A New Adventure | Peaches Prattlings

{October 5, 2016} I get to go home!

Wahoo! I’m going to Hawaii before next year! Ha ha!

It’s funny, I moved to Hawaii, sorry, I haven’t made a big official announcement yet, but I did. And now, when I see people, they’re first question, naturally is “How’s Hawaii?!” My answer…”it’s great when I can get there…”

Hawaii is not the easiest place to get to, especially from certain parts of the country. It’s about 9 hours from Chicago, if you can get a non-stop flight, which there aren’t, but I can fly non-stop back, wahoo!

So…it’s not always easy to get to for a weekend, especially if you have to fly out Friday and then back Sunday, if I fly out Thursday and back Sunday, no problem. Things are slightly up in the air at work, so I couldn’t make any definite plans to go. And Hawaii is not a last minute flight price-wise.

I am, however, trying to get a project on the west coast, do that…I can go home every weekend! I wouldn’t know what to with myself! Ha ha!

Based on a communication at work this week, I decided it should be safe, checked with my managers and guess what! I’m going to Hawaii for the weekend in a few weeks! That’s before December!

It’s for the weekend and the flight was reasonable! Oh my goodness, PSM and I are going to see each other three weekends in a row! What? Bottom line…I get to go home for the weekend!

Wahoo!

{October 3, 2016} The sound of the shofar and Tashlich

L’Shana Tova.

This morning we went to Rosh Hashanah services that were more kid friendly, a lot of singing, guitar, prayer and joy. The nice thing about the kid friendly service is that it really is kid friendly. It’s about 1.5 hours, easy for kids to sit through and the rabbi really knows how to talk and preach to children as well as adults.

One of my favorite things about the High Holy services is the blowing of the shofar. It is used to announce the holidays, especially Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, signaling the end of the fast.

It is not easy to play the shofar and so impressive to hear. People practice months and years to prefect it. They bring the little kids that are in babysitting in to the sanctuary to hear the shofar being blown. The rabbi even said “the cute level in the room just went up, it must be time for the blowing of the shofar”.

After services, we went to LS’ house for lunch, it was a dairy meal, so there was no meat, no worries for me! It was great to all be together, a lot of the same people that were with us at GES’ yesterday. It was a nice afternoon spent with friends, family, laughter, good times and good food. We know how to celebrate.

After we went back home, we went to a park to perform Tashlich, the act of casting our sins away. We gathered, recited and sang prayers, took bread and each piece we cast into the water was casting our sins away, a beautiful tradition. The final prayer was followed by the blowing of the shofar. Anyone who wanted to blow the shofar was invited to. I recorded it, I hope you enjoy it as much as we did.

Then it was apples and honey for everyone for a sweet year. I wish you nothing less.

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{October 2, 2016} L’Shana Tova

Tonight marks the beginning of the celebration of the High Holy Days.

The High Holy Days are Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year and Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement. “On Rosh Hashanah it is written and on Yom Kippur it is sealed”.

To celebrate the new year, we celebrate with friends and family, coming together for a meal, togetherness, prayer and good wishes for a happy, healthy and sweet new year.

I mentioned we were cooking all day Saturday, Sunday wasn’t much different, cooking and setting up the house, we were about to have around 40 people in the house! A few more than normal, but welcome and wanted.

We cooked brisket, chicken, kugel, monkey bread, chicken soup, matzo balls, salad, noodles and people brought food! Brisket, carrot souffle, sweet potato cassarole, kugel, spreads, veggies, desserts! I should have taken a picture of all the good, oh my!

They arrived about 5pm, we waited until everyone was there, said prayers over the candles, challah, wine, holiday and talked about being together for this wonderful day, what it means to us and then it was chaos! Food, drink, talk, laughter, hugs and good wishes. What more could you want?

The kids all played together, wondered about dessert together and then watched a movie together. About 9pm, everyone started to leave, which you know, takes a while! and then it was clean up mode, which was done just about 10pm and everyone collapsed!

Time to write to you, decompress and hit the hay, tomorrow, we go to services and to a friend’s house after for their Rosh Hashanah meal and celebration.

So, to you, my friends and family, I say “L’Shana Tova, a happy, healthy and sweet year”.

{October 1, 2016} It’s too salty! Tee hee hee

We cooked all day…all day.

