TBS Shabbaton report

[chanaleh]

Nonfat lemon yogurt is significantly improved by stirring in a teaspoon of Penzey's powdered ginger. (Or, I suspect, grated fresh ginger, but I didn't have the patience.)

And jessruth got a job! Woohoo!

... So the shul retreat was fun. Went by really quickly, somehow. Nothing particularly out of the ordinary, except for being in the countryside (Camp Ramah New England, out in Palmer, MA), but it was very nice. -- In particular, I realized, it is the opportunity for natural, low-key socializing that makes the retreat a fun thing to do. Let us grant that I have a few particular favorite people around the shul, and posit further that one or two of them were along on the retreat: people whom I enjoy very much but, for normative social reasons, would never in a million years be able to call up and say "Hey, how about you and I get together for lunch/drinks/folk dancing/board games/a quiet walk through the woods". Yet in the context of the retreat, I get to do every one of those things in one day.

Like last year, we used "the library" for our davening space -- a beautiful, shiny-new, yet rustic (cabin-styled) wood-and-glass building filled with light... and several hundred volumes of Judaica of all kinds. The room we used as a sanctuary was completely lined with them -- except where the windows were. Nature and books; how much more spiritual can it get?

When I got home early Sunday afternoon, I logged in, ending up online for an hour (of course). But as soon as I hung up, I got a phonecall from Tiger Boy, who (not expecting me to get back until later) had thoughtfully been trying to leave me a welcome-home message, and mystified as to why my phone would have been busy for the past hour. (Oops.) But the welcome-home chat pleased me even better overall than a voicemail would have.

Anyway, then I tackled the Big Three chores (the ones that never end, even as soon as you've done them: laundry, dishes, grocery shopping), and even did some cooking, and sorted all the new button stock I've made recently, and went to rehearsal.

I also wrote up my proposal for acquiring the new prayerbook for the Friday night service, to send to the Ritual Committee and later the Board to discuss in their respective meetings this week. Of course, this now means I am supposed to attend the Ritual Committee meeting tomorrow night -- before the 20s&30s planning committee meeting I have already scheduled for later tomorrow night. If my busy synagogue-macherette schedule prevents me entirely from getting in a date with my boy anytime between now and next Sunday, I shall be Very Put Out.

And now I am tired. *zzzz*

Comments

[vettecat.livejournal.com]

Glad everything went well!

[gilana]

Glad you had fun -- sorry I missed it, but there's always next year.

[chanaleh.livejournal.com]

I definitely missed you being there! and do hope you'll come again next year.

[gilana]

I'd like to come next year, I enjoyed it a lot last time. Hopefully my job and schedule will be slightly less insane by then. :)

Have you seen the Advocate yet? I checked the online version but it doesn't have most of the content -- meant to get a paper yesterday and forgot. Do you know if she sent Mags any pictures?

[chanaleh.livejournal.com]

Someone did bring a copy of the Advocate, and indeed it had about 6 pictures of all of us in it! (Plus some truly inane body copy, but whatever.) I don't know what Mags might have received, though.

-- Oh, if anyone reading this happens to have last week's issue, I'd love a clipping of those two pages. You know, featuring me in the big heart-shaped sunglasses. :-)

[thevortex.livejournal.com]

Love the icon.

The Vortex

[missaligator.livejournal.com]

I have one issue. If I bring it tonight could you make a copy of it?

[chanaleh.livejournal.com]

Oh! Good point -- yeah, we could make copies for all of us, post one on the bulletin board, etc. :-) Thanks!

[memerath.livejournal.com]

Nonfat lemon yogurt is also really good in banana bread, especially with blueberries. :)

[mixedborder.livejournal.com]

Me too! How'd you get it?

[chanaleh.livejournal.com]

It was made for me as a birthday present. :-)