Gabriella is 20!

Today my granddaughter is 20. Happy Birthday, Gabby!  I can hardly believe 20 years have passed since you burst into the world.  I felt like I'd witnessed a miracle.  I've watched you crawl, say your first word ("cat," of course), watched you toddle up to my three-way mirror and watch all the images of yourself, played games with you, read books with you, taken you to the zoo and the symphony, saw you become a Bat Mitzvah and a few years later, graduate from high school.  And now you're no longer a teenager.  It's hard to believe!  You've made me a happy grandmother.  I wish you love and many more happy birthdays.
                                               Love,
                                               Nana

Thanksgiving Prayer by the Late Dear Abby

Dear Abby's daughter, who took over the column after her mom, the original Abby, passed away reprinted this Thanksgiving prayer:

Oh, Heavenly Father,
We thank Thee for food and remember the hungry,
We thank Thee for health and remember the sick,
We thank Thee for friends and remember the friendless,
We thank Thee for freedom and remember the enslaved.
May these remembrances stir us to service,
That Thy gifts to us may be used for others.
Amen.

Amen and Happy Thanksgiving to all.

Thanksgiving

This year has given me so much to be thankful for:
     My children and granddaughter 
     My son's lovely wife Tiffany, a daughter-in-law to cherish
     My sister and her family and our holidays together
     Brazos Towers.  I couldn't have picked a better place to live.
     Retirement, which is turning out to be great
     Having a chance to share my speech therapy materials with
            others who can enjoy using them
     My former widows' group, which is nowm a group of friends
            who enjoy being together and who have convinced me
            to learn Mah Jongg 
     Touring Shriners Burn Hospital for children, seeing their
            outstanding care for burned kids and hoping to spend
            some time volunteering there
     Scrabble, canasta and Bingo at our apartment and getting
            to be an occasional Bingo caller 
      My writing class at the JCC, inspiring me to write more
      And of course, friends old and new.

                 Happy Thanksgiving to Everyone
                 May your day be filled with joy!
      

Books of October

Alas, in October I only read one book, but it was long.
Plantagenets.  I love English history and this one started with the heirs of William the Conqueror and finished with Richard II.  If you love the history of medieval England, this is a great book for you.  If not, never mind.  Wait for the books of November!

Shabbat Service, Friday November 2, 2018

Friday night at my synagogue eleven empty chairs stood in front of the ark where the Torahs are kept.  Each chair had a prayer shawl spread across it and a candle in front of it.  We stood to say the mourners' prayer in memory of those who were killed in the awful masacre in Pittsburgh. And then we sang We Remember Them, which the cantor had set to music.  Usually part of the service on the Day of Atonement, it seemed fitting for this night.  

We Remember Them

In the rising of the sun and at its going down,
We remember them, we remember them.
In the blowing of the wind and in the chill of winter
We will remember them, we will remember them.
In the opening buds, and in the rebirth of spring,
We remember them.
In the blueness of the skies and in the warmth of summer
We remember them.
In the rustling of the leaves and in the beauty of autumn
We remember them, we remember them.
In the beginning of the year and when it ends
We will remember them, we will remember them.
When we are weary and in need of strength, 
We remember them.
When we are lost and sick at heart,
We will remember them.
When we have joy we yearn to share,
We remember them, we remember them.
As long as we live, they too shall live
For they are now a part of us
As we remember them.