Tomorrow is erev Rosh Hashanah, which translates to eve of, the night before. My sister always hosts friends and family, and you know there’s no small happenings here, so there will be about 35-40 people, the usual…

So, there is cooking to be done. People are bringing food, but there is still a lot to be done. We made chicken soup, lots of chicken soup, batches of matzo balls, dessert and a dairy filled kugel, which is like noodle pudding, it’s fabulous and a dry kugel, no dairy.

The dairy kugel has milk, cottage cheese, sour cream, brown and white sugar, cinnamon. I used to love this kind when I could eat dairy.

It smelled great while it was cooking and when it came out,time for the taste test! Not me, not a good idea, all that dairy. As soon as GES put the bite in her mouth, the look on her face said it all! Too salty!

How is that possible? We used all sweet things, I put salt in the water to cook the noodles, but that doesn’t make a difference. We used sweet salted butter, but that doesn’t have that much salt. We couldn’t figure it out. We made everyone try it, just to be sure, including me, nope, too salty.

So…we decided to move on and try the other, “dry” kugel. It came out of the oven and we had to taste test of course. I tasted and as I walked away said “it’s too salty”….and I started laughing.

The look on my sister’s face was priceless! The worry, it lasted all of 3 seconds because she saw me laughing, it was worth it!

It reminded me of when I was a kid and my grandmother made applesauce and I would tell her it needed sugar, never did, but I would tease her.

That memory was a nice feeling and we needed the laugh! And by the way…the kugel was perfect, can’t wait to eat it tomorrow!

{September 29, 2016} Surreal and sad

I should be used to this already…but every time it takes getting used to.

This won’t be the most uplifting post, I appreciate your understanding.

I want to say that “home is where the heart is” and you know how much I love my friends and family and when I am with them, I feel at home, but I’m just visiting.

I am going to start with quasi-adulthood, instead of the just after college youth, if that’s alright with you.
I left Georgia after almost twenty years and now, when I go back, I’m renting a car and staying with friends, who are my family, or in hotels, I’m not “home”.

I left Colorado after a year and a half and now, when I go back, I’m renting a car, staying with friends or in hotels, I’m not “home”.

I left Boston three weeks ago, I had been moving my stuff over the past few months, including my car! and now, when I go back, I’m renting a car, staying with family, I’m not “home”.

When I left Colorado, I packed up some stuff, don’t forget, I have two storage units that I visit every time I go back, took the fur babies and moved in with my sister and family, it was great, I’d been spending so many weekends and weeks there, it was natural.

Then I got an apartment for me and the fur babies and coming “home” meant coming in from whatever project I was on, getting a rental car and going to my apartment to snuggle with them, seeing my family at least once or twice during the weekend.

Now, it’s a whole new experience. This is my first time coming to Boston and going straight to my sister’s, no apartment, no further babies. It’s surreal and it’s sad.

I’m going to be surrounded by family, friends and more love than I can imagine and it’s just what I need. Each trip will get a little easier, I know, but the first one is not going to be easy.

I’ll take your good vibes and positive thoughts my friends for this weekend. Let the healing begin.

{September 27, 2016} A fun evening…fund raising

Yeah, puntastic!

Tonight, my team went out to support a great coworker and cause.

JW is on the board of directors of CEP, the Center for Economic Progress. This is a fantastic organization that helps low-income, working families as a trusted provider of tax and financial services. http://www.economicprogress.org/

The fundraiser was to acknowledge the program, supporters, staff and volunteers.

Well…we were also there to fundraiser, of course! One of the reasons we were fundraising is the mobile unit, just like the magnet in the photo. It will be used to travel into neighborhoods to perform their great services.

The mobile unit has been procured, but…as JW said in her presentation, it is sad on the inside…why? It’s empty! So…we need to raise funds to fill and stock it! Computers, workstations, supplies, you name it.

How did we accomplish some of this tonight? Text CEP to a number, get a text with a link to a fundraising site, clever! When you submitted your donation, you saw your name scroll on the big screen, sorry, missed my name!

Now, the excitement was to see what we could raise in 5 minutes and someone was going to match it. What did we raise? Almost $9000! Not too shabby! Go JW and CEP!

It was an exciting event and as it was winding down, the team went a few blocks down the street to have some dinner, the fundraiser was appetizers and an open bar. We continued the good times, especially when JW got there. We ate, drank, chatted and laughed, another great team I’m lucky to have been placed with!

{September 26, 2016} Debate…no comment

No, my friends, I am not going to comment, I’m not going to tell you my opinion on the election or who I’m going to vote for. Either side, I’m not starting nothin’!

