Out of the habit

This morning I realized that I had not written a blog for awhile, but I didn't remember how long.  When I opened up the program and saw that it was April 4, I was pretty surprised.  Today is April 22, so that was a long time!  Sorry about that.

We have been very busy during this time, but isn't that how it always is?

Passover ended and much Mah Jongg has been played.  We had a two day bus trip with the Solivita Travel Club to Sarasota and Fort Myers.  We enjoyed some shopping districts in those cities as well as the Mystery Train and the Ford/Edison homes complex.  Everything was a lot of fun, and we would go back to the home because we didn't feel we had enough time.  We also discovered a great seafood house there called Pinchers.  They have several locations, but they are all on the West Coast of Florida.  Mark and I won the Mystery Train because we solved the mystery and named the correct killer.  Only one other person in our car knew who the killer was, but we knew the bonus question, too.  We won a mug and a certificate signed by the cast.  We really did enjoy that little outing.

Today we are heading up to downtown Orlando to the Lake Eola bandstand area.  Not only is it Earth Day today, but the Rosen JCC is also celebrating Yom Ha'Atzmaut, Israeli Independence Day.  My little SOJC choir is performing three songs at 2:50 p.m.  Unfortunately, the weather forecast is for scattered rain and thunderstorms.  I was going to have them sing with keyboard and Jonathan's EWI, but because of the rain, we are doing everything a cappella.  There is no cover there anywhere, so we are going to get wet if it rains.  Mark and I plan to take rain ponchos in a backpack just in case.

My weight hasn't done anything good.  On April 4, I reported that I weighed 280 after Passover.  I got busy and went down to 274 in the first days after the holiday.  Then I got busy in the other direction for the last week so that this morning I weigh 281.  I am totally out of control in my snacking.  I have a doctor's appointment next week, and she is not going to be happy.

Today we are eating lunch at the food trucks at the celebration.  We are hoping one of the food trucks is going to be kosher!  Then we are having dinner out tonight with Susan and Jonathan.  We also have dinner out Wednesday night with Jonathan. On Tuesday we will have lunch and dinner out because we are going to be all day at Animal Kingdom with the Solivita Disney Fan Club.  So I doubt if I'm going to lose any weight this week.  Sad.

The last time I uploaded pictures from my cell phone, Picasa could not seem to find them to upload to the web.  If I don't upload them to the web, I can't post them on the blog.  I have a lot of pictures from the Mystery Train trip, so I'm going to try to upload them and see what happens.

Enjoy your Earth Day no matter what you are doing.

PS  Nothing will upload from Picasa to the web this time either.  I'm not sure why, but it seems Picasa has finally died.  I'll have to find a new program to use.

PPS  The performance was great this afternoon.  It rained quite a bit for awhile, but around 1 p.m. it was clear and stayed that way the rest of the time. Good job, choir!

Still Passover

We have been having a relaxing time the last two days.  There have been many little chores inside the house like Mark working on the taxes, me doing a lot of hand laundry that I put off, lots of reading of books, working on music for SOJC and next year's Cove Singers concert, and hours and hours of TV watching.  We did not leave the house at all yesterday.  It was lovely.

Yesterday was also Evey's birthday.  She was 31.  She had a birthday party Saturday night, and last night Eric took her out to dinner at one of their favorite restaurants that they hadn't been to in a long while.  We called her and chatted for awhile.  It sounds like she had a lovely, relaxing day, too.

We are still eating Passover food, and I am overeating candy, macaroons, and matzah all day long.  UGH.  This morning I weighed 280, so that's 9 pounds gained since Thursday morning.  Still hoping I can make them go away when the holiday is over.

I can't post any pictures here of the seder after all.  I uploaded them from my camera to the Picasa program like always, but for some reason I cannot now upload them from Picasa to the web in order to share them with places like this blog or other people.  I have no idea why it's not working, and since Picasa is no longer supported, there's no one to ask.

So here are some fun pictures of Evey instead on the day after her birthday.

Me and Evey at her in-law's house in 2010 just before she and Eric left for California.

Wedding shower pictures at her in-law's house in NJ, 2011

At her second shower at Kip and Denise's house the next day.

Fun at Universal Studios

With her favorite Disney character

Our first visit to their new home and our first time with Kiwi.

Seders are over. Time for Mah Jongg!

First, our show Thursday night was FABULOUS.  The choir did a wonderful job, and I got a standing ovation for my solo.  Everyone had a wonderful time.

