Skip to main content

Bless me for I have neglected you

Holy readers, its been two weeks since my last post.    During that time, I visited and starved in Pisa, Italy.  My wife and family made the meals last week and did a very good job (if you like milk meals on shabbat). This week was smoother and now I'm back to a normal schedule.

I attended a conference in Pisa for one of the projects that funds my graduate school experience.   This was our final general meeting as the project failed to get follow-on funding for next year.  The usual suspects were all in attendance and surprisingly positive about the projects results and its future.  For those who have not yet heard me rant about the Leaning Tower of Pisa, I have to say that its just plain wrong.   There are few things in this world that evoke a visual sense of wrongness.  The leaning tower makes me ill.  It is an embarrassment to engineers everywhere.  The one other event that I can recall is the Tacoma Narrows Bridge collapse.  I have thoughtfully provided you with pictures so that you too can shudder.

The other challenge in Pisa is the lack of kosher food.  Ok, I knew ahead of time that there would be no kosher food, but I can usually find enough vegetarian food (vegetables and breads) to make do.  Everything in Pisa was ham and cheese.    Fortunately, we were able to get fresh apples and I subsided on apples and coffee for the three days of the event.
Labels:

Comments

Hasya Ya'ara said…
Sounds like starvation was your absolution. (Giggle!!)
June 9, 2010 at 4:59 PM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

A change of pace (Kidney Failure)

I have been trying to keep this blog focused on hospitality and food.  God though has other plans for his creations and I find now that I will have to expand the scope to cover new topics.  I'll try to continue blogging about my menus and our guests, but expect more posts that have little or nothing to do with food. In February of this year, My second oldest son, Asaf was diagnosed with Chronic Renal Failure. Simply put, both his kidneys are damaged and scarred from some infection or defect that happened years ago.  They will likely cease to function sometime within the next six months. The good news is that there is no immediate danger to his life.  Kidney Dialysis is a viable option and can maintain his health for up to ten or more years if necessary.  Unfortunately, the process is not easy and there are potential side effects. Given Asaf's generally excellent health and age, Kidney Dialysis is considered only a stop-gap measure and not a long term solution. The best solutio...
13 comments
Read more

Pesach 5768 (2008) Overview

Pesach is just around the corner and preparations are already underway.  Our current guest list includes 7 gentlemen from a post-high school yeshiva program and two young ladies.  Our total count stands at 17 for all five meals. My wife and family are already working on cleaning the house.    Some of the dry goods purchases have been completed, and now we are looking at the protein purchase (butchers bill) and the fresh produce.  To get the process started off on the right foot, we are making menus.  In the general way of things, I expect these menus to change over the next 10 days.  Yet, I want to keep them online and get your input.  Do you think they are too light, too heavy, or just plain not enough for our hungry guests?  Let us know! There are five major meals that we need to prepare. Friday Night Dinner Early Shabbat Lunch (which must be eaten before 9:30am and that needs to include bread) Shabbat Lunch (around 1:30pm, that cannot include bread or matzoh) Seder Dinner First Day ...
3 comments
Read more

B"DE Clark Evenchick

B"DE = Baruch Dayan Emet, Blessed is the truthful judge. This is the traditional jewish response to hearing that someone has passed away. My friend Clark Evenchick passed away last night. He suffered for a number of years from ALS. His passing is both a loss and a blessing. We will miss his wit and his powerful presence. On the other hand, ALS is a terrible disease for both the patient and their family. As the body becomes less responsive, the family and caregivers need to spend more and more time providing physical and mental support. Clark's passing frees both himself and his family from this disease. Clark built our house. At one time, he ran a construction company. Clark was not only an honest contractor, but also a joy to work with. At a time when most houses took up to two years from ground breaking to residence, Clark built our house in 7 months. Whenever there was a problem, we were more than comfortable telling him to find his own solution. I believe that...
4 comments
Read more