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Showing posts from January, 2009

Eulogy for my father

When I talked to my kids yesterday for inspiration, here's what Yerachmiel Meir had to say about my father:   "When he wanted something to get done, it got done."   For my kids, that meant even if it meant going out and braving the weather to (fill in the blank):   shovel snow, build a sukkah, paddle a canoe, or shlep to Six Flags Darien Lake. I asked both kids what they'd say if they could be here.   Elisheva, newly immersed in Hebrew, says she'd describe him as "tov me'od."   She wasn't serious, maybe just trying to get out of offering a real comment, but I'll pretend she was for a second, because I don't think you'll find very many more people who better embody the spirit of "tov me'od" (very good). It breaks my heart that they're not here today, because if there is anything my father worked hard to be – and there were many things, from a father to a brother to a mortgage guy to a husband to an

Subway on the way home tonight...

So here we all are, eatin cheese (not me) and oranges and onion buns (not me). Yay, us! It was such a relief to be in out of the cold... brrr... G'nite!

WinterCity Spectacle Show, Pi-Leau by Close-Act

OK, well, this is a lousy video, but I'm so happy to have gotten out for a little while this motzaei Shabbos. It was SO cold, though! And then I had kind of misgivings about going to this type of entertainment while it's still shloshim for my father... but anyway. There it is. Good times had by all.

Day at Allan Gardens...

Spent a chunk of time there today with ALL the kids and Sara. Quel surprise... good times had by all!!!

Fw: New Rice Beverage packaging - thanks!

Just got a reply to my Yu rice milk email.  I love quick customer service.  Wish they'd send a coupon, though!  J ----- Original Message ----- Sent: Tuesday, January 27, 2009 3:05 PM Subject: RE: New Rice Beverage packaging - thanks! Hello Jennifer,   Thank you for contacting Soyaworld with your comments.   It's very important to hear from our consumers and we appreciate your feedback.   Yes; that's correct the DE or Dairy designation has been removed from our packaging as our plants are completely dairy free kosher.   Please do not hesitate to contact us with any further questions or concerns!   Kindest Regards,

But forget all this mushy stuff... I'm sure you are all wondering...

... WHAT'S FOR SUPPER?!? Yes, tonight is officially my First Night Cooking Supper in a Very Long Time. We are having chili. With cornbread. Dunno whether I'm going to bake it on top since Naomi also wants baked potatoes. So there it is: chili, cornbread, baked potatoes. Nothing could be simpler. Yes, this is a stupid photo of Gavriel Zev; that's why it didn't make it into the baby album. But it's a great shot of my dad, and the blue kind of coordinates. Plus, he looks totally fat in this picture compared to how gaunt he became in the last few months. OK, they both look kind of fat in this picture. And the second picture is just nice because it's a moment, captured, kind of sneakily looking over his shoulder, and Naomi taking everything for granted and playing in the background. <3 J

A happy memory...

From an email to the big kids' grandpa in Calgary... "Thinking about a ton of stuff the last couple of weeks, but one memory that stood out was of when you were here (it must have been the summer of 2005) and we went to the symphony concert at Harbourfront. While we were waiting for it to begin - Naomi was grouchy and very demanding of my attention - the big kids went walking looking at boats. And I had a moment of anxiety wondering if they were too close to the water or whatever, and then thinking how very safe they were, there with their two grandpas, and how nothing bad could possibly happen to them with you both there watching them. What a rare and wonderful moment that was, though I know it must have been a bittersweet year for you." (2005 was the year my ex-husband, the big kids' father, died in a drowning accident in Calgary)

Sprouting Again... Growing Again...

OK, just about every winter, I have discovered, I have this deep-down need to see something green., and start experimenting once again with SPROUTING. This year, the need coincided with our return from Israel, the end of shiva, and my intense need to rejoin the world through retail channels - particularly the soothing wholistic smell of organic and natural-food stores. (not to be confused with the pills-n-protein smell of the many so-called "natural" "food" stores, mostly mall-based, that sell mainly man-made soy and herb supplements in the form of pills and powders) Anyway. I needed The Smell and I needed To Sprout, so I hopped on down to The Big Carrot , one of my favourites, on Friday. I've been going there since I was knee-high to a grasshopper, thanks to Emily, a high school (and now Facebook) friend. It turned out they only had one left of the sprouter that I wanted, but one was all I needed. I tried sprouting in baskets last year, with mostly success,

Fw: New Rice Beverage packaging - thanks!

Sent: Tuesday, January 27, 2009 2:26 PM Subject: New Rice Beverage packaging - thanks! After several months of difficulty finding Yu rice beverage on our store shelves, we were thrilled to find it back in stock with brand-new packaging last week. (we mainly shop at Fortino's and Superstore here in Toronto) As kosher consumers, I must say we are particularly pleased with the removal of the "dairy" designation from the packaging, assuming (if it's not an error - please correct me if it is!) that this means it is truly a pareve product now. In a kosher kitchen, that means it can be used to cook for and serve with all types of meals - products with a "dairy" or "dairy equipment" kosher designation (usually due to being produced on the same lines as items made with milk) cannot be used with meat even if they are completely vegan. I also want to mention how great this beverage has been with our last two babies. While I am exclusively breastfeeding

Fw: Shiva's over, family's home, etc

That's all for now, actually.  We're here, the kids got back okay, etc. Ted has uploaded a bunch of his Israel pics to Facebook, which I can't stand, but anyway: http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/album.php?aid=14453&id=1019731947&ref=mf http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/album.php?aid=14392&id=1019731947&ref=mf   The three times I have cried since last Wednesday: ~ When the baby wouldn't stop crying on the airplane and I had to keep switching seats because everybody hated me and my screaming baby... ~ When we were at the graveside and I saw the grass under the snow and I have been waiting so long, dying, to see grass or anything alive under all the snow and somehow seeing that they could just shovel off the snow and dig through the turf like that... ~ This morning when shiva ended and the rabbi said now we had to go out of the house and escort his soul, in some way, seeing it off on its journey.  We walked him up to the subway station cu

Last night's supper!