Friday we spent the day preparing for the seder, which started at about 7:30 p.m.  We assigned some parts to our guests, so Jonathan and Susan played some of their parts on flute and violin.  It was awesome.

Second night we had an easy seder with just the two of us.  It was the first time that just the two of us were together in a long time.  I was actually looking forward to it, and it did not disappoint.

We went to shul both Saturday and Sunday, and on both days we also watched a lot of TV to try to clear off the DVR.  Mark is a happy camper when there is lots of TV to watch.

My new 2018 Mah Jongg card arrived in Saturday's mail.  Today I'm playing at Susie's house in the morning and hosting it at my house in the afternoon.  I think a lot of people have the new card, so I'm excited to play with it for the first time today.

And the final bit of news is just how fast I can gain weight with a lot of food in the house.  There are chips, matzah, dried apricots, candies, macaroons, and cakes.  Passover is like Thanksgiving on steroids for food.  And the result is predictable.  I have gained an even TEN pounds since Thursday morning. 271 Thursday morning was my report in the previous blog.  This morning, just four days later, I weigh 281.  Pretty incredible.

There is a lot of sodium in some of the foods we have been eating, so I know there's a lot of water retention.  I had to take my diamond ring off because my fingers are all bloated, so it was too tight and uncomfortable.  I just hope it drops back off in the same amount of time eventually.

The Picasa photo program is being contrary this morning, so I'll try to post some pictures from the first night's seder another time.

Big, Big DAY!

We had our two tech/dress rehearsals at Lakeside Tuesday and Wednesday for the big Cove Singers show tonight.  The show is sold out!  The rehearsal yesterday was really great, so as long as we keep it together tonight, I'm expecting a great show.

Meanwhile, tomorrow night is the first Passover seder, and I am very busy today cleaning and getting everything out and ready.  I got a big head start by cleaning out the fridge and freezer on Tuesday.  All the shopping was finished as of yesterday, so I feel pretty good about how the day is going.

I was so busy yesterday running out at 9 a.m. for the rehearsal that I didn't weigh myself at all. This morning I got on and was pleasantly surprised with a 271 even.  All this rehearsing and being on my feet for hours has paid off.  Also we have eaten all our meals at home, and with the kitchen pretty cleaned out, there hasn't been any snack food around to sabotage me.

Today will be great even if we do eat a late dinner about 8:30 at Lakeside after the show because so much energy will have been spent in cleaning during the day and during the show.  I'm not worried about tonight's dinner at all.

Then there will be Passover!  LOL  Lots of eating at seders!  I will have to go take long walks each day to use up the matzoh calories.  LOL

Our synagogue has chosen it's new rabbi.  We went to the meeting yesterday and learned that they have extended the offer to Rabbi Dario, which is his first name.  I'm not sure why he goes by that.  I don't even remember his last name.  We had three to choose from.  No one liked the first one, but it was very, very close between the second and third ones.  Mark and I sort of preferred Rabbi Pollison, the second one, but we thought Dario was also fine.  He is Argentinian and has never lived in the US. He trained in Argentina and at a modern Orthodox place in Israel.  He has been the second rabbi at a HUGE Reform congregation in Buenos Airies for the last 12 years. He's 40 years old with a five year old daughter and another baby due about the time of the High Holidays.  Because of that, he is not going to start here until early November.  Some of the congregation seemed pretty angry about that, but I don't care.  They can hire a rabbi for the holiday season easily enough, or our Cantor Doug can do it.  He filled in as both rabbi and cantor for THREE YEARS before our current rabbi was hired.  Some complainers last night are such new members that they didn't know about that, but that's how it was when we joined.

Rabbi Dario speaks Spanish, Portuguese, Hebrew, and English fluently.  The Hispanic community in our shul is VERY thrilled!  Mark and I will be fine.  It's certainly going to be very different at SOJC come November.

Rocketman and Lowell's birthday

Good morning.  Today is my son's 39th birthday.  WOW!  I know saying time flies is a cliche, but I'm really feeling that this morning.  Later today we will call him, and I'll be posting FB greetings right after I finish this blog.

We have to rush around this morning because I need to sweep, mop, and tidy up for the Mahj ladies who are playing here tomorrow morning, and we have to take the laundry to the Cove.  Then at 12:30 we are heading up to Dr. Phillip's Center for Waitress.

