Purim & truck - Day 1356 (Year 4, Day 261)

Williamsburg, VA

Purim is a holiday which commemorates the Jews' salvation in Persia (feel free to Google "purim" for the details and history).  In effect, it is an extremely joyous (and sometimes raucous) celebration, in which people are suppose to dress up in costume (Jewish Halloween) and do all kinds of crazy, fun stuff, including get drunk.  Of course, the most important part of the holiday is to be in synagogue and hear the "megillah" (scroll, which contains the story of Esther) being read aloud.  Whenever the evil person, Haman's name is mentioned, the entire congregation needs to make so much noise that you can't hear the name being read.  It's a lot of fun, celebrating the end to a potentially terrifying tragedy.

Another Purim tradition is to bake (or eat) special cookies called "hamentashen" which is a triangular shaped cookie (to resemble Haman's 3 corner hat), filled with pretty much anything.  Most traditionally it's poppy seeds or fruit, but you can use whatever you want.  I spent many hours yesterday researching a keto-friendly recipe (which, to my delight, I found) and then preparing and making them.  I was so excited, even though for the dozen I made, it was by #10 that I finally got the hang of folding them so that I got 3 corners instead of 4.

I BURNED THEM!!!!  I was (and continue to be) absolutely devastated by this.  So much time, energy and love went into making them and I set the oven 5 minutes too much.  They tasted like ash and I had to throw them out.  Way too much trouble to make them again today.  Sigh.

Although there are no shuls nearby where we are comfortable attending for Shabbat services, there is a place (reconstructionist) not too far from here.  We made the decision to go to their services to hear the megillah and enjoy the festivities.  It was to start at 7:00 pm.  Since Mitch gets home around 4, it was doable.  But.....

Wouldn't you know - he stopped for gas on the way home, and the truck wouldn't start again.  Very fortunately, he was at a station that also had a mechanic shop and a mechanic who knew about diesel engines.  He took a look and determined there was a clog in the fuel line (he suggested that one of the tanks probably had some rust or something in it that was putting out sediment and we should avoid using that tank).  Fortunately, he was able to fix the problem and Mitch was able to return home, although he didn't get back until nearly 6:30, by then too stressed and tired to go back out.

At that point, we decided to try to find a synagogue that offered a live streaming of their services.  We did find one, but of course, our internet connection sucked big time and it was nearly impossible to watch, being that we'd hear 1 or 2 words and then it would buffer for about 2 minutes.  We just gave up and spent the rest of the night watching our downloaded shows.

In addition, it is one of our wedding anniversaries.  We exchanged our vows (eloped) on 11/11/78, and then had a formal exchange in front of family and a rabbi on 2/29/80 (leap year).  We always celebrate in November (this year will be # 40 and we hope to be able to do something really special, including a renewal of vows).  But we do try to have a little acknowledgement during the twilight zone between 2/28 and 3/1.  Sadly, because of the mood, it just didn't happen.

On another note, a milestone (new decade) birthday is coming up for me in 1 week and a few days.  I really want to do something very special, but can't think of what.  Ideally, I'd love to have a party, be pampered and be the center of attention (I know that sounds selfish), but we're just too far removed from everyone to make that happen.  I'm thinking of maybe finding a spa with good rates and indulging in something I've never done before -- maybe a couples massage so Mitch doesn't feel left out and have to wait outside for an hour.  But can't find anywhere local that offers that for a reasonable price.  I do know there's this fancy restaurant with lots of vegetarian options.  It means going off my diet but I've been planning to go there for my birthday for a few months.  So I suspect it'll probably be going to the movies and then out to eat.  Who knows, maybe if the weather permits, since my birthday is on a Sunday, we can have a campfire on Saturday night and invite some of the neighbors here.

Anyway, PIBE (play it by ear) as I always say.  And remember that plans are always made in bubbles anyway.  For all I know, we'll get our marching orders in a day or 2 and need to be out of here before March 11th.