Sausage risotto with two kinds of sausage, but it was precooked and I was a bit disappointed... PLUS, the pressure cooker wasn't sealed properly for some reason and would not come up to pressure. Anyway, the risotto burnt on the bottom but was otherwise delicious. I used half arborio, which then ran out, so I used half sushi rice, which added a perfect sweetness. Oh, and split pea soup from a mix. Shown here with a leftover Shabbos kneidl. I used the leftover Shabbos chicken soup in the risotto, along with a cup or so of leftover sweet sparkling white wine. It was a sweet taste, but not disturbingly so. We vaccinated the baby yesterday for the first time. I went in with the following list of "demands", gleaned from Dr Sears: ~ Only 2 vaccines at a time ~ Only 1 with aluminum at a time ~ Only 1 live vaccine at a time I don't remember what else. Anyway, it turned out that there were only "combo" vaccines available - grrr. So he got the standard DPTP an

New Beverage Rave

Yes, it's pareve! Blue Diamond Almond Breeze - okay, we call it almond milk. And, because the cranky complaints-lady has been rearing her head a bit much lately, a happy, if somewhat coupon-seeking letter to the manufacturer: "Thanks to promotional pricing (3 for $5), we have recently discovered Almond Breeze in our local Loblaws-chain stores here in Toronto. I just wanted to let you know both how delighted I am with the quality and taste of the product as well as with your committment to producing a product which is not only kosher but pareve (non-dairy). At a time when many non-dairy beverages are finding it easier to display a "dairy" kosher symbol (if their products share a production line with other, dairy-based products, for example), it is great to find one which is truly pareve (non-dairy), as this means it can be used with all foods, including meat, in our kosher home. We're looking forward to trying all the available flavours!"

More re TheSource 351607 Back order

I'm not proud of this one, but their reply annoyed me to no end, for some reason, so I morphed in mighty morphin' super-B for a moment, then hit Send before I could stop myself.   ----- Original Message ----- From: <>   To: online@intertan.com Sent: Tuesday, January 06, 2009 9:32 AM Subject: Re: 351607 Back order I wish to receive the camera.  If I didn't, I wouldn't have ordered it.  And paid for it immediately. I wish my daughter could receive her birthday present on time. Receiving a picture of a camera is a lousy gift. I wish your website hadn't said it was in stock when it clearly wasn't. I wish your customer service person hadn't said it would be in by "this Friday at the latest" when it clearly won't.   Oh, and "thank you" doesn't need a hyphen, but a comma would have been nice between "order" and "please."

The Cranky Complaints-Lady Responds to InterTan (Radio Shack aka The Source)

This makes me very angry, as the item in question was a birthday gift for someone who is going out of the country soon. I should also add that having purchased in-store-pickup items without trouble from Best Buy and other online retailers, your store is the only one where I have experienced these delays. Most retailers who claim a product is available and in stock actually mean it: you simply oversold this popular item and is clearly now rushing to fill those orders, at the expense of unsuspecting customers. This was my first experience shopping online at The Source. I have been so disappointed that I am not likely to come back (to the website or the stores, which are messy, noisy and whose sales staff don't speak English well) anytime soon. [OK, it sounds racist, but when I called around looking to see if any of the stores had the camera in-stock today, I could barely figure out what they were saying when they picked up. And I don't think it's truly racist if I don

Fwd: 351607 Back order

How many BS words can you find in the following email, informing me that Elisheva's birthday camera isn't available even though they said two weeks ago that it was...   I'll help out by highlighting! ---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: online@intertan.com < online@thesourcecc.com > Date: 2009/1/5 Subject: 351607 Back order To: "" <>   Dear Valued [I suspect I'm neither to them!] Online Customer You recently placed order ### with TheSourceCC.com for product 2516949. We [it's a computer]   regret [can you hear it in their voices?] to inform you that this product is on back order. The expected [they really have no clue] shipping date is January 30, 2009. This is an estimated [see?] date only; it is possible that we will receive stock at our warehouse earlier than this date. We  [who's writing this letter, again?] apologize [I don't see an apology here] for any inconvenience . [or the poignancy of my daughter not

brrr... wintertime frappuccipo & other kitchen how-to's (and not-to's)

Ugh... made myself a frapuccipo (decided that it cheapens the thing to spell it "cheapo"; why should starbucks have all the fun with its fake-Italian terminology???).   They are nice & refreshing in the summer, but in January (Jan 1st!) when the temperature indoors is 17, what I do NOT need is a frozen icy beverage.  My hands can barely type this messge...   I made it because I drove Ted to work today because the TTC is on Sunday service, but all the Starbucks locations on the way back down (3 in all!) were still closed up tight, so I felt I deserved a smoothie.  Ugh.  I mean Gaah.  But it IS delicious, if a little ridiculous to be sitting here shivering, all bundled up, slurping down ice crystals...! (if they find my body cold at the keyboard later on today, now you know why - please alert the authorities)   (CHAS V'SHALOM!  Of course!)   THE RECIPE, AGAIN, IN CASE YOU MISSED IT:   1-2 tbsp instant coffee (depends how strong you like it) 2 tb