Month: April 2001

Catching up on the weekend's play-by-play

We started Saturday as usual, with Torah Study at temple; then I was the lay leader for the minyan service. I think it went fairly well, if you ignore my forgetting to put my kippah on until the Haftorah was being read (and I think I’m the only one who noticed, anyway). Next time, though, I’ll practice the part of the Torah Service that only the leader says; it’s hard to read those lines of Hebrew while juggling the siddur and the Torah!

After services, we had a long lunch with some of our friends from temple at Max’s Cafe in Saratoga; we didn’t plan for it to be a long lunch, but the service was a bit on the leisurely side. Then we paid a long visit to Barnes & Noble. And I can’t remember what we did after that — it was, I’m sure, inconsequential.

On Sunday, both Diane and I went to the Y and worked out while Jeffrey was in Religious School; then we helped Diane Reese celebrate her birthday. She didn’t know we were going to help her celebrate — she thought going to lunch with her husband was celebration enough. But by the time they returned, her house had been invaded by many of her friends, waiting to surprise her. And we did; when she walked in, she saw Jeffrey playing quietly with her sons — I couldn’t see her, but I heard her say “Hi” to him in a very puzzled voice, trying to figure out what was going on. So the rest of us popped out and said “Surprise!”, then settled down to demolish a wonderful chocolate cake (thanks, Brad) and icecream (thanks, Eric). Later on, Diane introduced us to PsychoBabble (so far, I haven’t gotten any votes while playing, though I have been able to pick out the winning sentence fairly often). And towards evening, many of us took advantage of the wonderful weather to enjoy the hot tub. Not a bad way to spend a Sunday, even if I didn’t get anything accomplished.

Today, it was back to work and school; volume 21 of the original Star Trek series showed up in today’s mail (though its release date is tomorrow), so we watched The Trouble With Tribbles after dinner. Then Jeffrey and I watched the last half of The Weakest Link — I still haven’t decided whether I like the show or not, but it is definitely interesting.

Tomorrow, I pack for Hong Kong.

Reunited

Jeffrey returned from Science Camp this afternoon. It was pouring rain, his clothes and suitcases were muddy, he said the food was bad, and, to add insult to injury, they even had a dance last night that they had to go to! All about what I expected to hear (except for the dance).

Tomorrow, I’m lay leader for shabbat minyan; it’s my first time doing it, but I don’t expect to have much trouble; it’s not nearly as hard as actually reading the Torah would be.

Shabbat Shalom!

Wines of the Week

1999 Trevor Mast Four Sisters Sauvignon Blanc/Semillon: I didn’t like this wine at first — it seemed awfully sharp. But it was drinkable, and remained so even after opening (and resealing with a Vacu-Vin); if anything, it improved over the days it took us to go through the bottle. I wouldn’t put it high on a list to buy again, but I wouldn’t turn up my nose at it, either.

2000 Fontana Candida Pinot Grigio: Neither Diane nor I liked this wine at first, and as we finished our glasses, our opinions didn’t change. We poured the rest of the bottle down the drain. Not recommended.