I  got the pictures of Rocketman up online this morning so that I can post a few here for the blog.  I'm also posting a few pictures of Lowell in honor of his birthday.

Wonderful play today.

We just got back from seeing Tennessee Walk at the Garden Theater in Winter Haven today.   We didn't know anything about this play when we left today, but on our way home we decide it was one of the best plays we have ever seen, at the Garden Theater or anywhere else.  If it ever shows up in a theater near you, I strongly recommend that you go.  The sets, the acting ensemble, the storyline are all outstanding.

This morning my weight was 273.4, so that's another pound or so down.  I didn't really try hard, but I also did not binge eat anything the last few days.  Just eating normally, without any meals out or high sodium snacks, makes a huge difference.

This evening we are going to watch two Disney movies on the TV, My Father the Hero with Katherine Heigel in her first starring role when she was only 16, and then Blank Check, a silly comedy that I've seen before.  We are looking forward to a relaxing evening at home.

Tomorrow we will do our laundry in the morning at the Cove because we still have two weeks before the washing machine repair man is coming.  I think I forgot to mention yesterday that a week ago Mark put the laundry in the machine on Sunday afternoon.  It filled with water and died.  I had to hand wring out the clothes, which he then took to the laundromat at the Cove to finish washing.  We called the repairman the next day, but he cannot come until April 9, so we have some time to go.  Fortunately, he can bring it home to dry.

After doing laundry, we are heading up to downtown Orlando to see Waitress at the Dr. Phillips Center followed by dinner at a Thai restaurant in Celebration with Susie and Ed.  Sounds like another great day!

I also forgot to mention yesterday that last Monday I finally participated in a Mah Jongg tournament. I've played for about 20 years, but I never went to a tournament.  In Solivita, the Hadassah chapter sponsors one each year.  This was the first time that we've lived here that I either wanted to go or was in town when it happened.  We played 12 games with lunch at the first 8.  It was the first time I play for points.  There were 19 tables of four people playing, 76 ladies, and I came in FOURTH.  The top four scores were 350 (my friend Judi), 310, 300, and me at 290.  I was darn proud of myself.  There's no prize for anyone except first, but I was very excited to see how well I did.

Last night we went to see the best Elton John tribute band in the world.  They are called Rocketman.  The man playing Elton John was truly remarkable.  In fact, he has caught the eye and ear of Elton John.  He was tapped by him to play a young Elton John in a video being made to go with the Farewell Tour.  Elton also gave Rocketman some of his actual costumes from back in the 1970s and '80s, which he wore last night.  It was an amazing show.

A busy week and a half....so much to report.

I hardly know where to start today because it's been so long since I wrote anything and so much has happened.

Let's start with my phone story.  Long story short... I have a new iPhone8.  The long story is why.

Back on January 23, I reported that my Otter Box phone cover failed.  When the phone was accidentally knocked off the kitchen table, landing face down on the hard tile floor, the screen cracked.  It was still usable, so we put off trying to fix it until we had more free time.  Now, I'm glad I didn't spend the $129 to do that!

Monday night we had gone to a lovely dinner and show, featuring one of the hair stylists from Nature Hair who used to be a professional piano bar/lounge singer.  She was awesome, and we really enjoyed our night out.  When it was over, I only had 10% battery life on the phone, so I had planned to charge it in the car as we drove home.  I laid it on the roof of the car as I got organized to go home and stow away some stuff.  BAD IDEA!  NEVER PUT YOUR PHONE ON THE ROOF OF THE CAR!!

That was actually the second time I did that, but the first time nothing bad happened.  Anyway, I got in, and Mark drove off.  Miraculously, the phone stayed up there for about 3 miles, but about 3 miles from home, I heard a thud hit the window next to me. I had the window cracked slightly because it was a lovely evening.  I mentioned to Mark that it sounded like a bird hit the window or maybe a kid through a rock.  Neither was likely as it was already nearly 10 p.m. and dark.  I thought no more about it until about 15 minutes after we got home.  I remembered that I had not charged the phone, so I went to my purse to get it out and put it on the charger.

SURPRISE!!  No phone.  I immediately got that sinking feeling that you get when you know something has gone horribly wrong and it's all your fault.  Mark used our Find-a-Friend app, and said, "Oh, look.  It's on Marigold between Fairway and Genoa."  So that's about 3 miles back.  We got flashlights and took off.  Mark found it right away, but it was demolished.  It had hit the asphalt shoulder of the rod and really got smashed up.  No more iPhone6 for me.

