dianesowo

A much quieter weekend than the last one approaches. Tomorrow, just taking in the car for its well-baby check up, then in the evening, I will be part of a group having dinner with a newly ordained African American female rabbi who will be leading a synagogue here in NC - in Greenville. Then services on Saturday, followed by a quick practice of the senior improv group as we have a show coming up at a retirement home. Meditation on Sunday. Other than that, nothing else is planned for the weekend. I'm sure that will allow me to meander into some fun opportunities.

To help Cheryl celebrate her birthday, first we went to see "Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs". It was terrific. 3D has greatly improved from 50 years ago! Then we went to Papa MoJo's Roadhouse and had an authentic cajun dinner and enjoyed a very musical and versatile band in a setting that was welcoming and festive. We danced and laughed and listened to music until after midnight. Here's the birthday girl...


Friday night, we went to PlayDate in Raleigh and it was HUGE. We didn't stay, though, because the line to get in was long, and when Cheryl poked her head in, it didn't seem well-organized. I'll probably try it again later after they have had a chance to get the kinks out, and I will definitely be there from the beginning!

On today's agenda is meditation and the gym, laundry, floors and dishes. Not sure what order that will happen. :-)

Have been too busy to post much, but that's because I went to improv rehearsal Tuesday evening, Ritual Committee on Wednesday evening, to the doctor for a fasting blood draw Thursday morning - which was unsuccessful after SIX sticks :-[, then to our synagogue's book club Thursday night, back to the doctor for another attempt at fasting blood draw on Friday morning - unsuccessful again :-[, to the vet with both the dog and the cat, to an art gallery and lunch with a friend, then to make a return at the hardware store and home to practice the Torah portion I would be leining on Saturday. After that, went to Carrboro to a reception and opening for a friend's art show, then on to services, followed by a visit with two close friends my 'sisters' Dell and Cheryl.

Saturday was lots calmer...services, then home for a bit while the yard man took care of business, and then over to another friend's to play canasta for the rest of the day. Heading off now to meditation, then probably back home for a nap and over to Clayton for my other book club. Laundry and grocery aren't necessary since I did such a thorough job last week, and I may cook later, or not. I have some salad makings from our CSA box. We get a $15 box and then divide it among three households, and there's still plenty for all of us! Talk about win-win!

Weather report for my disposition as well as the outdoors meteorological outlook. I had a full and satisfying weekend with a good balance of time with friends and carrying out responsibilities to the community. Busy week ahead with somewhere to be every evening and a couple of projects at work to wrap up. I don't feel stressed though, just integrally plugged in to life and people and feeling like my world is nicely woven together.

My unit is responsible for all of the training in the agency, so whenever our division gets together for a retreat - staff training day, we are usually responsible for planning and executing it, so we don't really get to get re-charged.

The other section in our division is responsible for staffing the agency's front desk [we see approx. 9000 people each month], running the call center [approx. 27,000 calls each month] and managing the records for the agency. They usually have lots of trouble getting others to cover for them when we have our day.

This year though, we scheduled it for half a day, went to an offsite location that was comfortable and had everything we needed to make the afternoon work, had a hot lunch catered [baked chicken, macaroni & cheese, cabbage, string beans, hush puppies, rolls, lemon pound cake, lemonade, iced tea and for a treat later, Philly style water ice], and watched a movie [The Great Debaters] and had a discussion about the principles in it and how they apply to the work we do and how we work together.

My unit got to enjoy everything because we did minimal planning on the front end and no training, the other unit was able to get coverage because we were gone only four hours, a good time was had by all and the discussion was excellent. Most of us cried, laughed and cringed through the movie, so if you haven't seen it, I strongly recommend it.

It was a good day.

It's a lovely convergence of commemorating our connection to loved ones, celebrating nature's rhythms and the comfort that regularly recurring phenomena can bring just when you think the winter will never end or that life will remain topsy-turvy forever. Having all of these events juxtaposed with the fresh start to the week leaves me hopeful and energized to possibility. Who knows what could happen today, or this week, or this month, or this season! I'm game and and ready to plunge in. Join me?

It's Juneteenth [ Black Independence Day. 2 1/2years after the signing of the Emancipation Proclamation, Union Soldiers arrived in Galveston, Texas to tell the last slaves that the Civil War had ended and that they were free. This is the oldest known celebration commemorating the end of slavery in the US.] and it's Shabbat.

Got me to thinking about the convergence of the two elusive concepts of freedom and peace...two states of being that every human I know yearns for, and that are interpreted slightly differently by each of us, and sometimes by any of us at different times in our lives.

I am happy to report that in my life today, both of those qualities are available in abundance, and that embracing them has brought to me the uniting emotion that both of these celebrations have in common - joy.

So enjoy your day - look for the glimpses of freedom and peace in your life, acknowledge them with gratitude and share the joy with everyone around you.

Time to prepare for work after a great weekend. In addiition to Saturday night's improv show, yesterday I had the chance to celebrate some friends' 50th anniversary. Each of them is a wonderful, talented, fun person on their own and as a couple, they are an incredible force of nature. They are kind and funny and generous with their time, their talents and their treasures. He still bikes 13 miles a day and is planning a 100 mile ride with their 13 year old grandson. She sings in a Gilbert & Sullivan group and the Jewish chorale, of which she is the founder, directs the theater group at the senior center, does senior improv, directs the Purim spiel at the synagogue, and assists him in their videography business/hobby. He writes plays, she performs them in readers' theater. They always open their home to those of us who are 'strays' on Passover and any other time there is a need for a place for a group to meet. All of this with an openness and non-mushy palpable love for each other, life and everyone they encounter. It was a joyous celebration with lots of laughter, funny anecdotes and love. It encourages my heart to know that people can find and commit to each other over a whole lifetime, and that a happy byproduct can be such a valuable contribution to the community.

