Diane read Torah and I led Shir Shabbat services this morning – it was a nice way to spend the morning, but next time, I may take advantage of the offer to have someone else run the Zoom meeting and the screen sharing.

The weather was nice this afternoon so we took a walk a little earlier than we usually would – as we were crossing the footbridge over Ross Creek, I heard a voice calling “David!”. It was Jeff Ringgold, who had been my improv teacher a few years ago; he was walking his dog. He’d moved into the neighborhood a couple of months ago, but this was the first time we’d crossed paths.

He told me that his theatre, American Improv Theatre was taking a different approach to performing during Covid. Instead of doing the typical Zoom show, they were going audio-only, calling it the “Golden Radio Hour”, and that they had a show this evening on Facebook.

We tuned in and enjoyed it – doing improv via audio-only offers some opportunities that a Zoom show (or an actual in-person show) wouldn’t. It also puts a bit more of the burden on the audience, because there aren’t any visual cues to help keep the characters and locations fresh in our minds.

The show (and their previous shows) are on their Facebook page; tune in!

Many years ago, we visited friends who served us fresh, hot bread – it was a real treat. They made it in a bread machine that they’d bought from DAK Industries – we liked it so much, we bought the same machine and named it R2. We made a lot of bread over the years; eventually, R2’s paddle got scratched up, but we were able to buy a replacement on eBay and we kept using the machine. After Jeff left for college, we used it less and less, but it’s always had a place on our counter.

We didn’t have any bread in the house for Shabbat, so Diane plugged R2 into the wall and made one of our favorites, English Muffin Bread. Even though the flour and yeast were fresh, it didn’t rise a lot – but it was tasty, and that’s what counts.

Shabbat Shalom!