 2 T. of water. Cook in a sauce pan till apples are just starting to get soft. We like ours chunky. ~: )

Now people who come here for a meal know there will be some form of applesauce on our table. The kids always love it, and it is sometimes the only thing the picky eaters will have.

This week's parsha is Eikev.

Friday, August 15, 2008

Deep Breath, and a Sigh of Relief

This week has been a very difficult one for our community as a whole, and for almost every individual. This particular event has the potential to devastate whole families, and indeed affect our community negatively.

At times like this when you become even more thankful for your faith, and come to realize indeed how much Hashem is in control. Well, now comes the time to take that breath breath the sigh of relief, and relax for Shabbos.

Tonight I have 15 guests for Shabbos dinner, and tomorrow 10 for lunch. Baruch Hashem it shall be full of D'var Torah, davening, good company and zemiros.

This week's parsha is Vaeschanan.

Good Shabbos.

Tuesday, August 12, 2008

Social Faux Pas - Got TP on your shoe

Embarrassing moments in public. We've all had them at one time or another. Those times when you wish a giant hole would swallow you up to save you from the embarrassment. These are the moments when you are shocked and horrified at what a goober you have made of yourself in public. First you look around real quick to see if anyone saw you ,then try to carry on as though nothing has happened.

Turn it around when you are witness instead of subject, and this can make for some side splitting amusement. There are those surprise faux pas that you rarely see, but then there are the ones most everyone has seen.

Here are some classics:

1) Your at a nice restaurant having a great dinner. There is an attractive woman who makes her way across the room to the restroom. This is the woman that everyone notices, and she knows she looks great, too. As she emerges from the restroom to make her elegant walk back to her table you notice the trail following her. As you look down you realize she has TP stuck to her $545.00 Manolo Blahnik shoe. Instantly you giggle, and have to point this social faux pas out to all at your table.

2)
Your at work, and one of your male co-workers comes into your office. As you discuss some work related issue you happen to notice that his fly is unzipped. You try to keep your eyes away from that general region so when he does realize his social faux pas he does not know that you knew. What's worse is you see him make his way back to his desk, and stops to speak to a few other men in the office. Not one tells homeslice that his fly is open. Why is that? So sometime later this poor guy finds his fly open, and thinks back to when he last unzipped. Only to come to the conclusion that is was hours ago, and everyone has seen it and never mentioned it to him.

3) Another classic would be when you see the car going down the road with the dress or coat shut in the door. On most occasions this is when the weather is really bad and the object of clothing is most likely ruined when they get to their final destination.

4)
And who has not seen the poor unsuspecting woman come out of the bathroom with her skirt tucked neatly into her pantyhose. What a nice shot that is from behind.

Social faux pas are life's way of letting us know that we not only should laugh at ourselves, but others as well. For if we take ourselves or life too serious that is when the faux pas will befall you.

Friday, August 8, 2008

Life Lesson

Over the last couple of months I've learned a hard lesson.

When becoming frum I expected to be able to leave certain types of people behind. One of those would be not to have to deal with people within my community who don't live a Torah observant life. Unfortunately I've found that to not be true.

Somehow it seems fitting that with Tisha B'Av being Sunday that I should be experiencing a deep sadness for my realization. So in learning this I shall feel the sadness on Sunday, as well as the disappointment. As with anything such as this you have to learn from it, and take that forward.

However, today is erev Shabbos, and I'm in my usual flurry of activity in preparation for the most beautiful day of the week. Then when Shabbos is over and our fast begins along, with the mourning of the destruction of the Temples, I will also mourn the loss of finding that people are people no matter where you go.

This week's parsha is Devarim.

Good Shabbos to everyone, as well as a good and meaningful fast.

Monday, August 4, 2008

What is Art?


If you know what the picture is, thank an art teacher.

The girls high school asked me to teach art this year...OY VEY!

So this is taking a lot of recall on my part since I've not been in art school for years! Kind of scary actually.

I'm trying to work out my curriculum, and supplies list to turn into the board. It is a lot tougher than I originally had thought it would be.

The hardest part for me right now is the lesson plans. Trying to create them without having more crafting, than art. I really find myself trying to discern more which is which, and really who decides what is art and what is craft? I'm soooo confused!

Embarking on teaching art (thank goodness it is only 1 day per week), to teenage girls will be not only a challenge, but an extreme joy. I'm looking forward to this probably more than they.