We had a wonderful show - everyone was 'on' and the audience received us well. It felt like live electricity popping out there onstage. I am pumped! Next show is August 1. Can't wait.

Off to meditation and the grocery, got laundry going, and then later this evening, going to some friends' 50th anniversary. Lovely day ahead.

Services this morning with lots of different responsibilities. We are a synagogue located in a college town, and it is the first weekend that the public schools are out too, so lots of families are away. That means that people who often are available to take on leadership roles are out of town.

I'll come home and take a nap to be fresh for a 6:30 curtain call for our 8 PM show. I have a feeling we will have a fairly good crowd, so I'm anxious that we do a good show. Lots of mental side coaching is whirling around inside my head that I have gleaned from the past few weeks of rehearsals, which could more properly be termed "skill building sessions". I hope we have all done a good job of building our skills so we can give a audience a fun experience.

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It's a crisp cool morning with a fresh smell to the air after a cloudburst last night. I'm going to take life easy this morning, learning some Hebrew, paying some bills and doing some self-care. I will save cleaning up for Sunday after meditation, so I won't even let the chores stress me today. It's a good day and I'm going to lean back into it and relax.

It's my last day at work for this weekend, and I have lots of things to wrap up for the week. The day will end with the first farewell gathering for our agency director who is retiring, and then when I get home, I'll be getting a battery jump for my truck and taking it to get gas in preparation for getting inspected. I may try to get a jump on the weekend chores after that, or I may just goof off. [My bet is on the goofy part.] I did commit to taking some turns leining Torah, starting in July, so I need to begin brushing up on those skills. That would be an acceptable middle ground. No chores, but no goofing either. Have a great day, everyone!

We had an impressive thunderstorm late last night just after I got home from rehearsal and brought in the dog and the cat. Both of them are usually unfazed by storms, but this one brought them both to my side to lean against my legs in that "I'm not really afraid, I'm just here to protect YOU Mom" way.

This morning, just before I left to go to work, a huge limb cracked and fell half in the dog pen and half on its fence, so I moved it off the fence and into the yard before leaving. The dog was NOT amused! It's a lot less humid now, which is refreshing, and my plants all look perky from having a fresh drink of water. And since the roof is repaired, it did not leak, so all in all, the storm was a net good.

Dropped off all the linens and videos I harvested from my industriousness yesterday, in addition to some miscellaneous items that I no longer need. I can see the light at the end of the tunnel and now the house and my life all are beginning to feel freer and lighter. I don't know exactly what it is I am standing on the precipice of, but I think it's going to be good!

Good morning - the weather is beautiful. I got a good night's sleep. I feel good. The house neatening/organizing is progressing well. I'm heading out to meditation and then back to tackle more of the house stuff. I've got a good rhythm going. I did laundry earlier in the week, so don't need to do that. Don't need to go to the grocery because I still have lots of fresh veggies that I need to prepare and have meat in the freezer. I see cooking in my afternoon future. :)

Feeling much better. I think I was just having a low grade reaction to being in a different germ pool last weekend. I have stayed in the house since about 6PM Thursday, and now am getting ready to go to services and I'll probably come right back home. I've been organizing and decluttering the room I use as my office, and it's almost finished. I'm accumulating a fair amount of donations for the domestic violence thrift store. I'll wait to take things until I cull my linens because I will definitely have lots of sheets and towels to donate too.

Have a joyful and peaceful day!

Over the weekend, I went to a bat mitzvah in Philadelphia for 5 amazing women, one of whom is the mother of a friend of mine. Got to meet all of her family and they were unreservedly welcoming and charming. The weekend was terrific in every way.

Came back and worked Monday, then started feeling sick and exhausted. Stayed home Tuesday - tried again today, but I had to take a nap when I got home and I'll be in bed for the night in just a few moments. Stomach is slightly queasy and head hurts, just a little. Oh well, sleep knits up the ravelled sleeve of care, so maybe it works for general malaise too.

I was outside putting out my lawn furniture and grill and cleaning them off [a guarantee that we will now have a downpour!] and my neighbor next door came over and invited me to a cookout that he will be having today for his daughter's birthday. He speaks broken English to me and I speak broken Spanish to him, and we always laugh a lot, so it works out. I told him I probably wouldn't be over as I will be cooking out too. Then I asked him if he would help me. I had a LOT of recycling items that needed to go down to the street and I can't get them down there. He eagerly took everything down for me and told me to always ask him if there's something I need help with. I gave him a mixed six pack of beer [I know he likes beer] and he said that he's on a two week vacation and has had too much to drink for the last couple of days - I told him to give it to his daughter, then. We both laughed and went back to doing our work in the yard. It's nice to have a neighbor who will help you out when you need it.

My handyman is supposed to start repairing my roof today - I almost hope he waits until tomorrow so I don't have a mess in the yard while I'm cooking out.

Happy Memorial Day, everyone.