Last night of Chanukkah

Tonight was the last night of Chanukkah.

We will miss having special meals at our lovely Chanukkah table,

but we will miss kindling the candles on the  Menorah  even more.

Sixth Night of Chanukkah: 12 '19

Following tonight's Kindling of the Candles,

Bruce made us a platter of Chanukkah Cupcakes.

Fifth Night of Chanukkah:12 '19

Bruce takes the responsibility for the mitzvah of kindling the Chanukkah candles very seriously and always reads the prayer he is going to say before beginning the reciting the blessing.

The candles seemed especially beautiful to us this evening.

The ritual was followed by a wonderful  Chanukkah dinner
of roast chicken, potato salad, and Haroset
served at our newly redecorated dining room table.

Happy Chanukkah: 12 '19

Having a mixed faith marriage has its challenges, especially when it comes to celebrating the holidays.  We are committed to respecting  each other's faith, and do our best to honor the traditions we each grew up with.  Usually there is no conflict, but this year  the Chanukkah  and Christmas  holidays completely overlapped one another, forcing us to get really creative.  

We decorated one the coffee table in the  living room in white and blue with the Menorah in the center ,  and made sure that everything  else in the room  reflected a Jewish theme appropriate for celebrating the mitzvah of kindling the Chanukkah lights. 

We set the Christmas tree up in the dining room 

next to the table  which was decorated with set with the red and green Christmas  dishes.   

As soon as Christmas day was over. (December 26th)  I  removed all of the red and green ornaments from the tree and replaced them with blue white and silver.

  then did the same with the dining room table.

All the Christmas dishes were packed away that same day, and the table reset with Judeica themed dishes. These will remain in place until Chanukkah ends on Dec 30th when we will

redecorate everything with a snowman theme.

For some celebrating both  holidays may seem a bit strange, but the way we see it, Jesus was a practicing Jew his whole life.  He undoubtedly celebrated Chanukkah himself, so I doubt seriously he would have a problem with our celebrating Chanukkah and his birthday at the same time.

4th Night of Chanukkah: 12 '19

Lighting the candles  is our favorite tradition of the holiday season.

Christmas Day at Market Common" 12 '19

Bruce and I decided to go see the newly released Star wars film "The Rise of Skywalker".  The plot was a bit murky, but the characters and action scenes did not disappoint us.

Then we took a walk about the  Market Common Complex

And found a couple of good spots for some holiday selfies.

3rd Night of Chanukkah: 12 '19

Lighting the Menorah is our favorite activity of the day.

Chirstmas Eve PI Beach Walk: 12 '19

We've been pinned down in the house for most of the past week by a series of rain storms, so when we woke to sunshine today, we decided to take advantage of it and go for a walk on the beach.

On the down side it was a bit tough  go getting there.  

The storms had  eroded away the dunes

and deposited the sand from the dunes in new places which buried a lot of the  entrances .

And there were new tidepools blocking  access the north end of the beach

Plus, a cold wind was whipping us with  lot of sand.

But, on the plus side, we had the beach to ourselves, and it was breathtakingly beautiful.  We were glad we made the effort.

Latkes for Breakfast: 12 '19

Bruce made us Latkes for breakfast. Neither of us had ever had latkes with a side of applesauce before. I doubt whether we'll ever eat them any other way after this delight.

Chag Urim Shameach, 2nd Night of Chanukkah: 12 '19

  

Bruce lit the candles  for the second night of Chanukkah

 on the Menorah he has used since he was 18 years old.

Their light offers such hope for  a joyous New Year.

And of course,the candle lights

added to the ambiance of our Chanukkah dinner.

 Our 2nd Chanukkah holiday dinner consisted of:

 mango coconut curried squash  soup,

Stuffed Cabbage rolls with ginger snap cookie topping,

maple glazed  sweet potatoes,   

and a desert of fresh oranges.

First Night of Chanukkah: 12 '19

Happy Chanukkah , Everyone!

Chag Sameach!

May the Peace and Joy of the Holiday Season

be with you throughout the coming year.

Chanukkah Snowman: 12 ' 19

Bruce Got this Chanukkah Snowman complete just in time for the first night of Chanukkah.

Santa's Comin' to Town: 12 '19

We are proud to announce that Bruce's newest wood-working masterpiece 

 is now on display in the front yard.

This was a joint collaboration.

Bruce chose the design, did the layout, and woodworking,

then painted all the base colors.

I did all the detailing.

We are both really happy with the result.

Lee's Christmas Cats: 12 '19

Lee's Lilli, Bubba, and Lola/Diabla

One of our neighbor's has been especially kind to us this year. As a way of saying thank-you,

Bruce wood-worked an artsy-craftsy  table-top  representation of her three kitties; then, I painted the cats' coat designs and colors  onto the wood.  Lee was thrilled.

White Christmas Kitties : 12 '19

Bruce Surprised me today with three white Christmas kittens

 that he'd made to decorate one of our tabletops.

I love it!

Kitchen Countertop Art: 12 '19

I guess Bruce couldn't sleep last night. I got up this morning to find he'd cleaned, and re-arranged all the objects on our kitchen counter-tops. Like I said, I am one lucky woman.

Potato Latkes for Dinner: 12 ' 19

Bruce and I watched a PBS special on Chanukah this morning. I guess it set off a craving, because Bruce made us a big batch of potato latkes (from scratch) for dinner. 

I am such a lucky woman.

( Original recipe can be found at : 

https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/16073/potato-latkes-i/?fbclid=IwAR1_U3uaDQDZglecbfgX0BOfWBm3sPrRvWydk2WUeqSPnmixdaUtQ0ywVAs)

Bruce's Snowman: 12 ' 19

Bruce's latest wood-working creation is an advent calendar. He set it up on the front porch so we can  easily change the days to Christmas count-down carrot.

Post Thanksgiving Meatless Meatloaf: 12 ' 19

While I was setting out Christmas decorations in our front yard, Bruce was making us a meatless meatloaf for dinner with a side of mash potatoes and meatless mushroom gravy. We were both really impressed with the taste; it was a lot like a REALLY good poultry stuffing.

If you'd like to give it a try, 

here's the link to  the recipe:

https://blog.fatfreevegan.com/…/thanksgiving-meatless-loaf.…

Christmas Tree's Up: 12 '19

It's starting to look a lot like Christmas around here.

TIme for a new holiday theme: 12 '19

It's time to start  packing up our Fall decor so we can move on to

celebrating the  Chanukkah and  Christmas holidays.

Still, I feel sad to be saying goodbye to these little guys.

They always bring a smile to my heart when they greet me every morning.

Happy Thanksgiving, y'all : 11 '19

Wishing y'all "Happy Thanksgiving"

From: Bruce, CC, and "Sammy"