Lucky 7

I spent the better part of yesterday morning preparing cheese blintzes. Perhaps I am moving somewhat slowly these days, but it never ceases to amaze me just how long cooking can take. As I sat down to write this, I suddenly realized that I had prepared precisely 49 cheese blintzes, corresponding to the 49 days (7 weeks) between when the Jewish people left Egypt (Pesach/Passover) and received the Torah at Mount Sinai (Shavuot/Feast of Weeks). If I had tried to prepare precisely 49 cheese blintzes it never would have come out that way, but just by chance I hit that magic number.

Tomorrow, Barry and I are invited to the home of some friends for lunch.  Like us, they mainly live in the New York area, but they have three daughters, one of whom lives here, and they have bought a house in Sharon. We have often considered buying a house here, but I have to admit that renting the apartment has the major advantage that we do not have to worry about taking care of things. We have a hard enough time looking after the house in Riverdale so it is hard to think about taking on another one. Tomorrow, Dina and family will be having lunch with our friends’ daughter and her husband and children while we are with their parents/grandparents.

The blintzes are for lunch with our family on the second day (Thursday). I always used to make cheesecake as well but I decided to forego that this year. I have only a large spring-form pan which makes a cake far too big for us: for various reasons the only people who eat it are Simmie, Dina, and me, and it is hard to justify making this whole big cake for the three of us. But if I do say so myself it is a killer cheesecake and I need to find an opportunity to make it.

Barry went to a local sporting goods store earlier today to buy a baseball glove, the first one he has owned since he was a little boy. Watching Joshua’s pitching arm, it is clear Barry needed to do this to keep from injuring his hand. But after nearly 40 years of marriage to a fellow whose pursuits have been more intellectual than physical, there is a part of me that feels very strange to have a husband who owns a baseball glove. I suppose Barry could have owned and used sporting equipment when our daughters were younger. But they never expressed much interest in such things. Grandchildren are an amazing joy, and having this grandson when we are accustomed to a house full of girls has been a special adventure.

Back in girl world, I spent a wonderful afternoon with Gabriella putting together her newest Lego set, the Heartlake City Pool. I have never seen so many tiny pieces – 423 to be exact! Ella is so good with this. It’s an enormous joy to see her enthusiasm and determination. She stuck with it far longer than I expected; I had to convince her to save a bit for the next time.

I will be off-line for the next couple of days. Whatever you have planned, it should be in good health with the warmth of friends and family and appreciation of all the blessings around us.

Love,

Rebecca