Tuesday afternoon we went to the new AT&T store in our neighborhood and bought the iPhone8.  The experience was excellent.  The salesman was low key and not pushy.  I also got a great new case, and the best thing of all is that the plug jack is the same as the 6.  We don't have to replace any wires. Of course, our bill has gone up about $50 a month as the phone is financed over two years and the plan terms change....they always change.  Still, all's well that ends well, and I'm happy with the new phone.

Secondly, we have two upcoming concerts with our choirs.  The SOJC choir is performing in downtown Orlando on Sunday, April 22 with only four rehearsal to get ready.  We have not been able to meet since December because of a conflict with another synagogue activity, so we had our first of the four rehearsals day before yesterday.  It was ROUGH, but they are doing songs they have done before.  Hopefully, it will all come back.

The Cove Singers have a big concert next Thursday night, so we are down to two dress/tech rehearsals next week on Tuesday and Wednesday.  I have two solos as well as directing 11 songs with the choir.  Mark also has two solos, one of which includes a costume change.  We are a little stressed with this, although I think it will be a great show.  We have been having Tuesday and Thursday afternoon rehearsals for weeks, so it will be nice to get those days back to ourselves.

And Passover is coming.  We have done three shopping trips already.  The freezer is cleaned out and done.  Frank isn't coming this year (his choice), so we are going to use the spare room as a walk in closet for food and supplies instead of clearing everything out of the kitchen. That will save a lot of work.  We need to save some work because the day of the Cove Singers concert is also the day I have to change over the whole kitchen.  The first seder is the day after the show, next Friday night.  By Friday morning the kitchen has to be all ready for me to cook a seder dinner.  We are totally stressed. We still haven't been able to find a shank bone, although we have been to the kosher Winn Dixie twice.  This morning I called, and they have reassured me that they will be in on Tuesday.  We are going to drive over there again Tuesday evening after the dress rehearsal to see if they are really there.  I'm charged with picking up two extras for my friends here in Solivita.  If I don't get one for us, we shall use the alternate, a beet, but I don't know how my friends would feel about that.

Last week we went to the Solivita theater performance of the female version of The Odd Couple, starring lots of our best friends.  As usual, they were AMAZING.  They were FAR better than the semi-professional performance we saw in the fall at the Garden Theater in Winter Haven.

Last Thursday, we had a day long bus trip to Tampa/St. Pete to the Dali museum, lunch, a boat ride on the Hillsborough River through Tampa, and a tour of Ybor City.  It was all delightful except lunch.  The restaurant was new and not prepared to handle a large group.  They had a three-choice prix fixe menu that had nothing for vegetarians.  We insisted they provide something, and what they gave us was horrible.  We made our displeasure known to the tour operator and the Solivita lady who had organized the day.  Otherwise, we did have fun that day.

Tonight we have tickets to see an Elton John impersonator in the ballroom.  I'm sure it will be lots of fun.  We saw the movie Marshall last night up there, which I highly recommend.  Tomorrow afternoon we have a play, Tennessee Walk, at Garden Theater and Sunday we have the musical, Waitress, at Dr. Phillip's Center followed by dinner at a Thai restaurant in Celebration with Susie and Ed.

Topping all of this off, our synagogue is in the throes of finding a new rabbi because our current one gave his resignation to move back up north.  We are all sad to see him go.  We went to the synagogue last Saturday to see one of the candidates and then Sunday afternoon and evening for two services, a learning session, and dinner with the second candidate.  They were both very different, but very good.  We filled out our surveys, and it was hard to put a negative thing about either one.  I'm so glad I'm not on the committee that has to make that decision.  There is a Congregational Meeting this coming Wednesday, so I think the decision will be announced at that meeting.

Now for the weight report.  The last number reported was in the last blog, Wednesday, March 14.  I reported 277.6, which was a little up from before.  This morning, I am 275 even.  That's a loss of 2.6 pounds for 10 days.  Not bad considering I admit that I was not trying at all.  I'm actually pretty out of control, which I am chalking up to all the stress going on with the two shows to do, Passover shopping and cleaning, and generally feeling a little overwhelmed.  Once the Cove Singers show is over next Thursday and the first seder starts next Friday evening, I think I'll feel far less stress.  On the other hand, I love matzah and always gain over Passover.  We shall see how it all goes.