It’s not that I’m not voting, that I don’t already know who I’m voting for, I’m just not going to talk about it with you. There was a quote I heard years ago “Never talk about religion, politics or abortion among friends”. I believe it to be true and will adhere to it with you, my friends.

In small circles or one-on-one conversations, I might be persuaded to speak, but not here and definitely not on Facebook. If you’re friends with me and really looked, you could see the posts I have liked. I don’t comment, but I’ve liked and agreed with quite a few and I’m saddened by some of what I see from the opposite point of view, I could lose friends if I said anything.

I don’t get into political debates, not worth it because many times you’re just talking, hoping the other personis going to see you’re side and change their mind.

I was once having a political discussion with someone, against my better judgement and he was getting louder and louder. I finally looked at him and said “J, the louder you get, the more clear your point does not get!”

I walked by a TV studio tonight and stood for a minute with the crowd gathered outside watching the debate, the homeless guy was shouting at the tv, I can tell you this…he loves his girl Hillary, quote/unquote! That was the extent of my attention to the debate, sorry friends, if you’re looking for more or a fight, as Dana Carvey used to say when he was doing an impression of George Bush, “not gonna do it!”

{September 22, 2016} A team outting…a coming class!!

So much fun!

Two team dinners in a row? Sounds good! This time, a cooking class, fun!

We went to The Social Table for a fantastic evening!

When we arrived, appetizers were waiting, toast points with chickpeas, butternut squash, tomatoes, olive oil and pepper. A yummy way to start!

The kitchen was set, the table was set, everything was…set!

We were making a brussel sprout and kale salad, fresh pasta with carbonara sauce, minus the meat, tomato soup, stuffed peppers and chocolate cake with ice cream.
Rachel and Ian were our chef/instructors and they were fun and patient and encouraging and remembered each of our names and called us to do things, that was impressive!

Everyone chopped, sliced, diced, pureed, mixed, folded, whipped, you name it, we all got to do it!

We prepped, cooked, drank, chatted and laughed, it was fabulous and so much fun! We talked a little work here and there but most of all we laughed and really enjoyed the process and each other’s company.

When it was all done, we sat down to mange! It was fabulous!

[Yes, my friends, every piece if food had some form of dairy and I tried it all, except the chocolate cake with ice cream. I’m paying for it, but the experience with my coworkers was worth it! Every once in a while, you have to go for it]

If you have never taken a cooking class, it’s worth it. This is my second, it’s more fun with an intimate or smaller group and if you know everyone, you can relax a little more.

{September 21, 2016} Breakfast then back to the grindstone

It was such a great weekend with CKM, do I have to go back to reality?

We had to set an alarm this morning…boo…but we had a schedule to keep.

I got up first, showered and took my stuff to my next hotel, came back and then we went to Lou Mitchell’s for breakfast, it’s part of where Route 66 starts, they say it starts there at their restaurant.

After breakfast, the one thing we had not done yet, the one mode of transportation left…the El. Off we went, easiest way to get to the airport, traffic can be bad.

We took the El to the airport, chatted along the way and then it was time to say goodbye, sad, but we’ll see each other again soon. Who knows where we’ll travel to next!

Back on the El to work, lots going on! Then a team dinner, drinks at a rooftop bar before, a really good dinner then drinks at the hotel.

Now, I’m ready to crash! Goodnight!!

{September 19, 2016} Another fabulous day! Museums and football! Top that!

Our last day in Chicago was definitely a memorable one!

We started off at Yolk for breakfast, pretty good if you ask me.

From Yolk, Uber to The Museum of Science and Industry. This was great! There were parts that reminded me of the Boston Museum of Science.

We saw old wagons, a submarine, airplane, made tornados, watched a cool movie about sharks, planes and trains..just to name a few things!

Then it was time for lunch and on to The Field Museum of Natural History. There, it was dinosaurs, ancient China, ancient Egypt and some really bad pick up lines!

Did they mean this to sound like a pick up line!?

After The Field Museum we headed back to the hotel, drop off some stuff, get Bears hates, we had our shirts…we need to represent!

Back to Soldier Field…joined all the rest of the fans, a good mix of Bears and Eagles fans. How do I know? Because I don’t think there was anyone not wearing something representing one of the two teams. The seats i got…somewhere in the clouds, also known as Eagles territory!

we were at the tippy top top row!

An amazing weekend!! Where are we going next????

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